Hi, Violet I did try the chicken recipe. It was a smash. I just sprinkled some chicken (either minced or cut up into small strips) with corn starch, added a few teaspoons of chinese rice wine then fried it in oil. I added minced garlic to the cooked chicken, cooked for a while longer until the garlic was done then about one minute before I took the chicken off the stove I added two huge handfuls of the shiso. It was very tasty. The plant does die back in the winter. I collected seeds and planted them about one month ago. They shot up pretty fast but some are yellow. I think the yellow ones are those that were in smaller pots. I dont think they like to be rootboung or too close to one another. Mine are very croweded in. Next time I will really space them out and use one large pot (I think they should be deep pots, maybe a 5 gallon). Most likely will throw the seeds in the large pot then thin out to maybe 5-8 plants per pot to get better growth. May try pinching back too to get more leafy growth. I will always try to grow this in my yard (in a pot). Thanks Meixue

Pulled Pork 1 cryovac of Boston Butt - 15 to 20 pounds Boca Boys dry rub - details here 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil Remove the butts from the cryovac and wash under cold water. Pat dry and then rub with olive oil; 1/2 cup on each. Cover completely with dry rub, pushing the spices as deep into the meat as possible. When done, wrap the butts in foil and place in the refrigerator overnight. Take meat from refrigerator one hour before cooking and let it come to room temperature. Smoke at 250 degrees for 1-1/2 hours per pound (not the total, each butt!) until the deepest meat reaches 195 degrees. Remove from smoker, wrap in foil, wrap in a beach towel, toss into a cooler until ready to serve. You can hold a butt around 4 hours if necessary. Remove the shoulder blade bone and begin shredding the meat by hand. Add barbecue sauce and continue until all the meat is coated.

I learned to make sushimeshi (vinegar rice for sushi) at a Japanese restaurant where I worked for about 8 years. They always used an electric fan. It wasn't really about making the rice shiny, though it did, it was about helping the water in the vinegar evaporate so that the rice wouldn't be soggy, leaving only the flavor behind. You mix the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in with very hot rice, turning it over and over with the shamoji (rice paddle) or a wooden spoon so that the breeze from the fan blows the rising steam away from the rice and all the rice grains dry evenly. I cannot give you the proportions of rice wine vinegar, salt and sugar, because I've never measured them, we always just did it to taste, sprinkling them on individually (we didn't make a syrup) while we tossed. If you have made the rice correctly, the nori doesn't get soggy, although it does of course get soft fairly quickly after rolling. When making the rice, I wash it well after measuring. Yeah, I know they don't coat it with talc anymore, and you're meant to be able to skip washing it. But the flour (or whatever it is) that they coat it with now still absorbs water and keeps the rice from developing that perfect texture. My Japanese second Mom would have had a fit if she caught me not washing the rice until the water ran perfectly clear. I use equal portions of rice and water, usually adding just a little bit extra water. It's hard to say exactly how much...rice differs in moisture content, there's a "feel" to it. For example, if it is "new crop" rice, very little extra water is required, if it has been on the shelf for a while, it will need more. At a guess...say an extra 1/4 cup water per 2 cups rice? You end up with better rice if you let it sit in the pan soaking for at least an hour before you cook it, but it isn't essential. Cover the pot, bring to a rolling boil...do NOT leave to go do something else...it can go from a simmer to overflowing in less time than you think. Then turn it down to low, simmer 15 minutes, remove from heat. After 2 minutes or so, open the lid, quickly turn the rice over to fluff it a bit, return the lid and leave it be for 10 more minutes. Then make your sushimeshi. Inarizushi is easy to make and almost everyone likes it. We always made it buying the fried tofu puffs from the market, cutting them in half and simmering them in the sauce. I've never used the canned kind. I haven't made it since I moved here, as there is no Japanese market closer than 2 hours away. I'd forgotten about the canned kind, maybe I will pick up a few cans next time I go to Sac and try them! The filling was mostly just the vinegar rice, with any extra inside scraps from the tofu wrappers and a few simmered carrot slivers and maybe a bit of shiitake mushroom. I have played around a bit at times, adding some shredded chicken, katsuo boshi (dried bonito flakes) or some of the sweeter types of tsukemono (pickled veggies.) I don't know about the metal bowl...except that I generally avoid using metal with vinegar. It seems somehow to pick up the taste of metal. I've always used a large, rectangular tupperware or glass baking dish, 'cause that's what we used at the restaurant. Spreading the rice out as you fan, sprinkle and turn it helps the air to circulate so that it dries off more evenly.

Thanks Cathy. I have made bacon with sushi many times. This is a new one made to show John one method on how crispy you can make the bacon without overcooking the fish. John was deep frying bacon with the fish (sashimi grade tuna). FOAS, thanks. I have found that baking bacon renders out the most fat, and that allows you to enjoy more bacon without feeling guilty. Making bacon rings on round object is difficult; one, you cannot always find the object with the exact diameter, the other, as you know bacon shrinks making it not possible to remove the rings without breaking them up after baking. I developed this method to overcome these two problems. 1. Get aluminum roof flashing (Home Depot) 2. Get Hose clamps (size is up to you, Home Depot) Use the aluminum flashing to form a tube, and use the hose clamps to hold the tube in shape. Oil the tube and wrap bacon rushers tightly on the tube and bake. After the bacon is done to your liking, tighten the hose clamps slightly to make the tube diameter smaller, the bacon rings will come off easily. It is so wonderful to have crumpling crispy bacon with velvety sushi in the same mouthful. It is so amazing to have sous vide creamy scallops, caramelized in bacon fat to be enjoyed in the same bite with crackling bacon. Textural contrast at it's best! dcarch