RAMEN NOODLE SOUP WITH CHICKEN, KALE, MUSHROOMS AND SPINACH

Good Morning to you,

I was flicking through the television channels the other evening, wondering what to watch, when for some reason or another, I flicked a little too far and found the children's channels. I decided out of interest, to take a look at the programmes, to see if I recognised any.... and do you know something,  I did not recognise one.

Oh dear, I am really out of touch, when it comes to children's programmes.

... but having said that, I have heard about one children's programme.  Notice I say 'heard about' and not that I 'know anything about'.... the programme Peppa Pig. The reason for this is,  our friends, gorgeous little boy, is besotted with the programme, but other than Peppa Pig, I draw a blank when it comes to children's programmes.

..... so I started  thinking about my own childhood and the programmes which were available to us, as children, in the 1950's. The first programme which sprang to mind, was Torchy, Torchy, The Battery Boy, actually, come to think of it, I think it was the song which repeated Torchy and the programme itself, was called Torchy, The Battery Boy.

Now if you are British and you are around my age, I feel sure you will remember Torchy.

If not, let me enlighten you. 

Torchy was a little puppet boy, who was created by Mr Bumbledrop .... don't you just love that name. Torchy, as you might have guessed, was powered by a torch battery and he lived with Mr Bumbledrop and his dog, Pom-Pom, in Topsy-Turvy Land.... and how I loved this programme. I loved all of Torchy's adventures. I have to tell you something,  I always thought that Torchy lived in a land far away, where everyone had strings attached to their clothing.  I did not realise Torchy was a puppet.... such is a child's imagination.... and I had imagination by the bucketful. 

When Torchy was on the television, I always sang along to the song,

Torchy, Torchy the Battery boy

I'm a walkie, talkie toy

Press my switch,

See my bulb start to beam

It's the most magic light

You have seen.

Isn't the brain a wonderful thing, do you know I can put my glasses down and not remember where I put them, but I can remember a song from over 55 years ago.

How about you, what was your favourite childhood programme? 

I feel sure it was probably much more sophisticated than Torchy the Battery Boy.

So from the old, we will move on to the new,

Recently, I have been reading a lot about ramen noodles, so I thought I would try them out..... then what do you know, a recipe appeared in my favourite magazine,  Good Housekeeping, so I just had to see, what all the fuss was about.

I have not stayed true to the recipe, I adapted it slightly, to use the ingredients which I had to hand.  

So today, we are making,

Ramen Noodle soup with chicken, kale, mushrooms and spinach.  This differs so much from my usual soups, because as a rule, I make a much thicker soup and not a broth.... but I have to tell you, I was pleasantly surprised with the results, as the soup was jam packed with flavour.... and more importantly George loved it.

So 'it's on with the pinnie' and today, instead of music, I am listening to,

Thomas Hardy's 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'.  I love listening to stories and often tune into Radio 4, Afternoon Drama. At the moment I am listening to 'The Right Ingredients' by Pat Davis..... but I digress, back to Tess.  There is something so soothing about listening to a person telling a story.... and I am really enjoying Tess of the D'Urbervilles.

So I thought you might like to listen to Chapter 1, 'A Question of Ancestry'.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

So whilst I listen to Martin Shaw's soothing voice, it is time to organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

RAMEN NOODLE SOUP

Serves 2

3 chicken thighs

100g dried ramen noodles

2 cloves of garlic

3 cm of fresh ginger

600 ml of chicken stock

2 teaspoons of soy sauce

1 tablespoon of miso paste

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

4 large brown chestnut mushrooms

2 handfuls of chopped kale

2 handfuls of chopped spinach

HOW 

TO MAKE

RAMEN NOODLE SOUP

FIRSTLY

Place the chicken thighs onto a baking tray and place in an 180C oven until roasted.

When cooked, removed the skin and slice into bite size pieces.

SECONDLY

We need to slice and grate the ingredients, because this soup comes together very quickly.

So let us begin.

Grate the garlic and the ginger.

Set aside for the moment.

Clean the mushrooms

then 

slice each mushroom.

Set aside.

Wash 

and then

chop the kale.

Set aside.

Wash the spinach leaves

and set aside.

Measure the chicken stock.... it is important that

the chicken stock is of good quality.  

I appreciate you might not have the time

 to make your own stock, 

but do choose a good, ready made chicken stock 

as the stock really enhances the

 flavour of this soup.

NOW IT'S TIME TO COOK THE RAMEN NOODLES

Fill a kettle with water and bring it to the boil.  

Pour the hot water into a medium sized saucepan and 

return the water to a simmer.

While waiting for the water to return to a simmer,

Place the sesame oil in a second medium sized saucepan

and

add the ginger and garlic.

Cook for a minute.

Add the chicken stock

the soy sauce,

the miso paste

and

bring to a simmer.

Now is the time to add the

ramen noodles to the pan of simmering water.

Cook for 4 minutes.

While the ramen noodles are cooking,

add the chopped kale,

and

the sliced mushrooms, to the pan, with the chicken stock

and

simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat

and 

add the spinach.

