What's cooking? part 4

I want a soba machine because we like it enough that we'd eat it three times a week. Real buckwheat noodles are fuuuucking expensive but buckwheat flour is not. The mouthfeel is superior with fresh noodles, yes. Boil them a minute and it's terrific. These are more of an udon cut, about 1/4" diameter. Tasty stuff.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sexyoxen/16118022817

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sexyoxen/16117725009

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7542/16118022817_7a3a700539_c.jpg ?

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8623/16117725009_6a13d4cd9a_c.jpg !

no i'm not asking fresh vs. dried. also i think dried noodles have their place even if fresh is available. marcella hazan book says something about that. i'm saying like the noodle is pressed out from dough in the machine rather than being rolled into a sheet first then sliced like you did.

i mean i really like dried pasta

There is for sure a difference

holy god that noodle-maker upthread looks amazing, even if watching the noodle-extruding process gives me flashbacks to old play-doh ads

hi what miso should i buy and why?

Red, so you can make this:

Dice 1 aubergine/eggplant into 2cm cubes and fry in 3 or so tbsp oil for about 15 mins, with some sliced chilli. Mix 3 tbsp each of soy sauce, mirin, sake, caster sugar, add to the aubergine and cook for another 3 mins. Mix well 3 tbsp each of red miso and water, add and cook for another 2 mins. Serve with rice and spring onion garnish if you're feeling fancy. Serves two.

no i think i want yellow

or white, one of those two

i bought some barley miso impulsively awhile back and haven't opened it yet. i usu stick with white shiro miso on account of the fact that it's just SO damn versatile.
that red miso recipe up there looks awfully high in sodium (3 T soy AND 3 T miso for one eggplant seems slightly outta whack. wonder what it tastes like

gonna try and make a vegan marsala later with tempeh and mushrooms. never made it before but tasted a chicken version and i freaking loved the flavor

xp it's ok there's three tablespoons of sugar and of mirin to offset the salt! It's tasty, and simple - two out of three ain't bad.

Ok ok maybe 2 tbsp of everything per aubergine, god I've been making it long enough you'd think I could remember.

not trying to be a jerk. seems like a nice recipe i just get a little freaked out when i think about the sodium content of soy sauce. one tablespoon is roughly half the recommended daily intake of sodium (~900 mg and ~2000 mg, respectively)

How should I cook these cod filets?

i was just thinking about capers, lemon, dill, and white wine so if you have those things -- do that!

I have 1/4 of those things - lemon.

Other things I have: butter, olive oil, assorted other dried herbs spices (just no dill), canned tomatoes, beer, gin...

butter lemon and whatever herbs you have andlike sounds good to me!
maybe even add some beer?! who knows?

alternately dredge in flour + cayenne + whatever else and fry?

I think I'm going to go with the classic butter/olive oil and lemon.

stevie i have some thoughts on miso you should buy

even though you have already bought miso probably

it is just that i have made miso myself and feel somewhat entitled to an opinion #bragging

but for real though there are many different varieties of miso and many different use cases so it really depends on what you want to use the miso for. yellow or white miso is a good all around miso i think so you probably picked a good miso but red and other dark misos generally have more complexity (they are aged longer and have more salt content). that doesn't mean red is better, just that red generally has a more deeper and stronger flavor. red miso is typically more of a winter miso, and white is more of a summer and warm weather miso. they are all good though and miso in general is just pretty amazing.

Cod has probably already been eaten but I love doing this with cod fillets:
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Roast-Fish-Palermo-Style

Or something to that effect with similar ingredients.

I also love sauteeing them serving over chickpeas simmered in chicken stock with some saffron and a lump of butter mashed with smoked paprika, garlic, and sherry vinegar on top. If you have chickpeas and good chicken stock (and saffron, smoked paprika and sherry vinegar I guess, which I always do) this is super fast and feels kinda fancy.

if you are going to buy miso in a store then south river miso is a REALLY good brand to buy, they make it the old-fashioned way in western massachusetts on a farm and they are what i call "first wave vegetarians" (obviously not really "first-wave" but they are the real-deal back to the land 70s hippie vegetarians) and their miso is widely available in health food stores. all their varieties are outstanding ime and you can buy red, white, yellow it doesn't matter from them, they are all good

I used to work at a health food store that sold miso in bulk from big tubs, they only had barley and brown rice and they were v dark and rich. I used to just buy a big spoonful at a time and then mix it w hot water in my mug, I wd do it like 2x a shift every shift

