Co-operation, makes it happen...

I wrote a guest post for the nebraska coffee association. Check it out here

I know you came here for the equinox, but how about a giveaway instead?!?!?

My ladyfriend had asked me the other day if I was excited that autumn was here. I thought about it for a minute and then replied that I wasn't any more excited than I would be for the other seasons because I kind of like them all. I was momentarily happy with my zen-like answer (even if it did turn out to be a bald-faced lie). As much fun as it is to see your neighborhood covered in a frosty blanket, and to then see that blanket turn into all sorts of flora/fauna, and then to bask in all it's glory with icy cold drinks and bathing suits, it all pales in comparison to the season when everything dies, we dress up like monsters, eat lots of candy, and wear sweatshirts (Kirstie Alley, I'm talking to you baby!...or wait, maybe I'm talking about you...). I mean come on people, it's not even close!!! I'm sorry I ever doubted you autumn...

Anyway, the dishes up top are of the heartier fare, one is a ground beef/pork ragu that was slow simmered on the stovetop with some onion, celery, and spices. pretty amazing flavor for minimal ingredients. I was inspired ( I tried to make a "Dario's" version) to make it from this book I read. check it out, was a really great read. Other pic is some chuck roast and carrots braised in wine and stock, blah, blah, blah. let's get down to business here: GIVEAWAY. Yep. I am giving away a set of 8 and 10 inch skillets made by cuisinart. they are stainless steel and built like a team of tanks. can go from stovetop to oven and all that jazz. they treated me well and will last forever if you take care of them. I have recently upgraded and thought they would make a nice giveaway. So how do you enter? just leave a comment saying that you want to be entered into the giveaway. it's that simple. I will accept entries for two weeks (so sign up by Oct. 12!) and then post the winner when I return from a much needed jaunt out west. lavish praises, becoming a follower, and nonsensical flattery don't necessarily increase your odds of winning (notice how I said necessarily...). so, sign up, win some pans, make some treats, and put on a sweatshirt, it's autumn after all.

DISH recommends: lavish praises, becoming a follower, and nonsensical flattery. I mean, if there's one thing that can increase your chances in this whole giveaway nonsense, this has GOT to be it! I wish I was kidding...snarks.

I know that, somebody's frying...

sometimes the simplest things can end up being the most difficult. like riding a bike (yeah... I had that faceplant out in wilderness last week, then, mames decided to one-up me and ate pavement coming back from the farmer's market and ended up breaking her wrist:(. kind of a bad week), or using a coaster (I may never get that down), and even frying an egg (or in this case, explaining how to properly fry an egg:). yeah, you read that right. It's not that the act of frying an egg is difficult. you've probably done it dozens of times, maybe even hundreds. I may even have entered into thousands territory as I use to be a brunch cook, but until the other day, I'd never fried one properly. you see, the problem with frying eggs is getting the yolk (which should always be over easy:) and the white (firm, yet silky, with a crispy outer edge) perfectly done at the same time. to do this, you need to cook the egg at a low temp, which allows for the whites to firm up, but remain soft and not get rubbery, which happens with the introduction of high heat, but you also have to mind that creamy orange-gold orb of goodness on top, and make sure not to overcook the yolk, but you need to apply some heat without totally killing it. whew!, sounds like a lot to deal with? yeah, I know. that's why I made a video. clicksters.

DISH recommends: iPhone4. mames filmed this vid with my new phone. i love it. I'm sure someone will tell me there are better phones out there and bigger screens, and a million other reasons I should have bought a droid, but guess what? iDon'tcare. does that make me an elitist? probably. tell me something I don't know...

ps: youtube version here.

wild turkey wipeout

(video is kinda crappy, "blair witch" style, sorry, for better quality, click here)

It seems that most times, the funniest things that happen to me, happen when I am alone. This was yesterday in wilderness park. Was trying to get some good footage (which means one- handed riding, no helmet cam yet) to recruit some of my non-riding friends to get bikes and got a mouth full of single track instead. I work weird hours so its hard to find peeps to go with, but if anyone out there is down for hitting up wilderness (or platte, mopac, branched oak, whatever) sometime, let me know. the wolfpack needs to grow...at least by one, right now I'm sort of just one wolf...one wolf who has perfected the dive roll. almost forgot--I saw some turkeys out there too!

mine's Orbit peppermint...

I am by and large an autumn person. I'm usually all about the fall months, but right now, I'm definitely having a summah... What has brought about this mysterious change you ask? I'm not too sure myself, but I think it may have something to do with nectarines. I realize this entry is completely void of any nectarinesque photos/desserts/sauces, etc., but that's because, well...I usually eat them before I can make anything out of them. I used to be a little up in the air about fruit. I like fruit and all but I've never had a favorite...until yesterday. I had washed a nectarine and took my first bite, and it was pretty much one of the best things I've ever had. So juicy that I had to stand over the sink. I felt (and looked) like a hyena devouring a zebra. I felt like all fruit should be eaten this way...in private, without any onlookers to detract from the annihilation. When it was gone, I actually sucked on the pit for a while as to extract any remaining goodness. I can foresee this being a problem, like I am going to have a real problem when the season is over.

