BarbaraY

I went to a market a while back that had plucked chickens lying on a counter. No refrigeration but head and feet (and probably guts) still intact. The store didn't appear to be as dirty as some I've been in but I bought only things in cans.

The only Japanese soy sauce available here is Kikkoman so that is what I have used except for a bottle of Maruten usukuchi which has excellent flavor. I recently ordered from one of my favorite Japanese mail order places. They had imported regular Kikkoman for a very reasonable price so I ordered it. I was surprised to find that it had a somewhat different ingredient list than my American made sauce. Japanese: water, soybeans, wheat, salt, and alcohol. American: water, wheat, soybeans, salt, sodium benzoate. There is a very definite difference in flavor.

Just tell them you're underage. I doubt that they will seat you at the bar. I dislike eating at the bar.

I get a bit queasy looking at monkfish because I know about it and wish I didn't. I will eat almost any type of sushi or sashimi but don't think I could handle the pickled squid guts. It took me at least 60 years to get to enjoying eggplant cooked any way but fried with crumbs. Made Barbara Tropp's eggplant dip and found it heavenly and then I found caponata. More heaven. I prefer to not eat marshmallows. Nasty, squooshy things!

I grew up in a small, rural, Sierra Nevada lumber town. There were many of our neighbors from Mexico, mostly Jalisco. They all made their enchiladas with flour tortillas. I think this was because we were so isolated that masafor corn tortillas was unavailable. My dad never did acquire a taste for corn tortillas but I do not like flour tortillas in enchiladas because of the slimy gooeyness. As I recall, Lupe would quickly dip the flour tortillas in sauce and then fry them a bit before filling and saucing them. It does improve the texture way.

Guess I'm the odd one out here. I don't really care for breakfast at dinner time nor do I want sandwiches. Maybe that's because I almost always eat breakfast for breakfast unless there's leftover pizza.

Nobody I know does this. We usually each pick something, after much discussion, and then share. Seems to me these people don't know much about Chinese dining.

"Chicken Picatta" a slab of griddled chicken breast, topped with some Mozarella?, and a cornstarchy lemon sauce made with lemon extract! I swear I was served this at a so-called Italian restaurant. Never went there again, either.

My pickle bed is working nicely. I served some for dinner Wednesday for the first time. My daughter, a grandmother herself, said." Wow! Those are really good." To me, they still are a little more salty than I would like but I'm sure that will decrease. I used cucumber, seeded and rubbed with salt and let them pickle for half a day. I had to be away for several days so they are in the fridge. Will see how they work after refrigerating since I've never done that before.

I think most in the industry get tired if not grossed out at what we make every day. My ex couldn't understand why I didn't want to eat at my work place. The food was good and sanitation very good but I had been cooking and looking at this stuff day after day. I wanted something different. In our town is one restaurant that is so disgusting I won't even go into it. Drove by it yesterday, and from the street, you could see the stripes of dust on the mini blinds. Don't know why the health inspector doesn't shut them down. Grosses me out just thinking about it. Scottie, go wash your hands!!!

Kris, your salad looks delicious. Wish I could find gobo in the Farmer's Market here but it doesn't start until the end of May. I think I'll have to order some seeds and try growing it myself.

In the past I have canned a lot of different things, mostly pickles and fruit. Now I do very little but last summer I made a batch of watermelon pickles that were delicious. I try to make a batch of wild blackberry jam for my kids and grandkids who love it. The figs on my tree make a wonderful conserve but it has been several years since I made that. I have one jar left and I'm the only one who eats it. The old "Eeeew. Figs! syndrome".

I love miso sauces. They are rarely found in American Japanese restaurants. I made one recently that we enjoyed on green beans: 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds 1 tablespoon sugar 2 teaspoons dashi stock or water 1 1/2 teaspoon red miso 1 tablespoon soy sauce Grind sesame seeds and stir in remaining ingredients. Good with lightly cooked asparagus, too.

Mmmmmm! BACON!

The buon compleano was really and truly spelled out in curved bits of nori. It was pretty amazing...! ← The Encyclopedia of Sushi Rolls by Ken Kawasumi has detailed instructions on making the whole alphabet. Lots of other good sushi ideas, too. I especially like the Salmon Miso Saute rolls.

This dish is one of my all time favorites. I don't remember where I first tried it but I know it was love at first taste. I have never made it with jalapeno, only dried red chili. Must give it a try.

I checked her recipe and found it called for beef... I'm a Kanto man, born and bred in Tokyo. For me, niku-jaga is supposed to be made with pork, not beef! ← How about that? I have several recipes and none of them call for pork so now I have learned something new. I'll have to try it with pork.

I had some thinly sliced beef so today I made niku jaga for the first time using Kris' recipe more or less. I used only 1 tablespoon sugar and it tasted just right to me. It is soooo good! Such a simple thing but tastes wonderful.

My pickle bed seems to be starting to work. I put a cucumber and a carrot in it yesterday. The carrot didn't taste very good but the cucumber is close to the flavor I expect although it is still way salty.

Thanks Hiroyuki, That looks like something close to what I could do. No aburage or uchi mame here but I think I could work around that.

I, too, use Julia's recipe with some minor modifications. I add thyme, which she doesn't use, also a bayleaf and red instead of white wine. Absolutely must have rich homemade stock. I made it on a rainy day last week and it was excellent.

That's what happened to my last attempt. A nasty mold formed so I'm watching this one very closely. It's cooler now than when I did the last one which I think may have been too wet.

Yes, shirataki not shiratake. That helps.

Spare me! There is plenty of variety in sushi without using these weird looking things. Not at all interested in this but would try it if someone offered me one.

I started my pickle bed yesterday and put it into a lidded plastic container. I have made nukazuke before but the first time I tried them in this house, they got so nasty that I had to toss the whole thing. This time I lightly toasted the nuka in the oven until it smell nice, cooled and added water, salt, kombu, chiles, garlic and ginger. Now all I do is let it do it's thing until it makes good pickles if I'm lucky.