torakris

Here is my recipe for flour tortillas, better than anything store bought! : ) This makes 8 (8 inch) tortillas but I normally triple or quadruple it and freeze the leftovers. 2 cups flour (do not use bread flour--the gluten content is too high) 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil 3/4 cup milk ( I use low fat) 1. Warm the milk in a microwave or saucepan, add the oil and salt and stir to combine. 2. Add the flour and baking powder and work the mixture into a dough, it will be sticky. 3. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface and knead about 2 minutes, return it to the bow, cover it, and let it rest for 15 minutes. 4. Divide the dough into 8 golf ball sized pieces and let them rest about 20 minutes covered. 5. Place one piece of dough onto a lightlt floured surface and pat it into a 5 inch circle with your fingers. Then roll it into an 8 incg circle with a rolling pin. This can take some practice and don't worry about perfcect circles or you will be doing this forever! I roll, give it a quarter of a turn, roll again, quarter turn, roll, turn..... 6. Place the tortilla into a large hot dry skillet and cook about 20 to 30 seconds, flip and cook another 20 to 30 seconds, they should puff slightly and have light brown spots. 7. Remove from the pan and place into a towel lined basket and cover with another towl or foil to keep them warm and prevent them from drying out. After a little practice this can be really fast, I can roll out one in the time it takes for another to cook, so it takes me less than 30 minutes to get 30 of them made.

Smallworld, I buy the blocks that are already frozen (they have been frozen at the place they were "made"). I usually order them form my co-op but sometimes have found them in supermarkets. They taste so much better than the "fresh" ones in the supermarket, they are less fishy tasting. I wouldn't recommend freezing the freh ones because they had most likely already been defrosted.

katsuo tataki is one of my favorite dishes and I almost always have a block frozen in freezer, it is sort of an instant dinner for us. I don't think I have ever made it the same way twice, normally it is served with various toppings like ginger, garlic, scallions, shiso, myouga, etc other times I make it more salad-y with mizina, baby spinach, mesclun mix, etc SOmetimes I dress it with the packet that comes with it, other times ponzu or some type of soy based sauce. other times I have made it more Italian style with basalmic vinegar and EVOO. Like smallworld says, I too try not to pile too much on top because then you can't see the gorgeous color. So when using the greens I normally place them on the bottom usually mixed with a little raw red onion. I have a block in the freezer now just waiting for dinner sometime this week.

Ok it isn't exactly a product per se, but last night at Denny's (we stopped in just for dessert) I had a matcha mousse parfait. It was actually quite decent with vanilla ice cream, coverd with an azuki bean sauce, then a large dollop of matcha mouse, a small cream puff filled with ice cream and a swirl of whip cream on top of it all. On te swirl of cream though there were 3 edamame! It was a nice decorative touch but the idea of edamame with a parfait? here is a picture of it from the Denny's homepage, wish it was bigger though: http://www.dennys.co.jp/dj/menu/img/3-gran...ert/g8-33-p.jpg

In the summer foods thread Smallworld said: So how does everyone serve their katsuo tataki? Tonight I plan to serve it on a bed of fresh mizuna and top it with kaiware-na, shiso and myoga, drizzled with ponzu-shoyu. Sometimes I use, instead of or in combination with those toppings, grated daikon, sliced negi and ginger. But piling on the toppings tends to cover up the beautiful deep-red katsuo, which is a shame. Does anyone showcase the fish by serve the toppings seperately? Do you pour the ponzu-shoyu on the katsuo or give a little dish full to each diner for dipping? How do you make your katsuo tataki?

This is very interesting about hijiki, I never had any idea. But for anyone like me who would prefert o go out happy and eating the foods they like here are some recipes: scrambled eggs (or omelet) with hijiki: http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r1082.html simmered hijiki with carrrots and aburage: http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r1081.html

You can make aburage at home, but I haven't had very good luck with it. The tofu need to be weighted down for a while to get rid or as much water as possible and then sliced into thinnner than 1/4 inch slices. You then deep fry it twice, first at a low temperature and then raise it higher so it get a nice browned color, in all it takes about 10 to 12 minutes. I had problems getting good pockets in it.....

