Gastronomy 101

So I've been having almost constant cravings for Japanese food, and unfortunately, really good Japanese food is a bit of a drive in either direction. So I thought, why not learn how to make it? So I got a couple of books and I am going through them and teaching myself some Japanese dishes. The books are Japanese Light , by Kimiko Barber and Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen by Elizabeth Andoh. The first thing I've been making is soup. The first soup I made was a very basic and simple chicken soup. There's not much to this soup, just the broth and the chicken, but you could easily add some noodles or vegetables to the final product for something heartier. If you just want a simple meal, then this is very nice with some rice and a vegetable. I'm not going to include the recipe, since this is part of the book and so you really should purchase the book for the recipes. Instead, I'll just describe and show you some pictures. I will include a recipe for a b...

So you may have heard recently the growing exhortation to buy local. It's all the rage these days, but for good reason. Buying local products when you can is beneficial in a lot of ways: Fresh food is fresher Local products use less transportation resources, which is good for the environment, helps conserve resources, and puts less strain on the infrastructure. Very often, you can buy direct from the supplier, cutting out the middleman. This means you pay less and the person who made the product gets all the profit. It supports your community and the benefits of that will spread to the people around you, your local friends and relatives, and yourself. Is it practical or even possible to buy local foods all the time? No, unfortunately, it's rather difficult, but the growing demand is good for us consumers, as stores increasingly stock local products and label local foods. When I can, I'll try to highlight some local products I've found, and especially those I enjoy often...

I have to admit, I'm not much of a sweet tooth. I will take a salty snack over a sugary dessert any day, and the only thing I usually look forward to after dinner is ice cream or gelato. That said, I love to bake and cookies are one of my favorite things to make. I'm always on the lookout for cookies that are not too much of a sweet overload, balancing the sugary with some savory. These cookies are pretty much perfect in that regard and are going in my permanent file. They use olive oil instead of butter, which also provides the flavor, along with orange zest and hazelnuts. They come out really moist and soft and not too sweet and they go really well with a cup of hot coffee or tea. I wasn't sure how these would turn out, as baking without butter makes me nervous, but they were great and I wouldn't hesitate to make them again. They would be nice for an afternoon party or just to keep around the house for tea time or dessert. RECIPE (yield - about 6 dozen) From Fine Cook...