Sunday, January 24, 2010

gourmet kitty


okay, really my kitty is no gourmet. she prefers to eat the fern to just about anything else and she doesn't care one bit that her cat food is organic. but she does love these treats i brought home for her from fetch a while back. the treats are dried bonito flakes from a company called cat-man-do and cow (yes that is my kitty's name) goes crazy for them. while these flakes of dried fish are as light as air, they are kind of expensive -- $6.99 for 1 oz. but for my little baby, anything.

then, last weekend, seth and i were shopping at hong kong market on congress and i came upon this tiny corner of japanese food. and there was this giant bag of bonito flakes, 3.5 oz for $6.00! this is the exact same product only for humans, not brilliantly packaged and marked up for sucker cat lovers like me.

this gets me thinking about a couple of things.
1) i wish i had the kind of mind that could think up packing a japanese food in a cute container with a cute name for cats. then maybe i would be a little closer to that billion dollars i'm hoping to make.
2) ethnic markets are often a really great place to get bulk items cheap. i buy most of my spices at ethnic markets because you can get so much for pennies compared to what you pay at the super market. We have bought curry and chinese 5 spice powder at hong kong and more recently chili powder from masala mahal, an indian market in south portland.

so now we are well stocked up on cow's favorite snack and we know where to find her bonito next time we are low. if you are looking for a treat for your special kitty, i really recommend you try out bonito flakes, but skip fetch and go straight to hong kong market!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

recent food musings

pot roasted rosemary lamb with fingerling potatoes
this is what i made for new year's eve dinner and it was amazing. so super easy and so succulent, tender, and flavorful. the gravy was the most luscious i have ever had.

goat cheese, pesto, and sun dried tomato terrine
i first ate this totally delicious combination in giant form at a weeding in the berkshires. realizing that i could easily replicate it, i googled it and found this recipe. its a true standby appetizer that everyone loves. i made it for both thanksgiving and christmas eve this year.

maine shrimp season
seth has a goal of cooking with maine shrimp as frequently as possible. so far he has made shrimp quesadillas, shrimp cocktail, and shrimp curry. the shrimp curry is a variation on a thai chicken curry he has been making for years. i asked him to add less water so it would be more saucy. he threw the shrimp in at the absolute last moment so they wouldn't over cook.

duck fat
i read somewhere reports of soggy fries at duck fat. i am happy to report that my last two visits have resulted in delicious crispy fries.
favorite dipping sauce: truffled ketchup