RONA RAMEN

This recipe is seeing the glass half full or maybe just making do, either is fine. We are stuck at home because of Covid. Somehow we have made it through the last 9 months relatively unscathed. Despite our best efforts, it took down my husband and we are all hunkering down, AGAIN. I wasn’t prepared at all for this. The kids had just gone back to school after winter break and I was looking forward to having some ”me time” Ha. Ha. Ha.

When we got J’s diagnosis I did a massive grocery order so random that I can’t even make sense of it. I just knew I had to fill the fridge with healthy food that I could stretch out over the next week as much as possible. We live pretty far away from most everything so I had to make it count, but I also couldn’t think straight. That lead to tonight when I wanted to make a soup for hubby to make him feel better (he‘s not into chicken noodle, he likes everything to taste like hot sauce) but also something that I really wanted to eat. The least I can do for myself while taking care of the homestead and homeschooling the kids and playing nurse is cook food I like to eat. That led me to ramen : ) This isn’t a traditional recipe but its one for 2020/2021. It’s a recipe that anyone can make, its easy. There’s no fish sauce and no chili paste, not because those things aren’t delicious but because we are dealing with a bare bones pantry and no luxury of running to the store. However, its also really really tasty and you most likely have all of the ingredients in your home.

What you need:

2 lbs bone in beef short ribs (a small pot roast would work too, so would pork shoulder...use what you’ve got)

vegetable or canola oil

2.5 tsp curry powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 inch fresh ginger, sliced (you can also keep frozen ginger on hand...its good for so many things, especially when people are ill)

4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

4 green onions, white and green parts sliced into small pieces

1/2 cup hot banana peppers w/ some liquid from the jar (pickled jalapeños would work if that’s what you have)

1/2 cup of mushrooms sliced very thin

6 cups beef broth or vegetable broth

1 cup of chopped Swiss chard, spinach, or kale

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

a few packets of ramen noodles (no seasoning necessary)

sriracha sauce

Garnish: fresh herbs: mint, cilantro, basil, Thai basil (you can use dried here if that’s all you have but use less) scallions, chives, red pepper flakes

To start, 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil in the bottom of a stock pot and turn onto medium heat. Meanwhile, rub curry powder, salt and pepper all over the short ribs. Place in hot oil and sear on all sides, 2-3 minutes per side. When you are on the last side of your beef sear, add green onion, garlic, and ginger to the pot. Stir around for a minute and then pour in your broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover with a lid and simmer over medium/low heat for about 2 hours or until the meat is completely tender and falling off the bone. If you wanted to transfer everything to a slow cooker, that would be simple and let it go low for 8 hours or high for about 3.5-4 hours. When the meat is cooked, remove the bones and meat and set aside. Turn the heat off and let soup cool. Pick meat and bones apart and shred beef. Skim the fat off the top of the broth, as much as you can. If you aren’t in a hurry, this would probably taste great being refrigerated overnight and finished the next day.

After you have skimmed the fat add your hot peppers and vinegary liquid, mushrooms, Swiss chard, soy sauce, and sesame oil. I like to add a few dashes of sriracha at this point as well. Bring to a boil and return meat to the pot. Now its ready to serve. Place a serving size amount of uncooked ramen in a bowl and pour the hot soup on top. Let steep for 3-4 minutes, garnish with fresh herbs and scallions (I used mint and cilantro...really good!) and extra hot sauce for the spice lovers. Slurp it up!

*If you plan to eat all of this at once, its ok to put the ramen directly into the soup pot. However, I have noticed that it makes the noodles soggy for leftovers, so I always do it one serving at a time.

Roasted Vegetables with Honey and Mint

This recipe came about as a nice side dish to serve with our shepherd’s pie. Mint and lamb are often synonymous so I thought it would pair nicely. The key here is to make sure all of your vegetables are the same size so they cook evenly. I used carrots, parsnips, and brussel sprouts. You could easily just do brussel sprouts or just the carrots and parsnips. This would be good with the addition of beets as well.

What you need:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs chopped vegetables (brussel sprouts, carrots, parsnips, beets)

olive oil

honey

salt and pepper

fresh rosemary

fresh mint

red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, place your vegetables in baking dish and drizzle with olive oil and honey. I like a 2-1 ratio here....let’s say 2 tbsp olive oil to 4 tbsp honey. Use your best judgement depending on how large of a dish you are making. Add fresh ground salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary. 1 tsp each for 1.5 lbs of vegetables. Cook for 15 minutes and then stir. Keep cooking and stirring in 15 minute increments until vegetables are cooked through, should take about 45 minutes total. Remove from the oven and add 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint and 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes.

Shepherd’s Pie

A classic, hearty family meal that everyone will love. Instead of topping with mashed potatoes I like to do a root vegetable mash that consists of turnips, potatoes, and rutabagas. Tons of flavor and extra nutrition, my children never noticed the difference.

What you need:

Pie filling: 1 small chopped onion

2 carrots, peeled and diced small

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground lamb

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons ketchup

2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon freshly chopped rosemary leaves

1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves

1/2 cup frozen peas

Mashers:

1 large rutabaga

2 small turnips

2 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes

1/4 cup heavy cream

4 tbsp butter

1 tsp salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill a small pot with cold water and peel your root vegetables and cut them into 1 inch squares. Add your potatoes, rutabaga, and turnips to the pot and bring to a boil then simmer for about 15-18 minutes or until they are soft. Meanwhile, add a drizzle of olive oil to a pan and set over medium heat to cook your onions and carrots. Stir them around until they have softened then add your garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Add your ground lamb and brown. When the lamb is mostly cooked, drain off the fat. Now add your ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Most shepherd’s pie recipes call for tomato paste but I never bother with the stuff. You never need much and then you are left with a 3/4 full can of tomato paste that will inevitably go to waste. Food waste is bad, ketchup is good : ) Stir in your peas (its ok if they are still frozen, they will cook quickly). Transfer to a baking dish.

Now its time to finish off your mashers, drain the water from the pot. Add 4 tablespoons butter, salt and pepper, and cream to the pot and mash vegetables until desired consistency. I like them to be mostly smooth but a couple of lumps show they are homemade. With a rubber spatula spread your mashers on top of the ground lamb mixture. Place baking dish in preheated oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until mashers start to lightly brown. Remove from the oven, add a couple more pats of butter and serve.