Author Archives: Anne

Another post about food from the past……..

since I’m not really cooking that much this week. I did go out for drinks at the new Bowery Bar and then for appetizers at the neighboring Magnolia last night, but of course failed to take any food photos (blame it on the pino noir!). Even though our onion rings, calamari and crab & artichoke quesedilla were all tasty, I was more focused on the conversation and didn’t really retain the details necessary to blog about the meal. I’ve been eating hard boiled eggs for breakfast and leftovers for lunch & dinner which are hardly blog-worthy. So- you’re once again stuck reading about my pre-Tuna Toast foodie adventures. I promise to get back in the kitchen next week!

I used to bake a lot more – I went through a pastry obsessed period where I made tarts, cakes, cupcakes, bread…pretty much anything in the carb family. I felt so creative and alive decorating the desserts or kneading bread. Note to self- get baking again! I would spend most nights pouring over Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Cake Bible, daydreaming about the beautiful and deeelish things I would make.

Alas, that phase has faded out a bit lately but I know I just need to crack open one of those books and inspiration will hit.

Until then, here are some blasts from the past:

French chocolate butter cake
It looks plain, but it was sooo rich and chocolately while retaining it’s cakeness. It wasn’t a heavy gooey brownie-like thing. The perfect example of simple decadence.

Lime and mango tart with a macadamia crust
Very tropical dessert. If you look closely, you can see a thin layer of pink on top of the tart. That is the 1 Tablespoon of fruit that I extracted from 2 GUAVAs (did I say passion fruit before? Ugh!) that I randomly purchased at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market on a whim. In my tropical-fruit-ignorance, I had NO idea that there was so little “fruit” in a guava. Now I know the true meaning of the phrase “it’s like trying to get blood out of a turnip.” I get it.

Ciabatta
My very first attempt at ciabatta looked great and was pretty good, although it lacked the trademark gaping holes inside.

Lemon cheesecake with a rhubarb glaze
I’ve made this several times and it is one of my favorites. I added the strawberries for decoration- and notice the cute champagne bottle candle?

Baking, Desserts, Sweets

Nice is nice…………

Since I am flying solo this week and probably won’t do much cooking (like I stated yesterday) I wanted to use this as an opportunity to post about some culinary adventures I had before Tuna Toast was even a twinkle in my eye. Unfortunately a good camera was also not even a twinkle in my eye at the time so please forgive the fuzzy photos of said culinary adventures.

Last summer we spent one, glorious week in the French Riviera. We had planned to stay in Paris for 5 days and go to Nice for 2, but quickly reversed the plans when we discovered the absolute lusciousness of the coastal town. Not that Paris is anything to shake a stick at, but during the summer it is hot, humid and empty of the Parisians who have all flocked to….well, the south!

When the plane started it’s descent onto the landing strip of the Nice airport, we both just stared in awe at the beautiful blue coastline from above. I think our mouths were still agape during the short (but VERY expensive) taxi ride (yes, we got ripped off) to the hotel. It was just what a summer vacation spot should be- bright sun, blue water, beautiful people, daily farmer’s markets, gelato stands and bustling streets full of people wearing shorts and sandals. I seriously fell in love. In fact, just typing about it now makes me sad to think I am no longer there. Ah Nice, you are my dream come true. Why must you break my heart?

On to the food. Although we did have one very French, 3-course meal, we spent most of the days noshing on thin crust pizzas, pan bagnat, yogurt flavored gelato (INSANELY GOOD- anyone who has tried Japanese yogurt would love this), croissants and seafood salads all washed down with copious amounts of rosé. For some reason, those foods just matched perfectly the mood of the sun soaked, ocean scented days of summer in Nice- one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Pizza with egg………..yum

Say cheese…….

Sweets……..

Foie gras

Olives

Travel, Nice, France, Food

Cooking for one isn’t so fun……..

but cooking for 45? Heart-attack inducing, stress-filled nights featuring dreams of talking lentil beans and buckets of unpeeled garlic smirking at me. Huh? Ok, that doesn’t make sense. Let’s get on with this post…..