Another sign of summer for us has been eating a lot more vegetarian dishes (with the exception of that big, beautiful t-bone, there). With produce in such great supply right now, it's so easy to make great food (the veggies do all of the work for you). Pics up above are Thai-style stir fried veggies (super easy, just stir fry chosen veg in oil and then add some oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, hoisin, and a little stock until it thickens up a bit.) next pic is a t-bone with grilled potato chips and braised collards. Also made some awesome yellow curry that we threw some leftover chicken in (this is a great way to use up leftover grilled or roasted meats). The last dish is one that I promised I would post and that I can't quite get enough of. In it's simplest form, it is just a roasted potato and bean tostada, but one bite will have you thinking it's anything but simple. there are a lot of flavors going on here that just seem to work really well together. now, if you don't constantly have a summer supply of homemade pico de gallo and guacamole on hand, this may take you a little longer, but never fear, I have recipes for both. For the guacamole, just see the last post and watch the vid...easy.

the pico is just about as easy and can probably be made in the time it takes to watch how to make the guacamole.

pico de gallo

2 nice sized tomatoes, diced (4-5 if using romas)

1/2 -1 onion, diced small

1-2 jalps (i cut mine into quarters and de-seed most of them, leaving one or two quarters seeded, and dice super small. /i reserve the seeds and membranes and then add them in to taste, later.

juice of 1 lime

handful cilantro, minced

salt to taste

combine all of this stuff in a bowl and mix thoroughly. now, this is basically just a guideline, I probably make this a little bit different every time, so just taste it and tweak it however you like. I like to eat this with corn chips (obviously), but is a great topper for grilled meats, and any mexican foods.

the potatoes: this is easy, see the tates in the pic up above? you want to cut them into that size, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and just lay out on a pan and roast them at 400F until they are tender and start to turn golden brown. set aside...you can eat one though, just to check...I said one, not a quarter of the pan (this is a note to myself...have no self control with potatoes...in any form)

ok, onto the other stuff:

Roasted potato and bean tostadas: (this is from memory, so might need a little tweaking:)

you will need:

olive oil (drizzles and glugs)

1 large onion, small dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, small dice (can de-seed/de-vein, if desired)

2 poblano (pasilla) peppers, diced, could use green/red bells if you like, I prefer the poblano for the flavor it gives

large handful minced cilantro

3 tomatillos, diced

2 potatoes thinly sliced and roasted (see above for details)

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 can pinto beans, rinsed

2 cans (8 0z.) tom. sauce

2 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. chile powder

1 tsp. cumin seed

tostada shells

(it is a good idea to heat up your oven while you are prepping all of the ingredients so you can have your potatoes roasting and finished by the time everything else is ready. also, when the potatoes are done, it would be a good time to toast your tostada shells (in oven at same temp, I'd even use the same pan as the potatoes, just make sure you have taken the potatoes off the pan:), they only take a few minutes, set a timer or you will forget, at least, i always do:)

start roasting your potatoes.

in a large saute pan over med-high heat, saute the onion, garlic, and peppers in olive oil until just getting some color, about 5 mins. add the cilantro, tomatillos, and spices (including a good pinch of salt and pepper) and saute for a couple minutes more. add the tomato sauce and fill both empty cans with water. pour one of the cans in, and reserve the other. stir until the mixture starts to thicken, then add the drained/rinsed beans. turn your heat down a little and let the mixture thicken again, add the rest of the water, stir and let thicken one last time (seems like a lot of reducing/thickening, but I do this because when you reduce/thicken things, the flavors get really concentrated, leading to a better end-product.) you want the beans to be pretty thick so they stay on the tostada. turn to low/warm. now it's time to assemble. I usually do a layer of potatoes, then the bean mixture, some guacamole, then pico, and sometimes i will add some cheese (usually feta or cotija) and finish with some minced cilantro. this recipe serves quite a few hungrys.

recommended garnishes are guac, pico, cilantro, crumbly cheese, or any other salsas you might like. this recipe leaves itself wide open for interpretation, so have fun with it and play around until you find your perfect summah combo!

ps:I realize there is corn in the tostada pic up above. if you want to add some to the mix, I just used one ear's worth, and added it when I added the beans.

DISH recommends: a Molcajete. yeah, you can make guacamole using something else, but I warn you, it pales in comparison. something about that lava rock...this is the cheapest one I could find on amazon. unless you live in lincoln...and want to take on the task of seasoning your own. If so, go to la Mexicana, 15 bucks, but I don't recommend it, it's worth the extra money just to get already seasoned (speaking from experience:)

I was introduced to smut at an early age...or...guacamole en molcajete!!

Well, it's officially summertime. The weather is getting warmer, the rain is seeming to dissipate, and it won't be long until we are able to get some really fresh produce. I have a tiny garden this year. I planted some tomatoes and a jalapeno plant. you see, every time I try to go big and have a huge garden, I end up failing to keep up with it. I'm more of a do-er than a maintain-er. So, this year I thought I would plant a small amount that I could manage, and so far things are looking pretty good. I love making pico de gallo, so I thought that having tomates and jalps would be a good thing. another thing I will be using these for is guacamole en molcajete. (click below for vid!) It's very simple to make and really fresh and versatile.

