Dear Honorable Sushiminto Chefs...

...I feel quite sure you are very talented creators of sushi and many other delicious Japanese or perhaps Pan-Asian delights.  So my interest here is not in changing your ingredients but perhaps in changing your methods of menu disclosure.  I have experienced first-hand most varieties of "bulldog sauce," not by direct choice but by nature of not watching where I step, being too close to the water/food bowl, being close by after said bulldog gulps down his food, or paying too much attention to the glistening ribbons of drool hanging from the jowls.  You may want to consider simply leaving this ingredient as "secret" or "special" sauce instead.

Hearts and rainbows, Me.

RPH: 34QR ($9.34 USD) for Saltine Crackers

Yes, there are certain situations where Saltine crackers become a "special treat."

RPH: Daddy Don't Leave

On his way to Texas for two weeks.

A Common Evil World-WidePlastic Wrap that Sucks

I just want to say that plastic wrap everywhere sucks big...uh, lemons.  Saran Wrap brand typically okay, but take a look at the "local" brand that I bought when no Saran Wrap was in sight and I refused to go to other stores looking for it. 

The box was folded wrong and wasn't glued.  So when I tried to open it, the whole thing fell apart. The roll of wrap was twisted/bent.  And yes, the damned plastic sticks to itself better than it sticks to anything else. 

Ah yes, but that cutting edge is nice and sharp on the cuticles as you're trying to open the box...

No, Really, This is What It's LikeLiving in the Desert

We have three sets of sliding glass doors across the back of our house.  The lighting effect is quite nice--basically the whole downstairs looks like a bank of light.  But our house is on the outer (front) of the compound.  Across the fence is a huge dirt field.   Huge.  And guess what happens when the wind blows?

Well, actually out of those six sliding doors...five of them are sealed shut with caulk.  Something about having all six sealed freaks me out a little...what if there's a fire?  Although I'm not sure what would burn (other than fabric or furniture) when the house is made of concrete?

Anyway, John had one door to the kitchen unsealed last summer.  We love our outside garden, so this I don't regret, but I do want to record--for my posterior's sake--what this means when the wind blows.  This is what happens in just a matter of a few hours:

No really, I mean it.  The floors had been mopped clean less than 24 hours before, and the dust storm had started about 4 hours before.  This, admittedly, is the one 1/2 of one set of windows that's not sealed.  But the other side of the door (which is sealed) still gets almost this bad.  And no, I hadn't had the door open, even a crack.

The sand is powdery fine, like baby powder, not like the sand from the beach.  It makes Hannah cough at night (aggravates her bronchitis).  I think a lot about this driving down the road watching the thousands of immigrant laborers work in it for 12 hours at a time. 

All By Myself, Mama! First Try at Temari Sushi

Yea for a rice cooker that works perfectly!  With some combination of Aki's excellent instructions, the "artificial intelligence" of the rice cooker, and luck, my first try at sushi turned out to be at least edible.  These are the little Terami rice balls with a thin slice of smoked salmon and a steamed shrimp on top.  All you need to form them is a sheet of Saran wrap.

The rice itself was perfectly cooked but a little too sweet.  While the soy sauce and wasabi paste helped balance that out, next time, I'll cut the sugar some.  That adjustment probably has to do with the brand of wine vinegar and with the type of sugar I used.  I think I've mentioned earlier that the sugar here has very large crystals--things like homemade cake have a sort of not-unpleasant but somewhat unexpected crunch to them.  While I thoroughly dissolved the sugar in the vinegar as instructed, I wouldn't be surprised if the size of the crystals somehow meant I added more than I meant to...

This is a plate I prepared for a sweet neighbor, who volunteered to be my Guinea pig.  The little tiny soy sauce bottle in the middle actually came from Aki (one of our Sushi teachers), but now that I know I can make the rice, I'll be heading to Daiso (Japanese dollar store) tomorrow to get a rolling mat and some of those little bottles myself. The neighbors gave it two thumbs up. :)

Yea for an old dog and a new trick!