I haven’t really cooked yet this week since I was out of town all weekend (and forgot my camera so I couldn’t document the mediocre meal I had at Guayma’s anyway) and am now solo for a week while my husband is off recording. It’s hard to cook for just one, so my dinners will probably consist of canned soup that really needs to be eaten already (does it ever go bad?) and tuna fish sandwiches. Even though I’m sure you’re all heartbroken that you’ll be missing out on commentary and photos of those two exciting foods, I’ve decided to use this week to blog about things I made or foods I ate before I started this blog.

Late last year, I decided to throw my husband a big ‘ol birthday party since he’d never really had one since we’ve been together. We usually just go out to dinner on birthdays, but this time we made a list of invitees and started planning.

I wanted to cook everything (I’m sort of a control freak that way….which sometimes kicks me in the butt!) and just asked people to bring alcohol and chips. It took me a few days to plan the menu, make the shopping list and write out the schedule of when I would do everything. The final menu looked like this:

Appetizers

Salmon tartar w/ wonton crisps
Cheese plate/crackers/fruit
Asian babaganoush w/ pita chips (vegan)

Main

Grilled flank steak w/ chimichurri sauce served w/ grilled red onions, cabrales blue cheese and whole wheat pita
Grilled teriyaki chicken thighs
Grilled portabello sandwiches on focaccia w/ vegan cheese, tomatoes and herbed vegan aioli (vegan)
Grilled curried potato, mushroom and red onion (vegan)

Sides

Warm lentil salad (vegan)
Whole wheat couscous salad w/ fresh cut corn, black beans, tomatoes and cilantro vinaigrette (vegan)
Cold soba salad w/ julienned carrots, cucumbers, green onions and peanut/soy/ginger dressing (vegan)
Jasmine rice w/ green peas (vegan)

Dessert

Neapolitan cupcakes w/ cream cheese frosting
Tofu Chocolate Silk Pie x 2(vegan)

The birthday bbq party was scheduled on Saturday so I started the prep on Tuesday. I’d go to work, come home and scarf down dinner, and then start the chopping, mixing, storing, etc. By Thursday night I was exhausted, and by Friday I was downright mad…..at myself, of course! Why didn’t I just stick to making a few main things and let people bring their favorite potluck dishes? I guess part of the reason is because most of my husband’s friends are musicians. Not to stereotype, but musician’s aren’t usually known for their cooking since being on the road means eating out all the time. You get the idea. Anyway, between the vegan needs of about 20% of the guests and trying to make everything myself, I was exhausted.

How’d it all come out? Pretty great, actually. We had so many people show up that our backyard and house were practically popping at the seams. The food was a big hit- especially with the vegan crowd- since I suspect that many of them live on nuts and twigs (c’mon, I can joke, can’t I?). The only thing that didn’t really turn out for me was the Neapolitan cupcakes- they looked so adorable on Nic’s fabulous blog but mine didn’t come out so whimsical. They tasted fine, but I was disappointed that they layers weren’t visible. I also have to thank Nic and Alton Brown for the Chocolate Silk Pie recipe- the vegans and non-vegans ate it like it was the last thing on earth.

I have to say, all of the work was TOTALLY worth it in the end. Seeing people scarf down your food with big smiles on their faces is one of the best things ever…..besides the leftovers, of course;).

From top: Lentil salad, Couscous salad, Soba salad, Salmon tartar w/ wonton crisps, chips and guacamole

Grilled curried potato, mushroom and red onion

Close-up of soba noodle salad

Flank steak w/ grilled onions, pita, chimichurri and blue cheese

Neapolitan cupcakes w/ cream cheese frosting and Tofu Chocolate Silk Pie

Cooking + Party menu

Britain’s Most Hated Vegetable???

Well, maybe not anymore, but apparently my beloved Brussels sprouts were voted so in 2002. Now they’ve moved up the veggie ladder to become the 5th most loved vegetable in the U.K. Not bad over the course of three years, eh?

Note: for this and other interesting tidbits on Brussels sprouts (including the correct spelling which does indeed have an “s” at the end of Brussels which I did not know!) go to Wikipedia.

I must admit, I didn’t grow up liking these mini cabbages much myself. I wasn’t a huge fan of spinach either but that is because some of the first spinach I ate in the U.S. came in a can. Ugh, ew, yeecch, barg, yada! Some things just shouldn’t exist, and canned spinach is one of them. Anyway, I’m sure a lot of people hate certain foods because they are poorly packaged or prepared. Then, one miraculous day when that hated food is prepared properly or in some new, delicious way, it’s like the gates of heaven open up and a bright light shines upon your taste buds. “Whoa!” you think to yourself as your mouth’s one-time nemesis suddenly becomes its soul mate. That’s kind of how I feel about Brussels sprouts.

