Pork Lo Mein with Vegetables

There is something immensely satisfying when you find a restaurant that can produce a flavorful, perfectly charred Lo Mein. For the last 20 years that had been a local place near my father's house. But like all wonderful family-owned restaurants, the family-element has moved on and the new chef leaves something to be desired. So I have spent a few weeks researching recipes, techniques, and ingredients to produce my beloved lo mein at home.

Living in the middle of nowhere, with almost a foot of snow on the ground makes for wonderful excuses to mix up some Hot Chocolate, toss in some homemade marshmallows, and flip through cookbooks and scour the world-wide-web in search of the perfect lo mein dish.

If you live in a well-populated area or have access to Amazon Pantry, getting the ingredients for this recipe should be pretty simple. If you live in the middle of nowhere, like me, this is one of those dishes you'll want to stock up on the pantry/shelf items used in this recipe, mainly the dried lo mein noodles. Also, opt for the more expensive brand of toasted sesame oil, it makes a huge difference!

Homemade BBQ Ribs and Hasselback Potatoes

It's been a stressful weekend. Nothing has gone right. Not in my life. Not in my significant other's life.

I love to cook for people, he loves to eat. It works out well.

My dinner plans for the evening did not work out well. My mother made ribs the last time I was in Ohio. They were moist, tender and tasted like the generic bottle of barbecue sauce that she dumped on top of them. Not my ideal food but they were ok.

I set out on a mission to make my own, from scratch. Or at least as "from scratch" as possible. Making my own ketchup would have taken entirely too long. Although probably would have greatly improved my sauce.