But I’m glad we were able to pull off 4 dishes for one meal, because I see a unifying aspect of Japanese cuisine, with all its diversity, in that there is always a variety. Either you are presented with a series of exquisite little portions, or there is a delightful assortment of goodies in a compartmented box. (Bento!) I’m not sure my family-style spread looks authentic, but the flavors were good and we all had plenty to eat.

The funny thing is that when GC and I went to the Asian market this morning, they were closed for vacation. So, I bought miso at the supermarket and all the other seasonings and things I already had on hand!

Rice with Fresh Ginger
From Everyday Harumi

1 1/4 c Japanese sushi rice
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 oz shimeji mushrooms (I used shitakes), tough stems removed and sliced
1 1/2 c dashi stock (I used an instant tea-bag type of packet)
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp mirin
1 tsp sake (I didn’t have any, so I omitted it…)
salt – to taste
nori seaweed – to serve, optional

Wash the rice in cold water. Drain it in a strainer and let it stand for 10-15 minutes. In a large liquid measuring cup, add the dashi stock to the soy, mirin, and sake until it makes 1 1/2 cups liquid. I used my rice cooker, but for stovetop prep, put the rice in a heavy saucepan, add the ginger, mushrooms, and dashi stock mixture. Put a tight-fitting lid on the pan and place over high heat. When the liquid comes to a boil, turn the heat down low. After cooking for 10-12 minutes, turn off the heat and leave for a further 10 minutes, keeping the lid on. Stir the rice, add a pinch of salt if desired, and serve garnished with some nori seaweed.

Eggplant “Dengaku” Style
Adapted from Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking

This eggplant dish is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I’ve adapted it to my preferred method of cooking eggplant, roasting.

1 large eggplant
2 Tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
3 Tbsp hatcho miso (or substitute red miso)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp sake (I subbed rice vinegar)
toasted sesame seeds to garnish

Preheat the oven to 400°

To make the dengaku miso sauce, combine the miso, sugar, mirin, and sake in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until thickened and smooth.

Cut the eggplant in half, and then run a knife around the inside of the eggplant, loosening the skin from the flesh. Score the flat surface with a lattice pattern.

Brush each cut side with 1 Tbsp of oil, and place cut side down on a non-stick or foil-lined baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until well-browned. Turn the eggplants cut side-up, and brush liberally with the miso sauce. Return to the oven until the sauce is hot and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Chicken with Soy and Balsamic Dressing
From Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking

Marinate 1 lb boneless chicken thigh or breast meat (cut in bite size pieces) in 2 T soy sauce, 1 T balsamic vinegar, 1 clove garlic sliced, and coarsely ground black pepper for 30 minutes.

Saute 1/2 cabbage, cut in 4 thick wedges, in a mixture of oil and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Saute the chicken with its marinade and serve on top of cabbage. Top with a handful of fresh basil leaves.

Sesame Salad Dressing
From Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking

Combine & mix well: 2 T sesame paste (or tahini), 2 T ground toasted white sesame seeds, 2 T dashi stock, 1 T rice vinegar, 1 T soy sauce, 1 T superfine sugar, salt and hot pepper to taste.

We made a simple salad of red lettuce, finely grated carrots (an tip from Harumi), crisp cucumber from the farmer’s market, and green onions.

I was struck by an ingredient that’s very common in Harumi’s cooking – freshly ground toasted sesame seeds. I’m going to have to get a larger mortar and pestle…

We’ve been grilling a lot this summer. Tonight BN grilled a couple of chicken skewers to upgrade my standby stir-fry recipe. (Plus the day’s farmers’ market haul.) It was delicious!

Grilled Chicken with Stir-Fried Veggies (serves 3-4)

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
Marinate in a mixture of the following, in a covered dish:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1-inch chunk fresh ginger, minced
2 T sugar
1 t toasted sesame oil
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 T hoisin sauce (optional)
1 T mirin (Japanese sweet rice cooking wine, optional)
1 T cornstarch

Meanwhile, prep your veggies:
Broccoli crowns and stems (peel them for a crisp addition)
Carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut diagonally into sticks
Sugar snap peas or snow peas, trimmed
Red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 bunch of greens such as bok choi or chard, sliced into strips
Small handful green onions, sliced

1-2 T cooking oil (I like refined sesame)

Steamed rice, to serve.

Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade. Thread the chicken onto skewers and grill over high heat to sear and then lower heat until cooked through.

Heat 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium high, add the broccoli and a splash of water. Cover the pan and let the broccoli steam for a minute or two, then remove the lid and let the extra water evaporate. Remove the broccoli to a large covered dish. Add a bit more oil and the carrots. Let them sizzle and steam for a bit, then add the bell pepper and cook a bit more. Add the peas and stir until heated, just a minute or less. Remove to the bowl. (Note: if using bok choi, I would add it at the same time as the bell pepper.)

Add the reserved marinade to the pan, and the chard, if using. Stir until the chard is wilted and the sauce is thickened. Cover and simmer until the chard is tender.

When the chicken is done, slide it off the skewers and into the bowl with the veggies. Pour the sauce with greens over all, add green onions, and stir until well-combined. Serve immediately over steamed rice.

I bought 3 big bunches of herbs from the farmers’ market – basil, parsley, and cilantro. Here’s a tip for storing herbs: clean the stray leaves and/or dirt from the stems, trimming if needed, and set the bunch in a glass or tall plastic tub (like from yogurt, those ones are taking over my house), with an inch or so of water, and a plastic bag loosely tied over the leaves. Parsley and cilantro will keep this way fairly well for several weeks. Basil on the other hand, you must use within several days. Only one thing to do: make pesto.

This time I made two batches – one classic Italian style with olive oil and pine nuts, with basil and parsley, and one Asian-inspired with basil and cilantro, peanuts, sesame oil, and lime juice.

Stored in small portions in the freezer (again the yogurt tubs, this time the single-serving size), all you have to do is boil some noodles, cook some veggies and/or meat, and toss with the pesto (thawed, of course.) An easy noodle bowl for dinner.

Cilantro Pesto (makes 1 cup pesto)

1 cup torn basil leaves
1 cup cilantro leaves
1 lime, zested and juiced
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
1 T toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup canola or regular sesame oil
1/2 t red pepper flakes

Place all the ingredients in the blender and process until fairly smooth. Divide into portions in small airtight containers and store in the freezer.

On Friday I shopped the Trade Show. I bought some Blue Moon “Socks that Rock” Rare Gems:

I got some hand-dyed organic merino from Textile a Mano, a recently-opened shop in Eugene:

And these irresistible little skeins from Capistrano Fiber Arts Studio:

On Saturday I went to the Ravelry Meetup and watched my friend LK win a prize in the random drawing – the person presenting prizes held up the precious little handmade silk project bag – L said, “oh, that’s mine!” and the announcer called her name. Lucky!

I wasn’t part of the random drawing but I did get a goodie bag of prizes from Knitmore Girls. I haven’t joined the podcast-listening bandwagon but I will have to check theirs out! I was most excited that the bag contained a little retractable tape measure since I recently misplaced mine.

As a side note, it came to mind that a while ago there was this big shift in nutrition – it’s not fat that’s making us fat, it’s all the sugar. (The low-carb craze.) This is kind of that level of paradigm shift, except in environmental health, not individual human health…

My friend JI gave me a purse some years ago, brown faux suede with embroidered flowers. It was one of my favorite purses ever and I’ve been meaning to try creating a pattern from it for a simple lined cotton version.

I had to carefully think through the order of sewing the seams – it’s necessary to leave the seam at the top of the handle for last, because joining the lining along both long curved edges of the strap would leave no way to turn the project inside out if the straps were already joined. Luckily this occurred to me before I actually tried it, and after confirming the topological nuances with my husband, I successfully joined the purse to the lining, turning it through an opening in the bottom of the lining.

I also added a pocket to the inside, and a magnetic snap.

Pretty good for a couple of evenings’ work! I love sewing, I really do – but knitting is so much easier to just pick up and work on. I need to keep in mind that sewing projects go faster. I have a nice little sewing corner now that our spare bedroom is cleared out, so I’m going to try to do more sewing this summer.

