sanrensho

Roasted with S&P, just like the infamous Egullet roasted cauliflower. I also like them blanched and pan-fried in a generous amount of butter and garlic. Both my young girls LOVE brussel sprouts, but I remember hating them as a kid.

They're often called foam cakes.

I've started to use Gmail for keeping all my recipes, including links to recipes I want to try or have used in the past. Since Gmail organizes messages as conversations (similar to threads), it works perfectly for developing versions of recipes. There is also the added benefit of having my recipes stored off-site, and accessible from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Thanks, I'll look out for it next time!

Bang for buck, I would also recommend a Made in Japan santoku knife (as opposed to a Japanese-style knife made in another country), like the Kai Pure Komachi knife that CaliPoutine linked to. These are much sharper than a comparable Henckels knife, and only require a few swipes on a stone to bring back the edge. In fact, a Kai Pure Komachi will probably be the first knife I buy for my daughter, but I'm worried that it's actually *too* sharp for her until she gets a few years older.

Congee/jook for sure.

Thanks. So the other one you are referring to is a drink, and this one is more like a savory soup? Sounds similar to congee without the rice. Is there a name for it, so I can try ordering it sometime? Yet another reason to choose unadultered, unsweetened soy milk! (I keep some simple syrup around for when I want to drink it sweetened.)

I never grew up with soy milk and probably didn't try it until I was in college. I still prefer the straight stuff (sweetened or unsweetened), so perhaps it's imprinted in my DNA. Is the hot soy sweetened or unsweetened? Never thought of drinking it this way.

Take a look at the ingredient list for any of the "mainstream" brands of soy milk. If that isn't enough to turn you off from soy milk doctored up to NOT taste like soybeans, then go with what your tastebuds prefer. Personally, I expect soy milk to taste like soy milk/soybeans, so I strongly prefer the Chinese brands (Sunrise and Superior). The ingredient list is basically just soybeans and water (plus sugar for the sweetened versions). The basic Vitasoy versions in the Tetrapaks are also unadulterated soy milk. The mainstream brands of soy milk taste artificial to me, whereas unadulterated soy milk has a clean aftertaste. Again, this is a matter of personal preference.

Seven days is no problem for refrigerated pizza dough, and I think I've done 9-10 days as well. Although I didn't find the dough to be particularly remarkable. About the same as dough that's been held for a couple of days.

If we're referring to pressed, non-carbonated, non-alcoholic, unfiltered (cloudy) and unpasteurized apple juice, then I've had it in Japan. However, the stuff we had came from a relative's orchard in Nagano-ken, and was for family consumption only. Unfortunately, I have no idea how one would source it in Japan aside from making friends with a grower, but at least we know it exists. And, yes, the cider (pressed juice) we had was very very good. The juice was much more whitish than the usual apple cider I see sold here.

I'm leaning toward using the PH cocoa cake and a bittersweet ganache in place of the written recipe. That should offset the sweetness of the dacquoise/peanut butter filling.

That looks fantastic, even more alluring than the photo in Food & Wine. I have to ask though, did you make the recipe as written, and was it too sweet? The recipe above calls for 2 cups + 2 tbs sugar in the cake alone!

Some people add it to Japanese curry. I've done it on occasion, too.

I prefer firm, too, although soft tofu will disintegrate more easily and may be less "intrusive" for the purposes of convincing your husband to eat tofu. We usually make ours from scratch.

Mapo tofu.

Find an eGullet friend who lives in Buffalo? There must be cross-border shipping places like the ones we have near Vancouver. The place I use only charges a few bucks per package held.

I'm not familiar with your area, but do they not have any shipping services (that will accept packages for you) just across the border? I mention this because can get a refurb Pro 600 for as little as $240 from the Kitchenaid site. http://shopkitchenaid.com/product_list.asp...TAND&HDR=outlet

I wish you good luck with your starter. Just to let you know, it took a full 5-6 weeks (including a week of dormancy in the fridge) before I had a really active and foamy starter. And it could still be more active, but it seems to be sufficient. So don't be discouraged if your starter is only bubbly in the initial weeks.

^^^Also this post here. I like the idea of forming the rounds as balls rather than using cutters, as the recipe I use is quite sticky. Will try this on the batch I am making tonight.

Instructions for a sourdough starter are covered in Dan Lepard's eGullet course here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=30269 I used a different method (this one), but I have baked the basic sourdough recipe from the eGullet course and can recommend it.

I'm sure you've already found a good recipe, but I've had good results with this sourdough English muffin recipe: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/09/11/so...nglish-muffins/ Although mine turn out shaped more like disks rather than pucks. I also bake these in a 425 degree oven rather than on a skillet.

I think you'll find it's well worth the trouble, for the depth of flavor and keeping qualities alone.

Does this mean we can look forward to a future sweets/pastry report?

FWIW, RLB recommends using fine granulated sugars for cakes. (I usually grind up my own in the food processor, although I haven't done a side-by-side text comparing fine vs. regular granulated sugar. Maybe some day.) So I would recommend the finer sugar, at least for cakes. I definitely recall Japanese sugar as being moister and clumping.