http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php en mjd-s@souzouzone.jp Copyright 2011 2011-03-11T17:15:36+00:00 http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/recipe_sweet_potato_fries/ http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/recipe_sweet_potato_fries/#When:17:15:36Z Based on this recipe. Ingredients Sweet potato Olive oil Seasoning (salt, pepper) Method Peel the outer layer and slice up the sweet potato into either thinner fry lengths or thicker wedges. You can even leave the skin on if you want and just wash the outside - but make sure that you dry it very well. Place directly onto baking trays. Leave some space between the fries to help with cooking. Season with salt and pepper, and then lightly drizzle with olive oil. For thin style like the ones pictured bake at about 230°C for 15 mins and then turn them over and bake for an extra 10 minutes. For thicker wedges you’ll need a longer cooking time. You’ll need to test depending on the thickness and your oven temperament of course! And also factor in just how crispy you like them. You could also season with chili powder or cumin or thyme before hand either sprinkling over over “shake & bake” style in a ziplock bag. To avoid soggy make sure that if you wash the potato that you dry it off very well. Too much oil with result in soggy. Too many fries jammed together will result in soggy. Too low a temperature will too. 2011-03-11T17:15:36+00:00 http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/black_white_and_extremely_lucky/ http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/black_white_and_extremely_lucky/#When:21:50:23Z Just chatted to my stepmother and she told me what she and Maggie have just been through. After being dug out of her pen by a neighbouring dog, Maggie ended up being trapped in a tank until she was rescued by the CFS. She is now at home recovering. The article was penned by my stepmother Julie Dawson-Daniels and printed in the local Riverland paper. However since their web site has a ridiculous policy of forcing you to subscribe for free to read the articles (and effectively reducing the usefulness of the site) I have re-posted the story below. If you are interested to subscribe and read the story can be found at The River News. Black, white and extremely lucky By Julie Dawson-Daniels What is black, white and extremely lucky? That would be Maggie, the 10-year-old border collie rescued by Cadell CFS after being found trapped in a CIT irrigation tank. HOME SWEET HOME: Maggie relaxes at home after being lost for 12 days. She was found trapped in a CIT irrigation tank. Owner Julie Dawson Daniels reported the dog’s disappearance – on January 23, 2011 – through newspapers, radio, posters and Facebook, and searched for her beloved pet every day. “It became harder on those extremely hot days but, I couldn’t give up,” she said. “I knew if Maggie had breath left in her body, if she could manage to crawl, she’d make it home.” On Thursday, February 3, Mrs Dawson-Daniels drove to Waikerie to put ‘lost pet dog’ posters in shops. Approaching the Waikerie Caravan Park, Mrs Dawson-Daniels received a mobile call from Natarsha Wilksch of Cadell CFS, saying they thought they had located Maggie. “The dog was down a well, treading water, her head wedged between a post and a wall,” Mrs Dawson-Daniels said. Maggie had been missing from her Cadell home for 12 days. “Natarsha also said not to worry – the CFS boys had rescued the dog, she was safe and with them at the CFS shed, but I could hardly take it in,” she said. “The CFS boys had wrapped Maggie in a thermal blanket and she was still wringing wet – as was CFS member Tom his boots still filled with water. “It was Tom who bravely went into the tank to rescue her, wading chest deep in green slime covered water to reach the trapped dog. “As Tom freed her, she came up out of the water, wrapped both her paws around his neck and clung on. “She was exhausted, but alive, and thankful help was there.” Mrs Dawson-Daniels said Maggie was weak and “painfully thin”, but was eager to go home. “Riverland Veterinary Clinic’s Dr Jen Griffiths is amazed Maggie survived,” she said. “Although the dog’s front paw pads and nails are worn away, her other injuries are also non-life threatening, and her heart is strong. “CFS member Tom said he’s been in the CFS for 12 years and this rescue has been the most rewarding in his career so far. “There’s no doubt lucky Maggie would agree.” MJD-S Related 2011-02-20T21:50:23+00:00 http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/silken_tofu_chocolate_mousse/ http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/silken_tofu_chocolate_mousse/#When:14:45:24Z Ingredients 300g silken tofu (Must be silken! Otherwise you’ll get chocolately scrambled tofu instead.) 300g chocolate (Any kind will do depending on whether you want a milk mousse or darker.) