Arrival Soup

You may wonder, “When it is time to eat arrival soup? Is it when you leave to cross the border into Mexico? No, were not quite there yet. Is it when you sail through fog with 50-foot visibility only to round Point Loma and have the fog vanish as quickly as it came? No, that was crackers, cheese and carrots. Is it when you get surprised at 3 am with border patrol pulling up to the side of your boat out of the middle of ocean darkness to ask where you are going, where you came from and if you have any stowaways on board? No, no one was eating anything just then. No friends, it is much simpler than that. It is eaten upon arriving somewhere, anywhere.

Arrival Soup first came into our lives after an 18-hour chug up the coast of North America from San Pedro, CA to Channel Islands Harbor, Slip G-48, Oxnard, CA. It was our first venture on the high seas, with our intake silencer conveniently in the port side lazarette and not on the engine. Funny thing is that intake silencer actually does 2 things. 1) It silences the engine (important), and 2) intakes the diesel smoke and runs it out the exhaust and not in your cabin (also important). Needless to say, the boat ride was loud beyond belief (which lead us to start sign language lessons) and was full of diesel exhaust, which takes your stomach on rides beyond your wildest nightmares as the waves rock you back and forth. It proved to be one of the longest nights in history and we were all pretty green upon arrival. So what did we want? That’s right people, some soup. Arrival soup has since become a favorite of the Good Captain, Hornsby, and I must admit, its one of my favorites as well. It is eaten just about anytime we have an arrival, wherever spot we may arrive at.

The following recipe serves 3 and can be made in just 2 easy steps.

Stovetop directions:
Step 1.) Bring 1 pot of water to a boil.
Step 1-a.) Chop up ginger, garlic, onion, carrot, and just about any other veggies you got layin’ around.
Step 1-b.) Add veggies to boiling water and cook 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 1-c.) Add 2 packets Top Ramen noodles and let cook 3 minutes**see note
Step 1-d.) Remove from heat
Step 1-e.) Add 2 Tablespoons Red miso soup mix (If miso is not available you may substitute 1 packet Ramen powder)
Step 2.) Garnish with fresh cracked pepper and enjoy with friends



**Note: Lets just get one thing straight, no one likes to admit that they love to eat Ramen. You know, that stuff that’s filled with MSG and will stain your plastic spoon yellow for 7 wash cycles. That stuff that has absolutely nothing in it that is even almost fresh or even close to good for you. That stuff that you can kinda feel burning away at your insides as it goes down. But, lets face it; Ramen tastes good and has a special place in our hearts. It was the first thing Mom would let me cook on the stove, it cooks in 3 minutes, you can buy 10 packets for $1 and the noodles are slurp-able. Amazing! So even though we may have a hard time admitting that we sometimes enjoy a bowl, it does have its time and place. I also find it important to note and pay tribute to Mr. Ramen himself, Momofuku Ando. That's right, the man who invented Ramen passed away in 2007 at the ripe old age of 96 and he lived a long and healthy life that involved 1 packet of Ramen daily from the time he invented it to the day before he passed. Stay healthy…eat Ramen.

Post Script: Arrival soup can also be good for curing hangovers but the name hangover soup didn’t quite sound as appetizing.