Classy Ramen-Style Mushroom Soup

Super flavorful and quick enough that it just may get me to drop my Top Ramen habit.

From The Mushroom Channel

Makes 3 to 4 servings

• 8 small dried shiitake mushrooms
• 8 square inches dried kombu (optional)
• 4 ½ cups water
• 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 6 – 8 ounces cremini and/or shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon crushed red chili flakes (to suit your tastes)
• 1 ½ tablespoons shiro miso (white miso paste)
• 1 ½ tablespoons aka miso (red miso paste)
• 10 ounces dried ramen noodles (aka, chukka soba), freshly cooked (or any other Asian noodle you have - soba would be delicious)
• Fresh cilantro leaves, to garnish (optional)

1. Make the mushroom stock: Place the dried shiitake mushrooms and kombu a pot with the water.  Bring the water almost to a boil and then turn down the heat to maintain a simmer.  Cook for 5 minutes.

2. Remove the pot from the heat and let the stock stand for 3 minutes.  Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer and set the stock aside.

3. Make the soup: Heat 3 teaspoons of the toasted sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat.  Add the sliced cremini mushrooms and cook for about 20 seconds.  Drizzle in the remaining 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, then add the finely chopped garlic and crushed red chili flakes, and stir-fry for another 20 seconds.

4. Pour the mushroom stock through a fine-mesh strainer held directly over the pan.  (Discard the solids left in the strainer.)  Adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer, and separate the cooked noodles into 3 or 4 bowls.

5. Place the shiro miso and aka miso in a small bowl and ladle some of the hot stock from the pan into the bowl. Whisk the miso pastes and broth together until smooth, then add to the simmering stock in the pan.

6. Turn off the heat, then ladle the broth over the noodles in each bowl.  Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and serve immediately.

Wine of the Week - Carivintas "Max" NV blend

This is a non-vintage blend of Barbera, Rosé of Tempranillo, Syrah and Malbec, and it's absolutely delicious.

Red fruits on the nose, including strawberry and cherry. Some maple aromas give the whole thing a sugary undertone.

Surprising dark flavors hit your tongue immediately on tasting - cloves and black pepper. It starts to brighten up with a little hint of Golden Delicious apple. And there's still that bit of maple underneath it all.

A richly-flavored and mouth-pleasing wine.

13.9% alcohol

Cinnamon Apple Swirl-overs

A simplified version of my simplified apple turnovers.

Ingredients:
1/2 package (1 sheet) of puff pastry, thawed
1 large apple (any variety) peeled & sliced thinly (use more if you want it super apple-y)
cinnamon sugar (I use this ratio, very cinnamon-y and good)
a pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Line a small cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease it. Unroll the thawed puff pastry sheet and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Lay apple slices over the entire sheet. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar and a pinch of nutmeg. Carefully roll the long side away from you (as you would sushi or cinnamon rolls). Lay the log on the cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the log and slice it into 1/2 inch rolls (be careful, it's hot!). Place rolls back on the cookie sheet and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Allow a few minutes to cool after removing from the oven before eating.

Southern style salad and hush puppies

A tasty combo, and easy and quick to make! These were in the January/February issue of Vegetarian Times.

The salad is just canned black-eyed peas, chopped onion, diced carrots, diced green peppers, sliced green onions, chopped tomatoes, apple cider vinegar. How to make? Just throw it all together in a bowl and refrigerate for about an hour.

The hush puppies recipe is very similar to this one from TasteofHome.com, but they are baked for about 10 minutes rather than deep frying.

Wine of the Week - Heritage NV Burgundy

First and foremost, let's be clear about one thing: this is not Burgundy.  It doesn't come from France, and it's unclear what grape varietals are in this bottle.  Here's what is clear: this is a remarkable and surprising wine, full of all sorts of twists and turns for the nose and mouth.

This is going to sound crazy, but here's what I smelled: strawberry, banana, grape seed.  Essentially this smells like a fruit cocktail.

On tasting, the banana was consistent.  Yes, I'm telling you that this wine tastes like banana.  Tasty acid comes in from the sides.  Light, crisp and cheery.  This wine has a long, long finish that slowly develops into a burnt wood taste.

This is all-around delicious.  Certainly unique; you'll never taste another wine like this.  Whether that's a good thing or not is up to your individual taste.  I liked it.

12% alcohol