FOODjimoto's Top 10 Posts for 2011 and A Giveaway!

FOODjimoto.com celebrated it's First Anniversary this month, January 4th, 2011 was the date of my first post! This blog was a Christmas gift last year from my daughter and son-in-law--I wasn't sure if blogging would be for me--but it has been a lot of fun and I'm enjoying it!

After receiving the gift, and a few days later getting the message, "Go! It's live!", I'd open up the site a few times a day, look at it--and close it up again and walk away--not knowing what to do or what to write. The first thing I did was put a counter on it, just to see if anyone would come by and look. Each time I would log on, the counter jumped ten or 15 views--it must have been my family looking to see if I had gotten started yet--so I jumped in--and 181 posts later--these are the highlights!

Just for fun, here's my top 10 posts (by page views) of 2011:

1. Grandma Kimbro's 2 Layer Cheesecake

2. Créme Brûlée

3. Cinnamon Rolls

4. Gyoza - Japanese Dumplings

5. Chashu - Chinese Barbecued Pork

 

6. Easter Eggs

7. Creamy, Cheesy Potato Leek Casserole

8. Green Chile Posole

 

9. Chocolate Mint Mochi Cake

 

10. Furikake Chex Mix

A big Thank You to my family and friends--and everyone that's been so supportive with all your encouraging comments and also to those that have stumbled me on StumbleUpon, pinned me on Pinterest, etc. You have no idea how excited I have been to see such a big jump in readers because of one photo! Thanks to Foodgawker and Tastespotting--their websites were what made me strive to gain some photography skills in order to pass muster--it still tickles me to see one of my photos make it to their galleries.

To commemorate this occasion--because I am excited to have been blogging for one year, and as a small token of my appreciation for being so encouraging to me--I'm giving away 5 sets of 2 tea towels made by Cheryl Ann Okamoto of Cato Crafts.

Cheryl is a fellow crafter and does beautiful work, I absolutely love all her products and designs.

Each set will contain one "Family" tea towel--it's my favorite of the moment.

Plus a random choice of one of the next three designs--
"A Friend For All Seasons"

"May Your Tea Cup Runneth Over"

Or, "May your rice bowl always be full!"

To win one of these sets of  two towels, simply leave a comment below with your favorite post of 2011 or a shout-out of something else you like about FOODjimoto.com.

The winners will be chosen at random by my son Rick on January 23rd, the Lunar New Year.

Cheryl also makes the famous shoyu and oil bottles--if you're Japanese-American and living in California, you probably have one or more of these.

She also makes this lazy-susan.

Cheryl didn't make many of these gems, I'm happy I was able to get one!

If you would like to contact Cheryl about her crafts you can email her at catoc@pacbell.net.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Chashu - Chinese Barbecued Pork

Japanese Americans call it Chashu.

It's also known as Charsiu or char siew--in any case, I'm talking about Chinese flavored barbecued pork.

When I made the Avocado Chashu Sandwich, I bought the chashu from a restaurant/Chinese barbecue place.

Today I'm making it.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. pork tenderloin or pork butt

1 bottle char siu sauce

There are a lot of recipes for chashu online, I eventually settled upon the one by RasaMalaysia. I was prepared to buy the spices and mix up the sauce from scratch.

But then I saw that the company that makes a black bean sauce I like, also makes char siu sauce, and decided to use that one instead.

I used the other half of this package on the Tonkatsu.

At Costco, it comes in twos.

I looked at 99 Ranch Market, our local Chinese market for this maltose.

It's over in the section with the honey, molasses and syrup, not by the sugar.

If you're going to make the marinade from scratch, this is the sweetener to use.

But then I saw this jar and bought it, too.

When I got home, opened it, and gave it a taste, I decided to go with this one.

They have it at Amazon.com for $2.49, in case there isn't an Asian market near you.

The meat comes in two long pieces.

I cut each one into three pieces and put them in a plastic zip lock bag.

I added a scant 1/2 cup of the Char Siu Sauce marinade and moved the pieces around in the bag until they were coated evenly.

Then I squeezed as much air out as possible and put it in the refrigerator overnight.

I remember my mom making chashu when I was little, and she would roast the meat over a pan of water to keep it moist.

That's what this arrangement is for.

After arranging the meat on the rack, I gave the pieces a quick baste with more of the sauce.

Then I put them into a 350 degree F oven and poured, from the tea kettle, about a one-inch depth of boiling water into the bottom of the roasting pan.

Roast for 30 minutes.

After 15 minutes, I turned the pieces over and gave them another baste with the sauce.

After the 30 minutes in the oven, to give them a nice char, I put them on the barbecue outside for a couple of minutes.

You can do this under the broiler, too, or over the flame on the stove.

Or cook them on the barbecue the whole time.

After they've gotten a little bit of color, they're done!

Wait about 10 minutes before slicing the meat.

It came out really juicy and soft.

The pork tenderloin doesn't have much fat, and what fat I could see, I left on.

That's where the flavor is.

Gary said it tastes like the chashu they used to serve at The Great Wall Chinese restaurant in West Covina.

Lilian stopped by after school and couldn't stop eating it.

Itadakimasu!

***

All around me, baseball is in the air.

My son Rick has been excited in anticipation of baseball's opening day for the last few weeks.

Karen and Mitchell went to a Giants game last week, and the photos she sent remind me of the first time we met Mitchell at a Dodgers game.

My nephew Colin's got high school baseball in full swing, too.

But it's not just the baseball season itself.

It's also Fantasy Baseball season.

What a great invention to enhance the baseball season!

According to Rick, it enables each participant to become a major league GM, general manager. That's right up Rick's alley--baseball and money matters.

Fantasy Baseball also creates interest in all games across both leagues--because, for example, even though you may not be a Mariner's fan, you might have Jason Vargas on your Fantasy team, so you'll be aware of when he's pitching and what his statistics are.

I love listening to Rick talk about baseball.

It's one of his passions.

He always has lots of baseball stories to tell, a lot of them are about his friend, Rich Hernandez.

That's Rich there, at the end on the right.

Rich is really knowledgeable about baseball (about sports in general), and has a quick, sharp, wit.

He's the reigning Fantasy Baseball champ in their circle, and their 

Mr. Personality.

So now, I, too, look forward to the baseball season.

When I was a little girl, I was a big Dodger fan. My dad would take me to games to see my favorite player, Jim Lefebvre.

I haven't been a baseball fan since then, but have become one, once again.

When I see this guy...

I think of these guys, when they were little, and summer barbecues at the Godinez house up the street.

I'm also a fan of Sergio Santos, of the White Sox.

When I see Sergio pitching, I think of the neighborhood kid shouting over our back fence,

"Hi Mr. Fujimoto! It's me, Sergio!"

I saw Sergio recently at a birthday party. He's all grown up with kids of his own.

Baseball also makes me think of this beautiful woman on the left, Joanne. Her three children played softball/baseball--what a fan she was!

And how much she is missed.

 But mostly I'm a baseball fan now because of this guy.

Because I love my son and love to hear him talk about one of his passions.


Baseball.

No printable recipe for this one yet.