Ok, I'll admit it: I love ramen noodles. I like adding things to ramen noodles (such as meat or extra vegetables) and I like that they're easy to make. I like eating them with chopsticks and feeling all exotic and like a show-off when I do it. I found the website ramenbox.com by accident while researching sushi (weird). Anyway, the concept of the website is that you choose a regular-sized box (20 slots) or a large-sized box (40 slots) and you choose your ramen like it's slot machine. You pick your flavors and brands and they pack it all up and ship it to you. Each ramen has a "slot" size, so you get 1, 2, or 3 slot ramen (so the bowls might take up 2 slots while the packages take up 1). Then they charge you $24.95 for the regular-sized box and $44.95 for the large-sized box and slap on a shipping charge of $5.
Keep in mind that this is a U.S. company, but I'm posting this because I thought that the underlying concept is neat and could apply to many different genres. However, just because this mix-and-match concept is cool, that doesn't mean that the Ramenbox idea is not somewhat flawed:
1) Aren't those prices high? Does anyone remember getting 3 Mr. Noodles packets for 99 cents? I used to get 3 Mr. Noodles packets for 99 cents. Not only that, the bowls take up 2 slots, so instead of 20 packs of ramen you might only get 10 if you order only bowls.
2) Doesn't every place sell ramen now? I think they sell it in gas stations. Do they sell it in gas stations? They usually sell it in convenience stores in universities and colleges. This isn't Jenny Craig, right to your door, portion-sized foods, these are all ramen that you can find in the supermarket. You can get them at Superstore, minus the shipping charge and extra effort (even though this is in the U.S. and doesn't apply to us).
3) Ramenbox only runs in the U.S., but it excludes shipping to Alaska and Hawaii. Alaska is cold, Alaskans would benefit from a nice hot bowl of noodles!
4) The goal is to ship to college kids, but in the FAQ it says if you're in university and living in a dorm, you need to have a pick-up point because they don't deliver to PO boxes or dorms. This makes sense, but all that extra effort for a box of noodles that will last 1.5 weeks? I wouldn't want to trudge through the snow to my pick-up point in the cold just to carry my box of ramen that might be delayed in transit, especially when I had to put it on my credit card and pay shipping. Should have just went to the store, then.
5) Isn't ramen full of empty calories and sodium? Ramen is great but it's not something to subsist on. I just think of some college kid with $800 worth of Ramenbox stacked to the ceiling.
The reason I like Ramenbox, though, is because of the concept, like I said. I like the mix-and-match concept and the boxing concept. I wish places like Staples would pre-box school supplies and sell the boxes to grade-school students (even though school supply shopping is super fun). I wish sometimes that underwear stores would offer boxes with 6 or 10 slots so you could mix and match underwear and walk out with it already neatly in the box. Little things like that. Well, and plus I like ramen.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Three Cheers for Coffee
I woke up this morning (sorry if that is cliche) with 100% appreciation for eyes that work properly. I could barely open mine.
If this is what life is like for a CreComm sign me up -- but I hope the Lord takes pity and sends $500 in coffee cards. The sad thing is we're barely into the program, so there's no reason to be tired. We've barely had any homework. Pretty pathetic.
Anyway, I just thought I would share that for some reason. I know I'll just get "go to bed earlier," "manage your time better," etc. Which is fine, those are valid points. Entertaining posts to come!
If this is what life is like for a CreComm sign me up -- but I hope the Lord takes pity and sends $500 in coffee cards. The sad thing is we're barely into the program, so there's no reason to be tired. We've barely had any homework. Pretty pathetic.
Anyway, I just thought I would share that for some reason. I know I'll just get "go to bed earlier," "manage your time better," etc. Which is fine, those are valid points. Entertaining posts to come!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Twitterdee, Twitter-dom @ericastef
Top 10 of my foray into the Twitterverse:
1) Every combination of "Erica Johnson" is taken, to the point that my name would be unrecognizable. Like ERiCaJohNson? Or EricaJohnson656? Not happening. "ericastef" is the only name relevant to me that I can remember enough to sign in with.
2) I use twitter primarily to follow the news and Stephen Colbert. Also to challenge to my wit. Probably thanks to Stephen Colbert.
3) Twitter is a good communication tool because it forces people and companies to get to the point in 140 characters or less (optimal for short attention spans). When you're following someone who tweets every nano-second, eventually your short-term memory will be ingrained with their message
4) I have no intentions of tweeting my inner-angst. Which I don't have, by the way, and which I find extremely annoying.
5) If it's annoying on Facebook, it's annoying on Twitter
6) "Followers" sounds strangely like a cult, but I get it.
7) I use the hashtags #epicfail, or just plain #fail, for ridiculous posts, and then #success for good posts
8) the failwhale is cute
9) No live tweets from space, unfortunately
10) I'm going to make the world a better place -- one tweet at a time
1) Every combination of "Erica Johnson" is taken, to the point that my name would be unrecognizable. Like ERiCaJohNson? Or EricaJohnson656? Not happening. "ericastef" is the only name relevant to me that I can remember enough to sign in with.
