Sarah's Fancy Stir-Fry Ramen

So, due to popular demand, I am going to cook for you guys today. Better yet, I am going to teach you guys how to turn this:

 Into this:

Making ramen exciting is a particularly handy skill when:

1. You're a poor, starving writer
2. Any money you do get is going towards buying a couch before the big sale ends
3. You're eating instant ramen all the time anyway
4. You have that faint hope that your ramen tasted different for once

I'm sure we've all been there at least once. Am I right? *crickets chip* Yeah . . . I'm totally right. So let me teach you guys how to spice up instant ramen!

Sarah's Fancy Stir-Fry Ramen
In order to make this delicious meal for two people, you will need:

• 2 packets instant ramen
• 2 hard boiled eggs (peeled)
• Delicious veggies of your choice
• Sesame oil
• Soy sauce
• Rice vinegar
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 green onion stalk (chopped)
• Fresh ginger (minced)
• Sesame seeds

Yes, you may notice the distinct lack of measurements in that ingredient list. This is because cooking this dish consists mostly of winging it. But don't worry, everything will turn out okay.

Right-o. To start with, we're going to make shoyu eggs, as seen on the excellent Japanese food blog, Just Bento. Why eggs in a noodle dish? They add protein and I love them.

To make these babies, you're going to need some soy sauce and your hard boiled eggs. In this case, I have 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Heat the soy sauce in a small pan. Once it starts foaming, add the eggs and roll them around with a spoon so they get evenly coated in the soy sauce. When they're done, they'll look something like this:

Yum! Remove from the pan and chill in fridge. This will let the soy sauce set a little bit and make the eggs easier to slice later.

Next, pull out your delicious veggies. In this case I'm using ½ cup frozen corn and ½ cup canned bean sprouts, but I'm also a huge fan of Asian stir fry frozen veggie medleys. Pretty much anything can work though--peas, carrots, brocoli, edamame, water chestnuts, cabbage, etc. Just sauté the veggies of choice in a little butter until they're all warm and delicious. Set aside.

Now it's time to get the actual noodles out of the way. If you're feeling particularly skilled, you can do this while you're sautéing the veggies. If not, well, it's not big deal. Just place the ramen noodle bricks in boiling water, cook until done, strain, and set aside.

For a quick recap: at this point we've made shoyu eggs, sautéed our delicious veggies, and cooked our noodles. Next comes the sauce, which will tie the entire dish together. You will need all of this stuff:

Top row: sesame seeds, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
Bottom row: ramen seasoning packets (chicken flavor), minced garlic, chopped green onions, and minced ginger.

Okay, so it looks a little intimidating (and expensive), but it's not that bad. Really. The bottled ingredients will last you quite a while and the fresh ingredients are A) not that expensive, and b) add a kick that their powdered counterparts lack.

So to get this started, add the garlic, ginder, and a dollop of sesame oil to your pot. When making this sauce I usually adjust ingredients based on taste, so unfortunately I'm not going to be much help when it comes to measurements. The thing about most of these ingredients is that, while having more or less of one will change the flavor of your sauce, it won't ruin the dish. Don't be afraid to experiment--too much or too little of something never killed anyone.

Anyway, I like to cook the ginger and garlic in the sesame oil until they get soft and a little browned. This seems to help the flavors come out and make them taste delicious. . . but I really have no idea what I'm talking about. Just do it.

Once that's done, it's time to add the rest of your ingredients. Start off with a splash of soy sauce and rice vinegar. You want to have enough liquid to cover your noodles, so make sure to at least cover the bottom of your pot. Mix in some sesame seeds and the two ramen seasoning packets until everything is well combined. Add the green onions and give them the opportunity to soften a little. This is a good time to taste test and adjust the levels of sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice vinegar to get the perfect flavor.

When everything is to your satisfaction, add the cooked veggies that you set aside earlier. Get them all nice and covered in sauce, and then add your noodles. When you're mixing everything, make sure to get the noodles completely covered in sauce. You should have little to no liquid left over and your noodles will visibly change color when they are properly sauced (feel free to compare the color in this next image to the image of the cooking noodles above).

