Friday, November 13, 2015

College Prep in the Kitchen

Week 1: Region - Asia
Day 3: Local Cuisine - Japan - Not a country known for its poor or exiled, but, I lived three years of my youth there and learned some "incredible" (read, "My Japanese peers laughed at my unconventional approach) to some inexpensive Japanese cuisine. 
Plan: Tuesda Dinner - $5 for 5 family members - Yakisoba or "Fried Ramen"
Final total: $4.05

Story:  We are doing a lot of college prep at our house these days, and tonight we move from the computer to the kitchen to get ready for what's coming. KC is our chef this evening and is leaving for college in a few short months (boo, hoo, hoo).  She is all about flavorful, fast, and friendly food that is easy to make (she wins "Fast and Friendly" in her work at Zupas Cafe at least once a month). She is certain her meal is going to win "Best Dollar Dinner of the Week" according to our new ratings scale. We shall see. 
                      
Cheap Cheater's Yakisoba (cheating because it's not the real, fancy deal, it's the college girl hack)
1/4 head of broccoli or cauliflower, chopped - $0.60  
1/4 head cabbage, chopped $0.30  
2 cups carrots, sliced $0.75  
1 medium onion, sliced $0.50  
3 tbsp canola oil - $0.30  
3 tbsp sesame oil - $0.60  
5 packets ramen noodles and seasoning - $1(cheaper when on sale, I normalized this cost)
Meal total - $4.05  

Instructions:
1.  Prep all veggies while heating electric skillet. Add oil to skillet, then veggies and 2 ramen seasoning packets.  Cook over medium high heat until desired tenderness.   
2.  Boil ramen until noodles are pliable, but still firm. Drain.   
3.  Add 3 tbsp sesame oil to electric skillet. Over medium heat toss noodles in the skillet until covered in sesame oil. Add remaining ramen seasoning packets.  Toss until noodles are evenly covered with spice mix. Add veggies to the noodles. Toss again and serve.   
                     
 Ratings:
1. Quantity
On a scale of 1-5, 1. being, "I was still hungry" and 5. being "i had plenty to eat," was there enough food? 
Me: 5 - Plenty of food. A full serving of leftovers which I will eat for lunch tomorrow. 
Don: 5 - Yes, enough food
KC: 5 - Leftovers
Caleb: 5 - Full
Hannah: 4 - No comment
Category Average: 4.8

2. Uniqueness
On a scale of 1-5, with 1. being, "We've eaten this same thing a bunch ," and 5. being, "This is unique in our experiment," how unique would you say this meal was? 
Me: 5 - This is beyond rice and beans. Most people don't eat ramen this way so I call it very unique. 
Don: 2.5 - Not so unique for us. 
KC: 2.5 - We eat this a lot. 
Caleb: 1 - I've eaten this my whole life. 
Hannah: 3 3/4 - 
Category Average: 3.7

3. Variety
On a scale of 1-5, 1 being, "This meal has no variety bite for bite," and 5 being, "Every bite was a symphony," how would you rate the variety offered in this meal. 
Me: 4 - the different veggies allow for variety I each bite. 
Don:  3 - the variety is okay since it had veggies. 
KC:  4 - veggies
Caleb: 3.5 
Hannah: 3 3/4
Category average:  3.65
Note: "Hannah, do you do decimals?" Caleb asks.  "Nope," she says, "I do fractions."  "Good thing I do math," is my response. Anything to keep me on my toes. 

4. Enjoyment
On a scale of 1-5, 1 being, "Please never serve this again," and 5 being, "Lets make this again soon," how would you rate you overall enjoyment of this meal?
Me: 5 - I've loved this ramen hack since I learned to make it as a teenager in Japan. 
Don: 3 - It's okay. (He never loves this meal)
KC: 4.5 - I like it, man.
Caleb: 4 - Num, Num  
Hannah: 4 - I like it better than lemony lentils. 
Category average: 4.1

Total meal rating: 4.065

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