There are so many âfirstsâ in our lives. First time ever meeting someone who becomes a special someoneâ¦a friend or even more significant. And of course there are plenty of firsts to be praised, clapped for and duly noted when you have a child or a pet.
It feels like it might be time for the first snowflake of the season…
So many firsts also happen in the kitchen, from that very first spoonful of pablum! A lot of important âstuffâ seems to happen in the kitchen and it feels like itâs time to give the kitchen itâs due.
How about the first time helping Mom in the kitchen, measuring and mixing like a chemistry lesson in heaven. Food bubbling on the stove while a magical combination of ingredients transforms into something completely unexpected⦠like a chocolate birthday cake with Sea Foam Icing… which leads me to…
First time licking the beaters or spoon or entire bowl…
First recipe card⦠I still have my Granâs box of recipe cards â¥
First cookbook, I think it was and is the one I still pull out when looking for temperature and times.
First recipe mastered⦠I know, I’ve already mentioned the Flour Fudge. (Should have made Gran’s “Remarkable Fudge”â
First bake sale at school when you prayed someone would buy your Flour Fudge.
Your very first kitchen of your own, when all of the utensils were bought as a set on sale or handed down.
First set of dishes and how important it felt to select a pattern that reflected your personality, whether it was a pretty floral china, bright/white ceramic or rustic clay pottery.
First dinner party planned and almost successfully executed for friends. Excepting, perhaps, that cracked wooden salad bowl that found its way into the dishwasher and the dish languishing in the microwave.
First time baking cookies with your own kids with more flour finding itâs way onto their cheeks than in the bowl.
First Christmas baking marathon with an awesome friend and the bundled plates of treats bestowed on family, friends and teachers.
First kitchen entertaining disaster⦠already mentioned here.
First Diet⦠when everything is emptied out of the kitchen and even your pantry starts looking sad. When the cupboards are bare and not an ounce of chocolate is in sight. (Note to self: stop going into the pantry, searching for a morsel that you know isn’t in there because you were the one who threw it all out).
First family Turkey Dinner held in your own home for a crowd, who knew you could bake a turkey!! And the stuffing!! Thank god your Dad and Mom helped… and your dad carved the turkey!!
First Christmas morning with waffles or Wife Saver and Cinnamon Buns and coffee to wake up for the final time (after asking your kids to go back to bed every hour on the hour)
First kitchen hockey party (or soccer, basketball, orchestraâ¦) with lots of wine, beer and laughter.
First taste of something completely out of the ordinary (I love this one!) when your mouth is surprised and your mind searches like a hung-up computer loop for a match and canât find one. I think they call this an âamuse boucheâ:)
How could I forget the first time writing a Blog Post, now that was scary wasnât it??
One of my very first salad attempts was an Asian Mandarin Noodle Salad. I bet you know the one⦠vinegar, oil, and the packet of Ichiban seasoning thrown in⦠noodles, cabbage, sesame seeds⦠I thought I was a Cordon Bleu Chef pulling that one off!
Well, today isnât my âFirstâ time trying to eat healthy, but it could still be considered âDay Oneâ of the never-ending cycle of nutritious eating. It always starts with such grand intentions and eventually diminishes until the decision is made that it really is better to live to eat than eat to live. It is also Day One of my husband’s cleanse. (Any bets on the duration of that one can be emailed directly.)
I love this salad⦠itâs a mixed combination (like my dog!) or “overlap” of recipes Iâve found here and there and have decided that itâs really one of the best Iâve tasted. Harris Salat’s Wafu dressing was the starting point and then I meandered off the track. Wafu means Japanese style. It is definitely reminiscent of the old Noodle Salad but made from scratch with such flavorful ingredients. The first bite is sour, then sweet and complex. I think you could pour this dressing on any salad and it would be delicious! It makes enough to use for a few days, but keep it refrigerated.
And because Ichiban means âNumber Oneâ Iâve decided to name itâ¦
âNumber Oneâ Salad
- 1/2 cup brown rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine)
- 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 2-3 cups red leaf lettuce
- 1 cup red cabbage
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 pear, chopped
- black sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup roasted mixed nuts
- 1 package dry asian noodle soup (such as Ichiban)
- Many of the ingredients in this recipe are found in local grocers. I shopped at a local natural food store (Blush Lane) to pick up the Brown Rice Vinegar, Mirin and black sesame seeds.