Almost done! Dish out your lovely creation into two bowls. Cut the shoyu eggs we made earlier up into pretty slices and place along the side of your bowl. And look at that, you're done!

Now doesn't that look delicious? Of course it does! Alternatively, if you're feeling particularly ambitious, you can pan fry up some chicken tenders in a little sesame oil and soy sauce, slice them up like the eggs, and have another element to your noodles.

So, how do you guys feel about instant ramen? Is it one of those foods that you avoid like the plague? Have you ever had the opportunity to eat real ramen in Japan? And, most importantly, do you have any alternative ramen recipes worthy sharing? Tell me in the comments!

Oops! Or, on procrastination

Pahahahahaha . . . this post is so late. I guess that's what happens when I go ahead and watch cartoons instead of blogging.

Speaking of doing things instead of other things, cartoons are probably one of my greatest procrastinatory methods. You know, when I actually am procrastinating. Last night was all about absentmindedness. Anyway, there's just something about animation--it's fluid and smooth and captures things that just aren't possible in live-action filming. I heart it dearly.

And this all brings me to the question at hand: what do you do when you're shamelessly procrastinating? Do you read books? Play video games? Indulge in sports? Go window shopping? Knit, crochet, spin, or weave? Watch cartoons like me? Do something else that I didn't get around to mentioning? Tell me in the comments!

I'm full of crazy excitement!

Look, my lovely crocheted sugar skulls, finally completed!

Today and tomorrow are going to be awesome. I have been anticipating them for a while, so, please indulge my spazzing:

1. Today is Halloween . . . which always equates to fun and frivolity and candy and dressing up in costumes. Yeah, not gonna lie, totally my favorite holiday. I'm gonna be at a game night too, which rocks, and I definitely hope you guys have fun doing whatever you'll be up to!
2. Tomorrow is Dia de los Muertos! Not only is it a cool holiday, but I love love love the entire aesthetic to it. There's just something about associating death with bright colors and flowers that makes me happy inside. Also, I like skulls . . . especially calaveras skulls.
3. NaNoWriMo starts at midnight and I shall be eating pie at a write-in. And writing too. I suppose. If I must. The pie is obviously the most important factor in play.
4. Uncharted 3--which is basically like a modern Indiana Jones in video game form--comes out on the 1st. Being that Uncharted 2 came out two years ago, it's safe to say that I can't wait to get my grubby hands on it.
5. Florence + the Machine's new album, Ceremonials, also comes out. Considering that both my inner literary critic and inner depraved fangirl irrationally worship Florence Welch, I'm a bit enthused. Okay, a lot enthused. Also, I secretly plan to listen to this album throughout NaNoWriMo.

Yes, these are all good things. But what about you guys? Any of you up to anything exciting in these next two days? Any good plans for Halloween? Planning on NaNo-ing at midnight? Any other great music/video games/books/etc coming out this week? Tell me in the comments!

Some snow, a fire, new book—oh my!

Yesterday I said this on Twitter:

Let's just say that it was an exciting day. Shall I explain?

Despite the fact that it's only the beginning of October and that it was 80ºF earlier this week, I woke up to something that looked like this:

This is my backyard . . . look at that poor hammock!

Actually, my entire day looked a little like that, but increasing amounts of snow. It was certifiable blizzard weather with whiteouts and slush and fender benders everywhere. Also, because none of our trees have changed color yet, a lot of broken branches. Driving downtown was a little like going through a warzone, with branches and leaves and destruction everywhere.

The part where this starts getting really memorable is up next though. Our power went out. This, in itself is not a big deal. Happens every winter. However, twenty minutes later our chimney got clogged somehow and smoke began billowing into our house.

How do you fix this? Well, you dump your fire (aka: flaming logs) into an ash bucket and throw them outside into snow. Then, when the fire is fully out, you open all of your windows in an attempt to air out the smoke. Then you freeze to death since, you know, there's no heater because the power's out.

