Miso Soup

I tend to use my blog to vent some times...
I happened to think yesterday that I should throw some "non-vent" topics up on occasion :)

Miso Soup!
Ever had it? You should try it.
I think I first had it about 8-10 years ago. My friend married a woman who has a Japaneese mother, and she made a large batch of Miso soup. So my friend asked if I'd ever had it before, I had not. I was not a very adventurous eater, but I was just starting to discover Sushi, and Japanese food in general. Now... I'll pretty much eat anything with a few exceptions... (I'm not crazy about eating any internal organs ie: brains, stomach, liver, etc... I'd probably try it, but the thought doesn't appeal to me.)
Anyway... I really enjoyed the soup and asked if it was dificult to make. He said not really, and proceeded to give me the "recipe".
It's not an exact recipe, it's more like "this is what it's made of, just add enough to your taste".
Ok...
1) Miso - I was told that Miso is just a slightly fermented Soy bean paste... I just now learned (via wikipedia here) that it can also be made from Rice, and Barley, and that it's made with salt and a fungus (don't think I needed to know that). What I do know about Miso is that there are different varrieties and that I have not experimented with them. I look for the "regular" Miso paste. It's kinda like peanut butter in color and texture. (I think there is also flavored Miso and Red Miso). Buying it can be tricky, because I've only seen it in the Asian food market(s). Several times I can't read the label because there is no english on it. The kind I usually get though has english, and I know it's made specifically for soup. I think it has Dashi already added to it which brings me to Ingredient #2...

2) Dashi or Bonito - again, I've only seen this at Asian food markets. I usually have no problem finding it, but it can take some searching if you can't read the Kanji type. Almost always, I've found it near the pre-mix Miso Soup packets (cheating, but I'm sure it tastes the same). It usually comes in little foil packets or a small glass jar. To be clearer... I believe Dashi is simply the name of a fish stock made with Bonito flakes. So techincally you're looking for Bonito to make your own Dashi. (Dashi on wikipedia here and Bonito here). Bonito is simply fish (usually Tuna, but I think it can also be anchovies) that has been dried, and then crumbled into a powder. So basically, you're adding dried fish powder to water to make Dashi.

3) Tofu! - I think everyone knows what Tofu is but just in case you're not familiar with it, it's basically made from soybeans. It's also called "bean curd". It's Soybeans that have been curdled, then pressed into "blocks". Again, there are different types of tofu, but it's best to use the plain.
Tofu is usually sold as "soft, medium, or firm" - personally I prefer the firm. It has a bit of texture to it, where the 'soft' is enough to barely hold it's shape and bit mushy. Extra firm is good too if you like the texture. There is no difference in taste, just texture. Tofu is in every supermarket now, so it's not difficult to find at all. It's usually sold in a sealed pack, with a liquid (water?). slice the pack, drain the liquid, then cut the tofu into about 1/4" or 1/2" squares.
(tofu on wikipedia). I should mention too... Tofu is extremely bland and tasteless. But it's really good for you, and adds texture to soups or veggy meals.

4) Seaweed - This can be tricky too, but the bottomline is look for anything marked seaweed. I think the techincal term you want is called "Wakame" (wiki). [Be careful though... do not use those "sheets" of seaweed that is used for making sushi. I mean I guess you could use it, but I wouldn't recommend it.] Depending on the market you go to, you might find it in a bag marked as Wakame... The market I go to, has bags and bags of different varieties of seaweed! Most I can't read the package at all, and I like to experiment. My favorite now is this stuff that looks BLACK! It's curly, and small pieces (dried of course). I like this for both texture - and it's cool! You throw one piece into water, and it enlarges to almost 4 times it's size! And then turns to a nice dark green (typical seaweed color). So be AWARE! that it may look like you're only putting in a handful to a large pot, it will enlarge to almost 4x it's size.
The small pieces are great too because you don't need to cut them. If you get the larger pieces of uncut seaweed it's nearly impossible to cut with a knife when it's dry!

That's basically the ingredients there! Most places will also add a little fresh chopped Scallions to the bowl just prior to serving. (It's good, but you don't need them).

Get a large pot.
Fill it with about 8 cups of water. Turn the heat up to high.
Get your miso paste - follow the instructions on how much to use (I think it's about 2 tablespoons per 4 cups) but it's really a matter of taste. You can use less or more depending how you like it. Start with two, and just put what you feel looks right. (I like alot).
Add your Bonito if you want - warning, a little of this goes a long way! And, make sure your Miso paste doesn't already have Dashi/Bonito in it already. Again, I like a fishy taste, so I add about 3 teaspoons (even though my miso paste has Bonito in it).
Add your Tofu. One package for 8 cups is plenty.
By now the soup should be close to boiling (you don't have to bring it to boiling).
Keep stirring gently until all of your Miso Paste is dissolved in the water. It can "clump" when you first put it in.
Last add your Seaweed. Again, this is to taste, if you like a lot, use a lot. I use about a handfull.
Note: the seaweed is salty! So think of that as you add it in.
Let everything simmer for about 5 more minutes and you're good to go!
(The scallions are optional).

