The documents have been signed!

Well we finally have some news to report on the house... the inspections have been done and the contract has been signed - we have officially sold the place! We got off to a very slow start, but there was a boom of activity within the last two weeks and we actually got more than one offer within a couple days! The only problem now is that we find ourselves in quite the time crunch ... the movers will be here Monday to pack up the house, Tuesday to load the truck and we start the drive to Minneapolis on Wednesday.

Whew - I can't believe this is all happening so fast! Since we can't bring the pups and kitty (Jeff's mom is watching them) with until we actually find the new house, we are going to first drive up to PA to visit them before we head out. This is the reason we have been trying to push through all of the freezer and pantry ingredients this week so they don't go to waste - I have quite a backlog of stuff we have made that we need to post, so at least the blog won't be completely devoid of postings during the next few weeks. I'm looking forward to the challenge of trying to cook or make anything during this time - we will either be staying in a hotel or furnished "corporate" apartment type place where we will hopefully have access to a kitchen. What kind of kitchen is still unknown... all we might end up with is a microwave! Eek! So until the movers arrive, I plan to keep myself fairly busy in the kitchen making cakes, cookies and whatever else I can fit into the oven to share with friends and neighbors.

While I was doing an inventory of what was left in the freezer yesterday, I came upon a flank steak I had completely forgotten about. I quickly stashed it in the refrigerator so it would be thawed in time to make this Udon with Grilled Flank Steak recipe for dinner tonight. This lean cut of steak is flavored with a quick rubdown with a mixture of garlic, fresh ginger, seasoned rice vinegar and salt. Once it has sat around absorbing the pungent mixture, it is drizzled with canola oil and grilled to your liking (we like medium to medium-rare). Just be sure to let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before thinly slicing it.

As you wait for the beef to finish, thick udon noodles are cooked just until tender - when they have about a minute left, halved fresh sugar snap peas are added to the noodles just to take the raw edge off. A dressing made from chicken broth, salty fish sauce, vinegar, oil, garlic and ginger (pretty much the flavors from the marinade) are brought to a boil with some fresh scallions added for a light onion-y background. The noodles and dressing are combined to form the base layer with the tender steak slices draped over the top. A scattering of fresh chopped cilantro rounds of the dish with a bright flavor - you could also substitute chopped fresh mint for the cilantro to end with a different note.

Recipes
Udon with Grilled Flank Steak