BarbaraY

I asked my neighbor, who has a hive, how his bees were doing and he told me that he had his disappear last year. Has since replaced them and he says they're doing well. They come here to drink since I have running water in my birdbath. I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that there are far fewer bugs in the Central Valley now than there were a few years ago. In driving across the Valley the windshield would be covered with bugs by the time I got home. No more. The insects are gone and I believe it's due to spraying. I was surprised to see some butterflies this morning.

Daiso has already dropped that policy. There are an increasing number of items that are sold for more than 100 yen, so I must be careful. Obesity is a social problem in Japan, too. The term metabolic syndrome has become an everyday term. We do eat meat. I must confess that when I was small, say, 40 years ago, meat was still a kind of "luxury item". We used to eat more fish and other seafood. But now, meat is often less expensive than fish. The Japanese think of meat in terms of 100 g, not 1 kg. Very roughly, beef is at least 168 yen per 100 g. Likewise, Pork: 78 Chicken thigh: 88 Chicken breast: 48 ← I find it surprising that the price of thigh meat is almost twice that of breasts since in the US it is reverse. We have been eating more dark meat lately because the price of breast meat is almost astronomical. My growm daughter who lives with me has finally conceded that thigh meat is much tastier and juicier Breast meat is popular because it is considered to be healthier because of the lower fat. Fish is pretty much a luxury item in our household.

I would be interested in learning some of the things that you use the thermos for. I have heard of bringing things to the boil and let them finish cooking in the thermos. Do you do this?

I, for one, am greatly in favor of pizza for breakfast. I love the Japanese breakfast even though I don't do it often. Leftover Chinese food turned into fried rice is another great breakfast when one is bored with eggs or cereal. On the other hand, I don't care for pancakes for dinner and they're one of my favorite breakfast foods. I don't want sandwiches for dinner either. SANDWICHES ARE LUNCH!

I like the idea of recycling the milk cartons for other uses. I think I'll start doing that since we have been trying to be more responsible about such things. Would you tell us how you made the clear soup with shitake? I can get those here once in a while.

Just try to get a piece of proscuitto or pancetta that isn't paper thin around here. I like it cut a bit thicker when I'm using it in a pasta but it takes several cuts before they get it right. Yep! I'm one of those "older" people and have time to wait for what I want.

I'm so glad to see you are blogging. I find your post in the Japan forum very enlightening. As to your English, it's better than many native speakers so don't feel self concious. You're doing fine. No questions at the moment but carry on, I'm sure there will be some.

As soon as they come out of the poaching liquid they should be dipped into the bowl of seeds, etc. Being wet and a bit sticky should keep the garnishes on.

I call it the interchangeable, plastic laminate menu. It seems that every Mexican or Chinese restaurant has the same stuff as the others . We have two new Chinese places here that have gone beyond the Egg Flower Soup, Chow Mein, Fried Rice, Sweet and Sour Pork and serve things like Squid, Szechuan Tofu, and Chow Fun. The problem as I see it is, as Fat Guy said, customer resistance. Last time we went for lunch I watched a mother and son scarf down some of that awful flourescent pink Sweet and Sour Shrimp. I nearly gag looking at it. Must confess, I like fortune cookies, too. And, yes, I know they aren't authentic.

I have made it for many years in my reliable old Revereware pan. Of course it's stainless steel but it is a lot easier to hold onto than a bowl. I make it like budrichard's post which seems to be the same as Julia's version.

I'm so enjoying this blog. I'm envious of people who have access to so many interesting stores and markets. I used to go to San Francisco a couple of times a year but now it has been two years this month. It reminded me when I saw your cherry blossom as we had gone for the Cherry Blossom Festival. It was a drizzly, windy day so it took a lot of the fun out of it. I'm fascinated by the remodeling you have done and it looks to be very well thought out.

I think you may have had Potato Dumplings. They usually have the crisp crouton in the center. Potato Dumplings

I have been retired for some years now so no recent celebraties. In the past I have cooked for: Melvin Belli, attorney Glen Bell, creator of Taco Bell Thompson Twins, Hee Haw Peter Scolari, Bosom Buddies Slim Pickens, Western sidekick Tom Selleck, twice. Not being a fan of Hee Haw or country music in general, I had no idea who the Thompson Twins were. I just thought they were a couple of nice youg men who came in to have burgers and a game of pool. It wasn't long until someone in the bar recognized them and started being pesty. Glen Bell, after getting out of Taco Bell, came here to do a theme park sort of project but it sort of faded away. He built a lovely house on a hillside outside town. I made well done scrambled eggs for Tom Selleck's breakfast, twice. The waitresses were all in orbit. He did invite some of them to watch filming and then later to the cast party at the end. This used to be a very popular area for filming western movies because it's beautiful country and we have the old train at Railtown 1897. The train is in restoration so we haven't had near as many movies filmed here as in previous years. Many scenes in the Little House series were filmed here as were scenes in Bonanza and a lot of Back to the Future 3. Lots of other movies and TV progarams, too.