Even changing the water daily, tofu has quite a short shelf life normally about 3 to 5 days, about 7 at the absolute max. I would give it a taste, it may no longer be good. Even if still tastes ok, I would only use it in cooked dishes.

It is summer again!

I have found a couple more schools at this site: http://cookforfun.shawguides.com/search?t=Japan (in English)

word for 6/22: 花造り hana-zukuri (hah-nah zoo-koo-rhee) Hana means flower (though it can also mean nose! )and hana-zukuri is whn fish/meat (usually raw) are arranged into a flower shape. Tai sashimi is often prepared this way for special occasions and seems to be very popular at weddings. All the pictures I found of tai hana-zukuri were tiny and difficult to see, so i found another example, this one is of horse meat: http://www.keigetu.co.jp/basasi.jpg

This question of how many kinds of mochi has really gotten to me I like things perfectly organized, this was wonderful when I was working as a reference librarian, and I am having a really hard time categorizing mochi!! You should see how many pages in my notebook I have gone through with various notes..... I have come up with 6 main categories: 1. things made with mochi rice in the actual rice form 2. things made with mochi rice that has been steamed, pounded and formed into shapes 3. things made with mochi-ko, mochi rice that has been washed, ground and dried 4. things made with shiratama-ko, mochi rice that has been soaked, smashed, rinsed and dried 5. things made with doumyouji-ko, mochi rice that has been steamed, dried and then cut into tiny pieces 6. things not made with mochi but have mochi in the name Most of these have both sweet and savory applications and know to break them down one at a time......

Yesterday my neighbors were talking about ayu mochi. Ayu, known as sweetfish in English, is a very popular fish in Japan and this is a mochi sweet (I think filled with an) that is shaped like an ayu. I couldn't find too much information about it but did come up with one picture: http://www.hirutanigaoe.com/shimura/image/Dscf0016.jpg

Gus, something like that you just pick up after a while, in general I would say you use the last vowel in more formal situations and drop it when speaking more casually.

Scrambled eggs with hijiki Serves 2 as Side. This can be made like scrambled eggs or it can be made into an omelet, in which case it is wonderful sliced and put into a bento (boxed lunch). If you don't have tsuyu (preferably the 2 bai type) season it with a little salt, sugar and soy. 2 large eggs small handful reconstituted hijiki 1 T tsuyu ("seasoned" soy sacue) oil, I prefer a flavorless one Mix the eggs, hijiki and tsuyu in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a frypan and add the eggs cooking as you would for scramble eggs or an omelet. In the omelet form it can be prepared ahead of time and served cold or at room temperature. Keywords: Easy, Japanese ( RG1082 )

Scrambled eggs with hijiki Serves 2 as Side. This can be made like scrambled eggs or it can be made into an omelet, in which case it is wonderful sliced and put into a bento (boxed lunch). If you don't have tsuyu (preferably the 2 bai type) season it with a little salt, sugar and soy. 2 large eggs small handful reconstituted hijiki 1 T tsuyu ("seasoned" soy sacue) oil, I prefer a flavorless one Mix the eggs, hijiki and tsuyu in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a frypan and add the eggs cooking as you would for scramble eggs or an omelet. In the omelet form it can be prepared ahead of time and served cold or at room temperature. Keywords: Easy, Japanese ( RG1082 )

hijiki simmered with aburage and carrots Serves 4 as Side. This is a good example of a Japanese nimono or simmered dish. If I have them on hand I like to toss a handful of freshly boiled edamame at the end for a little color. You will often also see this dish with daizu, soy beans. 50 g dried hijiki, reconstituted 2 pieces aburage (tofu pockets) 1/2 carrot, julienned 1-1/2 c dashi 1 T sugar 4 T soy sauce 1 T sake 1. Place both the reconstituted hijiki and aburage in colanders and pour boiling water over them. 2. Squeeze out the water and slice the aburage into 1/4 inch threads. 3.Add the dashi, sugar, soy and sake to a saucepan and bring to a boil, add the hijiki and carrots and keep at a strong simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until there is just a little liquid left. 4. Season with more soy or sugar to taste and stir in the aburage ( and edamame if using) and remove from the heat. this is best served at room teperature, but is also good warm or cold. Keywords: Side, Vegetarian, Easy, Japanese ( RG1081 )

