With all of these changes it has inspired me to write once again, I’m going to chronicle my experiences on getting out there and all of the adventures I’ll have in Japan.

So with no further ado I’ll start the first post.  I’ve come up with a long list of items that I need to get accomplished before I move out there, not the least of which is learning a bit of Japanese and getting my passport et al.

I’ve been using several methods to try and teach myself Japanese, several kana books, and even My Japanese Coach on the DS. So far I’ve had a little bit of success, but I really need to crack down on myself and get to it hardcore.

The thing that I most have to update on is getting my passport. I had lost my birth certificate in my divorce, not sure where it got to so I had to apply for a new one. Not a big deal, but I have to say that when I searched for a way to get a copy of it on Google I found so many, what I would consider to be, shady websites offering to get a copy for me. Everyone now a days should know better than to trust any of these sites, I finally got to ok.gov and applied for a certified copy of my certificate of live birth, does that mean I’m not a US citizen? Ok ok, I’ll leave the politics out of this.

My birth certificate arrived on Thursday and so I decided to apply for my passport. Once again I found a lot of sites that would love to apply for me….right. Getting to the official .gov site I started my application online and got to the part asking if I have ever been married. Which I have, and been divorced. But it wants my ex’s info all the same.  So I find myself stymied here until I can get that info from her. Hopefully she won’t mind and can send it to me. If that doesn’t work I don’t know what else all be able to do for that.

This is a pretty good start, I’ll post again when I have more information.

This week however, I wanted to focus on a wonderful set of videos that I found while I was randomly surfing YouTube. I found a wonderful profile of 91 year old Clara, who grew up during the depression.  Watching them she reminds me so much of my own GG (Great Grandma, we could never say it as kids so she became GG), that I couldn’t help but link to her profile.

In the videos she goes over some great recipes that are economical, nutritious, and tasty. Though they may not be gourmet, they certainly work. Not to mention that she has a great personality and discusses some of her memories from childhood, which I really enjoy.

Hope you do as well!

I know this sounds rather jaded, but of course that is because I am. Many companies in the US use the term “Natural” to define products that they want people with a mind for healthier products to purchase. What many consumers don’t realize is that there is no official definition of Natural for dietary supplements, which is what all of these are marketed as. While Natural is defined as no artificial flavors or colors added for food products, there is no definition of how the ingredients are manufactured. So things like sugar alcohols, while technically made from a natural ingredient, no longer resemble the original product, can still be labeled as “Natural.”

Stepping off of my soap box, let me move forward with the reason for this post. Recently PepsiCO and it’s partners released their product, Purevia™. On the other side of the cola war, Coca Colaand it’s partners released their sweetener Truvia™. Both of these products are derived from the Stevia plant, both claim to be extracts of the best tasting part of the Stevia plant. That compound is rebaudioside A, or Reb A, which is identified in the ingredients of Purevia™, while  Truvia™ lists it as rebiana.

As in most sweeteners, these extracts aren’t the only ingredients that can be found in these sweeteners. Purevia™ also contains Erythritol, Isomaltulose, cellulose powder (keeps it pouring like sugar), as well as “natural flavors.”  Truvia™ also contains erythritol and those wonderful “natural flavors.” Interestingly enough both Purevia™ and Truvia™ claim to be natural, though erythritol is a processed sugar alcohol. While technically it is processed from sugar, can you really still call it a natural product? Of course you can, because as mentioned earlier there is no official definition of “natural” for dietary supplements.

I attempted to do some research to come up with some information about how these stevia extracts are metabolized, unfortunately I have been mostly unsuccessful. While we do have information on what happens with erythritol. It is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine and is generally passed directly through urine. Interestingly enough it is the only sugar alcohol that is known to not cause intestinal distress. Isomaltulose is much more complex than glucose and is therefore digested much more slowly, making it’s impact on blood glucose very minimal.

On the flip side of my questions about Stevia’s safety we can look to it’s use throughout history. Stevia has been used in Guatemala for centuries and it’s use in Japan since the 70’s in diet sodas. While I located several, in my opinion, less than credible sources on the Internet that said the World Health Organization had declared Stevia to be safe and later that the Joint (FAO/WHO) Expert Committee on Food Additives declared that it did not promote any mutagens, I was unable to verify these sources. One site linked to a document regarding the JECFA to prove this statement, and a thorough search provided no such evidence in the document. Continuing to dig further the only other information I could locate spoke to the fact that insufficient evidence can be produced to qualify the use of Stevia as “safe.”

There is evidence in fact, that Stevia is still banned from being soldin the UK and the EU. In further support of how unsafe Stevia is, I must point to this alertfrom the FDA to it’s agents instructing them to block the import of all stevia leaves and it’s extracts, unless specifically labeled as a dietary supplement.

