Duct Tape to the Rescue!

It's been awhile since I've had furniture that I actually care about whether or not it gets ruined.  The majority of the furniture I've owned in the past few years or so has all been not-so-loved second hand.  I now have a coffee table that, while second hand still, at least is in decent condition.  Yay!  Unfortunately, like most wood furniture, water is its arch nemesis.  I've had quite a few problems since I got it with the condensation from my glass or a little tea dripping on it when I take the bag out of my morning cup.  Since I didn't have any coasters, I tried using some napkins to sit under the glass.  Yeah, that didn't so much work.  Instead I ended up with the bottom napkin stuck to the table to the point that I have to scrub it off.  Frustrated, I finally came up with a cost free solution.  Well, technically cost free.

Enter man's second best friend: duct tape.  I've had a few rolls of duct tape laying around for years and was inspired to use it today by an image of a duct tape purse someone had made.  Out came a woven duct tape coaster.  Yeah, it's a bit ghetto, but it works great!  It's even large enough for my favorite huge mug from Rainforest Cafe (thanks Mom & Dad) that I use for my morning tea.

It's been awhile since I've written...again.  Lol!  I've been busy, sick, and depressed in the time since I wrote last.  Still really depressed and it's been hard doing just about anything because of it.  Working on getting into a doctor since I could really use some meds.  Unfortunately, have to go through the insurance loopholes to get mental help covered so not sure how long it will take.  While I'm scared to go, at the same time, I could really use some decent sleep and to be a bit more in control.

Anyways, I wanted to check in and say "I'm still alive and haven't forgotten about my blog, yet".  Made dinner (or lunch maybe since it was kinda early) and I figured I'd share since I liked it quite a bit.  I have found that I really love soup.  Well, some soups, not all.  I've been wanting to try making a ramen type soup for awhile now and I decided to make one today.  After looking at a ton of recipes online, I found that I would probably have to make it up to get something that I liked and could get the ingredients for.  So here's what I came up with (ignore the suckiness of the picture, hard to take a good picture of a bowl of noodles, lol), I'm calling it Egg Drop Ramen Soup:




This of course isn't authentic ramen or egg drop soup.  I don't even know what real ramen tastes like, rofl.  The soup turned out similar tasting to egg drop soup and to the wonton soup that I used to get at a Chinese restaurant back when I lived in California.  It's pretty good, if I do say so myself, lol!  It has to be eaten hot though, which I guess is normal for all soups that I like, but might as well mention that.  Anywhoodles, here's the recipe for it in case anyone is brave enough to try it. ;)  This is how I wrote it for me to remember so might seem kinda silly, lol.  I think next time, I'll layer all the ingredients on top of each other instead of little groups of stuff though.

Egg Drop Ramen Soup

1 Thinly sliced shallot

1 Green onion

5-8 Shitake mushrooms

2 Chicken Breasts

2 Cans Chicken Broth (good quality!!  like Swansons)

1 Garlic clove minced

1 Egg

Japanese style noodles (I got them in the refrigerated noodle section at the grocery store)

Olive Oil

Butter

Garlic powder, salt, & pepper to taste

Soak mushrooms in water for 30 mins.

Broth: Start first

Warm garlic & shallots in saucepan on medium until fragrant (just a few mins).  Add mushrooms & chicken broth.  Bring to boil, reduce, let simmer 20 mins.  Remove mushrooms and set aside.  Beat egg in bowl, slowly add to hot broth, stirring broth slowly as it's added to make egg streamers.

Chicken: Start when broth comes to boil

Heat olive oil and butter in pan until frothy and very hot.  Sprinkle chicken breast with garlic powder, salt, pepper & add to hot pan.  Cook through, reducing temperature slightly if needed so it doesn't burn.  Remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Noodles: Start water about 10 mins after broth comes to boil

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt, noodles, and cook as directed by package.  When done, rinse with cold water, drain well.

Assembly

Slice chicken, green onion, mushrooms

Put noodles in bowl, add broth, chicken, mushrooms, green onion, top with more broth