My first really great experience came at Campanile when my husband and I sat at their beautiful bar, had a few glasses of wine and noshed on a cheese plate and a side order of balsamic glazed Brussels sprouts. One bite of the slightly sticky-glazed sprout and we were in love. They were rich and sweet, slightly nutty (I know I know, over used food term but it’s true!) and tasted nothing like the watery, bitter and undercooked Brussels sprouts of my youth. We must have been quite loud voicing our surprise at how great they were because the chef, Mark Peel, came out of the kitchen and said “Good, aren’t they? But boy- will you be tootin’ later.” Don’t you love it when a chef makes a fart comment?

Anyway, onto the sprouts. After that day, I would order Brussels sprouts in restaurants and learned that they are a magnificent vegetable when caramelized. So I experimented a few times and have come up with a really easy version that, as you can tell by my blog, we eat often. I promise I’ll stop blogging about them all the time!

Carmelized balsamic Brussels sprouts

1 TBS butter
1 tsp olive oil
2 shallots, sliced thin
20 small Brussels sprouts
splash of good balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

Pull tough outer leaves off of the Brussels sprouts and cut each in half lengthwise. Steam them for about 5 minutes, set aside.

In a large, preferably NOT non-stick (non-stick pans won’t result in good carmelization) melt the butter and olive oil together. Add shallots and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the steamed Brussels sprouts, toss well and season with salt and pepper. Once the moisture from the vegetables have evaporated, let them sit in the pan on the heat for a minute, then stir. Repeat a couple of times until you see the Brussels sprouts start to brown. Add a splash (roughly 1-2 TBS) of balsamic vinegar and toss well. The vinegar will start to reduce almost immediately.

Serve while hot!

A good variation on this is to start by rendering some chopped bacon or pancetta in the pan and then using that fat instead of butter/oil to sauté the shallots and Brussels sprouts in. The saltiness of the pancetta goes well with the sweet balsamic. You can also toss in some mushrooms (like I did below), use red onions instead of the shallots or even add a bit of chopped garlic for extra flavor.

We had this with Pan Seared Chicken with Red Wine Reduction and an herb salad for dinner the other night.

Chicken seared, ready to be sauced!

Deglazing………

Pan Seared Chicken with Red Wine Reduction w/ Caramelized Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Cooking + Brussels sprouts

Canned fish = YUM

As I get ready to post about dinner the other night, a realization strikes. I love canned fish. Yes, it’s true. The name of this very blog pays tribute to a dish made with one of my all-time, favorite foods- canned tuna. I also like to make patties from canned salmon- sooo good. If you scroll down you will hear (or read) me singing the praises of sardines (yet another canned fishy) on toast. Speaking of sardines, check out this food blog. And today, right now, I’m about to tell you all about the BEST part of my dinner the other night. And yes, it’s also fish in a can.

What is this succulent sea creature I speak of? Saba Ajisuke. That means mackeral with flavor, literally. And what flavor it is. It’s a couple of nice chunks of mackeral steak, bones and all, seasoned with sweet soy sauce and tucked into a can. All you do is open, heat up a bit if you like, and eat. I’m telling you- saba ajisuke + bowl of hot rice = HEAVEN. The bones are all soft and completely edible, the fish has soaked up the seasonings like a sponge…..I know it’s the Japanese in me when I say I could eat an entire pot of rice if I had a couple of cans of this to eat it with. After you eat the fish, you MUST pour the remaining seasoning onto your bowl of rice and eat eat eat! It’s hard to describe why it’s so good, but maybe it’s similar to crusty bread dipped in chowder- it’s a perfect marriage of two flavors coming together that make both foods even better than on it’s own!

It’s funny, I feel like an oyaji (old man) since this type of food seems like oyaji food. I always imagine older Japanese men eating the saba right out of the can and drinking beer, maybe smoking a Mild Seven Light. I think saba ajistuke is usually eaten as otsumami (snacks that go well with alcohol) but please, eat it with rice. You’ll thank me!

