miso soup

Simple miso soup with chicken stock in lieu of dashi makes for a very satisfying dinner on a cold day.

on nutmeg, and parsimony

“You have to be very parsimonious with your nutmeg.” (Jacques Pépin, More Fast Food My Way [208])

simplicity.

Finally secured some miso and bonito flakes. Then, of course, dashi with kelp and bonito. I poached some julienned carrots in the dashi, removed them to a bowl and poached two eggs in the dashi. I removed the eggs, placed them atop the carrots and topped them with some greens whose name I forgot (some mild cruciferous green from the Korean market). I brought the dashi to a quick boil, added garlic-chili paste and turned off the heat; into that miso was whisked and then poured over the eggs and vegetables. Finish with sesame oil. So satisfying on a snowy day. Ate with cold rice wrapped in nori.

fried risotto

Risotto from the other night, tossed in flour (mixed with mace, cayenne, crushed fennel seeds), then in egg, and then in some coarse breadcrumbs (from toasted sourdough). Fry in olive oil mixed with grapeseed oil (maybe just under 1/4" of oil). Garnish with fennel fronds. So good.