Remember when I said we went shopping at a Japanese grocery store a little while ago? Well, I picked up some local produce. A goya looks a little like a cucumber but is actually a melon. They call it a bitter melon. And they aren't kidding.
I found a Japanese cook on YouTube and have been trying some of her dishes. The one I tried tonight is called Goya Chanpuru. It was pretty good. Except for the goya part. That thing made my tongue hide behind my tonsils. I recommend eating the bitter melon one slice at a time with a spoonful of other stuff. A big spoonful of other stuff.
I didn't even try to feed it to Hobbette. She ate everything else with zeal though.
A few nights ago I made miso stir-fry with summer vegetables. That, too, was a big hit. But as I was making it a thought occurred to me. Eggplant is one of those vegetables. I know I've eaten it before... but I couldn't tell you what it tastes like. And as Shaun put it, "Even after supper, I still couldn't tell you what it tasted like..." I don't think it has a flavor of it's own. It just soaks up the other flavors without really adding anything to them.
I've made a few other dishes that have all turned out well. I started with recipes whose ingredients I recognize and could find easily but have slowly been branching out to include things that I've never seen before... like the goya.
My sister wants me to try fermented beans called natto. They smell horrible. Maybe I'll pick some up the next time I make a trip to the local grocery store.
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