Place a lid on the pan

and allow the spinach to wilt.

Divide the cooked, sliced chicken

between two bowls.

Drain the ramen noodles

and

divide the noodles between the

 two bowls.

As you can see the chicken is completely hidden

 by the ramen noodles.

Divide the kale, mushrooms,

spinach

and broth between the two bowls.

Find your chop sticks

 and 

enjoy.

Oh yes, you will also 

need a spoon to enjoy this delicious broth.

I was really pleased with this soup, because as I mentioned, George, who is a lover of really thick soups, also enjoyed it.  So this Ramen Noodle soup will certainly be staying on the menu in this home.

Just as an added thought, if you prefer to use chicken breasts, then please do, but do not roast them, as I find they become too dry. Instead poach them, which keeps the chicken moist. 

.... and finally, before I leave you, have you had any thoughts about your favourite childhood programme?

I'd love to know.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Leslie from Lamberts Lately for Create it Thursday

and

Miz Helens Country Cottage for Full Plate Thursday

THE JOY OF FLOWERS

Good Morning to you,

Some of us, love to see our flowers growing in the garden.

Some of us, like to pick flowers, take them indoors and place them in a vase.

.... and some of us, as I discovered when I visited Natasha in India, 

enjoy flowers, with their stems removed, floating in a beautiful bowl, filled with water.

Each day, Natasha is visited by a flower man who brings little bags filled with flower heads.  Sometimes he delivers marigolds, sometimes he delivers jasmine flowers, sometimes he delivers roses and other times when they are in season, he will deliver small chrysanthemum flowers.

Natasha, then fills a bowl with water and gently places the flowers of the day, into the water, to float where they may. They look spectacular, oh and not only do they look spectacular, but the perfume from the jasmine flowers is wonderful.  Their sweet perfume fills the room.

The jasmine flowers, in Natasha's bowl, are mixed with small roses, which remind me of  our native dog rose.... they are tiny, but perfectly formed. I have to say, I think they are  as lovely as our hybrid roses, now that is quite a statement coming from me, as roses are my favourite flowers.... but without wild roses, we would never have our beautiful modern day roses.  

I just had to show you the decoration around the outside of Natasha's bowl, because as you know, I am a great lover of the colours, blue and white, oh and I have to tell you, this bowl is huge, it is fourteen inches in width. So imagine it placed at the centre, of a very large, round, marble table.... yes.... it looks absolutely fabulous.

Of course, the bowl does not have to be so big, as in this case. To be honest, I'm not sure if these are chrysanthemum petals, I think they are, but I'm not absolutely certain, although I feel sure you will agree there is a similarity.  Not that it matters, because the colour of these petals, are stunning. The petals are so bright and sunny that they would bring a smile to my face any day of the week.

With the flowers placed on the table, I wanted to show you this carpet, which you can see underneath the glass table.... sorry about the toes. I really would love this carpet to grace the floor of my living room.... I just love the muted colours.

I then discovered these beautiful lilies.  They were placed in this lovely marble dish and I loved the idea of the dish replicating the shape of the petals.

Now you would imagine, the stems of these lilies, had been placed into a block of oasis, but no such thing, the stems were placed into shallow water. When I was taking this photo, the perfume from the lilies was quite heady.

I think one of my favourites, has to be these bougainvillea bracts, which were placed individually onto this dish to create the image of a flower. Here you can see the marble petal dish much more clearly.... isn't it stunning. I am sorry this photograph isn't as sharp as it should be, but for some reason I only took one photograph and I really wanted you to see the beauty of this design. It must have taken someone such a long time, to lay each bract on to the dish to create this design.... as I said, it really is stunning.

The bowl you use does not have to be large and it does not have to be filled with flower heads. Using just a few flower heads and an unusual brass dish you can create a lovely effect.   

So, on returning home, I had to recreate my own lovely dish of flowers.

  

I decided to used this lovely Turkish, hand decorated glass bowl. I filled it two thirds with water and added some Alstroemeria flower heads.

..... another reminder of our fabulous trip to India.

Take care and I will catch up with you next Thursday.

This week I will be visiting,

Natasha in Oz for Sundays Down Under

HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Good Morning to you,

Are you wondering if I have muddled up my days and that I think today, is Thursday?

No, honestly, I am not confused.

I wanted to pop by to visit you, because today, is such a special day.

Today, our monarch, Queen Elizabeth II has reigned for 63 years and 7 months and has become, the longest reigning monarch in our history,  even longer than her great, great grandmother, Queen Victoria.

So in honour of this achievement, I thought, I would celebrate, by sharing with you some lovely early photographs of Queen Elizabeth.  Some you may have seen before and some you may not.

Queen Elizabeth at the tender age of 3 years.
Yes, I have shown you this
photograph before, but
I feel sure you can forgive me
because it is such a lovely photograph.

 Dare I say this about our monarch.... she was so cute and I love her curls.

In December 1951 , 

Queen Elizabeth broadcasting, 

what would become, her 

annual Christmas message

to the nation.

