Ghost Stories of New York City

Who is that in the study's window...?

Yesterday at the Grange, I heard phantom whistling at the back of the house after one of my tours.

This is not the first time this has happened to me. In fact, I made a comic about the first time I experienced it, even though Sarah and I determined it was probably an auditory hallucination:

But now that it's happened again, 2 months later, I'm not so sure anymore. Is it possible it could be a ghost?

Logically, I'd have to say no. I don't believe Hamilton Grange is haunted. There'd be a lot more stories about Hamilton's ghost if he were still sticking around. I'm fairly certain the guy has no unfinished business keeping him on this mortal plane. And even if he were to stick around in the house that meant so much to him, the building has been moved from its original location. Twice.

But it's fun to think there might be a paranormal explanation to the whistling. Is it likely? Not really. But imagining I might come face-to-face with a ghost is fun, especially this time of year! It's happened before, after all - back at Winchester I had quite a few paranormal encounters. I never got a bad vibe from the ghosts of the Winchester house. The spirits there are pretty benign, and will respect you if you respect them.

The Winchester Mystery House is, of course, notorious for its hauntings. Hamilton Grange is not. But that's not to say New York City doesn't have its fair share of ghosts, Aaron Burr being only one of the most famous. And that shouldn't be too surprising. It's had a very large population for centuries. That's a lot of people dying. Statistically, if ghosts are real, there should be a higher-than-average number of them in New York City. And there are. If you know where to look.

I'm going to give you three New York City ghostly tales, starting with one with a connection to Hamilton and Burr. But I encourage you to look up more yourself. New York has a fascinating paranormal history, and I'm barely scratching the tip of the iceberg here. And hey, if you have a ghost story of your own you'd like to share, be it NYC-related or not, please tell me in the comments or on my facebook page.

Quick and Easy Vegan Ramen

One of my favourite meals to make from scratch is ramen. It's simple, it's filling, you don't need a recipe, and it's very easy to customize to your own tastes. Do you like corn? Throw some canned corn in there. Do you dislike tofu or mushrooms? Leave them out! Pretty much the only thing a bowl of ramen needs to be called ramen are broth and ramen noodles. I'm only going to show you my favourite ramen recipe, a recipe I created myself, but feel free to add or take away ingredients as you see fit.

I'm going to be real with you guys. I did go to the Mitsuwa up in Edgewater, NJ to get some of the ingredients for this. Most of the Japanese ingredients in this recipe, however, are entirely optional. But the ones I do use are available at Mitsuwa (California friends, there's a Mitsuwa in San Jose on Saratoga Blvd near the 280 exit) or at Whole Foods. Tofu is becoming more and more readily available at regular grocery stores, too.

Anyway, here are the ingredients I used, the asterisks (*) noting which ones I got at Mitsuwa:

• Vegetable broth or veggie bouillon cube
• Miso paste* (Though it is optional, I strongly suggest including it. I've made ramen without it before and it is so much better with!)
• Ramen noodles* (It's worth splurging for good ramen noodles, but if you're unable to find them, the noodles from the instant packets are okay. Throw out the flavour packet if you're using instant ramen noodles.)
• Tofu*
• Crimini mushrooms
• Enoki mushrooms*
• Dried seaweed*
• Spinach
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt, pepper, and spices

So here's what you're gonna do to make this delicious dish...

1) Boil a small pot of water with a bouillon cube, or vegetable broth. (Meat eaters can use whatever broth you want.) If you're not vegan, you can also soft-boil an egg in this broth that you can later use to top your ramen!

2) Slice one or two crimini mushrooms. Chop your tofu into the amount of cubes you want and save the rest in a tupperware container of water for future recipes. Mince one or two cloves of garlic.

3) Heat a small amount (about two tablespoons) of olive oil in a pan. Add the minced garlic and heat until fragrant.

4) Add miso paste to the boiling broth. Stir. (The amount you add is up to you. I have a squeeze bottle so I added one squeeze.) Then add the ramen noodles to the boiling broth.

5) While the noodles are cooking, stir fry the mushrooms and tofu in the garlicky oil with salt, pepper, and spices to taste. (I use powdered ginger and just a little cayenne pepper.) If you like other vegetables, you can add them to this stir fry too, just remember to add them in small amounts! This is a very quick flash fry. This shouldn't take longer than 5 or 6 minutes.

6) Spoon the noodles into a serving bowl and top with broth. Using a spatula, add the tofu-mushroom-whatever veggies mixture to one section of the bowl. Top the other sections with enoki mushrooms, spinach, and whatever else you like. (Non-vegans, this is where you chop that soft-boiled egg in half and place it right on there.) Sprinkle some dried seaweed on top.

7) EAT THE HELL OUT OF THAT MOTHERFUCKER BECAUSE IT TASTES SO GOOD.

So there you have it. A simple recipe for a delicious dinner! If you try it, let me know if you enjoy it! Let me know what modifications you made!

-Nym