Yes, mustard, wasabi, ginger and horseradish all seem to be OK. Last night I rolled chicken breasts in a mixture of Dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, garlic, and a bit of butter; then rolled them in Panko with parsley and Parmesan cheese. It was pretty tasty. Sometimes she can handle small amounts of things that don't work in larger amounts.

Yes, she has found the lists of foods. It isn't so much that we don't know which things cause her problems as it is trying to come up with interesting, low cal, and tasty foods. When she's having a bad day she says, "Nothing but white food today." Chicken, pasta, etc. She is a moderator on one of the IC boards and they swap a lot of info and give a lot of support. IC and Me

It's from the original Silver Palate printed in 1979, Roast Lamb with Peppercorn Crust. It's marinated in raspberry vinegar and red wine with, rosemary, mint, and lots of garlic. Then it is rubbed with mustard and mixed peppercorns.

Thanks so much for all the prompt replies. Peanut butter is a favorite which she dips with apples. Cheese is Ok. We have Gorgonzola or Parmesan on our salads often. Haven't had a buttermilk dressing for some time so I'll try that again. She doesn't care for sardines. Her favorite proteins are chicken or fish. She has eggs often, too. Horseradish is another one that we could use more often. We both like intensely flavored food. Smoke flavor is another that she isn't fond of unless it's from the BBQ. Mmmm! Lime leaves might be good but my tree is just starting to get new leaves. It always gets puny indoors in the winter and I still haven't put it out for the summer when we will (I hope) get lots of new ones. I do have sumac so I may give that a try. Not sure since it's something I'm not sure she has ever tried. The really hard part is the fact that she like Oriental and Mexican foods the best and can't have them without suffering. Thanks again.

My grown daughter lives with me and has some very serious health issues. The worst of them is interstitial cystitis, a very painful bladder condition that has no know cure. One of the major problems with this is she cannot consume citrus fruits, tomatoes, soy sauce and other fermented products, cranberries, chilis, nitrates, and foods with large amounts of potassium like potatoes or bananas. Garlic and other alliums don't seem to bother her so I use a lot of them along with herbs for seasoning. In addition to all this, she has been advised by her physician to lose weight because there will have to be surgery within a year or two. I'm just hoping for some new ideas to increase our dining satisfaction. Some non acidic salad dressings would be a real help because she can eat greens and other salad vegetables except tomatoes. Is there such a thing as a non acid salad dressing that isn't gunky sweet? TIA

And a side of good link sausages and some homemade applesauce.

Pille, the salad looks very good, I have never eaten kashe but I love soba and buckwheat pancakes so I think I would like it. Would probably find it in the health food store.

Knives! I once was at a sister-in-law's house for a family reunion. Since I had nothing else to do but sit and watch her. I said, "Mary, would you like me to cut up those chickens?" Big mistake! My in-laws all had the worst excuse for knives I have ever seen. I didn't cut those birds. I hacked, sawed, chopped, and tore them apart.

I alway stick the puffs along the side with a sharp pointed knife to let some of the steam out during the last 10 minutes or so of baking. I just checked the recipe in the book and everything appears right. Perhaps your oven is like mine, Even though it tests accurate I almost always have to bake things a bit longer than recipes suggest. (Reminding self not to read recipes like this before breakfast.)

Since we are only three this year, I'm trying to keep it simple but festive. Asparagus wrapped in Proscuitto. Boneless lamb leg according to recipe (more or less) in Silver Palate. It's an excellent recipe. Duchesse potato Spinach salad with pinenuts Chocolate Orange Mousse Cake Baked by my eldest.

I have seen Pecan Pies crystalize and think it's because they didn't heve enough corn syrup. Some recipes call for white corn syrup and some for dark, which I prefer. Don't think I've ever seen one with just brown sugar. I don't want a bunch of things added to my pecan pie; no chocolate chips, dry cherries, etc. Just plain pecanny goodness.

Well, maybe green celery is an American thing because that is all I've ever had. Perhaps in other places it is blanched. I have heard of doing this. I have to agree about the pork. The stuff available now is awful. Lovely strawberries are still available from the little roadside stands in the California's Central Valley. Buy them and eat them quickly because they don't keep. I won't buy strawberries in the grocery stores.