I also have a video up on you tube if you'd rather see it there. Other food pics are sticky chicken thighs with chickpeas, tomatoes, and bacon, and a little tuna and potato salad with sugar peas. The chicken dish was sort of an improv of a jamie oliver recipe called "pot roast meatloaf", but I obviously switched out the ground beef for chicken.

other stuff:

summer also has had me thinking about food memories. for example: corn day. Two words that can strike fear into the heart of any nebraska kid. You see, corn day involved waking up super early and picking 47 truckloads (ok, perhaps my number has been a bit skewed by nostalgia) and then bringing it back to your grandma's house to shuck ear after ear while the grown-ups sit inside and laugh at the toil that overcomes your soul (I later learned that they were blanching, cutting, and bagging the corn to be frozen. The worst part about corn day was smut. No, we didn't have a secret stash of nudies to browse, I'm talking about the straight-up funk that lives under the husk of some unlucky ears of corn. It stinks, is usually covered in bugs and was usually wiped on some part of me by my brothers. I hear it's a delicacy in some countries, probably the same ones who eat donkey wieners and boar buttholes. there was an upside to corn day, however, and that was, well, obviously the abundance of corn that would later grace our tables throughout the year. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and tuesdays were all incomplete without this sweet golden staple. Since it is just mames and I, corn day has kind of fallen by the wayside, but I know it still goes on strong. perhaps I will revive the tradition when I have kids of my own who can learn the value of the sweet sting of sweat from a hard days work...

do you guys have fond/unfond(?) food memories? let me know in the comments secth. pieces

dish

DISH recommends:Lodge cast iron 10.5 inch griddle. I use this thing almost every day. It's great for everything from frying eggs and searing meats, to roasting potatoes (I like to slice the tates thin and fan them out in a galette, like this. seasoned with a little salt and peps and olive oil and roasted at 400, they're hard to beat. $22.95, but I picked mine up at the teej for way less. also, they still have those sweet wusthof ikons I posted about, and they have added a couple of santokus to the mix. check it...

also recommended:flip video camera. Mames got one of these free at neocon and I have been playing around with it. used it to record the guac vid and is pretty handy. the youtube link is a better quality...don't know the price as we got it for free, but loves it...

booyah alert!!!!!...or are you seriously serious?!?/ take that omaha...

This is the face of mames commanding you to check out her blog (which is actually very informative, concise, and helpful to boot!)for info on bicycle awesomeness (should be cool, plus free quesadillas!)

this is also the face of mames telling me not to pick up (and telling you to pick up!) the super sweet white wusthof ikon chef's knives and slicing knives that are on clearance at tjmaxx right now in lincoln (69.00 clams for the 9" chefs, and only 49 for the slicer!!!!!). I thought about it, but c'mon, can you see how serious she is? they are back in the clearance section. thank me lates alligates...

And the Winner Is...

ok, before we get to that part...I just wanted to post a pic of gus eating ice cream. notice the crazy eye. anyway...The winner of the drawing was Nell! Congrats. I was thinking that since I have to approve comments before I post them, that you could give me your address in a comment and I just won't post it and will mail the pan promptly. I'll give you a week or so to contact me. If I haven't heard from you in a week, I'll draw again.

ok, otherstuffs: Made some mole before I went to chicago and it turned out really well. I think that a lot of people just assume that mole has to be eaten with meat, but we had ours with some roasted sweet potatoes and it was glorious. other pic is a stir fry with beef and green veg with oyster sauce. I have been loving using the wok on the gas stove. It gets so hot and is a great addition to the kitch. The little box of sweets you see is from an indian shop called sukhadia. they were amazing, and I had to use all of my self control not to go overboard. some of them were like a shortbread that took crumbly to a whole new level (but in a good way).

was in chicago last week. followed mames there on a business trip. I had some spare time to myself and enjoyed walking around and watching all the peeps. spent a day with sister erin, had my first chicagodog (was a big fan, which was surprising because I always thought they were out of control with the toppings), mames won a free flip camera (expect some video footage soon!), and ate a 25 dollar sandwich. also went to the art institute (which further cemented my dislike for modern art) and goofed around in the old stock exchange. I had a pretty busy time there and felt like I saw a lot of the city. the glorious fountain photo (this one shot by mames) you see there was from my "glorious fountains of chicago photo series:)" It's gonna be big...

also, went to an amazing kitchen supply store there. they had a lot of awesome hard to find knife makers and lots of cool kitchen stuff. picked up a new steel for my knives. I bought the mac black ceramic steel that has had the interwebs abuzz. I love it. With just a few passes on this baby my knives were back to razor condition.

also also, went to IKEA and bought hardware and lighting stuff. getting close on the kitchen. countertops and a sink in three weeks. Cabinets are all in now. hope to be back in full kitchen awesomeness by august.

