Tuesday, 11 May 2010
We got daring a few days back and purchased—tah-dah!—a mandoline! That is, a mechanical slicing assistant. It’s by OXO, and has several blades (and yes, of course we got it on sale).
JCB angled for fries for the first run. They came out great. Olive oil. Potatoes. Salt. Nothing more.
Eat ’em hot! Yum!
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
KW and I had a quick back-and-forth via email this morning about the sign in yesterday’s post, and I expanded the discussion by suggesting that she look at the Chinglish signs the NYTimes collected from Shanghai.
Then, this afternoon, we made a quick (and uncustomary) stop at Publix in Ansley Mall to look for dinner-food. We bought nothing (decided to go with tofu that’s in the fridge, with some BBQ and rice—versions one and two on this website), but I did come away with this sign photo.
Not surprisingly, I take issue with the “cheap” part—almost eight bucks is not “cheap” in my personal wine pricing scale. I’d have to go with under four bucks for that….
Nǐ hǎo is literally “you good” in Mandarin, but it means “hi ” or “hello” (it’s informal). According to WikiPee.
Friday, 16 April 2010
My Friday is basil flavored. Well, the eye candy part.
The dinner menu doesn’t include basil. Bison-burgers (JCB’s with cheddar) without basil. Or a bun. But with oven fries and a big sah-lahd….
Perhaps later in the week, we can pare back the basil a tad, maybe make a bit of pesto. After all, the insects are already sampling it!
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
We had a late cold snap this year, although the winter was reasonably mild overall. It caught the camellia buds. The early blooms had brown rims from the earlier chill. Now, the late ones are unblemished.
My other favorite in the Camellia genus is tea (Camellia sinensis)—Japanese green tea aka sencha (-cha meaning tea) these days…. The tea stains my teeth a bit, unfortunately, even with daily brushing….
All the links…um…did they tee you off?
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
We had such a nice day today, it’s hard to imagine the rain they’re getting in the NE*.
My suspicion is that we’ll breeze through the early spring. Already it seems like it’s moving quickly. Time to get some plants? I need more herbs this year, to go with the ‘maters & peppers….
* No garbage-bag raincoats/pants here….
Sunday, 28 March 2010
I suspect some marketing people are bracing for a bit of a sea-change next weekend….
I just read in the NYTimes* online:
It turns out the truffles too have a sex life, said Dr. Francis Martin, a plant biologist at the University of Nancy in France and leader of the research team. The precious fungi had long been thought to lead an asexual existence, but Dr. Martin and his colleagues have found that they have two sexes or mating types.
Which is it? Sexes? Or “mating types”?
While you’re thinking about that, remember this next time you take a bite of truffle:
Last, there are the truffle flies which lay their eggs in the truffle. From the fungus’s perspective, the insects are just another way of spreading its spores. So it attracts them by releasing anisole and veratrole, two insect pheromones, when the truffle has reached maturity. Truffles can often be detected by looking for congregations of truffle flies.
Don’t the fly’s eggs and larvae degrade the edibility of the truffle? It seems the opposite is the case. “If collected at late maturation stages, the truffles will likely carry eggs and larvae—adding proteins and aroma to the truffle,” Dr. Martin said.
Mmmm. Fly eggs….
* “Truffles Have Sex Lives, Too” by Nicholas Wade, dated 20 Mar 2010.
Friday, 26 March 2010
Spring cooled off a bit today, but I enjoyed it anyway—although I was indoors WAY TOO MUCH.
For convoluted reasons, our special Friday night dinner menu is fried rice. I already cooked the (brown) rice, and raided a pretty-good salad bar for an assortment of veggies to add…. Kinda the short-cut version…. I suppose the same additives could be combined with either broth or noodles—or both. Anyway, I’m calling tonight’s main dish “Chinese pilaf” (haha—there’s a cross-cultural reference!).
Sunday, 14 March 2010
We got a lot of laughs out of these candles that relit time and time again!
Thursday, 11 March 2010
The daffodils are coming!
For the first time, I made the Asian chicken salad recipe tonight with Chinese black vinegar rather than balsamic.
It’s still simmering, so I’m not sure whether it’ll taste different. I do know the simmer mixture looks the same, though—deep black-brown!
Hmm. And I have the cilantro and green onion for the topper this time, too!
Monday, 8 March 2010
Compare this view with how it was back in mid-January, and you’ll see that there are two new vertical elements under construction—I’m guessing they’re bridge supports. (Oh, and the creek-edge ice and snow have disappeared.) Notice how they’re right at the edge of the property, just beyond the blacktop parking lot.
I’m standing by to see what this area becomes. It’s downstream of the BotGarden….
I’ll also note that the (original) Midtown Ru San’s sets out a better sushi lunch buffet than the Caroline Street location….