Dinner, June 16, 2017

One day our friends gave us very crisp, chicory-like mizuna called Mizuna Green Streak, and Tom put some in an omelet the next morning. But we still had plenty, so we got super fresh rockfish from a local fish store and lots of fava beans from another local shop. My menu plan naturally was to enjoy this great food!

• Soramame to sakura ebi no gohan / steamed rice with fava beans and dried shrimp
• Tofu, wakame, usuage no misoshiru / miso soup with tofu, wakame seaweed, thin deep-fried tofu, with daikon radish sprouts
• Menuke no karashiage to mizuna, serori no okaka-ae / deep-fried mustard-marinated rockfish with mustard greens and celery
• Tomato to okura no amazu oroshi-ae / tomatoes and okra in grated radish with sweetened vinegar

429 calories, 515 mg sodium (items on front tray, for me; 566 calories, 612 mg sodium after eating half of remaining fish karashiage)

For Tom, after having another serving of rice and finishing up half of remaining fish karashiage in the serving bowl, the dinner had 778 calories and 731 mg sodium. I knew the number wouldn't be low, as I made takikomi gohan rice cooked with goodies instead of plain rice (virtually zero sodium), but going above 700 mg gave me a minor shock.

Dinner, October 8, 2016

Our town recently held its 15th annual Crab (and Seafood) Festival, and we decided to have our own crab dinner with leftovers from temakizushi hand-rolled sushi from the day before.

• Kani-dashi no mukago gohan / steamed rice with mountain yam bulbs, cooked with crab shell broth
• Kani shinjo no osuimono / clear soup with fish & crab dumplings, with Japanese turnip stems and chrysanthemum-cut carrot
• Kani to yurine, ninjin no happa no kakiage, hanaho no tenpura / mixed tempura of crabmeat, lily bulb and carrot leaf, and green perilla flower spike tempura
• Kani to kyuri, kikka no shoga amazu-ae / crabmeat, cucumber and chrysanthemum in ginger-flavored sweetened vinegar
• Kanimiso-iri gomadofu / sesame tofu with crab "butter" (innards)
• Yaki-shimeji no momiji-oroshi-ae / grilled shimeji mushrooms dressed with grated carrot & Japanese turnip and citrus soy sauce

A whole or half crab served with kanizu vinegar comes to mind when I hear "crab feast," but we had already shelled the crab the day before and used one-third in sushi. We had a bit more than a handful of crabmeat, lots of crab shell, and kanimiso crab butter, plus several other ingredients from the garden waiting their turn at our table.

A pound of fish

The seafood counter at Uwajimaya in Seattle attracts lots of customers and people admiring the variety of fish, and I join the crowd several times a year. But the first place I check is one end of an open refrigerated chest for fillet fish. There is a section dedicated to fish tips, which often have lots of bones. These fish tips come straight out from behind the counter after filleting for good-looking larger pieces, meaning they are super fresh.

There are a number of dishes where you only need a tiny piece or small chunk of fish. Don’t miss the great deal offered by fish tips.

The last time we were there, I picked up two packs of fish tips – one of lingcod and one of channel rockfish. Kinki, the channel rockfish (about 1.3 lb/600 g), had lots of bones and only a small amount of flesh but was enough for two meals for us. I made my favorite aradaki with daikon radish, and we ate it the same day as purchased and again the next day.