Things we're eating: Ramen Bar

One of our favorite meals around here is something I call Ramen Bar. All I have to do is call out, "Ramen Bar" around dinnertime, and everyone stops what they're doing and comes running. And by 'come running' I mean they actually put their cell phones down and make their way to the kitchen.

When I've mentioned to people that I'm making ramen for dinner, I've gotten some judgy questions: "Is a 25¢ block of noodles really a sufficient meal?" "What about all that sodium? " "You're Asian, isn't ramen for dinner just a cop-out and a cliché?"

Once I've given them some serious side-eye, I explain that this isn't your dorm-room ramen. These are fresh noodles that you purchase from an Asian market, and with a bunch of different toppings – all fresh ingredients – laid out that everyone can choose themselves. My teens and their friends seem to especially like this – it's about time we let them make their own decisions, and there's nothing like being the boss of your soup.

Start with fresh noodles - you can find these in the refrigerated section of most Asian markets. Each package has two servings. Or only one if you want a larger portion. Our local ramen shop offers a 'large order' that comes in a bowl the size of a child's wading pool.

They usually have three different flavors available: Shoyu (soy sauce), Miso and Spicy Sesame. The  flavor refers to the broth packet that comes in the package, but this isn't the usual powder that comes in a foil packet that comes with Top Ramen – it's a liquid, slightly oily paste that you mix with boiling water to make your broth. If you're a purist you can even make your own (here's a good recipe from momofuku) but honestly I've been-there-done-that and the broth that comes with these fresh noodles is really good, so why bother? Use the extra time for sipping some cold saké.

Sidenote: While you're at the Asian market you should really pick up some of these to reward yourelf for all of your hard work:

Back to our ramen: Next, lay out a bunch of toppings. I've used slices of chicken, hard-boiled or fried eggs, tofu, cilantro, basil, sliced jalapeño, shredded cabbage, green onions and lime. This is probably more of a ramen/pho mashup of toppings – more traditional ramen toppings would be bean sprouts, sliced shiitake mushrooms, spinach, nori (seaweed), kamaboko (fish cake) and char siu (barbecued pork.) Really, the sky's the limit – just don't do anything weird like french fries or Oreos because then I'll have to send the Asian police to your door.

The broth concentrate goes into your bowl and covered with boiling water. Meanwhile, cook your noodles for 2 minutes, drain, and serve up into the broth with the toppings nearby. Yell out, "Ramen Bar" and watch your hungry family stampede over. Sort of.

(Not to imply that those store-bought, hard bricks of noodles don't have their place. This video of Hayao Miyazaki making ramen for his staff is one of my favorites. If Top Ramen is good enough for the director of 'Totoro', it's good enough for me.)

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I signed up to do NaBloPoMo (short for National Blog Posting Month) which is an online event where bloggers are challenged to post every single day of the month. This is only my third post out of twelve days, which is bad no matter how you do the math.



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I'm walking for Eitan

It's true, I'm walking in a 5k next Saturday. And though I get winded just walking from my front door to my car, I'm willing to give it my best try for this.

Kiyomi's best friend Maya lost her brother Eitan in a fire eight months ago. At 14 Eitan became an organ donor when he donated his liver and kidneys and changed the lives of three people. This walk will honor him and will raise awareness and funds for Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry.

Please donate by clicking on this link: Standing Tall For Eitan

Or, you can send a check made payable to 'Donate Life Run/Walk' to our team leader: Polly Djiji, PO Box 57949, Sherman Oaks CA 91413 by April 29, 2011. (Or, you can give a check to me if I'm going to see you before next Saturday.)

Luckily these two are on my team:



Find out more about the 5k please go to Donate Life Run/Walk or for information about organ and tissue donation visit One Legacy.

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Rising up

I'm going to try not to make this post a sad one, because if you know Kiyomi's friend Maya or her mom Polly or were fortunate enough to have seen her brother Eitan perform, you would know that they that's the last thing they would want. Polly was gracious enough to let me write about them and pass on some information, but I don't think she has ever read my blog, and when she does she might be wondering what kind of crackpot she has been entrusting her daughter to on numerous playdates and sleepovers. (Polly, I can assure you they stayed up that one time until 5am hopped up on frappuccinos and potato chips completely without my knowledge or consent.)

Kiyomi and Maya met in the fifth grade and became fast friends, and I was immediately so impressed with her – so fearless and unique. And I liked her mother Polly as well – unpretentious and honest, with the easy parenting style of someone with four children. I remember one day when Maya was at our house and she fell and hit her head. I handled it in my usual way – screaming for an ice pack, frantically grabbing the phone to call 911 and then packing my bags to turn myself in to Child Services. I finally got a hold of myself, though, and when Polly came over she just rubbed the back of Maya's head, calmly asked her if she was okay and said, "She's going to be fine. My kids have sturdy heads." Just like that! I remember being so admiring of that calmness and levelheadedness.

Two weeks ago this beautiful family lost Eitan, 14, in an early-morning fire that gutted their home. Their loss is unimaginable, but the family has handled it with such strength and grace.

Many of you have asked how you can help, and I wanted to let you know that there will be a memorial fundraiser for Eitan and his family on Sunday, August 29 at the Improv in Hollywood. Eitan was an aspiring actor and had performed in several stand-up shows for teens – there is no doubt he had talent beyond his years. You can find information on the fundraiser HERE.