I know that perhaps I’ll get ripped to shreds by many people out there who think that natural is the only way to go, and that I’m simply being a negative Nancy, or reading into the hype of big brother or some such. But please, if you can find further information, from credible sources ie. governmental, that I may have missed, drop a note here and I’ll examine it and (maybe) change my view of the situation. But until that time, I won’t make use of any of these new sweeteners, and will continue to advise my friends and family to do the same.

I had gotten a request from a friend of mine up in Seattle for a good crab soup recipe, so I decided this week will be dedicated solely to our little crustacean friend. It can be very difficult to get even frozen crab this time of year anywhere but on the coasts. I know that it’s a lot cheaper, but if at all possible try to stay away from the imitation crab if you are unable to find fresh or frozen locally.

As the name implies, imitation crab contains no crab meat what so ever. Generally it is made from the Alaska Pollock (also known as: Walleye Pollock, Snow Cod, or Whiting). Then the fish meat is colored and flavored to resemble crab meat.

As in most things you get what you pay for, and while imitation crab may vaguely resemble the flavor of crab it will never compare at all. Well I’ll step off my soapbox now.

I’m always looking for comments and requests. If you have a request for any recipe, or any comments, feel free to post them on here or email me at bob.sheets@yahoo.com.

Recipes for this week will be:

Crab bisque

Maryland Style Crab Cakes

Gluten Free Soft Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

4 teaspoons milk

2 cups gluten free flour, see recipe below

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon xantham gum

For the gluten free flour:

2 cups white rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup tapioca flour

Simply blend the three flours very well.

Method of Preparation:

1. Cream together the shortening, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, then add in the egg and mix well.
2. In a separate bowl combine the “flour”, baking powder, salt, and xantham gum.
3. Alternating between dry and wet ingredients, mix them into the creamed mixture. Divide the dough in half and chill for 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
5. Roll the dough out on a lightly “floured” surface, you may also need to coat the rolling pin with the gluten free flour, roll to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Cut the cookies into the desired shapes and bake on a greased cookie sheet for 6-8 minutes. I would recommend using parchment or a silicone baking surface. Allow the cookies to cool almost completely as they are very fragile right out of the oven.

The jelly roll in this recipe is very light and delicate and requires a gentle touch when you are rolling it up. It’s much easier if you use a long piece of parchament paper underneath the log to help you roll it up nice and tight. There’s a lot of steps to this recipe, but it’ll turn out looking gorgeous at the end. I’ve left out the meringue mushrooms, but if you’re interested in putting them on the log, leave a note and I’ll post the recipe.

Yule Log

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

6 eggs, seperated

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour, sifted

For the hazelnut mousse:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

5 ounces hazel nuts, toasted

5 ounces milk chocolate cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon hazelnut oil

For the chocolate frosting:

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut in small pieces

8 ounces unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 strong coffee

1/4 cup sour cream

Method of Preparation:

For the cake:

1. Butter a jelly roll pan, line with parchment paper, butter the paper and sprinkle with flour, tapping to remove excess flour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of the sugar.
3. Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft peaks form. Turn the machine up to high, and beat in the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, continue to beat until shiny but not stiff.
4. Add the flour to the yolk/sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Add l/4 of the egg whites to the yolk mixture, whisking to lighten the mixture. Then return the yolk mixture to the egg whites, and fold gently.
5. Scrape into the prepared pan and even the top by running a long offset spatula across the surface. Bake until cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched, l2 to l5 minutes. Cool on a rack. Set aside.

For Hazelnut mousse:

1. Place cooled hazelnuts on a kitchen towel and rub together to remove skins. Place the skinned hazelnuts in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for l minute. Add the hazelnut oil through the feeder tube and process until a paste forms.
2. Melt chocolate in a medium bowl placed over simmering water, or melt in a microwave oven. Add the melted chocolate to the hazelnut paste and set aside.
3. Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in the hazelnut/chocolate mixture. Keep covered in the refrigerator until needed.

For the Chocolate Frosting:

1. Melt the chocolate. In a small pot, heat the coffee and cocoa. Add the sour cream.
2. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the chocolate mixture and combine completely. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside until of spreading consistency.

To Assemble:

1. Trim the edges of the sponge cake. Place the Hazelnut mousse on the cake layer. Spread the mixture evenly over the cake, leaving a l inch space along the long side.
2. Using the parchment paper to aid you, carefully roll up the cake into a thick log, enclosing the mousse. Leave the wrapped, rolled-up cake on the sheet pan and refrigerate until filling is firm, at least 2 hours.
3. Remove pan with cake from refrigerator and place wrapped cake on a firm surface. Carefully unwrap cake. Using a serrated knife, from one end cut a 2-inch piece of cake on the diagonal. Set the cut piece aside.
4. Cut out a piece of cardboard the length and width of the cake. Cover the cardboard with foil and place the cake on it. Spread a little frosting on the bottom of the small cut piece and set on top of the cake roll. Using a small spatula, spread the frosting over the entire cake as well as the small piece atop the cake. With a wooden skewer or the point of a small knife, make furrows to simulate bark along the sides and top of the cake.
5. Arrange Christmas greens and plastic holly around the Yule Log. Sift powdered sugar over the whole thing to simulate snow. Fresh cranberries can be scattered around for added color.

