torakris

word for 7/6: 一味 ichimi (ee-chee-mee) This is ground red pepper, the characters for its name mean "one" and "flavor" since it consists only of red pepper. Ichimi is one of the ingredients in shichimi and is used in some of the same ways, mostly sprinkled on soups and noodle dishes.

i think most use tempura. i toast mine for more crunch an flavor. it's about texture. nothing more, nothing less. we americans, we be simple folk, what with the liken' of our crunch and all.

iced coffee and cherries

Friday night the kids were begging for curry, the Japanese kind, so... vegetable curry of potato, onion, carrot and broccoli topped with a freshly deep fried (frozen) beef and potato corroke (croquette) Japanese rice cranberry rakkyo (pickled onions) for me shio rakkyo (salt pickled onions) for my husband dessert: tiramisu

and some more sushi classes, this time in California: http://www.sushi-academy.com/frame_s.htm California Sushi Academy

I made a curry last night and my husband covered it with mayo..................

The kids were begging for curry last night, but I didn't have any meat (except chicken breasts) in the house, so I made up a vegetable curry with potao, onion, carrots and broccoli and then topped it with a beef and potato corroke (croquette). It was actually quite good.

word for 7/5: 七味 shichimi (shee-chee-mee) shichimi means seven spice (the chatracters actually read seven and flavor) and consists of togarashi (chile pepper) flakes, sansho (Japanese pepper pods), dried mandarin orange peel, black hemp seeds (or sometimes poppy seeds), dark green nori seaweed bits and white sesame seeds. Occasionaly other things can be added in addition, one of the most popular being yuzu ( Japanese citron). It is sold in little bottles in the "spice" section of Asian markets, in Japan it is now commonly sold witht he spices in whole form in a bottle with a mill attatched so everyone can grind their own. EDIT: you may occasionally run across it it called nanami, in Japanese there are two way to say the number 7 - shichi and nana.

panko with sashimi? crunchy baby. crunchy. and why would you want crunch with sashimi? here in NY and NJ, most sushi places offer something called "crunchy" rolls. generally, the fish is mixed with a bit of tempura batter. sometimes panko. i use panko. Is the panko toasted first? to give it more crunch and flavor? the ten-kasu (tempura balls) I can understand, though I really don't care for them.. You should try baby star ramen, this is especially good in okonomiyaki (instead on ten-kasu)

panko with sashimi? crunchy baby. crunchy. and why would you want crunch with sashimi?

panko with sashimi?

Thursday dinner: tomato and lemon thyme risotto, mussels steamed with white wine and lots of garlic, sauce thickened with butter and the whole pan, juices and all poured over the risotto hot potato, green bean and tuna (good canned stuff) salad with a grainy mustard dressing dessert: cherries, a big bowl of them

I love camping! We have a couple favorites that tend to come on every trip with us. Our favorite breakfast is oatmeal-pecan pancakes, all the dry ingredients mixed beforehand. I hate pulling out the fire for lunches, so usually the first day's lunch I prepare the night before leaving, one of a my favorites is a Greek rice salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, kalamatas and what ever herbs I have on hand. Another favorite lunch are those sandwiches made from a whole loaf of bread. I make this the night before, grilling up some extra vegetables with that night's dinner. I remove the inside of the bread, smear the inside with a black olive tapenade (homemade or bought) and ten layer in the grilled vegetables (usually zucchini, peppers and egglant) add some tomatoes, maybe some ham, basil, arugula, or lettuce, then close it back up, wrap it tightly and enjoy it the next day!

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 leaves　are sometimes ground into a paste and used as a sauce flavoring. pictures of both: http://tcnweb.ne.jp/~ramses/vege/bg1-016.htm kinome first, then scroll to see the sanshou here are more pictures of the "stages" of sanshou: http://aoki2.si.gunma-u.ac.jp/BotanicalGar...Ls/sanshou.html

plain

sushi classes in Montreal: http://www.sushilinks.com/miyamoto/classes.html

anyone have any interesting encounters with panko recently?

I finally recieved my cranberry rakkyo, they are an absolutely gorgeous pink! At first bite they were sweet, very sweet, but as I continued to chew the rakkyo flavor mixed with the intense cranberry flavor and I was very pleased with the result and ate quite a few more. I will definitely be buying these again!

I never reall thought about it before but I don't think I have ever eaten the skin except on the dried ones (hoshi-kaki), and those dried ones are really wonderful!

I have been in a cooking funk for the past week and dinners have been reflecting it. We are in that last week before payday and have nothing in the house (except potatoes, onions, celery, nagaimo-mountain potato, and a molding head of cabbage) Last night: fusilli with carmelized onions and anchovies red kidney beans and celery salad with about 10 cherry tomatoes from the garden dessert: popsicles

word for 7/3: today we will cover 2 of the citrus used in Japanese cooking: すだち sudachi かぼす kabosu these are both small and green, sudachi being smaller, and are used mostly for their juice. Their season runs from late summer to the end of fall, but now in Japan can be found year round at gourmet markets. They are normally served like garnishes with dishes like grilled fish, grilled mushrooms. sashimi, etc to be squeezed over the top as you like. In season you will often see them used in place of vinegar in salad-y type dishes and it is quite popular to make ponzu with their juice to eat with nabes. here are pictures: http://www.marutani-21.co.jp/mikan/sudati-...-saidebook2.htm sudachi is first, then scroll down to see kabosu

here is our former kaki thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...t=12466&hl=kaki

kaki is the Japanese word for persimmon, yes they are the exact same thing.

Tuesday night: tomato tart with garlic-basil crust potato and arugula salad white wine, bay leaf, garlic, parsley steamed clams french style baguette dessert: popsicles

eating it right now! Earl grey tea and orange juice and honey, iced (from the iced tea thread) french baguettes smeared with nutella