Flavored Water

My sister-in-law gave me a bottle of Tastefully Simple All-Natural Dried Tomato and Garlic Pesto Mix for Christmas. You take 2 T of the mix, 1 1/2 T olive oil, 2 T water and microwave them together, then add 1 T Parmesan cheese and spread on the bread.

I'm not a fan of pesto, so the jar has been languishing in the kitchen. Then I did a dinner that requires boiled potatoes. I used Dutch Yellows and tossed a half-handful of the pesto mix into the water with them. Worked out well.

tastefullysimple.com

In the car driving home from Trader Joe's, Richie said, "I bought a surprise for you."
"Animal, vegetable or mineral?" I inquired.
"You'll see."

It was a bag of frozen endomame (soy) beans. The cooking instructions said to boil them for 5 - 10 minutes (the pod is discarded at the table; you eat the beans inside of them.) Nothing was said about seasoning them, but I remembered that Roy's, Rancho Mirage, sends them out with a definite taste. So I threw a handful of red chilis in the cooking water. Okay, but not the same.

Since I only used half of the bag, I've got another half with which to experiment. I googled "Roy Yamaguchi's Edomames" and here's his recipe.

8 oz. kosher salt
4 oz. Japanese red peppers
1 oz. granulated sugar
Mix well and store in a lidded jar.

Boil 7 cups of water, add 1/2 lb. Edomame and boil for 5-10 minutes. Drain and sprinkle 1/2 teas. Roy's Edomame Seasoning on them, toss and serve (with an empty plate for the pods.) Since you eat the beans, not the pods, any seasoning sensation you're getting is from your fingers after they've split the pod!