YumSugar

Would You Eat This Dried Seaweed?

YumSugar — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:30:05 -0800

On a recent trip to Berkeley, I discovered my new favorite destination: the Berkeley Bowl Marketplace. At this independent supermarket, I tasted previously unheard-of fruits and chose between 10 different varieties of carrots. There was also an abundant selection of dried seaweed on display. While I love nori - the dried seaweed that's used in sushi - I wasn't so sure about consuming these dried versions.

Definition: Agar Agar

partysugar — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 01:01:31 -0800

Agar Agar
Sometimes called Japanese gelatin, this is a natural vegetarian replacement for gelatin. Made from dried tasteless seaweed, it's widely used in Asia as a setting agent. Stronger than gelatin, it can be found in block, powder, strand, or flake form.

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Must-Read: Williams-Sonoma Soup

YumSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:15:48 -0700

Although I've always been a fan of eating soup year-round, now that the weather has cooled down a bit, soup is a regular part of my meal rotation. That was my logic behind acquiring Williams-Sonoma Soup ($16.95). To see my thoughts on the cookbook, read more.

Pros:

Ingredient measurements include other measuring system equivalents: A recipe calling for dried black beans, specifies that 2 cups equals 14 ounces or 440 grams.
In addition to a full-page picture, each recipe contains an added bonus: a tip with a corresponding picture, pertaining to the recipe.
The back of the book has helpful information like stock recipes, basics of making soup, garnish options, a glossary, and an index.

Cons:

The recipes are written in paragraph form, but could have been written in easier-to-follow steps.
Helpful details such as cooking time or nutritional facts would have made a big difference.

Recipes: Some of the recipes call for gourmet ingredients that one may not typically have on hand, such as kombu seaweed flakes, tawny Port, or Thai red curry paste. I flagged the following recipes to make at home:

Classics - New England Clam Chowder
Simple Soups - Puree of Vegetable Soup, Broccoli-Leek Soup
Dinner Party Soups - Three-Mushroom Soup With Sherry, Mussels Mariniere
Winter Soups - Black Bean Soup With Salsa Crema, Provence-Style Fish Stew
Chicken Soups - Avgolemono, Thai-Style Curried Chicken Soup

Imagery: The images are abundant and appetizing.

Overall Rating: I'm a huge fan of this book, which contains lots of staple soup recipes. If you're already a soup whiz with an expansive recipe collection, this book may not be for you, but if you're on the market for a soup cookbook, this affordable book could just be the one. Have you checked it out yet?

Bento of the Week: Spooky Halloween Bento

YumSugar — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 10:03:33 -0700

I found this week's bento from the folks at Craft. They've discovered one of the most adorable Halloween edibles around. Created by Zakka Life, this Halloween Bento definitely puts me in a festive mood. I love the seaweed bats and lemon moon! So creative!

New Machine Turns Sushi Rolling Into Child's Play

YumSugar — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:48:31 -0700

While children in America continue to burn themselves on Easy Bake Ovens, the children in Japan are going burn-free. They might however, start giving off an odd fish odor.

Toymaker Bandai Namco has created a great new toy to help create perfectly rolled sushi. The Sushi-Rolling Machine works by adding rice and ingredients, and then sealing it up and rolling a piece of seaweed over it.

Personally, I think this would make a sushi party a snap. Imagine if you had a few stations and folks could roll their own?! They were released in Japan this summer, and I hope I can find one imported somewhere soon!

Source: TokyoMango

All The News That's Fit To Eat - September 12, 2007

YumSugar — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 10:57:31 -0700

What makes a naturally gifted cook? Several home cooks let you in on their secrets. Plus, SF institution A. Sabella's is closing, and on the other side of town, Whole Foods opens a new "lifestyle" store. - San Francisco Chronicle

Once a niche product for wine connoisseurs, Riedel wine glasses have found their way to Target stores. - Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
Just because a restaurant is wheelchair accessible, doesn't mean it's wheelchair hospitable. - New York Times
Move over lettuce, seaweed is the new "it" salad veg. - Chicago Tribune
In a post-Google world, it's almost impossible to be anonymous. Restaurant critics can't stay unidentifiable, so they're turning the tables and blowing their own covers. - Los Angeles Times
The Washington area is blooming with independent bakeries all vying for your nose, tastebuds and dollars. - Washington Post

