torakris

more information on citrus canker then you ever wanted! http://doacs.state.fl.us/canker/menu1.htm The ban might not apply to sanshou (which would probably come from Japan) if there is a problem with the szechuan pepper harvest from China, it is most likely a local infection.

you have to read the small print on the poster that says which day it goes on sale! I have also done this more times than I can remember, like don't put up the signs unless you can actually order it. They are just taunting us, look what you can eat NEXT WEEK!

Friday dinner: another nice day so I got all the bedding washed and the futons aired, thus another lazy dinner (okay I really spent most of the day watching movies and eating chocolate chip cookies, but anyway.....) grilled (griddle pan) harasu, which is salmon belly, with sudachi (a Japanese citrus) and sanshou miso soup with satoimo (Japanese taro), carrots, konnyaku, negi (Japanese leek) and aburage (tofu pockets) seasoned with a little yuzu-koshou (a yuzu and chile pepper mix) takuan with shiso, sesame seeds, myouga and bonito flakes and more of the jarred foods from yesterday -squid with uni -bonito shiokara -seaweed with fish eggs Japanese rice

back to sanshou more information on zathoxylum pipertum then you ever wanted! http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/eng...l?Zant_pip.html This "pepper" is used all over Asia and IS part of the citrus family (rutaceae) really great picture of all the different varities as well

2 new burgers that look REALLY good! the Takumi burger http://www.mos.co.jp/spotlight/030807/takumi.html and the jambalaya chicken (with asparagus and tarragon hollandaise sauce) http://www.mos.co.jp/spotlight/030807/j_chicken.html and lucky me, there is a Mos burger just down my street!

At least you didn't make the mistake I did, I was suing the Mac and cheese recipe from The Best Recipe (which is quite good when done right) and it calls for 2 teaspoons of salt. Well I was jsut skimming the recipe as I was making it, not really reading it since I KNOW how to make mac and cheese. I dumped all 2 teaspoons into the sauce thinking it seemed like a lot but if that is what they said...... re-reading it later it seems that 1 1/2 teaspoons of the 2 is to salt the water for boiling the pasta........ oops! inedible!

living in Japan where it isn't considered a meal with out rice, I always have the rice cooker filled, just in case. no matter what is on the table.

word for 8/23: うど udo (oo-doe) I have seen this occasionally referred to as spikenard (which means nothing to me and most others I am sure) and even as Japanese asparagus, which it faintly resembles in taste. Native to Japan it is a member of the ginseng family and it available both cultivated and wild, the wild ones are referred to as yama (mountain) udo and have a much stronger taste. It is white with green tops and a slight pinkish tinge and can grow up to 4 feet in length, it is shaped somewhat similar to an asaparagus but much thicker. It can be eaten raw in salads and it is also boiled and added to dressed dishes or simmered ones, though the skin can be eaten it is quite tough and thus it is always peeled before eating, occasionally the skins are made into a dish on their own. picture: http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/images/ve...ure/udo.ht6.jpg

so what do you all use shichimi (nanami) or ichimi togarashi for?

God I love those tomatoes.................

You guys need to come to Japan and eat some tofu! I have never had good Japanese tofu outside of Japan and why are those little boxes that last forever so popular, I have yet to run across those here!

I always assumed it was the year he was born, since I know we are the same age and I was born in 1970. But it could have something to do with soba I guess.

chihuahau welcome to egullet! and the Japan forum! My ex-boyfriends mother used to make this, she took the tsukudani sanshou and tossed them in a fry pan with some chirimen-jyako, I can't remember if she added anything else but it was so good either as a furikake or rolled into onigiri.

