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.

kaga-style duck

The duck adventure continues (one duck will go a long way for one person, which either makes me look greedy or lonely)! This is another recipe from Hiroko Shimbo: "Duck prepared in the Kaga style." The duck breast was seared and then sliced thin and dipped in flour (I used wheat and brown rice flours, recipe called for wheat and buckwheat...) and allowed to rest. They are then re-dredged. Meanwhile a broth of dashi, sake, a bit of sugar, mirin and shoyu is prepared. Leeks are then quickly parboiled in that mixture, removed and followed by the floured duck strips. The result was very tender and unlike anything I've tried: The flour forms a nice skin but obviously hasn't been fried. Miraculously, it doesn't make a mess in the broth, which is then ladled over the duck and leeks:


(Duck rillettes, to be consumed next weekend, were actually the reason for me having extra duck breasts for my own amusement and consumption: that adventure started two days ago and will be done in a few more. I like that every part of the duck went somewhere: stock, rendered fat, cracklings, rillettes, teriyaki, poached duck breast...)

mustard. & black radishes.

Two small, but wonderful discoveries. It's been cold, wet: not quite winter, not quite spring. Work's been quite busy, with some afternoon shifts, so I've not been cooking or eating as regularly. All of that notwithstanding, here are those two things.

Homemade mustard.

D. brought me some of his horseradish mustard the other day -- it's slightly sweet with a real nice kick. I tried it with some sauerkraut braised in a bit of stock with a seared fresh kielbasa. Not quite a choucroute garnie, but with two quite small roasted potatoes it was the perfect winter lunch. I still have about a quart of sauerkraut and maybe a bit less of sauerrüben that I ought to consume by spring.

Black Radishes.

Just about the only vegetable left in markets at this time of the year from New England (these from Vermont, actually), these back radishes that I found are really wonderful. They're crisp and pungent without any harshness of a red radish. With some dashi (Japanese style stock of bonito and kelp) on hand, all you really need for a fantatic soup is some noodles (buckwheat here), carrots, the aforementioned black radishes and some seasonings like tamari or a bit of mirin. South River's miso tamari is especially good. (And another incredible product made just a few miles away). I wouldn't cook either the carrots or the radishes, just slice them paper-thin.