Wednesday, October 17, 2007

odds & ends

Awhile back, I had this bread. Since it was World Bread Day yesterday and since I had some leftover sweet potato from making gnocchi and some leftover an from making anpan...I tried to re-create it. I used the bread recipe that I always use, but didn't have enough filling. And for some reason, these guys came out HUGE and I weighed them as I was dividing the dough! The bread I had tried before was harder, more like a country-style bread. Still, with the slightly sweet potato and the sweet bean paste, it made a great snack.

Remember I made rafute and told you that Satoshi doesn't like it? Well, I fessed up to using his awamori and told him, " I made rafute, but since you don't like it, I didn't save you any." He quickly said, "But, I like rafute!"

So, I made some last night, I couldn't find pork belly and ended up buying the thigh portion instead which had less fat. For dinner we had rafute don (braised pork belly bowl), Satoshi bit into the pork and said, "ooh, what kind of fish is this?".....

Okay....so Satoshi's breakfast was shiru soba (soup noodle). This dish uses the stock from the boiled pork (remember I threw it out the last time?). Here is an adapted recipe from "Shiawase no Okinawa Ryori":

Serves 2
2 bundles of Chuuka soba (chinese noodles)
4 pieces sliced rafute (braised pork belly)
handful chopped green onion
some sliced beni-shoga (red pickled ginger)
500cc (about 2.5 cups) katsuo (bonito) stock
250cc (about 1.25 cups) pork stock (the one from making rafute)
1 tablespoon rafute sauce
3 eringi mushrooms, sliced thinly

Follow the directions on the package to cook your noodles.
In another pot, add the pork stock, katsuo stock and rafute sauce to heat. If your rafute is straight out of the refrig, add it to the stock to heat.
After noodles are cooked transfer to bowl and add the heated stock.
Top with eringi mushrooms, green onions, beni-shoga.
Serve with koregusu (chili pepper water)

Since the nights and mornings are kind of nippy, I figured I should protect all my plants that don't appreciate the cold, namely tomato, basil, strawberry and italian parsley. I bought these plastic sheets from the 100 yen store ($1 store). It is actually a cover for your a/c but I made it into a "hot house", there were 2 in a package, so it only cost about $.50 to make each one! During the day, I take it off, so that they can "breathe" and the bugs and bees can do their thing.

Hope your week is going well, Satoshi is off on a business trip for the next 2 days.

7 comments:

Tea said...

Aww, you're making me homesick for Japan--I love anpan! (well, I love almost anything with an in it--especially daifuku mochi). I'm so impressed you made your own!

K and S said...

Thanks Tea! if you come this way, let me know, I'll make some up for you.

Take care.
Kat

Rowena said...

I'm very curious about how you wrapped the plastic around your plants. Since my ti plants are much bigger, I'm wondering if I should do like you've done, or just bring them in the house. I've also had success growing maunaloa seeds but the plants look like they're totally hating the cold. I'd like to bring them in the house (they're potted), but the leaves have all curled around the fence. Hmmm...

K and S said...

Hey Rowena,

The first pic is of the tomatoes. I propped the plant up against a pole, since the pole is WAY bigger than the plant, it sticks up above the plant. The a/c cover is a box shaped piece of plastic, so, I cut one end and put the un-cut end onto the pole, this makes it triangular, then I clothespin it in 3 places, one at the top (to hold the plastic to the pole), one at the bottom around the pot and one in the middle, it leaves some air to get in but it is not directly hitting the plants.

The 2nd photo is of the basil, strawberry and parsley, since the plastic is made to fit over the a/c, I stuck 2 chopsticks together and placed one set at the end of the strawberry pot and one set in the parsley pot to make tent poles, then I rolled up the opening of the sheet so that the sheet just drapes the plants.

I think if you're going to tarp the plants on your fence, you gotta put in sticks or poles higher than your fence, so that you can make a tent-like thing.

Good luck and keep me posted on your plants!

Take care.
Kat

Anonymous said...

Bummer, I missed this day! Another thing to try in Japan! Thank you Kat!

Bea
La Tartine Gourmande

Amrita said...

Ah, I love anpan!....Bigger is better after all, right? :)

K and S said...

There is always next year, Bea!

Yup, bigger = better, Amrita!

Take care you two.
Kat