cook

When we got back to Binah's apartment in Portland, it was past six pm. Binah and Sakae's two cats were very hungry. They were rubbing against Sakae, begging for attention. Custom1 is the fat one. Sexytime is the skinny shy one. I watch Sexytime take the cat food out of the dish and eats the nibble off the floor. Weird habit. Binah thinks it's because Custom1 eats everything in the two cat bowls. No wonder Custom1 is nearly double in size of Sexytime.

These cats were rescued together when they were kittens. They are sisters. Oregon humane societies don't allow separating the litter and don't kill. The cats both have spotty beige coloring that matches the beige color of the carpet in the apartment. Sakae's roommate Troy

finds the cats rather ugly but Binah knows Troy only half means it.

I was still feeling the wines from the wine tasting we did in Carlton but all the better to get into a cooking mood. We had the vegetables from the Portland Farmers Market and San Juan Island's farm stand to cook with- peas, baby beats, garlic, spring onions, asparagus, and fresh lettuce. They were all so fresh, we were munching them as we made salad and prepared them for the grill. I took the marinating lamb chops and pork out of the fridge. These also came from the farm stand in Lopez Island, Washington.

Sakae asked me to show him how of make grilled rice balls - Yaki onigiri. I am happy to teach him. Yakionigiri is plain rice, molded into triangles and grilled with soy sauce. I use brown or white short or medium grain rice which grains are stickier and hold together better, especially while you are grilling them on the barbecue.

While we were waiting for the rice to cook, Sakae assembled the Weber grill I bought him at Lowes earlier in the day. This grill is compact and fits perfectly in the porch. I was trying to get Sakae to buy a charcoal grill but he wanted a no fuss propane grill. What's the point of doing a barbecue if you are going propane? I argued with him at the store but I am talking to a son who is studying environmental law in Oregon of all places. "It's not good for you," he said to me and he was talking about you, me and the earth. I couldn't not argue back.

We let the rice to cool down so we could mold the rice balls with our hands. I demonstrated a few. Sakae molded them in varying sizes and shapes. It took a few tries to get them into the firm triangle shape, which is the ideal shape. They could also be oval. Binah made some too. Hers came out perfect from the first try.

I opened the bottle of Voignier I got from the wine tasting we did at Penner-Ash. It was very nice and crispy. The lamb chops came out and juicy. Plenty of fat on it. Binah loves the bacony part. She demonstraed by eating the fat. Chinese people are so daring. Troy got the shivers. The rice balls turned out good. Firm and crispy on the outside. They could have been a bit softer and fluffier in the inside. I would have browned them with a little more soy sauce too. Practice will make perfect. Troy said, it finally feels like summer. My visit to the Pacific Northwest was ending. I was a little sad to leave Sakae but that's how it is. It won't be too long before I will see him again.

GRILLED RICE BALLS - YAKIONIGIRI

Serves 4

• 3 cups fresh cooked short grain brown or rice, cooled down so you don't burn your hands.
• 1/2 cup soy sauce for basting
• Basting brush

1. Make six to eight rice balls, either in triangle or round shapes. Use a bowl of water and wet your hands before you start molding the rice. Don't press into the rice balls too much. You want them fluffy inside and firm on the outside. This takes a little practice.
2. Grill the rice balls on both sides until they are crispy and sightly toasted. Start basting the rice balls with soy sauce until they are nicely brown. Serve while piping hot.

 Kitchen note: You can stuff the Onigiri with pitted pickled plums (umeboshi).