While I Wait

03 Feb 2013 Leave a Comment

by ankoku1331 in BALLS!!!, Daily Thought, Food Thought Tags: , , , ,

While I am waiting for…

…a crate of frozen Snickers to arrive at my doorstep

…responses to Reader Responses

…interviewees to respond

…the Superbowl to start

…word on next year’s financial aid

…Jessica to tell us if she got the time off

…Paul to get approval to get my brain scanned

…for Amazon to show up

…for Old Navy to show up

…for Summer

…Barb to roll the sushi

…for the kids to get dressed

…for the cold air to stop whistling through our house made out of Swiss Cheese

…for the dishes to get done

…for the laundry to get done

I am hoping that I do not go insane from the saccharine sweetness of the Puppy Bowl.  Sure my kids love to watch the puppies do…well what puppies do.  I on the other hand had every thought in my head unceremoniously shoved out and aside from what I am writing now none of them have come back.  I am scared.

Today, despite being a High Holy Day around here, not because today is Sunday, but because today is the Superbowl, today has a business day.  You have your High Holy Days and we have ours.  Ours being Thanksgiving, Halloween, Birthdays, the Superbowl, and each and every time the fucktards leave campus for more than a week.  On our High Holy Days we try to do nothing other than eat good food, enjoy each other’s company, and celebrate what makes the day special to us.

For each High Holy Day we have a “traditional” food: Thanksgiving is turkey, Halloween is Chinese, Birthdays is Sushi for the adults and something fried and vaguely chicken tasting for the kids (we have hope this will change), the Superbowl is usually wings however this time I was not in the mood to clean the fryer, cut the wings, make the batter, fry, make the sauce, clean up, and THEN relax.  Wings for people like me really is a big deal and time consuming.  Thus, I decided upon sushi instead.  Sure there are several hours of prep time, but I actually enjoy putting my knife skills to work, but what is even better is that clean up is easy.  The bowls that are filled up with ingredients stay clean and only need to get tossed into the dishwasher after all is said and done.  Another plus is that sushi is healthy.  So post Superbowl when I usually feel like I need to be rolled around the house and have the grease from the fryer scrapped off of me with a sharp knife or stick, I should have a full belly and be feeling better about myself.

Okay, I just sat through a Finding Bigfoot commercial, What the Hell?  Really?  There is nothing left for television.  If that is the case I want my own show Finding the Missing Sock, where I and my intrepid team of explorers investigators arrive at your house with video camera and search for that one missing sock.  I smell success.  Who do I call?

Sorry, where was I?  Oh yeah, so today has been more about business than relaxation.  Taxes, FASA (for those of you in college you know what that is), dishes, a paper on Japanese Educational System, putting final edits into On Volunteering, and planning out some blogs down the road.  Of course most of this was obliterated by the Puppy Bowl.

Puppy Bowl

A New Year’s Eve Answering the ?s You Search For

31 Dec 2012 6 Comments

by ankoku1331 in Answering the ?s Tags: , , , , , , ,

Research MonkeyHello, I am your Research Monkey and on the last day of your calendar year I am here to answer the questions that you have searched for to end up here at my boss’s blog.  After several months of answering these questions I have given up asking why you come here for the answers and just accept that my duty is to enlighten those of you with unanswered questions.  My usual end of the month review was surprising, there were only a few new questions or search terms that I need to address, many of the usual suspects showed up once again.  Such as “what is the meaning/definition of kinky fuckery” or “how to make a pocket pussy,” seeing that I have answered many of these questions several times now I will be skipping them for a while.  If you cannot find an answer to one of these common questions/search terms please contact me directly and I will do my best to get you the answer you are searching for.

Sex

Sex bucket list ideas for couples

While I cannot speak for all couples here are a few bucket list-like items that I have heard of that could apply to couples: Threesome, Orgy, Role-playing, Simultaneous Orgasm, Make a Movie, and Cook Bacon in the Nude.

