Cool Stuff You Can Do

Tom Brady, Tim Tebow and Elvis were all in the Building

2012-01-14T23:55:00.000-05:00

Once again Tom Brady and Bill Belichick thwart the best laid plans of the American Hype Machine. In an outstanding performance Tom Brady showed why he is a future hall of famer, and why Tim Tebow is a great college quarterback.

My greatest joy is those in Denver who consider Bill Belichick the Devil Himself and Josh McDaniels his demon disciple. I wonder if they will see this as a test of Tebow's faith, or will some people finally accept the fact that God does not take sides in football games. Possibly God does not even watch football games. Sorry Commissioner Goodell.

Anyways as a lifelong sports fan, I appreciated the game plan that New England put together. It was Belichick and Brady who had demons to exorcise. The offense put pressure on Denver to try to score fast and the Pats defense did a great job to get pressure on Tebow.

Having a healthy linebacking corps and a good edge rush really helped to bottle the run. But don't forget the middle, Vince Wilfork was a beast inside and Kyle Love was equally demonic. Brandon Spikes and Mayo really did their jobs inside.

Now the Pats look forward to exorcising their next Demon. Now I expect Baltimore will beat Houston and will come to Foxborough. I also expect the Giants to beat the Packers. If that happens the Pats may have a chance to avenge the 2009 whupping they got from the Ravens. Then can we dream that the Giants meet them in the Super Bowl ? Oh my goodness, we would be all the way back and Josh McDaniels is back home where he belongs.

Feed the Gronk !

Tasty Baked Kibbe (Kobeiba Shamy)

2011-12-17T23:09:00.001-05:00

This is one my favorite dishes that Gedo makes. There are probably endless variations to this dish, but I love this version. Not only is it great the day you make, the leftovers freeze really well. We enjoy eating the kibbe with a little yogurt dip and hummus. It is great as a lunch leftover since it can be served at room temperature.

This dish is also very healthy because the burgul wheat is high in fiber, it is baked so it is low in fat. It is also very economical because the wheat helps to stretch the meat.

In Egypt, this dish is called Kobeiba Shamy. It is named after an ethnic population in Egypt, the Shamy people, who originated in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. The Shamy people are famous for their delicious dishes, which are distinct in style and flavor from other Egyptian foods.

Now Gedo is actually from Jordan, so his style of making this dish is very authentic.

Ingredients:

The crust layers

1 lb of ground lean ground beef
2 cups of burghul #2 (Bulgur wheat)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp of black pepper
1/8 tsp of allspice
1/4 cup of pine nuts

The meat filling

2 lbs coarsely chopped lean beef
2-3 medium size onions
1/2 clove of garlic
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped parsley
1/2 tbsp of salt
1/2 tbsp of black pepper
1/2 tbsp of allspice
1 tbsp of dried oregano
1/4 cup of olive oil
two 9 x 12 baking dishes

Directions:

Rinse and soak the burgul wheat for about 30 minutes in lukewarm water. I like to use the #2 burgul because it is coarse giving the dish a nice texture. Gedo uses the finer burgul. This is just a matter of preference.
Trim and coarsely chop the lean beef.
Set the beef on a paper towel which will help to soak any liquid from the beef. This will ensure that the beef brown nicely, rather than be steamed in its own juices. Set the meat aside. If you are short on time, you can substitute this ingredient with ground beef.
Coarsely chop the onions.Clean and trim the parsley.
Coarsely chop the parsley.

Finely chop the garlic.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Using a large sauce pan, heat it on medium high. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and brown the coarsely chopped beef.
Mix in the salt, pepper, oregano and allspice.
Once the meat is nicely browned, add the chopped onions and garlic. Cook them for a few minutes, until fragrant.
Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil into the beef mixture. Mix the parsley in and cook until the parsley is wilted. Remove from the heat and set it aside.

Drain the burgul and place in a large container. Add the ground meat and the salt, pepper and allspice for the crust. Now for some fun. You need to thoroughly incorporate the beef with the burgul. This is best done using your hands. Kneed the mixture with your hands until it is completely mixed together. It should have the consistency of dough. Divide the mixture into approximately 4 portions. Two of the portions will be used for the bottom layers and 2 will become the top crust for the dishes.
Drizzle about 2 tbsp of olive oil into each of the 2 baking dishes.Take 1/4 of the crust mixture and press into each of the baking dishes. Use your hands to work the mix into a nice even bottom layer. There should be no gaps in the layer.
Diviide the cook meat mixture between the 2 dishes. Spread it even over the dishes.

For each of the top crust layer, take a small quantity of the mixture and form a flat patty with your hand. Careful place it on top of the other layers. Continue until you have cover the entire dish. You will have small gaps as you cover the layers with the final crust. Repeat this process for the remaining dish.
Fill a small bowl with water and wet your hand. Take your wet hand and careful smooth the top layer of the dish until all the small gaps have been fill in. Do not press hard. It should be a gentle smoothing over. Continue doing this until you have a nice smooth top layer.
Using a sharp knife, first score the dish into 3 lengthwise sections and 4 crosswise sections. When you are satisfied with the size of your sections, Cut the sections all the way through.
Place a few pieces of pine nuts onto each portion. Gently press the nuts in.
Bake for about 30 minutes in the oven. You will know that the dish is done when the top becomes a nice golden brown.
Cool for about 10 minutes and serve with yogurt sauce and hummus.
One of the dishes will generously serve 4-6. The other dish can be refrigerated or frozen.

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Latino Lasagna AKA Taco Casserole

2010-04-09T21:33:00.002-04:00

This dish is one of my favorite ways to use up leftovers. This is a variation on Lizabetti's Light and Healthy Enchiladas and it is made from leftovers from Lizabetti's Healthy Tacos. While the dish is similar in concept to the enchiladas, but the different shape gives it a whole different taste and texture. We used to make this dish in college, but then we just called it "Taco Casserole". It is a very satisfying and filling dish and still very healthy.

This meal makes a great weekday dinner and and is a perfect work lunch the next day. I got several lunches out of the one meal, I guess you call that second order leftovers. It also heats up very well in the microwave without losing flavor.

I like to serve it with guacamole, sour cream, and fresh salad greens. For a little extra zing, also serve some of the warm sauce on the side . I also highly recommend that you go with corn tortillas for a more authentic Mexican taste.

Like all leftover recipes, the ingredient quantities are just a guideline, you should use what you have.

Ingredients:

8 oz Taco meat from the Healthy Taco Recipe
Spicy black bean dip, I like Trader Joe's, but you can use leftover refried beans as well.
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar
2 cups Left over (or fresh) Chunky Salsa
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes.
1 Pinch cayenne
1 Pinch chili powder
1 Package high fiber tortillas or corn tortillas. You can also use the left over taco shells from the tacos.
1 Cup cooked rice. Usually I have some left over in the fridge.

Directions:

Sauce:

Place the Salsa and diced tomatoes in a pan
Simmer on low until tomatoes are soft, about 15 minutes.
If desired, add cayenne and chili powder.

Construction:

I like to use a heavy Creusete baking pan, you can also use glass, ceramic, or metal.

Pre-Heat oven to 375 ^oF(191 ^oC).
Place a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. This will prevent sticking
Cover the bottom with tortilla shells. Cut them to shape to ensure that you cover the entire bottom.
Place a layer of the bean dip.
Place a layer of rice, followed by a layer of meat.
Add a layer of cheese and top with another layer of tortilla's.
Add another layer of sauce and top with the rest of the cheese.
Bake for 45 minutes at 375 ^oF(191 ^oC).

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Red Saffron Makes Red Rice

2010-03-29T22:29:00.003-04:00

This is my my daughter's favorite rice dish. She likes the brilliant red color of the rice as well as the nutty, fragrant saffron flavor. It is a common side dish for many of our holiday feasts. In our family we look for any excuse to have a feast and this dish is an easy way to brighten it up.

To get this color you must have the right type of saffron. I got mine when I was visiting Luxor, Egypt as part of a Nile cruise. Only the dark red saffron will give this color, however regular saffron gives a yellowish orange color which is also quite appetizing. You can probably get it in a Middle Eastern market or a gourmet shop.

This side dish is served with many of the recipes on this site, partially for its looks, but also because we love the taste. It goes great with Middle Eastern dishes, but can be served with just about anything. Here are some dishes with which we serve this rice.

Ingredients:

Two Cups Jasmine Rice
1 Teaspoon Red Saffron
2 tsp Chopped Garlic
1 pat butter
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 Cups beef, chicken, turkey or lamb stock. Choose the stock to match the meal. Use water if you are vegetarian, it works fine.

Directions:

Heat the pan to medium-high heat and add the butter and oil.
Heat until the butter melts and just begins to sizzle.
Add the rice and fry in the butter/oil mixture.
Add the saffron, salt and garlic. Mix in thoroughly.
Add the stock or water, stir.
Since the rice is hot, the stock will probably come to a boil almost immediately. Otherwise bring it to a boil.
Turn down the heat to low (about 2.8) and cover.
Cook until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice no longer makes a simmering sound. About 15 minutes.
Turn of the heat and let the rice stand covered for about 10 minutes to absorb the steam.
Stir the rice so that the red color is uniformly distributed.

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A High-Tech Workday in Japan - Part II

2010-03-23T22:59:00.004-04:00

In Part I of this article I told you how we commuted across the country by air to arrive at this Japanese computer chip factory. The factory is called a "Fab", which is short for fabrication plant. Factories that make multiple types of chips for outside customers are called foundries.