Our Queen at the age of 20 years,
wearing one of her many 
beautiful gowns.

Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh
 at the time of their betrothal
 in July 1947.

In this photograph, you can see the

 Princess Elizabeth wearing the badges of

 rank, of a Colonel, in the Grenadier Guards.

 By her side is

the Duke of Gloucester 

at the ceremony of the 

Trooping of the Colour in June 1949.

Prince Charles was one year old on

 14th November 1949 when this

 photograph was taken.

I love that Princess Anne

 had no interest in having her photograph taken, but preferred to

 investigate the flowerbeds,
which appeared to be far more interesting.

Prince Charles at the age of four. 

If you look at his face you can see he loved

 his glove puppet.

I do hope you have enjoyed these photographs as much as I did.  

In June 2013, I told you about when George and I were presented to Queen Elizabeth.  It was in 1975 and a memory we will never forget, as it was such an honour for us both.

All of these photographs were taken from The Queen Elizabeth Coronation Book published in 1953.

Take care and I will catch up with you tomorrow, as normal.

This week I will be visiting,

Lesley from Lamberts Lately

THE DELICATELY FLAVOURED INDIAN LYCHEE

Good Morning to you,

Do you recognise this little fellow?

No?

How about this?

Still not sure?

Is it on the tip of your tongue, but you can't remember the name?

Well, I think I've teased you enough. It's time for me, 
to introduce you, 
to, 

the 
very
exotic 
Indian Lychee.

Are you as surprised as I was to
 discover the
 name of this fruit?

My only experience of the lychee, was in the late 1960's, when we used to go to our local Chinese restaurant. We loved the restaurant because it was so different. We discovered dishes like Sweet and Sour Pork Balls, Chicken Chop Suey, Crispy Pancake Rolls and Chicken Chow Mein.  Prawn crackers and crispy noodles were a revelation and very shi shi for the time.... and if my memory serves me well, most of these items were not on sale at my local grocers in the early 1970's. I really don't remember noodles or bamboo shoots. I do remember packets of dried food, which included noodles, but I think those new types of food  came a little later.

The dessert selection at the Chinese restaurant was never as exciting as the main courses.... the only dessert I can remember being offered was tinned lychees, swimming in syrup with a spoonful of cream floating in the syrup.  By now, you will be well aware of my sweet tooth, so of course, I had to try the tinned lychees and I have to be perfectly honest, they were awful, so I never ate them again and I never gave them a second thought.

That is, until we visited Natasha in India.  

Natasha had been out and about with George and on their return home, George presented me with what looked like a bunch of flowers.  On closer inspection, I could see they were not flowers, so I asked what they were. That is when Natasha told me they were a fruit, and in actual fact, they were lychees, well, you could have knocked me down with a feather.

Once I got over the surprise, I was excited to see how they tasted. I was keeping my fingers crossed that they tasted nothing like the tinned lychees of so many years ago.   Natasha showed me what to do and once we peeled the outer cases to expose, 

the fruit,

I could see the lychee was the most lovely pearl colour.

Now, let's get down to business, the eating of the lychee.

Within my family

there seems to be two ways to eat a lychee.

Firstly, you peel the fruit and then pop the whole fruit into your mouth and somehow or other, move it around your mouth to remove the fruit from the stone, which is what Gaja and George did.... mmm not my style at all.

Or
secondly
you can adopt my style,
which 
safely 
keeps your teeth in tact.

Using a teaspoon, I scored the fruit from top to bottom and carefully released the fruit from the stone. Yes maybe this technique is a little fiddly, but I feel it is well worth the effort.

Once the stones were removed, we popped each piece of lychee into our mouths and they were delicious. To my surprise I loved the flavour.  It was nothing like those tinned lychees, I had tasted all those years ago, instead, the fresh lychee had the most delicate, almost floral flavour.

....as with the mangoes, because the lychees were in season during our visit to India, we really ate our fill. It was interesting, because the more I ate, the easier it became to de-stone the fruit.... I became quite the expert, although George and Gaja continued with their method and thought I was crazy to go to so much fuss and bother.

..... but that's me, I am not a finger food person. 

Do you remember me telling you, about the very first time I ate a MacDonald's, when Natasha and Danielle were little girls.... I asked for a knife and fork.... yes, I would say that just about sums me up. After all the years, the girls still find it funny, that I asked for a knife and fork to eat a beefburger.

Talking of experiences.

I have to tell you, you have no idea how hard it has been to write the word lychees.... each time I wrote the word, I wanted to add an 'e' at the end. So instead of lychees, I was writing 'lycheese'.... my brain just would not accept that there was not an 'e' on the end of the word.

With a little luck, and lots of proof reading... oh and if you are thinking I could have used spell check.... I did, but it did not recognise the word, I feel sure I have weeded out all those extra e's.

Let me know if you spot one.

So take care and I will see you next week.

This week I will be visiting,

Miz Helen's Country Cottage for Full Plate Thursday

and

Lamberts Lately for Create it Thursday