Sexual acts to try before you die

I am going to go with an item from above, Cook Bacon in the Nude.

Bucket list for sexually frustrated people

I would hazard a guess that the only thing on that list, multiple times mind you, is HAVE SEX!

Sex mutant

Sex Mutant Hope this helps, whomever was looking for a sex mutant.

Toys

Rubber sex doll skeleton

Sounds boney to me, but given that the Skelemal line of stuffed animals were cute who says an rubber skeleton sex doll couldn’t be fun.

Where to steal a pocket pussy

While I do not condone theft, the first place I would look is the nearest sex shop or for a male with a weak grip.

2 guys threesome with sex doll

I think congratulations are in order or at least a tasteful glove clap.  Miss Research Monkey’s question is why?

How to do bondage without a headboard

A good question.  Several companies sell between the mattress sets which are usually four cuffs and straps that fit in between your mattresses.

Is there a way to use a pocket pussy on a girl

Why?

Portable pocket pussy that fit inside the woman

Again why?

How to make a pocket pussy easier to use

A pocket pussy is a tube that you jerk up and down on a male sex organ; that is by definition as simple as it gets.

Food

Does sushi chefs soak sushi rice

Yes, for 30 minutes, after washing and rinsing.

Food-Sex

Banana sex

That you humans sexualize everything is not surprising to me, but damnit I eat bananas…ugh!

Food-Toy

Taste of ball gag

Miss Research Monkey commented that it sounds like a nasty food additive, like adding smoke flavor only much, much worse.

School

Sick and tired of school

I have heard this is a common complaint amongst you humans.  I myself enjoyed all of my years in the educational system.

Cartoons

I’m getting real tired of your bullshit spongebob

Stop watching SpongeBob.

Miscellaneous

Mature woman at dentist

Yes, I am sure that many mature women visit the dentist.

Nude boys measureing tape our duck

Put down the duck, put your clothes on, leave the measuring tape behind and walk away.

Me in my place nude

A short, hairy simian.

Until next month.

Why Doesn’t Raj Eat Indian Food?

30 Dec 2012 1 Comment

by ankoku1331 in Food Thought Tags: , , , , , ,

If anyone ever tells you that you are doing your child harm by letting them watch The Big Bang Theory, you show them this post.  For long time readers you are well aware that my boy is an extremely picky eater. Here is his menu: chicken nuggets, nachos with nothing but cheese, pizza with nothing that he cannot identify even a speck of green will cause him to not eat, ramen, mac’n cheese (blue box only nothing else), spaghetti, spaghetti tacos, PBH (peanut butter and honey), a piece of steak, a shrimp and that is it.  He has over the years expressed interest in other foods, such as sushi-I was a very happy papa when he told his class that he wanted to be a sushi chef when he grew up.  That dream died on the vine when he discovered that to be a good sushi chef you have to eat the sushi.  Here is a good story:

We used to go to Sakura’s in Toledo during the time of troubles to celebrate everything.  The kids usually went with us, one time my boy said that the really wanted to try sushi, but only carrot sushi, as in a roll with nothing but carrot.  Because we were such good, regular customers, the sushi chef made a special roll, at no-charge, just for my boy…who took one bite of the neon orange roll and made a face.  Thankfully the only people who saw this were us.  A word of warning a sushi roll consisting of just carrot is not good.

So back to the tale, we have been watching a lot of Big Bang Theory, to which end I have gotten my children to play Talisman (one of the board games that they play), my girl to try out some Chinese food, and oddest of all everyone to try out some Indian food.  Again, regular readers know that I have been exploring cooking Indian food at home, but I have not had much success mostly due to a lack of recipes and a decided lack of ingredients up here.  Thankfully the ingredient issue was taken care of around the same time I got another Indian cookbook and then with most awesome timing we start watching Big Bang Theory and they eat Indian food, well everyone but Raj does.

