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Local Eats

Home Cooking & Takeout in Roslindale, West Roxbury and Beyond

Monday, January 31, 2005

Japanese Cooking


japanesecooking
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
The preceding recipe came from this book. I changed the text so I wasn't stepping all over the copyright. That's my hope anyway. As for the book, it's excellent. There is all sorts of info on Japanese food history, cooking techniques and ingredients and the recipes I've tried are all very good.
Also, it's very nicely produced, printed on good stock and the photographs are beautiful. Look for a copy. Credit goes to Emi Kazuko and the recipes are by Yasuko Fukuoka. The publisher is Hermes House.

As Promised

Slow Cooked Shiitakes

20 dried shiitake mushrooms
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
1 ½ Tbs. superfine sugar - also called Caster
1 Tbs. toasted sesame oil

Soak the mushrooms overnight in cold water. Next day: measure and set aside a ½ cup of the mushroom liquid. Drain the mushrooms and remove the stems. Heat a wok or something big then add the oil. When it’s hot stir fry the mushrooms over high heat for about five minutes. Lower the heat and add the mushroom liquid, the soy sauce and the sugar. Stir it in then cook slowly until the liquid is practically gone. Add the sesame oil and take the pan off the stove. When things cool down use as many as you need. Make thin slices and serve as is. They make a delicious side dish. They also make a good addition to other dishes including rice sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. And…they keep for several weeks covered in the fridge so the convenience is great.

It Was Good


tjredcurrywithsambal
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
Good flavor, I could taste a bit of ginger and the curry sauce was good although I would have liked more. The dish had shrimp in it and they were nice and tender. It also had julienned vegetables, carrots, etc. and rice of course. I would defintely have this again.

The stuff in the spoon is sambal oelek, (chili paste). I could tell just by looking at it that it wasn't going to be hot enough for me. :-)

Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Rice Bowl


tjredcurry
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
I eat a lot of 'frozens' for lunch so I thought I would post comments. Over the years I've learned which ones to avoid both in terms of health issues and taste and I'll go into that as time goes along.

Lunch today is red curry from Trader Joe's. I love red curry and their stuff is usually pretty good but I haven't tried this before, so let's see. More to come.

Sunday, January 30, 2005

JA with ribs


JA with ribs
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
This is JA. When he's not enjoying a fine meal you can buy a house from him.
I think the red eye adds to the picture.

Orderly Jalapenos


Orderly Jalapenos
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
We had cornbread too, with the most carefully aligned jalapenos I ever saw. It was just the Jiffy mix but that's hard to beat unless you make it from scratch.

Rib Wreckage


Rib Wreckage
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
We had a great time last night drinking Margaritas and laying waste to several racks of ribs. The ribs were tasty and tender and the Arthur Bryant's Barbecue Sauce was a real hit. Everything else was great too. This picture is testimonial to a meal devoured.
Also, you may be asking yourself, are those baked beans on the table? Yes they are. We added a bit of molasses and served them with chopped onion on the side. Mmm!

No 'before' picture exists. I'm blaming the Margaritas.

Friday, January 28, 2005

Arthur Bryant's Barbecue Sauce


arthurbryantbbqsauce
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
We're planning a dinner for tomorrow night. Main course is baby back ribs done with Arthur Bryant's Barbecue Sauce. It comes from Kansas City, it's great and it's available online. Mmm!

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Slow cooked shiitakes


Slow cooked shiitakes
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
These are super easy to do. They have lots of uses and they keep for weeks. Recipe to follow - more quickly if someone asks for it.

Teriyaki Presentation Needs Work


Teriyaki presentation
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
Don't be put off by the appearance. It was tender, juicy and delicious. All due modesty of course.

Flickr

This is a test post from flickr, a fancy photo sharing thing.

Monday, January 17, 2005

The Ugly

Nothing ugly happened over the weekend, unless you're a Colts fan. :-))

The Bad

The bone in my Chicken Carver Sandwich. I wish they would be more careful.


carverboneb
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
This has happened at least three times.

