Trendy Tasty Rice Bowl

We start every year pledging to be healthier and stronger and somehow a couple months in we find ourselves back living in bacon city. I am the cook. I am probably to blame. I fall back on what I know and, I guess, take the easy way to flavorful foods.
I can't say this year will be different but I was encouraged by a slew of interesting, grain based and vaguely Japanese recipes in the January issue of every food magazine I read so I decided a little pantry update and lighter cooking might just be in order -- for now.
Clearly there are more healthful and interesting grains but tonight, not yet ready to brave the grocery store, I started with rice -- plain old white rice. I love it. Then I went searching through the fridge for what might add color and texture.
A little bit of leftover broccoli, a little past it's prime, was quickly boiled and dressed with a tiny drizzle of sesame oil. Butternut squash, sitting on the counter since I didn't serve them for Christmas dinner, was sweet and gingery. I quickly fried several slices of ginger in canola oil, added in the squash cut in 1 1/2" pieces,  1/2 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of sugar (okay not quite the healthful star here but it is very Japanese) and 1/2 cup of water. I brought the liquid to a boil, covered the pot, reduced the heat to medium low and let the squash cook for about 10 minutes until tender.
With rice in the rice cooker, squash and broccoli cooked and set aside to be served room temperature on hot rice, I got a little more ambitious.
Every rice bowl (and Japanese meal) needs something pickled and a sauce. I quickly combined 1 cup rice wine vinegar, 2 TB of sugar, a pinch of salt and ground chile and let celery sticks and carrot rounds soak in that brine for about 1/2 hour. Easy. I'd have used a little lemon zest if I'd had any. For the sauce I mixed 1 TB tahini, 1 TB honey and 1 TB soy sauce with 1 tsp sesame oil. Ready. All that was left was to put it all together -- almost.
When it came time for dinner I cooked a couple eggs seasoned with soy sauce and a touch of sake into a flat omelette that I rolled and cut into slices over one side of the rice. Facing that a bit of sautéed chicken -- leftover legs and wings I tucked in the freezer after a holiday season Hainanese chicken dinner.
I wasn't too sure what to expect when James sat down to dinner. But, he seemed pleased by the lighter style and lighter plate.
It's fun to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. Not a bad way to cook in 2016.

48 Hours (almost) at Home

Home for a quick stop between jobs, the garden -- though James has been doing his best to keep up -- was overflowing with produce. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, green beans all waiting for me. 

Our vegetables make me so happy. I'm actually proud of them.  I can't let them go to waste. I pulled out the canning pot (a beautiful new one James got me for Christmas) and started to plan.

Hours of peeling and slicing and boiling later (what a way to squander a little time at home) James helped me store away 6 jars of canned tomatoes, 4 jars of pickled peppers (those are gonna be great for sandwiches and to spice up sauces over the winter), 8 jars of dill pickle slices and 7 jars of bread and butter pickles. Quite a haul. Looks like pickles for Christmas (presents) this year..

Leftovers With Shari

The boys are out of town on business so Shari and I decided to share some party leftovers. Mmmmm leftover oysters.

I decided to toss together some old fashioned oyster fritters. A down home recipe -- I was born a Maryland girl after all. My grandmother usually made "single padded oysters". Individual oysters rolled in milk (or egg) and cracker crumbs (in MD we call them padded for the way the coating is pressed around the bivalve before frying). But tonight I decided on the softer, free form fritters. For fritters -- unlike singles -- several oysters are coated and fried together.

I made a soft batter of 1 cup of flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, a dash of cayenne, and salt. To the the dry ingredients I added 2 eggs beaten together with 1 cup of milk. I gave the batter a quick mix and stirred in the oysters. I dropped the coated oysters by the handful in hot oil and cooked until they were just brown on each side. Back home these fritters would come with a side of puckery tartar sauce. I had some creme fraiche left over and so I whipped up a bright horseradish sauce (creme fraiche, ketchup, chili sauce, horseradish, salt) and served homemade pickles (carrot sticks and zucchini slices) on the side.