Sunday, May 27, 2012

Bibimbap

One of the things my Mom wanted to do while I was visiting was go to a certain favorite Korean restaurant in Burlington. I was informed that THE dish to order was the Bibimbap and who am I to argue with veteran foodies like my parents? Indeed. It was all they said and much more. A perfect dish for showcasing veggies, hot, spicy, satisfying on many levels and one thing I really appreciated, not too salty. The first thing I did when I went food shopping Friday was to get an assortment of goodies and try to recreate the dish best I could. For a first attempt I did quite well and as predicted DH fell in love with it.



The dish itself has a medium grain rice, cooked plainly, I added a little unsalted butter to mine, then comes quickly and individually sauteed  (or steamed or raw if you prefer) veggies. I used a little peanut oil spiced up with a little toasted sesame oil. My assortment was bean sprouts, spinach, yellow squash, shiitake mushrooms, red bell pepper and julienned carrots. All this topped with a fried egg. The restaurant version also has a little shredded meat and is served in a large and very hot stone bowl. The rice continues cooking and fries up browned and crisp on that stone while you are eating it. On top of it all you add a hot chili sauce ( made from a special paste) and mix it all in. I couldn't find the same paste but found a Korean sweet and hot sauce substitute which we liked. I also added a little rice vinegar to mine although you could do soy sauce too. As seasonal veggies come and go this simple rice bowl will be gracing our table on a regular basis.

It's worth noting that while I was away blogger went and changed up the format.  I am limping along getting to know the ins and outs that are so different from the old draft version I kept for as long as possible. You also might notice a change in the quality of photos. In the beginning they might not be as good while I get use to the lovely camera I was gifted with.



 I'm over the moon about it and all the stuff it can do compared to my little (and getting tired) old Nikon Coolpix.  It's a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ3 and is well equipped with a Leica zoom lens.



 Now I just need to learn to get the most from all its wonderful whistles and bells! I can say that the shutter speed is uber fast especially compared to the Nikon, so hopefully no more missed shots waiting for the camera to be ready!



The Nikon will go to the car for on the road photo ops.

Parting shot: Bride of Kong! ( one of the pics Gene sent me while I was away)

Thursday, May 24, 2012

About Boats

I'm back from vacation and what a wonderful long vacation it was. The lobsters were sweet, plump and plentiful this year, as were other seafood delights. I'll catch you all up on some of the highlights but today is for one of the most interesting and fun events of my annual trip. The launching of the boat. My Dad's little skiff goes in a few days before the larger boat (and had I had the camera handy I would have taken some snaps of it and a wonderful little sailor Jack Russell Terrier named Bailey). But the main event is always getting BYGONE from her winter being dry docked and into the water.



A forklift is used with a specialized hydraulic trailer for getting her off the jacks that cradled her all winter.





 Two large slings are run underneath and tightened individually around the bottom of the boat via controls on the lift so she is level during the whole lowering process.



 Then the boat is gently lowered down into the water.





 The slings are heavy and lowered further allowing the boat to power out in reverse from the little bay. That's Sailor Tom helping out and waving while my Dad pilots.



 Once she's out they raise the slings, power the lift forward and then it's onto the next boat.



 Here is BYGONE as she motored away for her first trip of the season around the harbor.



 It's a pretty cool thing requiring skill and patience on the part of the dock crew and I never tire of watching them do this. In fact, I plan my annual trip just so I will get to see
the plunking of the boats! :)

Parting shot: Foxy, Queen of all she surveys!