Welcome to the NY edition of Dead Animal For One!
 

( Intro )

Catalog Number	Product Name	Quantity of Packets	Total
5120	Red Wonder Alpine Strawberries	1	3.55
5125	Yellow Wonder Alpine Strawberries	1	3.55
3860	New Crown Daikon Radishes: 50-55 days	1	3.35
1250	Sequoia Purple Bush Beans: 50-60 days	1	2.95
4315	Orange Pixie Large Cherry Tomatoes: 65-80 days	1	3.45
4330	Black Cherry Tomatoes: 75 days	1	3.45

I just ordered the above from John Sheepers' Kitchen Garden Seeds website. They're organic and based in Connecticut, so my mileage shipped is minimal. I’m going to grow the beans in one garden, mix the tomato seeds for another and then mix the strawberry seeds for the third. I just have to be careful of resealing the packets without contaminating the seeds. I also picked up a packet of Diakon seeds that I’m going to save until we have dirt to plant on. Hopefully we’ll move before they go bad.

I'll post pictures when they come in and as they grow to show you how they do. Look forward to it!

Well, with the weather turning frosty I'm going to break out the AeroGardens (which really should have been going all year long) and start growing veggies.

I've got Herbs, Green Beans, Tomatoes, and Salad Greens loitering under the sink in their boxes whispering to me each time I walk in the kitchen, so guess what hunny? I've got a job for you!

So my birthday was the 7th and instead of going out and paying to have somebody else cook, we found a lovely Veal Rib Roast for $3.86!!! Amazing deal and very nice marbling.

( This was the cheepest dinner I've ever made with this quality! )

 

Well, we spent Halloween up at Sleepy Hollow, very cool. Took a bunch of still shots with the camera and a few with the cell and then went home to make dinner: Paprika Smothered Pork Chops with Green Beans.





On a side note, I have a new little second cousin born 10/31! Say hi to Payton everyone!!

Headed over to Papatzul today for lunch with some of the girls from the office. Nice little Mexican restaurant in TriBeCa. Average price is about $10 a plate and $3 for drinks (non-alc)/$5 alc.



There were five of us for lunch:

( This will make you hungry... )

This is great, I love this knife set!

Sorry all, it has been a very crazy few weeks and unfortunately I haven't been cooking very much. I did find a few things I wanted to share as we get ready for Samhain starting tomorrow though.


Samhain candlelight labyrinth.
Photo by Readerwalker, CC License

First off, what is Samhain? Well, it's basically Halloween and Day of the Dead all wrapped up in one. Samhain is one of the eight annual festivals, often referred to as 'Sabbats', observed as part of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It is considered by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four 'greater Sabbats'.

It is generally observed on October 31st in the Northern Hemisphere, starting at sundown. Samhain is considered by some Wiccans as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which Wiccans celebrate as a festival of light and fertility.

For us it's a time where one year ends on October 31st and the next year begins on November 2nd. November 1st is a day of 'in between' where the veil that separates this world and the other world is lifted and spirits can pass freely between the two. To this end it is a great time to call back and remember those that have passed over and those that have yet to be born.

In simple vernacular it's the time for family parties, cleaning of the mind, body, spirit, and home, and the creation of goals for the new year.

***
( Onward wayward soldier! )

Nikku Udon (meat udon) and we love the pork version.

The stock:
1.8 - 2 liter of water
2 tbsp of dashi granules
2 tbsp of sugar
3 tbsp of light soya (Kikoman or Japanese brandshoyu)
1 tbsp of dark soya (Use Japanese brand)
1-2 tbsp of cooking sake
1- 2 stalk of leek, sliced thinly
150 gm of pork

1) Put all ingredients into a soup pot and boil. Add pork when boiling. Turn to simmer for 1 hour or so. Taste. If not tasty enough for you, add a little more dashi, sugar and light soya a little at a time.

