Evening at Midori's

On a cold Friday evening, Mike and I headed out for some noodle soup at Midori's Floating World on Lake. Our mutual craving for a big bowl of the steaming soup must have been rather immense since we typically refrain from choosing Midori's due to the slow service and lack of seating. Yet, the bitter cold of this particular February evening certainly called for Midori's noodle soup and we obliged.

To our surprise, our server was adorable and filled with recommendations (though these were for a local Malaysian restaurant as opposed to Midori's sushi bar...but nevertheless). She also instructed us to re-toast our sake in traditional Japanese fashion after catching us foolishly clinking our little glasses to "cheers." I also spotted her picking up after Midori (Yes! She exists!) as she threw order tickets and pieces of tuna on the floor in an angry huff. The server said, "We are so busy. I feel sooo bad for Midori! She is doing everything!" (Later, a man with funky glasses and a cool hat came out from the kitchen with a half sandwich wrapped in paper towel begging Midori to eat. She barely lifted her eyes from her rolls and made no indication of gratefulness.) All said, Midori's focus certainly paid off. Every sushi roll that came from her bar was not only delicious, it was art.

The noodle soups were everything we hoped for. Mike ordered his all-time favorite udon noodles in fish broth with tempura vegetables. I ordered my all-time favorite soba noodles with Wakame (Buckwheat! Seaweed! Love!) and shiitake broth. I could seriously eat noodle soup at least three times a week. I feel so healthy afterward; satisfied but not bloated the way American food hits ya in the gut. I think I am going to have to try out some recipes at home. I am guessing the soup isn't too hard to make and the ingredients cheap thanks to United Noodle!

Post soup, Mike and I returned home. Turned on the latest episode of Mad Men. Cringed over Don Draper's moodiness and Betty's awful parenting. Ate a piece of pumpkin chocolate chip cake that I made for last week's book club. Thought about roof raking and long runs as we fell fast asleep....

The Infallible Sweet Potato Soup (with caramelized onions)

This recipe is from The New England Soup Factory Cookbook and comes highly praised. I served this at our New Years' Eve Party this year and for my book club (we read "Freedom," by Jonathan Franzen). On both occasions, folks returned to the kitchen for seconds.

Caramelized Onions:
2 tbs salted butter
2 large spanish onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Soup
4 tbs salted butter
3 whole garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
2 cups sliced onions
2 cups sliced carrots
1/4 cup diced celery
8 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
10 cups chicken stock (I used veggie)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tps ground nutmeg
2 tb worcestershire sauce
2 cups light cream
1/2 cup sweet sherry wine (I used a fruity red)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups caramelized onions

For the caramelized onions: In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 18 minutes. Add the brown sugar, salt and pepper. Saute an additional 10 min. Add the vinegar and continue cooking until the vinegar starts to evaporate and the onions look thick and syrupy, 8 to 10 min more. Remove from the heat and let cool. If working ahead, the onions can be stored in a tightly covered container until ready to use. (This is super important...first time I made this recipe, I left the onions in the pan. Bad Idea! It was like removing plaster...)

For the soup: In a stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, and celery. Saute for 10 min. Add the sweet potatoes and saute 5 min more. Pour the stock over the veggies and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sweet potatoes are very soft, 30 to 35 min. Puree in the soup in the pot using a hand blender (Buy one if you don't have one; it will change your life) OR working batches with a regular blender until smooth. Add the brown sugar, nutmeg, worcestershire sauce, light cream, sherry (wine), salt and pepper. Puree again until well combined. Stir in the caramelized onions with a spoon.

Makes 10 (Big) servings.

A couple shots

Oh dear. Our consistency in updating this blog has rather dwindled as we've begin to get settled into our new Longfellow home. I am going to do my best to post a few images and video clips in an attempt to recreate our earliest moments in 3039.

First off, a couple images taken by my inspiring mom-in-law (whose ability to routinely capture both the ordinary and extraordinary moments never ceases to impress me- only to be matched by the late Len Gitschier!).

A glimpse into our dining room:


And our little breakfast nook!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

I must mention the sheer joy Mike and I have in regards to remaining in our current neighborhood. We are moving only one mile eastward so to remain in the heart of Longfellow.

At some point, Longfellow neighborhood has become THE HOTSPOT for Macalester alum AND nearly all other comparably creative, hilarious, and good-to-the-bone folk. (For those of you reading this who, to your misfortune, do not live in the Longfellow neighborhood- it's not that I don't think you are also wonderful. Rather, this here is a battle cry to convince you to move into our neighborhood TOO!). I regularly claim that Mike and I were the first to start the diaspora from uptown to our convenient, more residential spot (but still close enough to stores like 612 Xclusive, thank god). Yet, it's likely that our two close friends who first bought homes in the area were the real trendsetters.

