English Masa Blog

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consist of (v) to be made up of

e.g.   Niku jaga consists of potato, meat, carrot, konyaku and sauce.

solely (adv) only

e.g.   I am solely responsible for the contents of my website.

accompaniment (n)     something that goes together with something else

e.g.   柿の種 is a great accompaniment to beer

if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it (phrase)     if something is already working well, you do not need to change it

e.g.   おかあさんといっしょ has been broadcast for fifty years. I wonder why they don’t change the format or the program? If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it.

staple (adj)     basic and important to everyone’s lives

e.g.   Potato and rice are common staple food in the world.

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Last May, when making my second menu, I realized that it would be very difficult to do menus that consist solely of English food. So, I decided to make menus with food that was either English or that was not very common to people in Japan.

One thing that I loved to cook with in England was couscous. I first cooked it when I was at university. To be honest, the version that I cooked in May was pretty much the same as the one I cooked at university. It was a kind of couscous salad that can be used as an accompaniment to a main course, instead of potato or rice. But as people say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

It is a staple dish in parts of the Middle East, north Africa and southern Europe. It is made from semolina wheat which is cracked and covered in wheat flour. It takes a long time to cook “real” couscous, the version that is available in most food shops is pre-steamed and then dried. You can buy it at most major import food shops in Japan. Please let me know if anyone buys some.

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Appetizer　前菜

Hungarian Goulash Soup

グーラッシュ

Main　メイン

Spanish Omelette with couscous salad

スパニッシュオムレツとクスクスサラダ

Dessert　デザート

Peanut butter cookies

ピーナツバタークッキー

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batter　　衣

the Doppler Effect　　ドップラー効果

in the real world　　現実で

geeky　　おタクっぽい、マニアック

texture　　歯ごたえ

various　　さまざまな、色々な

try one’s hand at ~　　～を試す、～をやってみる

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I was always interested in physics at school. I liked learning something (like the Doppler Effect) and then seeing it in the real world.

Even now, I am quite geeky about cooking. I like the science behind cooking and my motto is “cooking is science”.

This new section is about the science behind a few of my recipes. Some of the science is (I think) accurate, but some I have guessed.

Beer Batter

Batter has two main uses in cooking:

1. To protect whatever is being cooked from the hot oil.
2. To give a different texture to the dish.

I prefer a very light and crispy batter. To make a light and crispy batter you need to make sure it is full of air. After watching various TV cooking programs, I decided to try my hand at making a beer batter. The recipes has beer and baking powder which help to create bubbles. These bubbles make a very light and crispy batter.  The next time you want to make tempura, try adding cold beer and baking powder instead of water.

Also, if you want a good example of how air makes things “taste” crispy, buy a packet of O’Zack potato chips. They “taste” really crispy and if you look at them closely, you will see that they are full of bubbles.  Remember, cooking is science!

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Appetizer　　前菜

Beer battered squid and onion rings with homemade mayonaise.

ビール入りころものイカとオニオンリング、手作りマヨネーズ添え。


Main　　メイン

Coq au vin with mashed potato and seasonal green vegetables.

ここヴァンとマッシュポテト、季節の野菜添え。


Dessert　　デザート

Chocolate muffin

チョコレートマフィン

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First and foremost, there is no excuse.

I fully admit that I am a 三日坊主.  I realize that it has been about 8 months since my last post, for this I apologize.

Having said that, I don’t really expect anyone to still be visiting this blog. If you are reading this, I thank you and promise that I will try harder to keep up with my posting. I have decided to focus on things that I am interested in and can therefore continue to write about.

As a result, I will be writing mostly about cooking and gardening.

I am also going to be making a new section with menus from last year.

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I have decided to keep a record of my previous menus. I will endeavour to explain the dishes, give some kind of background information or trivia about the food and also give my reasons for the menus.

Unfortunately, I will not be posting the recipes, I think that they should be a trade secret.

I thought about updating the photos and making them look more attractive but it is also interesting to see how my photography skills have improved, so I will keep them the same as they originally were on my website.

Vocabulary

previous (adj)

used to describe an event, thing or time that happened before

e.g.

My previous girlfriend is now a famous actress.

endeavour (v)

to try very hard (slightly formal)

e.g.

I endeavoured to find a good homestay family for my friend.

trade secret (n)

a technique or device used by a company to make something

e.g.

That company’s method for making sweetcorn soup is a trade secret.

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