Cha-soba To Go
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 Posted in Cooking ideas, Dishes | 6 Comments »I can clearly remember the first time I had cha-soba (green tea buckwheat noodles). It was a sultry day in Kyoto, and I was thrilled to EAT green tea. They were served icy cold in the zaru-soba style: the noodles ...
Smoked Trout, Redux
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 Posted in Cooking ideas, Dishes | 6 Comments »I grew up eating trout for breakfast and for dinner, and love it pretty much unconditionally, no matter how it's prepared. Possible all-time favorite breakfast: trout (pan-fried in cast iron), poached eggs, good crusty bread, and plenty of coffee. The ...
Pea Soup, Weather Irrelevant
Friday, May 2nd, 2008 Posted in Dishes | 6 Comments »I think I'm one of those cooks who isn't hugely influenced by the weather: I often make big salads for dinner on cold days, and braise a pork shoulder in the middle of the summer (then again, I have the ...
Udon with Pea-Spinach Pesto and Umami Topping (with Salmon)
Monday, April 28th, 2008 Posted in Dishes | 1 Comment »I don't know what it is about pestos that keeps me coming back. I fully realize that pestos are fraught with the danger of cliche, given their role in some of the not-so-successful early-stage fusion, with well-meaning chefs and their ...
Fried Rice
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 Posted in Dishes, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »Leftover rice, how I love thee! I almost never tire of taking leftover rice and making something tasty with it. And because I know this about myself, when I make rice as part of dinner I tend to make a ...
Anisey Blast Fish Soup
Thursday, March 20th, 2008 Posted in Dishes | 3 Comments »My seafood-loving friend Dave came over to celebrate his birthday, so I made him this soup. It's a breakaway fish soup, everything that's great about bouillabaisse, with little of the fuss, plus three blasts of anise: Pernod, fresh fennel bulb, ...
Umami Lasagna
Thursday, March 20th, 2008 Posted in Dishes | 11 Comments »You may well be getting tired of me titling things "umami blah blah," but please be gracious and allow me to tell you about this umami-packed almost-vegetarian pasta-less lasagna. It all started with a huge pile of baby bella mushrooms (more ...
Lemongrass Pasta Salad
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 Posted in Cooking ideas, Dishes | 2 Comments »About a year ago I discovered lemongrass in a tube. It's made in Australia by an outfit called Gourmet Garden, and they sell it in Safeway. I'm not crazy about their other products, and I don't like everything about this ...
Umami Beef Jerky
Friday, March 14th, 2008 Posted in Dishes | 5 Comments »I've been working on a beef jerky recipe for a while, since I bought my dehydrator several years ago. My best jerky to date was a galangal-infused batch -- gingery and tropical and really good -- but I think I ...
Mushroom Baked Tofu
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 Posted in Dishes | 3 Comments »A cake of soft tofu almost always lives in my fridge. The expiration date on tofu is usually pretty forgiving, so I tend to get around to cooking it long after the more perishable ingredients of my fridge get used ...
