Dashi soba soup

 

This, after enough added salt and tamari, really hit the spot. Dashi is simple to make (tonight was my first go), and the poached egg was the crème.

What's dashi? Most basically, it's a stock made from steeping ginger, kombu (a seaweed) and bonito flakes in hot water. You can also buy dashi powder (which is nothing more than ground bonito flakes).

What is bonito? It's a fish in the same family as mackerel and tuna, and when bought in flake form, you're simply purchasing bonito that's been dried, fermented and smoked.

As y'all probably know, I like to make my own stuff from the ground up, so: made the dashi; strained it; cooked the soba noodles, leeks and scallions in it; added some sesame oil and tamari; poached a couple eggs; gently slid those over bowls of dashi and soba; and reseasoned everything. Hearty, healthy, flavorful, satisfying.

Off to bed with thoughts of no snow and springtime dancing in my head.

Little Mr is 5, no school, jam and such

What a happy little buster! He has enjoyed spending the past few days turning 5, and we have loved helping him ring it in. I will say that yet another snow day today made us all feel a bit blue- Ol really wanted to see his pals, Jack needs to have more of a schedule, and I am so far behind on life now it's almost not worth trying to make it up. Serious sigh.

The pear preserves are in the waterbath canner now, and we've made great headway with all manner of thank you notes. I think I might work up some dashi in a bit so that I can make a soba noodle soup for dinner tonight. Sounds so warm and cozy and comforting. I love soba noodles- do you? The buckwheat is great, and I love how they slip-slide around any dish.