By Memorial Day weekend. The flag at the VFW on Tates Creek is at half-staff, which it should be, and I drove past it Monday morning on the way to the hardware store and thought about Clay in a way I try not to think about Clay on days that are supposed to be about honoring service. He's alive. Two men in his squad are not. The math of that is simple and the weight of it is not, and Clay carries it every day and I carry my portion of it, which is the portion a father carries when his son went to war and came home changed and the father can't fix what changed because it happened in a country he's never been to and involved things he'll never fully understand.
Clay came over for the cookout. Connie invited him and he said yes, which is good. He brought Dr Pepper and a bag of charcoal, which means he's thinking about other people's needs, which Dr. Rivera says is a sign of stability. I grilled burgers — nothing fancy, just ground chuck from Kroger, seasoned with salt, pepper, a little garlic powder, cooked over charcoal until they're charred on the outside and pink in the middle. Connie made her potato salad — the one with mustard and egg and pickle relish that I have tried to improve exactly once and was told in terms I will not repeat that improvement was neither requested nor welcome.
Travis and Jolene drove over after lunch. Jolene brought a flag cake — white sheet cake with strawberries and blueberries arranged like the flag. It was sweet and pretty and Travis ate half of it, which is what happens when you marry a woman who bakes. They looked good together. Settled. Like a house with the framing done and the roof on — not finished, but solid, and you can see what it's going to be.
The cookbook is at forty-three pages. Seven short of the June target but I'm not panicking because the recipes don't care about deadlines. This week I wrote up Betty's pinto beans — the real version, the one that starts with sorting dried beans on the counter because Betty said you should always sort your beans because sometimes there's a rock and a rock will break a tooth and a broken tooth costs more than the thirty seconds it takes to look. She was right. She was usually right. The beans cook low and slow with a ham hock and an onion and nothing else, because the beans are the point and everything else is just company.
Connie’s potato salad has a standing order of protection in this house, so I’m not going near that recipe — but when people ask what else we put on the table at a cookout like this one, the answer is usually something crunchy and cold that can sit out a while without suffering for it. This ramen noodle salad is the one I reach for. It travels well, it holds up in the heat, and it asks nothing of the cook except a few minutes of prep and the good sense to let it chill before you serve it — which is, come to think of it, decent advice for more than just salad.
Ramen Noodle Salad
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min (plus 30 min chilling) | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 packages (3 oz each) chicken-flavored ramen noodles
- 1 bag (14 oz) coleslaw mix
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- Dressing:
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ramen seasoning packet (reserved from above)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Crush the noodles. Remove the seasoning packets from both ramen packages and set one aside for the dressing. Break the dry noodles into small pieces inside the bag by pressing and crumbling with your hands.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the vegetable oil, rice vinegar, sugar, one reserved seasoning packet, and black pepper until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Combine the salad. In a large bowl, toss together the coleslaw mix, edamame, green onions, slivered almonds, and sunflower seeds.
- Add the noodles. Add the crushed dry ramen noodles to the bowl and toss everything together. The noodles will soften slightly as they sit, but adding them close to serving keeps the most crunch.
- Dress and chill. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors come together.
- Serve. Give the salad a final toss before plating. Serve cold alongside burgers, grilled chicken, or anything else coming off the grill.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 280 | Protein: 7g | Fat: 17g | Carbs: 26g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 420mg