The Good


hotandsour
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
Hot and Sour Soup, Sizzling Scallops and General Gau's Chicken made a great meal Saturday at Grand Chau Chow.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

Telling it like it is

From OChef.com, a practical, helpful, no nonsense answer to a question about using superfine/caster sugar. "If you fail in your search and your store manager wouldn’t recognize customer service if he tripped over it, you can make your own superfine sugar by running granulated sugar in a food processor until powdery. After you turn it off, let the powder settle for a minute before you open the food processor. Otherwise you’ll be snorting sugar dust."

Lot's of other good things too, this looks like a great site. Finding superfine/caster sugar

Monday, January 10, 2005

Cafe Apollonia

J and I get takeout from Cafe Apollonia every so often and it's always very good. We passed the word to E & B who also like it. And now friend M has been along with a friend of hers. They went for a very early lunch on Sunday, it was just noon, and they couldn't have been happier.

She writes, "We had the place to ourselves, they were barely ready
to start serving. The couple that runs it are
sweethearts. The husband explained to us that last
night was extremely busy; probably because of the
weather no one went out all day, then decided to go
out for dinner when the snow stopped. This meant they
were up until 2:00am, so they were late coming in and
setting up today. So we were patient, and was it
worth it! I had the piskovica (?spelling) sandwich,
which is spicy ground beef/pork accented with a tart yogurt-based sauce, and [my friend M] had the Mistra - chicken breast pesto. Wonderful flavors. And the fries were fabuloso, thick-cut, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. We each took home half the sandwich, and in fact I'm now looking forward to putting it in the toaster oven and having a nice dinner.

umm, you can use this on local eats if you credit me."

Thanks M, credit is gladly given. By the way J and I love the roast lamb but everything we've had is good. Cafe Apollonia is located in Roslindale Village which is the business area for one of Boston's neighborhoods. The area is clean and safe and there are a number of nice shops and restaurants. If you're in Boston make the trip. It's definitely worth it. They also have a web site with a menu, some bio information and best of all a map so you can find it.

The address is 146 Belgrade Avenue
Roslindale MA 02131-2433. Contact info is - Phone: (617) 327-6910
Fax: (617) 327-6914 eMail cafe.apollonia@verizon.net


Thursday, January 06, 2005

Survey of Travelers with Disabilities

From a press release by Microtel Inns & Suites.    >> The majority of respondents took several trips a year, traveled by car
(several used a van) to destinations around the U.S., and had disabilities
requiring the use of a wheelchair. More than one third of participants booked
their hotel accommodations via the web, followed by calling the toll-free
number or contacting the hotel directly.<<

Microtel Inns & Suites is the only budget hotel chain to implement the
training program known as Opening Doors(R) systemwide. Opening Doors(R),
developed by W.C. Duke Associates of Woodford, Va., is a value-added training
tool used to enhance the chain's customer service initiatives, so that staff
can practice "attitude accessibility." Opening Doors(R) emphasizes disability
etiquette skills training that includes interactive activities and role
playing using wheelchairs, blindfolds, earplugs and taped hands so employees
can practice how to service customers with disabilities. For more
information, visit http://www.wcduke.com .

Sounds like they're really trying. I'm going to see if they're in New Orleans. Maybe we'll stay there when we go to the Jazz Fest.

Microtel Inns & Suites and World Congress & Expo on Disabilities Announce Results of Joint 'Survey of Travelers with Disabilities': "Survey of Travelers with Disabilities"

Congratulations To Brylane Home Kitchen

I bought a small and inexpensive item a year ago. They have now spent every penny of the profit they made by sending me a steady supply of e-mail and catalogs. If they keep it up, and I imagine they will, they're going to lose money in the long run.
Sound effect: The flop of an unopened catalog landing in the recycle pile.