In addition, donations can be sent directly to the family at this address:

Pauline Djiji
P.O. Box 57949 
Sherman Oaks CA  91413

Here's a video that Kiyomi and Maya made a few days ago. I think Eitan would have approved.



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Hey look, it's bunnies and glitter!

Last week was a rough one, with all the middle-school insanity and heapings of grief from the internet and I thought there was no way I was going to be able put on my smile pants to talk about bunnies and glitter. But I decided to take a cue from my friend and colleague Tracey and write about something happy here, just to change it up a bit. Take that, haters!

Rigel and I went to a wedding this weekend of one of my oldest and best friends, Melinda. I've known Melinda since one of my very first jobs at a design studio, and even though we float in and out of each others lives I don't feel we're ever far apart. I loved that fact that even on the day of her wedding we were exchanging Facebook messages about the hair-pulling experience that is parenting teens, and also how she perfectly conveyed the excitement!!! and the nervousness!!! of the wedding day!!! with all her exclamation points. In fact, she's got me thinking the key to positive thinking is all in the punctuation.

At the very last minute our babysitting plans fell through and we ended up bringing Kira and Kiyomi with us, and I'm glad we did because it was such a beautiful and touching ceremony and I was happy my girls were there to see it. With all the negativity they're exposed to in this world, I was grateful to have them there to witness something as powerful as the marriage of two people truly in love, and all the support they received from all of their friends and family in the room. (In fact, Kira gave it her best endorsement ever; we dropped her off at her friend's party afterward and when she got home she said, "I had a way better time at the wedding.")

It was a lovely ending to kind of a crappy week, and I felt lifted to be there with the man I love, our amazing kids and good friends. In other words, smile pants - prepare to be worn.

Oh, and another great ending to my week - Kiyomi tried to scare me with this last night:



But ha - the joke's on her! I knew it wasn't real because it didn't even move when I started screaming and trying to smash it with the hair dryer.

Have a great week everyone!!!!!!!!! Bunnies and glitter for everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Christine Maggiore 1957 - 2008

I knew Christine Maggiore. I hadn't spoken to her in a few years, and I didn't agree with her views on HIV/AIDS. But I felt her grief when she lost her daughter Eliza Jane three years ago, and I grieve her passing today.

She's been criticized and called so many things, the worst of those a murderer. I don't think of her that way. It's hard to reconcile her seemingly radical lifestyle with how I knew Christine. She was thoughtful and compassionate, and sometimes brutally honest. She found out she was HIV positive shortly before my wedding fifteen years ago, but at the time she told a mutual friend not to let me know because she didn't want the news to put a pall on my wedding plans. Then again, she also once told me that my letterhead sucked after I had used it to write her a letter of recommendation. I remember I cussed and hung up on her. I probably forgave her after she called back and cracked a joke.

Christine had a kick-ass sense of humor and was sarcastic as hell, which I loved. We worked together for awhile, and I remember one day we had to run out to the 99¢ Store to buy a bunch of crap for a photo shoot. As we were checking out we were mesmerized by the mind-numbing job of the cashier - repeatedly punching in 99¢ over and over and over again. After watching her for awhile I turned to Christine and said, "I think I finally found a job I might be good at." Without missing a beat Christine shot back, "Naw, you'd probably get fired after you looked at everything upside down and rung it all up at 66¢."

I've read a lot of things on the internet today about Christine's life, and so much of it has been cruel. I'm hoping that people can look beyond the controversy for just a moment and see a kind friend, a devoted wife and a mother who loved her children. I'm sad that we lost touch, that I had to find a picture of her on the internet because I didn't have any of my own. I'm going to remember how she made me laugh, and I'll miss that.

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tags: christine maggiore

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LA Moms Blog: 'Tis The Season For Hoping You Don't Get a Really Crappy Gift

My latest post is up on the LA Moms Blog. If you're like me your holiday shopping angst is kicking into full gear right about now, and I've listed a few of my gift-giving pet peeves. And if you think it's only the thought that counts, I've got a set of pill boxes with kittens decoupaged on them that I'm going to send right over.

Awhile ago I did a post on my personal blog about one of the worst gifts I had ever gotten. People left me comments detailing their own gift nightmares, everything ranging from a woman who received a bathroom scale from her fiancé to another person who received $1.75 in change as a wedding gift. This being the holiday season, I’ve been thinking about what really makes the perfect gift, and how everyone has their own opinion about the whole process of gift giving. All I know is that during the time when we should be celebrating joy and hope, the whole idea of Christmas shopping and having to find the perfect gift usually makes me feel like punching the first person I encounter in the mall. I think you’re starting to get the picture.

Some people really put a lot of effort into finding that one special item for each recipient, and I envy you. While you spend hours trolling the aisles of funky boutiques and one-of-a-kind stores looking for that beautiful piece of antique jewelry for your aunt, I’m heading to Costco to buy twelve of those jumbo cheese selections to give to half of the people on my gift list. Of course I always include a card that says, “I saw this and immediately thought of you” and it usually works, although I did get a strange look one time from my 80-year-old lactose-intolerant uncle...Read More...

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tags: christmas | christmas gift ideas | holiday gifts | what not to give

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