Haha, kind of a ridiculous combination of events, yeah?

Well, things are better now. There is light and heat and internet (the important things). The upstairs is a bit of a smokey . . . but I supposed we'll get a better chance to air it out in two days when it's supposed to hit the 60ºFs. *rolls eyes* Oh, and the book I bought? Ilsa J. Bick's Ashes. :)

So, you guys have any particularly interesting weather stories? I've got another good one about a tornado on Valentine's Day, but we'll save that for another time. Anyway. Has it snowed yet where you live? Or have you ever bought a good book that somehow transformed your crazy day? Tell me in the comments.

10 things I did instead of blogging

Sometimes, we have the best intentions for our blogs. Like a post about YA literature and frustration. And sometimes things come up that prevent us from fulfilling those best intentions. So today I'm gonna talk about some stuff I've done over the last few days instead of blogging:

1. Ate lemon jello. This was not as exciting as it sounds.
2. Finished Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone. It is beautiful and brilliant and beyond words, so you should definitely go pick up a copy.
3. Got a $5 off coupon for the new Lion King blu-ray that's coming out next Tuesday. I've never really expressed my love for that movie on this blog, but let's just say that this is a BIG DEAL.
4. Finally got my hands on a copy of Scott Westerfeld's Goliath. Ridiculously excited for steampunk goodness.
5. Got my last Pottermore email! I'm FlameAsh111 and in Ravenclaw--you should friend me!
   
   
6. Vomited. This was actually a bit more exciting than it sounds.
7. Snazzed up the yellow, crochet birdy mentioned in this post with a bow tie and top hat. He is now the cutest bird that has ever lived. Err, not lived.
8. Painted my fingernails.
9. Fine-tuned what could be a marvelous drinking game for Food Network's Chopped. It's a cooking competition show and seriously, there are so many fantastic opportunities for dunken madness. Which, of course, you should only indulge in if you're legally allowed to drink.
10. Downloaded the anniversary edition of Legend of Zelda: Four Swords for free. Which I think is pretty snazzy. And full of swords and adventure.

So, what are some things that you've done recently that you wouldn't normally mention on your blog? Eat any jello? Or something that tastes better? Tell me in the comments!

It's getting closer and closer

The air is shimmering with heat, the local dairy is a parking nightmare because everyone WANTS ICE CREAM NOW, and the hobo spiders are frolicking like elk in mating season. The grass is in a state of permanent wilt, there are makeshift food stands everywhere with signs advertising corn and peaches, and the remnants of summer construction are starting to fade.

All of these are the signs of late August in southeastern Idaho. Do you guys know what that means?

Picture of the autumnal falls in Idaho Falls borrowed from Laughing Anne.

Leaves that change colors. Scarves. Fresh potatoes out of the field. A nip on the air. School supplies. Insects that will be out of sight because they're dead or hibernating. School buses. The smell of harvested alfalfa. Warm clothing like long pants and coats and other cute things. The state fair. New video game releases. Halloween. Sunlight that starts late and ends early. "Falling back" an hour. Gold grain against a dark sky. Cleaning out the garden. Control burns. Blankets. All the birds migrating away. The first overnight freeze.

That's right. It's almost autumn!

Definitely my favorite time of year. There's just something about, well, all those things I just listed. :D It gets me curious though . . . not everyone can love autumn (what's wrong with you people?!) . . . so tell me, what's your favorite season and why? Give me a heads up in the comments.

The quote-identifying game

As some of you may already know, I'm an English major. So I've had the pleasure of reading a lot of classic literature over the years. While a lot of that knowledge has melted away into the ether, I've also retained a surprising amount. And that knowledge has now reared its head in a bizarre way.

Enter the Barnes and Noble Quotes tote bag:

This is the green variation!

Anyone's that has shopped at Barnes and Noble is somewhat familiar with this tote bag. How so? Well, it's along the same lines as their classic, green shopping bags--lots of text. And if you've ever looked closely enough, you might have noticed that the text is actually various book quotes.

