Japanese Pickles (asazuke) by Sammy

What I usually make is called "asazuke" which means "shallow pickling." This means it can be eaten even after just half-a-day of pickling, and it's not as salty as regular Japanese pickles so you can eat lots of it almost like a salad.

It helps if you have a container like this to press the vegetable down while pickling, but as long as you have some kind of weight on it (a big stone?), it'll do.

So. You just cut up the vegetable you want to pickle -- Japanese turnip (sliced thin), cucumber (chopped in chunks), carrot (sliced thin), and cabbage are good ones to start with -- and place them in a container. If using a container size like what I linked to, you mix in about 1.5 teaspoons of salt -- mix well -- and about 1 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp vinegar, some chopped ginger, 1 whole chili pepper (small one), and you're done. If you have access to it, you can also add kombu , cut in 2x2 inch squares to the mix. (Sometimes kombu has this white powdery stuff on it. If so, wipe it off with vinegar before adding it into your pickle mix.) Done.

Kat's Book Recommendations

Ooh, I loved Balzac and the Little Seamstress for those who have yet to read it. I was glad to be reminded of it by the Otter. My neighbor wrote Eat the Document which was finalist for the National Book Award last year. Even if she weren't my neighbor, I'd recommend the book. It's about a woman who went underground and created a new life post-Weatherman type of stuff and the issues that arose. Great writing.

Wade's BBQed Beef, by Laliita

Hey Otters, I have to tell you about the awesome beef Wade made last night. It's about the third or fourth time he's done it, and it's always drool-worthy.

Smoked/BBQed beef:

Buy smoker chips (of your prefered "flavour"; Wade used both apple and hickory last night) and make three foil packages of 'em, using about one Cup of chips per packet. (Be sure to use heavy duty foil.) Put two or three holes in each package.

Put two packages on either side of ONE burner, where they'll be exposed to the flame. (As long as you're using heavy foil, the flames won't burn through.) DISABLE THE OTHER BURNER.

Place the third package on the rack above the functioning burner. (It will take longer to heat up, and will add lots more smoke later in the cooking process.)

Rub your roast with olive oil and whatever spice you'd like. (Wade used Montreal Steak Spice last night.)

Place the roast on the "cold" side of the BBQ (where you've disabled one burner).

Aim for a BBQ temp of 350°, and smoke/cook the roast for as long as it takes to cook to your desired doneness.

We used a rather cheap cut of roast last night (it was an eye of round), and man oh man did it turn out tender, and the smoked flavour is to die for.

Wade used our electric meat cutter to carve thin slices, and we served the meat with crusty buns and mustard and horse radish etc. (with salads and whatnot as well). People couldn't get enough of the goodness!