Enjoy!

If you have a better recipe or have an additional ingredient, feel free to leave a comment.

OH! I should have mentioned this...
When left for a minute or two, Miso soup will settle. The Miso will sink and group towards the bottom of the bowl, with just a clear broth on top. That's normal! Just give it quick stir before taking a spoonful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm sitting here, with a FULL belly, a little bit of wine left in my glass, and trying to stay awake now. I had a nice Thanksgiving here. Computer games, relaxing, and cooking. I decided to keep things a little simple this year, and didn't over do things with the food. I bought a half-a turkey breast, and was worried it might not be enough... silly... it was plenty. I wasn't sure how I was going to prepare the turkey breast. I don't use my oven except maybe 3 times a year, so I don't feel confident on knowing how it works. I think I did this one year before (can't remember if I did it, or just thought of doing it?). I decided to cook the turkey in my WOK! Yep, like you, I was hesitant. But I figured why knot? It's not much different than chicken right? So that's what I did.
The difficult part was trying to cut the meat off the bones ahead of time. Wegmans included the wishbone, a few small rib bones, and the back bone in this package (A little perturbed at learning this... I thought I was getting just the breast meat, and not a package full of bones). But, after about 20 minutes of careful cutting, I managed to get a nice stack of meat. I cut the meat in heafty chunks (about 1.5 inches). I didn't want it to cook too fast and dry out.
I started my potatoes first as they took the longest to cook. As they were boiling, I was doing the meat cutting. It worked out perfect.
In addition to the turkey, I added one large onion, diced roughly, poultry seasoning, a little garlic powder, olive oil, a chunk of butter towards the end, and salt and pepper. That's it. Set the heat to high at first, then as I started to make the mashed potatoes (using soy milk), I turned the heat down to med.
After finishing the Mashing, I made some 'stove top stuffing' (quick and easy and tastes good - but NO where near mom's homemade stuffing!), I then finished everything off, by heating a small can of corn in the microwave. Oh, and as the turkey was done, I added (right out of the fridge) a small container of Wegmans (home made) gravy. I let that come up to temperature in the wok, then started to "plate" (fancy chef talk for putting the food on the plate). I put a layer of Mashed, Then a layer of stuffing, then poured the gravy/meat/onions mixture on top of it all. Corn in a sep bowl.
Man... it tasted good! Turkey was tender and juicy, not the slightest bit dry. I knew it was all fully cooked, so no worries about "is that section cooked enough"?
Much to my surprise, I have a LOT of leftovers too.

I hope your Thanksgiving meal turned out as well as mine did. I love it when I wing it and it works :)
Tomorrow's challenge... Pumpkin pie for Saturday dinner with folks. I've made them before and pretty easy. Yes... I cheat, and buy pilsbury crust.

where does bread come from?

Ok, today's post ties in two different topics under one word - pretty clever huh? :)
First...
I made my second loaf of bread last night! And I'm happy to report that it went much better than my first attempt. I used the recipe off the back of the packaging of my whole wheat flour that I got from "King Arthur Flour". I stuck pretty good to the recipe (except I used whole milk). Although, I do not understand why I ended up using so much more flour than the recipe called for. It called for 2.5 Cups of flour and I must of added at LEAST a whole 'nother cup of flour. After mixing all the ingredients, it was just a gooey sticky mess, but I just kept adding more flour and eventually got a decent dough. As you can see from the photo, this loaf actually expanded above my (silicon) bread pan. AND it tasted pretty good too! I think next up, I want to try more sweeter breads or breads with fruit in them (like raisins or banana).

And the second topic... Money (aka bread, dough).
Where does money come from?
Think about it for a second...
Did the image of the government Mint pop into your mind?
Guess what... you're wrong!
It's pretty complicated (I'm not sure I fully understand either), but short answer is: The Banks make money out of thin air. Don't believe me?
Watch this video online...
Money As Debt (about 47 minutes).

