Marukai

Monday, August 31, 2009

Marukai is a chain of Japanese stores located in Hawaii and California. It was established in 1965 in Osaka, Japan by the Marukai Corporation which opened a membership store in Glendale, Ca in 1982. Marukai sells everything from Japanese and Hawaiian delicacies to ceramics and furniture. There is an extensive selection of products making this a one stop shop for most of your Japanese cooking needs. If you need sashimi grade fish, hard to find vegetables, or even poi, you can find it here. I have also bought dishes, cosmetics, and appliances with no complaints. Although there is a small fast food section, It is not as good as it used to be. The price to join is reasonable. I paid $22 for two cards and
three years membership. Senior citizens pay less and you can also choose to renew yearly.

Chocolate Chip Scones

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Here is a recipe for Chocolate Chip Scones that I have been using for years. It is easy and delicious. You should be able to get about six or seven decent sized servings from this.

Chocolate Chip Scones

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 stick of unsalted butter (6 Tbs.), cut into small pieces
2 eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 Tbs. vanilla
1 cup of chocolate chips or use 1 cup of good chocolate, such as Valrhona, chopped.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Sift together flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Work butter into mixture using fingers. In a separate bowl, lightly beat eggs then add buttermilk and vanilla. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients. Lightly stir just to combine. Do not over mix or dough will be tough. Stir in chocolate. Drop by large spoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

Banana Bread

Monday, August 10, 2009

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a loaf pan.

Ingredients:

2 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup butter cut into 12 pieces
3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup milk

Mash bananas very well with butter. You can use a food processor if you like. Add rest of ingredients and blend. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour.

Note: If you like walnuts or chocolate chips, it is easy to add up to 1/2 cup of either with the rest of the ingredients.

Mustard Sauce

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Here is a quick mustard sauce you can use occasionally. I say "occasionally" because it calls for using quite a bit of cream so this is not by any means, diet food. I do not use exact measurements when I make this so just use them as a guide for making your own.

Cooked pork loin, thinly sliced or
cooked pork chops

After cooking pork, deglaze pan with 3 or 4 Tbs. of Calvados* or apple cider then whisk in the same amount of whole grain mustard. I use more than this, but I like mustard. Gradually add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of cream. Heat gently then place meat back in pan. Turn in sauce to coat. I like to serve this with mashed or crispy potatoes.

*Calvados is a French apple brandy.

Los Angeles, Farmer's Market

Sunday, August 2, 2009

We went to the Farmer's Market today. There is a restaurant/shop there called Monsieur Marcel Pain Vin Et Fromage. I have not eaten at the restaurant yet but I do enjoy stocking up on the many delicious items offered. You will find many French delicacies here. Today I bought this wonderful assortment of mustard in addition to two kinds of madeleines. They also have some ingredients from other countries such as Italy and the UK. Last but not least, we stopped for lunch. We had chicken shawarma, falafel, and lamb at one of our usual places, Moishe's Restaurant. We also gave Patsy D'Amore a try and had chicken lasagna. As usual everything was terrific.