Thursday, August 09, 2007

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.

Udon with Grilled Flank Steak

18 comments:

  1. wow, congrats!! You're going to be so busy in the next few days.

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  2. Hi, Joe. I haven't been keeping up with your blog too much since I moved to Vancouver, but I just want to wish you good luck in moving (again!!!). I'll be curious to read about your corporate housing adventures since I will be living in corporate housing for 2-3 months starting at the end of November until I find and buy a house back in Atlanta.

    Safe travels to you and Jeff!!!

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  3. Yummm...I love flank steak. It's been so hot here this week (GA), I've had tomato sandwich (Monday night), tomato/cuke salad (Tues night), and caprese salad (Wed night), egg salad sandwich (tonight). Too hot to cook and almost too hot to eat. Good luck with the moving! Didn't you just do this?

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  4. Congrats on the house selling! Hope everything goes well in the next couple of weeks.
    Also, a microwave cooking blog could be really interesting. :-)
    Just a thought.

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  5. Congrats on the move!

    I've been gone a while and was surprised to see you are moving again--seeing as how it seems like the last time you moved was around when I moved. I still haven't finished unpacking!

    Good luck with the drive. I'll be checking in more as I hope to do more cooking in the coming months!

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  6. What? You're moving AGAIN?? Didn't you just move last week? Wow...you guys sure get around (in a good way).

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  7. Congratulations! Best wishes for your move.

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  8. Congrats - sounds like exciting times are ahead!

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  9. congrats guys! best of luck on your move and can't wait to see all the yummy things you make in your new kitchen :)

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  10. You and Jeff must be so excited. Another adventure ahead for you. Good luck on your move and hunt for your new home. Hope you don't have to miss too many days away from your dedicated readers. We will miss you and keep you in our prayers. Jancd

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  11. Congrats on the sale!!! And another lovely recipe!!!

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  12. CONGRATS!! You've got the hardest part done!! Well, ok, one of the two hardest parts (the other part is finding the dream home). Oh, who'm I kidding? Moving's a bitch! ;-) (Been there, done that way too recently!)

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  13. Wow. That was fast! Did you end up selling it back to the original owner?

    I'm hearing Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" playing in my head.......

    Best of luck to you both!

    The million dollar question....what will your blog be called after you move????? :D

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  14. Randi - Yes, very!

    Mindy - Thanks, I think we are going to need it!

    Janice - We did, just over a year ago in fact - craziness I tell you!

    Emilie - Thank you! I don't use the microwave all that often, but I'm sure we can get creative!

    Jennifer - Glad to see you back! I think we are still surprised we are moving too, but we will be glad to get settled as soon as we can!

    Ed - If you only knew! Jeff sure likes to keep things interesting!

    Lauren - Thank you!

    Janet - Yes, I'm really looking forward to the house hunt... I love looking at houses!

    Cityliving - Thank you!

    Jancd - We hope to not miss too many days, but time is getting really hard to come by!

    Pat - Thanks!

    Jeph - I think finding a house will be easier than selling (stress wise anyway!)

    Alysha - Yes! None of us can believe it either. He even skipped having an inspection done since he lived here for some many years! The name? Stayin' the same for now, I don't think I want to go through that again!

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  15. Congrats on selling the house! Hope you can find a great place in Minneapolis soon so you and the critters can be reunited. I know I'd be lost without Sophie around.

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  16. By now you will have settled into your new place. The only good thing about moving is enjoying your new home once it has all been done.Enjoy!!!!! But I also love to organize a new kitchen!!! Does that make me compulsive?????

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  17. Hi Joe, I still read your Blog everyday, and congrats on your
    House Sale. I know how busy you are
    with regards to that. I am sure you will find a beautiful place and be settled again in no time. I have been through it many times with a husband and 4 kids. It is also exciting, as you know by now.
    I wish you both the best and wait patiently until you can be with all of us out here in blogland again on a regular basis. Happy days
    and very gratefully yours, Rita

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  18. Barbara - We can't wait to see the pups again!

    Valli - We haven't even started looking at new houses yet! =)

    Rita - I hope we can find a place quickly... there is such a large volume of homes on the market that we will have a lot of choices that need to be considered!

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