My client owns its own fabs, but also outsource some of their production to foundries in Taiwan. Yes, the Japanese also look to cut labor costs by off-shore production.

In the last installment I had checked in at the guard shack and was issued my zip-lock bag of accessories.

A large blue plastic bag
a badge
Various instruction manuals in Japanese
A locker key
Some other items that I had no occasion to use.

As we entered the complex, which is several square miles and many buildings we saw several gigantic robotic vehicles carrying materials between buildings. These moved very slowly and played pleasant music to warn off human pedestrians. I thought that the music was a nice touch over a claxon, or some warning message like "Dear Human, Please Avoid this Giant Robot or it Will Crush You".

By contrast we passed a small rock garden with a lovely waterfall and Bonzai trees. I would have liked to linger because the scenic mountains were visible from this spot, but we had a busy day ahead.

We walked about 200 meters and turned left into an unmarked door. This led to the customary shoe check station. No fab in Asia will allow you to enter wearing street shoes. They do not want street dust brought into the building. So we each put our shoes into a cubby hole and went to the shelf for a pair of slippers. This fab had snappy looking clean white slippers, the largest of which was about USA size 11. I wear size 12, so it was a tight squeeze into the largest pair. My American colleague is about 6'8", so he was even more uncomfortable as he squeezed into a size 11.

We then went through a pair of air-tight double doors into a locker room. As we entered we passed shelves that had various sizes of pajama like garments. I tried to select the blue pajamas, but was told that vendors had to take the beige colored version. We each took a top and pants and headed toward the lockers. We hung up our street clothes and donned the beige pajamas, we used the locker key to lock the locker with our clothes inside.

Now you know why it does no good to wear a business suit. No one will ever see it. The customer will only see me in my drab beige pajamas and too-small white slippers.

The large blue plastic bag was for any items that I needed to carry into the fab. The bag keeps dust from spreading as one is walking toward the work area. This was difficult for me as I carry lots of computer equipment and I need all of it. So here are the things that I stuffed into the blue plastic bag:

My laptop computer
Extra battery
AC Power adapter + Japanese plug converter
An attached hard drive
A network switch
A USB thumb drive
My lab notebook (taking careful notes is very important in this line of work)

As you can guess this made the bag very heavy and awkward to carry. Little did I know how far we still had to walk. Remember that these factories are huge and one must pass through multiple buildings to reach the place of work.

We walked the length of one building, went down some stairs, walked down the hall, climbed some other stairs, took a left, walked the length of another building and boarded an elevator. We must have covered at least half a mile total. We walked some more and then took another elevator and finally arrived at a very important place. The fab cafeteria.

Besides being used to serve meals, many people use the cafeteria as a work space and informal meeting spot. It is also one of the few spots with windows to the outside. The view of the mountains was spectacular from here and if you sit near the window you get cell phone reception. Cell phones do not work in other parts of the building unless they are the special fab issued mobile phones, which the customers all carry.

We called our customer's cell phone and he appeared in the cafeteria in a heartbeat. I don't know how he did it, but every time I called this guy, he appeared at my side instantly. It was convenient because every time I needed him I just called a number and he showed up.

We sat down in the cafeteria with the customer and his boss and discussed the goals for the day. All conversation was in Japanese with periodic translation for my benefit. Since they were discussing a subject matter that I am familiar with, and it is peppered with English technical terms; I could usually discern the gist of the conversation even if I do not speak Japanese. However I was careful to not assume that I understood. K-San would explain some of the nuance of the conversation as well as the literal translation. Sometimes one has to ask for additional translation because sometimes the Japanese guys will forget that the Gaijin does not understand them.

We were escorted through a large room, probably 40,000 square feet that was full of desks side by side, but no cube partitions. The people were all working industriously. As we walked through it struck me that all the male employees were wearing blue pajamas and the female employees were wearing pink pajamas, very cute. The supervisors were wearing black pants with dark red jackets. Of course everyone wore the snappy white slippers. Everyone looked very comfortably dressed, and now I understood why I could not wear blue pajamas, I would be mistaken for an employee. You the pajamas also serve as uniforms complete with insignia. Outsiders wear beige.

We went into a slightly smaller lab and installed in a corner. We were told that we could set up our computers on the right side of the aisle, but not to encroach on the left side. At this point we had our marching orders and we set about to work.

We worked until about 6PM at which point K-San informed me that he had a meeting at 8 PM and would I like to have dinner first? I agreed with the plan since I had done as much as I could for the day and would need to meet the customer again to move forward.

We checked into our hotel. I asked for a non-smoking room and the desk clerk got very apologetic. He politely said that they had no non-smoking rooms. I could not figure out if he meant never or if the rooms were all taken. He asked me to smell the room and call him if I could not stand it.

The hotel was clean and attractive and displayed a large copper ingot in the lobby, which I learned was a native product of the region. When I got to my floor I found that the hall smelled of smoke but I was relieved to find that my room smelled fresh and smoke free. I opened the window and found that my view was of a shopping mall, but behind it I could see the mountains.

We walked to the shopping mall for dinner and found a good selection of restaurants there as well as huge grocery store. My colleagues wanted to eat Italian food, or I should say the Japanese interpretation there-of.

I had a spaghetti like dish with tomato sauce and topped with sautéed eggplants. K-San had the egg-rice, which is a semi-spherical mound of rice perfectly molded in to an omelet. In the usual Japanese fashion, the restaurant was very clean and the service was prompt and courteous. The food was pretty good, but did not really taste Italian at all.

The big mistake was ordering garlic bread. It looked and smelled like garlic bread, but that was where the resemblance ended. Imagine if aliens were able to measure looks and smell, but not the taste of human food. This is what they would produce. All I can say is this stuff tasted strange and felt strange going down.

On the way back we stopped at the grocery store to buy water and snacks. I could not resist buying the chocolate macadamia candies, some beef jerky and some wasabi chips. Japanese junk food is very good. Even if you don't like Japanese food, you can survive on the junk food. Just make sure to eat a fruit once in a while.

The next morning I woke up early, did my exercise routine and went up to the breakfast buffet. The breakfast was mostly traditional Japanese which included fish, rice, and soup. The soup was orange in color and the flavor was vaguely familiar. After some time I realized that it was a pumpkin soup. It was very smooth and tasted like pumpkin. I was careful not to eat too much at breakfast (or any meal) because I am not used to the food and my body clock is all confused due to the 14 hour time change. When traveling in Asia, the key is to eat just enough to survive because you never know how or when your body will react; and you do not want any embarrassing situations on customer site. Some other time I will tell you about my colleague YK and his embarrassing situation in Taiwan.

We went back to the factory and went through the same security check in and dressing procedure as the previous day. I had solved some of the problems I encountered the previous day, so we made progress without serious mishap for the entire morning. As I was working, K-San alternated between going to the cafeteria to download his email near the window, studying technical manuals and preparing power-point presentations. Even though he was here to help me get around, he still managed to make progress in his normal job. Very impressive.

Around lunchtime, certain musical sounds are played over the public address system. I did not know what these meant and I happened to go to the restroom about the time one of these tunes were played. Ignorance in this case was not bliss because it was time for the first shift of lunch to approach the cafeteria. As I made my way down the hall I encountered a line of pink and blue humanity marching two abreast in perfect step toward cafeteria. There must have been close to 2000 people coming down the hall and I felt like a salmon swiming upstream. The hall was narrow and there was no room for me to move in the opposite direction. I finally gave up and waited in the cafeteria until the first wave dissipated. I then hurried back to my work area.

K-San was hungry, but he found that we could not eat lunch in the cafeteria because we had not reserved in advance. So we walked the half mile back to the exit, hung up our pajamas, put on our clothes and left the facility.

We drove to a nearby restaurant that served most of the common Japanese fare. Out front there are realistic looking models of the food to help you decide what to have. I decided to have the Curry Oodon noodles. These are long, fat, round noodles in a rich curry sauce with some sort of meat. It is really a delicious dish if you like curry, which I do. It is almost a noodle soup because you get so much of the curry sauce. It is really a comfort food for me. I sprinkled some red pepper on the dish, which K-San found surprising.

Fully re-charged, we headed back to the fab, donned our pajamas and completed our workday. At the end of the day we were joined by one of our Japanese sales managers and we went out to dinner.

When we were discussing dinner plans, they asked me if I wanted to eat at Big Boy, the American chain. I thought they were joking because I would not ever eat at Big Boy in the USA. It turned out they were serious, I guess that food is a novelty for them.

However we decided to go to a Japanese fried pork restaurant and I could not be happier. I ordered a combination platter that included a breaded fried pork cutlet and several fried prawns and some fried oysters. I was given a mortar and pestle with toasted sesame seeds and instructed to grind them up. Then a brown tangy/gingery sauce is added to the sesame. This is used as a dipping sauce for the meats.

K-San pointed out to me that the sign said (in Japanese) additional rice and cabbage at no charge. This pleased me greatly because I always like to keep up my intake of vegetables. The cabbage is really a seasonal salad, it is topped with a vinegary/sesame dressing. I found the cabbage quite refreshing and had several helpings.

We put in one more half day of work and met all the goals of our trip.

Before traveling back to the airport we stopped for lunch at a Ramen Noodle Restaurant. The Japanese people always call the Ramen noodles Chinese noodles. This was my favorite place so far because they had a very spicy noodle dish with an almost Korean flavor, in fact they served kimshee as well. The noodles were in a red pepper flavored soup with pieces of meat mixed in and various vegetables that I did not recognize. The soup was delicious and the noodles looked like thin spaghetti noodles.