Oh yeah we sold that stuff plus the miso master

oh rad, those big tubs sound great!

miso master is also pretty good ime. i have been less impressed by the mass-produced smooth pureed misos from many japanese brands i see in asian grocery stores, the texture is too smooth and they are sometimes pasteurized which ruins one of the main benefits of miso.

also i think the best way to enjoy miso imo is simply miso soup, same thing goes for pesto for me, despite many new ways of using it, it is still best on pasta. the traditional ways are often the best

and yea miso with hot water is just really great, i drink that all the time. you can make it fancy it will still be good but with hot water alone it is pretty perfect

man i just love miso so much

Cod has probably already been eaten

It has and it was decent (I don't like white fish that much tbrr) but now all I can think is "I guess that cod gettin eaten" so thanks a mil.

Cooked so much: veggie stock that got turned into spicy yam/kale soup, layered ratatouille, pink grapefruit/mint/black pepper salad, brats and field roast to go with the home-fermented not quite done sauerkraut, no joke chocolate cake. Then some ilxors came over and we ate it all.

stevie sorry if i was a little overbearing in my miso posts, i was pretty drunk the other night and got really excited about miso!

Okay it's pretty adorable that you get drunk and overenthusiastic about miso.

carl otm, marcos otm, i love love love seeing ppl get excited abt food and explaining all of the little details and whatnot. I was v grateful to receive such a response!

I have a container of red miso in the fridge that is at least 2 yrs old and hasn't been opened yet. I need to dig into that stuff, it's probably still good. Also have white, which I use pretty often.

i have had regular brown and red and i used to do a lot of stuff with them but then we moved and i haven't replaced them
nothing hits the spot like bi bim bop with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gochujang

i can't enthuse too much about food because i have been snowed in, unable to replenish my fruit and vegetable supply and tbrr it is making me cranky

I have a container of red miso in the fridge that is at least 2 yrs old and hasn't been opened yet. I need to dig into that stuff, it's probably still good.

it is definitely still good, at fridge temperatures miso will last virtually forever

Okay it's pretty adorable that you get drunk and overenthusiastic about miso.

― about a dozen duck supporters (carl agatha), Monday, February 2, 2015 11:02 AM (40 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

carl otm, marcos otm, i love love love seeing ppl get excited abt food and explaining all of the little details and whatnot. I was v grateful to receive such a response!

― Jennifer 8.-( (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, February 2, 2015 11:31 AM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha ok cool

I BOUGHT MISO!!! From Trader Joe's, it was like $1.79! I also bought brown jasmine rice (will this be good??? http://static.tumblr.com/361c1e730a4c4b30dc26095a802f347f/unmizev/D3hmtai4o/tumblr_static_tumblr_static_it_is_a_mystery_ghost_5_.png it is a mystery)

guys what do I do w/ this wonderful miso!?

guys i had a tiny bite of the miso from the tub and it tasted like reaaaaaally salty dimetapp

teach it sign language, adopt a co-sleeping plan, swaddle swaddle swaddle, yknow the usual stuff

pretty much the only thing i've been using this one tub of yellow miso for, for the last 3 years, is vegan lentil & walnut pate

that sounds good

it's fucking delicious - it's the stuff they serve at Real Food Daily - and honestly tastes just like pate:

3/4 c. dried green lentils (i use french lentils, the pretty ones, not the ugly green lentils - idk if that even matters)
3 c. water
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 sm. onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp mirin
1 1/4 c. walnuts, toasted *
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil or 1 1/2 tsp dried
3 Tbsp yellow miso
1 1/2 Tbsp umeboshi paste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 1/2 tsp dried
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 c. tofu sour cream for garnish **
basil sprigs for garnish
thyme sprigs for garnish
wheat-free rice and sesame crackers

Combine the lentils and 3 cups of the water in a heavy saucepan. Add the bay leaf and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are very tender. Drain, remove the bay leaf, and cool completely.

Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 8 minutes, or until the onion is golden brown. Stir in the mirin. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Chop the walnuts in a food processor until a paste forms, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the lentils and the onion mixture, and process until smooth. Blend in the basil, miso, umeboshi paste, thyme, and pepper. Line a 3-cup bowl or mold with plastic wrap, leaving a 3-inch overhang. Transfer the pate to the prepared bowl, packing it in firmly, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Fold the overhanging plastic wrap over the pate, cover, and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.

Uncover the pate and invert it onto a plate or small platter.