This week I've learned that I can identify roughly 97% of these quotes. Without looking them up. It's somehow pathetic and exciting at the same time.

So I guess what I'm wondering of you guys is this: can any of you identify these quotes? Have you ever played the quote-identifying game (oh yeah, I'm super lame) in Barnes and Noble? Or do you just think I'm crazy? Tell me what you think in the comments . . . and I dare you to get some of the quotes too!

10 things I did this weekend

A lot of people will tell you that the best thing a writer can do is write. And read. And repeat. And then maybe do some social networking. This is somewhat true, but it's also important to step away from that cycle and live a little. So here are ten things I did this weekend instead of writing up a blog post:

1. Went to the Montana Folk Festival and fell in love with Vishten.
2. Ate a lemondairy. It's basically ice cream and lemon slushie. Together. How was it? Well, it was pretty lemon . . . wait for it . . . dairy!
3. Watched Boyfriend play the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood online multiplayer. Not so terribly interesting, but the costumes were super pretty. Lots of ruffly sleeves and corsets and jackets with lacy bits.
4. Played pinochle. Lost miserably.
5. Had a horrible migraine that lasted for about six hours. That was delightful. I also slept a lot and strapped an ice pack to my head. It was stylish.
6. Got tan. Or rather, freckled. This is coming from a white girl who doesn't really change color. Ever. So it's relatively eventful. And I even managed to avoid getting a sunburn. Win!
7. Went to Walmart three times in an attempt to get cash back. Forgot every single time.
8. Saw a bunny rabbit!
9. Ate a bunch of other festival food. You guys don't really know this about me, but I'm a bit of a secret foodie. Because food is delicious. I'll resist subjecting you to the list, though there was a gyro to die for.
10. Had a decent idea for the revisions on my WIP. Because it's impossible to keep my mind off it for long.

So there you go. I did some stuff. What exciting things did you guys do during the weekend? Did you get some writing done, or did you soak up life like I did? Tell me in the comments!

On the matter of squid brains

Hee hee, get it? Ahem. Anyway, I haven't talked about squid for a while now. My inner marine biologist screams at this betrayal, and thus, it is time to remedy the problem. Because my birthday is tomorrow. And squid are cool. Just look at this picture:

And you can thank HURL for this awesomeness.

Awesome, right? Well get this, a squid's brain is shaped like a doughnut. Yes, really. With a hole in the middle and everything. Also, their esophagus goes through that hole in the center of their brain. This is a big deal because they have beaks, so they can't chew their food, they have to rip it off in bite-sized chunks. Therefore, if a squid tries to eat something too big, it can give itself brain damage. Yeah. That's right. BRAIN DAMAGE.

Mmmhmm. The more you know.

So, that's your fun fact of the day. Share it with the people, so that everyone, young and old, can savor this supreme knowledge. But what about you guys? Any cocktail-party worthy factoids for me? Do they dare compete with the splendor that is the squid brain? Gimme your best shot in the comments!

Yellowstone: Animal explosion!

Okay, here's the last of the three Yellowstone National park picture dump posts, and I promise I will get back to talking about writerly things on Monday. Until then, I'm going to throw some wildlife pictures in your direction.

One of the most abundant things you'll see in Yellowstone are buffalo (or, if you prefer, bison). They're everywhere. Seriously. Traffic has slowed to a drizzle? There be buffalo in the road. You look out into the distance and see some brown blobs on the hill? They're buffalo. And they look something like this:

Isn't the baby adorable? They get together in groups and frolic too. :)

After the bison, you'll probably start seeing elf everywhere. They're characterized by their white butts. The black blobs in the distance are pretty much always buffalo and the white blobs are usually elk butts. Of course, both elk and buffalo do hang out by the road, as evidenced in these pictures.

Lady elk chilling out in Mammoth Hot Springs.

Elk with antlers in velvet. They were GIGANTIC.