For side dishes I ordered Gioza, which is very similar to the Chinese dumplings. I also ordered Ee-Ka, or fried squid. The dumplings were great and the squid was fresher than any I have ever eaten, imagine the best possible calamari, only fresher.

We drove back to the airport and still had some time to kill before boarding. There was a huge model dragon in the airport lobby and a food store that was offering free samples. Even though I was full, I sampled some of the interesting fare of the region.

K-San is a frequent traveler so we entered the first class lounge with his card. Inside they offered beer, wine, fruit juices and various snacks. I was too tired to drink alcohol, so I had several glasses of tomato juice.

We boarded the plane and I passed out the minute it was in the air and awoke as we were landing in Tokyo Haneda airport.

K-San escorted me to the Haneda airport hotel where I would spend my last night in Tokyo before traveling home. The hotel was great just like all the others. I took advantage of all the amenities, had a scotch and some soup noodle for dinner and went to bed early. I did not even check my email.

The next day I went home. A good trip but boy was I tired.

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A High-Tech Work Day in Japan - Part I

2010-03-22T00:01:00.002-04:00

After my weekend in Tokyo I was well prepared to get back to work. I thought you might be interested to know what a high tech professional does on a typical workday. My workday was a bit super-typical, meaning that it was a bit more high-tech and further reaching than a person may do on a normal day. However, I have observed that it is not unusual for a Japanese salary man to take a commuter flight across the country, visit an electronics factory and fly back in time for dinner. In Japan it is possible to travel everywhere with mass transit, and the airlines are part of that.

I also thought it may be interesting for you to read about life in a semiconductor factory, also known as a fab. This is where computer chips are manufactured. All of us use computers, but few of us get a glimpse of how they are made.

I checked out of my hotel bright and early and headed for the Hamamatsucho mono-rail station. I was going to take the mono-rail to meet my colleague, K-San, at Haneda airport to begin our travels. Since I had practiced the route numerous times I made it in 10 minutes. The ticket machine was exactly where the web site said it was and I was relieved to find a button clearly labeled "English". I was a bit worried that there was no way to get a receipt for the ticket, which cost about 470 Yen, or $5.

I fed my ticket into the machine by the entrance which gives you a nice green arrow to proceed and gives you the ticket back to use for exiting the destination station. I got in line and noticed all signs were in Japanese, so I had a momentary anxiety that I might be boarding the wrong train. So I asked the gentleman in front of me "Smee-ma-sain, Haneda?" (excuse me, Haneda), while pointing at the mono-rail car. He understood and said "Hai" (yes). So I reponded "Arogato dai mas" (thank you very much).

Even though I was proud of my fledgling language skills, after I boarded the train I realized that it was impossible to board the wrong train at this station and there are no branches in the monorail line. So the question was totally unnecessary and the guy must have thought what a dumb gaijin (foreigner) I was.

On the train I was pleased to see that there was a luggage rack where I could put my suitcase. The train was full of salary men, professional Japanese men, all dressed in blue suits and ties, standing room only. I was impressed with the beat of the city going to work and realized that in cities all over the country the same scene was taking place. I felt a trace of envy that the mass transit system was so good. I have had jobs where I could use mass transit in the USA, but it is not as widely available as it is in Japan.

I was mildly uncomfortable because I was casually dressed, but in the past I would wear suits to work in Asia. I found out that it did not do any good to wear business suits in the semiconductor industry. I will explain why later.

As I was leaving the mono-rail station I wanted a receipt since I knew that the machine would eat my ticket on the way out. Lizabetti is very strict about expenses and every penny counts. So I went to the booth by the exit and asked the uniformed employee "smee-ma-sain, resheeto kodo-sai?" (excuse me, may I have a receipt?). He stamped my ticket, so that was my reciept, and ushered me through the gate. I was quite pleased with myself since that was $5 I would not have to eat.

I arrived early at Haneda airport, which was good because I still needed to get some breakfast. I walked around the airport and saw various choices, many of them good. The airport had many regular Japanese restaurants, McDonalds, and a cafeteria style bakery called Vie de France. The bakery had just put out fresh breads and the smell was fabulous. So I opted for that.

I know that Vie de France is an international chain, but the selection at the Haneda airport store was decidedly Japanese in flavor. I grabbed a tray at the head of the line and selected the foods that had just been put out since I stepped into the store. Freshness is a good policy when selecting food.

First I saw a large version of "Piggies in a Blanket". Basically a natural casing frank baked into a piece of bread. The bread was fresh and warm and the hot-dog was well cooked and firm.
The next thing that came out was very Japanese. A cluster of baked noodles wrapped in a pancake. This was pretty good too, the noodles were flavored in a Japanese manner with light soy-ginger taste.
The final thing that caught my eve was the Japanese version of "Piggies in a Blanket". This was a tempura vegetable baked in a bread wrapper. Also very good.

I grabbed a cup of coffee to go with the above fare and went to look for a seat. I noticed that there was only one seat left at the non-smoking counter. As I squeezed into it I bumped the man next to me. He gave me a murderous look, but I said "smee-ma-sain" (sorry) and he smiled and nodded. As K-San had told me, this is a very useful word. The breakfast was delicious and the coffee was good too.

I met K-San right on time under the number 6 clock in the departure level, he was prompt as usual and looking dapper in his salary man suit. We checked our bags and went through security, which was much more efficient and courteous that U.S. airports, and passed into the departure lounge.

Once we were in the departure lounge he mentioned that we should buy lunch to eat in the air since we would still by flying at lunch time. We stopped at a small store which offered a variety of reasonably priced meals. The selection included various Bento boxes containing sushi, pork sandwiches, hamburgers, rice balls, chips of all kinds. I opted for a pork sandwich in a box, a beef rice ball and small box of potato crisps.

We boarded the plane. The crew was very pleasant, well dressed and attractive. They offered beverages several times including a very tasty lemonade drink. Around noon I decided to eat the lunch I brought aboard.

I ate the rice ball and saved the rest for later. The rice ball was a triangular block of rice wrapped in seaweed. In the center was some cooked beef with light spicy-soy sauce taste. It was quite good and did a good job of stopping my hunger.

The plane arrived in Matsuyama right on time. We met another colleague at the airport and took the rental car bus to our rental car. It was poring rain and I was thankful that I kept my $4 umbrella as I was waiting for K-San to complete the paperwork for the car. We boarded the car and drove toward Niihama, about a 1 hour drive.

The scenery was very beautiful along the way. There were mountains along both sides of the road and fog in the valleys in between. The mountains were covered with evergreens. Occasionally we would see an orchard on the mountain-side.

Our second colleague, had not had lunch, so we split the pork sandwich and potato crisps. The pork was pleasant with a sweet-spicy taste, something like BBQ. The potato crisps were lightly salted and had full potato flavor. However my colleague was still hungry so we stopped at a rest stop where he had a meal. I got myself an ice cream novelty, similar to a Nutty Buddy.

As we got close to Niihama, the scenery continued to be beautiful. You could see the mountains on the left and the Seto sea on the right. I found most of the buildings bland, but they did no harm to the scenery. Niihama is an industrial city so little attention is paid to aesthetics.

Pretty soon we arrived at our client electronic company, it was still raining, but we knew that we would be indoors for the rest of the day. The company was near the sea port and we could see giant gantries from the parking lot.

We approached the guard shack and K-San filled out the admission forms and we were each issued a plastic zip-lock bag containing:

A large blue plastic bag
a badge
Various instruction manuals in Japanese
A locker key
Some other items that I had no occasion to use, so I forgot them.

In my next installment I will tell you about life in a typical Japanese electronics factory and you will see why it does no good to wear a business suit.

Continued...

River's Weekend in Tokyo - Part II

2010-03-14T21:56:00.007-04:00

This morning the weather went from crappy to extremely crappy. Cold, wind and hard rain conspired to keep me pinned in my hotel room with the Jewel of the orient just outside. There were Tsunami warnings broadcast on the PA systems. However, I really wanted the cleaning crew to clean my room, and they won’t do it while I am there.

Undaunted, I decided to be a foul weather tourist and see if I could avoid getting lost today. Now that I know my hotel is really facing the other way I have been able to find all kinds of stuff.
A little web research revealed that the Tokyo Tower, the worlds tallest free standing steel building, was constructed beginning in June 1957. Certainly with an auspicious initiation date like that I had to visit it. Knowing that the tower and I are exactly the same age, I wanted to see how the old girl was holding up. The Tokyo tower is in the same style as the Eiffel Tower, but in typical Japanese fashion it has all kind of electronic communication equipment mounted on it.
Today I figured the chances of getting lost were much less since the Tower is really tall and you can see it from a distance. Of course I did not count on the fact that sometimes events are bigger than the plans of a single individual.

I planned my route carefully having learned from yesterday’s mistakes. So with my 400 Yen umbrella in hand, I was on my way. In spite of the pouring rain, all along the way I saw the landmarks I expected, so far so good until I got halfway there. In the distance I saw a large number of people running at what seemed like extreme speed to me. The road was blocked off for cars and I saw several thousand people running in the rain down the middle of the road. There was also loud Japanese Superhero type music playing and there were several hundred people dancing in the rain, all in sync with each other. The total bedlam was inspiring to me as I had been resenting having to walk in the rain, when I saw all these maniacs, I must say it gave me a lift.

