Like tiny round hay bales, but they taste better

As I watch a food network show about egg rolls, I am reminded of the exquisite marriage of fresh julienned vegetables with any or all of the gamebirds or chicken all rolledup like a little old fashioned round hay bales.

Making egg rolls is a little messy and prep intensive, but when it is time to eat, it is time to eat. A half dozen or more sauces - sweet, hot, pungent, salty, fiery, cool and combinations thereof will satisfy everyone.

One of the dipping sauces can be tabasco( to taste) and yellow mustard - just like Chinese hot mustard. Sweet, hot Thai chili sauce is great( sometimes called just sweet chili sauce), hoisiin( chinese BBQ, basically), soy sauce w/ green Japanese horseradish, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, etc... . They're all great.

You don't need exotic vegetables - celery, cabbage, carrots, onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots - any combination you can get or like. If you are good w/ a knife cut them in thin strips or use an attachment from your food processor.

You can get egg roll skins at just about any corner store, these days. Try them. You will be a hit.

Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

I made ice cream utilizing liquid nitrogen tonight. 1 pint whipping(heavy) cream, 1 / 3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 / 2 cup cut up strawberries 1 liter liquid nitrogen.

Usually it takes hours to make ice cream. Liquid nitrogen, the most common gas in our atmosphere here on earth( 78 % ), is about 400 degrees below zero. You can get a 5 liter bottle at your local welding supply for about 30 bucks. You pour the liquid nitrogen just like you would water into your cream and sugar and vanilla mixture and stir w/ a wooden spoon until it is the consistency of ice cream, while stirring constantly. Do about a cup or less at a time until you achieve the ice cream texture. When the cream was about half thick I added strawberries, and continued stirring and adding more liquid nitrogen until my final desired consistency was achieved. It took about 5 minutes total.

5 minutes for real ice cream w/o any fake ingredients. Read the label of chemicals in ice cream. The nitrogen steams( evaporates ) away as you stir ( like magic in a Guthrie play production of A Christmas Carol when the Ghost of Christmas Past appears). When it stops steaming and if your ice cream is not thick enough, just add more. One of the easiest and fastest recipes that I have ever done.

I like it easy and I like it fast. This was great. And like any recipe, really, you can make it taste the way you like it. Taste the cream, sugar( OR HONEY), and vanilla in your bowl and add to taste as you want. Make it taste the way you like it - you will be the one eating it - it doesn't have to be anyone else's recipe - this is for you, as in all recipes. Use the basic recipe for a guide and go from there. I used cut up strawberries - use whatever fruit you like. Cut them to the size YOU like.

I must find out how they make nitrogen into liquid and how it remains stable and a liquid un that bottle which is not under pressure. Some configuration of mechanics inside the bottle must keep it from contact w/ our air so it remains a liquid. I will research that and let you know.

Terve' tuloa.

The Mn Fish Taco

A taco is a mess to eat, and tortillas are over rated, as are wraps. A wrap is a poor excuse for a sandwich - raw and doughy. An eater friendly Mn fish taco would be a walleye finger in a hot dog bun covered with a finely shredded cole slaw. If a slice of bread was twice the usual size, you could make a sandwich w/ one slice - just wrap it around the filling - fish in this case.

San Diego Taco Town

I just got back from 10 days in San Diego, birthplace of the fish taco, made w/ fresh grilled fish - mahi or wahoo or a local deep fried whitefish, with shredded green and white cabbage, white sauce, and served in a soft flour tortilla w/ salsa on the side. Excellent, though it has been my feeling that unless the cabbage is shredded very finely, it can dominate/overwhelm the texture of the fish.

I prefer a fish taco made w/ romaine lettuce is which leafy but w/ body and crunch. We did them at my restaurant( Headquarters Lodge) w/ blackened walleye.