Sea Cucumbers

I didn't think a trip to the aquarium would leave me feeling guilty about something I eat. But that's where I saw my first live sea cucumber. Sea cucumbers sit pretty low on the totem pole of life. They're found on the sea floor -- marine scavengers. Not very bright. They breathe out of their anus. And they look butt ugly -- almost rude -- in photos. So I was surprised when I found myself charmed by a sea cucumber. I can't remember what section of the aquarium they're in. Before the penguins and after the sturgeon. But there they were. Plump and slightly fuzzy. I bent down to get a closer look at them in the tank. They were really cute, the way their little breathe/poop hole kept expanding and contracting. They seem like they have such a simple life. But as I was marvelling at the little guys, a little voice in the back of my head was wondering how they would taste braised with Chinese mushrooms and bok choy. My mom makes a really great braised sea cucumber. Sea cukes have more texture than taste. Kind of chewy and glutinous. It sounds unappetizing, but when you grow up eating braised sea cucumber, it's a comfort food. So now I'm not sure how I feel about eating sea cucumbers. It's had to enjoy a dish when you've been charmed by the animal in real life. Part of the reason why I avoid barn animals. Perhaps if I give myself a little time, my memory of the live sea cucumber will grow fuzzy and the guilt will lessen.

Braised Sea Cucumber and Mushrooms

1/2 tbsp. rice wine
2 stalks green onions
4 slices ginger
3 pre-conditioned sea cucumbers
2 cups water
6 green onions (1 and 1/4 sections)
6 slices ginger, oil snowpea pods and sliced carrots

3 tbsps. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 cup stock
3 large Chinese black mushrooms
2/3 cup bamboo shoots (bite-size pieces)
1 tsp. rice wine

1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Cut each cucumber lengthwise in half, cut diagonally into 6 sections.
Soften black mushrooms in warm water, remove and discard stems. Squeeze out water.
Heat wok or pan and add 1 tbsp. oil. Add mixture (1) and stir-fry until fragrant.
Add 2 cups water and heat to boil.
Add prepared sea cucumbers, cook for 3 minutes, then remove from heat and drain. Set mixture aside.
Heat pan and add 3 tbsps oil until very hot. Add sliced onions, ginger and stir-fry until fragrant.
Add the sea cucumbers, rice wine, black mushrooms, bamboo shoots and carrots, and mixture (2). Simmer covered for 10 minutes over low heat, or until the liquid is almost half of original amount.
Add mixture (3) to thicken. Add snowpea pods, sesame oil, and toss lightly until pods are crispy tender.
Remove to a serving plate and serve immediately.

Potholders

Mom is big on crocheting these days. She brought me this watermelon last week when she and dad arrived for a visit. It's the first potholder she's ever crocheted. Very cute. She also brought a potholder of a red apple and is spending her spare time during this visit crocheting a potholder of a pink pig. I'm looking forward to the cauliflower potholder that's coming next. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all these potholders. I only have three pots.

Indian Night

Had an Indian night at Nikki and Charles' place. We spent the afternoon and part of the evening preparing the meal on the left. It was thanks in large part to Nikki and her mom's recipes. We made onion and mushroom pakoras to start. Also had papadums, a chickpea curry, a paneer and green pea dish, and green salad. We ate it all with a fried bread that Nikki also made from scratch. It was tough to pick up tips on how to cook these dishes as Nikki was making them with us because I think Nikki cooks somewhat by feel and she was trying to manage the five of us in the kitchen as well as keep a toddler happy. The way she talks about an Indian recipe is kind of like how I talk about Chinese recipe. Referring a lot to how mom used to make the dish. Not knowing the English word for an ingredient. The key to a good Indian dish is a right balance of spices (which I'm still clueless about). The best part was making the green chutney. The chutney was made with fistfuls of cilantro, green pepper, onion and roasted cumin, as well as salt (I think). Then it was all pureed in a really powerful blender. When we were eating after the dinner, I was thinking everything tasted delicious, and Nikki was frowning at the paneer and green peas. Apparently, the dish was not right. Too watery, the spices not correctly balanced. Our expectations of how a dish will taste plays a big part in whether we enjoy the dish or not. Which had me thinking that in many ways, those who prepare traditional dishes can have it a lot harder than the ones coming up with the creative concoctions. Sometimes I feel like the cooks that cater to traditional foods are seen as staid and cooking by rote. That a cook who can pair unexpected tastes in surprising ways is more valued. But diners have a higher standard with the traditional dishes. You have to really nail baking the perfect croissant in order to impress someone.

