But as for you, Sydney? Gee you’ve been good to us. It’s been weeks since your last crazy storm and it’s been nothing but blue skies and a sun with just enough heat in it for us to be getting about comfortably (as opposed to wilting) in our summer clothing. Keep up the good work.
There’s been further experimentation in the SSG Manor 2.0 kitchen with regard to my project with the working title of ‘Exciting Work Lunches 2016’. This week it’s been cold soba noodle salad. I’ve done my usual trawling of the net and come up with a dressing idea from one recipe, ideas for vegetables from another and the addition of smoked salmon from a third. While I think I have the right mix of salad ingredients for me, I have some more research to do in order to find a salad dressing that’s just right.
While I thought Jamie’s Orange and Black Pepper Smoked Salmon would work well with this salad and its citrus based dressing, something wasn’t quite right so I’ll be using plain smoked salmon next time. Jamie’s product is lovely though with the orange adding a twist to the smokiness of the salmon. Unfortunately a Woolies exclusive for those of you who only have access to Coles. Getting way off topic, though, but I wonder if the Coles and Heston collaboration will come up with something similar? Or have they already?
To assemble the salad, place your cooled cooked noodles and blanched veggies in a deep bowl (I used snap peas and carrots). Then place chopped cucumber and coriander on the top before adding some smoked salmon. Drizzle some dressing over it all and then finish by sprinkling your sesame seeds down from the heavens.
It’s one of those light but filling meals that packs a lot of taste in each swirled chopstick-ed bite. I did feel that the dressing had too many flavours in it for me though. There are other recipes for the dressing without the orange juice or maple syrup which I will be using next. Oh, and I should confirm that I do in fact own white miso. This is a helpful article about the differences in miso pastes.
There’s only eleven (count them, subconscious, count them…) days left of Frugal February and so far things are going well. There’s been no impulse purchasing and I haven’t felt deprived due to my lack of new things. It’s been satisfying simply using and enjoying what I have.
Though I did try something a little strange this week. Presumably because since I wasn’t online shopping, there was all that online time to spend on other things like finding new ways to repurpose ordinary household products. There’s a life hack going around the internet at the moment about ways to help make fragrances last longer on your skin.
It’s deceptively simple. All you need to do is apply a thin smear of Vaseline where you’d normally spray your scent and then spray. The idea being that the Vaseline traps the fragrance and keeps its molecules more stable for longer. It does work, but just remember to use a very light touch with the Vaseline, especially as its summer here at the moment.