Fresh'n Up Your Knowledge

          So I apologize for my lack of posts to anyone who actually follows my blog, but I've been busy to say the least. My summer job has been great but definitely a lot of work and I have been taking a summer course at a nearby school. I thought since I don't have time to put a recipe up, I'd instead write about something you might find useful. Today I was drinking my orange juice and I noticed that it tasted better a few days old than it did when I first opened it; this got me thinking back onto an article I read about where bartenders did blind taste-tests on drinks made with aged lime juice and fresh lime juice. The result was overwhelmingly that the lime juice that has sat for a few hours tasted much better than fresh lime juice. Here is the LINK to the article.

          I love techniques like this because I am always trying to find ways to up-the-ante of my sauces and drinks; and this tip definitely is something I would never have thought of.

I'm Like a Chemistry Cylinder, I'm Graduated!

          Hey all, so it's been a busy month, I graduated (finally), and I have been working full time in my summer job, which is a mix between sales and being a painting contractor. Last, I've taken my road test and am in the process of finding a car.

          To be honest I hate ceremonies, so graduating was pretty meaningless to me; and me with my occasional tactlessness, offended someone by telling them if commencement wasn't required, I'd skip it. I don't really understand why people put so much stock in events like this—come on, it's not a wedding—the fact is graduating from college is not that big an accomplishment, thousands of other people do every year; I side with Mr. Incredible on this: "they keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity". If I went to Harvard then I might care (I mean, drinking all weekend and still finding time to study? That is much more impressive than what I did, living on a dry-campus where I could study all the time).

          I know it is a bit pathetic that I am getting my license at 22, but seriously, there are almost no personal cars in Asia! I don't even think the Chinese have invented a work for "parking lot" yet since there are none.

That's all, and I'm offering no offense, which means you can't take any : )

-John

Inception and Your Sense of Taste

          Frustration; that's how I feel about this. The fact is that it is true. I was on the phone with my best-friend yesterday, and he admitted that while he thinks everything I cook is great (that's really nice of him), when I tell him for instance, that the Curry Butternut Soup is dairy and gluten free plus really fiber-packed, this bothers him. Unbeknownst to me, in America "healthful food" is usually a turn off. I probably should have realized this considering most appetizers on a menu are deep-fried; it just never occurred to me since almost all food in Asia is dairy and gluten-free (probably why everyone is thin over here).

          Anyway, the restaurant industry has particularly exploited this psychological technique. Watch out, a mac and cheese will have "toasted bread crumbs" when what they really mean is "stale ritz crackers". Or the "summer veggie lasagna" really means they made it a week ago and its been sitting in the back of the fridge. The essence of this idea is that by describing a dish positively, the customer preps their brain to seek out and taste the things described; hence why my friend found the health precedents a turn off.

          If you can't already tell, this idea drives me crazy; it means screw objectivity, all that matters is you make people perceive the food how you want them to. Being me, rather than try pulling an Inception, I stopped telling people what kind of food they were tasting, just to see what they would think. One person thought there were avocados in a mint chutney and another thought green tea with creamer was coffee. Then, I negatively precedented a peanut sauce I made (that was obviously fine) to see what feedback I'd get. Immediately the person put on a big show of "objectively" finding the problem with it and concluded that I used too much ginger (which I didn't use at all).

          So, this just goes to show you, you don't need an airplane and sci-fi dream machines to change people's reality.


That's all, and I'm offering no offense, which means you can't take any : )
-John

Curry Butternut Soup

          It's a crisp day here in MA and I'm preparing to graduate while also prepping for a busy summer job. I thought I'd take time to update you all with some recipes I have been doing to lately. Specifically this soup, and a salsa I'll post later, have been my weekly staples. Oh, and I finally got an immersion blender! This is exciting because I will no longer have to laboriously use a regular blender to puree this soup.


          This soup is great, it's simple to make, cheap and packed with fiber. I learned how to make it over Christmas Break from my pseudo-parents the Thompsons. I've especially enjoyed it because I have been trying to cut back on my meat consumption and add more vegetables into my diet. The soup is fairly spicy and will definitely warm you up in this cold weather.

