I'm back! Sort of...

After being out of commission for sometime, I am slowly getting back into the kitchen. As my previous posts implied, I am pregnant with our first baby (a boy!). Now that I am almost at the end of the second trimester, I am crawling back into the kitchen and actually cooking food again. I was quite sick for the first 5 and a half months.
I have cooked some things, but have not had the energy to take photos (that and the camera needs a battery). Last night I made simmered pork ribs which was a real treat. I have taken a dislike to rice since I've been pregnant, which is hard when your primary food is Japanese! I have been told it is a common and temporary aversion. Let's just hope so!!!
So in short, I am trying to put something together, but it may be less frequently for now. By the way, I am due in November and it can't come soon enough! ^_^

Hiatus

Though I will be updating in the future, this blog is temporarily on hiatus due to the fact I cannot stand to be around food right now. Can't smell it, can't cook it and have trouble eating it. Until this phase passes, I likely won't be updating. I figure in a month or so I should be back. Thanks for waiting! ^_^

Variations on chicken...and some beef

On the lighter side of cooking, we have here a chicken salad with sesame dressing. For those of you who questioned the merits of my deep frying, this is for you ~_^. The chicken is simply poached in water and then sliced. The vegetables can be whatever pleases you or you have on hand. The dressing is a little something my husband whipped up. It contains, among other things, ground up sesame seeds, peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar and miso. It is actually a protein laden dressing that tastes very fresh. I do think it is necessary to use natural peanut butter which contains nothing but peanuts (no sugar, salt, etc). You will be glad you did.

This little dish is lemon chicken. It goes well on a bed of onions and red peppers, but since I did not have either of those on hand, broccoli became the partner. The chicken breasts are lightly dusted with flour and then seared until brown. They are then simmered in chicken broth and lemon juice with dash of salt and pepper. Cornstarch is used to thicken it up near the end of the cooking time. I threw in a bit of garlic as well. If you have fresh lemons on hand, I recommend added some of the zest to the sauce.

I have posted gyudon before, but here it is again--the delightful beef bowl. Who can resist the strips of beef and sliced onion cooked in a salty sweet broth? It is always a treat! The side dish shown above is a spur of the moment thing. It consists of sliced berry tomatoes with pepper cheese. It was melted with a mini kitchen torch.

Now for the record, it is not what you eat, it is how much. I am of the opinion that you can eat any type of food you want....in moderation. Portion size has been ballooned into proportions unheard of in other parts of the world. For instance in Japan, fried food is eaten (ie tempura) but it is not eaten everyday and only one or two pieces at a time. The most tempura I have ever seen served to one person in Japan was four. The vast majority of Japanese people are thin. This I think comes from portion sizes and daily exercise...not in the form a of gym, but rather from everyday walking and biking. They walk A LOT. Goodness knows, A LOT. And did you know that Japanese women love love love their sweets? Cakes, mochi, cookies, you name it! But again, portion size! They don't typically buy entire cakes, but rather, one piece. One piece of cake! Something to think about, isn't it? ^_^

The comfort of home cooking

What is home cooking, exactly? It seems fairly self-explanatory: cooking done at home. However upon closer analysis, all sorts of other connotations arise. When someone thinks of home cooking, they might think of their mom and grandma, or these days, their dad! Home cooking brings up fond memories of holidays, birthdays, summer barbeques and blustery November evenings. It means so many things, because the term itself is loaded with emotion. Likely this is because of its connection to the home and subsequently our childhood (hopefully simpler times). Memories of the way grandma's house always smelled of baking (or sauerkraut!) and of gathering for Christmas dinner are all inextricably connected to the term home cooking. Home cooking is comfort, security and simpler times. Home cooking heals us when we are sick, comforts us in times of sorrow and brings us together in times of celebration. The great chefs of the world have their place to be sure, but even they began in their mom's kitchen, in simpler times, with the comfort and joy of home cooking.