Stewing

IRON CHEF: Apologies. It strikes me this has turned into a food and crafts blog the last month plus. It's not that we don't do science and stuff, it just that it has been less photogenic, I guess. 

Also, as much as I'd love to post a number of the things CJ writes for his history or psychology class, I'm guessing I'm not supposed to do that publicly due to concerns about plagarism. So, while this is about one of his classes, it's about (surprise!) food! 

Last night was his last Japanese class for the quarter, and students were asked to bring food for a potluck. We surmised that to mean Japanese food. CJ mulled his options and decided to make a soup, since he's an experienced soup maker.  

I'll have him tell you a little bit about it ...

For my last Japanese class at South Seattle College this quarter, I made a stew for a potluck being held in the class. In particular, I chose to make a "sumo stew," or Chankonabe. Sumo stews are named as such because real-world sumo wrestlers often consume them on the regular, as part of a weight-gain diet.

To make the sumo stew, I got a variety of ingredients from a local Asian grocery store. There were some ingredients that we already had, such as leftover Thanksgiving turkey and bone broth, that were both used in the stew. Ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, carrots, daikon, a leek, soy sauce, and mirin were all used to add flavor to the stew. In most sumo stew, fish is also used. However, because I don't want to eat fish, it was omitted from the stew.

And that's all he had to say about that. 

In reading a whole bunch of articles about this soup/stew, it's clear the broth is supposed to be the star. It is supposed to have umami, of course, and be multi-dimensional, for lack of a better term. We started with turkey bone broth (thanks, Thanksgiving). To that, I suggested CJ add the stems from his shiitake mushrooms (to be added much later), and let the stems steep in the broth. He let that go for a couple of hours.

 To that, he added a bonito (fish) soup base, as well as some carrots, daikon and leeks he sliced up.

That went another couple of hours, and toward the end some white miso was stirred in, plus he added a *bunch* of cooked turkey, more carrots and daikon, and the shiitakes. He also boiled udon noodles and kept them separate, to add to the Instant Pot once he got to his classroom. Garnishes he took included raw sliced daikon, chrysanthemum greens, and enoki mushrooms. 

In the end, it made a beautiful bowl.

CJ's Japanese professor was impressed (per Christian, who helped carry it all in and out). She said that the stew could be sold in any restaurant in Japan. So that was gratifying!  

CJ said she also told the class about the history and importance of sumo stew. One interesting fact is that you don't want to put any four-legged animal in the broth - that's considered bad luck (sumos should be up on two feet, not down on all fours).

I was really glad CJ took a huge pot of soup (and bowls, and spoons and napkins), because as it turns out, he was the only student who brought something to the potluck. :0 The only other food was brought in by the professor. Wow.

FRUITY FUN: While at Uwajimaya (a Japanese grocery store) yesterday, we couldn't help but notice a sign in the produce section touting pink-on-the-inside apples. 

We bought a couple and the kids each had one for breakfast this morning. 

They were really and truly pink!

The kids report they taste somewhat like a Granny Smith.

As an educational note, once upon a time, Washington state exported lots of apples to Japan. However, nowadays, Northwest growers haven’t exported to Japan since the 2000-01 season. This is  largely due to that country’s high (17 percent) tariff and high export costs. Earlier this year, there was talk of a resurgence in Washington apple exports, but the inroads are slow so far.

According to a press release from Washington Senator Maria Cantwell's office, Stemilt Growers has shipped 86,000, 40 pound-boxes of apples to Japan in the last three years, and they were planning to ship 15,000 to 20,000 earlier this year. These exports ended a 16-year lull in U.S. apples to Japan.  It is noted that Stemilt was shipping the apples at a loss, in hopes of generating interest for Washington state apples in Japan. 

CUT IT OUT: Annabelle's Cricut machine has been working over time. Yesterday afternoon she made these festive place cards for a party her grandparents are having later this month. 

This morning she made me a new decal for my pressure cooker. Naturally, it's Freddie and Bowie, "Under Pressure."

And she also designed and cut out a ton of vinyl stickers to transform a boring one white mixer into an R2-D2-themed beauty.

Here's the before. ...

 And a work-in-progress shot.

And here's a side shot of the finished product!

 I love it!

Thanksgiving Scenes

TURKEY REPORT: We hope everyone in the U.S. had a pleasant Thanksgiving break. Ours wasn't the greatest, unfortunately.  CJ and Annabelle were both pretty sick with a nasty cold. It made us change our plans and stay home on Thursday (and for most of the weekend, for that matter).

However, that didn't stop us from sending our gelatinous blob (see previous post) out into the world. We delivered it to Kennedy, who took it to a family gathering up north. I asked him to send photos, and that he did. Below, he readies to plop it onto a plate.

 And there it was in all of is unmolded 'glory.'

 A top shot. Yes, those *are* hard boiled egg whites. 

Ken was kind enough to even send some short videos to us. Let's just say the mold was met with shock and awe and revulsion. They laughed so hard they cried. And choked. #MissionAccomplished.

We also sent along a much more benign little mold - a can of pineapple rings encased in green gelatin.

Compared to the other monstrosity, it was actually kind of pretty.

On Saturday, we had a couple of friends over for a Friendsgiving. (Poor coughing CJ was confined to his room for the 'party'.)  

We didn't make another big blob, but we did decide to do another pineapple 'treat.' I love the look on Annabelle's face as she's trying to coax it out of the can.

 Easy does it ... 

 And, voila! Look at those glistening gelatinous gems! So festive! ;)

Speaking of festive, I went ahead with a Star Wars-inspired table setting, because nothing says Thanksgiving like Star Wars (ha ha).

Our friends were bringing a smoked turkey and pastrami, so we cooked up a bunch of side dishes. They included butternut squash souffle, wild rice and shiitake mushroom stuffing, deconstructed green bean salad, mashed potatoes and gravy (of course) and rustic rosemary scones.

For dessert, it was harvest ale cupcakes, German chocolate cheesecake and some gingerbread people. 

Annabelle and I had fun decorating those. There was the requisite Seahawks football player, plus a girl in a poodle skirt. One of the cookies had a bunged up leg, so Annabelle cut it off and made the cookie look like it was part eaten. Very cute. 

 I wasn't sure what to do, but within a couple of minutes, I found myself making a Freddie Mercury. And then another Freddie. And another, and another. ... 

 After five Freddies, I ran out of cookies. I could have gone on and on!

(The Freddies were a hit with the Official International Queen Fan Club, by the way. I posted the photo there and it had over four hundred likes in a few hours.)

Food wasn't the only thing we did over the weekend. The weather was pretty decent, so I encouraged everyone to get outside and get some fresh air for a bit.

I also encouraged them to gather up dead stuff from the driveway strip.

The photo below made me chuckle. The way they're standing, the kids kind of look like those goats you can rent to help clean up your property. :)

I'm impressed that we're in December, and there are still a few blossoms in the yard, including this bright yellow beauty.