Tech Tags: bread dough whole+wheat king+arthur+flour money debt banking

Bread

Well tonight I added another notch to my "cooking" belt. I made bread for the first time. I followed the recipe I found over at the "simple dollar" with one small modification, I used soymilk instead of regular milk. Overall, it turned out well I guess. But for some reason the dough did not rise as much as I thought it should have according to the photos on the simple dollar website. I used a steel mixing bowl, and perhaps it cooled off too fast for when I mixed the yeast? I wasn't sure of the exact amount of water to add either to the original yeast amount.
The crust was tough as a rock! This thing feels like a lead weight! But once I cut a slice it tasted really good. I think I was impatient too and didn't let the oven pre-heat long enough, I had to cook it an extra 20 minutes longer than what they said (30 min). So all in all, this took me about 3-4 hours to make one loaf of bread, I could have driven up to new york city and back in that time! But to be fair, 2 hours of that was spent waiting for the dough to rise. and 50 min spent waiting for it to bake.
I'm not totally discourage, because I think I want to try this again with a different kind of yeast (I used the instant pack), and also I'd like to try a better flour (I used all purpose), I'd like to try a good whole wheat next time.
But for a first try, I'm pretty happy.
Now I've got to hurry up and eat it, cause the website said it'll only last for about 3 days since there are no preservatives in it.
Oh, and I really need to buy myself a serrated knife for next time.

totally unrelated, but worth mentioning, while waiting for all this to take place, I watched a dvd that I had seen in the theater some time ago... the motorcycle diaries. This is an awesome movie! Just a tad bit long, but really good stuff - go rent it!

Tech Tags: bread loaf cooking baking simple+dollar movie motorcycle+diaries che

Chai Ice Cream!

So last night, I get home late (as usual) and didn't feel like cooking much. I had set aside a chicken breast from out of the freezer so I knew if I didn't cook it that night, I'd end up throwing it out which really bothers me. So, I cut it up in small pieces, did a quick stirfry with some cajun spices and seasame seed oil, and then a bit of soy sauce. A sort of asian-cajun mix (now thats a good name for a restaraunt!) It was really good (if I do say so myself). Then later, I was trying to get rid of some recycling and I found a wegmans magazine that had a bunch of recipes in it. I can't remember the last time I made something from a recipe! Well, all that background to tell you about this new recipe I saw on my google homepage... The website is called "simply recipes" and the link is for Chai Ice Cream. MAN! I'm not a big ice-cream kinda person, but that sounds really good to me! I also encourage you to check out the website because she always has the most amazing photographs of her cooking. I probably won't make this ice cream, but who knows.

Unofficial Mike Colameco recipes

So, after trying to find some recipes on Mike Colameco's website and noticing that it has not been updated since 2005, I thought others might be doing the same. So, I decided to attempt to write his recipes down here on my blog, in the hopes that I'll have a copy of it, and two, that others may find it. Now, if you watch the show, Mike doesn't usually give out measurements on the show, so my "interpretation" of his recipes are just that, a guesstimate. Luckily, his recipes are usually simple and fast, so this should not be an issue.
This recipe is from two weeks ago, where he went to some seafood restaurants in NYC, then came home and cooked up some monk fish (I had no idea they were that ugly before Mike filleted it!). So for the fish it was so simple...
Monk fish tail fillet(s)
FRESH Scallops
Heat some oil (looked like canola, but I'm sure you can use your preference) in a hot frying pan.
After fish are almost done, put a tablespoon or 2 into the frying pan and let cook til it starts to brown.
Add some Fresh Lemon Juice.
---
As the side for this dish, Mike made some simple cabbage:
Savoy Cabbage
Sautee in a frying pan with oil
sprinkle some Mustard Seeds on.
Add a little butter
---
He then served the fish and cabbage with a piece of toast.

>>><<<

This recipe is from his latest show, where he visited Italy (great show!) Seafood Risotto Ingred: Shrimp, Lobster claws, mussels and clams Mike said the key to making a good seafood risotto is to make your own seafood stock using the shrimp and the clam and mussels... Peel the shrimp, save all the shells though... Add the shells and a bit of water and little bit of oil to a pot and heat (only about 1 minute). The shells will start to turn pink. Really, you're just trying to get the flavor from the shells into the water. Then add some water to the pot and boil for about 30 minutes. The second part, First, soak the clams and mussels in fresh water for about 15 minutes - this helps to flush the sand from them. Put the clams and mussels into a large frying pan with a small amount of water. Heat, and once clams and mussels open, remove them from their shells and put in a bowl, KEEP the water and liquids from when you boiled them in the frying pan. This becomes the other half of the seafood stock. Mike said a good tip, is to pour the liquid into a bowl and let sit, so that any sand will fall to the bottom, then simply pour carefully so as not to add the sand. Boil the lobster claws for 5-6 minutes. Combine all the seafood stocks with some garlic, and basil, and follow instructions for Risotto. Approx 18 minutes to cook. Mike said the key is to add liquid to the rice in small amounts, cook it for a little, then add more liquid (approx a small soup ladle) and stir often. While the Risotto is cooking, finish up the shrimp in a frying pan with olive oil and butter (won't take long - don't over cook the shrimp as they'll get rubbery). Add the lobster, clams, mussels to the risotto, along with some Marscarpone cheese and some chopped parsley.
MAN I'm hungry now!!!

Tech Tags: Mike+Colameco Colameco cooking recipes monk+fish lobster shrimp mussels risotto