It turned out that I ran into the Tokyo Marathon 2010. Let me just say that this was no ordinary marathon. As we all know Japanese people love to play dress up and this was no exception. A large percentage of the runners were in costume. There were several Darth-Vader’s, tons of Pika Chu’s, at least 5 Santa Clauses, a guy with multi-colored afro, a lot of old men running with trash bags on their head, and many, many characters of all kinds. The amazing thing is that almost all of these costumed avengers were running 7 minute miles or better.

Imagine the frustration of the runner who is losing to Santa Clause!
Anyways I stuck around for a while and watched until I got sick of standing in the rain, so I crossed over a pedestrian bridge that passed over the runners. This gave me a great view of the mass of running humanity. They did not even seem to mind that they were cold and wet. The spectators were also very encouraging. One great thing about Japanese is that if they planned on attending the marathon, rain was not going to affect their plans.

Go to Travel Japan Blog to see some great pictures of the Marathon.

After I left the Marathon I noticed another unique Japanese phenomenon. Remember all the roads are blocked off, so no traffic. Nevertheless at the next intersection all the pedestrians waited for the light to change, even tho there were no cars in the whole area.
So I finally got to the Tokyo Tower. Let me just say it did not look 52 years old, it looked brand new. The orange and white paint looked fresh and the tower looked clean. They charge admission to go up to the observation deck at the top, where you can see Mt Fuji. However, since it was rainy and foggy, I did not think I would be able to see anything. So I did not go up, but in the base of the tower is a Huge Mall, almost a city with all types of shops and restaurants. I was able to find stuff for my daughter there (I hope she still likes Hello Kitty).

I walked around the Mall and one of the pavilions had a history of Japan in pictures since WWI. It started with Hirohito’s surrender, showed the construction of the Tower, and showed the visit by the Beatles in 1966. Little did they know then that Paul McCartney would be later banned for life from Japan. The Japanese still seem to like the Beatles and they imitate them at every opportunity.
I walked back and passed the Marathon route again, I stood in the area of the last 500 meters. People were encouraging the straggling runners, some runners were walking the final bit. Everyone still had their costumes on though!

Masakazu Fujiwara of Japan won the men’s marathon and Alevtina Biktmirova of Russia won for the women. I was glad to see the host country win the race. There were people from all over the world, including Africans. So Fujiwara must be pretty good.

So I headed back to the hotel only to find the guy still cleaning my room, so I decided to go back and find the Mono-rail station again so that I will not have any problem finding it on Monday. I am embarrassed to say I got there in 5 minutes. I walked around a bit to kill time and looked in some of the stores. I was amused to find a big sign in the book store “No Open Flames”, this was the only English sign in the whole store.
By now I had been walking for 3 hours and my feet were tired and I was hungry. So I headed back and hit the hotel buffet for lunch, and I ate just like yesterday. I noticed that lots of Japanese like to eat there, it is kind of like Egyptians who like to have lunch at the Hilton. At the next table were 3 old Japanese ladies having lunch, bottle of wine and all the trimmings. I was amazed that those 3 skinny old ladies ate as much as I did and drank to boot!

I went to my room and digested for a while, then the sun came out. So I headed out to the Ginza shopping district. I found that I could get there from Shiodom under ground, which would have been handy during the rain. I looked all over the place and could not find the electronic dice that my son asked me for, I guess that fad is gone and they just sell new stuff. I probably walked for another 2 hours around Ginza, but found nothing but junk and high end electronics. Niether really seemed a good gift for the boy.
I was tempted to buy him one thing though, but I thought his mother would kill me. One store had very realistic looking, and feeling breasts, complete with nipples. They were sold singly not in pairs. Everyone would go up and squeeze one and then chuckle. I thought this was the type of thing my uncle would have bought and then showed it to visitors for a laugh.

Tomorrow I fly to another city and go back to work.

River's Weekend in Tokyo - Part I

2010-03-13T10:39:00.012-05:00

Recently I went to Japan for a business trip. My first week of work was in Mito, which is a small city about 1 hour north-east of Tokyo by train. My second week of work was near Niihama, which is on the southern coast of the Huchi-nada sea, a 2 hour flight from Tokyo.
In the intervening weekend I was left to my own devices. The natural place to spend the weekend was Tokyo since I would have to travel through Tokyo to get from one place to the other.

Photo From http://www.japan-guide.com

My Japanese colleague, I will call him K-San, set me me up in a very nice hotel in the Shiodom area, which is near the famous Ginza shopping district. The hotel is the Mitsui Garden Hotel, and I would recommend it to anyone.
When K-San dropped me off, he told me to take the Monorail on Monday morning to meet him in Haneda airport so that we can travel to our next work destination. By the way K-San is an exquisite planner and payed great attention to making my trip easy and enjoyable.
When I checked into the hotel, the desk clerk said: Your room is on the 11^th floor, there is a public bathroom on the 13^th floor. You can well imagine my momentary panic when I heard this, but after some discussion I realized that he meant a public Japanese traditional bath with steam and hot tubs. My room indeed had a great bathroom.

I spent Saturday morning walking around Tokyo so they would have time to clean my room. My first destination was the Monorail station. My first two attempts to find it failed miserably and I ended up in the wrong parts of town. I got back to the hotel, looked on the map and tried again and got lost again. It turned out the map showed the hotel entrance on the wrong side so I was going in the total opposite direction.

On my fourth try I finally found it. I also found that it was in a huge mall, so I walked around looking for stuff for the kids. In the book store all the Manga comics were sealed. Since many of the Manga’s often have explicit sex cartoons, I did not want to give my son an early education. So I will have to buy it in a store where the book is open so that I can pre-view it. I am sure he will be disappointed to have morally correct comics.

I probably walked 5 miles today being lost. I ended up having lunch back at the hotel even though I looked at the menu of every single restaurant I passed. Many of the restaurants looked good, but I was not yet up for lunch when I was walking, largely because of the anxiety of being lost. It is a good thing that I packed my sneakers, dress shoes would have been very uncomfortable for all that walking.

I guess I just don’t know why I should go to any outside restaurant. They have everything at the Buffet for just a bit more than I would pay for a single meal outside.

Lunch was about $13, they have both Japanese and Italian food. Or maybe I should say they have Japanese style Italian food; which good, but different.

Here is what I had for lunch:

1) Pizza w/Sausage and olive

2) Pizza with bacon and onion

3) Gnocci with red sauce with red peppers

4) Rice and Japanese Curry (I seem to eat this everyday)

5) Unrecognized vegetable tempura – was good

6) Unrecognized grilled veggies – was ok, funny taste

7) Pasta in cream sauce with shitake and wild mushrooms (and other stuff I did not recognize)

8) French fries

9) Green salad

10) Crème Caramel

11) Small donuts (2)

12) A small multi-layer Gateaux cube with a strawberry taste

13) A hazel nut gateaux with fresh crunchy hazelnuts (yes Ellen)

14) Fresh blood oranges

15) Orange juice

16) Grapefruit Juice

17) Green Tea

Obviously the walking worked up an appetite. Now mind you all the gateaux comes in really small pieces and so does the pizza, so you can try lots of different ones. So it is not as bad as it sounds.

I finished lunch at 2 PM, so I ended up skipping dinner.

I think the Japanese waiters were worried that I was not slowing down because they kept reminding me that they close at 2 PM.

Now I am thinking I want to use the public bath in about an hour. I don’t know if every body just jumps into a big hot tub or what. It seems like all the Japanese guests are using it because I see them in the elevator in their robes. I will be the only Caucasian there if I go.

Sunday I would try to find the Tokyo Tower on foot...
By the way a hotel room in Japan is always a great experience if the hotel is good and this one was great. The room is small by American standards, but big enough. It contains the following cool stuff:

A full size bed, very comfortable.
A refrigerator
Hot water pot / room humidifier combination. Very clever.
A cartridge espresso machine. This was great, you just push a button and you get a great cup of coffee. River is a caffeine addict.
An automatic pants presser. You basically hang your pants in this and close it, 20 minutes later you have perfectly creased pant. This is great when you are on business because slacks tend to wrinkle fast when you travel.
The most incredible toilet seat that you can imagine. Basically it has a built in, heated self cleaning, bidet.
A bathroom mirror that simply does not fog, no matter how steamy the bathroom gets.
An electronic safe. High speed Internet, and all the usual stuff we are accustomed to in the USA.
A nice view. I was on the 10th floor.

Continued...

Copyright © 2010 Lizabetti.com, All Rights Reserved

Happy Year of the Tiger

2010-02-10T18:34:00.001-05:00

Happy Year

Of The Tiger

February 14 is the New Year of the Tiger. Chinese New Year is all about enjoying good food with your family and friends. It means so much more when it is made at home. Enjoy our suggested Chinese New Year Dishes.

Recipe	Recipe	Recipe	Recipe
Recipe	Recipe	Recipe	Recipe

Cool and Spicy Shrimp Spring Rolls

2010-01-24T21:14:00.004-05:00

My husband introduced me to these roll on our 21st anniversary. The filling was a little different, but quite tasty nonetheless. Once I found the spring roll skin at our local Asian market, I thought it would be great to make them. I just filled them with the taste that we love. I think that you can put just about anything into them. I have made them with grilled salmon instead of the shrimp. That is the hubby's favorite. The one key thing I learned as I experimented with these rolls is that the rice vermicelli works best because it is sticky when wet and it will stay put. I tried using the bean thread vermicelli and its too slippery, making the rolling process rather difficult. Also, I found that rolling the spring rolls worked best on a silicone mat. The mats are available at most kitchen stores and are usually used for baking. I find that the silicone helps the skin not stick to its surface, making the rolling process a breeze.

