The major appliances in our condo hate us

Recently, our LG glass stove top spontaneously shattered from the inside-out.  This morning, we awoke to the heart-sinking discovery that our LG fridge went defunct last night.

Jake’s brand new Alienware Dell computer also expired this morning and we spent a ridiculous amount of time jumping through hoops at Geeksquad trying to submit it for repair under it’s warranty.  The whole time during which Jake had to endure my “and this is why I joined the Mac cult because I wasted 25 years of my life dealing with viruses, Norton AntiVirus installations, and horrific customer service” smirk.

I cried when I had to dispose of the remaining third of Dr. Vicki’s beef brisket that we found at a less than an ideal temperature.

Deep breath. 

My last home cooking experiment: Spicy miso ramen kit from the refrigerated section of United Noodles

These types of fresh, not dehydrated, ramen noodle kits are available in the refrigerated section of United Noodles.  I had recently viewed No Reservations: Hokkaido and the idea of consuming a bowl of ramen soup nagged at me all day, like a small child pulling at his or her mother’s coat.  I bought the spicy miso-flavored kit in addition a one containing plain ramen noodles and a spicy, sesame dipping sauce.  
The dissected kit and add-ins

The kit cost approximately $5 and included four sets of noodle packets and sauce mixes.  I am a fan of beautifying instant ramen noodles by adding my own melange of whatever lurks in my fridge.  Tonight, I added sliced red onion, leftover beef brisket, mustard greens, and eggs.

The kit instructed me to cook the noodles for three minutes, drain, and add to 1.5 cups of hot water combined with the sauce packet.  I like to scramble or soft poach raw eggs into the boiling ramen liquid.

If Jake says he doesn’t eat well, he’s a dirty liar

Marvel at the finished product.  Overall, this was a decent meal that took about 15 minutes to prepare.  I found the broth had a distinguishable miso flavor but lacked any spice.  There was some flavor in the broth that I just couldn’t love but can’t quite put my finger on.  
As highlights, the broth had more mellowness than powdered ramen seasoning packets and I enjoyed the chewiness of the refrigerated noodles.  Jake, on the other hand, really enjoyed the soup and found it to be a comforting meal.  
Side note: I had bought some unusual foods at United Noodles for an upcoming “Jen picks, Jake eats” type of column but, sadly, the sweet and sour jellyfish face perished in the aforementioned overnight refrigerator tragedy.