Today the weather has been wacky! Rain, sun, hail...you name it, we've had it!! I got everything prepped for dinner tonight that I possibly could early on because with Bob taking the shuttle van to Portland, depending on how many people go, I never know what time he'll get back into town. Some days, it's as early as 12:30, other days, around 3-4 in the afternoon! So that makes it a little more difficult to plan on cooking!
On the menu tonight were Ginger-Spiced Cucumbers http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ginger-spiced-cucumbers/detail.aspx I was talking to my mother-in-law, Ann, this morning and we were laughing about the fact that I always seem to find a pickled cucumber dish of some type to go into my menus...Korea, Sweden and now Japan...I have found just a ton of different ways to make cucumbers!!
I also spoke to my Aunt Aiko on the phone and she helped to plan the menu. I made Gyozas...a Japanese version of a potsticker... http://allrecipes.com/recipe/gyoza/detail.aspx ...I couldn't find the round style wrappers, so I made due with the smaller square ones, so these looked more like how crab rangoon are stuffed, but I did the best I could. I'm all thumbs when it comes to stuff like this, so I just took the simple way out! These are phenominal!! I could eat them everyday!
And a simple dipping sauce consisting of rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic and green onions, and even though it's not Japanese, I used a splash of El Yucateco red hot sauce...super good! (Thanks for sending me that, BroncosFan, you were right, the red is fantastic...I haven't broke into the green yet!)
And on to the miso soup! I admit it, I had to cheat and buy a package of soup base. I searched high and low to no avail to find miso powder. It can't be found in Longview anywhere, so I found the pre-packaged stuff in the Asian section of the grocery store. I added green onion, tofu and mushrooms to it and it was really good! Bob wouldn't eat the tofu, that's ok, more for me! I happen to love it!!
This is my modified version of Okonomiyaki http://allrecipes.com/recipe/okonomiyaki/detail.aspx I won't review the recipe as I changed up practically everything in it to suit our tastes! I used celery, carrot, tofu, shrimp, yellow bell pepper and cabbage. Bob loved these! This was the one dish he said 5 stars on!!
And this was dinner tonight! I have to admit out of all the countries I have cooked from, Japan is definately in the top 3! Thank you, Wyattdogster, for choosing Japan to put up for vote.
I bet you thought I forgot to put my research down and I was going to skip it this week, huh??? LOL! Nope! Here it is:
On the menu tonight were Ginger-Spiced Cucumbers http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ginger-spiced-cucumbers/detail.aspx I was talking to my mother-in-law, Ann, this morning and we were laughing about the fact that I always seem to find a pickled cucumber dish of some type to go into my menus...Korea, Sweden and now Japan...I have found just a ton of different ways to make cucumbers!!
I also spoke to my Aunt Aiko on the phone and she helped to plan the menu. I made Gyozas...a Japanese version of a potsticker... http://allrecipes.com/recipe/gyoza/detail.aspx ...I couldn't find the round style wrappers, so I made due with the smaller square ones, so these looked more like how crab rangoon are stuffed, but I did the best I could. I'm all thumbs when it comes to stuff like this, so I just took the simple way out! These are phenominal!! I could eat them everyday!
And a simple dipping sauce consisting of rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic and green onions, and even though it's not Japanese, I used a splash of El Yucateco red hot sauce...super good! (Thanks for sending me that, BroncosFan, you were right, the red is fantastic...I haven't broke into the green yet!)
And on to the miso soup! I admit it, I had to cheat and buy a package of soup base. I searched high and low to no avail to find miso powder. It can't be found in Longview anywhere, so I found the pre-packaged stuff in the Asian section of the grocery store. I added green onion, tofu and mushrooms to it and it was really good! Bob wouldn't eat the tofu, that's ok, more for me! I happen to love it!!
This is my modified version of Okonomiyaki http://allrecipes.com/recipe/okonomiyaki/detail.aspx I won't review the recipe as I changed up practically everything in it to suit our tastes! I used celery, carrot, tofu, shrimp, yellow bell pepper and cabbage. Bob loved these! This was the one dish he said 5 stars on!!
And this was dinner tonight! I have to admit out of all the countries I have cooked from, Japan is definately in the top 3! Thank you, Wyattdogster, for choosing Japan to put up for vote.
I bet you thought I forgot to put my research down and I was going to skip it this week, huh??? LOL! Nope! Here it is:
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are the 4 largest islands and together make up 97% of Japan's land area. Japan's highest peak is Mt. Fuji, which is a volcano. Japan has the 10th largest population in the world with around 128 million people. Tokyo is the largest metropolitan area in the world with over 30 million residents in the Greater Tokyo area. Between 70-80% of Japan is forested and mountainous and is unsuitable for agricultural, industrial or residential use. The reason for this is generally steep elevations, climate and risk of landslides caused by earthquakes, soft ground and heavy rain. It's location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the juncture of three tectonic plates, gives Japan frequent low-intensity tremors and occasional volcanic activity (I have something in common, as we are in the Pacific Ring of Fire and I live by a freaking active volcano!). Destructive earthquakes that result in tsunamis occur several times each century. Because of all the volcanic activity, Japan has numerous hot springs! With the weather we've been having here, I could sure go for a soak in a hot spring right about now!!
Another look at dinner tonight!! I was going to make rice, but there was so much food already, I skipped it...not exactly traditional, but I don't want anything to go to waste, either!
This week groceries ran me $19.91 which left just 9 cents to go into the Beach Bag. The total after week 17 is $109.03.
Another look at dinner tonight!! I was going to make rice, but there was so much food already, I skipped it...not exactly traditional, but I don't want anything to go to waste, either!
This week groceries ran me $19.91 which left just 9 cents to go into the Beach Bag. The total after week 17 is $109.03.
Thank you everyone who voted Sunday for the next blog country. Bob pulled Swiss Phil and Kathleen out of the hat. Kathleen chose Mexico, in honor of her daughter, Robyn...Robyn will be turning 2 on May 5th and she is just as cute as she can be. Swiss Phil chose Singapore and also sent me all the research I'll need in a great email. 42 people voted and Singapore won 25-17. (Sorry, Kathleen!! But wish your little cute monkey a Happy Birthday for me).
Bob is almost done with his second week of radiation. They are increasing the dosage of it next week and I'm imagining that's when the fun will begin. So far he's been ok to eat and swallow, he is just getting sensative to spice. He hasn't noticed anything tasting metallic yet, either, so that's good. We want to thank everyone of you who have continued to send him thoughts and prayers...you all are helping him pull through this!! It's hard to believe the power of positive thinking until you are actually in a situation where you can see the good that comes out of it! And I'm at the point in my life that I don't want negativity around me, so stay away if you're negative!! So thank you all again. I'm declaring this to be a "Pay It Forward" week...just do a random act of kindness for someone! So until we meet in Singapore next week, peace!
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