The Smells in My Kitchen

[steph]

Thank you! (PS. Spotts and Pans? ADORABLE).

Thanks! It was Brian's idea. I really should post on it more. When none of my sister-in-laws were really participating, I stopped posting.

I'm going to try replacing some of the butter with nutella for a light and fluffy chocolate hazelnut cream. I don't know if the nutella has enough structure, but it's worth a try!

[Eaquae Legit]

The seitan appears to have turned out suitable for making veggie gyros. It's not quite what I was promised, but it's decent and Rei will eat it too. Less salt next time, though.

[steph]

Yay for edible! Will it get better with practice?

[Petrie]

Rei

Maybe not the most appropriate thread to ask but where, oh where, is papa bear?

[Eaquae Legit]

He's been doing some volunteering at the local archives the past couple of weeks. Then I shanghai him when he gets home. I promise I will try to share him better.

[Eaquae Legit]

Yay for edible! Will it get better with practice?

I think it will! It is actually pretty darn good, even Rei likes it. So far we've turned it into gyros, fajitas, pizza topping (GREAT with bbq sauce!)*, and I plan to use it in place of bacon to see if it works with a family recipe. Strangely enough, when sliced thin and fried crispy, it is very similar to bacon. I like my bacon way overcooked, so it hits both the "crunchy" and "salty" marks, for me. I am way pleased with this recipe, and I imagine if I used different herbs/seasonings, I could get different flavours to it.

In other news, the smell tonight was Rei's tuna and rice "quiche". I hate quiche in every manifestation (bad experience and subsequent aversion), so the fact that I really quite love this recipe is remarkable. The secret, I think, is that the egg mixture oozes down into the cracks in the rice and doesn't form a revolting puddle of squishy grossness. I like to drown it in Worcestershire sauce. Yummy.

Planning to make sushi this week. Very excited. I love sushi and would eat it at least once a week if I could. Inari, oshinko, and yam tempura are the best!!


* We like to get the very cheapo frozen pizzas (2/£3) and dress them up. One favourite is to add chopped sundried tomatos and fresh basil. The other is thinly sliced sweet pepper, red onion, and the seitan brushed with homemade bbq sauce. Om nom nom.

[Syphon the Sun]

Planning to make sushi this week. Very excited. I love sushi and would eat it at least once a week if I could.

I wasn't sure if it was "Pweb approved," given that I'm sure not everyone here loves sushi. (Even if they most definitely should love it.)

[Young Val]

I made jam! For the first time ever! It was incredibly stressful! But all the lids sealed! Now I just have to wait and see if it set!

Too many exclamation points!

[steph]

Planning to make sushi this week. Very excited. I love sushi and would eat it at least once a week if I could.

I wasn't sure if it was "Pweb approved," given that I'm sure not everyone here loves sushi. (Even if they most definitely should love it.)

I don't like fish, so I would not have stamped it.

Yay for jam! I made a bunch of peach last summer. I still have some puree frozen to make more.

[Eaquae Legit]

Hee. I do not like fish either, Steph! Inari is a tofu thing, oshinko is a pickled vegetable, and yam is, well, yam. I eat veggie sushi.

[Syphon the Sun]

Hee. I do not like fish either, Steph! Inari is a tofu thing, oshinko is a pickled vegetable, and yam is, well, yam. I eat veggie sushi.

[steph]

Hee. I do not like fish either, Steph! Inari is a tofu thing, oshinko is a pickled vegetable, and yam is, well, yam. I eat veggie sushi.

Hahaha!!!

I'll have to try your sushi sometime, Ali. Sounds much better to me.

[Syphon the Sun]

I'm going to miss not living here, anymore. Our sushi place has the greatest spicy sauce of all time. Seriously. It's perfect. And no other spicy sauce I've had even comes close.

And I doubt they'd part with their secret recipe.

[Eaquae Legit]

Clockwise from top left: oshinko, yam tempura (roll), kappa (cucumber), some more oshinko, and mixed veggies, yam tempura, and inari.

It was a delicious night.

[Luet]

I've never had sushi. Do you just go to a sushi place and pick different stuff out? I would want to try veggie stuff for my first time.

[Eaquae Legit]

If you've never tried it, I'd suggest seeing if you can find a place that does an all-you-can-eat. If you go at lunch, it's usually pretty affordable. Especially if you tell them you're trying stuff for the first time, they will probably be willing to bring you one or two pieces of what you order.

If you can't do that, and you want veggies, I'd definitely recommend a yam tempura roll (BEST EVER OF LIFE). Oshinko (pickled daikon/mooli/white radish) is pretty tasty but unfamiliar to western palates. The kappa/cucumber rolls are pretty bland, since they're meant as a palate cleanser of sorts. Often you can find avocado rolls in North America, which are pretty tasty. I'm a huge fan of inari sushi, but it takes a little bit of getting used to: it's a bit sweet and the texture of the tofu is weird. Rei's not much of a fan. Fortunately, those tend to come in ones or twos, so if you don't like them, you don't have a lot still sitting around. Try ordering one or two kinds at a go, it's a good lunch/snack if you're not a big greedy-guts like me.

[Syphon the Sun]

If you're going to be trying fish/non-veggie sushi, I'd suggest starting with nigiri instead of rolls, as you can usually get nigiri pieces individually.

