Sunday, February 07, 2010

Tamagoyaki, I go yummy!

Years ago I bought a Japanese omelette pan. I had no idea how to use it so I used it like a regular omelette pan. The results were not good. I fell back to my traditional omelette pan and forgot about the "square experiment."

Silly me.

Recently, a friend of mine showed me how to use a Japanese omelette pan to make tamagoyaki, a Japanese omelette.

"It's done like this," he said.

"Ah, so!" I said.

Now our weekend breakfasts have jumped a level. Last weekend we had tamagoyaki with sautéed talapia filets and this weekend we had experimental mushroom and cheese tamagoyaki with miso soup, rice and bacon. (On the theory that everything goes better with bacon!)

Here's the blueprint:


For the tamagoyaki.

several eggs (I used 5 for two people)
oil (I used seasoned Wok oil)

For the miso soup.


small bowls
miso paste
dried seaweed
firm tofu chopped
hot water



The key to tamagoyaki is oiling and rolling. The pan should be only lightly oiled using a paper towel dampened in oil. That's all you need. Use only a little egg and rely upon successive layers to build up the omelette.

Like this.

Step one, pour a little of the beaten eggs into a very lightly greased pan.



Step two, after the eggs have started to set, remove from heat and gently roll up eggs as shown.



Step 3 push the egg roll to the other end of the pan and regrease it lightly using the soaked paper towel.



Step 4 and beyond. Add more egg, Roll and push and regrease. Repeat 3-4 layers.



When you are done, dump the omelette on a plate to cool slightly and cut into chopstick bites.



The result.



Here's a Japanese YouTube that shows the process although I didn't do all the flipping stuff, I simply rolled it up using chopsticks!

At least you see here how it's done.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Cartoon Kink

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Happy Homecoming Day

Three years ago there was a new cat in the hood.

This little guy.



We fed him and watered him and made sure he got plenty of sun and the occasional, (OK, many!) cat snacks.

And he grew into this handsome guy.



Happy Homecoming Day, Kink, and many more!

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Happy Birthday, Mel!




Happy Birthday, Mel Gibson, my stunt double!

Take the day off, Mel, I insist!

Friday, January 01, 2010

Year of the What?

A friend of mine gives each new year a theme. She’s been doing this for about a decade. It’s a neat idea and I admire her greatly for her creativity.

So, of course, I do my best to be a copycat and I’ve set themes for the year for about three years running.

Unfortunately, I usually forget what the theme is by January 3rd and I’ve forgotten all about themes in general by January 7th.

Good while it lasted, I guess. If I could remember.

This year I decided not to have a theme. No Theme O’ the Year for me. Nope. Themeless. Goes right along with clueless and shiftless and, well, you get the idea.

Then Kink suggested (because he’s curious, you know) that I check out Beth’s blog and see if she set a theme. Maybe she gave up on themes. Yeah, that would be cool! I’d be one up on her, leading the pack, head of the class, advent guarde and then she’d be copying me ...

Alas, Kink old buddy, we were too late. The theme was set and true to form it’s imaginative and cool and creative and all that. We’re left with one choice and only one choice.

Copycat!

To help us remember the theme we’re going to pick a theme that reminds us everyday what it is. No longer will we have this conversation when guests come over:

“Why do you have signs on the wall that say ‘Year of the Plumber’?”

“I have no idea.”

This year is going to be different. This year we’re going to start each day remembering the theme, doing the theme, BEING ONE WITH THE THEME!

And the Theme for 2010 is (drum roll, please)


Year of the Breakfast


Now, before certain members of the household get all huffy and disappointed that their favorite themes weren’t chosen, like, Year of Getting Things Done Around the House or Year of Kat Snax let me point out all the merits of Breakfast.

Breakfast starts the day.
Breakfast sets the tone.
Breakfast is the most important meal.
Breakfast is lots of other things too obvious to point out.

Therefore, in honor of selecting the Theme of the Year - Breakfast, what better way to get started than to have

Breakfast!

And, here it is! The first Breakfast of the year, a New Year’s Breakfast of Champions!




Oatmeal, because it’s healthy and we’re all about healthy.
Coffee, because, well, DUH, it’s COFFEE!
Black Eyed Peas, because it’s New Year’s.
Chocolate Hazelnut Torte with Chocolate Ganache, because we can.

And, Bacon, because Everything is Better with Bacon.

I’d say I’m off to a splendid start and I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year!

Once in a Blue Moon you'll see a picture like this.




Happy Blue Moon!

(Nikon D60, 200mm Nikkor VR, f11, 125/sec, handheld!)

Friday, December 25, 2009

Fondue 6






The Best of Twelve Two Two Fondue VI

Kink Ponders




What is this "Christmas" of which you speak?

Sugarplums




Dancing in their heads. Merry Christmas, Bill and Kink!

Dippy




Have I been in the cheese dip? Uh, no, why do you ask?