It's not a new idea, but I always love it when grilled cheese grows up. - Houston Chronicle
Looking for more Rosh Hashanah ideas? This pastry chef shares her recipes and memories. - Miami Herald
And finally to end the news on a sweet (but tart) note, here are six elegant and easy lemony desserts. - Dallas News

Fast & Easy Dinner: Shrimp, Corn & New Potato Boil

partysugar — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:01:31 -0700

A traditional seafood boil involves cooking shellfish and veggies in the sand for several hours under a huge pile of seaweed. This is a lot of work and definitely NOT a fast and easy dinner. However you can quickly create something along the same lines in the comfort of your very own kitchen. Tonight boil up a big pot of shrimp, potatoes, and corn. The shrimp plump succulently, the corn turns bright yellow, and the potatoes are melt in your mouth tender. Serve with super cold beer or chilled Sauvignon Blanc and chunks of good crusty sourdough. To learn how it's done, read more

Shrimp, Sweet Corn and New Potato Boil
From Betty Crocker
Image Source

6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 package (3 ounces) shrimp and crab boil mixture, (one 3-ounce bag)
1 pound small red potato
4 medium ears sweet corn, cut in half
1 pound uncooked peeled deveined medium shrimp, thawed if frozen
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 lemon, cut in to wedges
Fresh ground pepper, if desired
Chopped fresh parsley, if desired
Cocktail sauce, if desired

Mix water, salt and bag of crab boil mixture in 4-quart Dutch oven. Cover and heat to boiling.
Add potatoes and corn. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes or just until potatoes are tender and corn is bright yellow.
Remove Dutch oven from heat. Add shrimp; let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm.
Drain potatoes, corn and shrimp; discard crab boil bag. Place corn and potatoes on serving platter; drizzle with melted butter.
Arrange shrimp on platter; squeeze juice from lemon wedges over shrimp. Sprinkle with pepper and parsley; serve with cocktail sauce.

Serves 4.

Nutrition Information: 1 Serving: Calories 365 (Calories from Fat 100 ); Total Fat 11 g (Saturated Fat 6 g); Cholesterol 185 mg; Sodium 560 mg; Total Carbohydrate 48 g (Dietary Fiber 5 g); Protein 23 g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 20 %; Vitamin C 16 %; Calcium 4 %; Iron 24 % Exchanges: 3 Starch; 1 Vegetable; 2 Very Lean Meat

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Warm Soba with Spinach and Tofu

partysugar — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:01:31 -0700

These days you can find the ingredients necessary to make tasty Japanese (and other Asian countries for that matter) dishes in most major supermarkets around the country. Soy sauce used to be the only common component, but now Mirin, miso paste, and even Asian vegetables - like seaweed are prevalent. Tonight's super swift dinner incorporates these flavors in a Japanese style noodle soup. Soba is a Japanese noodle made from buckwheat and it pairs nicely with mushrooms and spinach. Before you make it, you have to read the recipe, so read more

Warm Soba in Broth with Spinach and Tofu
From Food & Wine magazine
Image Source

4 large shiitake mushrooms, stemmed
Vegetable oil cooking spray
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
10 ounces soba noodles
5 cups boiling water
2 teaspoons instant dashi or 1 tablespoon miso paste (see Note)
4 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup finely shredded daikon
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 sheet nori seaweed, cut into 1/8-inch strips (see Note)

Preheat the broiler.
Spray the mushroom caps with vegetable oil cooking spray, season with salt and pepper and broil 6 inches from the heat, turning the caps once, until lightly browned and tender, about 6 minutes. Let cool, then thinly slice the mushrooms.
In a small bowl, stir the sugar into the soy sauce and mirin until dissolved.
While the mushrooms broil, in a large saucepan of boiling water, cook the soba noodles, stirring once or twice, until just tender, about 8 minutes.
Drain the noodles reserving the boiling water, rinse under cold water and drain again thoroughly.
Add the boiling water and instant dashi to the saucepan. Add the tofu and shiitake and simmer just until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Add the spinach.
Transfer the soba to 4 deep bowls and spoon the dashi mixture on top. Garnish the soba with the daikon, scallion and nori and serve right away, passing the soy sauce mixture alongside.

Serves 4.

