Tag Archives: rain

Christmas weather (kind of) and Miso!

miso soup

Not sure what happened to Summer over here in the land down under, but it seems to have made it self very scarce as of late. Yes, it’s actually looking a lot more like Christmas around here than I initially expected. The warm summer breezes have been swapped for cool windy temperatures with lots of rain. And while it isn’t quite the right form of precipitation falling from the sky for a White Christmas, it is consistent and unforgiving. Mostly when you’re walking to and from work and especialllllly when you’re carrying one too many bags, as I normally am for some reason unbeknownst to me.

Anyway, I have a feeling I jinxed things with my complaints about the hot wind. And maybe also when I was writing Christmas cards and declaring how much I missed the winter. Ooops.

No matter, I can deal with a bit of wet weather and a cooler climate for a while. It makes drinking tea SO desirable and it gives me more excuses to bake and also make soup. SOUP!

Miso Soup that is. I only recently acquired a taste for Japanese food. Seaweed used to completely turn me off. The smell still does a bit, but I’m really getting into vegetable sushi and miso soup seemed like a great idea last week. And let me tell you, it was.

miso!

I’ve made it twice now. The second time adding every vegetable in my fridge that was about to go off. It’s a win win. Though I’m not sure if I can call in Miso soup after that. Maybe more like ‘Vegetable soup with some miso in it.’

everything that was in my fridge soup

Either way, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Miso Soup the Caitlin Way

3 c. of vegetable broth

3 c. of water

6 tbsp. Miso

4 strips of dried wakame

1/2 c. chopped mushrooms

3 stalks of spring onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

half block of firm tofu, chopped in cubes

1 head of baby bok choy

Whatever else you have on hand that seems appropriate or not appropriate. Or any vegetable ever.

Bring the broth and water to a boil in a large saucepan and add the wakame. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes or until it is soft. Remove the wakame and chop into much smaller pieces. Add the onion and carrots to the broth and boil until tender. Add the mushrooms, tofu and wakame to the broth and simmer for another 10 minutes. Right before serving, add the bok choy for a couple minutes until just wilted.

Take a spoonful of broth and add 1 tbsp of miso. Whisk it up until combined and then fill the rest of the bowl with soup.

I add the miso to each bowl, as it should not be boiled. You can add it to the pot if you intend to eat all the soup at once, otherwise just add it per bowl. Adjust to your taste.

Delightful.

I used a very light miso in this recipe, so it wasn’t a strong flavour, but I enjoyed it. You can use  whatever type of miso you prefer.

x

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The week that it rained forever…

Sydney... pre-rain

On Monday evening I was on my usual stroll home from work… it was darker than usual, but I thought nothing of it. Perhaps I’d left a little late, maybe there was some minor cloud cover, no big deal. As I came out of the park I took a deep breath of the fresh air and admired the night.

…And then the heaven’s opened up and the rain began to pour.

I was almost home, but it didn’t matter… I ran the rest of the way and still ended up looking like a drowned rat.

The next morning I woke up and looked out to find more rain… but I thought little of it, and just slapped a scarf round my head and took my umbrella for my walk to work. I remember thinking, as I jumped over a puddle, that this was kind of nice. My feet were still dry and that was all that mattered.

…And then it started coming down in sheets.

Cats and dogs even. I waited at the crosswalk, but the green light never came. I could see people in their cars looking at me, feeling sorry for me, laughing at me, as the rain fell sideways and soaked me through.

…And then I misjudged the depth of a puddle and water rushed into my boots.

By this point, there was nothing I could do. I kept my umbrella up… but it was pretty useless. My skirt was dripping wet, and my feet were cold. I sloshed through the puddles. However, I made it to the homestretch with my good mood intact.

…And then a car drove up onto the sidewalk and plowed me in the side, clipping me with the side mirror.

I was startled, confused and then just like that my good mood was gone. Who drives up onto a sidewalk and hits a pedestrian? And then just holds up his right hand in a half-wave. The very same wave you use when the car beside you lets you into their lane. Was it an apology? Was it a ‘thanks for moving when my car hit you?’ I dunno. I barely even got eye contact.

Honestly, it’s no big deal… I’ll just move along. Thanks for the raised hand apology. I appreciate that.

So I hit his van with my inside-out umbrella and screamed some profanities that I can only hope he heard. I’m pretty sure that makes us even. No?

Well, in any case, I made it to work in one piece. One soggy piece. I spent the rest of the day airing out my boots and sitting on tea-towels. It was joyful. The brightside? My hair looked amazing, thanks to the scarf I wrapped around my head before leaving the house. Yes… I’m a babushka now. jealous?

This rain continued straight-through until Friday night. It was incredibly persistent. And I love the rain, but I gotta say it put a damper on my mood. I did, however, learn my lesson about walking to work. I finished out the week by taking the bus and wearing a different set of clothes for the commute.

In other news, I did some baking this week… but it wasn’t much to write home about. And I didn’t get any pictures. That’s sort of the problem when I only bake at night. I need a good reflector and flash system. Working on it.

Hopefully next week will bring some better light and better opportunities for more picture taking. I’m getting restless.

In lieu of any pictures that even remotely relate to this post… I’ll leave you with this. Pancakes a la Caitlin.

Hopefully I can recreate and take better images soon for more recipe love.

Apple pancakes with coconut, granola and dried fruit. Oh and maple syrup.

xxx

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