These are Peter's favorites. There was only 1 of these in a deep, velvety red. We had to cover them up the other night to protect them from marble-sized hail. Weather has been wacky lately, but the flowers are surviving so far!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Flowers for the patio
These are Peter's favorites. There was only 1 of these in a deep, velvety red. We had to cover them up the other night to protect them from marble-sized hail. Weather has been wacky lately, but the flowers are surviving so far!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Flowers for the back deck
Our weekend was incredibly productive. We got flowers for the back deck, and also got most of my things from my old place in the Mission. It was a very productive weekend!
Trip to the nursery
Peter and I went up into Marin County to get some flowers and plants
for the back deck. Peter got super-busy and arranged them all & look AMAZING.
for the back deck. Peter got super-busy and arranged them all & look AMAZING.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Sushi and Sake Tasting
Brother Patrick came over last night for some store-bought sushi and sake sampling. The hands-down favorite was the tiny white bottle of Hakutsuru, right behind Pat's elbow. I had received it as a gift for visiting the brewery in January, so I had expected it to be mediocre - shows what I know. It was really smooth and flavorful. Other standouts were the corked sake in the middle called "Fujioka Shuzu." This was a less refined sake that we preferred to drink at room temperature, versus chilled - the sweetness was more pronounced that way. Tasty! Peter plated the sushi, and developed a new appreciation for the artistic flair and precision demonstrated by the pros. I made the miso soup and the shiro-ae spinach salad (still perfecting that one) and the bamboo shoots came from Nijiya supermarket in Japantown - now that I live w/ Peter, I only have to walk a few blocks to get there!!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Valentine's Day Feast 2007
Peter had an excellent idea for Valentine's Day - leave work early, go get massages (yes, ladies, HE made these plans!), walk down to Whole Foods and find the best surf-n-turf combo that money can buy. The filet was cooked to PERFECTION, and the lobster (flown in from Canada) was so tender, I daresay it was as good as any lobster you could find anywhere in the world. Sides were wild rice (Uncle Ben's - don't laugh, it was GOOD) and steamed asparagus. All of it washed down with a Grgich Hills merlot....I was in food ecstasy.
happy couple in Tahoe
Peter took me to Heaven(-ly) in Tahoe this past weekend. I hadn't skiied in about 8 years. By the end of 3 days, I was doing small moguls, which was AWESOME. Can't wait to go again!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Back at home
I made Niku-jaga (肉じゃが) shiro-ae (白あえ) for dinner last night. It's part of my new resolution to cook more at home & try to re-create the absolutely phenomenal home-cooked food that my good friend Hiroko makes.Fortunately, I have a willing guinea pig (Peter) who thinks I'm an excllent cook - lucky me! I also had shin-mai Japanese rice on hand, which was fantastic. AND we cracked open the KAGATOBI sake that I brought home from Japan - it DOES have the most amazing aftertaste that suggests the flavor of uni (sea urchin)! It's delicious, but it absolutely must be served chilled.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
I got back from Japan on Wednesday, and I'm looking for tasty Japanese recipes to try and replicateat home. I'm tempted to just give it up & just go to Tanuki, but I like the challenge. As Hiroko says,
it's only when you cook something over & over again that you really start to learn. Anyway, I found this
bit of Japanese-English and had to post it.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Last Day in Tokyo
For me, there is no shame in being coddled, especially if it's by my Japanese family. After a few days with them, I have unwound, calmed down, slept a lot and been fed even better. The sake tour was a fabulous success, thanks to a great working relationship with John Gauntner and a fantastic group of aspiring sake experts. They were a lot of fun, and for the most part, extremely accommodating and cooperative. Now I'm back in Tokyo, getting ready to spend 1 more day in my favorite area, Ningyo-cho, to buy every weird and wonderful specialty food I can find!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Uni and yuba - delicious!
I'm putting this picture up especially for my wonderful boyfriend, Peter, who despite having never been to Asia, LOVES uni (sea urchin). I added a little soy sauce to my portion - DELICIOUS. Like anything else, if you taste GOOD uni the first time, you might really like it, otherwise the texture and flavor is more "challenging." This uni is prepared sashimi-style, and mixed with a thin, skinlike tofu called yuba. It's usually not as soupy as what's pictured here, and it's more often used to wrap rolled sushi, or as a noodle-like addition to soup. I've even seen it used to replicate poultry skins on products like "Tofurky." Again, I recommend trying yuba in Japan - totally different than what you find in the US. MUCH better.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
First Day of the Saké Tour
Ok, everyone say it together....."SAH-KAY!"
Today is my first real day of work with John Gauntner, the "Saké Guy." Peter is jealous, as are a couple of my other friends - I met nearly everyone on the tour last night at dinner. Truth be told, I was thinking that I got a darn good deal too - here I am sampling some incredible saké, eating extremely well and working with some pretty cool people. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort to establish a rapport with my clients, and they can be challenging, but it looks like this is going to be pretty fun.
The place we went to last night for dinner was Takara. Takara specializes in all types of saké. One really good one was Urakasumi ("oo-rah-kah-soo-mi;" pronunciation is just like Spanish!). John said he's never had a bad bottle from this one. We tasted the "shin-shu" (new batch), similar to the "Beaujolais Nouveau" concept. Clean, crisp and delicious!
Today is my first real day of work with John Gauntner, the "Saké Guy." Peter is jealous, as are a couple of my other friends - I met nearly everyone on the tour last night at dinner. Truth be told, I was thinking that I got a darn good deal too - here I am sampling some incredible saké, eating extremely well and working with some pretty cool people. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort to establish a rapport with my clients, and they can be challenging, but it looks like this is going to be pretty fun.
The place we went to last night for dinner was Takara. Takara specializes in all types of saké. One really good one was Urakasumi ("oo-rah-kah-soo-mi;" pronunciation is just like Spanish!). John said he's never had a bad bottle from this one. We tasted the "shin-shu" (new batch), similar to the "Beaujolais Nouveau" concept. Clean, crisp and delicious!
OISHI!
This is Ted, a Japanese antiques dealer and expert sword polisher.
The man knows so much about swords, you wonder how he keeps it
all in his head. He does, however, find time to enjoy the finer things in life, like sake. This is a variety of sake that he absolutely had to have, after I told him about its distinct aftertaste. It tastes just like "uni," or sea urchin. If you've ever gone to a sushi restaurant and wondered what that orange, gelatin-looking thing was, it's uni. And it's delicious. So here it is - uni-flavored sake, expertly showcased by Ted!
The man knows so much about swords, you wonder how he keeps it
all in his head. He does, however, find time to enjoy the finer things in life, like sake. This is a variety of sake that he absolutely had to have, after I told him about its distinct aftertaste. It tastes just like "uni," or sea urchin. If you've ever gone to a sushi restaurant and wondered what that orange, gelatin-looking thing was, it's uni. And it's delicious. So here it is - uni-flavored sake, expertly showcased by Ted!
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