MUSHROOMS WITH PONZU BUTTER

Recently Hubby and I bought a new cookbook, The Japanese Grill, by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat.

With some of the mushrooms from our first week of produce delivery, we made Foil-Baked Mushrooms with Ponzu Butter, a recipe from the book. It was awesome, and I am not a big mushroom fan. Then we made it again with shitake mushrooms. It’s so good over rice! Here’s a picture of it, followed by the recipe.

MUSHROOM RECIPE:

• 1/4 cup Ponzu (recipe follows)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon shichimi togarashi (peppery Japanese spice mix)
• 16 ounces of mushrooms, your choice, can be a mix of several varieties
• 1/4 lime, cut into thin slices (lemon tastes good in this too)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Cut a 3-foot-long piece of aluminum foil; fold in half lengthwise and set aside. Mix together the ponzu, salt, and shichimi togarashi in a large bowl. Add the mushrooms and gently toss to coat.

Transfer the mixture of mushrooms the aluminum foil sheet, arranging in a mound in the center of the foil. Lay the lime slices over the mushrooms and randomly scatter chunks of butter on top. Carefully fold one end of the aluminum foil over the other and pinch the sides to close, creating a neat pouch.

Preheat a grill to medium-hot. Place the pouch on the grate and grill for 10 minutes. Carefully open the pouch slightly to peek inside and check if the mushrooms are cooked through and sizzling. This can also be cooked in the oven.

Transfer the pouch to a plate, unwrap it, and remove the lime slices. Serve the mushrooms directly from the pouch.

 

PONZU RECIPE:

Combine the following:

• 3 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
• 1 tablespoon mirin (sweet cooking sake)
• 1/4 cup citrus juice (I combine lemon and lime)
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 6-inch piece kombu (dried seaweed)
• 1/4 cup (about 1/8 ounce) tightly packed dried shaved bonito flakes (can be omitted for a vegetarian dish)

Cover and put in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight. Strain the ponzu through a cheesecloth or fine sieve; gently squeeze to press out the liquid. The ponzu will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

 

BERRY CHERRY VANILLA

That is what I am calling the new drink I just invented. I should give it a better name like “I Popped the Cherry on my Ice Cream” but I’ll stick with Berry Cherry Vanilla for now. Here is a picture of it:

I took the picture up close so you can’t tell how big my glass is. I just poured stuff together but here is how I would write the recipe.

One big glass full of ice.
One part Chambord (raspberry liqueur)
One part Kirschwasser (German cherry alcohol so it’s not too sweet – you could probably use cherry vodka as well)
Two parts Rompope (a creamy Mexican vanilla liqueur)

Mix well with your finger (because I’m classy like that) and enjoy!

 

THE SHANK

Hubby made a drink with blood orange juice and vodka, so I call it The Shank. Cuz it’s a bloody screwdriver, get it? And so pretty!

1 oz. vodka

1.5 oz. blood orange juice, fresh squeezed

.25 oz. lime juice, fresh squeezed

.25 oz. simple syrup

 

 

SLOPPY VEGGIE JOES

My first attempt at making vegetarian food was sloppy joes using lentils instead of beef. It turned out pretty well. The most amazing thing about it is that Hubby actually likes it. I was shocked. Here is a picture of it on a healthy whole wheat bun. It tastes better than it looks.

And here’s the recipe in case you want to try it. I got it off of http://www.allrecipes.com somewhere.

In a large pan combine:

• 1 c. lentils
• 4 c. water (this was a bit much, next time I make it I’ll try using 3 cups so I don’t have to drain it)
• 1 onion, diced (the original recipe called for red but I used a white one that I already had)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1 bay leaf

Simmer 20 min. till tender, drain, remove bay leaf. Stir in:

• 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 2 1/2 T. chili powder
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 T. prepared mustard (I used yellow mustard and just squeezed some in without measuring)
• 1/4 tsp. apple cider vinegar (I probably put in about a Tablespoon, I just added without really measuring)

Heat through and serve on whole wheat rolls.

 

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT…

So the shampoo and soap here at the hotel is lime-ginger scented. So now I smell like one of my favorite drinks, a Dark and Stormy. Here’s the recipe:

Place some ice in a highball glass
Add one shot of dark rum
Squeeze in 1/4 to 1/2 of a lime, depending on taste
Top off the glass with ginger beer

And for my own special version, which I call Man Overboard, you add two shots of dark rum. It’s a very refreshing summer drink.