Tasty Tuesday; Ramen According to Jenny.

For starters, it's not ramenS and it's not RAY-men. It's rah-men--America's cheapest ethnic food.

It's a proven fact that college kids survive on ramen. Well, this college kid has been running on cheaply processed noodles and small packs of seasoning years before college. And the journey has just gotten started. I have perfected my own style of creating a better ramen, but be warned, this may be for my own taste buds. This recipe is only for the adventerous.

Despite the fact that it's a 25 cent pack of noodles, there are so many ways to eat ramen. First, let's go through the varieties of your average Maruchan brand ramen noodle, with all the best flavors bolded.: -Beef, Cheddar Cheese, Chicken Roast, Chicken Cajun, Chicken Creamy, Chili-Habenero with Shrimp, Chili Lime Shrimp, Hot & Spicy Beef, Jalapeño Cheddar, Lime Shrimp, Oriental, Pork, Roast Beef, Shrimp.

These flavors are the most versatile, save for Chili Lime Shrimp, which is what I usually use for this recipe. I often prefer cup noodles to the bags, but when you're making elaborate ramen, like I will show you how, packaged ramen is the best to use.


Here's What You Need:
-Franks Red Hot
-Lemon/Lime Juice
-Garlic Salt [optional]
-Chili Pepper
-Sesame Oil/chili sesame oil
-kim chee
-Green Onion


Making your ramen not so plain is simple. What goes good in a soup? I figured out that the best food to put into a bowl of ramen that you don't have to get in Asia is green onions. It adds extra flavor to that wimpy pack they give you, and a little bit more than soft noodles to chew on. If you have access to asian food, I suggest getting Kim-Chee, which is pickled and spiced cabbage. Taste it before you put it in your ramen, but I personally love it.

Here's What You Do:
Cook the ramen according to directions. While the ramen is boiling, add either chili sesame oil or sesame oil and chili powder if you can't find that variety. When it's done, pour out half the broth. Next put in at least 3/4 of a tablespoon of Franks. Franks is pretty strong, so you don't want to overpower the other flavors, just a little bit will do. Then put in at most a teaspoon of lemon or lime juice. Put in a few sprinkles of garlic salt if you want a slight garlicy taste. Mix it all together. Cut an entire green onion into slices and sprinkle on top. Next add some kim-chee, according to your taste. I put a small pile on top. And from there, just eat. Don't mix the kim chee in, since you'll want it to retain a little bit of it's chill from the fridge, but still get heated by the broth.

Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos

Review Wednesday

Has God ever created a more perfect chip than the Spciy Sweet Chili Dorito chip? I do believe he hasn't. Sure, the Late-Night Flavors are really authentic [the taco flavored chip actually tastes like a taco] and then you have the classics [Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch]. Even the Explosions [pour extra flavor onto your chip!] and the combination ones [ranch and pizza!] are good. But none of them can compare to the most exotic flavor; spicy and sweet chili.

Sweet and spicy sounds a rather odd combination, but if you've ever tasted south-asian food [chinese, thai, philipino] then you'll know that it's actually rather good. This Dorito flavor takes your average sweet-and-spicy taste and gives it an addicting kick. At first, there's a tang that fills your mouth as you slip the chip in. Then when you crunch down, a subtle heat is released, followed by a sweet after taste. Sounds like fun right?

Good For:
-Munchies [of course]
-Sadness [it makes you passionate!]
-Scaring people away with your breath

Bad For:
-Getting all the time [they're really rare to find actually. Try Wal-Mart]
-Losing weight
-Being jewish [it has pork enzymes in it!]

Breakfast Fried Rice According To Jenny

Tasty Tuesday

Fried rice; rice, onions, peas and carrots all fried together in a wok with soy sauce. Simple, yet delicious. Fried rice has always been a popular breakfast choice in my parent's house. And I am here to tell you that nobody can make fried rice the way my mother can. No other place that serves fried rice can create the hunger-creating aroma of my mom's fried rice. No chinese fast food fried rice can even contend with the taste of homemade fried rice.

Fried rice is not one of my specialities. I've tried many times, but there seems to be a certain trick to doing it right that only people from Hawaii can seem to do. This morning, while scrounging through my very bare refigerator, I saw that I had leftover rice and decided to try my hand at it once again. It came out good, but not as good as my mothers. But then again, nobody can make it as good as hers. I stress this because I want to let you know that even if you make this recipe and it turns out good, if you want authentic fried rice, go to her.

Here's What You'll Need: [recipe made on a single serving]
2 peices of bacon
about a cup of leftover rice. [It must be leftover rice. Don't ask me why]
an egg
2 green onions or a slice of white onion [dice it]
1 tablespoon soy sauce or oyster sauce [oyster sauce is the "secret sauce" according to my neice. Fried rice does taste better with it, but soy sauce will do just fine[


Here's What You Do:
Fry the bacon first. Leave the grease in the pan and set the bacon aside. Pour the cold, leftover rice into the frying pan on medium heat and let it fry until some grains start to get a little brown on them. Add the soy sauce, and fry until the rice looks like it's soaked up most of the soy sauce. [It should look more dry than when you first put in the soy sauce] Next, add an egg. Just crack the egg, pour it over and stir the rice until the egg fries. This is not the conventional way of doing it, but it's really easy. I'm all about doing things in one frying pan. After it looks like the egg is all fried up, pour it into a bowl. Next, cut the bacon up into tiny peices and sprinkle it over. Now you have fried rice Jenny style!

Sweet Salsa

Should salsa be sweet? I don't know, ask your taste buds. Do they like that sugarey tastes or savory tastes? Or are they one of those buds that like a mix of both. If this is the case, they would beg for cherry salsa.

My grandmother and aunt found Cherry Republic in Traverse City when my grandfather was getting his surgery. It is a cherry haven. They have everything you can ever want in cherry flavors-- cherry balsamic vinegar, cherry sangria, cherry soap... and cherry salsa. It sort of reminds me of that Pepto Bismol commerical; "My friend is having a cherry overload!" Really, this store is only for hardcore cherry lovers.

My grandmother brought home this cherry salsa. I was a little bit weiry, but I try everything. It's sweet, it tastes like a cherry, but it also has a moderate amount of tomatoes and quite a kick to it. I don't know how much I love it as a snack with chips, it's a bit too sweet for my taste, but I'm not really a sweets kinda gal. But it is delicious as a marinade and garnish for chicken. Leave the chicken in the salsa, let it soak up the flavor, then bake it with the salsa on it. With what you have left from the jar, top it off.

You can order cherry salsa here and you can find all things cherry at http://www.cherryrepublic.com/

Don't forget the cherry Pepto!