Shrimp, Snap Pea, and Chervil Salad

by Irene Lindvall

I had intended to make this recipe three weeks ago but something happened and I had to put it on hold. The stars aligned today and it turned out great. When my mom was over yesterday she gave me fresh radishes and snap peas from the Issaquah Saturday market. I had fresh arugula and parsley from my deck so all I needed was the shrimp. Even though it went against my plans to follow all recipe instructions I opted not to use chervil and fennel and went with all the fresh ingredients I already had. I'm so glad I waited to make this.

I served the salad with a trio of olive oil and spices and a fresh baguette. 

A description of the oils - left to right:

Basil Olive Oil + herb seasonings from Napa Valley, (fancy) Balsamic Vinegar + Olive Oil from Modesto, CA, Olive Oil + Black Truffle salt from Napa Valley.

Things I learned from this recipe:

What exactly chervil is. You can use a tarragon and flat leaf parsley combo as a substitute if you don't have or can't find chervil.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure

The recipe

Donburi + Miso Soup (three recipes)

by Irene Lindvall

Donburi:

Yesterday was Eric's birthday and every year to celebrate, at his request, my mom makes him donburi. It is hard to find good donburi at restaurants, let alone a place that makes it at all. I have never made it at home so I thought this was a good time to learn and talk about it. This is a long post because we made a chicken bowl for me and a beef bowl for everyone else and each had different ingredients. At the very bottom, you'll find my recipe for the miso soup I made as well. 

Oyakodon (chicken & egg):

Notes on the chicken bowl:

It's all about prep. You must have everything prepared prior to starting. Chicken thigh meat works best for this dish as it is the most tender and cooks quickly and nicely. It goes first into the broth (memmi soup base + miring rice wine) and you remove it from the heat once it is just done cooking. Next, the onions go in and cook for a few minutes and then the chicken goes back in. We then added kamaboko (the pink/white stuff is a fish cake) and cooked a bit longer. Next about 3/4 of the egg goes in just for a minute or two. Everything is cooking on fairly high heat (7 out of 10 on the burner) so it does not take long. Once the egg begins to settle we transferred it to the bowl where the rice was already served and then added the remaining 1/4 egg, topped with mitsuba (Japanese herb), covered with saran wrap and let set to "cook" the added egg. My mom just saw this trick on a Japanese TV program and really wanted to try it out. I thought it was a fascinating way to cook this dish. It turned out fantastic. 

I am sad to say I have no idea how long we cooked anything. I like to provide that type of information because I know I cook best being told what to do. This is one of the down sides to cooking with my mother, but on the other hand, there is room for error on this dish so knowing how long to cook everything isn't the most important detail. I will take the expertise of the 50+ years of cooking my mother has any day.

Gyudon (beef bowl):

Notes on the beef bowl:

I am sad I did not get a final shot of the beef bowl. There really were too many things happening in the kitchen. The instructions for cooking this dish are fairly similar to the chicken except for the reserved egg and the covering with saran wrap - omit both of those steps. My mom noted that five eggs for three people was not enough for this dish and said she should've added one more (we used two in the chicken bowl just for me). The egg and sauce are really important parts of both dishes and I would not skimp on either.

Things I learned from this recipe:

Asian moms are like the mythical unicorn. They possess (cooking) powers you can't understand.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Definitely

The recipe (if you need a step-by-step)

Miso Soup:

Miso soup. Miso. Soup. It's served at every teriyaki and sushi place around. It's salty, it's tasteless, it has tofu, it as a green onion or two. Miso soup really is so much more. It, like many things I'm realizing in the Japanese cuisine, like a light hand when making it. I made this a couple weeks ago for a party and it turned out great and got praise from every single person who tried it. I of course had consulted my mom on tips you cannot find on the carton. I decided to make it again for tonight's meal since I did not write about it back then.

The first most important tip is you cannot add miso to bowling water. You must bring the water to a bowl and then have it simmer down before adding it. Next, when adding the miso, I add it in tablespoon increments. I also add it via a small strainer so the paste gets absorbed into the water rather than dumped in. This is a step that most people do not know about and really effects the the taste. Please don't ask me how because I don't know. All I can say is "my mom told me to do it this way". For this version of miso we added baby bok choy and since the ends are quite tough I put them in before the miso paste to give them a chance to soften up. After the paste was added, I put the tofu and snap peas (cut in half) in. At this point, you must check to make sure the water has not come back to a bowl because the miso should never be boiling. A perfect simmer really is the best.

A cheat I used for this was buying a miso paste that already has dashi included. This is another secret ingredient you need to add to miso in order for the flavor to come out. You can read about this tip on the internet but when buying it al the store dashi generally comes in a box in kanji so you might miss it. My tip, buy the paste with the dashi already included. It tastes great, and it's one less step to worry about. 

Things I learned from this recipe:

Please see story above.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Definitely

The recipe:

Please see story + photos above.


Balsamic Vinaigrette "House Dressing"

by Irene Lindvall

Last summer I really needed a quick balsamic dressing and decided to go with my girl Oprah's recipe. It has simple ingredients that I always have on hand and it requires minimal mustard. Today I served the dressing with fresh picked arugula from my deck, shredded carrots and almond slivers.

Things I learned from this recipe:

We brought home fantastic olive oil from the Modesto, CA Farmer's Market and I used it in this recipe. The flavor of that oil is indescribable. After using pretty cheap olive oil is definitely has been thinking about investing in a higher quality. 

Would I make this recipe again?:

Yes

The recipe

Iced Coffee Float

by Irene Lindvall

I'm back after a 10 day hiatus! We arrived home very early this morning after driving from San Francisco all day. I was definitely not thrilled about coming up with a recipe today, but I remembered I had a delicious dessert I've been saving for just such a I-don't-want-to-make-anything occasion. It also just so happened that we bought delicious coffee in SF that is perfect for this dish.

Please take note of the AeroPress in the photos. This little contraption makes fantastic coffee. 

Things I learned from this recipe:

Cocoa powder is not necessary on top but does add a little extra flavor.

Would I make this recipe again?:

I see it being made many times in our (near) future.

The recipe

Somen

by Irene Lindvall

Hot and humid weather means it's "cold noodle" time in our household. Growing up, I'd venture to say we ate this dish no less than eight times in a summer. Japanese people eat these when the heat is so unbearable you don't feel like eating anything but you must. In Japan these noodles are called somen and is usually served only in homes instead of restaurants. When eating out you can get the buckwheat version called soba.

Things I learned (a long time ago) from this recipe:

Always portion out noodles into appropriately sized clumps for the individual bowl. When serving soba, it is 100% acceptable to just have one large heap of noodles. I think this is mostly due to the fact that somen sticks together and it would be hard to eat if you didn't portion it out while buckwheat doesn't have this problem.

You cannot eat these noodles without thinly sliced green onions.

One bunch of noodles is barely enough for one person (in my opinion) so I often serve three bunches for two people along with gyoza or another small side item to make a more complete meal.

Finely grated ginger or wasabi is optional.

Would I make this recipe again?:

For a lifetime. 

The recipe

My simple recipe:

Somen noodles - boil three minutes, drain, rinse until noodles are cold. Transfer to a communal bowl that has a strainer on top to keep draining water. You can serve them with ice cubes to keep them cold.

Sauce - I use Memmi Soup Base for many different broth bases in Japanese cooking.

Cup - A shallow dipping cup is necessary to dip the noodles into the broth w/green onions.