DISH recommends: Black ceramic steel mentioned above. I can't stress enough how awesome this thing is. I would definitely categorize it into the must have column if you are serious about cutlery.

what we are down to after all we've been up to...or...they were out of two tickets to paradise so we booked the last two to crazy town

a few remodel pics. bottom pic is of dish having a very bad time under the kitchen in a small hidey hole, doing some ductwork and whatnot. it may as well have been a poison oak patch. was itchy for days under there with all that ancient insulation. top pic is our new stove. it's pretty pathetic. takes like 10 minutes just to boil water in the kettle. Kind of funny though. actually, right now, everything is kind of funny. I think we are at that point where everything is so ridiculous that the only way to survive is to find the humor in all of this. kind of like last weekend when I left for a meeting and when I came home most of the wall was gone (see lower left pic). (Love you mames:) but, we did fix it and it is actually working out for the better now. Papa dish came up and between the three of us ((mostly he and amy). I am basically just here to hammer:) we figured it out. the framed area is going to be where our open shelving is going. nice , eh? looks like someone knew his way around a hammer (and most of a box of 16 penny nails). Last two pics are insulation (save the formaldehyde for science class kiddies!) and mames' super sweet support frame/box/stair extravaganza for the shelving to rest on. She's kind of a genius lady, which is excellent, because I am indeed, not (a genius...I would think that by lock of chest hair struggling to climb out of my shirt in above pic, you would figure out the lady part on your own.)

I just ruined the picture on my brain's plasma tv.

Just wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know that I am indeed still alive and cooking (but it's definitely getting harder, more on that later). These past few weeks have seen the departure of the beloved/hated flair, the completion of insulation and electrical (minus lighting) and the tearing down of a few walls (some literal, some metaphorical...). Mames and I have been pretty busy and most nights it seems like it is tough just to make it through dinner without our faces falling into our plates. however, for the first time since we started remodeling, it feels like we are finally starting to make some real progress.

anyway, this is a food blog about food so: the salad above is a sort of ramshackle cobb salad. This one had all the traditional stuff minus the eggs and blue cheese (chicken, bacon, avocado, grunions, and tomatoes. made a roasted walnut dressing. was delicious. I had smoked a pork shoulder earlier in the week and had gotten about 7.5 pounds of meat off of that sucker, so I froze some of it and made some cassoulet with the rest. click here for method. next pic is fish tacos. I used some wolf fish for these. I'm not sure what this fish even looks like...perhaps a quick google image search is in order, hold on...OH.MY.GOODNESS!! Why the deuce is open harvest selling me meat from demonic water dwelling gremlins!?!?!?!?! if you dare...click to see wolf fish here or here or here. Now I just feel awful. I was just about to say that they were fabulous but now I feel all sorts of violated. I always like to pretend that everything I eat is always either faceless or super cute.the other pic is just beef stew. I feel ok about beef stew. Man. I am still a little shaken up from that picture. well, I have to go now. with any luck I'll catch a teletubbies marathon or at least some gabba gabba...

DISH recommends:

NOT CLICKING ON THOSE WOLF-FISH PICS. (if you did...I'm sorry. I just thought, you know, solidarity and whatnot. If enough of us clicked, maybe we could start a support group or something...)

all I really need is a skillet...all I really want is a sink...

The Cupboards are gone (along with the countertops), the kitchen sink is awol, my dishwasher is in the basement (along with new stove, cabinets, and exhaust hood), I don't even really have walls or lighting in the kitchen, but for the most part...I'm fine. But so help me, if someone were to take away my cast iron skillet, I...would...freak. It would literally be a scene out of "falling down." I have come to rely pretty heavily on this thing for its versatility and easy cleanup (or should i say wipe-out). Some people are grossed out by the fact that you don't really wash these, but when you are doing dishes in a bus tub in your bathroom, you get over it really fast. basically you just rinse these out with water (you can use a scrub brush if you need to) and wipe them out with some paper towels. the more that you use them, the more nonstick they get. The three dishes above were all made in the cast iron and all turned out really well. the one addition I would suggest getting would be a lid. You can use foil in a pinch, but it's kind of wonky looking and you are better than that. you could buy the matching one (that costs just as much as the skillet) or you should be able to pick one up at any random store or you might already have one that fits in your collection.

ok, ontootherthings:

Lets talk about food...obviously have been making a lot of one-pot/dish meals lately. actually, that's kind of a rule right now since washing dishes is a total pain. we've been trying to keep it interesting with stir frys, curries, and braises, but have also tried to grill once in a while. The food above is: braised beef brisket (a backlog st. patty's day pic), shakshuka, and irish bacon and eggs. Irish bacon is something that I'd never had before. the package said that it contained 60% less fat than regular bacon, and since that's a reason I LIKE regular bacon, i was a little skeptical on how it would be. It was sort of like someone shaved slices off of a porkchop, but in a good way.

nonfoods: bowled the worst game of my life on saturday night (may or may not have been around 60...), but also had some of the most fun. I'm exploring the maze of electrical wires that past homeowners have installed in our haus. Finished reading "the sun also rises." it was a personal challenge because I was a self -proclaimed Hemingway hater. I have since changed my mind because although i might not like all of his subject matter, it is, in fact, pretty well-written.

Also: I've decided the only things you really need to prepare awesome tastys are: a sharp knife, a cutting board, a cast iron skillet, and a pot.

with that said: The things I don't need but am still going to get once my kitchen is finished:) this, this, this, and well, I have some ideas...

