One distinguishing feature of Asian hair salons (or at least the 5-6 I’ve been to) is that as part of the shampoo you also get a nice scalp massage, sort of a watered-down (pun intended) shaitsu. Today my stylist was getting her hair colored and highlighted (which is itself weird, kinda like seeing your dentist get a root canal) so to stall for time the shampoo girl went double overtime. Now I know some find the shiatsu-ish thing pretty annoying, but I consider it the highlight of the haircut. In fact, if it didn’t seem impropritiously fetishistic, I’d totally go for a hair wash just for its own sake. Maybe that’s why people go to spas.
Category Archives: Anderkoos
The Anderkoos announce Dumpling Party 2006
Christmas 2005 Photos
I’ve finally posted photos from Christmas 2005 with the Andersons in Wheaton, IL. They were taken by our new Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2, which sadly kicked it soon thereafter (somehow the LCD screen cracked). Well, it was a good camera while it lasted.
The photo at right is of the matching lawnmower and snowblower set
that was the highlight of this year’s gift-giving. We left the two of
them alone overnight, but sadly, no baby Weedwackers were there in the
morning. Probably two females.
Wasabi Beets
I’m what you might call a culinary optimist. For example, in
restaurants I try to order something I haven’t had before — the
weirder or more experimental, the better. I’m also constantly buying
foods that I dislike, mostly for health reasons, but also on the
continuing hope that maybe this time I’ll find a better way to make it.
(Exception: Squash. I have decided squash is off the menu for the
remainder of the season, though maybe I’ll give it another spin next
year).
Every once in a while this approach pays off. For example, like most
kids I hated brussels sprouts, but sometime around 20 my taste buds
matured or whatever and I found that I actually love the green buggers.
Last night, I found a way to make peace with beets with the following
recipe:
3 large beets, coarsely shredded
1/4 cup vodka
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp wasabi powder
1 tbsp salt
sprinkling of caraway seeds
dash of dill
crushed pepper to taste
Soak
the shredded beets in vodka for about 10 minutes, or until drunk.Stir
in remaining ingredients. Heat up a large skillet with about 1 tbsp
cooking oil; saute the beets for about 10 minutes. Serve with wilted
beet greens or arugula (throw them in about a minute before you’re done suateing).
Optional: Toss in some sliced sausage.
Now, I’m not really a
cook-by-the-numbers kind of guy, so the exact proportions above could
be off by, say, an entire order of magnitude. (Except for the 3 beets,
I’m pretty sure there were 3 of them).
If you’re wondering why I am sharing this recipe with you, it’s
because I needed an excuse to post something to this blog. Also because
I’m eating this stuff right now and I rather like it.