Yesterday, I gave my boy the cookbook and asked him to pick out something and then to Barb.  Between the three of us (my girl can’t read well enough and the cookbook lacked a lot of pictures in case you are wondering why I didn’t give her the book), we picked out three dishes that complimented each other: New Bride Curry (was supposed to be a chicken dish, but I had pork thawed), Shredded Carrot Raita with Raisins and Walnuts, and Chapati bread.

We have never had any Indian food before, but were excited.  While I prepped the curry, Barb made the Raita and made the Chapati.  Yes, she made chapatti bread.  The New Bride Curry was billed as a sweet, sour, and spicy dish; personally I found the dish to be a near perfect blend of sweet and spicy.  My boy and my girl, both of whom had to try the pork curry before they got the option of other food, both ate one piece of pork with my boy declaring way to spicy, my girl followed suit and then ate two more pieces.  Barb ate about half, before the spiciness  was too much for her.

Here is the recipe for New Bride Curry, from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes by Ruta Kahate with my notes.

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 medium yellow onions finely chopped
  • 3 medium tomatoes minced
  • 2 teaspoons or 4 large cloves of garlic grated (I minced)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cayenne
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions:  Into a hot, large pan put the oil and onion over medium high heat.  Cook onions until brown.  While onions are cooking mix the garlic, cayenne, turmeric, and cumin with 1 tablespoon of water to make a thick paste (more like ball of stuff).  When the onions are browned add the mix and sauté for 5 minutes (on medium high heat closer to 2 to 3 minutes), then add the tomatoes.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the tomatoes break down.

At this point add your meat, the recipe originally called for chicken, but I used chunks of pork.  Stir, coat, and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes depending on the size of meat (example: I was using chunks of pork that took 5 minutes, but if you are using a whole chicken breast 10 minutes would be better).  If you need water, I did not, you can add one cup of HOT water.  Add the salt, apple cider vinegar and sugar, bring to a boil for 1 minute then reduce to a simmer until the meat is cooked.  Tasting often, adjust flavor with additional salt, vinegar, and/or sugar.  I ended up doubling the amount of apple cider vinegar and sugar.  The next time I cook this I will triple the amount of vinegar and sugar to bring out the sweet and sour component and tamp down the spicy side.

Kinky Fuckery: MY Sexual Bucket List

22 Dec 2012 6 Comments

by ankoku1331 in Kinky Fuckery, Sex Thought Tags: , , , , , ,

A while ago I did Kinky Fuckery: Sexual Bucket List which was an amalgamation of the various sexual things the people I know and partly me, want to do before we die, but not in the traditional sense, as I wanted the unusual-Point Break Sex Going Out in Style is pretty out there.  I still not sure which President I will be going as, but trust me I am shopping around for a plane, a mask, a surfboard, and willing people just in case. :)

This Sexual Bucket List is all me (cover your eyes if you don’t want to know).  Nobody else.  Well other people are involved it is a sexual bucket list not a masturbation bucket list…hmmm…what would that look like?  Masturbate on a plane.  Masturbate with a stick of butter…nah, I will stick with sex that involves other people.  I can love the one I am with on my own time.  So without further ado bare witness to the things I would like to do sexually before I die.

Bottom of the Bucket: With many apologies to the woman or women that I am having sex with at the time, I want to die having sex, preferably post orgasm.  Since I am a good lover (ranked amateur), the woman or women would have already had at least one orgasm, so they shouldn’t worry about being left out.  Still keeling over dead during or post coitus could be problematic, so I apologize now.

My Turn, but Practice First: This has been a desire of mine for a long time and don’t think anything negative about Barb, but I would like to be bound, like I do to her.  I understand that binding people does take a certain mindset and preferably some practice, which is why it has not happened to me yet.

Better Lighting and Maybe Some Post-Production Work: I want to make a sex video.  A good sex video.  One that I wouldn’t be ashamed to watch again or have other people watch.  It would need a good plot and maybe a stunt double or two, but I really would like to make a good sex video.

