Innie or Outie

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When it comes to food, almost anything goes as long as it’s not too gross. You name it, fast food, retro food, ethnic food, gourmet food, and so on and so on…

I love food!!! Maybe that’s where living in an environment that didn’t lend itself to copying cookbook recipes easily has been a BIG plus. Instead of imitating other works of culinary art, I’m always trying to create my own dishes. Of course, this particular technique doesn’t always work out. However, in those situations when the texture isn’t quite right, or some other less than perfect malfunction occurs, the creation is usually edible at least. Now-a-days, when an over abundance of culinary information is so easily and quickly at my fingertips, there really is no need to repeat any single meal ever again.

Some of the sites that I run across in my daily research for ideas turn-up unexpected responses on my part. Sometimes there seems to be an uncanny brain wave of similarity on cooking projects between some of the sites and my self. And other times the posts present something that is a total surprise. For instance, take this post by Sarah Gim for Slashfood that led to this find. I can see why so many people felt compelled to respond to the “what the heck is it” inquiry. Although the caption suggestion portion of the site is closed, I have to put in my thought on this look back to the ’70s. So here it goes :

There’s no mystery here, any and every one who ever saw “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” knows that this is a picture of a rejected prop for Richard Dreyfuss of the Devil’s Tower!!!

I often sing the praises of one of my favorite household appliances around this time every year, the kotatsu or table heater. Tonight I’ll show one of the advantages of having such a convenient and energy saving item in the house. This recipe is one variation on a very popular wintertime dish in Japan:

Kani (Crab) Nabe for Two

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Dashi

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3 cups water
1 ½ pieces dashi konbu (a variety of seaweed) – break as needed

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6 pieces musubi konbu (another variety of seaweed)

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1/3 cup katsuo dashi (liquid type)

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1 tablespoon mirin
½ teaspoon minced ginger

Platter

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Crab legs (halved)
Shungiku (spring chrysanthemum stems) – cut into large chunks
Nametake mushrooms
Shironegi (leek) – cut into 1 inch pieces
1 block Shimadofu (tofu) – cubed
Chinese cabbage – cut into large chunks

Other Items Needed

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1 ceramic nabe pot with lid
1 crockette (mini-slow cooker)
1 portable tabletop butane burner

I began in an unconventional way by using a crockette (mini-slow cooker) to prepare the dashi. I did this for three reasons:

• Hubby’s schedule is so spontaneous; we have a hard time setting specific timetables for meals.
• It’s my belief that stocks taste better when given lengthy steeping periods.
• I don’t like having to stand over or repeatedly check the stove while the stock is steeping.

Place the water, dashi conbu, and musubi conbu in the crockette and cover.
After four hours remove two-thirds of the dashi conbu. Leave the remaining one-third for additional flavor.
Stir in katsuo dashi, mirin, and ginger. Cover and let continue to cook for at least another four hours.

You can prepare the platter at your convenience and place in the refrigerator, if needed. I usually start preparations approximately one-half hour prior to setting table for dinner.

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At dinnertime, prepare the table with the tabletop burner, eating utensils, and individual bowls.
Place the platter on the table.
Transfer two-thirds of dashi and musubi conbu to the nabe pot. Place the pot on the tabletop burner and add small portions of each item of the platter. Cover with the nabe pot lid and let come to a low boil. (Veggies are done when slightly soft to the touch. Crab is done when red in color.)

Serve cooked items combined in individual bowls accompanied by a small amount of dashi liquid.

After dinner, strain any remaining dashi liquid into a container. Remove the final one-third dashi konbu from the crockette. Add the crockette liquid to the container and store in refrigerator or freezer to use as starter dashi for the next time you prepare nabe.

I don’t know about you, but the subject of this section of Valentine food art ideas is a favorite of mine, pizza – hot or cold:

Here is a very good recipe for a valentine pizza from scratch.

It’s Chinese New Year’s Eve here. This marks the beginning of the Chinese lunar Year of the Dog.

Slashfood has a good quickie list of some of the symboliism of the food involved with the holiday.

This site provides some further information of the symbolism of the food of New Years.

And here’s a site that discusses the traditional celebration of the Chinese New Year.

Have a Happy New Year of the Dog!!!

Here are some more unusual heart and flower ideas for that special someone, sushi style that is:

This is a good breafast idea for those who like eggs and fish roe for breakfast. Further info, in Japanese, can be found here.

For the minimalist, a single flower might be the answer. Here is more information.

Every once in a while, I (like most other people) just get a craving for “fast food”. When my hubby came back with the meal, he brought with him a new item being offered by one of the chains. The box, a cute Valentine’s “fast food” idea,

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was much more charming than the actual food item itself.

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Does that special someone have allergies?  Don’t let that stop you from presenting a beautiful bouquet.

Sushi, the craze has hit the palates of many a foodie.  Well, here are two sites that can help you keep those lingering memories of the tasty tidbits alive:

I first saw this site’s (dynamism.com) unusual USB take on sushi on Slashfood.

These projects showed up on BoingBoing,via Paper Forest. (Also check out the August and October 2005 archives for more paper food art projects.)

 

Even though the info says the project has been around since 2000, I just ran across this most unusal cooking video site that boasts a very unique host chef, Tako.