Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Things I Am Loving This Week

Time for a few more "Things I Am Loving This Week"--those (mostly) food related things that I am enjoying and want to share. 

First up, hopefully you have an "Edible Publications" magazine, for your city or area. (You can check out a list of them here to see). They are a quarterly magazine that focuses on local, seasonal, sustainable foods and the farmers and producers involved in them. I love, love, love the Edible Hawaiian Islands version and usually pick them up on the free publications stand at Whole Foods whenever the new one is out. You can also subscribe to the magazine to have it sent directly to you. They are full of gorgeous photos, interesting articles and great recipes. 


In fact, one recipe in the Summer 2009 issue has become my go-to recipe for a quick, easy dinner; the Ahi Poke Sliders on Mini Buns (recipe here). {I have written about my love for poke, a Hawaiian dish made up of cubes of raw fish, (most commonly ahi), marinated in sesame oil, seaweed, onions, chili peppers, soy sauce, etc., many times, (look for it under ahi on my labels)}. I realize that these little raw fish burgers seared on the outside and left raw in the middle won't be everyones' cup of tea and they can be cooked all the way through if you think you must, but if you are daring, man are they good! For those who don't have access to poke, you can make your own, (I have a recipe here), but to be honest, I usually just pick up a small container of it at the store and after a few seconds in the food processor, I am forming patties and ready to sear them in my grill pan for just a couple of minutes or so per side and that is it, they are done. I like mine on mini whole-grain buns, made by using a biscuit cutter on a regular-sized bun, (Don't worry--no buns were wasted making them, the edges get ground up into crumbs in the food processor and put in the freezer to use for breading). 


The magazine had a bunch of recipes for sauces too, the Sesame Miso Sauce with Cilantro (recipe here), works perfectly on these little beauties. I have made them about five times so far and love them for a quick and yummy dinner. If you don't want to take my word on how good they are, check out my friend Kat's (Our Adventures in Japan) recent post on them here


Mostly I make my own iced tea but when I forget to brew it, run out, or need a handy bottle, I love to drink Ito En Tea's Tea. Although this Japanese company makes all kinds of tea products and bottled beverages, I like the Tea's Tea best because they contain nothing but tea, purified water, vitamin C and natural flavorings or herbs. I try to watch the sugar I drink and the fact they don't have any makes me happy. My absolute favorite is the Lemongrass Green, but I love the Rose Green, Mint Green, Green Jasmine, and Golden Oolong too. 


Refreshing, good and there is a haiku on every bottle. A little tea and haiku is always good for the soul!
  
(On the bottle of Rose Green I am currently drinking):
lily pads afloat
dull painted amphibians
practice evening music
--Jodi Perkins, USA


I constantly tell myself to stop buying cookbooks as I am way out of control with the number I own, but I had to buy a copy of Terry Walter's "Clean Food" (of course the fact that Barnes & Noble had a coupon to get it at 50% off made the decision pretty easy). Described as "A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source" it is mostly a cookbook, but one with a good section of information on healthy, clean, sustainable food and perfect for my ongoing quest to eat as healthy as I can (with the occasional indulgence of course). 


I am loving going through it and busily tabbing all the recipes I want to make. The recipes are divided by season and are healthy, delicious-sounding dishes such as; Green Goddess Dip, Bok Choy and Chickpeas with Cashews, Millet Black Bean Patties with Corn, Pad Thai Summer Rolls with Tamarind Dipping Sauce, Sprouted Quinoa Tabbouleh, Lentil Walnut Pate, Roasted Kaboacha Squash with Kale, Coconut Cranberry Pecan Balls, Tuscan Bean Soup, Ginger Pear Crisp; the list goes on and on. The Spiced Kukicha Iced Tea will be this week's "Simple Saturday Sipper" and stay tuned to see more recipes from this book as I cook them.

So that is what I am loving this week. How about you?

12 comments:

  1. Now I really want to try Poke! Sounds so yummy. Though, I think I might like it better if I was eating it in Hawaii. (that chicks Haiku wasn't even a Haiku!! 5,7,5! Oh well...) Thanks for sharing these delicious things you are loving this week :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. great things you are loving this week, thank you also for the mention, you are so sweet! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have never had poke but I am actually kind of wary of having raw fish that I prepared. Okay. I need to get over it. Because these sandwiches look delicious!

    I don't know that NY has an edible type magazine. Which is really too bad. That cookbook sounds great, I can't wait to see some of your creations from it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear friend lists her faves
    Soothing teas in paradise
    Poke, yes, sounds divine.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'll have to look and see if we have an edible magazine, sounds pretty cool. The cookbook sounds great, even better with 50% off. That's a good deal: )

    ReplyDelete
  6. My wife loves ITO en Lemongrass Green Tea too!

    Edible New Jersey has become one of our key magazines to read every month. It's an awesome magazine!

    I am curious about what you're going to use for your Iced Spiced Kukicha tea. We specialize in loose leaf chai tea blends ourselves and our Kukicha Chai is actually very popular.

    If you want to check us out, go to http://www.yogicchai.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've never had poke, but I can tell by your description that I would love it! That cookbook looks so great, thanks for sharing. I don't need to buy anymore either, but that one is tempting. Hmmm...maybe I can get my hands on a coupon. Ha, ha!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am loving that magazine, I had never heard of it. We have one for Boston and one for the Cape near us, can't wait to go and find them. I wonder if all whole foods carry them?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love the things you're loving this week. I'm a poke addict. When I can get really fresh fish I have to be watched.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We don't have an Edible Publications by us, but I fell in love with them when I was visiting my parents in NC. Beautiful! I keep hoping I can find a job opening at one of them :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. girlichef--I didn't even count when I put it up! ;-) You need to enter their haiku contest!

    Kat--thanks! of course I had to give you a mention.

    Joanne--I looked and there are a bunch of NY ones--Brooklyn, Manhattan, etc.

    Natashya--you need to enter Ito En's haiku contest too. ;-)

    Kim--can't beat 50%! ;-)

    Yogic Chai--I will check you out. I am using a plain one from Eden Organics--the one I could find w/o driving across town. The recipe just uses cinnamon and fruit juices with a plain tea.

    Chow and Chatter--poke is sooo good! ;-)

    Lori--I need better willpower but couldn't resist 50%. ;-)

    Kristen--ours runs out fairly soon after they are put out. You might be able to email your particular mag and find where they distribute. Our does at a few different local businesses in addition to WF.

    Mary--I am a poke addict too--even before I moved here. ;-)

    Jess--that would be awesome wouldn't it?!!

    ReplyDelete

Mahalo for visiting and for leaving a comment. I love reading them and they mean a lot!

All advertising, spam, inappropriate (or just plain rude) comments will be promptly deleted. I do appreciate your right to free speech and to your opinion but I'm not into mean, rude, or mean snarky (non-mean snarky is just fine!) ;-)