Leftover braised turkey and carrots remixed with udon. Brussels sprouts with fresh breadcrumbs and a little Parmesan cheese.

I almost ate cookies for dinner tonight. I was very close. But dinner is satisfying, even when I’m not particularly hungry and very tired — so I made dinner with last night’s leftovers and a brick of flash-frozen udon, which is a staple in my freezer. The broth — from when I poached a chicken this summer — was also from the freezer. The sprouts turned up while I was digging around for the parsley — quick steam; add butter, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste.

Yakisoba noodles stir-fried with thinly sliced pork, carrots and kimchi.

Included among the staples in my kitchen are “wet” yakisoba noodles (I hesitate to call them “fresh”), various frozen pork (ground and tenderloin in several weighted portions) and kimchi. They’re helpful to have on hand for nights when I can’t really decide what I want to eat and I have things I need to get done. (Like ironing.)

Kimchi is especially useful because it can be turned into kimchi fried rice, kimchi udon (frozen udon are another staple), stir-fried with yakisoba, added to scrambled eggs…

“Chicken and Chinese Cabbage (Tori Jibu-ni)” from Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking. “Rice with Vegetables (Kayaku-gohan)” from Tokiko Suzuki’s Japanese Homestyle Cooking.

I found the instructions for the rice slightly unclear so I made the rice like usual in my rice cooker, substituting homemade dashi for some of the water. I didn’t have burdock so I skipped that. I used an entire piece of aburaage despite halving the recipe. Once the rice was steaming, I tossed in the vegetables.

“Summer Vegetables and Soybean Miso in a Wok (Natsuyasai no Mamemiso Itame)” from Hiroko Shimbo’s Japanese Kitchen. Tofu with bean sauce and a shake of sansho. Eaten over rice.

“Saké-Simmered Mackerel (Saba Nitsuke)” from Shizuo Tsuji’s Japanese Cooking. Leftover “Carrots in Sweet Saké (Ninjin no Saké Kasu Ni)” from Soei Yoneda’s The Heart of Zen Cuisine. Whole simmered okra adapted from The Heart of Zen Cuisine.

I picked these okra up at the Union Square farmers market this morning, not really considering their size. It was an “oh hey, okra!” reaction, as I was planning to make some later this week. In the end, I decided to make them tonight. The above photograph is indeed what I planned for dinner tonight but once I bit into my first okra, I realized how horribly tough they were. Unfortunately, inedible. Lesson learned.

“Ginger-Flavored Pan-Fried Pork (Buta no Shogayaki” from Hiroko Shimbo’s The Japanese Kitchen. “Saké-Braised Snow Peas (Kinu Saya no Mushi-Ni)” from Soei Yoneda’s The Heart of Zen Cuisine. “Carrots in Sweet Saké (Ninjin no Saké Kasu Ni)” from The Heart of Zen Cuisine. Eaten with rice.

The carrots use a new ingredient I picked up last week: saké kasu, which are saké lees. I found them way down in the bottom of a freezer case at the Japanese grocery store.

Yakisoba from Rasa Malaysia.

Chow mein with pork and shrimp from Rasa Malaysia. Eaten with leftover green beans from last night.