The blooming plum trees are dancing down the street. Before long, they'll be leaving pink shadows on the ground, but for now we see clouds of pink out the window.

Last night we had English muffins from the corner of the freezer with Swiss cheese, love those easy ones. Today Mark Bittman (The Minimalist) checked in with a wonderful yakisoba recipe. Luckily, I found a bit of freezer pork—not pork chops, must be either ground pork or pork sausage.

The below recipe is one of those take-your-pick of whatever happens to surface when you stand in front of the open refrigerator door and wonder, what’s for dinner. No Chinese noodles?—vermicelli or linguini fill the bill. No pork chop?—how about leftover pork roast, a bit of chicken, tofu, beef trimmings, freezer shrimp, eggplant, or zucchini. No Napa or savoy?—plain ol’ green or red cabbage will do. No mirin?—rice, white, cider vinegar taste about the same. No green onions?—add regular onions with the carrots & cabbage, who’ll know?

Substitute away, but don’t leave out the ketchup. Yakisoba screams for ketchup.

Yakisoba with pork and cabbage

·          6 ounces dried Chinese egg noodles, or 10 to 12 ounces fresh

·          1 tablespoon sesame oil

·          3 tablespoons peanut oil

·          2 tablespoons minced ginger
(I added 1 Tbs. minced garlic)

·          2 pork chops, thinly sliced

(I used one small patty of ground pork)
·          1 small head Napa or savoy cabbage, shredded
(I used green cabbage)

·          2 carrots, shredded

·          2 tablespoons ketchup

·          1/4 cup soy sauce

·          1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
( I used 3 Tbs.)

·          2 tablespoons mirin, or a bit of sugar

·          Few drops Tabasco sauce, or to taste

·          1 bunch scallions, chopped
(I sauteed 1/2 minced onion with the garlic at the beginning)

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it and add noodles. Cook until just done, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and run under cold water. Toss noodles with sesame oil to keep them from sticking together, and set aside. (I added 1 Tbs. coconut milk when I tossed).

2. Put peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add ginger (and garlic) and cook, stirring, until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pork and cook for about 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink and starts to brown around the edges.

3. Add cabbage and carrots to skillet and stir; sprinkle with salt. Continue to cook until vegetables soften, adding a bit of water as needed to keep them from sticking.

4. Meanwhile, stir together in a small bowl ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mirin and Tabasco. When vegetables are soft and any liquid has evaporated, add noodles and sauce to skillet. Toss to coat everything well and cook until noodles are warmed through. Serve, topped with chopped scallions.