Hello there, cats and kittens! My name is Swamp Witch and this is my humble addition to the oversaturated food blog market! This story, however, is not one of stay-at-home businesswoman in a smart sundress, carefully curating a list of vegan brownie recipes from her achingly beautiful kitchen. In the Little Crooked House, everything’s…well…a little crooked!

I started developing my shameless hipster fusion recipes after returning to an early love of anime. Yes, folks, I was one of those first-generation anime nudniks who devoured bad dubs and traded tapes (at least, I would have, if my parents hadn’t been convinced these “cartoons” were subliminally telling me to murder the family and go turn tricks in Akihabara). I abandoned the habit in my 20’s, in favor of having a social life, but now that I’m in my 30’s and Crunchyroll exists, I am free to let my freak flag fly!

It was an episode of Kimi ni Todoke that lit the weeb-cuisine flame:

Immediately, I was “WHAT THIS HOW GET?”

As it turns out, the answers were “Miso Ramen, you dolt,” and “Not easily.” The Little Crooked House exists outside of time and space miles away from any ramen-ya or even an Asian market. If I wanted ramen that didn’t come in a styrofoam cup, I was going to have to roll up my sleeves and cook it myself. Leaning heavily on J. Kenji López-Alt’s recipe at Serious Eats, Permanent Roommate and I toiled for two days to create something semi-authentic (did I mention PM is an ex-line cook of ten years? It helps, kind of a lot). The results were insanely satisfying, if not photogenic:

From there it was a quick jump to homemade miso soup, okonomiyaki, dumplings, curry bread, etc. By the time I started making my own kimchi, I was a lost cause. I enjoy these flavors and can understand the principles used in their creation. I am not a natural cook like PM – I learned a small handful of Depression-era skills from my mother: Insert Cream-of-Whatever Can A into Casserole Dish B is the extent of my culinary expertise. Simmering, marinating, cutting and fermenting? That I get.

So from here on out, I’m going to be showing some of the weirdsmobile recipes I’ve developed over the last few years, in an attempt to use these expensive imported ingredients mix the flavors that I love into new contexts, perhaps some even PM can enjoy!  After all, isn’t hamfistedly fusing traditional cuisines, regardless of culture or context, the birthright of every jaded hipster, since the time of the Kogi Taco Truck (they got it right; other folks…)?

I hope you enjoy the rambling, the food, and maybe try something new. From The Little Crooked house to you..

EAT THE FOOD!