I'm thinking of growing mushrooms.

So I got the idea in my head that

P1 I like mushrooms
P2 I like growing stuff

and thus, by some sort of transitive manipulation,

C1 I should like growing mushrooms.

I'm looking into it and I'm suck between growing Shiitake, Nameko, or Cinnamon Cap mushrooms. The first has a good variable temperature range optimal up to 75 F, while the latter two like cooler climes, Max temp 50F.

I really want to grow the latter, but probably won't, since even int he winter, my apartment doesn't come close to staying in that range.

The only thing is that they're kind of expensive. It's gonna be 27ish dollars Plus S&H for what will (If I'm lucky) end up as 2-3 pounds of mushrooms, and if I'm really lucky, spawn material.

However, the allure of Nameko stews or in soy sauce on rice, butter-sauteed cinnamon caps, or fresh shiitake for stir fry or soup is tempting.

Makes me want to splurge on mushrooms.

Ramen: I think Momofuku is overhyped

I went to eat at Momofuku Noodle Bar in Manhattan today, and I really have to say I'm not impressed.

While the restaurant seems to capture the idea of the typical ramen stand (Coziness, benches, long countertops, ready availability of booze) the quality of the ramen, soup, and fixins was surprisingly mediocre. The only salvation was that the bowl was huge; enough for me to mentally half-justify paying what I did for it.

I got their house ramen: Momofuku Ramen ($14)

Noodles: Rather generic. No intrinsic flavor per se, or at least not one that I'd really want to eat again. Kind of generically starchy. Lacks chew, but that's a personal preference. Didn't take up soup well, as I mostly got the flavor of the noodles, which masked the soup rather than complemented it.

Soup: Also surprisingly untasty. When i think of ramen, I expect a sort of pungent soup, or at least one that doesn't taste muddy (i.e. cloudy, or overcooked). Still, it's a passable soup. Hot, savory, but really nothing extraordinary.

Fixins: Peas in ramen works fairly well, though a few of them felt undercooked. The pickled bamboo was standard fare. I don't think poached egg works as well in ramen as hard-boiled, especially when the poached egg is cold. There were two types of pork. One was a trilayer pork, seemingly roasted. The other was pork shoulder, with a texture not unlike southern pulled pork. Both were actually pretty good, but neither of them set off my palate. I don't know if it was because the flavor diffused into the soup, or if the pork itself was unremarkable. The seaweed and fish cakes were as expected, but my friend indicated that the latter were "very salty."

If anything, it reminds me of a joke about Starbucks; You're going in to pay 10 bucks for the ramen, and 4 bucks for the hipness of it.

For $14, it's worth getting if you really want ramen/fixins. It's not bad, but it's not something I'd go out of my way to get again. At some point, I'd rather buy curry ($6), two hand rolls ($3), and a drink ($2), at the cafe above JAS Mart and still have enough for some baked goodies to take home from Panya ($3+tip).

Inaugural post: I Get Hungry When I Write

So I decided to start a personal-ish blog for my various escapades in foodery.

I did this when I had a Xanga account, and I did this on my LJ Account for a little while, until i puttered off, mostly due to the fact that my my digital camera ate all of my batteries, and I was caught up in a whirlwind of unemployment and learning.

This time around, I have enough free time to start trying to blog about stuff I make, and it's going to be anything from pretty-ish food I make, to places I eat, to new stuff, to anything I feel deserves attention, even stuff I make that deserves mocking attention (Which is the best kind, imo. I like to laugh.)

I mostly cook big, involved-ish things when I'm stressed. It's a good way to go. Not only do I get to beat the stuffing out of something (Or into something), I also get dinner or snacks in the process.

Case in point:

I'm applying to medical school. I'm a little laggy on the application mostly because the essay has been giving me fits. It's not an easy essay. This is my second time applying, so I'm writing two essays in one, covering how exactly taking this year off means I haven't been a resource-mooching slacker, as well as Why I Want to Be a Doctor.

Given that the weather's been gloomy, rainy, and chillier than usual, I decided to bake soemthing. A recent article on Slashfood did the trick.

No pics this time, just a repost of the recipe, with a few extra technical bits added in:

Laurie Colwin's Gingerbread as done by me.

Ingedients:
Creaming Stuff
1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, softened (1 stick)
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Molasses
2 Eggs, Beaten

Dry Goods
1-1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tbs Ground Ginger^
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Ground Cloves
1/4 Tsp Allspice

Wet stuff
1/2 cup Milk**
2 tbs Yogurt**
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Hardware/Oven
Preheat to 350 Fahrenheit
9 inch Round Cake Pan

1. Using a fork, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy, then add the molasses. Mix well.
2. Add in two eggs. Mix well
3. In separate bowls each, combine the wet stuff and stir well. Sift the Dry Stuff together
4. Add the Dry goods in 3 doses total, alternating with 2 doses of the Wet Stuff. Mix well each time. (or if you're using a mixer, look at the pretty colors, but be sure it's mixed well before adding the next dose.)
5. Bake for thirty minutes (The recipe advises to check after twenty minutes have passed). Test with a toothpick and take a piece before allowing to cool on a rack, 'cause I'm that impatient. (Also, be aware that your pan might not be enough. My batter took up about half of my pan's volume without spillage, whereas the Slashfood poster had some problems with overflow. A cookie sheet is suitable disaster insurance)

*You can change this based on how gingery you want it.
**OR (Original recipe) says buttermilk. I used all mine up on fried chicken recently. The recipe suggests what i used as an alternative.

The recipe deviates a bit from the one posted on Slashfood. However, since I'm a) a scientist-type, and b) a scientist-type with friends who can barely boil an egg without setting something on fire, I'm giving, in detail, an account of the techniques I used. Maybe someone will come along and tell me how I'm doing it wrong. That would make me happy.

It's not raining anymore, but hot gingerbread is awesome (and hot! Ow.), especially when you want to destroy the one incomplete thing that's keeping you from submitting the Primary application.