Ippuku: Accidental Date Night

[[posterous-content:nAmaBulwFtcuDEfnnrqg]]

It all started with empty bellies.

Le boyfriend and I were very hungry after a long day at work, so we decided not to go home before we had food. I was driving, he was using Yelp. We agreed that we hadn't had sushi in a while - and thus, Ippuku presented itself to us.

New place, no clue what's in store, highly spontaneous. Turns out... we went on a date by accident!

[[posterous-content:IvxIlhkHksAabAeEjrwF]]

We ordered hot green tea and started with a fresh salad. Vinegared daikon and carrots with pomelo. The acid in the pomelo went so perfectly with the sour daikon taste!

[[posterous-content:irpgAwErtpxmFlhepehn]]

We also ordered (simultaneously) bacon-wrapped asparagus. You heard me! Bacon! It was sliced so thin that the asparagus was crunchy enough, but you had this awesome smoky bacon aroma as well. Heaven.

[[posterous-content:EutEbzEdqposxweHEAdi]]

We had a little break and ordered two more dishes. Drank some tea while we were waiting & watched the chef at the grill work his magic. Whatever wood they use is amazing - it smelled so good!

These were little potatoes with some "mayo". Slightly sweet taste of the potato mixed so well with what came at the same time....

[[posterous-content:mnsmDgyavdkoFoioltGm]]

Grilled pork belly! If we didn't get enough salty smoky flavor from the bacon in the previous dish, we got a WHOLE lot of it with this one. Pork belly is very fatty, so you've got ALL sorts of flavor going on here. Salty, smoky, meaty. And on top of that, they served it with a miso-based sauce with chili paste and some sort of nut in it. Brought out all sorts of tangy goodness in the meat - which was just the right side of chewy.

[[posterous-content:Aokfhsnjdvzxscmnsgjj]]To top of it all off, black sesame sundae with mochi and dark bean paste (read: chocolate)! The sesame flavor slams into you, it's as if they drizzled hot sesame oil on this thing. But of course, they didn't. It's just inherently bad-ass. I could barely keep my spoon (aren't they adorable BTW) away from the bean paste, mixing it with the sesame soft serve, and making sure I had some crunch from the topping.

Best date meal ever. And most things come in twos, so you're set for a comfy, delicious night of palatable date-ness. Enjoy.

http://lizishungry.blogspot.com/

Turkey, avo, chard & green tea w honey!

http://lizishungry.blogspot.com/

Fr-fr-fridge Changes!

Re-evaluated fridge space = important & perishable stuff on top shelf. If it's visible, I'll eat it first. #food

I Tweeted this today. I've gradually seen that I react more positively to beautiful things. This is not rocket science, all humans like to look at beautiful things. So, why wasn't my fridge a beautiful thing? Why wasn't I happy cooking in my kitchen?

It wasn't pretty. The food itself doesn't have anything to do with it - I like cooking and eating it. I just wasn't doing a lot of it in my tiny kitchen.

I love buying food. Because the food is displayed really nicely. You can see the food really well, it's well-lit, it smells good, it's a variety of colors. It's stimulating! My fridge and cabinets? Not so much. The dark brown color of my cabinets makes me feel like I'm reaching into the darkest abyss when I'm reaching for the honey. And the shelves of my fridge started looking barer and barer. But they weren't, and I would forget the boutinful veggies I had bought earlier that week, letting them perish.

Now, I'm not only not eating the beautifully nutritious food, but I'm throwing away money! That made me take more notice - I live in a consumer society based on capitalism and as an American, I hate throwing away money!

So if you see the link to my photo above, you'll see my fridge looks a little different than previous (not that you might have seen my fridge previously). I'm not even using my drawer! Why would my drawer come in handy keeping veggies more fresh, if I forget about them after a few days and then I end up in Berkeley at my boyfriend's place for a couple of nights, only to come back to a fridge full of perished goods?

It's a small and inevitable change that just stepped me that much closer to a more healthy lifestyle and a veggie-filled, home-cooked diet. And I'm happy about it.

http://lizishungry.blogspot.com/

Bacon Pretzels?! FTW!

Find the recipe here: http://mooflyfood.com/bacon-pretzels/

I must make this recipe and eat it with abandon... Photos and insights to come post-East Coast vacation!

 

On another note, here are some fun things on bacon:

http://bacontoday.com/

http://www.moerbacon.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacon

http://www.iheartbacon.com/

http://www.baconfreak.com/

 

 

http://lizishungry.blogspot.com/

Tuesday's Dinner

 

Two fried eggs. Carrot + green beans + red onion. Spiced up with some salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, cilantro. Yum.

http://lizishungry.blogspot.com/

Making Spaetzle

See and download the full gallery on posterous

http://lizishungry.blogspot.com/

Farro Salad w Peas, Asparagus & Feta

1.5 cups semi-pearled farro -- 12 oz. asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1.5-inch lengths -- 1 8-oz. package sugar snap peas -- 12 oz. grape tomatoes, halved -- .5 cup chopped red onion -- 6 tbsp. chopped fresh dill -- .5 cup olive oil -- .25 cup Sherry wine vinegar -- 1 7-oz. package feta cheese, crumbled

Cook farro in large pan, boiling salted water. Until tender = 10 mins. Transfer to large bowl.

Cook asparagus ans sugar snap peas in another pan, boiling salted water. Until crispy tender = 3 mins. Add to farro with tomatoes, onions, dill.

Whisk oil and vinegar in small bowl. Add dressing and feta to salad. Toss and serve.

http://lizishungry.blogspot.com/

Self-made Hashi holders @ Miyozen in Emeryville

http://lizishungry.blogspot.com/

Umami, San Francisco

via sfgate.com

Umami means "deliciousness" in Japanese, doesn't it? And this word is being exported via Kikkoman's, and now the SF Marina district... And my favorite Pho in the city is at a place called 'Yummy Yummy'. There's that salad place called 'beautifull' in Laurel Heights and the Inner Sunset. What's next for naming a restaurant after an adjective? A burger joint called 'Bovine'?

http://lizishungry.blogspot.com/