DISH recommends:

Lodge Cast iron skillet 12". on sale right now for 27.95. pretty sweet deal considering your grandkids could probably use it (this is mostly directed to those of us without grandkids...or kids of our own...not to say that your lovely, lively grandkids couldn't use it...but only under adult supervision...

kitchen bones

this is what's left of the kitchen right now. i would write more about the process, but since I live with a designer lady who has a blog solely devoted to things of the sort, I won't steal her thunder. just thought I would post a little pic. (if you strain your eyes you can prob see the gas line! (i'm so excited...)

Eating Haman's Hat

Get out your groggers {noise makers} this is a wifeshow blogjacking! This blog in disguise is in honor of the holiday of Purim. Similar to Mardi Gras with costumes, carnivals and libations, Purim is the celebration of Queen Esther's defeat of Haman.

Here's the story in a nutshell...The King of Persia got ticked at Queen Vashti for refusing to greet his guests {must have been a bad hair day} so he decided to have a beauty contest to find a new wife. Hadassah aka Esther, was chosen {her heritage hidden from the king} and became the new queen of the Persian Empire. Meanwhile Haman, a prominent Persian prince, offered the king 10,000 clams to annihilate the Jewish people because Esther's uncle Morty {Mordecai} refused to bow down to him. The king refused. Esther discovered Haman's plan and told the King what a rotten dude he was and that she was Jewish. The King stood by his lady, hanged Haman, and allowed the Jews to defend themselves against any would-be attackers. {read the full story here or in the book of Esther}

To celebrate, Steve and I made hamantaschen, triangular shaped cookies modeled after the shape of the main villain's hat. Usually filled with jam or poppy seed paste, we decided we wanted to make ours a little more rustic and not so sweet. {we're not huge jam session fans}

For the dough I mostly followed this recipe from Epicurious with modifications taken from my friend Molly's version. For the filling, we substituted jams for our own mixture of apples, cranberries, raisins, cherries and dates. Our version is similar to a fig newton crossed with a sugar cookie. They're pretty tasty but next time we'll tweak it a bit and add more salt and maybe a little jam to add some sweet, glossy, gooie, goodness.

Recipe below :)

Dough Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt - I would double this next time

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

3 tablespoons fresh oj (Gourmet only calls for 1, but the dough was too dry so I added more liquid)

1 tsp. vanilla

For the how to, follow the link above except add an egg wash before you bake. This will make them glossy and help the corners stick together.

Tip: You definitely want to chill it overnight, and only roll out parts at a time. The dough is significantly easier to work with when cold.

For the filling we used 2 apples, and wifeshow size handfuls of the following: raisins {golden and regular}, dried cherries, dried dates, and dried cranberries. Steve cut up the apples and cooked them in brandy and water with cinnamon and sugar. Not sure what all he did, so maybe he can comment on that part. I plumped the dried fruit in brandy then we combined the two mixtures into the Cuis and pulsed until smooth. We then put the mixture into the freezer to cool it down. Finally we assembled the cookies.

I was nervous about them popping open so I folded mine a bit more than some people do. Mine aren't as pretty as Deb's, but they worked. This recipe should make 2 dozen and last in a container about 5 days, but Molly tells me they also freeze really well.

Happy Purim!

Making thick roll sushi

ok, while I have a few other things to say, this post is mostly going to be about sushi. So, let's get that other stuff out of the way right from the get-go. Non sushi pics are a tomato and bell pepper soup, a masaman curry, and a "full monty" breakfast. the tomato soup is much like this version only with the addition of some baby red, orange and yellow bell peppers. i also added some chili powder to give it some heat. The masaman curry was a repeat of this recipe. just hadn't had it in a while and you know, had to feed that addiction we have. So if you are wondering how to assemble a proper bloke's full monty, it's basically just this: get some beans going ( I used some canned pintos to save time. I just combined mine with some sauteed onion, a little tomato sauce (actually I think it was v8 juice), salt and pepper, smoked paprika, and some coriander.) and once those are ready, set aside and then fry up some bacon or sausage (or both!), toast some bread, and then quick fry an over easy egg. I like to place mine on top the beans and crack the yolk. pretty filling...you could probably skip lunch with this one.

ok, sushi. Wow, where to begin? well, for the sake of time here, we'll talk about making rolls. While a perfect piece of hand formed sushi is one of life's great pleasures, it's not one of life's easy tasks. Rolling sushi, however, is pretty easy and quite fun. but first, there are a few things you need to pick up.

First, you need to get yourself a rolling mat. These are relatively inexpensive and can be picked up at most asian markets and even some grocery stores around town (i think I saw one at supes on 48th). If you have trouble finding one, I would recommend something like this.

Also, it doesn't hurt to have a guidebook. There are a plethora of good books out there, I just happen to have this one and like it for it's simplicity.

As far as ingredients, the main things you need to pick up are: short grain sushi rice (usually available in bulk, get mine at open harvest, but have also purchased this brand in a pinch at local stores), roasted nori sheets, and rice vinegar. you also need some sugar and salt but I assume most people have those already.

