Crust:
1/3 Cup + 1/4 Cup crushed graham crackers (use your hands or a food processor)
1/3 stick of butter, melted

Stir crust ingredients together and press into the bottom and up the sides of two greased mini spring form pans (3-4" diameter). Square the corner well by pressing a measuring cup into the corner all around the crust. Set aside.

Cheesecake Ingredients
1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp flour

Blend together with an electric mixer until fluffy and well incorporated. Reserve about 1/4 Cup of the mixture into a small bowl, and 2 Tbsp of the mixture into another small bowl. Pour the remaining batter into the forms. Add 1/4 tsp of green tea powder (matcha ??) to the 1/4 C batter. Mix well. Add dollops of this batter to your poured cake, dollop the remaining 2 Tbsp of plain batter on top of that, and swirl, marbelize, and decorate as you like with a fork, knife, chopstick, or whatever. Gently tap out air and level the cheesecakes.

Bake in preheated 350? oven for 20-22 minutes or just until the cake rises to a small rounded dome. If there is a dimple in the middle, it's not yet done. If it's starting to crack, take it out. Cool thoroughly on a rack before unlatching the form, and then chill uncovered in the fridge or freezer depending on how firm you like it. Once fully chilled, store it in an airtight container (if there's anything left!).


To give you an idea of how small the cake is, the plate this wedge is on is actually a dipping-sauce bowl, and the wooden pick (kuromoji) is as long as a toothpick.

The rice vermicelli is underneath all the fixings: chiffonade romaine lettuce, cilantro, bean sprouts, green beans, ginger-garlic chicken, green onions.  The broth is hondashi, soy, and sugar.

I love how Fox mixes the sriracha and hoisin in the ladle with the broth before he pours it on.

September 2008
I miss home, especially the pizza I grew up with, Lou Malnati's, so I am on an endless quest to emulate as closely as I can the beloved Chicago deep dish pizza here in FL until I can return home for the real thing.

Crust
Stir together 1-1/2 C flour, 1 Tbsp butter or olive oll, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp yeast, and just enough warm water until it comes together in a ball. Cover and allow to proof for at least 2 hours or double in size. You can allow it to proof for up to 24 hours for a great sourdough crust.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9" deep dish pizza pan (I got mine straight from Lou Malnati's). A similar cake pan will do. With a buttered rubber spatula, scoop out the dough into the pan, press lightly to flatten, then with floured hands, smooth and press the dough around and up onto the sides of the pan. Press your fingers all around the corner to make a nice squared wall. Spray or brush olive oil very lightly over dough. Sprinkle with granulated garlic. Set on top of stove while it preheats to 450?F.

Toppings
8oz whole milk mozzarella cheese (we use Polly-O ?)
1 can whole peeled tomatoes, or stewed whole tomatoes, drained, and then mashed
1 can artichoke hearts, drained (this is the "Gemalnati's" part)
and whatever toppings you like, like mushrooms, Italian sausage, pepperoni etc
seasonings - basil, oregano, caraway, etc

Slice the cheese a scant 1/8" thick. Spread in a single layer on the crust, overlapping as necessary, cutting into pieces to cover the holes. Add the artichokes and whatever other toppings onto the cheese. Finish with ladeling the chunky tomato sauce on top, pressing into all the gaps and smoothing it out. Sprinkle with seasonings. Bake at 450?F for 30 minutes or until crust is well browned and pizza is bubbly. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then careful not to eat the whole thing all by yourself. Rememhber to share! :D
  
*The pizza is even better the next day because reheating it in the oven yields a crispier crust. We especially like to have Lou's Fed-Ex'd to the house cuz they too bake up crispy. I actually like it better than going to the restuarant because it's usually quite soggy straight out of the oven.

October 2008
Ingredients
leftover corn tortillas (about 3 per tamale)
leftover chicken soup (below) or stock

For stock (delicious chicken soup): In a large wok, place cleaned whole chicken, veggies (carrots, onions, celery, etc), about 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cracked pepper, and fill with water about 2" below rim. Cover and bring to a boil, simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, turning chicken occasionally, skimming foam and fat from surface, until legs wiggle loosely from body or until meat is falling off the bone.

For Masa of Tamale:
1 Tbsp melted butter per tamale (optional)
garlic
salt
chili powder
canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
basil
flour

Directions
In a food processor grind corn tortillas finely. Gradually add melted butter and enough of the chicken stock to the masa until it is smooth and pasty. Add garlic powder, salt, and a little chili powder and process until incorporated.

