So I watched this video on quantum physics dimensions (yes, times are strange lately) and it explained how humans live in the third dimension, as in, we are 3D, and basically each following dimension eats up the previous dimension like The Very Hungry Caterpillar until you're at this stage where you've got all possible timelines and outcomes to the point of infinity but even that can be shrunk down to a small dot containing all the previous dimensions. The last week has been kind of like this. Things just kept happening that would absorb what had happened the previous day - David Bowie died, Alan Rickman died, I was a bridesmaid in a wedding, Pretty Little Liars returned...and that's just the stuff I feel like going into. I'm not sure if I'm explaining any of this very well, least of all the dimensions of quantum physics which I begrudgingly concede might take more than a quick youtube video to properly understand. Basically: wow, lots of stuff, every day.
I hadn't been a bridesmaid since 2004 and this time around I was there to support a dear friend from high school. It was such a long, surreal day, but really genuinely beautiful and lovely and all the good adjectives and it was an honour to be part of it. I was away from Wellington for three and a half days; during which time my main achievement was discovering that for some reason during this visit Poppy the cat was outraged at how much she likes hanging out with me.
the face of a cat who has just realised they've given too much information away
such begrudgement
waves of disapproval emanating
I made myself this noodle-y thing the day before I left for the wedding, but I was thoroughly naive in believing I would have time to write about it before then. This recipe was born from me running round the supermarket and being all "I crave garlic" but also "I really don't feel like trying very hard at anything right now". All this comprises is noodles and a series of things all fried briefly in the same pan. Calling the tahini sauce "satay" is a bit of a stretch, and indeed, feel free to use peanut butter instead if you want, but you get the idea.
Green tea soba noodles have the barest hint of grassy bitterness to them which keeps things lively, tahini is all sesame-nutty, and the bursts of golden, sticky garlic are frankly the universe rewarding you for existing.
This is one of those recipes that you can add a million different things to - a seared salmon steak laid across it would be wonderful - but is also extremely satisfying in its simplicity. I enjoy recipes like this, where it looks like there's not much going on but you get whammed in the tastebuds with flavour and texture. PS: fresh garlic is a little different from the usual stuff, it is all youthful and mellow and usually has a trimmed green stalk at the top; regular garlic is of course still good. And if you want to use different noodles, it's not going to ruin anything.
green tea soba noodles with fried garlic and edamame beans, and tahini satay sauce
a recipe by myself
45g/a handful of dried green tea soba noodles
three large cloves of fresh garlic, or four of regular garlic
a handful of frozen podded edamame beans
olive oil
two tablespoons of tahini
one tablespoon soy sauce
one teaspoon sesame oil
a pinch of brown sugar
a dash of chilli sauce
sesame seeds, to garnish
Bring a large pan of water to the boil, drop the noodles in and allow them to boil away till the noodles are soft and cooked through. Drain them in a colander or sieve and run some cold water over them. Set aside.
While the noodles are cooking, slice the garlic cloves into thin slivers and gently fry them in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Carefully remove them from the pan and set aside and then tip the edamame beans into the same pan. Let them fry briskly till they're heated through and a little scorched in places from the heat. Finally, remove the beans and set aside, and proceed to make the sauce - throw the tahini, the soy sauce, the brown sugar and the chilli sauce into the pan and stir over a low heat. Add water about half a cup at a time and continue stirring - it will be all weird at first but it should thicken fairly quickly. Continue to add water till you're pleased with the consistency, and taste to see if it needs more salt, sugar or heat.
Arrange the noodles between two plates, pile some sauce on top, then scatter over the fried beans and garlic pieces. Spoon over more sauce if you like, and then blanket with sesame seeds.
Noodles! So good. This whole thing is kind of at its best at room temperature, eaten immediately, otherwise the tahini gets all thick and solid. If you have to eat it cold the next day from the fridge in a giant gluey mass it'll probably still be more or less excellent though.
Going back a few dimensions, the whole David Bowie thing hit me really hard, he was one of those artists that was present and meaningful throughout my entire life, you know? Labyrinth was the first movie that really had a proper impact on me at around three or four (and I maintain that Bowie in that was my first crush) and from then on he was just everywhere. I'm barely exaggerating when I say he gave off immortal vibes, like if he'd been all "yes I've low-key been an immortal alien this entire time and I will never die" I'd be like, yeah that checks out. But there he went. I have nothing particularly intelligent to add to the obituarial chorusing but through his personas he explored and played with ideas of gender presentation while being one of the coolest people on earth because of it, not in spite of it - we were lucky to have him.
found another cat at the wedding to befriend, in your face Poppy (love you Poppy)
If you need me, I'll be over here lying down while trying to process how every possible outfit I could choose to wear tomorrow morning counts as the start of its own potential timeline. I told you I understand quantum physics.
____________________________________________________________title from: La Vie Boheme, Act 1 closer to the indefatigably ebullient and important-to-me musical RENT (from which this blog gets its name)
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music lately:
Craig David covering Justin Bieber's Love Yourself. Welcome back to the singer so smooth he's basically a human creme brulee. Actually that implies crunchiness, but the bit under that is really smooth, okay? And this cover is amazing.
Scritti Politti, The Sweetest Girl. Such an unnerving and stunning song, the sort that I will listen to on a loop five times in a row quite happily, even though not a lot happens in it.
Sia, Chandelier. It's not new but I've been listening to it a bunch lately, if you haven't seen the video but watching unsettlingly incredible dancing and choreography raises your heartbeat then I strenuously recommend you watch it.
Cold War Kids, First. It is just so, so, so good.
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next time: I'm way overdue something sweet, tbh
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