I Don’t Speak Your Language, but We Seem To Be Communicating Just Fine: Sex with a foreigner.  Not a foreign looking American, but someone from somewhere else.  This is a very minor bucket list item, but despite my efforts it has not happened yet.

The More the Merrier, I Hope: If I could, meaning I had a place, privacy, and knew the right people, I would host an annual Sex Party.  Something akin to Shortbus, if you have seen the movie then you are familiar with the place where they gather together for a party-sex scene.  Or maybe more like a Roman orgy-party out of Spartacus, without the murder that seems to happen at most of them.   You get the idea.  I think it would be a good thing for the world or at least the neighborhood…well parts of it.

Is That A California Roll on Her..? I like sushi.  I like naked women.  I would like to eat sushi off a naked woman.  Simple as that.  No California Rolls though.

Can You Go Crazy Much Later?: I have written about this before and will again, but if we could find a third that lasted for a while that would be great.  That would most definitely be a bucket list event and a blog event and maybe even a reason for me to start-up Facebook again, talk about status update.

Location, Location, Location: I have had sex in plenty of interesting places; office of a Burger King, counter of a Burger King, with a woman handcuffed to the hood of my car, in a park, in a packed bar, and so on, but there are still a few places that I have not had sex yet; on an airplane (mile high club), on a stage, in Japan, and in China.

Hey, You Are Doing Me: I really would like to create a sex position that sweeps the bedrooms of the world.  Most likely a position that involves three people, the Tri-Richmond or something equally creative like that.  Whatever the name, I am fond of the Scorpion (sounds ominous), the position is written about, photos, essays, pornified, and mainstreamed.  I would be famous and all of you, would be doing me.

Speaking of Doing Me: If I could get a glow-in-the-dark multi-speed, multi-function faux version of my cock with a vibrating monkey for the clit (I do like monkeys) that would be sellable to the world I would do that.  Alas, mass production of me seems to be out of my reach for the moment.  Clone-a-Willy is fun, but hardly the Ford Motors of faux cock production.

So there you have my top 10 or at least 10 items off my bucket list.  Enjoy.  Perhaps I will post more of my list later.

See also Sex Index

Singing Sushi

03 Dec 2012 2 Comments

by ankoku1331 in BALLS!!!, Daily Thought, Food Thought Tags: , , , ,

Yesterday my computer died as in dead.  ”Please insert floppy disk” flashed on the black screen before the “whhheeen whhheeen” noise sounded twice and then no more.  Floppy disk, what the fuck?  I had to explain the the children in my class what a floppy disk was and even draw a picture.  Suffice to say a lot of what the fuck stares from them.  I am old.

Tonight was my boy’s Christmas recital, where all of the second grade classes sang a few holiday themed songs.  He was in the front row and looked like he was about to explode with excitement.  Very proud papa moment.

And now onto the meat and potatoes of this blog or in this case sushi rice.  When people hear that I make sushi roughly once a month at home they always want to know how and when I tell them that making sushi is all about the rice I get a lot of confused or blank looks.  To most people sushi is what is in the roll, the rice is just to hold the “good” stuff together.  Alas this is a mistake.  The largest portion of any piece of sushi is rice.  If the rice is bad or off, the whole piece is off and you will know.  Thus the rice is the most important part of any sushi.  I have spent many years trying sushi rice recipes, some good, some bad, one horrible, and one that works consistently.  I am going to share with you the one sushi rice recipe that has always provided great results.  This takes some work, but if you are willing to put forth the effort, you will and anyone who eats the sushi you make will be very happy.

Dressing

The dressing is what gives sushi rice flavor and the characteristic shine.

2 tablespoons PLUS 1 teaspon of rice vinegar*

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions: In a small bowl mix all three ingredients together BEFORE you start on the rice.  Let the mix sit until the rice is cooked.

Sushi Rice

1 cup sushi rice**

1 1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon mirin

Directions: Rinse sushi rice under cold water and drain.  Continue to rinse and drain the rice until the water runs clear. This can take anywhere from 3 to 10 rinsing.  This is an IMPORTANT step.  If you do not follow this step your rice will have a sticker, wetter texture.

