Easy, Delicious Ponzu Sauce

3 T Mirin
2 T Rice Vinegar
1 T Soy Sauce
2 T Bonito Flakes
4 T Lemon Juice

Bring all ingredients to a boil, then turn off heat and cool. Lasts several weeks in refrigerator.

More cooking in the pressure cooker

braised korean short ribs - short ribs marinated with a little sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and mirin (and some water) cooked in the pressure cooker for 30 minutes. yum.

ox tail soup - just ox tail and water cooked in the pressure cooker for 60 minutes naturally released. add green onions, salt and pepper to taste. i also added glass noodles. i had recently started purchasing oxtail from costco (in the refrigerated section) - i don't know if it's new or if i've never noticed it before. sold there for about $3.99 per pound for 4 pounds in a double pack.

both oxtail soup and short ribs came out so tender and last for a couple of days.

Best BBQ Pork Ribs Ever

we had a bbq over the weekend (9/20) and the food was a success. I made the best bbq pork ribs ever which started off in my cuisinart pressure cooker. it is now at costco for only $69.99. they were so tender. i used lorna sass' pressure cookbook recipe, but adjusted it a little by using less beer and more water. the first time i followed her recipe with mostly all beer was not quite as good only because the beer flavor was overwhelming. i cooked the bbq ribs in the pressure cooker with 1/4 cup beer and 3/4 cup water for 30 minutes. i let the pressure cooker naturally release (meaning don't touch the knob and force the pressure to release on the pressure cooker) for 15 minutes more. while waiting for the natural release, i set up the bbq with coals in the weber starter. after the natural release of the ribs were done, i brushed the ribs with bulls eye bbq sauce and a little ketchup, then cooked the ribs on the bbq grill for 5 minutes on each side. if you don't have a grill, you can bake the ribs at 400 degrees in your oven on each side instead. one of our guest said that 'it was the best ribs she ever tasted'. it was one of the best ribs i ever tasted myself. so easy and so tasty.

we also bbq some new york steak (also perfectly cooked on the grill)which were marinated in bbq sauce, sweet white corn and rustic la brea bakery bread brushed with extra virgin olive oil and some garlic. i had boiled the corn for 15 minutes and brushed it with butter prior to placing it on the grill for a minute on each side. i had also made easy side dishes - classic coleslaw (using betty crocker's recipe), classic potato salad and pesto potato salad (by just adding pesto i made earlier to the classic potato salad) as side dishes. for dessert - i made moist carrot-pineapple cake mini muffins with cream cheese frosting.

i purchased most of the food (ribs, steak, corn and bread) from costco. the only thing i had to purchase at the grocery was the bulls eye bbq sauce. btw- i'll be making pork ribs again today for dinner.

Linen's and Things - Store Closing Sale

Linen's and Things filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy a couple of months ago and is closing most of their stores. i had gone to the one in west l.a. (olympic and sawtelle) when they did the first mark down on the entire store (probably approx. 2 months ago), but it was only 10% off. i actually go to sawtelle to eat a lot and was there again recently when i noticed a guy holding a sign noting that the whole store was now 30-50% off. a good selection was still available. the markdown was mostly 30% off (kitchen electrics was what i mostly was interested in), rather than 50%. don't even think about purchasing an iron at this store - they were all gone except for the rowenta iron/steamer combo ($169). i did not purchase anything since the 30% off did not seem like much me (i still have a 20% off bed, bath and beyond coupon for any one item) and everything is final sale. also, lnt does not except any coupons.

The Dark Night Movie

i saw the 'dark night' opening day at the vista theatre in los feliz. i couldn't wait to see it only because i like christian bale a lot, especially from the first batman which i had not seen since its release. i barely got in after waiting in a line for 20 minutes and had the worst seat in the movie theatre in the front row right side. the story and special effects were good, but i did not like the fact that christian bale had this weird fake voice when he converted from bruce wayne to batman - he sounded like he was mumbling to me and i couldn't tell if it was because of the seats we were sitting in or if it was intentionally supposed to be like that. i had a hard time understanding what little lines he did have in the movie. i certainly did not remember this effect from the first batman. also, some scenes in the movie were not so smooth and cut over too fast to the next scene in which the audience was supposed to pick up what happened. overall, i was disappointed in the movie, especially since it had been hyped up so much. i do have to say that heath ledgers performance was very good. it was also very long, 2.5 hours. geez.

i am so glad that katie holmes was replaced by maggie gyllenhaal. katie holmes was the only part in the first batman movie that was terrible. maggie gyllenhaal actually looked similar to katie holmes in some scenes.

Pay more to park in City of Los Angeles ? - According to KTLA

LA city council voted tuesday to increase parking meter rates and extend hours of operations (previously meters were in operation until 6 pm; new ordinance will be until 8 pm)

hourly rates
up to $1.oo/hour
up to $4.00/hour for high usage areas

ordinances will be effective late august and city wide implementation will take about 90 days.

Easy Bread and Butter Pickle Recipe (sweet pickles)

I think i've finally found a recipe good enough to substitute joan's pickles, through trial and error. it tastes slightly different but very good and it's so easy to make. i don't think i need to buy joan's pickles again because these pickles will be just as good for my macaroni, potato and tuna salads. i think i just have to find something to keep the pickles crisp.

bread and butter pickle recipe
6 sliced pickling cucumbers sliced thin
1 white onion sliced thin
2 tbsp of kosher salt
Fill large bowl with water to top of bowl. Add salt, cucumbers and onions. Refrigerate overnight.

Drain and rinse cucumbers and onions.
______________________________
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
2 tsp dill (i used mccormick's 'it's a dilly' spice)
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp celery seeds

heat above ingredients above together and bring to a simmer. pour sauce over cucumbers and onions. then refrigerate. i waited 2 days before i tasted the cucumbers. obviously the longer you wait, the more flavor the cucumbers absorb.

i think this process of pouring the sauce while it's hot over the cucumbers slightly cooked the cucumbers and wilted them, so i'm going to wait until the sauce cools before i pour the sauce over the cucumbers the next time i make this recipe.

i have read that young grape leaves or pickle crisp (calcium chloride) keep the pickles crunchy, but i have no idea where to buy these items.

i know these pickles will last more than 1 week but i'm going to see if it last longer.