Now for the rest of dinner:
Rice and miso soup with abura age (fried tofu skin), wakame (seaweed) and daikon

Gobo (burdock root) and konnyaku kimpira

Cheese mini sasa kamaboko (fish cakes with bits of cheese)

Hotokuzuke (Japanese pickles)

Cooking + Japanese food

Dinner last night

Not too much to blog about today but I thought I’d post last night’s dinner.

I had purchased some lovely shrimp at Mitsuwa Market about 2 weeks ago and stuck them in the freezer. I was ready to make some basil shrimp when my husband mentioned that he felt like eating Thai or Indian food. I just sort of made up a mixture of lite coconut milk, Thai red chili paste, lemon juice (since I had no limes), fish sauce, madras curry powder and chopped cilantro and marinated the little shrimpys. After a few minutes under the broiler, they came out plump and very tasty. I’ll definitely use that mixture on other fish and meats- it had great flavor and cured those cravings.

On the side I made some garlic broccolini after having had some delicious garlic broccoli at my parents house last weekend (as an accompaniment to my mom’s gyoza…..the BEST STUFF ON EARTH I TELL YOU!). I just sautéed a ton of garlic in a tiny bit of oil, added the broccolini and then added about 1 cup of chicken stock, put a lid on the pan and let it simmer/steam. Garlicky goodness, I tell you! We also had vegetarian stuffed mushrooms which I make often, some French bread with leftover lemon/parsley butter and some wheat berries. We polished it all off with some pino grigio and turned on the TV to watch the eagerly anticipated “Sons & Daughters” on ABC….which turned out to be pretty disappointing.

Oh well. At least dinner was good!

Cooking + Shrimp

4 x 10 Meme

I just got tagged for the ever-present “4 x 10″ meme via Santos at The Scent of Green Bananas. Although it morphed into an LA-4×10 thanks to the fine folks at Franklin Avenue, I had to do it without the LA theme since I don’t know if I could answer everything based around Los Angeles. Also, it seems to have shrunk to a “4 x 8.” So, here goes!

Four Jobs I’ve Had In My Life:

1)My first job was scooping ice cream at Haagen Daz in the local mall. I quit after three weeks due to this annoying boy who would lock me in the freezer and constantly harass me. The best thing about working there was standing in a teeny tiny corner of the shop that the security cameras couldn’t reach and eating the key lime pie and macadamia nut brittle ice creams. Yum.
2) Waitress at two different IHOPs- I’d work at one for the breakfast shift and then go to the other for the dinner shift. And yes, I had to say “Rooty Tooty Fresh N Fruity” on a daily basis.
3) I worked in artist management for almost three years. I finally got fed up with band members who didn’t have a clue about how money works (if you spend all of it, you are broke and no, it isn’t my fault), how life works (yes, even YOU have to have your passport to get on a plane to Germany) or how relationships work (if you constantly cheat on your wife, she will leave you) so I got out before I physically hurt anyone.
4)Import indie rock buyer for Tower Records in Shibuya- Tokyo, Japan. It was like shopping, but instead of buying for myself, I’d be buying for the biggest Tower in the world and pushing my tastes onto the unknowing Japanese public. It was great.

Four Movies I Could Watch Over And Over:

1)Mrs. Doubtfire. I laugh out loud every single time. The beatiful San Francisco scenery doesn’t hurt either.
2)Some Kind of Wonderful. Yeah, I’m a sucker for 80′s teen drama, even though all of the actors in it look like they’re pushing 30.
3)Blade Runner. Rutger Hauer’s speech at the end always makes me tear up. He just wanted to LIVE, Harrison!!!
4)Shawshank Redemption. One of the best movies ever.

Four Places I’ve Lived (With Food Memories From Each):

1) Cherokee Village, Arkansas: picking wild raspberries and blackberries and eating them, then promptly getting sick, but then doing it again the next day and the next.
2) Tokyo, Japan: Mixed sandwiches at the 7-Eleven, chicken doria from the local cafe in Nogata, fantastic Chinese food at this little place near Nakano station, pumpkin korokke and kastuo no tataki at Tengu….too many to list!
3) Temple City, CA (suburb in San Gabriel Valley): Walking with my family to Mama Petrillos and getting the square, thick sausage pizza. Getting slightly dressed up to go get stuffed potato skins at The Velvet Turtle while my dad sipped Irish coffee. Ah, memories;).
4) Los Angeles, CA: Shrimp burritos at La Fuente, cocoa crepe at Parkway Grill….again, so many.