                       Ingredients:                 Equipment Needed: 
                         -1 Butternut Squash               -Knife + Cutting Board
                         -1 Apple                               -Large Pot
                         -1 Onion                              -Immersion or Regular Blender
                         -3-4 Tb Curry Powder           -Stirring Spoon
                         -Canola or Coconut Oil         -Potato Peeler                    
                         -5-7 Cups Water                  
                         -3/4-1 Cup Coconut Milk
                         -Pinch of Sugar
                         -Salt to Taste
                         -A dash of Cayenne Pepper (optional)


Preparation/Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Serves: 6-8
Difficulty Rank: Takes Some Work


          Basically all the soup composes of is the squash and apple and an onion. I don't think it matters what kind of apple or onion you use, I used a yellow onion and a Fuji apple. I'm also using a coarse sea salt and I use around 1-2 Tb depending on how much soup there is; if your'e using a finer salt, I'd salt more cautiously since the finer grain will pack a stronger punch—remember, always salt to taste, do not just put in salt without regard to the volume of the soup—. For the oil you can use canola or olive, I use coconut oil; For rounding out the soup, I use coconut milk, which adds a delicate and creamy dimension to the flavor; regular cream will work too, although the flavor is less interesting. If you have an immersion blender, that's great! If you only have a regular blender or food processor then you will have to puree the soup with these. Picking the curry powder is important, I recommend just getting McCormick "Curry Powder" not "Madras Curry" or another variation; this is because Madras has cumin in it which adds a bitter undertone to the soup. The only other tip I have in regard to the curry is to add 2 Tb at the beginning and put in the last 1-2 Tb after the soup is done*; this prevents the soup from being too spicy, while still giving a full curry flavor. Just remember, add the curry, salt and coconut milk to taste, since squash come in all different sizes and you may need more or less of those than I recommended.


*When you heat spices they release more flavor and in the case of curry, make the dish hotter, hence the adding it in 2 separate batches.

In-a-nutshell Directions:

1. Cut the produce into small chunks.

2. Heat the pot with oil and 2 TB of Curry.

3. Adding Apples & Onions.       4. Add Squash & Water

3. Add apples and onions in, cook till soft.

4. Add squash and water in.

5. When soft puree with immersion blender or blend incrementally in regular blender.

6. Turn off heat and add coconut milk.

7. Add 2 TB more of Curry.

8. Salt to taste (approx: 2 TB).

Detailed Directions:

1. Cut the produce into small chunks. They can be pretty indistinct as long as they are small enough to stir around and cook quickly.

2. Heat the pot with enough oil to coat the apple and onion chunks. Add in just 2 TB of curry powder and stir in with the oil and let the spice heat for a minute.

5. Bracing the Blender

3. After the spice starts to heat up and be aromatic, add the apples and onions in; cook these for 10 minutes or until they are soft.

4. Add the squash chunks and water in; you want to add enough water to slightly submerge all the squash, but don't add to much water or else you will have to wait forever for the soup to boil down to the right consistency.

Burning Soup Splatters

5. When the squash has softened, puree the soup with an immersion blender. If you don't have one, you can use a regular blender, this takes significantly more time because you have to incrementally blend it in small batches. If you end up using a regular blender, make sure to NOT fill the blender more than halfway; if you do, all the hot steam will cause the top to explode off—seriously, burning hot soup ended up all over the counter and me, not the best experience as you can see—. To prevent this, get a towel and brace the lid firmly down with your hand.

6. After the soup is blended,  simmer it for a few more minutes and then turn off heat and add the coconut milk.

7. The add 2 TB more of curry powder and a dash of cayenne if you want.

8. Finally, salt to taste; I use about 2 TB but make sure to salt slowly since over-salted soup is gross. Adjust the coconut milk and curry if you want more of either. To finish I garnished with some pumpkin seeds.

The Asian Gummy Post

          So I went to Boston and I have to admit, the highlight of going into Boston for me is going to Chinatown. Going there gives me the espresso shot of Asian culture that I miss from not living there anymore. This post, as silly as it is, will focus on gummies—hope your excited!— Interestingly, you can tell a lot about Asian culture just from these candies.

First.... take note of the flavors.

PEACH


MANGO


MELON

Definitely not your typical Target candy. Also the flavors are a less artificial than Peach O's and they are less sugary than most of our sweets.

          Culture note number two is that the gummies are individually packaged. This is definitely an Asian thing since sanitation and sharing are huge there.

          I admit I'm biased, gummies are my favorite candy since I don't have the patience for things I can't chew. But if you want to eat something fun or get a unique snack for your kids, this would be the way to go.