2) I use twitter primarily to follow the news and Stephen Colbert. Also to challenge to my wit. Probably thanks to Stephen Colbert.
3) Twitter is a good communication tool because it forces people and companies to get to the point in 140 characters or less (optimal for short attention spans). When you're following someone who tweets every nano-second, eventually your short-term memory will be ingrained with their message
4) I have no intentions of tweeting my inner-angst. Which I don't have, by the way, and which I find extremely annoying.
5) If it's annoying on Facebook, it's annoying on Twitter
6) "Followers" sounds strangely like a cult, but I get it.
7) I use the hashtags #epicfail, or just plain #fail, for ridiculous posts, and then #success for good posts
8) the failwhale is cute
9) No live tweets from space, unfortunately
10) I'm going to make the world a better place -- one tweet at a time
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Rambling on Scrambling
I know this is going to sound whiny, and probably no one cares, but nothing annoys me more than when you order scrambled eggs with your breakfast at a restaurant or a cafeteria and they scramble your eggs by frying the eggs into one large omelette and then hack it to death on the grill with a spatula. I ordered "scrambled eggs" not "murdered eggs," ok? Then they add insult to injury by serving these flat chunks of fried egg next to over-buttered toast and two pieces of flabby, flaccid bacon. This has actually happened to me many times at many different places.
I am going to say a couple of things about how to scramble eggs well. Any kids doing science fairs, take note and further my science. I have no culinary training but I have been cooking since I was eight and I've been cooking eggs this way since I was 15, so this is just theory but it's effective. I'm going to list the main points and then explain the science.
a) Introduce air into the eggs and add volume
You can do two things. You can leave the eggs whole (ie: crack them into the pan so it looks like you're going to cook them sunny-side up) and skip to step c, but one of the best thing to do is to gently whip the eggs with a fork before cooking, Duh, how else will you scramble them. This is the most obvious step but seriously, it's important. Don't just stir the eggs, actually turn your wrist to incorporate air into the eggs. What you want to do here by whipping them is denature the protein in the eggs (which essentially is unraveling the protein strands). Once you incorporate air bubbles into the eggs, the proteins that have been unraveled due to force start forming new networks with the water already in the egg and the air bubbles, which then stabilizes the air bubbles into this new matrix. Not only does this add volume to your eggs, it makes them light and fluffy. Beat the eggs too long and you begin to destroy the protein networks through force. Don't do that. Just whip until the yolk and white are incorporated and until you can see air bubbles. If you want even more volume, add approx. 1 tbsp of fluid (milk or water) per egg used. Then incorporate air into the mix.
b) Don't salt them now
Salting your eggs now will draw out moisture, which is what you don't want to do. You want that moisture IN your eggs, which is why my eggs suck so much when I order them at restaurants.
c) add eggs to buttered pan on medium-low heat
for those who skipped step a and moved to step c, this is where you begin
d) fold eggs over each other with a spatula
the thing with eggs is you really risk over-cooking them, hence why my eggs suck when I order them at restaurants. And you don't want to mash them either because that destroys all your hard-work of introducing an air bubble matrix. So what you do is fold the eggs slowly and constantly over each other with a rubber spatula. No scraping once it's half-way fried, no stirring it in circles in the pan from the centre outwards, I mean constant folding from sides to centre from the start. If you left your eggs whole and started mixing them and folding them now, you're still introducing air bubbles, which is why it's ok to skip the other steps. The point is that you want even heat throughout without breaking too many of the air bubbles you are introducing.
e) take the pan OFF the heat
probably the most important step. Once your eggs start to solidify a bit (once you see curds) take the pan immediately off the heat and continue folding. The heat remains in the bottom of the pan and is distributed throughout the eggs, which will continue cooking them.
f) put the pan back ON the heat
what you are essentially doing is putting heat into the pan and then using that heat to steam the eggs when you take it back off the heat again. You want the air bubbles to expand due to gas and you want the eggs to coagulate (form new protein bonds, which is what scrambles them) together gently. Too much heat would force too many bonds, which would make the eggs tough.
g) don't put the pan back on the heat once the liquid is gone
once the water has evaporated out of the eggs (and cooked into them), and the eggs are semi-solid, NO MORE HEAT. They will overcook and be dried out. The heat that is left in the bottom of the pan is sufficient enough to finish them off nicely. Now you can salt them and add whatever you want to them because the moisture has been cooked into the egg. Salt inevitably draws out moisture but the damage isn't that bad now.
If I have missed anything let me know. Once you start cooking them this way you get hooked.
