I decided to take a two-week hiatus recently with the passing of my mother-in-law.  She lived a long beautiful life but death, even when expected, is never easy.

The day we had been waiting for had arrived about 2 weeks ago.   We got the call that my mother-in-law was near the end and we should probably head home.  We made it in time to spend the last 24 hours with her.  Though she was not present during that time we are grateful that we had that time so that there was nothing left unsaid to her.  That was most important to me.  I did not want my partner not have any regrets about wishing they could say those last few words.

The next week was spent in a whirlwind of planning, calling hours and the funeral.  Though it was incredibly sad it was also very joyous.  All seven of her children, 25 of her 28 grandchildren and 25 of her 40 great-grandchildren plus numerous spouses were in attendance.  There was a great deal of tears but plenty of smiles and laughter about a life well lived.

At the center of each piece during the week was the food.  The casseroles, sandwiches and sweets provided by the church.  The salads, pulled pork, chips and dips as the family gathered after the funeral.  The snacks for the young ones during calling hours.   Each allowed us to nourish our bodies but more importantly our hearts and souls as we ate, laughed and cried.

And the stories….  I hope my children have great stories to tell their families about growing up and the simple things they remember.  It is always the simple things – playing in Grandma’s basement, the laundry chute or the baking cookies.  We heard these stories over and over from each grandchild.

So, now as we are returning to “normal” life I am back to my quest.  I wonder if someday my children will talk about this and what they will say.  I know they really like it because they try things most kids won’t even attempt to eat but sometimes  they long for a hot dog or a plain burger.  Only time will tell.

I was looking for a simple meal and ran across this recipe on Pinterest.  Now, I have never had Yakisoba before and only knew what it was by looking it up on Google.  It is basically fried noodles.  I started with this recipe for Easy Chicken Yakisoba from Chef Recip.es.

I simplified it a bit by using a bag of pre-shredded cole slaw mix and we were out of broccoli as I had not been to the store yet so I left that out.

Verdict:

The family really liked this recipe.  They added more soy to the sauce at the table but overall thought it was a good dish.  They would have liked a bit more sauce but liked the overall flavors.

Ingredients:

• 1 large bag of pre-shredded cole slaw mix
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 TBSP ground ginger (or to taste)
• 2 chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 TBSP Canola Oil
• 2 packages Soba Noodles
• 1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 4 TBSP ketchup
• 1/2- 1 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce, if desired
• 2 TBSP sugar

Directions:

1. Prepare the meat and vegetables. Slice the onion into thin strips.  Cut the chicken 1″ pieces.
2. Begin boiling water according to package directions to cook noodles.
3.  While the water is warming heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken strips and sprinkle the ginger over the chicken.  Cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about five minutes.
4. Once the chicken is cooked,  add all of the vegetables to the pan. Stir and cook until cabbage is well wilted.
5. At this point begin cooking the noodles according to package directions.  Once cooked drain pan and return noodles to the pot, with the heat turned off.  Toss noodles with the sesame oil to keep them from sticking together.
6. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, sriracha (if desired), and sugar. Stir mixture until the ketchup and sugar are dissolved. Pour the sauce into the skillet with the chicken and vegetables with the heat still on medium high. Add the noodles, stir to coat everything in the sauce, and heat through.
7. Serve immediately.