After the last rinse, put the rice into your rice cooker with the 1 1/3 cup of water and 1 teaspoon of mirin.  Let this sit for exactly 30 minutes.  Do not turn on your rice cooker, you are letting the rice soak.

At the end of 30 minutes turn on the rice cooker and let the rice cook for 15 to 20 minutes or however long your rice cooker takes.  Make sure to check on the rice, primarily due to the smaller amount of water, the rice can cook faster than expected.

Cooked Rice

Directions: Take the cooked rice and place into a wooden bowl, a glass bowl will do fine if you don’t have a wooden bowl.  Stir the dressing one last time and then pour the dressing over all of the rice.  Take a rice spatula and cut the rice in half and fold over.  While you are cutting and folding the rice, you or another person should be fanning the rice.  Fold and fan until the rice is cool, there should be no steam rising, and the rice should be cool to the touch at best.  When the rice has been folded, fanned, and is cooled down take a moist white towel and drap over the top of the bowl.  You can leave the towel over the rice until you are ready to make your sushi rolls.

* rice vingear comes in two varieties; good for salads and one is best for sushi: I use Marukan Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar.

** 1 cup of sushi rice usually gets up six to eight rolls and a few hand-rolled pieces.

Birthday Wishes

26 Oct 2012 1 Comment

by ankoku1331 in Sex Thought Tags: , , , , ,

Not so long ago, Countdown to My Birthday, I wrote about some of the things I would like for my birthday along with my philosophy of not keeping quiet about my birthday, much to the annoyance of anyone that I know and that I like to pester.  Do I actually expect a gift, no, I demand a fucking gift or even better a gift that fucks!  I am more than happy to share my birthday and my wants for my birthday with anyone that will listen or in this case read.  Who knows maybe I will get something that I want.

I am without a doubt a pain-in-the-ass to get a birthday or Xmas gift for.  I tend to without hesitation purchase anything that I want, thus leaving you (well not YOU) less than nothing to get me.  Not that you don’t want to get me something, but unless you are around me a lot you most likely do not know enough about me to go outside the usual tropes of gift giving which is something that you know that the person likes or has expressed a like for.  Me I like going outside the tropes and putting some thought into what I know about you (well not YOU) and getting something with meaning.  Since I am not an open book and nobody has bothered to thumb through my pages (sex metaphor?) in a while getting me something is difficult.

To review here was my birthday wish 27 days ago:

  1. A threesome
  2. A night of drinking that ends in a threesome
  3. Someone to make me sushi (no restaurants)
  4. A day of peace and quiet
  5. An evening with good friends from far away
  6. A frozen Snickers (make sure to check with other people as I only want 1)
  7. An evening on the town (not this town) with Anthony Bourdain
  8. A birthday card from Anthony Bourdain and/or Spongebob Squarepants
  9. Five minutes in a closet with Rachael Ray
  10. Someone to surprise me, but not a surprise party
  11. One or more people to agree to take part in a one-day project of mine (I do have a 1-day project ready to go)
  12. A night out, but not around here
  13. A birthday card from Jessica, filled with everything she has ever “promised” me
  14. A trip to Mama Lee’s (Grand Rapids) and a trip to Sakuras (Toledo)
  15. Chinese with Jessica and the family

As of today, 5 days to go, here are the updates to my birthday wish list:

  1. I did get a “Yes, I will be your threesome” response.  I was overjoyed.  Then I started thinking about it; her yes was predicated on me waiting for her to get the available time, sometime in November, which got me thinking about what I would really want from her instead of a Thanksgiving Threesome.
  2. See above
  3. No sushi chef showing up that I know of and since I have not gone shopping for the ingredients I know that I’m not making sushi.
  4. I have two children, not going to happen.
  5. Alas no money to buy them plane tickets and I am pretty sure the situation is the same on their side of the planet.
  6. Pretty sure I will get at least one Snickers.
  7. While I have gotten some spam offering me bigger junk from Anthony Bourdain, I have not heard from the man himself.
  8. I got a birthday card from my mother today, much appreciated.
  9. Unless I am wrong Rachael Ray is nowhere near my closet for the next month or so.
  10. Since I asked for a surprise this is in the air, but I am not aware of any surprises in the making and I am good smelling out surprises.
  11. This has been an odd-duck.  I did get a yes to one project, but that fell flat on the face when other people got involved.  Then I got a we will see on the same project from another person, but that too seems to have fallen on its face.  Then I got a maybe on a different project (I have several projects in mind), but then when they found out that nudity would be involved they backed out fast.
  12. This would require a nearby town that I wanted to go to, so not going to happen.
  13. Jessica has said that she would indeed get me a card, but would it get sent is up in the air.  She is notorious for buying cards and not sending them out.  It is an endearing trait.
  14. In theory we are supposed to go to Grand Rapids soon, so Mama Lee’s could get taken care of.  Sakura’s is not going to happen for the same reason that having my friends from far away show up here is not, money.
  15. See above.

With 5 days to go until my birthday its not looking good.  On the plus side of the equation I have changed my threesome to having a GIMP (with or without the hardware) for a day.  Threesomes are so much work, but having a GIMP would take care of 1, 2, 3 (I would make them make me sushi), 10, and every #11 that I have in mind. * I have hope…maybe call that a delusion that a plane flying overhead will dump several willing women onto our house, one of whom is Rachael Ray.  Crossing my fingers.

* For those curious about #11, one project that I have in mind is the paint-a-body birthday card that I have tried to do for several years in a row now.  A lot of fun, very personal, and see no face in photo.  :)

Sex and Sushi

18 Sep 2012 Leave a Comment

by ankoku1331 in Food Thought, Sex Thought Tags: , ,

“Is there a time when you don’t want sex or sushi,” my wife asked me?

I pondered a bit while we walked from the sushi place to the car (Ha I bet you thought I was going to write sex).

“Nope.”

However, I was not positive on my answer so I pondered some more.

When Jimmy John’s tried to kill me via food poisoning, I was green and delirious, but if someone had offered me a tuna roll or sex, I might have hesitated before scarfing down those tiny rolls of goodness.  I would say that I would have dropped my pants and prepared to have the sex, but if I remember correctly my pants were off at some point during the bought of attempted murder so good to go there.  So yes, even when deathly ill I would have eaten sushi, most likely promptly barfed up the sushi and tried to have sex even if the cramps and delirium prevented me from remembering what I did or barfing all over whomever made the mistake of having sex with me.

After my traffic accident I really wanted to fuck the ass of the person who rear ended me in a really violent way.  I don’t recall wanting to eat, but I do recall wanting to fuck and fuck a lot. Oh and throw my couch out my second story window.  I am pretty sure that had I gotten to fuck the ass of the person who rear ended me or thrown my couch out the window that I would have eaten some sushi.

Hmmm…two in a row seems like a pattern of behavior.  I guess I should look at a least one more instance to see if there is a pattern of sex and sushi no matter what.

After dental surgery where I had sixth teeth removed, lost enough blood that I was that shade of white associated with death, had mouth full of cotton and wasn’t sure where I was other than I was leaving the dentist I would have gladly paid to eat sushi.  I would have, just like I did with the chocolate pudding or ice cream, barfed all of the sushi right out of my nose and then passed out, but I would have eaten that sushi with my remaining teeth.  I know that I would have tried to have sex before the remaining blood in my body rushed to my junk caused me to black out or die.  I would have tried.   So even when down a shit ton of blood, I would have given sushi and sex a go.

Now I am positive that there is no time that I would not want sex or sushi.  I feel pretty good about myself.  After all, I now know that no matter what I will have one thing to eat and one thing to do no matter what.  How many of you can say that?