The great thing about these rolls is that they are served cold, which makes them a perfect appetizer on a hot summer day, just serve with hot sauce and your favorite cocktail!

Ingredients:

2 cups of finely sliced lettuce-iceberg works best
1 small bundle of rice vermicelli
8 grilled shrimps or boiled
1 cup of daikon/cucumber salad
a handful of cilantro
4 spring roll skins
1 silicone mat
a shallow container large enough for the spring roll to fit in

Directions:

Prepare the daikon/cucumber salad. Julienne the daikon and cucumber. I find that this works best by first finely slicing the daikon and cucumber at an angle. Then, cutting each slice into thin pieces about width of a matchstick. Add about 2 tbsp of finely minced cilantro. Marinate in about 2 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Set aside for about 15 minutes or so.
To season the shrimp for grilling, use 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1tsp of onion powder, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Toss and set aside.
Soak the rice vermicelli in hot water until it is soft. It should take about 5 minutes or less. Drain and set aside.
If you are grilling the shrimp, set the grill on medium/high and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side. When the shrimp turns pink, you know its time to flip them. This can also be done with a heavy bottome skillet.
To assemble the rolls, fill a wide flat bottom dish with warm water. Place one spring roll skin in the water. Putting more than one skin in the water will just give you a huge mess. The skins won't separate easily once they are wet, so you will have to end up tossing all of them out. The skin should become soft almost immediately. Remove the skin from the water and gently shake any excess water from the skin.
Place the skin on the silicone mat.
Place a small amount of the sliced lettuce on the upper 1/3 of the spring roll skin.
Next lay a small quantity of the rice vermicelli.
Add the daikon/cucumber salad. It is best if you drain the salad a bit. If you add too much of the liquid from the salad, it will make the rolls soggy.
Next add 2 shrimps.
Place 2-3 sprigs of cilantro on top of the shrimps.
Now to roll the whole thing. Take the top flap and fold it over the filling.
Next fold each of the side in.
Finally, roll the rest of the skin unto itself.
Roll the remaining spring rolls.
Serve with your favorite Asian dipping sauce.

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Tasty Baked Kibbe (Kobeiba Shamy)

2009-10-07T23:17:00.003-04:00

This dish is also very healthy because the burgul wheat is high in fiber, it is baked so it is low in fat. It is also very economical because the wheat helps to stretch the meat.

Now Gedo is actually from Jordan, so his style of making this dish is very authentic.

Ingredients:

The crust layers

1 lb of ground lean ground beef
2 cups of burghul #2 (Bulgur wheat)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp of black pepper
1/8 tsp of allspice
1/4 cup of pine nuts

The meat filling

2 lbs coarsely chopped lean beef
2-3 medium size onions
1/2 clove of garlic
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped garlic
1/2 tbsp of salt
1/2 tbsp of black pepper
1/2 tbsp of allspice
1 tbsp of dried oregano
1/4 cup of olive oil
two 9 x 12 baking dishes

Directions:

Rinse and soak the burgul wheat for about 30 minutes in lukewarm water. I like to use the #2 burgul because it is coarse giving the dish a nice texture. Gedo uses the finer burgul. This is just a matter of preference.
Trim and coarsely chop the lean beef. Set the beef on a paper towel which will help to soak any liquid from the beef. This will ensure that the beef brown nicely, rather than be steamed in its own juices. Set the meat aside. If you are short on time, you can substitute this ingredient with ground beef.
Coarsely chop the onions.Clean and trim the parsley.
Coarsely chop the parsley.
Finely chop the garlic.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Using a large sauce pan, heat it on medium high. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and brown the coarsely chopped beef.
Mix in the salt and allspice.
Once the meat is nicely browned, add the chopped onions and garlic. Cook them for a few minutes, until fragrant.
Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil into the beef mixture. Mix the parsley in and cook until the parsley is wilted. Remove from the heat and set it aside.

Drain the burgul and place in a large container. Add the ground meat and remaining ingredients for the crust. Now for some fun. You need to thoroughly incorporate the beef with the burgul. This is best done using your hands. Kneed the mixture with your hands until it is completely mixed together. It should have the consistency of dough. Divide the mixture into approximately 4 portions. Two of the portions will be used for the bottom layers and 2 will become the top crust for the dishes.
Drizzle about 2 tbsp of olive oil into each of the 2 baking dishes.Take 1/4 of the crust mixture and press into each of the baking dishes. Use your hands to work the mix into a nice even bottom layer. There should be no gaps in the layer.
Diviide the cook meat mixture between the 2 dishes. Spread it even over the dishes.

For each of the top crust layer, take a small quantity of the mixture and form a flat patty with your hand. Careful place it on top of the other layers. Continue until you have cover the entire dish. You will have small gaps as you cover the layers with the final crust. Repeat this process for the remaining dish.
Fill a small bowl with water and wet your hand. Take your wet hand and careful smooth the top layer of the dish until all the small gaps have been fill in. Do not press hard. It should be a gentle smoothing over. Continue doing this until you have a nice smooth top layer.
Using a sharp knife, first score the dish into 3 lengthwise sections and 4 crosswise sections. When you are satisfied with the size of your sections, Cut the sections all the way through.
Place a few pieces of pine nuts onto each portion. Gently press the nuts in.
Bake for about 30 minutes in the oven. You will know that the dish is done when the top becomes a nice golden brown.
Cool for about 10 minutes and serve with yogurt sauce and hummus.
One of the dishes will generously serve 4-6. The other dish can be refrigerated or frozen

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Simple Healthy Baked Falafel - Taameya Siheya

2009-10-05T22:14:00.007-04:00

I have always loved falafel, or taameya as they call it in Egypt, but I wanted to find a way to make it without deep frying. Well, the last time I published the Egyptian Falafel Recipe. I had frozen several packages of falafel. So I decided to try baking one of the packages. Let me tell you I could not have been more pleased, not only does it taste the same as fried falafel, it is also much easier to make with much less mess and no frying odor. With this recipe you gain the health benefits of lower fat, the ease of cooking, and you do not give up any taste.

If you notice a similarity between the steps in this recipe and the Egyptian Falafel Recipe, it is no coincidence. I used the same batch to make both the fried recipe and the baked recipe.

Egyptian falafel, or taameya, is different from the garden variety falafel that you usually get in this country. The difference is that the Egyptian variety are made with fava beans instead of chick peas(Garbanzo beans). Fave beans have a much richer flavor and are higher in protein and fiber than chick peas. If you can't find dry fava beans, you can use dry chick peas in the same quantities as this recipe. Falafel and fava bean sandwiches are the original fast food and are available at many corner stands throughout the Middle East. They are a delicious, economical, and extremely healthy main course choice. This dish is an awesome vegetarian treat that will leave you completely satisfied. Serve it with Tahini Bagdoonisya dip, Baba Ghanouj, yogurt sauce, and cut vegetables. My favorite way to enjoy it is on Arabic bread with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and Tahini Bagdoonisya dip'

You can also freeze the uncooked mixture for 6 months and cook it as you need it.

Ingredients

2 cups fava beans, peeled if possible. You can buy this at any Middle Eastern market. If they are not available peeled, you can peel them after soaking, or keep the peel for additional fiber.
1 fresh leek, washed and sliced.
1 bunch fresh Italian parsley
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 head of garlic
1 bunch of Green Onions (6 stalks)
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayanne pepper, double the quantity for Alexandria style.
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp sea salt (can be omitted or reduced for health reasons, it will still taste good)
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions Prep the Beans:

Wash the beans thoroughly in luke warm water.
Soak the beans in water for at least 2 days, changing the water about 4 times during this period. The first water changing should come when the beans form a foamy froth on the surface. Changing the water will prevent the beans' gassy effect on your GI tract.
Drain the beans when ready to make the paste.

Make the Paste:

Place the parsley, cilantro and garlic in the food processor, chop fine.
Add the green onions and leeks, chop fine.
Remove the vegetable paste from the food processor and set aside. Do not wash the food processor.
Add the beans to the food processor and chop until they reach the consistency of a thick peanut butter.
In a bowl, mix the vegetable paste and chopped beans.
Add the cumin, coriander, cayanne, and salt. If you are going to freeze the mixture, leave out the salt and add it when you are going to cook the falafel.
Mix the ingredients thoroughly and stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water. Mix the paste thoroughly.
Sprinkle the baking powder over the paste, evenly fold into the paste.
Let stand for at least 1 hour. You can also leave it covered in the fridge over night.
If you want to freeze the mixture

Divide into 1 pound (1/2 Kg) portions
Place each portion into a plastic freezer bag and flatten to a 2 inch (5 cm) thick patty. Flattening them makes them faster to thaw out later.
Remove all air from the bag. I prefer to vacuum seal mine. If you vacuum seal them they will last at least six months in the freezer. I have have used them after 1 year in the freezer with no problem.

Bake the falafel:

Preheat the over to 400^oF (204^oC).
Brush olive oil onto a non-stick cookie sheet.
Use a small ice cream scoop (1 Tblsp size) or a spoon to form small balls of your paste. Space them evenly across the sheet.
Flatten the balls into disks with a fork. Be sure to pat the sides in smooth so they don't burn.
Brush the top of each patty with olive oil.
Bake at 400^oF (204^oC) for 10 minutes.
Slowly slide a thin spatula under each patty and flip. This is easier if you take the sheet out of the over first.
Bake at 400^oF (204^oC) for another 10 minutes.
Serve hot or cold.

