Gas flames are blue, yes, but PiM!'s stove is electric.

That it is.
xD

I think I might make another video of me making the chicken salad.
I SHALL SHOW YOU THE WAY

SHE'S A WITCH. Tie her up before she turns us into mice!!

It's her ninja flux capacitor, revealed by the alien technology hidden inside her camera...PiM!, what actually was that you were cooking in the video?

Hooray, Meatloaf!!

It was a cheap-o beef lo mein I got for cheap.
xDD
It was alright.

And what were you burning yourself on the saucepan with? My eyes aren't working very well at the moment see, so I couldn't make out what it was.

BOILING WATER

That was chicken.
The other thing I was making was Venezuelan chicken salad.
It's DELICIOUS.

Ah! It looked like chicken, but I wasn't sure ><

...I thought it looked like chicken too. PiM your stove is magic.

Yeah, but I messed it up, because I forgot to season the water.
xD

I liiive!!

Sorry for not replying sooner, I quite honestly didn't have any time. But now that the wedding and everything is all over, I've gotten a chance to settle in a bit into my newlywed life. Part of that involves cooking every day. I think I've kind of gone overboard since I tend to cook a minimum of two dishes, plus miso soup and rice, every day, but I'm getting the hang of it. I'm also trying out a lot of dishes that can be cooked in the microwave which can be helpful since my husband sometimes has to work late so I can just prep and then cook them when he calls and tells me he's on his way home.

If you're curious, here's most of what I've cooked so far: http://www.menewsha.com/forum/album.php?albumid=7778

I've added comments to explain what things are, but feel free to post any questions here. I'm feeling a lot more confident now that I've managed to complete almost 2 weeks worth of meals, starting as soon as I get home after a full day of working. But ideally I'm going to start prepping cut veggies and things in advance so I don't have to do as much after work since it's pretty exhausting shopping, cooking, and cleaning up after an 8-hour day at work.

Ferra! Congratulations again!

That biifun looks really good! I'm all about noodles. The hakusai dumplings look really interesting too. It looks similar to a recipe I really like that involves regular cabbage leaves stuffed with seasoned rice. Very good, but... yes, also a huge pain to make. Your dumplings have inspired me, though, and I think I might try making my version of that recipe with something other than just rice inside. Maybe some tofu and other veggies along with the rice.

I noticed the napa cabbage was a common player in your meals. I've always been curious about how to prepare that when I see it in stores. Is there one particular recipe for it that you would recommend as a good meatless side?

Well I keep making the same pumpkin side dish over and over because it's super easy and tasty. But that would require you to have access to small, edible pumpkins which might not be as easy or cheap to find where you live. I just cut those up and freeze the chunks, stick a few in a microwaveable bowl and cover that with plastic wrap and nuke them in the microwave for about 4 minutes. The sweet sauce is just a mixture of dashi (but you could probably just use 50ml of something else as a substitute), a tsp of soy sauce, a tsp of katakuriko (which is potato starch, I think), and two tsp of sugar.

The main reason I used nappa cabbage a lot is because you get sooo much of it with one purchase. I only purchased a 1/4th cut of a plant and I still ended up having part of it go bad because I didn't eat it fast enough. I bought a smaller one for the dumplings so I'm hoping I can use up the rest so long as I start making side dishes with it. Unfortunately the only dishes I know how to make with it all involve fish or meat products. The easiest side dish I know how to make is just nappa cabbage heated in the microwave for a few minutes, then topped with ponzu and bonito flakes.

What I really need to do is figure out how to use all of the daikon I have in my fridge. I've got 4 of them sitting in there taking up space and no idea how to use them. Maybe I should just grate half of them and freeze them for later? Have you ever cooked with daikon raddish?

Nah, I only find little pumpkins right around halloween, and those are more intended for painting... I did just get some squash on markdown, though! Got a nice acorn squash and a spaghetti squash. They have the same sort of consistency as pumpkin, so I could probably do the same thing you do with pumpkin! That it freezes is good to know too - they were marked down because they were close to being done, so I've got to use them or lose them fast!

Yeah, I can never manage to use a whole head of regular (for lack of a better word?) cabbage before it goes bad! I'll put it in every thing I make and still have some sitting in my fridge rotting. It freezes ok, though. Not quite as good as if you hadn't frozen it, but it works in a pinch. I assume napa cabbage would freeze too! Well, how do you prepare it with meat? I'm sure I could find some substitutes if a recipe inspires me.

I've never cooked with daikon, no. But that's yet another thing I'm always seeing at the grocery store and have been curious about. so if you come up with anything, let me know! My personal strategy for veggies is the very unscientific "put it in whatever I'm already making" tactic. So maybe cut them into strips or chunks and just throw them in some things and see if it works?

EDIT: Okay, so when I googled "daikon radish" to confirm what they were, some yummy looking recipes popped up. Maybe some of these could serve some use or inspiration to you?

Sauteed
Radish cakes
Baked (I don't know if your new place has an oven, but I'm sure these would be fine in your toaster oven!)
Daikon kimchi
With noodles

Alright, now I've got to get some vand try these myself.

I don't know if you've seen this site yet, but they have measurements in ml and such which hopefully will be helpful. Glad that you're getting confident and it's going better for you with the food. :)

J-Simple Recipes Hopefully there's some stuff here that is easy for you and such. I think I saw pictures too. :)

OMG nappa cabbage. They sell that at the market here and it's ginormous! I'd never be able to finish it off...

@zig: That's why I keep buying half or 1/4th cuts of small ones, but even then I struggle. Thank goodness it's super cheap right now so I don't have to feel bad about throwing some of it out.

@serena yuy: Thanks for the link! It's interesting reading these written out all in English since I've been learning these recipes in Japanese. Sometimes the names seem awkward and unfamiliar because I feel like they should just use the Japanese name, but I can see why they don't.

@Cherry Who? Thanks for the links! I ended up shredding one of the daikon and turned it into a lazy salad (this was at the recommendation of my husband). It's okay, but too plain. I think I need to figure out what else I can add to strips of daikon to make it more of a balanced salad. I tossed some slices of tomato on it last night, which helped.

I'll need to look into those recipes later. I don't know if they have an English version, but I use cookpad.com for most of my Japanese recipes in a pinch. They can be hit or miss since they seem to be open to anyone who dares to post them, but I've made some that turned out nice with minor adjustments. What I like most is that I can just type in one or two ingredients and it comes up with a list of possible recipes.

You seemed to be doing well with your learning curve here, Ferra! Is cooking going to be solely your provence always, or does your husband have a few culinary skills and will help sometimes? At least you can feel safe in the knowledge that as you do this more you'll be able to do things faster, and you're clearly learning all the time about what works best. You certainly make things look very pretty!

As someone who usually makes a pot meal... holy crap. That's a lot of different food! I wish I could try dashi stock.