View allAll Photos Tagged umami
05.04.2009
For April's Monthly Scavenger Hunt
Umami is basically the name given to the taste of proteins, which includes the most wonderful of culinary creations, cheese! I wonder how early man first discovered cheese....did his milk go off and he thought, oh well, lets shove it behind a rock for a week and we'll eat it if we're really desperate?
The oriental spoon is a nod to the origin of the word (Japanese) as the cheese is decidedly French.
Another foodie shot I know, I did go and read on the beach for a while, but it didn't grab me photographically today. I'll be venturing further afield tomorrow, hopefull with some outside shots.
BaD U
Well here again I don't have a doll with the name that starts with U but Umami Baby made me sweet Cream Puff :D
She's riding her Unicorn
Playing with her UP House
Umbrella cause it might rain
Ugly Dolls - well these monsters are kinda ugly cute :D
Up side is it didn't rain ;D
The other day my wife came home with a new cook book - "Lighten Up" by Jill Dupleix. Initially I was rather sceptic, but it turns out that this is not just an other faddy diet book, but simply comes up with ideas to make good, satisfying food just a little more healthy.
This recipe is extremely simple. You toast some sourdough bread (which incidently I bake every week) and fry two eggs over a low heat covered for 4 minutes. In the meantime pound dried porcini and/or shiitake mushrooms (I went for the "and" option) together with some salt.
Finally serve the eggs on the sourdough bread dusted with the salt/mushroom powder.
During the Jazz Age:
For Scout, a perfect weekend includes a movie--especially if Mickey Mouse or other Disney characters are in it--followed by an ice cream confection. "There's not much more fun than that," says Scout.
"Meat Feast" straight out of the oven
Pizza Umami were the caterers at Sunflower Cottage yesterday. Dessie and Michelle were great craic, they are brother and sister and squabled playfully as siblings so often do! Great pizzas!
Pizza Umami are based in Newcastle but do outside catering for events
When choosing my third dog from the new Umami Burger in Toluca Lake, I decided to go with a classic. Their chili dog starts with a mustard sauce smeared inside one of Umami's custom hot dog buns, then beer cheddar, house chili, and minced fresh onions go atop the all-beef hot dog. And it is all about that frank, which is the star of the show. Dense and full of flavor, Umami has these dogs made to spec, and it's probably the best hot dog frank I've tasted. All the rest of the ingredients, in this and all the other Umami hot dogs I've had so far, are in service to that central player, the dog itself.
The chili too is pretty excellent, very meaty and not overpowering with its spices. Yet for a chili dog, this was a little too refined, and if I had a wish it's that there was more of the actual chili. The minced onions provide nice crunch and freshness, with the cheese and mustard sauce rounding things out. My only real complaint is the bun was either stale or, more likely, under-toasted. It was rather dry around the edges, as if it had been sitting on a shelf for a few hours. A fair amount of it was left on the plate.
The sweet potato fries were flavorful, but a little disappointing. I like a fry which is big and firm enough to be eaten one-by-one. These I had to eat by the batch, as they were mainly small pieces and a bit too limp. That said, the house-made ketchup was excellent, as always, and the garlic aioli went well with the fries. All told, a good meal, though next time I'll probably choose a different side dish.
Hot dog and fries, about $10.
"...Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late...."
--excerpt from the part of "A Day in the Life" written by Paul McCartney; the rest of the song was written by John Lennon (the last song on The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band")
During the Jazz Age:
While she was in grammar school at St. Charles Borromeo, located up the street from her house, Juliette was often in a dreamy state of mind when she woke up. An artistic girl, her imagination always roamed. Daydreaming sometimes slowed her down as she prepared to go to school. At times, her mind seemed enveloped in gauze until she was revived by the music she heard from the radio her mother played while making breakfast. As a result, Juliette often found herself quickly cramming books, paper and pencils into her bookbag as she ran late.
"If only I had time to listen to one more song on the radio," she often thought. Finally, with only three minutes until the school bell rang and children lined up in the large playground before they entered the building, Juliette hurried out the front door after a goodbye kiss from her mother which left lipstick stains on her cheek, a sign of love that Juliette carried with her out into the world.
• tuna burger
Opening week at NYC's first Umami Burger: review and description on my blog, www.donuts4dinner.com.
shiitake mushroom, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, umami ketchup
Panasonic LEICA DG SUMMILUX 25mm/F1.4 ASPH. + GF3
For my latest trek to Umami Burger in Toluca Lake I had been intending on finally trying out their Original Burger. But when I sat down I was reminded about their special Slashburger, named for the former Guns 'n Roses guitarist. It's a couple of dollars more expensive than their other burgers, but at least one of those dollars is to be sent to the Los Angeles Youth Network, so there's that. The burger starts with the standard Umami Portuguese bun and house-ground beef burger, with braised shiitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, house American cheese, avocado spread, wasabi aioli. It's then topped a Parmesan crisp, which looks a bit more Kommunity FK than GnR, but still a nice touch.
The burger was pretty fantastic. The wasabi aioli especially opened up the flavor. And it's a great example of why that big puffy bun is the perfect way to sop up all the juicy juice. And as with other times I've enjoyed an Umami burger, I ate every bit of it, which is not something I can say about most burgers I order. Definitely worth it. Burger, about $15.
During the Jazz Age:
Alyosha (left), the little brother of ballerina Alexandrina, and Scout (right), little sister of LaVern La Rue, get ready to play one of their favorite games, Checkers. But they may be missing what could turn out to be the main action: Zhutka, Alyosha's dog, seems poised to jump on the Checkers board and scatter everything on the floor.
During the Jazz Age:
Scout (left) and Juliette (right) are more than cousins--they are best friends. Yet, Juliette sometimes gets a bit jealous: though both girls are friends with Alexandrina's brother Alyosha, Juliette has a crush on him, about which she has told no one. Today, she decides that Scout should know...
Juliette [nervously]: "I want to tell you a secret."
Scout: "What is it?"
Juliette: "Lean closer--I can't say it out loud; I have to whisper."
Scout leans towards Juliette.
Juliette: "I hope that when I grow up, I can get married to Alyosha."
Scout [backing away from Juliette]: "What? We're only twelve!"
Juliette [embarrassed]: "I said when we grow up, not now!"
Scout: "Well...okay but let's not think about all of that kind of stuff now!"
Juliette [still embarrassed]: "Okay. I just wanted to tell you..."
Scout: "Now, let's never talk about it again!"
*Actually, Scout is a bit annoyed because she also has a bit of a crush on Alyosha...