torakris

I didn't forget you, Kristin!Here's what Julie Sahni has to say in her great Classic Indian Cooking in her recipe for "Goanese Hot and Pungent Curry (Vendaloo)": The recipe (for about 1 1/2 lbs of pork) creates a marinade with the Indian equivalent of the holy trinity (onion, garlic, ginger) as well as some pan-roasted and ground spices, cider vinegar, and oil and marinates the meat for 8 hrs at room temperture (!) or for 48 hours in the fridge (!!). Cooking is with some tamarind pulp, onions, and a few other things, including the left-over marinade. ← this sounds better than the beef one I was thinking doing. I have made the vindaloo from Madhur Jaffrey's book and really enjoyed it, but there is no marinating and no tamarind in her recipe....

I did it! First we started by making the sausages, almost 4 lbs of Spicy Louisiana Poultry Sausage from Bruce Aidell's "Complete Sausage Book". This was our first attempt at a chicken sausage and at a casing stuffed sausage and I think it went quite well. I just wish I had taken pictures... It took a lot longer than I thought and I really needed to get started on the gumbo. I snapped this picture this morning of one I had saved out for my husband's lunch tomorrow, it was one of the first ones and is slightly anorexic looking..... I discovered that the sausage book also had a recipe for gumbo in it and it called for red bell peppers as well as okra (which I really wanted to use) so I decided to give it a try. Daughter Julia stirred the roux will I did the prep, I took over after 30 minutes-- the book said 20 minutes over med heat for dark brown but I was scared of doing it too quickly so I turned the heat to low and even though I did turn it up when I took over and it took 50 minutes to reach somewhere in between a medium and a dark brown. the prep this recipe called for the vegetables to be added in stages, first the celery and onions and then 5 minutes later the peppers and some chopped sausages (I used what was left in the machine after stuffing), then the herbs/garlic. All the vegetables and sausage added to the roux I then added the stock and simmered for 15 minutes, added the okra and simmered for about 30 minutes, then finally the sliced sausage (cooked first) and simmered a bit more. At the very end I added some sliced scallions and then plated it with the rice (American long grain) in the middle, this got some oohs and aahs. Served with tabasco. The kids weren't really impressed (though they did eat it), my husband loved it, he had 3 large servings! He had never even heard of gumbo before.... Thanks everybody! I couldn't have done it with out you guys!!

I am one of those people..... I didn't now that, I always dribbled, but I do that when I drink from a cup as well...

This is a drink with a past. It appeared early in the Meiji period, soon after Japan was reopened to the outside world a century ago. No one knows for sure, but general opinion has it that the name is a corruption of lemonade. Indeed, it sounds more like the English word than the present day Japanese word which is an acknowledged attempt to say "lemonade". Another theory has it that a man named Mr. Ramune was the one to first make it, although this idea has few subscribers. from here The Meiji period ran from 1868 - 1912 so yes it is rather old. not familiar with ramune? lots of pictures here

Try this link instead As most people I know still serve rice at dinner, I think it is the switch to bread for breakfasts that is hurting the rice sales the most...

some variations kinako shiruko roasted soybean powder ringo shiruko apple (3rd one down) matcha shiruko green tea Black rice and coconut milk shiruko even kitty-chan makes shiruko

the katsuo tataki thread

one of my favorite versions of katsuo tataki, sort of Italian style with baby spinach, yellow peppers, red onions, tomato and a balsamic and EVOO dressing

well here is something you won't see in most Japanese homes katsuo tataki served salad style (with baby spinach, yellow peppers, red onions, tomato and a balsamic and EVOO dressing. katsuo and balsamic vinegar go together beautifully.... I took 3 pictures and they all came out blurry.....

Shiruko is a sweet soup made from adzuki beans boiled in a mixture of water and sugar, with grilled pieces of mochi rice cake floating in the bowl. The soup is served hot, and is one of Japan's best-known traditional sweet dishes. It is eaten as a snack, generally during some hungry moment between lunch and supper. There are two variations—the beans can be left whole, or they can be strained when soft, to mash them and remove the skins. In western Japan, the former variety is often called zenzai. Shiruko is eaten throughout the year, but because it is served piping hot, it is considered a special treat for the cold winter months. more from Nipponia I love shiruko, but I have to admit it was an acquired taste that took many years! In the winter months cans of hot shiruko start popping up in the vending machines. and you can also buy version that you just heat up in your microwave this one was made with soy milk and it was quite good. I think I paid about 80 yen ($0.75) for it, much cheaper than 120 yen ($1.10) for the cans.... Shiruko doesn't necessarily need to be made from adzuki (red beans), I have had incredible version that were made with black sesame seeds and one from kabocha.