I realize that it looks lengthy, but the work portion of it can be done in 45 minutes. You just need to plan ahead for the soak time for the beans and the stand time for the paste. If you freeze this mixture, you can enjoy this tasty treat anytime without too much effort, even on a week night.

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Breast Cancer Awareness Month

2009-10-04T16:10:00.002-04:00

In 2008 over 40,000 women died of breast cancer, BUT as of 2008 there are over 2.5 million breast cancer survivors (Source). This proves that with proper education and testing there is hope.

Visit

The America Cancer Society

to learn how early detection is the best prevention.

Gedo's/Jido's Spinach and Chicken Delight

2009-09-07T10:19:00.005-04:00

This a much loved recipe that has been served by Gedo to many friends and over the years has become one of his signature dish. Not only is it tasty, but it is also extremely healthy. The combination of chicken and spinach with the zestiness of the lime is a delight to the taste buds. Add a little red rice or any rice and you are ready for dinner.

Ingredients:

4 pieces of boneless chicken breast (about 2 lbs)
2 medium onion
1/2 clove of garlic
1 lime
One 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 20 oz can of chick peas or 1 cup of dried chick peas soaked until soft - about 1 hour)
1 lb of spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1/8 tsp of allspice

Directions:

When making this dish, I prefer to use the dried chick peas that I soak until they are soft. This takes about an hour. I prefer this version of the chick peas because they have not been cooked and they retain their firm texture which is a nice complement in the dish. The dish is still great using the can chick peas. To soak the chick peas, place them in a large bowl and rinse with hot tap water. Add more hot water and soak. The chick peas should double in size.
Clean and trim the chicken breast. Rinse and cut into bit size.
Coarsely chop the 2 onions.
Trim and thoroughly wash the spinach. There is nothing worse than finding gritty sand from the spinach. Spin the spinach dry and coarsely chopped it.
Clean and trim the cilantro. Rinse and dry. Coarsely chop.
Finely minced the garlic
Peel 4 strips of the rind on the lime. The best way to do this is to peel the rind lenghtwise on the lime. What you are trying to do is to only partially peel the lime. Then cut the lime in half. Set one half a side for later. With the other half, chopped it into small chunks.
Heat a large pan on medium heat. When the bottom of the pan is hot, add the chicken and steam the pieces in its own juice. Continue cooking until all the juices are absorbed. It will take about 5-10 minutes. Keep stirring the chicken during this process.
Once the chicken juices are absorbed, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and saute the chicken until golden brown. It should take about 3-5 minutes.
Now add the chopped onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown and fragrant. It may be necessary to add more olive oil at this point.

11. Stir in the dice tomatoes and the lime pieces.

12. Drain the chick peas and stir them in. Cook for about 5 minutes.

13. Stir in the spices.
14. Stir in the spinach and cook on low heat for an additional 20-30 minutes.
15. Just prior to serving, squeeze the juice of the 1/2 remaining lime.
16. Serve over rice. Generous serving for 4-6.

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Okra with Lamb Shanks : Moza b'il Bamia

2009-09-06T02:31:00.006-04:00

Even though there are many famous Egyptian dishes, this one is truly one of the signature family meals that people really enjoy on a regular basis. The combination of vegetables, meat and tomato sauce served with rice is a recurring theme in Egyptian cuisine. Traditionally the in-season vegetables are used in dishes similar to this one, different types of meat are substituted as well. This particular dish is made with lamb shanks, but both the meat and vegetable can be substituted based on availability. It is common to make similar dishes with green beans, turnips, peas, cauliflower, or even spinach. For example, see our Mediterranean Home-Style Chicken which is a very similar dish, but used chicken and green beans.

In preparation for labor day, where I was going to repeat my Spring Grilled Feast; I was preparing a leg of lamb. Lizabetti wanted me to reserve the shank for another dish, so I cut off the shank and removed the bone from the leg of lamb. We decided to make okra for a change.

We served the dish with saffron rice and a healthy tabouleh as the salad. The tabouleh and okra both have lots of fiber. The dish is loaded with anti-oxidants in the tomato, onion, and garlic. So even though it has some meat it is also very nutritious. I also used some turmeric in the dish for its anti-inflammatory benefits.

Ingredients:

Lizabetti;s Mediterranean Dry Rub
2 Lamb shanks, about 2 lb's (1 Kilo) total weight before cooking.
1 lb (.5 kilo) of lamb leg meat, cut into cubes. You can use any lamb meat, or any meat for that matter. There is no rule against using chicken instead.
2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
2 lb of okra. The smaller okra is better tasting and more tender. We use frozen okra from Market Basket because it is generally higher in quality than we can buy fresh in New England.
2 Tbsp garlic, chopped.
1 medium onion, chopped.
1/2 cup of fresh parsley, chopped.
1 Tbsp dry Oregano.
1 Tbsp cumin.
1 Tbsp dry parsley.
1/2 tsp dry coriander.
1/2 tsp turmeric.
1 cup red wine.

Directions:

Coat the meat with Lizabetti;s Mediterranean Dry Rub. It is best to do this 1 day in advance and keep the meat in the fridge over night. This will allow the flavor to permeate the meat.
Thaw the okra if frozen. Rinse with cold water and drain. You can just pull the okra out about the time you start cooking because it gets added later in the process.
Preheat pan. I used a heavy Croisette pan. If you use one make sure to not exceed 5 out of 10 on your stove temperature setting. If you use a regular pan, use medium-high heat.
Add some olive oil, once the oil is hot add the onions.
Cook the onions until light brown, then add the garlic. Mix in thoroughly.
Once the garlic is light brown, push the mixture aside and add the shanks.

Brown the shanks on all sides.
Mix the onion, garlic and shanks thoroughly.
Add the cubed lamb meat and brown on all sides.
Add the fresh parley and stir in.

Add the dry ingredients, mix in thoroughly.
Add the wine, stir in. Let the wine simmer until it changes to a nice brown color.

Pour in the tomato sauce.
Bring to a simmer, cover and turn down to low heat. If you are using a Croisette pan, set your stove to 2.5 out of 10. Otherwise set your stove to medium-low heat.
Check periodically to make sure that the mixture is not boiling hard, it should just be simmering. If it is boiling, turn down the heat.
Cook for 1 hour or until the shanks are tender. A fork should penetrate the shank down to the bone without too much resistance. You will know because the bone starts to protrude from the bone as shown below.
Add the okra and mix in.
Cook for 20-30 minutes or until the okra is tender, but not mushy.
Serve with white rice or saffron rice. We did it with saffron rice because our daughter loves it so much.

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You Can Build an Improved Stone Pizza Oven : Stone Pony II

2009-09-05T23:18:00.003-04:00

The Stone Pony is the nickname for my beloved home made stone oven. I use this to make anything from pizza to barbecue, including my annual Thanksgiving turkey. I have measured temperatures up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit (390 degrees Celsius) before my oven thermometer self-destructed.

This is a follow up project to You Can Build a Stone Pizza Oven. Which was posted in December of 2007. Before reading this article you should read You Can Build a Stone Pizza Oven

first. I have since updated that article with pictures of the cement creation process.

The oven is shown below with the electric rotisserie attachments. Also note the added warming rack above the oven. The picture on the right is a roast in cooking in the over in a rotisserie basket.

I have been using the oven for almost 3 years now and I must say that I am very happy with it. For one thing it cooks food with an absolutely phenomenal flavor. Also, it can be used in any weather and it is very versatile in terms of the foods that can be cooked in it. The following recipes have been made using the Stone Pony for this site.

Anything that you can make on a grill can also be made better using this oven. I regularly make steak, barbecued ribs, and chicken. I usually cook with apple wood because it is a mild smoky taste, also I live in Apple Country.

Like I said before, rocks vary widely in size, so this set of instructions gives you the general idea, but your own creativity is the key to building an oven.

As any technologist would tell you; there is always room for improvement. Rustic stone ovens are no exception. I wanted to increase the capacity of the oven and also be able to cook things at different temperatures simultaneously. The changes to the oven all center around the chimney area:

Increase the size of the Chimney. Even though the diagram does not show it, I also made the chimney taller, as well as wider.

A taller chimney gives you a greater temperature gradient between the top and the bottom of the oven. This will result in an improved draft.
An improved draft will add a convection effect which will cook food faster and more evenly.

Take advantage of the increased chimney volume and create a secondary cooking chamber inside the top of the over.

This gives a good place to cook things that you want to cook with slightly lower heat.
I use this space for baked potatoes and corn on the cob. The great thing is that these can be cooking at the same time as the main dish in the main cooking chamber.

Take advantage of the increased surface area on top of the chimney to create an external cooking surface.

This is great for things you want to grill slowly on low heat such as sausage, ribs, or natural casing hot dogs
I sometimes use a grill cover on the top if cooking sausage in cold weather to give more even cooking.

The extra cooking space has been great. For example while cooking the Thanksgiving turkey inside the main chamber, I can be making extra wings on top of the Chimney while baking potatoes inside the secondary chamber. Also since I can cook everything at once, I end up using much less wood for cooking.

Steps:

I removed the old chimney leaving the back of the oven open. You have to be careful to not remove anything structural, but my old chimney was just stuck on to the back of the superstructure.
The second picture below shows you the plan for inserting a grill to create the secondary chamber. I took this pictur while measuring it.