Noodle:
Fresh packets of udon noodles or dried udon/soba noodles
Thin slices of beef (shabu shabu cut) 25 to 40 gm per person
More leek thinly sliced
Some anaori (small flakes of dried laver like nori to sprinkle)

2) Prepare a small pot of boiling water and put in noodles with boiling. If fresh udon cooking time is shorter like 3-5 min. Dried ones takes longer like 6-8 min. Make sure it is cooked through but not too soft.

3) Dish out and place in bowls. Turn up fire for soup, dip thin beef slices into boiling soup 30 sec per slice. Skip dipping if you like your beef raw. Place on top of noodles. Pour hot soup onto noodles. Sprinkle leek and anaori.

Soup will serve 4-5.

7/6/09 Dinner: Fisherman’s Folly

• Baked Sea Bass with Salt, Pepper, Kafir Leaves, Dill and Thyme: $2.00
• Jasmati Rice with Sushi Vinegar: $1.25
  

Serves: 2
Total Cook Time: 1.5 hours
Total Cost: $3.25

( How to and pictures behind the cut! )

Headed over to Mitsuwa in NJ on the 5th. OMG!!! I'm in love. Officially, totally in love!

*happy sigh of happiness*



Mitsuwa is located at:

595 River Road,
Edgewater, NJ 07020
TEL: (201) 941-9113

Open 7 days/week
EVERYDAY　9:30AM - 9:00PM

And is like the Grand-daddy of Japanese Marketplaces. Inside you have the grocery store and the food court.

( Photo heavy... )

A Simple Portuguese Breakfast of scrambled eggs, cheese, chorizo, mini bagel and dark chocolate.



When I went over to Union Square Farmer's Market on 7/4 I found this adorable Victorian Irish Pub for lunch.


$18 for the Salmon Dinner, but you'd really go for the ambiance. They had a live Irish Band playing in the front!

13 E. 17th St, New York, NY 10003 nr. Fifth Ave.
Open from 11am-4am.

Goats and Pigs at the Queen's Farm in NY.

Again with the sporadic postings, so sorry. Let's get down to it then...

Well, I don't know about Mary's garden, but the Queens Historical Garden was doing pretty good! And so were their animals!

Ever wonder where your food came from or what it looks like before being sauteed, boiled, baked, or fried?

( picture heavy )

Cook lamb cubes for 30 minutes in mixture of onion, vegetable stock and pomegranate juice. Add Honey until lightly sweetened.



Cook pasta according to directions on bag, cook sugar snap peas in a little bit of butter and salt until tender and ad to drained pasta.



Bake fries for 10-15 minutes at 400F. Plate and serve!

Also, went to S.S. Naturals in Forest Hills the other day, very cool upscale Organics store. Just look at their cheese selection!

Reminds me of Piazza's back in Cali. *sigh*

Ingredients:
1 kilogram Goat meat
1 can button mushroom, sliced into halves
2 medium-sized onion, chopped
½ head of garlic, chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
2 medium sized green or red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch square
2 medium sized potato, quartered
1 medium sized carrots, cut same size as potato
¼ cup soy sauce
3 bay leaves
Salt
Pepper
Olives

Directions:
1. Marinate goat meat in vinegar, a dash of salt and pepper for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Drain the marinate sauce and stir fry meat until color changes to light brown. Set aside.
3. In a casserole pan, sauté garlic and onion. Add the fried meat and sauté for 2-3 more minutes.
4. Add soy sauce and tomato sauce. Stir and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Add 3-4 cups of water and bay leaf. Simmer for about 30 minutes until goat meat is tender.
6. Add potato, carrots, and mushroom. Simmer for another 10 minutes or until vegetable are cooked and sauce thickens.
7. Add bell pepper, olives, and season with salt and cook another 30 seconds.
8. Serve hot with rice.

I.E. cleaning the fridge out.

I threw a bunch of things in the fridge into a stir-fry about a week ago and got this. Not too bad, but it came out a bit sweet from the marinade I used.

Went to a new restaurant on Queen's Blvd the other night.

Super cheap and very good.

$15 for a whole chicken, plantans, soup, and soda.