Apple Chips

We purchased some Nature Valley apple chips at Albertsons the other day when they were $1 for a box of five bags (way overpackaged!) and have enjoyed them. Then we got our Kraft Food and Family magazine with directions on how to make dried apple slices in the oven. I decided that if we sliced very thinly, we could make apple chips instead of apple slices. So I sliced two apples thinly, dipped them in a mixture of lemon juice and water as suggested by the magazine (and that's really all it said--the magazine that is generally overprescriptive in recipes merely said "a mixture of lemon juice and water" with no attempt at giving amounts. Therefore, I make no attempt to give an amount either.), sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar, placed them on a baking stone, and put them in a 200 degree oven for 4 hours (the directions for apple slices were 4 to 12 hours--quite the range!). They turned out quite well and we've gobbled them up. I may not be able to take them in my lunch this week since they may not exist any longer.

Landscaping Update

 
Here is what our house looks like today. You might notice some slight differences, like the peppers on the jalapeño plant:
 
And a huge raspberry plant:
 
In addition the strawberry has been doing ok (it had some delicious berries, but not much since we got back from our travels). While we were gone this summer our friends Justin and Melinda plant sat our pepper and strawberry. The raspberry did its thing all by itself. Our piney shrub didn't do anything but stay cute and soft, while the purple explotion exploded, then kind of fizzled a little.

All in all a grand success!

Oh, I almost forgot, we ate one of the jalapeños in some taco meat (which ended up be burrito meat). I couldn't really tell it was there, but I ate a chunk as I was cutting it and it had a satifying flavor and kick. 

Fish Sauce

Because Thai Lettuce wraps are so tasty I have to counter point with something not at all tasty. This summer I happened to watch several food documentaries around the forth of July leading up to the Nathan's hotdog eating contest (Kobayashi is a hot dog Samurai). Not that I think that anyone was in doubt, but hot dogs are really gross as they are making them (and afterwards too). But the cool thing is that after they cook the dogs they take them out of the casing with what can only be described as a hot dog machine gun. Basically it is the coolest thing you can do with a hot dog.

Slowly I'm getting to the point... So after I saw the thing on how hot dogs were made I saw another behind the scenes, this time for imitation crab. You know things are not going to turn out well when you start with a squarish brick of something called surimi (Japanese for minced fish) and then you start processing it. It turns out they use what looked like exactly the same machinery as the hot dog plant did only the slurry was cream colored instead of pink. The results are the hot dog of the sea.

Now to the Thai food. So when I look for recipes for Thai food they always suggest you use something called "Fish Sauce". A rather generic termed sauce one could only expect that it is made of fish and tastes like fish (not being a fan of fish myself I never feel bad leaving it out). So in documentary number three (it was just a cooking show this time) I learned about the wonders of how fish sauce is made. First you get a big vat (bucket won't do, even if it is large enough, it has to be a vat). Fill the vat with anchovies (dead ones). Add some water and vinegar, maybe some salt too and let sit... for a year (covered). Finally squeeze the chunky parts to the bottom and the liquid at the top is Fish Sauce.

Thai Lettuce Wraps

 

So if you couldn't already tell we have been quite busy this summer. This last week Rebekah had a chance to make Thai Lettuce Wraps and they were delicious. Perhaps it is the complementary combinations of hot and cold, sweet and sour, crunchy and smooth that makes TLW's so tasty. Maybe it is the savory pop of the lettuce as you bite in to its ambrosial innards that ensures TLW's place on the podium of goodness. Whatever it is, you must try them; they are even easy to make.

To prepare, marinate some chicken in a mixture of Newman's own Sesame Ginger salad dressing and teriyaki sauce. Just before starting, grate some carrots and make sure you have lettuce leaves and bean sprouts ready but chilled (you want to eat the chicken while it is hot, but you don't want your lettuce to wilt).

Start cooking rice. Chop up the chicken and cook with chopped red peppers in a hot skillet adding more teriyaki and Sesame Ginger as needed. Oh, also add Thai seasoning if you have it.

In another pan add garlic, Sesame Ginger, soy sauce, hot chili sauce, teriyaki, peanut butter (chunky, or superchunk), and sugar. Bring to a boil and stir around until it is consistent (this is the sauce for the top).

Construct your wraps with lettuce first then filling that with rice, chicken, carrots, bean sprouts, and finally sauce. Be careful not to overfill! Most people recommend Boston lettuce and it would probably work better then the Romaine lettuce that we used as they are broader leaves.

Oh and don't let your cat too close to it, you know where those paws have been.