All-U-Can-Eat-Sushi

Something strange happens when a person walks into an all-u-can-eat restaurant sushi restaurant. Your eyes glaze over, and the instinct to stuff as much food into your stomach without having to upchuck kicks in. At least that what happens to me. And I think Hadeel (who's back in town.Yay!). We met Hadeel's friend Cheryl at the new Sushi-Kan restaurant. When Hadeeli and I first got there, we were absolutely giddy. Which is no surprise, given we spent the whole day talking about dinner. Hadeel couldn't stop squealing. Oh. My. God. The laminated menu was HUGE. Tempura, soba noodles, edamame, spicy rolls, sashimi, teriyaki options...and you could order as much as you wanted. Hadeel kept repeating "Do you know where we are?". It's interesting. Suddenly, the meal became quantity over quality. You decide you don't need soup or noodles or the rice bowl because you can't eat as much fish if carbs or liquids are sloshing around in your stomach. So you go straight for the raw fish, deep fried oysters and tempura shrimp: best value for the buck. Then you push overfishing guilt to the back of your head and start to chow down. I remember ordering a whack load of tuna, salmon, snapper and mackerel sashimi along with a dynamite roll (salmon, crab, cucumber and avacado with tempura bits), dark dragon roll (bbq eel, tempura shrimp and cucumber), edamame and red bean ice cream. The sushi wasn't bad at Sushi-Kan -- it's definately better than the factory sushi you get at the grocery store. And you don't go to all-u-can eat sushi for quality. Nor do you go for ambiance. The restaurant was one giant room decorated with paper lanterns and wooden dividers between the tables -- though the dividers made me feel a bit like cattle waiting for the sushi to be tossed into our stalls. I'm making it sound like I didn't like Sushi-Kan. I did though. I really did. But a friend who's been twice said it right when she lamented how all-u-can-eat sushi restaurants make it difficult for people to savour their meals. There's pressure to consume. And then after, you feel like you need to be rolled out of the restaurant like a giant yummy yummy roll (assorted sashimi and avocado, dipped in crispy batter).

Pi-zah

My pizza dough recipe comes from one of my mom's old cookbooks. I like it because it makes crisp and thin pizza crusts -- though I'm always open to trying other recipes. The other night I was at a dinner where the pizza maker added fennel seeds into the dough. It was a nice touch to a mushroom pizza.

1 package active dry yeast
1 c warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
3 to 3 1/2 c all purpose flour
2 tbsp olive oil
toppings and sauce

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixing bowl. Stir in sugar, salt, 3 tbsp oil and 2 cups of the four. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover; let rise in warm place 45 minutes. (Dough is ready if an indentation remains when touched.)
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease two pizza pans with 2 tbsp oil. Punch down dough; divide in half. Roll each half to fit the pizza pans.
Spread sauce over each pizza and cover with toppings. Bake 25 minutes.

Yay! A postcard!

I opened my mailbox to find this waiting for me. It's a postcard from a friend on holiday in the Ukraine. Here's the best snippet:

You would love the vibe at a Ukrainian family dinner. The table is crammed with dishes and the matriarch forces you to keep eating. After a week (and 5 pounds) I figured out a strategy to survive. Keep a few key slices of cucumber and tomato on our plate so family thinks you're still eating... and do so before you're completely full, because there's always another surprise dish coming. Oh yeah, have I mentioned that we drained at least 2 bottles of roPᴎᵠKA (vodka) a day with our meals? At least 3 shooters with lunches. And usually about 6 with dinners. On our last day we had Ukrainian moonshine with breakfast.

877-63-COOKIES

This is my backup career. Opening a late-night cookie delivery service. Can you believe it? I came across this card when I was in New York. Apparently, Insomnia Cookies delivers six types of cookies: chocolate chunk, double chocolate chunk, oatmeal raisin, m&m, sugar and peanut butter. And 2 am cookies don't come cheap. Eleven bucks for a dozen. Pint of milk is two bucks. It's such a cool idea! Of course, I'd have to make sure the city I start this business in has enough people craving late-night cookies for me to turn a profit. Even in New York, I can't imagine the phone is ringing off the hook at Insomnia Cookies. I mean, if you've got the late-night munchies, wouldn't it be quicker to just head to the 7-Eleven?