april showers

i suppose it's fitting that april kicked off with a good dose of showers, making sure that it lives up to its promise to bring us flowers in may.

rainy days don't really bum me out (unless i have to be outside for long periods of time), especially in spring. today seemed a perfect example of my favorite poem, in Just by e.e. cummings. to quote, "it's spring when the world is puddle-wonderful."

today was puddle-wonderful.

looking out of my window, though no raindrops are stuck to the screen, reminds me of "raindrop races." having moved a few times while growing up and having a mother who's afraid of flying, i got used to the long car rides at a young age. we made the trip from pittsburgh to chicago (8+ hours of corn and soybeans... i wrote a song once) multiple times a year, and florida, virginia, and other southern locations were my vacation spots. i loved the dull hum of the tires on the pavement, and i loved when it rained. i'd stare at (not out of) the window, mesmerized by the raindrops that quickly slid across the glass. i'd start in the top right corner, pick one, and watch it skate diagonally to the left, hoping it would beat out all the others. i'd root for one, and then start all over again. 

i miss raindrop races. 

yesterday was a particularly horrible day, even though it was sunny and warm. i was pressed for time with dinner, and i wanted soup but not from a can. i opened macgourmet, and a clip from mark bittman's blog caught my eye. i'd been meaning to try his egg noodles in soy broth, and i remembered the pack of tofu shiratake noodles i picked up at wegmans on saturday. i can't say enough about how much i love these noodles. they're made from tofu and yam flour, and as long as you rinse them really well (they have a funky smell in the package), they're fabulous. 

i went for the ketchup option. i didn't have any sesame oil or sriracha, so i used a dash of tabasco and added in a dot of ginger paste. the broth doubled as a perfect dipping sauce for my little individually-wrapped sponge bob square pants organic edamame as a side. this is SUCH an easy recipe, and it's absolutely delicious.

due to the hell-ish nature of this week, i'm in serious need of some baking-therapy this weekend. i'm going to tackle the croissants from the joy of cooking. wish me luck!