Four Shows I Love(d) To Watch:

1) Brady Bunch. I would CRY to my mom that I could never be in the Brady Bunch because I have black hair and the song goes “Hair of gold, like their mother.” I was actually depressed about it.
2) LOST. Can’t live without it.
3) Barefoot Contessa- everything is just so fabulous.
4) A Cook’s Tour. I LOVE Anthony Bourdain and miss this show terribly.

Four Places I’ve vacationed:

1) Nice, France- we went last summer and, not really being beachy-types, fell in LOVE with the place. What’s not to like about laying on the beach, drinking rose, eating thin-crust pizzas and watching beautiful people walk around with barely anything on? I’m hetero but damn- I have never seen so many beautiful boobs in all my life.
2) Vancouver, Canada. Beautiful mountains, oceans. Fabulous food and the friendliest people. I wish I could live there.
3) Italy- Bologna, Milan, Tuscany, Venice. Pizza, daily.
4) Japan- Osaka and Tokyo. We always seem to be there during the summer which means heat and humidity galore.

Four Websites I Visit Daily:

1) The Girl Who Ate Everything. This girl’s musings on food make me laugh out loud.
2) Blue Lotus. Impressive Japanese cooking by a Canadian woman living in Japan.
3) Chubby Hubby. Witty entries and gorgeous photography.
4) Epicurious.com: always looking for new recipes on this one.

Four Of My Favorite Foods :

1) Tuna toast- tuna mixed with Kewpie mayo, dijon mustard, relish, diced red onion, salt and extra pepper spread GOOD, thick Japanese bread and toasted.
2) Foie gras torchon with toast points. Love love love.
3) A big bowl of pappardelle with any sort of bolognese, ragu or confit. The version with lamb bolognese at Pete’s Cafe is one of my favorites
4) Sushi- my favorites are anago, salmon, aji and kohada.

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:

1) In Vancouver with my husband, trekking around and eating!
2) At Burke Williams getting a massage and sitting in the whirpool. I just discovered the joys of the whole spa thing and it really is soooo nice.
3) Experimenting in my kitchen
4) Hanging out with my best friend doing anything since it’s rare now that she lives in Nashville.

To Shaz, Obachan and Sarah, consider yourselves tagged (with no obligation, of course!).

Since I hate to post without photos, here is a simple, vegetarian dinner we had the other night. Juicy BBQ’d Portabello Burgers with Balsamic Glazed Brussel Sprouts. I know I know- I eat a lot of brussel sprouts but they are SO good this way!

Want a bite?

Hurray for Hollywood

Yesterday was Oscar Day. Initially I was supposed to work at the Oscars but we ended up having too many people so I bowed out and opted to stay at home and watch them on TV. I was looking forward to sort of loafing around in sweats, having a glass of wine and enjoying the show. I knew our friend Matt “may stop by” but otherwise, it was going to be a casual evening.

While my husband and I were out running errands, Matt called and said “What time does your shindig start?” clearly assuming that we were having an Oscar party. My husband just said “We’ll turn the TV on at around 5:00″ and hung up. I said “Wait wait! Call him back and tell him it isn’t a party!” So he did, but then Matt and he got into some conversation about food and it ended with my husband saying yes, there will be food.

Panic started to set in. Why, you ask? Because our friend Matt is not just a friend, he is a chef. I mean real chef. He was the chef du cuisine for years at Campanile and most recently assisted in opening Mario Batali’sDel Posto, which was recently anointed with 3 stars by the NY Times’ Frank Bruni. Matt is not a snob by any means, but I was so bummed that I didn’t really have time to plan anything. Had I known he was coming to dinner I would have made Japanese food since I’m guessing he doesn’t make much of it on his own. I had to think quickly and figure out what I could whip up in the hour or so before his arrival. To top it all off, he said his friend, who works at BABBO (!) was coming with him. Great. Two chefs coming for dinner. Fabulous.