Thursday dinner: The first day of sun in Tokyo for 17 days! (and the 5th day of sun since the start of summer!) so I spent the day doing laundry, including airing out the tent and washing and hanging out all the sleeping bags thus I didn't put any effort into dinner chicken meatballs with satoimo (Japanese taro) and green beans in a dashi based sauce topped with some grated sudachi -- all 3 ingredients were frozen julienned takuan with shiso and sesame seeds cucumber sticks with miso-mayo dip some sushi rice with fake crab, cucumbers, and takuan (leftover from lunch) 2 kinds of hiyayakko (couldn't decide which to do) --mentaiko (spicy cod roe) with scallions and tamari --scallions, myoga (ginger bud), with sudachi juice and tamari 3 prepared products --katsuo-shiokara (bonito pickled in its own fermented guts) --ika (squid) sashimi with an uni dressing --mekabu (a type of slimy seaweed) with the eggs from the shisahamo fish Japanese rice

Indian restaurants are severely lacking in the Cleveland area! At least on the East side (don't know about the West since I never venture over there) Not to offend my fellow Clevelanders but they can tend to be simple and cheap Most Indian in Cleveland is really on the cheap side and the one moderate priced one Cafe Tandoor and although it is quite good, I have never seen it packed on a weekend night. My family frequents the Cleveland Heights branch quite a bit and have been since it opened quite a while ago (they know have branched to 2 stores on the West side but none of us have been since the C.H. branch is just minutes from my parents) and it has seemed to gain popularity over the years, but I don't know how anything more expensive would fare. Clevelanders just don't like to part with their money, not even for good food! Here is a list of the Indian restaurants in Cleveland: http://www.cleveland.com/dining/index.ssf?...9&loc=&x=15&y=3

They are close cousins, sansho is much milder then the true Sichuan peppercorns, though most places will tell you they are the same. If you have ever had the two side by side you will know the difference.

more on sanshou from the daily nihongo thread: word for 7/4: 山椒 sanshou (sahn-show) these are the pods from the prickly ash tree, often referred to as Japanese pepper even though it is not a pepper. It is more fragrant then "hot" and it helps cut the oiliness in fatty foods. It is most often seen in a powder form and it is the traditional "spice" of choice for unagi (grilled eel). It is also quite common to make a tsukudani (soy simmered condiment) from the seeds. 木の芽 kinome (key-noh-may) these are the young leaves of the prickly ash and are a common garnish in Japanese cooking. They have been described as being fresh with just the mildest hint of mintiness. Besides being a garnish the leavesa re sometimes ground into a paste and used as a sauce flavoring. picture of kinome: http://www.sainet.or.jp/~jurian/news/products/sanshou.html here are pictures of the "stages" of sanshou: http://aoki2.si.gunma-u.ac.jp/BotanicalGar...Ls/sanshou.html

I pulled this out of the yakitori thread because it deserves its own thread! QUOTE (SG- @ Aug 21 2003, 01:08 PM) QUOTE (torakris @ Aug 20 2003, 02:37 PM) sansho really is wonderful, isn't it? biggrin.gif Sure is, very interesting flavour herbal yet peppery. What do you use it for? Do you have a picture of what the pepper looks like? sanshou is really an incredible plant and the Japanese use it at every stage, the young leaves called kinome are used as garnishes and also pounded into pastes, the flowers are used as garnishes as well, the buds (pods) or sanshou no mi can be pickled (with either vinegar or salt) or turned into a tsukudani by simmering with soy sauce for about 24 hours. The dried pods are what is the mostly commonly known outside of Japan, they are most often ground into a fine powder, I buy the dried pods in a small bottle with a mill attached and grind my own as needed, I don't know if this is availlable outside of Japan. The most common use of sanshou is on unagi (eel) and yakitori, it is also sometimes mixed with salt and used as a "dip" for deep fried foods. I also like it in stirfries, where I use it as the main seasoning.

word for 8/22: アボカド abokado (ah-bow-kah-doe) avocado This is quite new to Japan, 15 years ago very few people had ever seen one. The most common way to eat it in Japanese homes is as avocado sashimi, thinly sliced and topped with wasabi and soy, and thanks to the American creation of the california roll it has become a popular addition to sushi rolls. Most commonly what is referred to in Japan as the salad roll, usually lettuce, some type of seafood, avocado, maybe egg, and lots of mayo.