Shred chicken from the bone finely. In a skillet, saut? shredded chicken, sprinkle lightly with flour, add garlic, basil, lots of chili powder, and a touch of chipotle pepper sauce. Cook shortly, then add just enough stock to moisten the chicken until it's thick and holds together.

Spread masa about 1/4" layer in a rectangle on a piece of foil or warmed moistened corn husk or banana leaves. Add a small spoonful of chicken down the middle, then wrap the tamale, sealing the edges of the masa and securing the wrapper. I leave one end open.



Bring steamer water to a boil then simmer on low. Steam tamales for 2 hours, adding water as necessary.  Allow to cool before unwrapping.  Top with cheese, chipotle, if desired.

 
Recommended product:
Goya or other brand.  All the ones I've tried are great, but vary in heat.  If you're getting it from a regular grocery store, it's located in the "ethnic foods" aisle.  If you're lucky enough to have a Mexican market nearby, grab dried corn husk to wrap tamale properly.

After many trials and errors, I finally came close to what I was trying to achieve.  Stovetop granola bars!  No baking necessary, I started with a basic recipe but I will try different combinations of dried fruits, seeds, and morsels to make it extra yummy and nutritious!  It's super simple and naturally delicious.
I toasted 1/4 Cup grain rice (rolled rice, called "pinipig" in Tagalog) and 1 3/4 Cup Rolled Oats in a dry wok over medium-high heat, stirring and flipping constantly until brown and toasty.  I removed from heat and stirred it until it started to cool.
In a small skillet I combined 1 Tbsp butter and 1/2 C honey.  Over medium high heat, stirring constantly I brought it up to a boil then immediately removed it from heat, and stirred in a few drops of vanilla and then poured the syrup over the oats and combined thoroughly.
I then poured it into a buttered loaf pan, pressed it down firmly, allowed it to cool for 5 minutes, then inverted it onto a board and cut into sticks.  Chewy! Finally!  *For hard crunchy granola bars, boil the sugar mixture for one minute and be sure to cut the bars while they're  warm.

To use up some leftover rice, I made grilled rice in my broiler.  I used sakura shape mold.

The nigiri mold and cutting board are moistened.  A small amount of rice is pressed into the mold

The grate is oiled with a brush and the nigiri are broiled on the top rack of the oven

The nigiri are flipped over and grilled on the other side as well.
A reduced mixture of equal parts soy, sake, mirin, and 2x part sugar is brushed on and broiled

The result is a salty sweet crispy crunchy satisfying snack.

I brought back this wooden spool from Japan back in 2007.  I wanted to get a pair but the ones in the antique store were mismatched and rickety; this was the only one I could find in such perfect condition.  It rode in my suitcase all over Japan and the Philippines and then back home to Chicago and finally Tampa.  It has sat on my shelf collecting dust waiting to be displayed properly or transformed into something new, like a plant stand, a lantern or some other kind of useful ornament.  Last night I considered listing it on eBay because the ones on sale there by Japanese antique dealers were asking around $40 + $13 shipping for them, and they were all light unstained wood, and smaller than the one I have.  I figured it was special and might do well in an auction or BIN $49.00/free shipping.

As I was photographing it I was capturing some really beautiful textures, angles, and colors.  As I was handling it I could feel the dings and polishes from its use, and the warmth from its naturalness and tradition.  Knowing how spinners, weavers, and other traditional crafts are dying in Japan, I could feel the history and importance of this item.  After hearing from Fox how much even HE treasures the piece, I realized that letting it go might be a mistake.

So I feel it's my duty to repurpose it or preserve it, maybe even some day revive its original intended purpose, wind some silk or cotton around it and weave a beautiful textile from it.  Weaving is something I've wanted to do all my life.  Maybe this thing is the little push I needed to make me pursue it.

01.03.10 We have a frost warning here in Florida so I brought the plants inside. The longan are not much bigger or thicker, but they have produced a couple more sets of leaves. Actually, I'm surprised they're still alive, I haven't paid much attention to them expecting them to die. We really don't get any sun; I feel so sorry for these guys!  If it weren't for our location and reasonable rent, I'd move to a sunnier location just for them!

09.21.09  The longan are doing pretty well.  I gave one to Tom's grandmother for her birthday.  I wish I got a picture when they were younger.  The leaves start out a deep plum purple then turn green.  Maybe when new leaves appear I'll try to capture it.