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (This really does take the tofu taste edge off - you can substitute peppermint for choc-minty mousse, espresso for mocha mousse etc - go wild!) Method I like to hand whisk the tofu furiously to get it all airy and fluffy and smooth. Then you can melt chocolate in a double boiler (or even nuke it in a microwave) and add to the tofu. Whisk until completely blended and smooth. Pour/spoon into serving cups and chill. Usually sets pretty quickly. Garnish just like you would an ordinary mousse. Serving size - really if you stick to a 1:1 ration of tofu and chocolate you can make as few or many as you like. [Based on this recipe, via.] Food & Drink 2011-02-14T14:45:24+00:00 http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/recipe_pumpkin_cauliflower_soup/ http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/recipe_pumpkin_cauliflower_soup/#When:19:35:22Z Ingredients kabocha, a quarter, chopped cauliflower, head, chopped carrot, one, thinly sliced chicken or vegetable stock, approx 3 cups rice, one cup, uncooked smoked paprika, one teaspoon garllic, minced, 2-3 cloves salt & pepper to taste Method Boil the pumpkin and drain, remove the skin (you can of course peel the kabocha beforehand - I just find it easier this way. You don’t want the skin on - it will discolour the soup). Put the chicken/vegetable stock in a pot, add the cauliflower. Simmer until cauliflower starts to soften, add in the pumpkin, carrot and rice. Add in the smoked paprika and garlic. Simmer until the rice is soft but not mush. Remove from the heat and blend. Add back to the pot to season and to warm. Serve warm. Tips If the soup is too thick, thin with more stock. Food & Drink 2011-01-08T19:35:22+00:00 http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/recipe_renkon_chips/ http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/recipe_renkon_chips/#When:19:31:44Z Nelumbo nucifera - lotus root - known in Japan as renkon - is the edible rhizome of the lotus flower. It doesn’t have a particularly strong taste, and is often prepared in vinegar or simmered with other veggies. It’s a very pretty food and you can even stuff the holes. More commonly now it has become a snack - renkon chips are easy to prepare and can be eaten hot or cold. Like most chips they aren’t healthy - but they are tasty! Here in Japan you usually buy renkon washed in packs. Ingredients renkon oil salt Method Wash the renkon and with a vegetable peeler peel the outside. Grab a mandoline - it’s quicker than using a knife and you want uniform slices. Slice across the cross section of the renkon. Have enough oil in a pan to do some deep frying. It should be hot! If your oil is too coll to start with you’ll just end up with soggy, greasy renkon slices. Add in slices of renkon to the oil, keep them in there until they turned brown - remove and drain. Sprinkle with salt and try not to eat too many as you are cooking them. Tips I like to use super-long chopsticks to cook these, although tongs would be fine. They can be a little bit spitty in the oil. I usually make these and then use the same oil to fry chicken or fish. They fry up pretty cleanly. Food & Drink 2011-01-04T19:31:44+00:00 http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/a_trip_to_a_shrine/ http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/a_trip_to_a_shrine/#When:19:19:45Z We went to the most popular shrine in the area - Hachimangu Shrine in Hiratsuka [website - Japanese only]. There is a huge wait to go pray ad make money offerings - we didn’t wait but walked around checking things out and eating taiyaki. A few days later when we came back to tie our fortunes to the ropes and boards we made an offering. We are pretty confident that the gods understand that toddlers have no patience - at least half white devil ones. Even if just visiting the first thing to do is wash your hands here. EM wasn’t that keen as the water was pretty chilly. I chose this plaque because the Oni (devils) amused me. These came with the omikuji (fortunes) we got from the shrine. Mine is the gold one which means I should be loaded with cash this year! [Maneki Neko] People wait to make an offering. Elliot Mason checks out the big Tor. The queue stretches right around up the street outside the grounds. More queueing! Shrine attendants sell fortunes and keep things in order. A performing monkey entertained the kids. He was a pretty cranky monkey. I guess that shirt would make me cranky too. You fill in one eye of the daruma when you set your goal, and then the other eye in when you achieve it. After reading your fortune you tie it to the ropes here. Wishes are tied to the boards here. Japan 2011-01-02T19:19:45+00:00 http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/starting_off_the_year_on_the_right_stomach/ http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/starting_off_the_year_on_the_right_stomach/#When:18:30:41Z Osechi-ryōri (お節料理) are dishes that are served in a special type of box called a jūbako (重箱) on New Year’s Day. The idea is that all food is prepared on the last day of the year - and everyone enjoys a relaxing first day of the New Year. Since it needs to keep a lot of the dishes are pickled or cooked in vinegar and sugar. Some of my dishes had to be cooked before serving though - although some of the prep was done earlier. I definitely go for taste over tradition in my version - never will I make gobo tataki again! Also I made a layer mostly of things Elliot Mason likes - the Baikingman onigiri was a big hit! Mochi is a traditional food - and of course being the Year of the Bunny you can’t miss an opportunity to cute-ify it! Osechi - Jubako #1 Full of tradition here! Kuromame (sweet black beans) are the one thing I didn’t make from scratch - maybe next year. The carrots, shiitake mushrooms and snow peas were simmered in sake and soy sauce. Pickled myoga is not traditional - but it amuses me to add it in to help forget the last year (too much myoga is said to make you forgetful). It’s the kind of puny punning that drives a lot of Japanese tradition. Also - might be hard to see - but the lay out is supposed to represent koi swimming through fallen sakura. The head is the bowl of kuromame and the myoga the tail, with the waved scales of the other dishes in between. Osechi - Jubako #2 Embracing the West here. To be honest not many osechi foods are all that mouth watering - so this layer is more about comforting food. Also I go against tradition in that I made some of these things on New Years Day before we ate - the prawns, renkon, tomatoes & camembert cheese I prepared just before serving. I also fried the chicken after the renkon - but this chicken actually takes 2 days to prepare. Prawns (ebi) are usually simmered in sake, but for the boys I grilled them in olive oil and then we ate them with a squeeze of lemon. Osechi - Jubako Layer #3 Various recipes to follow! Happy New Year! Food & Drink 2011-01-01T18:30:41+00:00 http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/an_experiment_in_pie_crusts/ http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/an_experiment_in_pie_crusts/#When:13:53:35Z Ingredients couscous lemon juice pumpkin, mashed egg, one, beaten Method First off - make some couscous according to the package or how you usually make it. I didn’t add in butter - but I flavoured with lemon juice. Most couscous pie crusts end up being crumbles. To counter-act this I boiled pumpkin, mashed it and mixed it into the couscous. For extra sticking measure I also mixed in a beaten egg. Then I blind baked the crust for about 10 minutes, and let the crust cool before adding the quiche style pie and baking until the filling was firm and browned. Worked out well! The crust held together but wasn’t tough. Tips A usual one serving of couscous makes a lot of crust! You can freeze - but it’s easier to start off making a half or quarter portion of couscous and just enough pumpkin to mash and bind. This of course depends on the pie plates you want to fill. 2010-07-07T13:53:35+00:00 http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/lemon_and_dill_jelly/ http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/lemon_and_dill_jelly/#When:08:39:24Z The trick with these is getting the flavour combo right and knowing the gelatine you are working with. Ingredients gelatine (powder or leaves - whichever you prefer) dashi/fish broth lemon juice fresh dill, roughly chopped Method First off you want to decide how much you are making. The powdered gelatine I use is about one sachet to 250 CC of liquid - and it’s easy to double the liquid and the gelatine. Molds - I like to use my little glass bowls I got from the 100 yen store - but plastic cups will also work. Making the fish broth - into a saucepan of boiling water I add dried katsuobushi and boil it for a little while, then strain the flakes. This is a pretty standard way to make dashi - the base of lots of Japanese dishes (ie miso soup). Then I mix lemon juice into the slightly cooled dashi. Then I add the gelatine to 250 cc of the lemon dashi mix and mix until it’s dissolved. Divide the liquid among your molds and then tuck the fresh dill into it. Place in fridge to set. To help free the jelly before serving you can place briefly into a warm bath or just roll under a running warm tap. Too long though and it will melt! I also like to garnish with a piece of fresh herb too. 2010-06-02T08:39:24+00:00 http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/roasted_red_capsicum_hummus/ http://www.cerebralsoup.net/index.php/cerebralsoup/pages/roasted_red_capsicum_hummus/#When:06:25:58Z I thought I had posted this recipe from Pinch My Salt before - but after making this for Tracey the other week it appears I hadn’t…. not that I should be surprised as there hasn’t been much time for blogging at all! So here is my version with notes especially applicable to recreating this in Japan! Ingredients 1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (The Meat Guy has the best deals on these - but your local supermarket should have) 1 red bell capsicum, roasted, peeled and seeded (that’s peppers to you Yanks) 1 tablespoon chopped red onion 1 clove of garlic, minced or pressed (or the ol’ handy tube of minced niniku!) 1 tablespoon tahini (ah… this oddly enough can be tricky to find! This kuki brand neri goma (white) is a pretty good alternative and more importantly not a sweet sesame spread!) juice of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon honey (I use Maple Syrup because infants shouldn’t have honey - and EM loves this stuff) 1/2 teaspoon sriracha (This can be found at Kaldi Coffee Farm or their online store and I see they just got the Super Hot and Super Garlic types now too!) scant 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 – 1 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste) Method First some tips on roasting the capsicum Food & Drink 2010-04-14T06:25:58+00:00