Last night was almost entirely from A new Way to Cook by Sally Schneider, recipes from the book are followed by page #'s Chicken with garlic, thyme and olives (page 306) this calls for a whole chicken to be baked in foil with all of the other ingredients, I didn't have a whole chicken so I substituted cornish hens but the shorter cooking time meant that the garlic didn't get all nice and roasty sad.gif . It was a great dish, very tender but not one I would serve for guests because of the pale look of the chicken. Slow roasted tomatoes (page 38) these were wonderful! Rosemary, lemon, and garlic focaccia (page 366) this was wonderful too but next time I will double up on the toppings and look forthe thinnest skinned lemon I can find navy bean and cherry tomato salad, the beans were prepared by her method on page 92 and this is the best (most flavorful) beans I have ever had sauteed green beans edited for pictures

I have made this recipe quite a few times and love it! I tend to make it when I have a lot of tomatoes just past their salad eating prime and don't feel like tomato sauce

Glad to know I am not the only one! Every couple of years I get these intense cravings for hot dogs or corn dogs, which I normally don't eat, and I can't ignore it. Luckily corn dogs in Japan (they are called American dogs here by the way ) are the most vile things I have ever tasted and this ahs pretty much curbed my craving for them. every summer I get cravings for American style cucumbers (those big, fat watery things with huge seeds) even though when I was living in the US I avoided them like the plague. and for some reason before every trip I take back to the US I get intense cravings for taco bell and rush into the nearest one as soon as the plane touches down and then I toss it half eaten into the trash because it is sooo bad!

There are a lot of these cook it yourself (Korean BBQ style mostly) and fat spitting stone /griddle cooked places in Japan. Almost all shabu-shabu, sukiyaki and other hot pots are do it yourself. They even have do it yourself kushiyaki (deep fried panko'd skewers of food), now that is an accident waiting to happen

Weds night: Last night was almost entirely from A new Way to Cook by Sally Schneider, recipes from the book are followed by page #'s Chicken with garlic, thyme and olives (page 306) this calls for a whole chicken to be baked in foil with all of the other ingredients, I didn't have a whole chicken so I substituted cornish hens but the shorter cooking time meant that the garlic didn't get all nice and roasty . It was a great dish, very tender but not one I would serve for guests because of the pale look of the chicken. Slow roasted tomatoes (page 38) these were wonderful! Rosemary, lemon, and garlic focaccia (page 366) this was wonderful too but next time I will double up on the toppings and look forthe thinnest skinned lemon I can find navy bean and cherry tomato salad, the beans were prepared by her method on page 92 and this is the best (most flavorful) beans I have ever had sauteed green beans

i hope you realise that your husband is complimenting you. implicit is that you rarely (never?) make mistakes so this one is worth reliving for its rarity and, furthermore, that he assumes that you are rightly confident enough in your cooking not to be upset by being reminded about this isolated lapse. my tip (from expereince) is never add grapefruit to a soup thinking it might just add that interesting thing that's missing... Oh, I have made plenty of mistakes (have you read the whole thread? ) On of my most disappointing was the day I had spent hours making this Indian curry (one of my first attempts at Indian) and just before serving I thought it needed a little more salt, so I grabbed the salt shaker (this is before I discovered kosher salt!) not realizing that the cap hadn't been put on correctly after spooning some out earlier in the day for a cake. I ended up with a good 1/2 cup of salt in the curry. I tried scooping it out, but it was ruined. I sat down and cried, my husband, the wonderful man, ordered a pizza. My most expensive mistake was the day I made buri-daikon (a traditional Japanese dish of simmered daikon an yellowtail). It was my first attempt and it was perfect. I was carrying it to the table (I have to walk through my living room to get to my dining room) when I tripped, the bowl of buri and daikon and all the simmering liquid flew out of my hands and spread for about a 5 foot radius all over our thick oriental carpet. I never could get the smell out and we had to get rid of the carpet. And he still stays with me!