torakris

Thursday dinner my family plus 2 more kids flounder marinated in miso and then grilled simmered kabocha avocado and tomato salad (again!) pickled eggplants Japanese rice popsicles for dessert

word for 9/12: 平茸　ひらたけ hiratake (hee-rah-tah-kay) These are oyster mushrooms and there are a couple varieties available in Japan, most of them are darker then what most people associate with oyster muchrooms. They tend toward dark brown or a blue-grey and have a flavor stronger then the average lighter colored oyster. In Japan are are used mostly in sautees as they hold their shape quite well. pictures of two types: http://homepage2.nifty.com/~fwkk1523/hiratake.htm

It took me about 5 minutes of reading this over to figure out what you were talking about! I get it, the olive oil actually being PRESSED by the lemons.............. I think they mean more of an infused type of oil, of course I could be way off here. I guess that is why I am asking........... I should stay off the computer late at night I can't think coherently, OK it is only 8:00pm but that is late for me!

Shopping for olive oils today I ran across a bottle of olive oil that said it was pressed with lemons. The name was Agrumato or something like that. Has anyone ever tried this? what is it like? what do you use it with? I am tempted to buy it the next time I am there...........

what no link to egullet!? Great site, looking forward to the new book, it is about time people slow down, especially when it comes to food......

WOW! I can't wait to get started tomorrow morning! One question though, After I take out my one cup of sourdough starter for the bread I will be left with maybe another cup or so (maybe less) how do I keep up my supply? Can I just add another cup of water and another cup of flour and whizz them together? And if I wanted to make more starter to give to friends could I increase the amounts of flour and water? EDIT sorry that was two questions!

It is sad to say but the first time I ever had cilantro was my 21st birthday, my boyfriend and I were eating lunch at some restaurant in the Bahamas and it was in the salsa. It was so soapy tasting I couldn't even go back for a second bite. Now 12 years later (God, has it been that long? ) I love the stuff and use it where ever possible, can't remember exactly when my taste changed though........

Wow! I was just paging through the Grains and Greens book last night! Do you have an address for the website?

I use the Japanese tiny round taro and usually I buy them frozen because I don't always have the time to deal with the fresh ones. Taste wise they aren't as good as the real thing (what frozen product is? ) but they are good enough that I continue to use them. They do have a tendency to be mushier though, especially if over cooked. I don't know about grating though because the Japanese ones are too small to even think about grating them.

On Japanese tv last night they were showing a "kimchi" made with live octopus. the octopus was chopped into little pieces and these little pieces were wriggling all over the cutting board, then they tossed them with a kimchi "sauce" and they were served still wriggling.

Weds dinner: lazy night! mapodofu tomato and avocado salad eggplant "pickles" (shoyu-zuke), bought Japanese rice

From the Daily Nihongo thread 月見 tsukimi (tsu-key-mee) From the word "tsuki" meaning moon and the "mi" form the verb to watch or to view, tis is often referred to in English as moon viewing. Today is　十五夜(juu-go-ya) or 15th night and this refers to the 15th night of the 8th lunar month which is traditionally one of the most beautiful times to view the moon. Originally it was a celebration for the end of harvest and for sending thanks, nowadays it seems to be celebrated more by trekking down to McDonald's for the tsukimi burger! That is a hamburger with a fried egg on top. Offerings were often made to the moon of things that were round in shape, mostly tsukimi dango and satoimo (taro) and today the word tsukimi is often added to dish names such as tsukimi udon and the tsukimi burger. to learn a little bit more about tsukimi (and the rabbits on the moon ) look here: http://japan.chez.tiscali.fr/Th-Index/E-Th-Tsukimi.htm Any favorite tsukimi foods? Any favorite ways of celebrating?