Last night's events offer a perfect portrait of the Longfellow spirit. Allow me to set the scene:

After over 18 inches of snow accumulation in less than a 24 hour period...

After 2 shoveling sessions...

After digging out 2 vehicles from one side of the street and then digging out spots to move them to on the other side of the street (gotta love Minneapolis snow emergencies)...

After countless hours spent indoors packing up our upper duplex and cleaning the awful grime off of kitchen appliances that spent much too long collecting oil grease on top of the fridge...

After throwing away countless appliances whose grease was all too much for us (Yes! No more George Foreman! Remember this is MOLLY posting...not Mike. He might have some other words about this choice if actually blogged once and a while. Yup, you HEARD me, Mike!)...

The neighborhood gang exchanged text messages from our warm little caves and decided it was high time to join forces at our local pub, Merlin's Rest. As a central location, all parties trudged through the snow to warm up over scotch, beer, fish and chips, Harvest stew, and sausages. The walk was lovely; Lake Street was quiet except for the occasional stuck vehicle (which my good Samaritan could not pass without a shove or two).

Merlin's was cozy as could be and everyone was just delighted as one friendly face appeared after another. Really, it was the kind of night that we all long for as we grow up. We crave community and friendship, and unfortunately, for many, this is just not feasible due to career or other choices.

Fair warning, this post is about to get super sappy. Proceed with caution! One of the things I love about Mike is his stability in terms of his friendships and relationships with his family. Our decision to buy a house in Longfellow was pretty much all Mike. He had a premonition that we would buy this house even before we went inside and considered where a music studio could go. Mike wanted to stay right where we are.

This quality is something I value in my marriage and life because, admittedly, I get wanderlust sometimes. Every so often, I am ready to close shop, buy a green trailer, move to Australia, and spend my days surfing with Mike and Rachel, leaving everything behind. However, Mike's ability to find and manifest loveliness and joy within our HOME and within a stable COMMUNITY reminds me that maybe I just need to rearrange the furniture.

So! Longfellow it is! I am looking forward to all the future gatherings that reiterate the warmth of camaraderie, the need for stable companionship and, not to be discounted, the beauty of a glass of scotch or a stout on a cold, snowy night.

Snowed In! One weekend before the big move!!!!

Thank goodness moving weekend is NEXT WEEKEND! Mike spent the morning shoveling (we get a discount on our rent as the "care-takers," or rather, "care-taker," of our little duplex unit) as I walked around with Rachel bounding through snow banks.



Now we are warming up and thinking about which room to conquer in terms of packing! The process hasn't been too bad thus far, but we have our share of goods still left to sort. To be honest, ll I really want to do is knit, drink tea, and listen to holiday music! But, nevertheless, we really need to start getting serious about this moving thing, so I will set aside my projects and gift wrapping for now!

Well, we have some big news...

No, not a baby! Yes, a house!

We had the inspection completed yesterday and no surprises, so I think we can officially announce that we are buying a home right here in Minneapolis! Of course, I had to bring small wonder along on our inspection.

Believe it or not (and you probably won't believe it if you know the McCarthy parents at all as their ability to dwell on any decision is remarkably predictable), Mike and I only needed to tour the Craftsman Style Bungalow once before putting down an offer. Actually, Mike was ready to put down an offer with or without viewing the house first. He was just set on continuing to live in our Longfellow neighborhood, close to many dear friends and the Mississippi River. To be honest, I couldn't agree more with his taste. The bungalow was on the market just for a day and we jumped on it. In this economy, I know the sellers must have been rather pleased!

Here are some photos and videos (with written commentary) taken during yesterday's inspection:


Soon to be carried over the threshold...Notice our inspector and his rad ladder in the background. Next up, a quick video of the backyard (backyard includes: patio, little mud room and backdoor, rain barrel, compost, one car garage with room for the canoe, basketball hoop, and a couple of parking spots...and a fence for the ray ray!):



Now a couple glances inside the house:



"My house...it's never going to be this clean, I think." -Molly reports from kitchen.



Guest bedroom (1) with look into hallway:



And 2nd floor master bedroom:



Wow, both Mike and I are super in love with this place and we cannot wait to make it our home in mid-December! More soon...

Honeymoon Series: Snippets from Day 8

Day eight began with a nature video, of course! Our turkey spotting occurred on our way to breakfast at the Bovine.



After some scones and coffee, we packed our lunches and made a plan to hike up to the top of Mt. Tamalpais!

At the start:


Views from the peak:


Reflections and jokes on the way down:


And, then, on a completely different note, an impromptu visit to my old stomping ground, Slide Ranch. Many of the same goats and sheep were still there! As was my little old trailer, The Turtle.






Meet the goats!
Fiona:


Klezmer and Bata!