First step would be to get your rice going. I use my rice cooker, but you can very well just use a pot with a lid. You want to make sure you give the rice a good rinsing under cold water in a sieve until the water runs clear. once that happens, either put it in your rice cooker or into a pot with a tight lid. here is a rice recipe:

1 and 1/3 cups sushi rice

1.5 cups water

put washed rice and water in pot, cover with tight fitting lid. bring to a boil over med heat. resist the temptation to lift the lid, just listen for boiling sounds and once that happens, boil for 4 more minutes, adjusting heat if it boils over. after 4 minutes, reduce heat to very low and simmer for 9 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.

while your rice is going, you need to make the vinegar mixture. For this you'll need:

4 Tbs rice vinegar

2 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

now, you could put this in a saucepan and heat it up until the salt and sugar has dissolved, but I just nuke it in a microwave for like 40 seconds. make sure it doesn't boil, you just want to dissolve the solids. after 40 seconds it should be hot enough to dissolve everything and if not, you can usually just help it along by giving it a good stir. once you have done this, set aside and wait for your rice to finish cooking.

ok, so rice is done and vinegar mixture is done also. now, you want to move the rice to a wide shallow dish like a baking dish or pie dish (i use the latter) and slowly pour the vinegar mixture into it, mixing and distributing the vinegar so that all of the rice is shiny. fan the rice gently (with a piece of paper, or towel, or, um a fan..., until it starts to cool. once cooled, you are ready to use the rice, or can cover it with a damp towel if you want to use it later (this is what I usually do. I make my rice earlier in the day and cover it so that when I am ready to assemble, I can just get my ingredients ready and go. this way, it seems super easy. a good way to spread out the work. and don't worry, the rice is basically pickled, bacteria would hate this rice, you'll be fine leaving it out.

now, the fun stuff.

now, you are ready to assemble. make sure your work surface is clean and then place your mat on your work surface, top the mat with a nori sheet (shiny side down), and then top with two handfuls of rice in the center. spread the rice evenly across the sheet and leave about 1/4 inch margin on the edge furthest from you. now it's time for your ingredients. whatever you are using, you want to be in long strips. In the photos above, I ended up using smoked salmon and avocado with some cream cheese. whatever you are using (especially in the case of raw fish) you want it to be of the highest quality possible. ok, so lay your ingredients in the middle of the roll. if you have multiple ingredients, just lay on either side of the fish/veggies/etc. now, place your thumbs on the rolling mat and lift the near edge of the mat with your thumb and index fingers. hold the fillings in place with the rest of your fingers. holding a small flap at the top of the mat, bring the near side of the roll over that it covers the fillings. bring the rolling mat down to meet the strip of nori, and gently squeeze along the length of the roll to tuck in the near edge of the nori. Lift the front edge of the mat slightly with one hand and use the other to gently push the roll forward so that the strip of nori not covered by rice seals the roll. Pull back the mat and neaten the ends. set aside in a cool place (not the fridge), while you make the remaining rolls. use a sharp knife to cut the roll into 6-8 pieces. after each cut, the knife will need to be wiped off and moistened to make the additional cuts. serve with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce.

ok , so I know that was a lot to process, so for you visual learners out there, try this as a reference. (vid is for a half roll, prob better ones out there, but this is what I found right away)

other stuff:

finally went to bread and cup over the weekend. was pretty excited to go as I really respect what they are trying to do with using locally sourced ingredients, etc. I have to say that I was pretty underwhelmed, and bummed, because I really wanted to enjoy it. Our service was pretty terrible, our wine was forgotten until after we received our entrees, and the bread was pretty dense, ok it was really dense, but I didn't go there for the bread. I ordered the beef brisket which was said to have been braised in red wine with mirepoix but I certainly didn't taste that. it was served with butternut squash puree and roasted potatoes, and there was a rumor that grilled leeks were in there somewhere. I think i had about a 1 inch piece of leek (singular) on top of my meat. The meat was certainly tender, but lacked a lot of flavor and I was left wanting some sort of non-starchy vegetable to cut through the large amount of starch I was eating (perhaps more leeks?). Mames had some grilled flank steak that was very tough and fatty (I don't know if this had to do with the fact that it was grass fed or not, but they certainly could have taken extra measures to ensure tenderness) Perhaps it was an off night...i don't know. I don't think that I will be going back anytime soon, which was a pretty big bummer, because I dig what this guy is trying to do (I even follow his blog), i just think that he needs to spend a little bit more time concentrating on bringing the flavors of his food, up to the standard of the presentation (they did have very nice presentation, I will give them that.)

going to be working a lot these next couple of weeks, so that's why I decided to post two blogs. Marth is in china so, until next time...pieces.

Let me just check my schedule...

yeah, yeah, yeah...Haven't posted for a while. been pretty busy with stuff lately around here, so It's time to play catch-up. It's no secret that I like to have a plan. For what, you might ask? well...I like to have a plan for pretty.much.everything. Some people might find this a little obsessive, crazy even, and I think that I would probably agree with you, but the fact of the matter is this: I get a lot of stuff done for someone that works the amount of hours that I do, not to mention the type of hours I work. While I will agree that it is good to have some measure of spontaneity in your life, it is the fact that a lot of my time is scheduled out that I have the extra time to be spontaneous. Lost? I thought you might be, so I'll give you an example of a typical day in the life of dish.

