Catering

I am ALL over the catering business right now. Tomorrow I will be "shadowing" a Seattle catering company called…for school. Its called shadow day, but in essence it’s virtually career day. I am SO glad I got this opportunity to do this God has pulled through again! I was about to be stuck with shadowing my mother (accountant for Bank of America) when my dad pulled the stops and got this connection through one of his friends.

What’s funny is that not only do I need a caterer for my schools prom (called JSB for Junior/Senior Banquet) but I just went to my first wedding yesterday (and caught the bouquet!) and got a taste of some fancy catering. I am in charge of organizing the prom as president of my class and therefore head of prom committee. I’m not really president…we are more of a…I don’t know, but I’m defiantly not head. But the Presidential status does look better on an application then the position I was going for (secretary, I think).

Once I do some reasearch and am through with the big day I'll tell you all about it.

More dairy induced goodness

I’m back on the Ice cream train, just getting over the mountain that is the mastery of the art. Its hard work to make good ice cream. It’s no stir fry. I recently tried a list of things including pudding, jell-o, and yogurt. All can bring great results if done well.

Most of the time gelatin and pudding play second string…and I don’t mind one bit. Gelatin is much better suited to play a texture enhancer, plain and unflavored, in ice cream or frozen yogurt (my case), then to play full flavor lead (lime was my case, possibly the most artificial jell-o flavor ever, and doubly artificial in ice cream). Pudding is the same. Most popular use is plain vanilla or pistachio pudding when used in ice cream. I also did a lot of frozen yogurt. I think frozen yogurt might be ever harder than milk/cream based ice creams. This is due to the fact that without sugar or other forms of sweetening, the plain yogurt is very tart. This wasn’t great when I tried to make mocha frozen yogurt, but great with sour cherry. Mmmm…cherry.

I am currently intrigued by a vegan ice cream blogspot and “stole” (my slang for take, most always legally) some recipes. One for vanilla (as a base for a lavender ice cream) and one rum raisin. I am very exited about getting to use my lavender which I will of course use to make cookies, spices, and the like. I am planning to make lavender pancakes tomorrow (…well today, as its past 12 am)…I need sleep; I’ll tell you how the ice cream turns out!

The most gorgeous pan in all my days...

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Originally uploaded by javakat343

Finally went to Daiso for another trip. This time I had a few kitchen aids in mind. First off I wanted a tamagoyaki pan, (checked off my list at the regular dollar fifty price) next I needed a cooking grill for making yaki onigiri (also $1.50) and finally the tamagoyaki pan…

No go. They sell out like, like, like…oh I don’t know, the sell out like anything on sale on the day before Christmas. They are never there. They are SO not in stock that I doubt the store ever had them in the first place…Anger.

So after much online searching I decided that 20 dollars was a suitable price…even though if I had waited a week I could have got one for 9 dollars on Amazon…but I am not that patient. Besides! I have wanted a takoyaki/abelskever pan FOR-EV-ER! I waited for an opportune moment but I could never get the 3 (under line the 3 five times won’t you?) dollar pan at Daiso. Okay! Do We Understand the Frustration? I payed 20 instead of 3!!! WTF!

But this really is the wrong attitude. I mean I have the freaking pan now. I should be, like, grateful. I’m so grateful I have already said the word “like” 5 times already. Bad form, bad form…ah well.

I am already scheming ways to use this pan. I have already made spherical crab cakes (yummy!) and will make cherry jam filled pancakes and lavender sugar pancakes tomorrow morning.

Lavender is Purple!

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Originally uploaded by javakat343

So I try (but fail) to keep my goal of keeping my blogs equal in posts, but recently I have been falling behind. Right know the toll is 33 to 22 so as you can see it has been easier for me to keep track of food rather than anime. Can you blame me? NO! I have very little time to watch anime and while food is necessity anime really just…*gulp*…isn’t. But I have like a BAZILLION things to talk about, SO! I have plenty of fun reading coming your way.

FOOD
• Library books! = Cooking fun!
• Facing my fears: all you can eat sushi and seafood buffet
• Lavender the color of…Purple?
• Annatto, Now you know.
• New Diet,Low Iron! So much for giving blood!
• Grow your Own Dinner
Both
• Daiso raid

SUTEKI DA NE???

But another problem is when I’m so behind on posting I tend to blend all my posts together for example I can’t seem to just discuss one item in my blogs I commonly have to refer them for later.

But lets talk about something else shall we? My hell week is finally over so Friday I found myself with the desire for a mini shopping spree. I headed done to the mall to check out the site as “they” have been doing a lot of revamping to the Northgate mall. They already added plenty of new restaurants BUT they have an especially interesting one that I will gladly review for you later: All you can eat sushi and seafood buffet!! It’s pricy as all buffets are but SUSHI?? How insane is that? It’s called Bluefin. You can read about it at http://bluefinseattle.com/ . But I’ll give you a review later (I told you!) . For now I have to tell you all about what I bought (Oh joy). I have been desperately searching for a takoyaki pan to buy without having to pay 30 dollars for a “Puffy Pancake Pan” at the Seen On TV store. The cheapest was Target at 20 dollars but I was assured that Daiso had a 6 dollar one that goes quickly and that’s why I never saw it…I did pick up this “Patty Trio” which is good for making speedy empanadas, ravioli, wontons, or wannabe UncrustablesTM. It’s defiantly not a unitasker! But all this stuff (takoyaki, sushi reviews, and wontons) is another post (Got you again!).

FOR NOW, I have major ultra colossal news. Before I left the mall I FINALLY picked up a bottle of culinary lavender from a mall stand there. It was ridiculously expensive (at 7 dollars for a 1oz bottle, the bottle it self costs like 3 dollars) but sooo worth it. I have been dying to experiment with lavender lately and haven’t had the time.