After the buffalo and the elk, the animal selection is free game. Somedays you can go to Yellowstone and see little to nothing. On other days you can turn every corner and find something new and exciting. One of those exciting things might be big-horned sheep, which aren't nearly as domesticated and dumb as the average sheep.

See that white dot in the center way at the bottom of the picture?

It's a massively pregnant bighorn sheep! That climbed down a cliff face!

And this was a bachelor herd, just chilling in the picnic area. 

Just look at the horns on this sucker. Holy crap!

Now, this next bit is something special because it's something that I've never seen in Yellowstone before: river otters! There are only three otters in the picture, but it was a group of four and they were porpoising upriver.

I cannot come close to quantifying how adorable the otters were.

Now, you might be wondering how I managed to see all of these different animals. Well, you can blame the wolves that were reintroduced into the park. My family is full of wolf people, and once you spend an extended period of time looking for one animal, you start to learn where everything else hangs out too.

While I did see several wolves, they were way too far away to get any decent photos. But to satiate your inner canine cravings, I present to you the less illustrious coyote:

He was just taking a stroll down the side of the road.

For reference, coyotes are a lot smaller that wolves and don't live in packs. They're also found all around North America, so if you're lucky, you can see one anywhere. Even in big cities.

Anyway, now to some birds, because birds are also pretty cool. I have several different bird pictures, but I'm only going to subject you to two. All you need to know is that one of them was crazy and would hang out at a specific window on a specific trailer in our campground for days on end. The other bird is just pretty.

Mountain bluebird--I love how bright they are!

Crazy Bird aka the red-shafted flicker.

Well let's wrap this up, shall we? It's time for the bears! If you were following my tweets, then you'll know I saw a ridiculous number of them. Unfortunately, I wasn't really thinking about taking pictures on the 12 bear day (I was too busy being excited), but I did my best later on.

Now what you need to understand is that most of the time when you see bears in Yellowstone, they're pretty far away. My parents both have spotting scopes, which definitely helps, but it's not too picture friendly. For example, check out these two grizzly bears:

There are some brownish dotes near the top of the left side.

Yeah. Not too great, hmm? However, there are other times which are a bit more exciting, so first, let's look at some black bears:

Black bear that was taking an afternoon nap.

A cinnamon colored black bear that was grazing on grass.

This was actually on a steep incline right next to the road. O_O

Aren't they cute? I love their round ears.

But I sense that you guys might be wondering something though. If some black bears can be brown, then how do you tell the difference between a cinnamon black bear and a grizzly bear?

Well, for one thing, grizzly bears are much bigger and they have a hump. They also like different environments. Black bears can climb trees and you can usually see them in wooded areas. Grizzlies, on the other hand, can't climb trees, and are often seen in wide, open spaces. Observe:

This is a female dubbed "Bling." She has a radio collar and two ear tags. :P

Another grizzly. Note the hump. Also, digging about for munchies.

So what do you think? My pictures aren't all that fantastic (animals don't necessarily like to pose), but I think some of them turned out okay. I also got pictures of a blue heron, a nesting sandhill crane, a female spruce grouse, a male spruce grouse that was in the middle of rutting, mule deer, and some pronghorn. However, I figured that this post was already long enough, you know? Either way, tell me what you guys think in the comments.

Yellowstone: Some geyser basins

Okay, so today we're going to cover geysers and hot springs and such because I'm saving the best for last. Not that the thermal features of Yellowstone aren't cool, but I was subjected to Yellowstone field trips for many years and the only thing we ever looked at were the thermal features. It gets old after awhile. So yes. Animals will be on Friday.

Anyway, the Upper Geyser Basin, which we didn't actually spend much time in. All of the Old Faithful pictures are in my last post, but we did get to see something else exciting:

Beehive Geyser, which I'd never seen erupt before!

Unlike Old Faithful, Beehive Geyser doesn't have a predictable eruption schedule. If you look in the picture, you can see this tiny spurt of water to the right of the geyser, which is the Beehive Indicator. Basically, whenever the indicator starts spurting water, you can expect Beehive to erupt soon after. It only erupts about once a day, so we were lucky to be there are the right time!