12:15 am. wake up. get dressed. brush teeth. check phone for messages from bakery accounts to see if I need to make additions to my first mix.

12:30. bowl of cereal. glass of kefir. glass of water.

12:45. smooch my lady. pet the dog. off to work.

1:00 am. get to work. load pastries into proof box. make a cup of green tea. start whole wheat yeasted mix/start white yeasted mix. weigh out specialty ingredients.

1:15 weigh out whole wheat yeasted into tubs/wwy pizzas " "

1:25. weigh out white yeasted into tubs

1:40. mix ciabatta

1:50-2:00 weigh out ciabatta.

2:00 turn white yeasted that needs to be turned/ start dividing pizzas, cia pizzas, etc

2:15 turn on the oven, turn on the internet itunes radio (eclectic, "dynamic range"--check out this station, pretty good tunes on here, it has become the unanimous favsies)

2:30-3:00. continue dividing/forming rest of dough (baguettes, pan loaves, cheese breads, etc.) until marth gets in.

3:15. start baking, starting with baguettes (super hot oven is good for these to produce excellent crust and great oven spring), and sourdoughs.

3:30-5:00. continue baking rest of breads such as pain de campagne, rye, ciabatta, various rolls, burger buns, etc. and ending up with pizzas.

5:00-6:00. either help get pastries finished up or help hassan load the orders for delivery.

6:00-6:30. make recipes for the following day, call south store for my orders. either marth or I will make lunch.

7:00-9:30-10:00. prep for the following day which may or may not include: dicing up cheeses, forming sourdoughs, forming brioche/butter buns, sliders, baguette rolls, cleaning oven/oven doors, smashing olives/walnuts/pecans, making poolish, prepping the pastry cart, putting away deliveries (50 pound bags of flour--we all have huge guns, mind you), making beer bread for lazlos, mixing viennois dough, mixing croissant dough, and of course general cleanup...

10:30ish. arrive home. let buster outside/inside, wrestle, snarfs, etc.

10:35ish. go on walk/run/hike (whatever the weather will permit) w/ gus ,as to release pent up wiggles.

11:00. get back home. change into workout garb, go down to basement and workout/ride trainer (can't wait till the weather gets better so I can go out to wilderness again), to release pent up wiggles.

12:00. snack. shower. check out the internets, run random errands. read and wind down.

1:00-5:30. sweet, sweet naptime.

5:30-6:30. let dog out, start dinner, and try to ungrogify.

6:30-7:30. mames arrives. smooches. dinner.

7:30-8:00. cleanup/ wind down/get ready for bed

8:30-12:15. snooze, the sequel.

so, there you have it. Thorough? You betcha. but, I kind of have to be. schedules help me out a lot. Perhaps I am just a person that needs a little extra guidance. Oh, and before you start thinking that I am totally insane, the weekends aren't like this (at least not as much...)

oh yeah, this blog is about food....

sorry, sometimes I forget. First pic is from a dish that I made in my crock pot. Yes, crock pot. I don't know how people have come to look down on these lovely little devices. sometimes even I don't want to worry about dinner. that's when I rely on crocky. A meatwad, some root veg and a handful of herbs and spices can party in there all day while you do whatever it is you do. This is some round steak, potatoes, carrots, onions, beef stock, tomato paste (from a tube!), and some thyme and rosemary, salt and peps. pretty basic, but magical after eight hours. next dish is turkey burgs with oven fries. then there is grilled salmon with roasted cauliflower w/ cumin seed and ground almonds, and then red-braised pork belly w/ saffron stovies.

thought I would share some bombtastic sides with you peeps:

oven fries (one of my easy faves)

peel (if you want to) and cut desired amount of potatoes into batons

toss with olive oil, salt and peps, and desired spices/herbs. (some things I like to use are: rosemary, thyme, savory, lemon zest, smoked paprika, cumin, steak seasoning, pesto, anchovies, raw bacon, etc.)

roast at 400F, until golden and delicious. about 30 mins. great with steaks, burgers, chickens, alone, or with somebody else...

roasted cauliflower w/ cumin and almonds.

peel away greenage from head of cauliflower. slice vertically into 1/2" pieces, set aside. smash up a good handful of almonds, or put them in a food processor. toss the cauliflower with some olive oil, the almonds, and a couple teaspoons of cumin seed, salt and pepper. lay out on a baking sheet so that they have some room between each other and roast at 400 F until the edges start to brown and they have softened up a bit.

thought I would also share the menu for the week. if you guys don't do this (which you probably don't...I don't run into too many nerds of my stature that do), I'd really recommend making a menu for the week. it really helps cut down your grocery bill and makes sure you don't make a lot of the same things over and over.

mon- caramelized onion, sweet potato, and spinach risotto

tue- ribeyes, w/ risotto cakes, sauteed broccoli

wed- sausage ragu w/ potato rosti

thur- panang curry with potato and peanuts

fri- parsnip and ginger soup with sourdough croutons

sat- ground beef empanada with rice and beans.