My ideas for future lavender based culinary exploration are;

• Lavender lemon spice seasoning
• Lavender cookies with Lavender sugar
• Chicken with Herbs de province
• Lavender lemonade
• Lavender jelly (I’ll have to do a post on herb jelly later..dangnabbit!)

Religious chocolate, caramel, and nuts.

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Originally uploaded by javakat343

Religious nuts...Nuts! Get it?! Well I promise you I'm not nuts and I'm a free Methodist! Anyway today is "the beginning of the Lenten season" and I participated in the traditional Ash Wednesday service. I sang in choir (though do to my lack of car missed practice and lost my solo *cry*)and got a big grey cross painted on my forehead. This was actually my first Ash Wednesday as I didn't even know my church participated in Lent. Well now I do…and I will participate in some form of fasting. But this blog is about food not my religion. Well… in this case it’s both. You see my brother and my dad stopped by the Christian book store to get a new Bible and my dad picked up these candies. Suprisingly they taste quite good the chocolate isn't low grade and the cute scripture on each wrapper is really fun.

Fluffy Fluffy Bread: Journey to Great Ma-pan part 1

Completed!!

Remember back when, when I told you I broke my rice cooker trying to make bread? Well my broken rice cooker has been replaced by a much nicer one…so maybe if I can learn from my mistakes, I can try the bread again…And I did! Now the purpose of being able to make bread in a rice cooker would usually only apply to those without an oven or bread maker, but I have both. Aside from that I just plain did do it out of love for bread and for the show Yakitate Japan!!!, which translates from Japanese to “freshly baked Japan!!!” This is a pun as the show is about making bread worthy of being called Japans national bread and “pan” means bread so Japan=ja-pan=Japanese bread. Any how this recipe is nothing new. My first attempt was before there were English translations of the recipe (in English measurements not cc and grams) and there were guides on both instructables and wikihow. I used wikihow because the measurements were clearer and it was all on one page.

• 188 grams flour (1.5 cups)
• 5 grams yeast (about 1.25 teaspoon) dissolved in…
• …180 ml water (6 oz.) (and a pinch of sugar)
• 21 grams sugar (about 1.5 tbsp)
• 6.5 grams salt (about 1.5 tsp)
• 21 grams butter (about 1.5 tbsp)
• 30ml milk (1 oz.)

Proof the yeast in the warm (80-100 degrees F) water for 10 minutes.
Aerate the flour in the rice cooker bowl and mix with sugar and salt.
Once yeast is foamy add it and milk to the dry mixture and knead.
Make sure you have floured hands or else its going to me messy.
Once you have formed the dough incorporate the butter and let the dough rise for an hour.
Toss the dough around in the bowl or drop from 5 feet (do not pound ) to get the gas out gently.
Let rise a second time.
Bake about 30 minutes on each side in the rice cooker (checking regularly so that it doesn’t burn.
Depending on you rice cooker the first bake could be 30-60 minutes but the next to bakes should only take an 30 hour.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Rice-Cooker-Bread



The bread came out cute and small

In the end my bread only took an hour to cook; 30 minutes on each side, presing the cook switch 3 times for each side. It was done perfectly and had nice texture but the taste was so-so. If I wanted really great flavor without adding spices and such, I would have to had used a starter or vinigar/beer in the bread to give extra depth. As this bread had only used instant yeast it was nothing I could enjoyably live off of with out butter or soup to dip it in. As for the cooking method, there was nothing to complain about it. Just know your rice cooker. In other words, once you have made this once and understand how the bread cooks in your rice cooker it should be a breeze to make a second time.

Next time I might spice this bread up with whatever:

• Cottage cheese/dill
• Beer
• Nuts
• Fruit: cranberry, blueberry, raisen
• Cheese
• Garlic

I'm addicted to the 50's

I'm addicted to the 50's, there is not other way to put it. I love hairspray, (mostly the movie), white shoes, bright dresses (picture above), casseroles, and everything about it (except segregation and drive in movies).

So today I was reading (blogs of course) and was once agagin reminded of my limited knowledge. I was hungry for power (as they say knowledge is power) and so I headed to the library. I grabed about 5 books, skimmed through them, grabbe another five and continued to read.

I went through alot of sushi books and some that caught my eye but I decided if I was going to actually buy anything then these books were going to have to be inexpensive, and attractive.


I am a firm believer that pictures sell. I mean unless its about food and travel, or a book about food but not actually a cook book, like The Man Who Ate Everything, or The Nasty Bits (both which I have yet to finish), then it must have pictures! If presentation if so crutial to a meal then why, WHY, do some cook books have little or no pictures??? How boring would my blog be without pictures? (only a little :) ) Most of the time I can put the recipe together in my head after reading it, but I am convinced a lot easier and quicker, if the book has pictures.


SO where am I going with this? If you combine my love of the 50's and my requirement of an abundance of pictures (plus a reasonable price), then you get my two new books!

Deceptivly Delicious is a book about finding sneaky ways to feed your kids healthy foods for example sneaking pured califlower into mashed potatos. It is written by Jessica Seinfeld (who was featured in the Rachel Ray magazine, October 2007) the wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld and mother of 3 kids. Her book features clever recipes that are not only tasty but full of nutrition and accompanyed by her peanut gallery of her husband kids, and nutrition guru, Joy Bauer. The design of the book also screams 50's, which in case you forgot, I love!

My nearly nameless casserole and one-pot dish book is 50's to the core. It features plenty of easy delicious recipes.