“What is that?”

“Really?”

“I don’t remember that incident…”

“Oh, that drunk?  A pool of vomit and fell asleep in the bathtub?”

“Well I still submit that had you woken me up instead of leaving me in the tub that I would have gladly eaten some sushi and had sex with you.”

“Don’t walk away.  You know I’m right.”

Bloody Bear’s Reading Corner-Get Jiro!

13 Jul 2012 2 Comments

by ankoku1331 in Bloody Bear Reading Corner Tags: , , ,

Did you know that I am a fan of Akira Kurosawa films?  I am, what bear wouldn’t be.  Some of my best fishing techniques I learned from watching his samurai films.  True story.  Did you know that I am also a huge fan of sushi?  I know bears are supposed to catch their fish and eat them, but then what?  A bear can only eat so much fresh fish with nothing else before a bear gets bored of fish and then you find bored bears hunting down your food.  Your food by the way, is not that good, but when bored a bear will eat anything.  Thus I suggest to any bear that I meet that they try sushi, which is fresh fish and other stuff in tiny bite size morsels.  Sure a bear has to eat a lot of sushi, but an order of sushi will keep a bear out of the trash…ick.

What does my love of samurai films and sushi have to do with reading?  Once again I was hungry and in the mood for a samurai film.  Unfortunately, Red Box does not service bears, not even after I shook the box vigorously and I didn’t feel like going down to the local watering hole.  I did have a copy of Get Jiro! by Anthony Bourdain nearby, so in an effort to distract myself I started reading.

A quick summary, Get Jiro! is about a sushi chef working in a futuristic version of Los Angeles, where food and foodie culture has become dominant.  There are two primary groups, one espousing the virtues of French style cooking and one espousing the virtues of all natural cooking.  These two groups are hostile to each other, but at the start of the graphic novel not in an open war.  Jiro, has a sushi bar on the outside of their territories where he makes classic Edo style sushi.  He does not compromise on his sushi, going so far to decapitate a patron that puts wasabi into the soy (a big faux pas) and the police are okay with the decapitation.  Eventually Jiro gets drawn into the conflict between the two groups with suitably violent results.

If you have seen Sanjuro, Yojimbo, A Man with No Name or Last Man Standing then you are very familiar with the pacing, plot and action that will be found in Get Jiro!  This is not a bad thing, given the food centric theme throughout the graphic novel having a foot planted in the familiar will allow many people who might have been turned off by the food centric theme to read the entire graphic novel.  Food plays an important role in the story, food establishes the identities of everyone; the French style dress like you expect chefs to dress and the all natural group dress like hippies and so on.  The familiar also works the other way, if you are a fan of food, that will carry you through the unfamiliar territory of the story, if you were not familiar with the classic story.

While the story is familiar, and the action predictable (only if you are familiar with the source material), Get Jiro! is fun afternoon’s read.  The artwork is good and tells much of the story.  The dialog is good, not great, but appropriate for the story and true to the source material.  Should you happen to be a fan of Anthony Bourdain’s writing, you may be let down, most of his snark and wit are not present.  I recommend Get Jiro! for anyone looking for a light afternoon’s read or for a different version of a classic story.

Sushi Day

19 May 2012 Leave a Comment

by ankoku1331 in Food Thought Tags: , ,

Today I wanted to make sushi.  Fear not I have done this before, but it is a time consuming process.  The actual rolling of sushi is not that time consuming, but the preparation up to the rolling is.  Follow along if you will.