[Petrie]

I tried sushi with fish in high school and hated it. Just a few weeks ago I tried veggie sushi and loved it. It had cucumber, avocado, and carrot and was splashed with a bit of soy sauce; so freaking good. They gave me a recipe, so I could technically make it any ol' time I want, but I have to admit, it intimidates me a bit.

[LilBee91]

I think I need to try to veggie sushi. I've tried fish sushi a few times, but just can't bring myself to like it. I don't know if I'd have any better luck with veggie sushi, but it's worth a shot.

[Syphon the Sun]

What kind of fish did you guys have? Because, you know, it makes a difference. There are some kinds that I cannot stand. And I'll never try eel, again. But salmon, red snapper, yellowtail, crab (not imitation crab), and shrimp have never done me wrong. Some of the other types of fish are more touch-and-go for me.

[LilBee91]

They all kind of blur together. I've had yellowtail and crab, though I don't know if that was imitation or not (which could make a huge difference). I don't think I've had the other ones, though. I may have to give them a shot too.

I'm wary of all-you-can-eat sushi. Are they generally as good as normal places?

[Eaquae Legit]

I usually get my all-you-can-eat sushi at places that do a regular full menu as well. I haven't had a problem in the past, but I was totally spoiled by location - Toronto and Vancouver are good places to get cheap, good sushi.

[Syphon the Sun]

I'm wary of all-you-can-eat sushi. Are they generally as good as normal places?

It depends. One of the best sushi places I've ever been is an all-you-can-eat place. But, at the same time, I've been to two other all-you-can-eat places (that, incidentally, charged more than the good one) that weren't so great. Then again, I've also been to a few dozen regular places that weren't so great. Basically, I just keep trying places until I find a good one.

Also, we sometimes make sushi at home. The type of nori/seaweed you get makes a huge difference. There's one brand out there that made me vomit. (And, of course, not knowing it was a problem with the nori, when I tried it a second time with different rice vinegar and meat, I vomited again.)

[Luet]

My mom was into health food when we were little. One of the snacks we were allowed were sheets of nori...and we *liked* it! She says that we would be in the backseat, in our carseats, saying "Nori! Nori!". Crazy.

[Luet]

Double post.

This morning, I picked black raspberries. Then, I made them into a sauce (including straining it to get rid of the seeds). And tonight I ate it on top of chocolate ice cream. Delicious!

[Petrie]

What kind of fish did you guys have?

No idea; it was in high school, sophomore year I believe (so 12 years ago), and I didn't order.

It doesn't really matter anyway. I don't do the seafood thing. Not fish, not crab or lobster or shrimp or anything that swims in the great blue sea.

Can I call myself a vegetarian now?!

[ender1]

What kind of fish did you guys have?

It doesn't really matter anyway. I don't do the seafood thing. Not fish, not crab or lobster or shrimp or anything that swims in the great blue sea.

Can I call myself a vegetarian now?!

No, but you can continue to call yourself weird.

[steph]

So, it doesn't smell yet, since the lasagna making won't be happening until thursday, but I just made the pasta! Tomorrow I need to make the ricotta. Then we assemble on thursday with some amazing farmer's market sausage and some homemade sauce. It's going to be one tasty lasagna! (It's my dad's father's day present. He will love it! He knows he's getting lasagna, but he doesn't know that it's an epic lasagna.)

[fawkes]

I'm a huge fan of inari sushi, but it takes a little bit of getting used to: it's a bit sweet and the texture of the tofu is weird.

I love love LOVE inari. The first time I tried it my japanese teacher made it for our last day of class. Yum!

[Eaquae Legit]

It's great, isn't it, Erica? And so simple! You just buy the inari pouches and stuff them with sushi rice, easiest sushi ever!

I'm already salivating over the planned dinner for tonight. Brie is safe for Tiny Spyker if I cook it thoroughly first, right? The supermarket had 250g chunks of brie on sale for £1, so we're making The Baked Brie - marinate the brie in a delicious mix of garlic, oil, mustard, herbs, and lemon juice, then bake it till it audibly bubbles. Soooo bad, and soooo good!

[locke]

I tried sushi with fish in high school and hated it. Just a few weeks ago I tried veggie sushi and loved it. It had cucumber, avocado, and carrot and was splashed with a bit of soy sauce; so freaking good. They gave me a recipe, so I could technically make it any ol' time I want, but I have to admit, it intimidates me a bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22h3N9SnISw

[Eaquae Legit]

Switching topics slightly, check out my awesome chocolate and guinness cake!

[steph]

Dang, I make good cinnamon rolls.

[LilBee91]

My fettucini alfredo attempt (with corn and chicken parmesan):


I ended up using Steph's recipe. I was completely guessing on the amounts and I don't think I put in enough nutmeg or garlic (I didn't have any cloves so I just used powder, which really doesn't compare), and it was a little lumpy. But it tasted good and that's all the really matters. I'll have to try again with the flour/butter base and refine my technique.

[steph]

You really have to whisk it smooth with the cream cheese technique sometimes. I employ my stick blender often.

I apologize that I cook completely by feel and taste so I'm no good at giving actual recipes. You can blame my mawmaw, since I inherited it from her.