I had wanted to make a dish out of my new favorite, Alfred Portale Simple Pleasures : Home Cooking from the Gotham Bar and Grill’s Acclaimed Chef and I had most of the ingredients on hand….except the main one- farro. We went to several stores and no one had it. I knew of several places that carried it but they were closed on Sunday. I was ready to give up when someone saved the day. We stopped at Firefly Bistro in South Pasadena to pick up a couple of their luscious grapefruit tarts so I asked Kristen, their lovely pastry chef, where I could get farro. She promptly came back with a container full of wheat berries (which I think is almost the same thing…readers?) and told me to simply take it home. I was so thankful and wow- what a nice lady she is. We’d never met but found each other through blogging and my plea with you readers to help me re-create the grapefruit tart that I fell in love with. She somehow heard of my post and emailed me the exact recipe! The world would be a better place if it was made up of Kristens.

Farro? Wheat berries? Same?

Anyway, on to the kitchen. I put one gooey stinky cheese and one goat cheese with ash on my new bamboo cheese board, placed some marinated olives in a bowl and plated some crackers. I made the chicken and farro salad from the cookbook which really came out well. It’s a combination of poached chicken (poached in stock, not water, so it’s extra tasty), Bibb lettuce, avocado, red bell pepper, red onion and farro (I used the wheat berries) tossed with a cilantro/jalapeno/lime vinaigrette. I also made a version of something my dad used to make me as a kid. He would butter toast and put one oil-packed sardine topped with a tiny lemon slice on it and serve it for breakfast. It was one my absolute favorites. Instead of toast, I sliced and toasted a baguette. I also got some French butter and mixed it with chopped parsley, sea salt and lemon zest and spread it on each slice which I topped with a sardine and another small sprinkle of sea salt.

When Matt arrived (sans friend who ended up having other plans…phew!), I served this pseudo-dinner/appetizer arrangement and he really seemed to like everything! I was so happy to see him eat about 4 servings of the salad and not so happy that I ate about 20 sardine crostini. Maybe the healthy wheat berries will get rid of those sardine calories in my body….?

As usual, I forgot to take photos until we had eaten a lot of the food (I’m such a piggy!) so here are some half-eaten, not-so-great shots of our little impromptu Oscar dinner.

Cheese board

Sardine Crostini

Olives

Mostly eaten salad

Salad + Cheese

Ode to Trader Joe’s

“My TJ’s” (to be sung to the melody of “My Heart Will Go On” from the Titanic)

(verse 1)
Every night I try hard
To come home, cook dinner
But sometimes it’s not in the stars
Near, so near to my house
The one place I turn to
Thanks to you I don’t have to starve…

(chorus)
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe you have great stuff to eat…..
Once more, it isn’t a chore
To have mealtime with no work
Thanks to you, oh Trader Joe’s!

(verse 2)
Love is found in your wines
They show me a great time
And your cheeses are just divine
Veggie enchiladas
Lasagnas, tortillas
Fuji apples are so sublime……

(final chorus- sing extra loudly and start pounding your chest)
Beer, fish!
It’s all just delish
And I fear that I can’t live without
Tuna Panang
It’s spicy with a bang
It’s all here at my TJ’s
Oh T Joe….don’t ever go…………………..

(finish with light flute melody fading out into the ocean…..)

Welsh cheddar w/ whole grain mustard and ale

Manchego

Kashi and tablewater crackers

Genius. Frozen basil in cubes.

We‘ll call this the meat of the meal….

Ok ok….you’re probably wondering “Where’s dinner?” Sometimes a nice plate of some cheese, crackers, tomatoes w/ balsamic and basil and a bottle (or a couple of bottles) of wine does the trick. That’s MY kind of dinner;).

Trader Joe’s + Cheese + Light dinner

Another Japanese-style dinner

Last night I made another Japanese-style dinner that came out pretty well, although I completely screwed up the tofu. How? I just bought the wrong kind. My Japanese reading skills leave a LOT to be desired, and I couldn’t read the package when I bought it but it looked like your standard firm tofu. Firm was an understatement. It was so dense and heavy I could have used it as a weapon. Well ok, maybe not THAT dense but it was definitely not made for hiya yakko (cold tofu w/ ginger, green onions, bonito flakes and soy sauce). I saved the rest of it to make some sort of patty from- maybe I will combine it with some shrimp or canned salmon for later this week.

Anyway, here are the photos from last night. I should probably start using different plates since all of my dinners are beginning to look the same!
The aforementioned hiya yakko

Leftover tori dango to kabu

Sauteed zucchini

Buta kimchee (pork with kimchee)