I am going to say a couple of things about how to scramble eggs well. Any kids doing science fairs, take note and further my science. I have no culinary training but I have been cooking since I was eight and I've been cooking eggs this way since I was 15, so this is just theory but it's effective. I'm going to list the main points and then explain the science.
a) Introduce air into the eggs and add volume
You can do two things. You can leave the eggs whole (ie: crack them into the pan so it looks like you're going to cook them sunny-side up) and skip to step c, but one of the best thing to do is to gently whip the eggs with a fork before cooking, Duh, how else will you scramble them. This is the most obvious step but seriously, it's important. Don't just stir the eggs, actually turn your wrist to incorporate air into the eggs. What you want to do here by whipping them is denature the protein in the eggs (which essentially is unraveling the protein strands). Once you incorporate air bubbles into the eggs, the proteins that have been unraveled due to force start forming new networks with the water already in the egg and the air bubbles, which then stabilizes the air bubbles into this new matrix. Not only does this add volume to your eggs, it makes them light and fluffy. Beat the eggs too long and you begin to destroy the protein networks through force. Don't do that. Just whip until the yolk and white are incorporated and until you can see air bubbles. If you want even more volume, add approx. 1 tbsp of fluid (milk or water) per egg used. Then incorporate air into the mix.
b) Don't salt them now
Salting your eggs now will draw out moisture, which is what you don't want to do. You want that moisture IN your eggs, which is why my eggs suck so much when I order them at restaurants.
c) add eggs to buttered pan on medium-low heat
for those who skipped step a and moved to step c, this is where you begin
d) fold eggs over each other with a spatula
the thing with eggs is you really risk over-cooking them, hence why my eggs suck when I order them at restaurants. And you don't want to mash them either because that destroys all your hard-work of introducing an air bubble matrix. So what you do is fold the eggs slowly and constantly over each other with a rubber spatula. No scraping once it's half-way fried, no stirring it in circles in the pan from the centre outwards, I mean constant folding from sides to centre from the start. If you left your eggs whole and started mixing them and folding them now, you're still introducing air bubbles, which is why it's ok to skip the other steps. The point is that you want even heat throughout without breaking too many of the air bubbles you are introducing.
e) take the pan OFF the heat
probably the most important step. Once your eggs start to solidify a bit (once you see curds) take the pan immediately off the heat and continue folding. The heat remains in the bottom of the pan and is distributed throughout the eggs, which will continue cooking them.
f) put the pan back ON the heat
what you are essentially doing is putting heat into the pan and then using that heat to steam the eggs when you take it back off the heat again. You want the air bubbles to expand due to gas and you want the eggs to coagulate (form new protein bonds, which is what scrambles them) together gently. Too much heat would force too many bonds, which would make the eggs tough.
g) don't put the pan back on the heat once the liquid is gone
once the water has evaporated out of the eggs (and cooked into them), and the eggs are semi-solid, NO MORE HEAT. They will overcook and be dried out. The heat that is left in the bottom of the pan is sufficient enough to finish them off nicely. Now you can salt them and add whatever you want to them because the moisture has been cooked into the egg. Salt inevitably draws out moisture but the damage isn't that bad now.
If I have missed anything let me know. Once you start cooking them this way you get hooked.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Steve Jobs won't sell me an iPhone but I still think he's sexy
An Apple Store a day keeps the iPhone away. I keep going to the Apple Store to get an iPhone 4, my one true love. Alas, we are separated by hype. The devastation! I'm not going to pull a Juliet but keeping me from the iPhone 4 because of our class differences (if I buy the phone outright it will be pretty much $800, which to me is $1 million), drives that dagger a little bit closer to my heart. Everytime I go at 4 pm to the Apple Store so that I can stand around like a schmuck only to have a Blue Shirt tell me to line up tomorrow at 7 am for the 9 am opening, I die a little inside. But Steve Jobs is still hot.
This is Steve Jobs' fault. Everytime he does a Keynote presentation in his uniform of black sweater and jeans, his "goin' to Starbucks in my Mercedes with mocassin slippers on" uniform, I melt a little inside. If he wasn't so hot in a creepy logical-beatnick kind of way, I wouldn't want his phone. I bet he reads beat-poetry with a beret on, in binary code to the beat of a metronome -- which is hot, by the way. It's not only that, it's his sexy user-interface. An infant can appreciate Apple's UI. I think that might be my child's first words: "U-I." But U and I are not meant to be together. I am such a good Apple customer, PLEASE, Steve Jobs, quit building hype. Quit being so good at marketing. Separate yourself from your brand so that people don't love Apple so much; so that I can be with my one true love! For $269.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Welcome Wagon
First post! I guess the first post is the deepest? Ironically the most difficult.
There are so many things that I intend to do with this blog. I get excited about little things (hence "Inspiration Superstation") so I want to share everything I can that makes me keep breathing. Little things, big things...anythings! I don't intend for this blog to be selfish. Inspiration is sand, one second it's cupped in your hand, the next it has slipped through your fingers and you barely remember it existed. I need a place that is safe where I can prevent the moment from disappearing forever.
I need to document my ideas and my progress with these ideas because otherwise they will never come to fruition. Not only will this blog have videos, pictures and insights, it will act as a push for me to get things out. I do a lot of things, such as cooking, painting, writing, drawings, etc, and I am quite a perfectionist. Why make cupcakes when you can make the most complicated souffle EVER? So if you are prepared for hilarity to ensue you can follow my attempts at progress. Because I have this blog I might just do something extremely complicated...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)