I enjoy watching Zoey and Ethan become friends. In the past week, I've seen and heard Zoey talk to E. Just last week, I heard her repeatedly say, "I'm Zoey! E, I'm Zoey." Yesterday, during our car ride home from my work, I turned around and saw Zoey holding Ethan's hand. She held his hand the whole way home. That's a 20 minute drive. They were both quiet, holding hands, looking at each other. I took this picture with my cell phone at the end of our ride.
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, shortly after arriving home, it's always time for dinner. Today, Henry left us a big bowl of Dashi (a fish and sea-vegetable stock) with chopped Kombu (seaweed) on the side and some Udon (thick white flour) noodles. If you've never tried Dashi, I recommend trying it. It has a yummy, slightly earthy, and sea-like scent and flavor. It's a nice break from traditional American broths and it's easy to make. The ingredients seemed expensive at first, but we soon learned that a little goes a long way when it comes to the ingredient used to make Dashi.
Here is the recipe we use from the book Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat.
First Dashi
One 4-x-4-inch sheet kombu ( a type of seaweed)
4 cups cold water
a good handful of Bonito (Fish) Flakes (about a cup)
Place the sheet of Kombu in a medium saucepan. Add the cold water and bring the water almost to a boil. Immediately remove the kombu (saving it to make a second Dashi). Add the Bonito flakes and heat the liquid on high. When the stock returns to a boil, immediately switch off the heat and let it sit for at least 2 minutes. Strain through a sieve, avoid pressing on the flakes to prevent the stock from becoming cloudy and bitter. ( Save the Flakes for second Dashi. Stores in fridge for about 2 days.
Second Dashi
Combine the "used" kombu and bonito flakes from making the first Dashi in a medium saucepan. Add 4 cups cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the stock through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth. (Or Heck, forget the cheese cloth, that works just fine too. We don't have the dough to keep buying cheesecloth.) Throw out the solids.
Henry threw out the bonito flakes but kept the kombu. He knows I like to slice it up and add it to my Miso Soup. I use the dashi to make miso soup by adding a heaping tablespoon of miso paste, some frozen vegetables we had on hand, the udon noodles Hank prepped, and garlic powder. Sometimes, when I'm in a really spicy mood, I add cayenne pepper!
Combine the "used" kombu and bonito flakes from making the first Dashi in a medium saucepan. Add 4 cups cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the stock through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth. (Or Heck, forget the cheese cloth, that works just fine too. We don't have the dough to keep buying cheesecloth.) Throw out the solids.
Henry threw out the bonito flakes but kept the kombu. He knows I like to slice it up and add it to my Miso Soup. I use the dashi to make miso soup by adding a heaping tablespoon of miso paste, some frozen vegetables we had on hand, the udon noodles Hank prepped, and garlic powder. Sometimes, when I'm in a really spicy mood, I add cayenne pepper!
Zoey likes it too. Plus, she enjoys practicing her chopstick skills. Sure, It gets a little messy. But on this occasion she was able to scoop a small piece of broccoli up with the chopsticks and get it into her mouth with no trouble at all. The smile on her face was priceless. I could tell she was so proud and accomplished.
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