I had about 200 gms of pineapple cut squid in my freezer and no idea what I wanted to do with it. I knew what I DIDN'T want to make - anything Italian and involving a marinara sauce - but the alternative choices were more difficult. I settled on a curry but again ran into a problem. What KIND of curry: Chinese, Indian, Japanese or Thai ( Read more... )

It DOES seem that I'm making a lot of soups these days but I'm home with nothing to do but sit in front of the computer drinking hot coffee while it rains outside. So, soup is the answer ( Read more... )

I got up this morning to this view of the back yard from what used to be my parents' bed room on the second floor. Between those two wooden railings there is a cement path about 4 feet wide leading to the gate and my car. Unfortunately, the drifting snow has pretty much filled the pathway.


( Read more... )

Are you getting tired of the same old tried and true recipes? Don't want to stop making them altogether but want a bit of zing. Well, that's the way I felt this weekend.

I've made Mapo Tofu several times now but inspiration struck when I ran across a mention of a version in which fried tofu cubes are added to the simmering sauce.

( Mapo Tofu sauce variation )

For some people, sushi has connotations of raw fish and seaweed, but the term is quite broad and the link provided takes you to the wikipedia link with more information than  I want to go into about the many variations. One of the lesser known types, Inari sushi,  features fried tofu pockets which have been simmered in a sweet and salty mixture and ( Read more... )

Some time ago, I made this dish (with chicken and peas), but used a packaged 'sauce in a bag,' because I wasn't sure what the real thing would taste like and, for some reason, figured the packaged version would probably have been created to appeal to the broadest range of taste preferences. It was tasty enough but at $4.99 just for the sauce, which ( Read more... )

Over the last few weeks I threw together a few Asian inspired dishes.  The seasoning sauce for one came from a box, another was totally off the cuff (though I wrote down what I did briefly) and the last was a honey glazed chicken recipe I found here but with the addition of orange juice

Mapo Tofu with Chicken and Peas - about half a pound each of ( Read more... )