Flavor Divorce

          So I often personify my flavors (yeah, you can tease me if you want). Strawberry is like a girl that is always the center of attention, she is sweet but a bit sharp and dominating. Flavor personalities that go well with her, can't compete for the palate spotlight and instead act as back up flavors; think strawberries and cream, the cream is mellow and cuts the strawberries tartness.

Perfect Couples and Best-friends: Flavors that are made for each other and are often seen together; one precedes the other.
-Chocolate & Hazelnut
-Butter & Honey
-Lime & Cilantro

Odd Couples: Unconventional or unintuitive matches that go great!
-Cheese & Fruit
-Salt and a Margarita

A Friend Group: A group of flavors that goes well together but any two individual flavors in the group aren't necessarily destined to go together.
-Curry
-Apple Pie

Divorced Flavors:

          I recently found a couple of flavors that are so awful together that they are forever divorced in my mind; Balsamic Vinegar and the Anise/Licorice flavor (fennel, anise, Thai Basil). Balsamic is like a sweet but really complicated person while, for instance, Thai Basil, is fresh but dominating and lacks the ability to appreciate the vinegar's complexity; as a couple the basil sours the balsamic and the vinegar turn the basil bitter. It's an awful, awful combo.

That's all, let me know what your observations on this concept are.

Miso-Mirin Caramelized Onions

          This is a quick and delicious way to prepare onions. I created this recipe while playing around with Japanese ingredients and it tastes amazing. They are fairly sweet and go great in sandwiches, on soba noodles, pizza and probably lots of other things that you can discover yourself.

                          Ingredients:                Equipment Needed: 
                          -Onion                        -Knife+Cutting Board
                          -Black Pepper              -Pan
                          -Oil                            -Spatula
                          -Mirin                         -Mixing Bowl+Spoon
                          -Miso

Preparation/Cook Time: 12 Minutes
Serving Ratio: 1/4 Onion is plenty for a sandwich
Difficulty Rank: Easy Peasy

          So a few things about the ingredients: first, mirin is a Japanese cooking wine that has sugar in it, this helps the caramelization process and if you use a different wine it will not caramelize or have the same  depth of flavor. Miso, is basically soybean paste that has a lighter and more delicate flavor than soy sauce. There are several types of miso, so you will have to decide which one you want; I believe the darker redder misos have fish in them too while the lighter ones don't, you can check for miso at an Asian supermarket. Also use canola oil since the flavor is mild and it won't smoke at high heats. I use a mix of canola oil with a little butter to add flavor.

In-a-nutshell Directions:
1. Slice the onions quite thin.
2. Heat the pan with oil and butter (optional).
3. When the pan is at medium-high heat, drop the onions in and add black pepper.
4. Let cook on one side till slight browning of edges.
5. Stir onions and continue to let brown.
6. Mix miso and mirin together and pour mix onto onions.
7. Let simmer till liquid turns thick and syrupy.

Detailed Directions:

1. Begin by slicing the onions thinly*. I used a serrated knife rather than a regular knife since the serration makes thin slicing easier*.

          *Slicing thinly allows them to cook quickly and            brown on the edges.

          *A non-serrated knife uses more pressure to                cut, whereas with a serrated knife it is more              about the "sawing motion".

2. Heat the pan to a medium high heat and place a thin layer of oil in the pan. I sometimes add butter to the oil for extra flavor, but do not use butter by itself because it will smoke at that high temperature. Using a high temperature is important because it allows the onions to crisp on the edges.

3. When the pan is hot, drop the onions in and add some black pepper on top. Make sure to spread the onions out, otherwise they will steam up rather than sear*.

          *This is why I only cook about 1/4 an onion at a time because too many onions in the pan will                     prevent the slices from searing and crisping.

3. Onions spread out.       6. Satisfactorily browned.

4. Let the onions stay on one side for a few minutes, they should brown a bit on the edges but don't worry, this is part of the process.

5. After they brown a bit on one side, stir them up a bit to allow the other sides to crisp up.

6. Mix a tiny bit of miso and mirin together in a bowl. I usually have a bit more mirin than miso in the mix. When the onions look satisfactorily browned, pour the mixture in the pan.

6. Miso-Mirin Mixture.           7. Caramelization.

7. The mixture will bubble briefly and then turn thicker and more syrupy, at this point the onions are done and will have a nice shiny gloss from the miso-mirin mixture.