That's all I have for the Upper Geyser Basin, but after that we went to Midway Geyser Basin, which is one of my favorites because there's stuff that just looks cool. Observe:

Grand Prismatic Spring--most definitely my favorite hot spring in the park.

The other side of the walkway from Grand Prismatic Spring.

Excelsior Geyser Crater. It's huge and the water is boiling.

Yeah, there is colorful boiling water and crazy bacterial everywhere that makes everything pretty. Luckily the weather was relatively warm the day we visited, because otherwise my pictures would have been a waste. The water is so hot that on super cold days, all you can see is billowing clouds of steam.

There are a bunch of different geyser basins in Yellowstone, but we only visited one more during our trip: Norris Geyser Basin. It's regarded as the hottest basin in the park. Also, if the Yellowstone super volcano decides to explode, Norris is supposed to be where all of the action's gonna start.

Norris Geyser Basin from above. Unfortunately not much was happening.

Puff 'n Stuff Geyser. BEST NAME EVER.

Mini river that's crazy hot and filled with sulfuric acid and bacteria.

Echinus Geyser, which is foggy because of silt eroded by sulfuric acid. 

I tried to take you guys some epic scenery images, but despite mountains and waterfalls and such, they didn't really turn out all that great. What can I say? I was having some camera issues that I didn't realize. So instead it's time for the obligatory creepy tree pictures, because I couldn't resist.

The ground soil is so hot that it killed and then bleached these trees.

Casualties of the 1988 fire. And some tree babies. :) 

This tree is growing out of a rock. Seriously.

Now, have you ever seen some cool hot springs or just the ones for soaking in? Both are pretty sweet, but in completely different ways, you know? And what about those weird trees? It's starting to look like they're everywhere. What do you think? Tell me in the comments.

Yellowstone: Entering the park

So, if you follow me on Twitter, you definitely are aware of the fact that I was in Yellowstone National Park all of last week and that I saw a butt-ton of bears. I wasn't going to talk about it here very much, but then I realized that while I've lived within 100 miles of the park for most of my life, many of you have never been there. So I thought I'd play tourist for you guys and share some pictures.

Now Yellowstone National Park is a cool place. It's a thermal hotspot and a dormant super volcano. I spent a lot of my K-12 education learning about Yellowstone, so I can tell you a lot about these kinds of things. There are geysers and rare wildlife and all sorts of crazy stuff. If you ever get a chance to visit, go.

But until then, here's a small taste:

This is pretty self-explanatory, you know?

Heeheehee. Don't molest the animals. Please.

Now that we've "entered" the park, it's totally time to head towards one of the most iconic landmarks: Old Faithful.

For anyone who doesn't know, Old Faithful is a geyser. Geysers are hot springs where boiling water builds up pressure beneath the ground and then shoots a column of water/steam into the air. It's pretty cool. Old Faithful is unique because unlike most geysers, it has a decently reliable eruption timetable.

Old Faithful Inn, which is super historic. They have ice cream too.

Look at that cute red door!

And the gigantic fireplace of death.

For some context, here I am standing next to the giant fireplace. 

You should also know that the inn is very wooden.

The Old Faithful Visitor Center . . . buried in snow.

I love how the inside window is completely blocked. :D 

Another context image. Me, our truck, and a bunch of snow drifts.

And finally, Old Faithful itself.

See, wasn't that interesting? Now we're going to segway slightly to Gardiner, MT. The park entrance in Gardiner was actually the first one built, so it's a nifty little town. It's also quite close to the campground I stayed in, so I went there pretty much every day.

The Roosevelt Arch just outside of the park entrance.

Historic tour buses that convert into snow coaches, which is just awesome.

And a helpful sign for lost tourists.

Well that's all the pictures for today, but you will definitely get to see some more goodies before the week ends. Including bears. And hot springs. And maybe even a creepy tree or two.

Until then, how many of you have been to Yellowstone? Did you have a good time? Or is it one of those places that you plan on visiting in the future? Tell me in the comments.