I buy all my Penzeys through mail order (though I'm eager to get to the Boston store sometime), but I place a pretty big order three or four times per year. There are certainly things that I have to get at our local Indian store, and I certainly wouldn't want to call into question the quality of bulk stuff at yours. But I've been very happy with the quality of stuff at Penzeys, which seem to exude the essence of any given spice in ways that other purveyors don't, and I have found that the bulk items at my store vary widely in terms of quality and freshness. ← I too am a huge fan of Penzey's, on my trip back to the US last summer I bought a bunch of spices from an Indian shop that had recently opened up but I have to admit I was really dissapointed. Penzey's were much fresher and tasted better.... I place a massive order every year and about 90% of my spice cabinet comes from their store. Where is the Boston store? I will be there for at least a couple days this summer and I would love to check it out!

Ok I am planning on making it tomorrow! One quick question, for the trinity can I use red or yellow bell peppers for the green ones? They don't have green bell peppers in Japan, the ones they have are very small and extremely thin skinned (walled?) and I also have a couple red and yellow peppers I need to do something with......

Since Hiroyuki mentioned it 2/26: どじょう汁 dojou jiru dojou soup This has many variation depending on what part of Japan you are in. This version is very simple, seasoned only with dashi, soy and a splash of sake. This version includes udon noodles and miso.

those chocolate mochi thing look incredible, how were they?

The bag on the left, the kari kari ume are my absolute favorites, my Japanese friends all thing I am little strange for preferring those over other snacks..... Do those shiso maki ume have seeds? they look much bigger than mine. Aren't they great?

I have never had they milk tea but their regular tea is the best I have ever had in a fast food place and actually better than most restaurants......

I am a pretty adventurous eater, but I am with you on this one! I think I would have no problem with the hone nuki version but otherwise it is too worm like for me to get excited about..... Luckily it has never been served to me.

here is the homepage for the National Livestock Breeding Center with information on the tracking system

Under the system, domestically grown cows and those imported live are given a 10-digit registration number with which consumers can trace the background of the animal via the Internet. Until now, the tracking system covered only information at the production and meat-processing levels. But the coverage expands Wednesday to retailers and restaurants that offer beef dishes – probably the widest coverage in the world, according to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry. more of the article here have you seen it anywhere yet? I saw it for the first time yesterday.... looked something like this

I cook Indian quite a bit so I am going to use a recipe I haven't used yet. I have made practically everything from the meat section of Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking so this time I will try her 'Royal' Lamb or Beef with a Creamy Almond sauce, using the beef. I have avoided this one because of the large amount of cream..... now to serve it with a rice or a bread..... and the sides..... and I still have yet to make the gumbo

my absolute favorite is a large can of tomatoes, either onions or garlic (depending on my mood), a can of decent tuna, and a handful of fresh bay leaves (from my bay tree) all simmered together while the pasta is boiling

2/25: Some places will even offer the dozeu nabe with the bones from the dojo already removed for you. This is often referred to as 骨ぬきどぜうなべ (hone nuki dozeu nabe). Hone 骨 are bones and nuki means removed, you may be familiar with this term nuki as it is also the way you can ask for the sushi chef to not put wasabi on your sushi. You just ask "wasabi nuki kudasai", wasabi (Japanese horseradish) nuki (remove/don't put on) kudasai (please). hone nuki dozeu nabe

Tofu works really well as a filling for a variety of things, one of my favorites is spring rolls with napa cabbage and tofu from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The Korean style beef and tofu patties is a favorite of my kids and it is a really great way to stretch ground beef that is very expensive here in Japan.

lamb isn't very easy to find in Japan and my kids don't like it... very small voice follows: can I substitute pork or beef.....?

we discussed this topic a bit in this thread in the Japan forum.