hijiki simmered with aburage and carrots Serves 4 as Side. This is a good example of a Japanese nimono or simmered dish. If I have them on hand I like to toss a handful of freshly boiled edamame at the end for a little color. You will often also see this dish with daizu, soy beans. 50 g dried hijiki, reconstituted 2 pieces aburage (tofu pockets) 1/2 carrot, julienned 1-1/2 c dashi 1 T sugar 4 T soy sauce 1 T sake 1. Place both the reconstituted hijiki and aburage in colanders and pour boiling water over them. 2. Squeeze out the water and slice the aburage into 1/4 inch threads. 3.Add the dashi, sugar, soy and sake to a saucepan and bring to a boil, add the hijiki and carrots and keep at a strong simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until there is just a little liquid left. 4. Season with more soy or sugar to taste and stir in the aburage ( and edamame if using) and remove from the heat. this is best served at room teperature, but is also good warm or cold. Keywords: Side, Vegetarian, Easy, Japanese ( RG1081 )

I always do that! So how do you usually ask for your check in this type of place? they usually give the check with the meal, so I just walk over to the register...

Yeah, second page!!

since you and Helen couldn't make it, why don't you guys decide! I am game for anything.

Don't worry Pat, it took me years! A couple years back I bought my kids one of those sugary coated cereals from Kellogs (I swear I haven't done it since! ) and on the back they had charts showing the cereal vs a natto gohan breakfast and the cereal was way ahead in everything. I couldn't beleive these people were trying to convince mothers that this junky sugar coated crap was better for you than a natto gohan breakfast....

6/21: Though it has nothing to do with tai lets look at the words used in the last post. 作る　つくる　 tsukuru 造る　つくる tsukuru These words are both pronounced the same and generally have the same meaning, to make. The first word means to make or create in an everyday sense, to make dinner, to make a dress, etc. The second one is more in the sense of to produce or to manufacture, such as making a bridge or making wine. In some cases they will seem interchangeable as in the previous post, I llike to think of the first one as the all purpose word while the second one is used when some kind of serious skill is involved.

are you really 13!? I do find the meals to be very nutritious, they have a balance of good for you food and food that kids love. I also feel that there are a lot less picky kids in Japan and the school lunch plays a part in this. Since I only provided information on one meal, here is what my kids are going to eat this week: MONDAY deep fried balls made out of fish paste and edamame, dried daikon strips simmered with aburage (tofu pockets) and carrots in a soy based broth, a stirfry of pork, dried shiitake, shimeji and enoki mushrooms, carrots, burdock root, and mitsuba (trefoil), sprouted rice and milk TUESDAY sausages (with liver included) served in a hot dog bun with a chilli tomato sauce, soy milk soup made with pork, bacon,onions,carrots, corn, komatsuna (a green)--the stock is amde from scratch with pork bones, "smashed" potatoes, milk WEDS beef, carrots, burdock root, shirataki (a "noodle") cooked in a gingery soy sauce with sesame seeds, ohitashi of cabbage and komatsuna (boiled and dressed with soy), miso soup with tofu, potatoes, onions and wakame, barley rice and milk THURSDAY Chinese style meatballs (with a sweet and sour sauce), "Chinese" salad with harusame (noodles), cabbage, cucmbers, carrots and a karashi (mustard) dressing, raisin rolls, milk and melon FRIDAY Summer vegetable curry with pork, ginger, garlic, potatoes, carrots, onions, eggplant, and green beans, cabbage and cucumber pickles with ginger, barley rice, milk, and a jellied peach dessert

Gus, These are one of my favorite foods! At our house we make them DIY (do it yourself) style, I place all the ingredients on a large platter and put a bowl or two of warm water as well and everyone makes them as they eat. Living in Japan I take advantage of the fresh fish and use a lot of sashimi, normally tuna or a white fleshed fish like sea bream, other times I use boiled shrimp or paper thin pieces of pork--just cooked. Other additions can include (though not necessarily all together): rice noodles or Japanese harusame bean sprouts cucumbers carrots nira (garlic chives) lettuce leaves mizuna avocado mint cilantro shiso My favorite dipping sauce is made with nampla, lime juice, sugar, ginger and chiles, my husband likes sweet chile sauce and I also will set out a container of hoisin sauce if pork is included.