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Menu Planning 101, Part 5

partysugar — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 03:11:56 -0700

Congratulations! You've decided to host your first dinner party. Don't feel overwhelmed, you can do it if you read through my helpful five-step menu planning crash course. Planning ahead of time is key, so make that grocery list days before your scheduled event. Keep the dishes simple and steer clear from complex, multi-stepped meals. Choose beautiful colors and place importance on presentation. For the last of my helpful menu planning hints, read more

It’s always better to have leftovers (you can enjoy them for lunch the next day) than to be faced with FHB-ing (family holding back) because your guests have bigger appetites than you anticipated. On the other hand, you don’t want to grossly overestimate your required quantities either, since no matter how tasty your dishes may be, you don’t want to be eating them twice a day for the next week.
Picking a theme will help you narrow down your choices of potential dishes. Feeling Japanese? Start with a miso soup, then move on to either sushi or tempura, serve a seaweed salad as accompaniment, finish with red bean ice cream. In the mood for Italian? Open with antipasti and a fresh-baked Ciabatta loaf, feature a pasta and pair it with a meat/seafood entrée, follow all of that with a salad tossed in oil and vinegar, and end the meal with espresso and biscotti. Choosing a theme helps the menu fall easily into place.

Consider your kitchen space and equipment. Have you got enough cooking pans, and of the right size? Do you have enough china, serving dishes/platters, cutlery and glassware without having to wash up between courses? Is your dining table big enough to hold all of your dishes, place settings, and guests? Consider your time availability and flexibility.
Finally, stay within your comfort zone. Don't attempt any dish that you are not confident with. Remember it is a party and parties are meant to be fun, so don't get too stressed out and disgruntled. If your steak is a little too well done or the sauce doesn't quite thicken, don't let it spoil your night. These are minor details that will only ruin a party if you let them.

Chinese New Year Fun Facts

partysugar — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 09:57:32 -0800

Boy is it my lucky week: two holidays = two lists of fun facts... Woo-hoo! I am jumping for joy at my desk right now. I enjoy collecting random bits of useless knowledge about traditional holidays and festivals. It's my secret weapon: when I'm at a party and suddenly find myself at a loss for words, I simply state one of my fun facts. If you get nervous about attending parties where you don't know a lot of people, I highly recommend memorizing a few interesting, yet completely pointless facts. The Chinese are very superstitious and there are lots of little things you should and should not do on and around the New Year. Did you know that to cry on New Year's Day is to cry all year long, so children are indulged and never spanked on Chinese New Year? Or that Chinese New Year is actually celebrated over a 15 day long period? To learn the politically correct name of Chinese New Year and much more, read more

The politically correct term is now Lunar New Year, as opposed to Chinese New Year since many Asian cultures other than China's observe the lunar calendar.
The Chinese year is based on the cycles of the moon. This is called a lunar schedule (hence the Lunar New Year).
A complete cycle of the Chinese calendar takes 60 years.
The Chinese calendar dates back to 2600 B.C. It is the oldest known calendar.
2007 is the Year of the Boar (pig).
Red is considered a lucky color in China.
At one time wedding dresses were red.

The Chinese pay tribute to the Kitchen God at the end of a lunar year. The Kitchen God's mission is to inform the chief spirits of a family's behavior over the past year. A household burns a paper image of the Kitchen God, so that he may ascend to the Jade Emperor in the heavens. The Chinese include a paper horse to lift him on his journey, while the Vietnamese prefer a carp fish. Some families smear the lips of the Kitchen God with honey or sweet glutinous rice, to ensure he says sweet things about them.
According to superstition you must clean your house thoroughly to sweep away misfortune and make way for good luck and fortune in the coming year. The old year and its spirits are banished by sweeping the floors before New Year's Day. (Don't sweep on New Year's Day itself - you'll sweep away the New Year fortune if you do.)
The house should be decorated with paper cutouts of the words happiness, wealth and longevity.
Shooting fireworks on New Year's Eve scares away the old year, and households open up windows and doors at midnight as exits for the old year.

At New Year, special emphasis is placed on the symbology of different foods. Here are what a few foods symbolize:

Bamboo shoots = wealth
Black moss seaweed = wealth
Dried Bean Curd = happiness (note: fresh tofu is not served because the color white symbolizes death and misfortune in Chinese culture).
Chicken = happiness and marriage (especially when served with "dragon foods," such as lobster), family reunion (if served whole)

Eggs = fertility
Egg Rolls = wealth
Fish served whole = prosperity
Chinese garlic chives = everlasting, a long life
Lychee nuts = close family ties
Noodles = A long life
Oranges = wealth
Peanuts = a long life
Pomelo = abundance, prosperity, having children
Seeds = lotus seeds, watermelon seeds, etc. - having a large number of children
Tangerines = luck

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