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09.04.09  The longan are growing.  Every seed sprouted.  I had not touched them since I put them in two weeks ago.  The tap roots are getting long and I don't want them to tangle, so I needed to plant them.  I don't have any pots so I'm using plastic cups until I find a better home for them.  If you would like to plant a tree let me know.


To prepare the cups as planters, I heat a steel mandrel over a candle flame and poke holes into the bottom of the cup for drainage.  It's ghetto but very effective, and when it comes time to transplant, simply tap out the root ball or cut the cup if you don't want to disturb anything.   I only had enough potting soil for 6 seedlings.  I considered doubling up but I want each plant to have the best possible chance.  The rest will have to wait or might get mailed to my mom since she's the only person I can think of that would give the care and attention they need.
 

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08.19.09  Tom picked up some longan from the oriental market.  He had never tried them.  I had them in Hong Kong.  These from the market were smaller and not as flavourful, probably because they had to be picked early and shipped to the US before spoiling.  He did not like them that much, mostly because he was spoiled on really good lychee we had this summer, and I think he was expecting the longan to be similar.  The longan have a much milder flavor, almost that meat-taste that cantaloupe has. 
  So I cannot just throw away the seeds, I have to mess with them first.  The seeds are very similar to lychee, and they sprouted the same way, only a little faster. Surprising considering how small the fruit were. It took just a couple days in a sandwich bag with a wet paper towel, left outside in indirect sunlight.

It is a bit late in the season to be sprouting, but the weather here is quite warm, so with luck and care hopefully I can get them to go

I revisited the wok roasted chestnut because I found them to be a bit dry and not as caramelized as a more slowly-roasted nut.  But for cooking applications that's fine.  For a more moist sweet nut I went a different approach.  I sliced the skin so that they would open like a clam.  I boiled them in hot water for a few minutes, turned off the heat, and allowed them to soak for about 15 minutes.  I then drained them and roasted them covered over low-medium heat in the wok until they started to steam and bust through.  They expanded so much they literally popped out of the skin.  They were sticky and sweet and oh so good.

Well, I'm spoiled and Daddeh! sends me more chestnuts than I could snack on, so I freeze them and use them in cheesecake crust, breads, meatballs, stir-fry?Tonight I made up a bread.

2 C flour, 2 T butter, 2 T honey, 1 T milk, 2/3C water, 2 t yeast, 1 t salt, 1/2-3/4 C chopped chestnuts, 1/4 C toasted flax and sesame.  Of course, that's totally variable, I just kinda estimated what I threw in there.  The 1/4 C flax and sesame was what was left in the bottom of some granola I made the night before, so it might have some oatmeal in there too?oatmeal would also be good in the bread.  Knead until super smooth, let rise for 2 hours.  Butter loaf pan.  Dump dough in there, punch it down a little, cover and allow to rise another hour or until doming high above the rim. Brush with beaten egg.  Bake 350? for 20 min or so or until toothpick?you know the drill.

*An important side note (to myself) regarding chestnuts: NEVER DEHYDRATE CHESTNUTS!  Unless you want to break your teeth on petrified-hard-as-glass nuts, don't do it!  I learned that the hard way making my first batch of granola in the dehydrator I got for my birthday.  Now I'm picking through it trying to find and remove all the dangerous chestnut shrapnel?

Every winter my father sends me chestnuts.  Preparing them has been a tradition in our family our whole life.  But recently I've experimented with various ways of preparing them because peeling them can be challenging.  My father would bake them in the oven after cutting an X on the hump of the nut.  My mother would slow cook them for hours.  I nuke them in the microwave after snipping the tip off (3 wrapped in paper towel for 30 seconds for a crunchy nut).  But today I tried roasting them for that sweet carbonized roasty flavor that I miss from eating chestnuts in Japan.  It worked out great.

This year my dad also sent persimmons.  For a long time I wasn't crazy about persimmons because when I first tried them as a child, the one I had was under ripe, astringent, and left that chalky dry feeling in my mouth that took a while to go away.  But a couple years ago in Japan we ate some of the most delicious persimmons ever for breakfast.  The ones my dad sent me were just as good if not better.  They are deep orange, translucent, juicy, sweet, and it's easy to see why it's considered the fruit of the gods.

Deep translucent orange, ripe and sliced for snacking.

Dehydrating some in the oven. 

A few hours later they've shrunken considerably.