Start by gathering all of the ingredients that will be used:

  1. Carrots
  2. Daikon
  3. Cucumber
  4. Cream Cheese
  5. Krab (that is fake crab)
  6. Tuna
  7. Wasabi Powder
  8. Rice
  9. Rice Dressing (Rice Vinegar, Sugar and Salt)
  10. Prawns (not shrimp)
  11. Chicken
  12. Tempura Batter
  13. Avocado
  14. Soy
  15. Ponzu
  16. Romaine Lettuce
  17. Sriracha
  18. Nori
  19. Sake
  20. Ginger (unfortunately I have yet to find a recipe for making pickled ginger that works in small amounts so I passed on making pickled ginger today)

Carrots need to be peeled and then cut into thin strips.  Cucumber needs to be peeled, seeded and then cut into thin strips.  Avocado is cut in half, then the pit is removed, then cut into thin strips, then the skin is removed (remove the skin first and it is a mess).  Cream cheese is cut into strips.  Krab is cut into strips.  The romaine lettuce is washed and cut into wide strips.  Tuna is cut into strips or seared and put into a soy glaze or cooked and mixed with a spicy mayo.  Wasabi powder is mixed with water and allowed to sit.  The tempura batter is mixed.  Chicken is cut into strips, dipped into the tempura batter and then hand dipped into the deep fat fryer.  Prawns are peeled, de-veined, dipped into the tempura batter and then hand dipped into the deep fat fryer.  Daikon is cut to a suitable length, then peeled and cut into thin strips.

The rice dressing is mixed and allowed to sit.  The rice is rinsed until the water is clear.  Then the rice sits and soaks for a half-hour before cooking for 15 to 18 minutes. Then the rice is put into glass bowl (wood would be preferable, but I don’t have one yet), the rice dressing is poured over and while one person fans the rice the other person folds the dressing into the rice until the rice is cooled.

Soy and ponzu are poured into dipping containers.  Chopsticks are laid out.  The sake has been chilling all day, we like our sake cold instead of hot.  Green tea is made.

This is before any rolls are made.  I started at just before noon today, as of right now it is 6pm.  Barb thankfully makes the rolls and I do all of the prep.  The only thing that would make sushi day better is if our friends and family were in town to enjoy the sushi with us.

I apologize if you were looking for erotica, maybe later, but I am going to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Update:  Here are photos of the first batch of sushi.

Mother’s Day Break

13 May 2012 2 Comments

by ankoku1331 in Daily Thought Tags: , , , ,

“That’s vomit in a bottle.  I have never vomited more in my life than after each time I drank that.”

-B. Richmond

I don’t think that was the Mother’s Day wish or message that she wanted to convey, but it is the one that I heard.  Note the each in bold.  I have nothing to offer on that other than if it made you vomit more than you ever have the first time why go back?

Happy Mother’s Day to my mother, she is in Texas raising cattle, slowly dehydrating-Texas for the uniformed is a dry heat and everyone and everything slowly dehydrates there.  We haven’t seen each other in a while, but she does read the blog.  Yes, my mother reads the blog.  Where do you think I learned to talk to anyone about sex?  Someone had to start talking to me about it.

Happy Mother’s Day to Jessica, she is the kids deity-mother, she is in Toledo making the best wings I have had made by another person.  I don’t think she reads the blog often, but just in case she should know that the kids and us miss her.

Happy Mother’s Day to Sara, she is a good friend and we miss her and Dimples.  She is in the middle of a forest straight out of Middle Earth if you listen to her tell about where she lives.  Don’t forget your torches, armor, weapon and trusty steed.  Dimples is her one-year old girl.  No, she didn’t name Loralye Dimples, that was done by another friend.

Finally, Happy Mother’s Day to my wife.  I love her to death.  The kids let her sleep in and when she did get up they both said Happy Mother’s Day (see they can be trained).  Right now aside from recalling pasting vomiting epics, if you have vomited more than once more than you have ever vomited in your life it is an epic, she is sitting around doing nothing.  That is what she should be doing nothing other than that which she wants to do.  If we didn’t live an hour from everything we might be going out to eat, but Applebee’s does not scream Mother’s Day to her.  Sakura’s the sushi place in Toledo does, but that is quite the trip.

I will be taking a break from writing today to spend time with Barb and to cook up some food.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mother’s that read the blog.  I hope you have a good day of doing what you want to do and maybe someone doing something nice for you.

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