Mix up a batch of fresh mud based cement, see You Can Build a Stone Pizza Oven for illustrated instructions.
Lay down a generous layer on the stone that forms the base for the chimney.
Spread evenly to a thickness of about 2 inches (5 cm).

Place a layer of carefully selected rocks
Fill the gaps between the from the top with cement. Push the cement in between the rocks.
Cover the rocks with another generous layer of cement.
Keep repeating this process until it is time to add the grill for the secondary cooking chamber.

Now it is time to add the grill, which will be structurally supported by the chimney on 3 sides.
Lay down a generous layer of cement on top of your last layer of rock
Press the outer end of the grill into the cement.
Add more cement on the 3 sides of the grill that correspond to the chimney walls.
Add a layer of rocks above the grill.
Continue to build up layers of rocks until you reach the desired height for your chimney. For me this was about 6 feet (~2M) above the ground. This way I can stand on a large rock when I am cooking on the top.

This is what the finished chimney looks like with and without a top grill.

Now that I have near perfect stone oven, I would really like to start from scratch and build a really great one. For example I would point the firebox in a different direction from the cooking chamber. I would also make a larger cooking chamber. Of course any change would force me to re-design the electric rotisserie that built for this oven.

Again, this is only a rough guideline. I encourage you to use these ideas, but you will have to solve many problems yourself, depending on the type of material you have in your area. For example, in Morocco they build ovens completely out of mud. They are able to cook an entire lamb in such an oven.

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Savory Roast Chicken

2009-05-13T22:50:00.008-04:00

My kids love chicken, especially roast chicken. This a simple and yet easy recipe. We used a large roasting chicken which weighed about 8 pounds which will give you a nice meal with leftovers for sandwiches or salads. Also, it can be a great alternative for a small Thanksgiving- a huge feast for two. To make it extra special, we stuffed the bird with a savory sausage and Lizabetti's bread crumb stuffing. It was absolutely delicious. All you need to complete the meal is a vegetable and a side of rice or potatoes.

Ingredients:

1 roasting chicken, about 8-10 lbs.
2 tbsp of sweet paprika
2 tbsp of garlic powder
2 tbsp of onion powder
1 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of dried, minced oregano
2 tbsp of minced fresh garlic
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of unsalted butter
Lizabetti's sausage stuffing
1 portabello mushroom, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced

Directions:

Trim the chicken, if necessary. I like to trim some of the fat around the neck and cavity opening. I also give the bird a rinse and pat it dry.
Gently, pry the skin on the breast loose. You don't have to loosen the whole thing, just enough to get some of the seasoning mix between the meat and skin.
Mix all the dry ingredients together. I like to use a whisk.
Sprinkle the mix all over the chicken. Make sure you coat the inside cavity of the bird.
Coat the area between the breast and skin with the dry mix.
Coat the inside cavity as well as the section between the skin and the breast meat with the fresh minced garlic.
Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken which will help the seasoning to adhere to the chicken.
Cover the chicken with plastic or foil and let it marinade overnight or for a few hours in the refrigerator. Make sure take the chicken out about an hour before you are going to start roasting it. Its best if the chicken is not ice cold.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Soak about 2 feet of cooking twine in warm water.
Place the sliced portabello and onion on the roasting rack and set the bird on top of the mixture.
Stuff the bird with the stuffing. I find that you need to really stuff the cavity tightly. It might look small, but you will be surprised as to how much stuffing you can get into the chicken. Just keep pressing and adding the stuffing, until the entire cavity is tightly stuffed. I know that there are many camps on whether to cook the stuffing in the bird or not. For this recipe, I like the stuffing cooked in the chicken.
In order to keep the stuffing in the bird, I use a big sewing needle and the twine to "sew" the cavity shut. You may not be able to get the opening completely closed, but just having a bit of twine across the opening will help to keep the stuffing from completely falling out. Wrap some of the twine around the drumsticks and trim the twine.
Take the 2 tbsp of butter and slather them between the breast meat and the skin.
Roast the bird at 400 F for about 30 minutes. Then turn the temperature down to 375 F and continue to roast for another 2.5 to 3 hours.
Let the bird rest for about 15 minutes and then its ready to be carved.

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Tasty Mediterranean Meat Pies - Fiteer Bil Lahma

2009-04-05T23:50:00.004-04:00

These meat pies have a great Middle-Eastern flavor and are pretty easy to make. They make a great school day lunch or a perfect party hors h'oeuvres. They don't need to be served hot and can be made in a variety of sizes.
They freeze well and will easily last 6 months in the freezer.

I like to make them with lean ground lamb, but you can also make them with a mixture of lamb and beef. I just feel that lamb gives a more authentic flavor, but a little lamb goes a long way in taste, so go ahead and mix in other meats. No reason that you cannot substitute chicken or turkey for that matter.

These pies can be eaten warm or at room temperature. The meat mixture in recipe is very tasty and can also be served over rice or pasta. It also works as a vegetable stuffing. One time I even ate the stuffing in a sandwitch

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Lizabetti's Mediterranean Dry Rub
1/2 Lb. Ground lamb
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup Toasted Pine Nuts
1 Medium onion, chopped
4 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1 Small Can of Tomato Paste
1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese - Not a traditional ingredient, but it helps seal in the juices. You can omit this to reduce fat.
1 lb ball of pizza dough or bread dough. You can make your own dough, my local pizza parlor sells gread dough balls that I use for all kinds of dishes.
1/4 Cup of Sesame Seed. Substitute flax seeds for a boost of Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
1 Tbsp Milk. Use any type you have, this is just to hold the sesame seeds to the pies.

Directions:

Meat Mixture:

Pre-Heat a fry pan to medium high and then add the olive oil.
Once the oil is hot, add the onion. Cook until the onions are clear then push them to one side of the pan.
Add the meat to the empty side of the pan and spread it out. Do not mix the meat with the onions at this time.
Brown the meat to a light tan color.
Mix the garlic into the onions.
Add the dry rub mixture to the meat and work it in.
Add the onion/garlic mixture to the meat and stir.
Stir in the pine nuts.
Stir in the tomato paste. Turn down the heat to medium low and simmer for 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and transfer the meat to a mixing bowl.
Mix in the cheese. Let the mixture cool. Meanwhile you can work the dough.

Build the Pies:

Punch down the dough and roll out with a rolling pin. Roll it into a large rectangle.
Place small piles of the meat mixture along the edge of the dough about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart.
Use a basting brush to moisten the dough just beyond the piles of meat.
Roll the edge of the dough over the meat piles
Cut the rolled portion of the dough off from the rest of the dough.
Cut the individual pies, use a fork to press down all the edges.
Repeat this process until you use up the dough or the meat mixture.
Poke each of the pies with a toothpick at least 5 times. It is important that you do this or the pies will explode in the oven.
Coat a cookie sheet with a thin layer of olive oil.
Place the pies on the cookie sheet.
Brush the milk on the pies and quickly sprinkle with sesame seeds before the milk soaks in.
Bake on 375 for 30 minutes or until the pies are a golden brown.
Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

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2009-04-05T21:14:00.003-04:00

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Spicy and Heart Healthy Fish Taco

2009-01-14T11:26:00.008-05:00

This is a quick and nutritious meal that can be prepared in a jiffy. The fish can be ready in less than 15 minutes. The condiments take a little more time. I think that it is worth the time to make the salsa and guacamole to go with this dish.

This dish also gives you a great way to rotate fish into your diet. Because it is a spicy dish, you can use a fairly low cost fish. We use Pollock because it is a tasty white fish that happens to be very economical right now.

For a healthy meat version of this dish try my Heart Healthy Meat Taco .

Ingredients:

4-6 oz of white firm fish such as haddock, cod or pollock
taco seasoning either store bought or home mix
cayenne pepper (optional)
1-2 tbsp of finely minced garlic
salt/pepper
olive oil
1/4 cup of finely ground cornmeal
finely chopped lettuce
grated cheddar cheese
soft taco shells
Lizabetti's Spicy Chunky Salsa
Lizabetti's Zesty Guacamole

Directions:

Rinse the fish in cold water. Pat the fish dry with paper towels. It is really important to pat the fish dry or it will stick to the pan when you are cooking.
Cut the fish into serving portions of about the size of your palm
Salt and pepper the fish.
Coat the fish with the minced garlic.
Sprinkle the fish with the taco seasoning. Be generous with the seasoning.
For an extra kick, sprinkle cayenne pepper on the fish.
Drizzle olive oil on the fish. This will help the seasoning to adhere to the fish. Set the fish aside.
Prepare the salsa and guacamole.
Just before you are ready to cook the fish, lightly coat the pieces with cornmeal. Use a small strainer which will help to evenly distribute the cornmeal. The cornmeal will give the fish a nice crunch.
Using a nonstick frying pan, coat the bottom with olive oil and heat on medium.
Saute the first side of the fish for about 2 minutes. When the sides begin to turn opaque, its time to flip the fish.
Cook the second another 2 minutes or so.
To heat the tortilla, place them in a warm skillet for a few minutes. Warm one side, then flip and warm the other side.
Serve with all your favorite taco toppings, salsa, guacamole, shredded lettuce and cheese.
Just before serving squeeze some lime juice onto the fish.

Zesty Guacamole

2009-01-14T11:11:00.004-05:00

Guacamole is an amazingly easy side dish to make yet it adds a hearty authentic texture to Mexican food. Avocados have a buttery flavor that makes for a great chip dip, or as a condiment on tacos or enchiladas.

