Cold Somen Noodle Bowl with Homemade Smoked Salmon Sushi

I am fascinated with noodles and these Somen are typically served cold although the hot versions sound yumski too.

This was a lunch for one. Me! The asparagus tips - so tiny, and carrot matchsticks, a whole shiitake, and baby bok choi were steamed al dente.

The noodles were boiled and returned to cold water. They came out pretty good considering how quickly they could have turned to mush.

I had a sauce for dipping, a combo of sesame oil and shoyu and dashi. It was perfect.

This was my first attempt at homemade sushi. 

I went to a favorite restaurant Friday for lunch and got a sushi component where the chef decides. He gave me a smoked salmon one and I loved it!

So I knew I had smoked salmon from Alaska in the cupboard, sooooo

I tried.

Yeah. It is not the greatest picture, and it didn't taste like my Friday lunch, but it was good, and it was good to try.

Are you trying any new dish? Would you like to share your results?

Jan 1st is National Bloody Mary Day!

Bloody Mary

I was perusing the LA Times food section and read a short ode to the Bloody Mary. The author implores his audience not to use the thin watery cheap bottle mix and offers a few suggestions of brands that are much better.

So when I went to the market, I looked for such brands and had no luck.

Well, I'm a "from scratch" kind of person. So here is my version (based on ideas from the article) of The Bloody Mary.

Start with:
5.5 oz Tomato Juice

Add to taste:
Horseradish sauce
Fresh ground black pepper
Worcestershire sauce

Stir in:
1 1/2 shots of vodka

Top with:
Fresh crumbled bacon strip
Juice of 1/4 of a lime

and garnish:
with a celery stick.