July 11 - Okara, Pad Thai, Watermelon

I have to admit, that I used to hate melons. All melons, indiscriminately. Watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew, the whole lot. However, as Benedict says in Much Ado About Nothing, "A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his old age". I really like watermelon now (and all melons, in fact).

My love of this fruit extends so far that I can easily eat half a watermelon by myself in a single sitting. As such, I have bought many watermelons this summer, which are cheap and tasty this season.

I have also experimented with other applications of watermelons (no, not blowing them up, a la Mail Call with R. Lee Ermey. Hooah!) I tried pickling watermelon rind to great success, but found myself with a lot of it in my fridge. Most recently, I've juiced and frozen some, and made fun blendy drinks with them!

Jolly Rancher Slush:
3 parts ice
2 parts frozen watermelon juice
1 part frozen limeade concentrate
1 part triple sec mixer (or something citrus-y)

Blend it up like nobody's business.

It tastes like a frozen watermelon jolly rancher.

Other recipes from dinner tonight:

Pad Thai (or something like that):
Dried rice noodles
Onion
Bamboo shoot
Soy beans (edamame)
Ginko nut
Minced garlic
Grated ginger
Egg

Seasoning Sauce:
Shoyu (soy sauce)
Oyster sauce (fish sauce would be more authentic)
Ginger Syrup (or some sugar)
Sesame oil
Pepper
Chili pepper sauce (for heat)

Scramble an egg, and set aside. Stir fry onion, garlic, and ginger until onion is translucent. Meanwhile, soak the dried rice noodle in hot water until soft and pliable. Slice gingko nuts in half, add to pan along with soy beans and sliced bamboo shoot. Stir fry until heated through. Add rice noodles, and cut them with kitchen shears so noodles are about 2 inches on average. Season with seasoning sauce (ratios are up to you. Generally listed in order from most abundant to least). Add egg.

Okara:

Okara (or dofu za, as Angela informs me)
Onion
Aburaage (fried tofu)
Bamboo shoot
Shoyu
Honey

Stir fry a diced onion. Add sliced aburaage and bamboo shoot. Season with shoyu and quickly cook for 30 sec. Add okara. Mix and gently stir fry. Add shoyu and a touch of honey to taste. This is kind of a mild dish, in general.