Saturday, October 11, 2008

High quality ingredients

I had a really delicious olive oil today. If you've ever tasted a superior olive oil, you know it's like tasting excellent wine or chocolate. You wonder how you ever got by on the average stuff.
I had this olive oil at a little restaurant called Rose's Restaurant in East Grand Rapids, MI. Not only was the food we ordered fresh and lovely, but the extras like the olive oil served with warm bread before the meal and a mini cup of caramel corn served after the meal hit the spot. I questioned the waitress on the seasonings in the olive oil, which she said was seasoned on site. A simple mix of red pepper, black pepper, oregano, and basil was infused in the oil. The real secret was the use of first press extra-virgin olive oil. This means the olive oil is made from the first pressing of the olives and there is very little oxidation of the oil. (I looked this up in my Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating in case you were wondering - I am no chemistry whiz.) Obviously this is not the type of oil I buy for cooking, which I can pour liberally into a pan with some button mushrooms or baby spinach. This is olive oil for salads and dipping bread and simple pasta dishes, or for drizzling over a plate of steamed asparagus immediately before serving. I'm inspired to go out and find a high quality oil and make my own dipping spice blend. Bring over some warm bread and we'll have a wonderful meal.

Colacasia smash - Sepankizhangu masiyal


Ingredients:

Colacasia - Sepankizhangu - 1/4 kg
Ginger - Inji - small quantity
Green chillies - Pachai milagai - 2 nos.
Mustard seeds - Kadugu - 1 tea spoon
Black gram dal - Ulutham paruppu - 1 table spoon
Bengal gram dal - Kadalai paruppu - 1 table spoon
Asafoetida - Perungayam - a pinch
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and boil colacasia in pressure cooker, remove the skin and smash it. Heat oil in a pan/kadai, add asafoetida, splutter mustard seeds, add black gram dal, bengal gram dal, add ginger-green chilly paste, then vegetable and little salt. Mix well. Cook for some 5 minutes.

Colacasia smash is delicious and ready to be served. It can be served for 3 persons. It requires hardly 15 minutes to prepare.

Note: Always use fresh vegetables. If it has some green colour or if it is too hard don't buy.

Optional: Ingredients can be added/removed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colacasia

Hunger is the best sauce in the world
Cervantes

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Broad bean curry - Avarakkai kootu


Ingredients:

Broad beans - Avarakkai - 200 gms
Green gram dal - Pachai paruppu - 1/2 cup
Onion - Vengayam - 1 no.
Mustard seeds - Kadugu - 1 tea spoon
Cumin seeds - Jeeragam - 1/2 tea spoon
Red chillies - Kaintha milagai - 2 nos.
Asafoetida - Perungayam - a pinch
Grated/Shredded coconut - Thuriviya thengai - 2 table spoons
Curry leaves - Karuvepilai - small quantity
Coriander leaves - Kothamali - small quantity
Black gram dal - Ulutham paruppu - 1 table spoon
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and cook the dal adding required water and a pinch of salt and keep it aside. Wash and cut vegetable and boil it. Chopp onions and keep other ingredients ready. Heat oil in a pan/kadai, add a pinch of asafoetida, splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, red chillies (broken into two pieces), black gram dal, chopped onions, little salt and fry for some time. Then add boiled dal and vegetable and mix well. Finally add grated coconut and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Broad bean curry is delicious and ready to be served. It can be served along with any rice item. It can be served for 3 persons. It requires hardly 20 minutes to prepare.

Note: Always use fresh vegetables. Dal may contain small stone or dust particles. Clean and then use it.

Optional: Ingredients can be added/removed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_beans

I refuse to believe that trading receipes is silly. Tuna fish casserole is atleast as real as corporate stock
Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
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Ginger Soup - Inji rasam


Ingredients:

Ginger - Inji - small quantity
Green chilly - Pachai milagai - 1 no.
Tomato - Thakkali - 1 no.
Mustard seeds - Kadugu - 1 tea spoon
Coriander leaves - Kothamali - small quantity
Asafoetida - Perungayam - a pinch
Rasam powder - Rasam podi - 1 table spoon
Turmeric powder - Manjal podi - 1 tea spoon
Salt - Uppu - 1 table spoon
Oil for frying

Method:

Wash and squeeze tomatoes. Peel off the skin from ginger and smash coarsely. Keep other ingredients ready. Heat oil in a pan/kadai, add asafoetida, splutter mustard seeds, add tomatoe, ginger, green chilly (slit into two pieces). Add little turmeric powder, rasam powder and salt. Mix well. Add water if required. Finally add chopped coriander leaves.

Ginger rasam is delicious and ready to be served. It can be had like soup or along with white rice. It can be served for 3 persons. It takes some 15 minutes to prepare.

Note: Since green chilly and ginger are added rasam powder can be reduced a little.

Optional: Ingredients can be added/removed.

You can find your way across this country using burger joints the way a navigator uses stars
Charles Kuralt
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Red Snapper



I went to my usual homeplus and decides the fish looked good a picked a fish. And asked in my best Korean Please CUT. I pointed to the belly . They took it scaled it and gutted it .
When I got in i stuffed it with ginger garlic parsley sprinkled with soy sauce.
I wrapped it in tinfoil and baked in the oven.

Stuffed red peppers....


I took ground pork, rice ,breadcrumbs, mushrooms and parsley. I also seasoned with chili. Drizzled with olive oil and baked for 40 mins.

Namdo Food and Culture Festival In photos






This was the cook at the restaurant where we ate Bo Sam

Some of the best Bo Sam I ever had was here in Nagan at one of the little out door restaurants.




As described in the festival guide Worlds record The longest Red Pepper Line of Love. My Friend said it has something to do with the old tradition when you have a baby boy people would hang a line of peppers out side their house ..

Also on the schedule was Hot dog eating contest and coke drinking contest. Unfortunately I didn't hang around for that one . The record was 20 hot dogs and if you ate more you could win 200 000 won.

Sam Gyup Sal

Sam gyup sal is pork belly . You cook it on a BBQ indoors at your table . It has to be one of the most poplar foods in Korea . People like to drink Soju with it . Its around 8000 a serving.
This place is a little different . It has rosemary on it . Smell is great. It come with Shrimp, Pineapple(not traditional) mushrooms , kimchi, and garlic. As well as the normal Banchan.
This place is not far from Homeplus in Suncheon. Its directly accross the road from the new bar W Red . Just down the road from GQ.

The Gwangyang Sutbulgogi Festival in Photos.



Above Images From here