Black Beans with Orange and Chipotle
Adapted from Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes by Jeanne Kelley

Serves 6

1 lb dry black beans
2-4 slices of bacon
1 large onion, chopped
4-6 garlic cloves, minced
3 bay leaves
Zest and juice of one orange
1-2 tsp minced canned chipotle in adobo
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper

To serve:
Steamed rice
Grated cheese
Avocado
Sour cream
Chopped veggies such as tomatoes, red onions, green onions, radishes, cilantro
Lime or lemon juice
Tortilla chips

I’ve been wanting to cook more beans (way too easy to open cans!) and when I saw the recipe in this inspiring cookbook (my sister HN had checked it out from the library) I decided to try it. Oddly, it didn’t instruct me to soak the beans, just cook them for 1.5 hours. That sounded like a recipe for rocks, so I turned to trusty Cook’s Illustrated, a recent issue featured Cajun Red Beans and Rice, for detailed instructions about preparing the beans.

In a large bowl, dissolve 3 T salt in 4 quarts water. Pick over the beans, and add them to the water – soak at room temperature at least 8 hours and up to 24. Drain and rinse them when ready to cook.

In a soup pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the strips and crumble them to add back in later. Add the onions, and cook until softened. Add the garlic and cook and stir a minute or two. Add the beans, bacon, bay leaf, orange zest, 1 tsp salt, and 7 cups water. (Note: I used 8 cups as the recipe calls for, and the result was basically a thick soup. I was wanting more of a baked-bean consistency, so next time I will try less, or perhaps leave the lid off the pot to let some evaporate. But I’m cautious of not adding enough water, the beans won’t soften all the way if they don’t cook in enough liquid. On the other hand, things thicken up some once the beans are fully cooked. So there’s a balance to strike here…)

Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to a steady simmer. After about an hour, or when the beans are just tender, stir in the orange juice, chipotle, and vinegar. Stir these items in well, taste, and adjust the seasoning. Cook, uncovered, for another 30 minutes or so, to thicken up the stew.

Serve over rice with toppings of your choice.

This sandwich reminds me of my favorite lunch from Zoccoli’s in Santa Cruz. I think this version is even better, though – fresh ingredients and hot off the grill. Great picnic food.

Grilled Chicken Pesto Sandwiches

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: optionally brined for at least 1 hour
Ciabatta rolls
Red bell pepper
Sweet onion
Provolone cheese
Pesto
Olive oil (I used my Misto sprayer, it works great for picnics)
Salt & Pepper

Brush or mist the chicken with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut the rolls in half and keep in a bag until ready to toast. Cut the bell pepper into wedges and thread onto skewers. Slice the onion into 1-inch rings and thread onto skewers. Mist the veggies with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

On the grill, the chicken will probably finish first, so start the veggies earlier if you wish. Put the chicken over high heat for a short while, until grill marks appear, then lower the heat (or move to the cool side of the grill) and cover to cook through. Keep an eye on the veggies and make sure they brown evenly without too much charring.

Mist or brush the bread with olive oil and place oil-side down on the grill, until golden.

Assemble the sandwiches: Spread pesto on the bread, slice the chicken and layer it on, add cheese, peppers, and onion. Enjoy the scenery as you devour your delicious sandwich.

This weekend we spent two nights at Paradise Campground, which is along the McKenzie river near Belknap Hot Springs. It was definitely heavenly to soak in a hot pool after a cold afternoon on Day 1 and a hike on Day 2, but some of the amenities at the campground were out of order (nearest available toilet about 1/2 mile from our site). But it sure was pretty. And it hardly rained at all, so that was nice.

Our day hike was to Blue Pool / Tamolitch Falls. I think it was peak moss season – everything was covered in a layer of beautiful spring-green moss. We stopped to eat a snack at the top of a cliff overlooking the river. BN got a picture of one of the bright yellow birds we saw, a Western Tanager.

A small opening on this cliff led down into a cave. BN decided to explore it, and discovered that it was HUGE down there. Or I should say wide, extending far in several directions, right under the trail. The ceiling was very low and the floor was uneven, as I learned when I joined him after awhile. The only light we had was the camera – BN took flash pictures to see what was ahead.

The Blue Pool is astonishingly blue! It’s so clear that it’s hard to tell that it’s really quite deep. These are the same factors that make Crater Lake so blue.

On the hike back BN got some detailed shots of the Moss Ecosystem. To get a sense of scale, those are pine needles in the lower right of this first picture:

Hiking home along the river…