My grandmother has made this fudge for as long as I can remember. I’ve had a lot of different fudges in my day, and still this one is my favorite. Maybe it’s the nostalgia, I’m not sure, but this recipe will always have a spot in my heart.

Fantasy Fudge

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar

3/4 cup, or 1 1/2 sticks butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 12 oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups marshmallow cream

1 cup of your favorite chopped nuts, I love some toasted walnuts personally

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Method of Preparation

1. combine the sugar, butter, and evaporated milk in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Bring to a rolling boil, and reduce the heat to medium, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Be extremely careful with the hot sugar, while it may not be caramel yet, 200 degree sticky sugar is still extremely unpleasant on your skin.
2. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until melted.
3. Add the marshmallow cream, nuts, and vanilla. Stir until well blended and poor into a 9″X13″ pan and let it cool completely.

These are extremely good after you have let them set up over night covered on the counter. They’ll keep in an airtight container for a week at room temperature, but they never last that long.

These latkes are a wonderful combination of potato, onions and egg. A wonderfully delicate treat that just explodes with flavor in your mouth. And then the amazing depth that actually comes out when you combine the savory and the sweet with the sour cream and the applesauce.

The act of slathering my latkes with sour cream and applesauce actually took a great deal of coercing on my behalf from my co-workers until I actually put the condiments on. But once I did I was sold, and I can never dream of having a latke or any other potato pancake without them ever again. In fact several times I’ve gone into restaurants and asked if I can get sour cream and applesauce with my potato pancakes, and when told that they didn’t have either I had to find something else.

But I digress, on to the recipe:

Potato Latkes with sour cream and applesauce - makes approximately 16 latkes

Ingredients:

2 pounds Idaho potatoes

1 large yellow onion

1/2 cup of matzo meal

4 eggs, lightly beaten

salt and pepper to taste

Your favorite brand of plain applesauce and sour cream for serving.

Method of preparation:

1. Grate the potatoes and the onion into a bowl and combine well. If you’re increasing the size of this recipe it is greatly recommended you use a food processor with a grating attachment. Place the mixture into a colander and let it drain until it is dry to the touch. This is extremely important, don’t skip this step as your latkes will fall apart otherwise, if you need to, use a paper towel to dry off the onions. Once completely dry place into a mixing bowl.
2. Add the matzo meal and the eggs and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. The mixture should be firm and stick together but still moist.
3. Heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a skillet until very hot. Form the mixture into patties about 2 inches in diameter and fry in the hot oil. When the Latkes are browned on one side flip them over and brown on the other, about 3 minutes or so.
4. Keep the latkes in a warm oven and serve hot. Plate up with the applesauce and the sour cream.

I’ve worked rather extensively with a Jewish catering service and it was wonderful for me to learn the different traditions that are celebrated for Hanukkah. 10 years ago if you had asked me if I would ever eat a potato pancake with applesauce and sour cream I’d have looked at you like you were a nutter. Now though, I find myself craving them every year.

Admittedly I’m not very up on any on Kwanzaa traditions, but it’s definitely something that I’m interested in learning all about. So if you celebrate, please comment here about your traditions and share with everyone.

I’m not attempting to exclude anyone from these recipes, so again if there’s something you’d like to see let me know and I’ll put something up. I think next week I’ll continue the holiday theme (seeing as how Christmas and Hanukkah are both next week), maybe do some Japanese Christmas recipes.

Anyways, I’d love to go over a few different recipes this week. Including:

Potato Latkes with Sour Cream and applesacue

Fudge

Yule Log

Those in the military will know this dish under a different name, mostly s**t on a shingle. Not the most alluring name but definitely one of the favorites of soldiers everywhere. I’ve taken that basic recipe and added some mushrooms to it, I think they give it a nice extra earthy quality.

Cream of Chipped Beef: Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 Teaspoons of vegetable oil

4 ounces of sliced mushrooms

1 1/4 pounds of chipped beef, this is just shaved corn beef if you can’t find it in your deli. Once you get it shaved simply cut it into 1 inch squares.

1 Tablespoon of butter

1 1/2 Tablespoons of Flour

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

1 pint beef stock

8 pieces of toast, I like a good sourdough or texas toast.

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat the oil in a skillet and then add in the mushrooms, season lightly with salt and pepper. Once the mushrooms release their fluids add the meat to the pan and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add the butter and stir until it melts. Add in the flour and stir together to form the roux, so that the flour looks like wet sand. Cook for 1 minute and then stir in the evaporated milk and dissolve the roux. Add in the beef stock and parsley and bring to a simmer, cook until the mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Serve over 2 pieces of toast.