WASABI

 

Have you ever had wasabi at a restaurant? Chances are you are not getting true wasabi but horseradish with food coloring. Wasabi is a rhizome which is extremely diffucult to grow. The majority of wasabi is grown in japan. A company in Half-Moon Bay California has recently started to grow and sell wasabi. Because it is so difficult to grow wasabi is very expensive. That is why most restaurants substituted horseradish alternative. I pulled the trigger and purchased some. I wanted to try the real deal.

   To use wasabi one must grate it right before using. Freshly grated wasabi's flavor can deteriorate within 15 minutes of grating. It has a wonderful vegetable smell. The fumes are enticing to the flavor jolt you are about to experience. I tried the freshly grated wasabi with some shrimp. Wasabi immediately gives your sinus a jolt. There is a heat to this root but not like a chile pepper. It can overwhelm if you use too much but luckily the heat jolt is very temporary. I would say wasabi is very similiar to horseradish and maybe not even as hot. It does have a wonderful sweetness and green vegetable vibe to it. This is a lot of fun. Expensive fun.

FOSTER'S BIG HORN

 

 Yesterday we judged ribs & chili in Rio Vista California at "The 12th Annual HOG AUGUST BITES Rib & Chili Competition". This was a great local festival with plenty of food, music, vendors, sun and fun. There is a restaurant in town called Fosters Big Horn. I have always wanted to visit to see the wild game trophies on the wall. It was very impressive. 

Oh and did I mention we judged ribs and chili?

WAIST OF TIME

 

My good friend Bob asked me how I liked his new belt made of watches. I told him it was a waist of time.

RED ROPES

 I am sure most all of us have had red ropes at one time or another. It is a nostalgic flavor & texture from my past. It was cheap and every corner grocer had a big jar that one could stick their grubbly little hands in to. At a dinner I attended, red ropes was an edible table decoration. I think my fond memories were stronger than the actual taste. It still was a fun memory.

DESSERT TABLE FOUND

 The Fratalanza Italian Club has several dinners a month. Tonight's dinner was sponsored by the Womens' Auxillary and we attended. They also included a bake sale which included lot's of homemade treats. I knew of this sale and when we entered the door I head straight to the sale. I want to support the Women of the Fratalanza club. I also wanted to insure first dibs on all the goodies.

BGE PIZZA

 It took many years of begging and groveling to Ms. Goofy before she gifted me a Big Green Egg. It is a great bbq and we are having a lot of fun with it. I think I have the pizza technique down. I purchase dough from Trader Joe's. It is very decent and convenient. The sauce was made from home grown tomatoes. The sausage came from the freezer from a previous meat adventure. A hot pizza stone makes this crust crispy with melty cheese and yummy ingredients. So good!

BUGS

 

I am on another social media platform and I wanted to share a recent post. I really did try these creatures.

Tour de France…….21 days of racing & snacks

The Race     

Malemort is the town this rollercoaster ride will start. 18.5 km later the verdict of the break-away will be decided in the town of Ussel. This is not a mountain route but 3.500m will be climbed.

The Snack        

Hold on to the handlebars because today’s snack is no joke. I really did eat and try this crunchy assortment of bug snacks. Before you judge; they do pack a wallop of salty protein. Ms. Goofy did refuse to try this snack. Her loss was my gain of this mix of grasshoppers, house crickets, sago worms, silk worms and field crickets. There is a difference between house and field crickets you know. To sum it up this snack did not taste like chicken. It was more of a texture thing. The sacrifices I make for you dear readers.