Nothing looked prettier on ice at the fish counter than some pale pink and silver trout fillets to accompany the new potatoes and really ripe tomato from the farmers’ market. The green beans were so fresh they really did snap!

This post outlines how to “salt-grill” fish, and how to prepare green vegetables so they retain their bright color. Both are valuable techniques to add you your cooking repertoire.

Mr. Tess worked out of town several weeks this summer. Cooking for one: white grape juice, directly from the bottle. Tuna and mayo on macaroni. Thin spaghetti with butter and pepper. Vanilla ice cream in front of the freezer. What do you eat when no one is looking?
Here is a “cooking for one” meal which had some healthy green things to supplement the essentially white starch and carbohydrates I was over consuming.

My new love is oysters: Until recently, I never ate them (except for canned and smoked), but if I could I would now seek out my new paramour in cities, towns, villages… on coasts around the world, then the world would be (so to speak) my oyster.

Mine is a case of oyster tastes on a tilapia budget…
The ugly, delectable, addictive little beasts!

I made fish tacos: not Japanese food, but I’m sure they would love them!
In this post, I discuss how to choose a ripe avocado, a convenient way to use oysters, using panko crumbs to make a fine crisp coat for the seafood, the joys of cilantro and corn tortillas…

I thought sesame noodles would be a great lunch for my friend and her daughter.

 
Ever since they cat-sat for us last summer, the young lady has been eager for us to leave town again so she could play with the kitties. Spring break was a good time to invite them for a visit. Gracie, Mikey, and Sula were happy to wake up for the special attention, petting, and playing with strings.

 
All went well until, as my daughter once said, “My mom doesn’t have any children so she doesn’t know what kids like!”

What’s better than chilli in winter? Japanese-style Szechuan Shrimp in Chili sauce!
Ahhhh…
Though the winter here has not been especially chilly, a nice spicy dinner is most welcome!

This recipe can be made quickly, and with only a little planning, it’s a pantry meal. We often have shrimp in the freezer, and the main seasonings are ginger, garlic, and toban jan.

The first time I made this Japanese crab meat omelette, Mr. Tess said it tasted just like egg foo young! Wikipedia notes that creative Chinese cooks in the U.S. invented egg foo young in the 1930′s. (see this note.) Eggs are beaten together with minced ham, crab, or chicken, then fried and served with a chicken stock-soy sauce gravy thickened with cornstarch. Since the 1950′s kanitama-don is a popular dish in Chinese restaurants in Japan. It’s a fine example of a well-traveled yoshoku (multi-cultural!) recipe: a recipe sort-of-from China, to the U.S. and then to Japan.

This is a lovely dish, elegant yet very easy to make. The salmon, shrimp, and gingko nuts, with the chard are a beautiful combination. Perhaps it’s good that I can see some ways to make the finished dish look even nicer so will have to make it again.
Why?
Because it is a very tasty dish as well!

I’m rich! If only I could take my treasure, laughing, all the way to the bank: I have collected and cleaned several hundred ginkgo nuts.
What will I do with them? They certainly are on many future menus here in The Ginkgo House: I don’t think we will get tired of them. Ginkgo nuts are valued for their flavor and fortune. They are used in good luck dishes served at New Years and weddings. They are cooked in soups, stir-fries, desserts, and eaten with beer for good health.
The Chinese (later also Japanese [ginnan]) word ginkyo means “silver apricot” (gin=silver, kyo=apricot). Coincidentally, this recipe has a silver sauce (gin-an). It is a gentle dashi-based sauce thickened with cornstarch or kuzu starch (arrowroot).

Whenever we visit “Up North” Mr. Tess and I like to stop at The Big Stone Bay Fishery to stock up on fresh Great Lakes whitefish, smoked menominee, and fish sausage. He went up by himself to help close the cottage for the season. It was an early warning of the leaf-color soon to come to us in Southern Michigan. He spent a long weekend up there and came home with lots of great fish.

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My husband insisted that we go canoeing one afternoon last month. It was the rare summer day with sun shining beautifully warm with a gentle breeze, perfect to enjoy the world outdoors. When he turned 50, I bought him a canoe. We’ve used it over the years, but this year this was our only outing. The local river is slow, gentle, and surprisingly scenic despite its urban setting. People fish, kayak, canoe, and run or cycle along the shoreline trails.

At home, waiting, was a half package of thawing frozen small squid. No, I did not look forward to making this recipe: squid are rather frightening. I like to eat these dumplings/burgers, but get queasy working with the squid. I’ve never seen what they look like, alive.

Turns out they are beautiful, contrary creatures, swimming backward tail first as they do.

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The miso-marinade-for-steak recipe makes enough that I feel bad about throwing out such a nice sauce without one more go. I have re-used it as a marinade for lamb chops, pork, and in this case: salmon.