Automne 2011 #27

Random snacks & appetisers lately.

Kimchi.

I don't know whether Chongga is a reputable brand in Korea, but it is by far, the best tasting kimchi I found in the Asian supermarkets here. Some brands tasted very exotic, some very queer, and some were just plain nasty. I play safe by choosing products from this brand.

I wanted to make my own kimchi at home too, I just need the right moment. =p

Ochazuke.

A quick way to finish my leftover rice in the cooker just by adding some furikake, sesame seeds, wasabi, etc and green tea. 

I got the above 3 packets (seaweed, salmon and plum flavored) to try over the last weekend cos' these are the 3 available ones on the shelf and I feel rather perplexed that the usual brands like S&B and Nagatanien 永谷園 are gone from the shelves in the Asian supermarkets that I frequent. At first, I thought it was just one of them, I went around them all, and this is happening to all of them??!! I think these are good brands, why are they gone now?

I added kimchi to my ochazuke a few days ago.

Kimchi and Ocazuke don't really go well with each other.

Vintage cheddar.

You don't see vintage cheddar here on the shelves of regular supermarkets, so you bet I was happy when I saw some counter selling it! Its label indicated that it came from England. Strange that Cheese-Kingdom-France don't produce this kind of cheddar themselves. 

The person at the counter told me in French, "It will crumble when I cut this, ok?" when I said I would like 200grams of it. Why did she even ask me that? Of course I know it will crumble because this is the nature of vintage cheese. She must be thinking I don't know cheese well and I might be displease to find out that she gave me cheese crumbles instead of a well-cut piece. Half right. I don't know all the cheese well, but I know the cheese I like/love well. LOL.

I like the way they use the cheese knife to cut cheese with all their might (cos' the huge block of cheese really look kinda dense and hard) and wrap them up delicately with some old school paper.

The salad I prepared myself this evening was messy.
I snapped a corner of the vintage cheddar to go with it though. So, I was happy like a mouse.



Exact same salad as the one above a few days ago, but this is a much neater version.

It consists of mâche (Wikipedia says it is named "Corn salad" in English), beetroot and avocado with wine vinegar dressing (Wine vinegar here is excellent. I like it in my salad. The French never fail in wine-anything I guessed, just like Japanese does best in green-tea-anything. I haven't got over my green tea stuff, you are right).

I didn't like the taste of beetroot a few years back. It had this "earthy" taste to it, but I didn't give up and when I tried it again 2 years back; I actually like it. However, it is still messy to buy it in the market. You will usually see them lying all "bloody" in a wooden crate with a fork nearby for consumers to poke the one they want without dirtying their hands. You will still get your hands stained after that anyways if you are the one preparing it.

Beetroot juice has been shown to lower blood pressure and thus help prevent cardiovascular problems.

Research published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension showed drinking 500 ml of beetroot juice led to a reduction in blood pressure within one hour. The reduction was more pronounced after three to four hours, and was measurable up to 24 hours after drinking the juice.

The effect is attributed to the high nitrate content of the beetroot. The study correlated high nitrate concentrations in the blood following ingestion of the beetroot juice and the drop in blood pressure.

Dietary nitrate, such as that found in the beetroot, is thought to be a source for the biological messenger nitric oxide, which is used by the endothelium to signal smooth muscle, triggering it to relax. This induces vasodilation and increased blood flow.

Source: Wikipedia