DISH recommends:

Kefir. Just started eating/drinking this a couple of weeks ago. It's kind of like liquid yogurt. has a lot of active cultures and is really good for you.

the girl who played with fire. awesome book. Melissa, you were right. it was even better than the first one. Hope that the third one is available soon.

p.s. You think I'm nuts with the facade of organization I'm presenting? you've obviously never met my better half:)....

Even hell is starting to feel the pains of recession...I hear they started paving their roads with BAD intentions...

Lots of new stuff happening lately. Have been making a lot of changes at the bakery. we are starting to bake a lot of "Miches", which are round 1 kilo loaves of bread that look super cool and if purchased will make you the envy of everyone else in near vicinity. We proof them in baskets which give them a really cool design and then slash and bake them. They are baked a little longer than normal which gives them an excellent crust and also more lasting power. many people also believe that the flavor of the bread actually changes and improves over the first few days. if you haven't been in in a while, be sure to stop in and check out the new stuff. Have been working on a take and bake croissant process also. Did a few today at my house and they were awesome. I just set them (frozen croissants) out overnight on my countertop (on a sheet pan and brushed with veg. oil) to proof and when I woke up this morning, they were ready to go. they had great oven spring and lots of great layers when cut open. Flaky, buttery, goodness has never been easier to achieve! which is good, because flaky, buttery sadness...well, that road just leads to loneliness...

Also picked up a trainer for wifeshow and I to hook up to our bikes so we can ride inside during this crummy weather. I had to do something...was starting to get pretty crazy. It's been a really great addition to my reg. workout and I already can't imagine not having it. i like to watch dvd's of tv shows (arrested development, currently) while i am riding, an episode is just under 30 minutes, which is a decent amount for an indoor ride. Also, picked up (and received) some new kitch gear recently. sur la table in omaha had some all clad mc2 stuff on clearance and I also picked up a Shun santoku knife. I love both of them equally...simultaneously. I have been really impressed with the shun stuff that I have and would definitely recommend them to peeps. Also received an all-clad grill pan from my pal nick. used it to make some pork chops and was really impressed with the even heat it produced. have a feeling that it's going to get some major usage in the months to come. Have also been reading quite a few books lately. Most notably, the girl with the dragon tattoo. was a great thriller, pick it up for a really good read.

ok, getting too sidetracked...FOOD! I can't say enough about jamie oliver's new cookbook. everything i have made from it has been so good. the meatball dish was a little spin-off of his recipe for "pot roast meatloaf". the combination of smoked paprika, tomatoes, bacon, and chickpeas makes for one crazy delicious end product. please try this one out, you won't be disappointed. other dish is a vegetable jalfrezie that I served with papadum and rice. also from the same cookbook. can't say enough good things...

Pot roast meatloaf: (adapted from Jamie's food revolution) serves 4 hungrys or six regs.

2 onions

olive oil

sea salt and fresh ground peps

1 level teaspoon ground cumin

1 heaped tsp ground coriander

12 cream or plain crackers

2 tsps dried oregano

2 heaped tsps dijon mustard

1 pound ground beef 1 large egg 2 cloves garlic

1 fresh red chile

1 tsp. smoked paprika 2 tbs worcestershire

1 can chickpeas

1 28 oz can tomatoes 2 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

12 slices bacon

1 lemon

for meatloaf:

preheat oven to 475. peel and chop one onion until fine. place in frying pan on med heat with olive oil, salt and peps. add cumin and coriander. stir every 30 seconds or so until they get some color (around 7 min.) transfer to bowl to cool.smash up the crackers and add to the onions along with the mustard, oregano, and ground beef. crack in the egg and a good pinch of salt and pepper.mix well with clean hands (yours or a willing partner's). once mixed, mold into a football shape and rub with a little oil. can be cooked now or wait and refrigerate until needed. when ready to cook, place meat in dutch oven (or baking pan), uncovered. put into preheated oven and turn down temperature to 400F. bake 30 min.

for sauce:

peel other onion and chop fine. peel and slice garlic. finely slice red chile. place onion, garlic, and chile in a large pan over med high heat with olive oil, paprika, and salt and peps. cook around 7 minutes again, until goldy-like. add unpronounceable sauce that starts with a wor, chickpeas, tomatoes, and balsamic. bring to boil and then turn heat down to simmer for about 10 min. taste and ad more salt/peps if needed.

to finish:

pick off rosemary leaves from stalks and put into little bowl. remove meatloaf from oven, and pour off fat into bowl of rosemary leaves. spoon tomato sauce around the meatloaf. lay slices of bacon on top of meatloaf and sauce. scatter over the beefy,rosemary leaves. put dutch oven (uncovered) back into oven for 10-15 minutes or until the bacon is done to your liking and sauce is bubbly and thick and delicious.squeeze some lemon wedges over finished dish and snarf. parsley chiff looks good here...

DISH recommends:

all clad mc2 cookware. loves it...hard. hefty, consistent, and easy cleanup. apparently the things that I love about cookware are also the things I love about trashbags.

shun premier santoku. Love the sharpness of this wifeshow sized knife. actually bought it sort of for her but have been using it a lot:) still love my mac, but shun has moved up in the ranks for me...

Jamies food revolution. A very popular cookbook around our house right now. pick it up, it's well worth it and really easy to follow.