word for 9/11: we are going to take a break from the mushrooms because today is a special day in Japan! 月見 tsukimi (tsu-key-mee) From the word "tsuki" meaning moon and the "mi" form the verb to watch or to view, tis is often referred to in English as moon viewing. Today is十五夜(juu-go-ya) or 15th night and this refers to the 15th night of the 8th lunar month which is traditionally one of the most beautiful times to view the moon. Originally it was a celebration for the end of harvest and for sending thanks, nowadays it seems to be celebrated more by trekking down to McDonald's for the tsukimi burger! That is a hamburger with a fried egg on top. Offerings were often made to the moon of things that were round in shape, mostly tsukimi dango and satoimo (taro) and today the word tsukimi is often added to dish names such as tsukimi udon and the tsukimi burger. to learn a little bit more about tsukimi (and the rabbits on the moon ) look here: http://japan.chez.tiscali.fr/Th-Index/E-Th-Tsukimi.htm

miiki welcome to egullet! Anyone with little kids in the house gets a little leeway here I have boxes of mac and cheese and luckily my 3 kids can finish up one box among the 3 of them so I don't have leftovers!

Zosui is a wonderful way to finish up the soup and little bits of left over food in the nabe pot! Unlike congee, zosui is made with rice that is already cooked so it is more of an instant meal, the Japanese dish of okayu is the slow simmered rice dish that is essentially the same as congee. This okayu is one of the first foods babies in Japan eat, it is also the equivalent of the american chicken soup and is given when sick, it is also the first food you will be given in the hospital after any kind of operation. Most rice cookers have an okayu setting and lines on the inner bowl to indicate how much water to add. Some families cook the okayu for the babies right in the rice cooker WITH te rice for the rest of the family, a small rice bowl with a little rice and a lot of water is placed on top of the uncooked rice and water mixer in the rice cooker, when it is done perfect rice and perfect okayu, all done at the same time! picture and recipe for okayu: http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/ref/t...gayu/torig.html

Cool! nabe season will be upon us soon! Can't wait

last night was burrito night!

Wish I knew more about Kobe............. Have never been, I am sure there is a Gykaku there though!

word for 9/10: シメジ　しめじ shimeji (shee-may-jee) These are another very popular mushroom in Japan, sometimes referred to as beech mushroom in English there seem to be quite a few different varieties. The most common types in the stores are labeled as hon-shimeji and buna-shimeji and nowadays almost all are cultivated are cultivated. True hon-shimeji are difficult to find and are quite expensive and buna shimeji are actually a type of oyster mushroom (hiratake) there is a lot of mislabeling out there. They are a fairly mild tasting mushroom that grow in clusters with thick white stems and small smooth caps varying in color from white to dark brown. They are popular in sautees, soups, nabes, dressed dishes, and also deep fried and in rice dishes. what will be labeled as shimeji in the store: http://material.miyazaki-c.ed.jp/cec/syoku...isen/c1msh4.jpg

A food catalog that I regularly order from (in Japan) just started selling a new product, wasabi cream cheese............... hhmmmm........sounds good!

pulled out all the cookbooks last night! banh cuon (steamed rice sheets with pork and mushrooms) served with fried scallions with oil and nuoc cham from Essentials of Asian Cuisine by Corinne Trang Spicy black bean mussels with rice stick noodles from Blue Ginger by Ming Tsai Carrot and daikon pickled salad (dau chua) from Hot Sour Sweet Salty by Alford and Duguid Jasmine rice dessert: leftover Costco coconut-macademia nut tart

What he said! Next time definitely look for something that lists sudachi or yuzu especially on the front label, you will be amazed at the taste difference. The varieties they have in Japan are incredible but unfortunately very few are exported. I don't think I have ever purchased the same bottle twice. Ponzu is great with almost anything Just last week I had a seared salmon dish topped with ponzu, then Sunday I had Japanese style hamburgers with grated daikon and ponzu (grated daikon and ponzu are a traditional pair), occasionally I will make a quick stirfy of bean sprouts, maybe some cabbage and carrots, season with a little salt and pepper and then cover with ponzu. It is a wonderful "dip" for grilled foods and is a condiment served with a variety on Japanese nabes (one-pot dishes)

My friend D*****'s house!!!!!!! Trust me, she DOES NOT read egullet!

A Korean friend of mine once told me that if the kimchee "burns" your mouth to put some soy sauce on your tongue, it actually worked pretty well, no longer need it though!

Megaira welcome to egullet! One of the best threads is called How we ate growing up..... While not exactly how we all got into cooking, it is probably one of the best threads here. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...9&hl=growing+up Good luck reading it all!