Unlike bean dip, which can be bought in a store with high quality, guacamole really needs to be freshly made. Never fear though, as long as you can find a ripe avocado, this dish only takes 5 minutes to make.

Ingredients:

1 Ripe Avocado
1 Plum Tomato, diced.
1/4 Medium Spanish Onion, chopped.
1/2 Tsp Paprika
1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper (Adjust to Taste).
1 Large Lime, or 2 Key Limes.

Directions:

If the Avocado is not fully ripe, dice it into small cubes.
Add the spices and squeeze the lime onto the Avocado
Mash thoroughly with a fork.
Mix in the onions and tomatos. You can skip this step if you are using this dish as a condiment for Tacos since you will be adding other stuff to it.
Serve with tortilla chips and Salsa.

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Savory Sausage Turkey Stuffing

2008-11-20T14:05:00.002-05:00

I always liked stuffing my turkeys and chickens with rice mixtures, but I thought it would be nice to make a stuffing that makes the bird self basting while contributing delicious flavor of its own.

To get a really unique flavor I like to make this stuffing with Italian Sausage. I brown it ahead of time to get rid of the excess fat, but that leaves enough to make your bird very juicy. For extra firmness and flavor I use my Bread Crumb Recipe.

This stuffing is so tasty, you will be tempted to eat it as is or on a sandwich.

This recipe makes enough stuffing for 10-12 pound bird. If you have a larger turkey, multiply accordingly.

Ingredients:

3/4 lb Fresh Italian Sausage, buy it loose if available
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 cup Lizabetti Bread Crumbs
1 cup diced mushrooms
1 tbs garlic, chopped
1 tsp dry oregano
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, chopped

Directions:

Remove the sausage from its skin and break up
Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat until light tan in color. Do not over-brown at this time because it will continue cooking as you add the other ingredients.
Slide the sausage to one side of the skillet and add the onions to the open side.
Brown the onion in the rendered sausage fat.
Mix the onions and sausage and slide to the side of the pan.
Add the mushrooms and cook until soft.
Mix the mushrooms with the sausage and onions.
Stir in the celery, cook for 3 m.
Stir in the garlic, oregano, and paprika.
Cook 2 more minutes and remove from the heat.
Mix in the parsley and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Stir in the bread crumbs.
You are now ready to stuff your bird.

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Wholesome and Delicious Apple Crisp

2008-11-20T13:07:00.010-05:00

I am not usually a fruit dessert sort of person, but I have come to absolutely love this sweet dish. Not only does it satisfy your sweet tooth , it is good for you as well. I first tried to make apple crisp when someone sent me a recipe. I don't know why, but that recipe did not work for me, there was just not enough crisp in the whole thing. So I went about trying to get just the right texture and taste for me. This is a great dessert to make ahead of time since it can be refrigerated for at least 2 days and then reheated when you are ready to serve. It can also be served at room temperature, but I really like mine warm. A scoop of vanilla ice cream adds the final touch to the whole thing. This is a great alternative to the apple pie for Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:
Crust

1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of baking soda
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 stick of cold, unsalted butter
1/4 cup of chopped nuts

Filling

3 tbsp of white flour
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon
juice of one lemon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Whisk the oatmeal, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, brown sugar together.
Unwrap the butter and use the wrapper to grease a 9 X 12 baking dish. There is enough butter left on the wrapper that it will give the baking dish enough butter so that the crisp will not stick to the baking dish. I would recommend using a nice baking dish since this is a dessert that goes from the oven to the serving table. I like using my Le Creuset cast iron dish.
Cut the butter into small pats and add to the oatmeal mixture. This makes incorporating the butter into the dry mix a lot easier.
Using a pastry blender, work the crust until the butter is incorporated into the oatmeal mixture. It will probably take about 5 minutes of blending. The crust should be crumbly.
Press about 1 to 1 1/2 cups into the bottom of the baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Add the chopped nuts to the remaining crust.
In the meantime, peel and cut the apples using an apple cutter. You will have 8 slices at this point.
Cut each slice in half. Each apple will give you 16 slices.
In a container mix the flour, brown sugar and cinammon together. Add the apple slices. Make sure all the slices are well coated.
Using a slotted spoon, carefully place the apple mixture over the baked crust.
Sprinkle the remaining crust over the apple mixture.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes. The crust will be a golden brown and you will see some bubbling of the apple mix.
Let it cool for about 20 minutes before cutting.
Serve with a scoop of ice cream. Will generously serve 8-10 people.
The entire dish can be prepared up to 2 days in advance of serving. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. To serve, just warm in a 300 F oven for about 10-15 minutes or serve at room temperature. Don't forget the scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of hot tea.

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Hearty French Onion Soup

2008-10-18T23:10:00.005-04:00

I love autumn in New England, especially because I get to enjoy my favorite soups. This soup is so filling that you can have just one bowl as a meal. It makes a great weekend lunch, or a simple weekday dinner. I just love the pull of the cheese with each spoonful.

The secret to this dish is a rich stock. This time I made it using lamb stock for a full flavor, but you can use chicken, beef, or turkey stock. I also used my Tasty Crouton Recipe instead of toasted french bread to add more flavor.

Ingredients:
For 2 BIG servings

1 Cup Dry Red Wine
2 Quarts Lamb, Beef, Chicken, or Turkey Stock
1/2 Cup Croutons or sliced toasted French bread
6 oz Swiss Cheese, shredded
2 Cups Mushrooms, sliced
1-2 Onions, sliced and separated.
1 tbsp Chopped Garlic
1/2 tsp Fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp Cumin
2 pats of butter.
1/2 tsp salt, only if the stock has no salt. If you use a commercial stock that contains salt, omit this.
1 tsp of Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce.
1 tbsp General purpose flour

Directions:

Place the wine and stock into a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Keep boiling while you perform the rest of the steps. You will want to reduce it to about half of its original volume.
Pre-heat a large fry pan and cover the bottom with olive oil.
Add the sliced onions and fry until they are golden brown.
Slide the onions to one side of the and pan melt the butter in the open side.
Add the mushrooms to the butter and mix in. Stir in the garlic.
Saute the mushrooms until brown, mix with the onions.
Sprinkle the flour over the mixture, mix in and saute until brown.
Stir the pepper and cumin into the stock. Add the Soy, Worcestershire and salt (if any) to the stock.
Pour the mushroom and onion mixture into the stock, bring to a simmer. The flour will thicken the broth.
Add some croutons (or toast) to each oven safe bowl, sprinkle with some cheese
Ladle the soup into each bowl and top with the rest of the cheese.
Place the bowls on a cookie sheet and broil on high for 3-5 minutes.
Let stand for at least 5 minutes before serving.

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New England Lobster Grill

2008-08-26T21:10:00.003-04:00

Summertime in New England is very under rated. We have some great weather. Hot, but not for long. While we have had lots of rain this year, it has been a spectacular season for lobster. Prices are good, the shells are thin and the meat is buttery tender this time of year. Ti's the season. I have have enjoyed making boiled lobster for many years, but a few years ago I began to grill it. Let me tell you, I may never go back. Not to worry though, this technique is totally humane and the little dears never feel a thing.

I got this idea several years ago when I was in Japan. Among my favorite meals is Japanese grill, where you sit near the chef at the bar and he grills stuff and serves it to you. One of the great dishes I enjoyed was the grilled lobster. However, the Japanese chef had no qualms about bisecting the poor thing live, but the fire was so hot that it was not alive for long. Watching this was fascinating and the meal was delicious, but I came up with a tamer, more humane way to do this. I basically boil the lobsters for 1 minute prior to processing them. I cooked this dish on an apple wood fire in the Stone Pony, my outdoor stone oven, but you can use a good kettle grill or a gas grill too. If you want to experiment with cooking it on an open fire, I recommend you dig a pit for safety, also have a hose handy.

Ingredients:

Lobster
- 1 Live Lobster per person, I find that 1.5-2 pound lobsters are ideal. I prefer them bigger.
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 handful fresh chives
- 1 pinch fresh oregano
- 1 pinch fresh parsley
- substitute your favorite fresh herbs, these are what I grow in the garden
Sides
- 1 ear of fresh corn per person (leave the husk on)
- 1 medium Yukon Gold potato per person
- 1/2 bunch of mustard greens, Swiss chard, or Chinese broccoli
- 1 stick of butter

Directions:

Soak the corn, husk and all in cold water and wash the potatoes thoroughly.
Light the grill. Place the corn and potatoes on the warming rack at least one hour before cooking the lobster, cover the grill. Flip after half an hour.
Mix the olive oil, herbs, and garlic in a bowl.
Boil a large pot of water.
Boil each lobster for 1 minute, not enough to cook them, but long enough to kill them.
Drain the lobster and cut down the middle of the front from the head through the tail.
Spoon the herb mixture into the crevice. Don't forget to remove the rubber bands off the claws.
brush the remaining herb mixture onto the mustard greens
Turn up the heat of the grill and place the lobsters stomach side up on the grill. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
Flip the lobsters, place the vegetable on the grill. Cook an additional 3-5 minutes.
Place the butter in a bowl, add some olive oil and microwave for 30 seconds. Add some chives to the butter. The olive oil helps make the butter more liquid and tastes good too!
Serve the lobster over the vegetable with the corn and potatoes on the side.
You are now in heaven.
For those of us who like to have seafood chowder, don't toss out the lobster shells when you are done indulging. The shells make a fine stock which can then be used to make any seafood sauce or chowder.

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