sanrensho

There is one basic reason for the popularity of the California roll: It contains no raw fish or other "challenging" ingredients. I actually like a California roll when it doesn't feature the usual hallmarks of bad sushi outside of Japan: gummy/overcooked rice, long grain rice, or excessively vinegared rice. (I also draw the line at teriyaki sauce.) In fact, at many North American restaurants that use neta of mediocre quality, the California roll may be the only sushi item with at least some consistent quality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepero Is it me, or do the biscuits look thicker than their Pocky counterparts? Also, the Wikipedia entry can't be right--there must be more than eight flavors, right?

Depends on what you mean by "picky." Do you mean "picky" as in close-minded and unwilling to try new things, the type who will sit down and say, "Ewww" out loud when presented with something that doesn't conform to his or her limited palate? Or do you mean "picky" as in not preferring specific foods, but not to the point of obsession and perhaps as a result of either ignorance (lack of exposure to good food) or a certain degree of indifference to food? If the former, I would vote for "doomed."

My breads usually require only two rises, so here's how my schedule typically goes: Day 1 Evening: Mix and knead, place straight into fridge. Day 2 Late Afternoon: Take out of fridge and leave for an hour or two so the dough is easier to work with. (I sometimes skip this step if I'm in a hurry.) Punch down, shape, rise and bake. I'm not an early riser, so I usually bake right before going to bed. That gives the bread time to cool down and we have fresh bread in the morning. Although slightly off-topic, another way to save time is to bake using the "cold start" method. Place proofed bread in cold oven, crank oven as high as it will go until it reaches the target temperature, then lower to target temp. Continue baking at target temp until bread is done. You do need to keep a closer eye on the oven, of course, or set your timer based on how long it takes to reach the target temp.

I was surprised by this, too. Is this a new thing, Hiroyuki?

Yes, swirled in, like egg drop soup.

I basically do this with all my breads (except sourdoughs made from a natural starter), both to develop flavor and adjust the baking to my evening schedule. Mix and knead in the evening, pop in the fridge, then do punch down and second rise the next evening and bake. In fact, I usually only take out half my dough after the overnight rise, leaving the rest in the fridge for up to a couple of days. That way, I can bake a second loaf later in the week. Using commercial yeast, I've always found that my breads get plenty of rise stored overnight in the fridge. (However, I haven't done this with my sourdoughs because my starter is still quite anemic, so I do one rise only--out of the fridge.) I have seen instructions for letting it rise first before throwing it into the fridge, but I've always ignored it and the results have been fine.

If you can understand German, there are quite a few German bread recipes at the site below, which is mentioned in the Brotchen thread that Ludja linked to. The same author also has a blog with tons of bread recipes, a few of which are in English (though mostly not for traditional German breads). http://www.petras-brotkasten.de/Brotrezepte.html http://peho.typepad.com/chili_und_ciabatta/brot/index.html I've actually been in touch with the author since this thread started, and she has been really helpful. She sent me a link to a traditional German rye sourdough recipe: http://peho.typepad.com/chili_und_ciabatta...-100-rye-s.html

Does this mean that they're usually at the Lonsdale Quay market? If so, I'll have to go. I haven't seen any mutsu apples this year.

Thanks Ludja! Do you happen to have any good recipes for hearty German loaves? I'm not even sure of the names, since it's been a few decades since I was in Germany.

Can anyone recommend some online recipes for German breads, that have worked for you? I wouldn't mind trying out a recipe or two. Thanks.

Check the expiry/manufacturing date on your yeast. And try making the recipe again with active dry yeast, dissolving first in warm water (90-110 degrees) for five minutes or so.

It might not be that bad, although extra work for sure. There are quite a few Japanese recipes for crunchy (saku saku) puffs, and most seem to involve folding squares of pie dough over the choux pastry. http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/breadrecipe/diary/200701180001/ I'll have to try this some time. The filling is a breeze, I actually prefer a slightly more assertive vanilla flavour since I started working with actual beans instead of extract.

I make pastry cream quite a bit, and the filling sure seemed like it was lightened with whipped cream. I just stole another quarter of a puff from my daughter, and I have to say that I really like how the shells stay nice and crispy. I wish I had the recipe/technique, because it would make it a lot more feasible to bring filled puffs to friends (no soggy shells).

I have it on good authority that the Beard Papa location at Aberdeen Centre is now open for business. Actually, I received a box today from my parents. My expectations were overly high from reading all the hype, but these were very nice and what I expect from a Japanese cream puff (filled with lightened pastry cream, NOT whipped cream). The crunchy shells are also a nice change from the standard choux dough. I imagine that Chocomoo will be all over this. http://www.aberdeencentre.com/en/activities.php

^^^Dorie Greenspan has a financier recipe on her site, although I haven't used that particular recipe. (I use the David Lebovitz one, baked in shallow muffin molds.) http://www.doriegreenspan.com/dorie_greens...ently_got_.html

Financier= Tea cake made with butter, sugar, flour, egg whites and ground almonds. Traditionally made in rectangular molds. There's a good picture here: http://www.cakechef.info/special/chef_yosh...ette/index.html

Financiers, baked cheese tart, roulade of some sort, apple cake, tarte tatin...

First things that come to mind: Marble bundt cake, madelaines, any variety of pound cake, chiffon cake, turnovers, rugelach...

Mont blanc!

I forgot to suggest cilantro, and the bun/rice sticks might need some oil (such as sesame oil, or scallion/garlic oil) to keep from sticking together. Oh, and roasted peanuts are a nice touch as well.

Yup, sardines are the big 'uns and anchovies are the little ones. Funny story about the fruit sock/net, my little one also does the same thing.

Thanks for catching my error (I meant to say anchovies)--my excuse is that I had sardines for dinner tonight. Personally, I usually eat Asian pears with the skin on, as long as it isn't too tough. We often get smaller pears from our friends' trees or organic ones, so I don't find the skin particularly bitter or tough. I am really not fond of peeling almost all fruit as is the custom in Japan. Especially since we don't often get the huge fruit that they get in Japan. If I peeled everything, there would be very little left to eat.

That meal looks good. Especially the salmon and miso soup. As the days get colder, you might want to look into heartier variations like tonjiru (made with pork) and miso kenchinjiru (tofu and vegetable soup, but with miso added at the end). These are two of my favorites during the colder months. Other ingredients we often use in miso soup are sliced onions, eggplant, daikon and potatoes. You can also up the umami factor by crumbling some of the little dried anchovies into the soup. Corrected to change sardines->anchovies (sorry, I had sardines today)

Thanks for your input. I think the word you are looking for is "craftsmanship." BTW, what is the Chinese pronunciation for moon cake? (I only know the Japanese pronunciation--"geppei.")