- In a glass mason jar mix together all ingredients from the brown rice wine to the fresh ginger.
- Wash, pat dry then slice red leaf lettuce and cabbage with a knife to make long, rectangular pieces. Add cilantro, onions. Sprinkle generous pinches of black sesame seeds. Stir or mix salad together with your hands.
- Just before serving, arrange salad on plates, then top with pear, extra black sesame seeds, a sprinkling of nuts. Then crunch a few pieces of uncooked noodles on top.
- Shake your dressing then, with a teaspoon, drizzle dressing over top.
- Serve immediately.
first time leaving a comment..! I envy you for having your grandmothers handwritten recipes!
I like the salad too!
Have a nice day!
Thanks, Eri:) Just about to visit your website… glad you came by. It almost makes me cry when I look at her handwriting and read her notes…
I love this post! It tugged on my heart strings! The salad looks amazing and one I’m going to try. :O)
Awww, thanks Rhoda:)
An entertaining list of “Firsts” + an incredible salad = 1 great post!
I can only imagine your list… growing up in such an interesting family:)
Marvelous! A great-sounding recipe and a wonderful recital of Firsts. The fudge recipe and reminiscences of kitchen fiascoes remind me of an aunt trying the recipe for Can’t-Fail Fudge and having it go south on her. How cruel to set up your acolytes for emotional self-flagellation if your recipe doesn’t work for them! 😉 But it made mighty tasty ice-cream sauce in the event, so my auntie and we all forgave the recipe perpetrator eventually. 🙂
Too funny… I always recheck my ingredients for that very reason. I hope someone would be so kind to let me know if they didn’t work! I love that you used it for ice cream sauce:)
What a great post. Now I’m thinking of my firsts!
Thanks! I’d love to hear yours, everyone’s are so different!
I adore salads as you know, and am always looking for new dressings, this really is lovely smidge.. Loved your Always list! c
Thanks so much, c:) It’s been a lot of work catching up on everyone’s blogs. Funny how being away you can miss people from these pages:)
How precious to have your Gran’s box of recipe cards. That is something to treasure for sure.
Guarded treasure for sure! I’m trying to figure out a way to make copies for my brothers and cousin!
Sounds scrumptious! I especially love though the whole notion of your post! Really wonderful!
Thanks so much!
I loved this post. I can think of the first bowl I licked and that was when my mom made homemade brownies lol. I couldn’t stop eating them. You brought back such wonderful memories.. Thanks 🙂
I’m thinking of making brownies and mailing them to my son… they’re one of his favorites. I’m glad you have wonderful memories, I’d love to hear about them:)
This is a wonderful sharing dear Smidgen! How beautiful these precious handwriting recipes of your grandmothers. I felt as you in my heart… How I wished my grandmother’s recipes would have been written in somewhere else… And never I asked her and she never taught me too. Maybe because of this, I love to share and to write everything, I don’t want anything to be forgotten. It touches me… And about your firsts! You are amazing, I enjoyed to read them. But to be honest I haven’t thought of this before and you made me to think now… Maybe I can make some of list as yours… If I can remember 🙂 And yessssssss, this is delicious salad! I loved it. Also the photographs too! You did a great article, it was so enjoyable, Thank you, Have a nice and enjoyable weekend, with my love, nia
I’m so happy you decided to post your list of firsts. I’ve commented over at your other blog… what an interesting and very different life it must be living in your country. I loved reading your stories! xo Barb
[…] https://justasmidgen.com/2011/10/27/number-one-salad-and-the-first-of-many/#comment-623 […]
Here is the link dear Smidgen… Thanks and Love, nia
http://acupofteawithnia.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/first-things-about-my-kitchen/
It was so awesome and sweet to read what you’ve written. Isn’t it interesting and exciting getting to know other bloggers from different parts of the world! I’m honored that you wrote a blog after mine:)
I have my great grandmother’s box of recipes too! It’s one of my most prized possessions!!
How wonderful to have a box of your grandmother’s recipes!
This salad sounds wonderful, too. I’m always looking for new salad recipes, especially with an Asian twist. Thanks!
[…] Kitchen Strawberry Salad in the morning paper, I recognized some ingredients from my favorite ramen “Number One” Salad. One thing led to another and our family has a new favorite salad that will gently ease us […]