Costco Caviar

I'm not even going to pretend I know anything about caviar other than it's very expensive. I was very curious about its taste and so I happened to find some laying around for sale at my local Costco. Indeed, Costco has everything anyone would ever want. A single person could probably live in a warehouse for several years if it were suddenly left deserted.

In any case, at the expense of $68 for a 2 oz can, I was able to bring one home that included a 'mother of pearl' spoon. The packaging says "Plaza Royale - Selected Farmed White Sturgeon - Superior Quality Malossol Caviar"

 

Abalone Frozen vs. Fresh

Always wanted to jump in a wetsuit and go diving for some abalone. They say it is a risky sport but the darn things sure taste good.

 I picked up some of these frozen ones from Ranch 99 and it appears they have been very well individually frozen in a layer of ice. They often do this for shrimps so that they do not get freezer burns.

Mushroom Mini Farm

These days you will see a lot of stores carrying 'mini mushroom farms' that promises several crops of great looking oyster mushrooms. However, that is only the case if you follow the instructions to the letter with great care and attention. Its like the case of trying to grow your own strawberries, would you try to grow your own or buy them for a few dollars at the store? In then end, it is more of a novelty to just try to grow your own but it's pretty impractical to try to eat only mushrooms you grow yourself.

I had a bag of these ready made mini mushroom farms that was neglected for 2 weeks in the garage before taken out and trying to resuscitate it.The block is about the size of a loaf of bread where it contains a bunch of 'mushroom food', saw dust, and mushroom spores.

Geoduck Clam

Geoduck (pronounced GOOY-duck) clam is this really strange phallic looking clam that tastes really good and is also very expensive. You might recognize it as "mirugai" in sushi restaurants often sold at MP rates.

So yes, you can go and buy your own live geoduck and hack it up to make your own sashimi. I bought mine locally at a 99 Ranch where it costs about $40 for the one shown.

Now, I've cut open other clams before but this is a whole new thing for me. So with some quick Youtubing and googling, I was armed with the knowledge to do some dissecting of my own.

Boiling Perfect Eggs

Finally after years of inconsistent results, I finally got one of those egg boiler gizmos from Sur La Table. In comparison to egg timers, this plastic egg is independent of the number of eggs you boil. Using a timer, you may have to adjust the time longer if you boil more eggs with the same stove and pot since there are more eggs to heat.

Indeed, this egg timer has the SOFT/MEDIUM/HARD indicators that will get you within range of what you want, and boiling it to medium during my first try does not actually yield a soft gooy egg.

After 5-6 times of experimentation, I found I really needed a line between two lines. So for a gooy egg, you want half a mark above soft.

Is it safe?

One thing that I keep my mind on is that I really am unsure how much of the plastic boils off during the use of this product. Will any of it come off the egg timer and seep into the eggs? If the eggs shells are broken, I think even if something does come off, it'll only be on the surface of the egg. I feel slightly uneasy about this but there's no other way for now.