Teppanyaki is a very simple dish of Japanese origin that is typically grilled on an iron plate and the preparation is often surrounded by a lot of fuss and showmanship. There are many Teppanyaki techniques, but for my first attempt at making teppanyaki I dispensed with a lot of the formality and developed a teppanyaki technique of my own that is easily duplicated in almost any home.

I adapted this teppanyaki recipe from 1000 Classic Recipes for Every Cook. It relies on ingredients that are commonly available from most grocery stores, and is simple to prepare. Give this recipe a try and then experiment with your own ingredients, or if you are fairly familiar with this style of cooking, feel free to substitute ingredients straight away.

Teppanyaki

Serves 2

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
4 scallions/green onions
8 baby corncobs
½ cup bean sprouts
Oil for cooking (olive, sesame or sunflower)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of ginger and garlic paste (ginger paste by itself is fine)

My Teppanyaki Technique

The most important thing to realize is that you probably won’t have access to the expanse of iron stovetop that typically is available to Japanese chefs. What does that mean to the average home cook attempting teppanyaki? It means doing servings in shifts, and not only that, likely it also means portions of each serving in shifts.

To accomplish this, you will need both your largest frying pan, which you will use for your cooking, and another (with a lid), with which you will keep your cooked ingredients warm while you cook the rest of the raw ingredients.

1. Slice the chicken and bell peppers into very thin slices.
2. Trim the scallions/green peppers and then separate each of the leaves and cut them down to approximately the same length of the chicken.
3. Slice the baby corncobs on an angle into three pieces.
4. Heat your main frying pan to the lower end of medium-high. Add a little oil. Put your warming pan on warm/low heat.
5. Combine your soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger paste into a bowl and stir thoroughly.
6. Put ingredients into the main pan just until you have at least enough room to keep the ingredients separate and still be able to move them around.
7. Start with a serving of chicken, which will likely take up the entire pan. Cook until just starting to show some browning. Remove and place in your warming pan and cover.
8. Then grill the rest of your ingredients, the bell peppers, the scallions/green peppers, baby corncobs and sprouts as you have room until they just start to get a little brown. Add to your warming pan.
9. Once you have one serving complete, plate it and make sure all the ingredients are relatively separate so that your guest can pick and choose their ingredients as they choose.
10. Pour half the sauce into a small dipping bowl, stir once more, and serve with the teppanyaki and chopsticks.
11. Complete the second serving in the same manner.
This is a delicious dish and a lot of fun because you get to choose which food you are going to eat next and dip into sauce. I recommend it to serve at romantic dinners, as it is quite impressive, yet still very easy to prepare.

I am sure however that there are a lot of other teppanyaki techniques out there, and we would love to hear about yours in the comments!

A major factor in making workouts bearable and even pleasant for me is music.

Whenever I am exercising on the treadmill or lifting weights, I am listening to a specially selected mix of songs on my MobiBlu. The music helps me zone out so that I am not concentrating on the physical torture I am putting my body through or on the length of time that it is taking me.

The time thing is especially important, because after a short period of time I start thinking of excuses to stop.
Consider the phrase “A watched kettle never boils”.

If you are watching the clock while your exercise it will take forever. In fact I have noticed that I am much less motivated to do pilates via an instructional DVD than I am doing weights or walking on the treadmill. I think that is because I have been listening to the instructor guiding me on the pilates moves and hence I am concentrating on not only the physical effort I am going through but also how long it is taking me. Now that I have the moves down, and I can take visual clues from the TV and from my wife whom is almost always joining me. I am going to start listening to music while I do pilates and see if my attitude toward it improves.

Portable MP3 players are fantastic for this purpose. Steer clear of ones that have a hard drive, as they generally don’t suffer kindly to vibrations and being banged around. For your exercise MP3 player, select one that stores your songs on a memory chip. While they will have lower capacity, there are no mechanical parts and should endure your workouts much more successfully. My MP3 player of choice is the MobiBlu because of it tiny size and a convenient cord that hangs around your neck.

As to the type of music you should listen to while you exercise, its really up to you. Pick tracks that you will be able to focus on. Songs that will take your mind off the physical activity that you are engaged in.

For me personally, I look for one of two things in a song in order for it to make it onto my exercise play list (if a song has both, even better):

• A rapid beat that will in itself motivate me to move in time with the music.
• Positive or inspirational lyrics.

So dig into your music collection and select music that you think will make your exercise routing more endurable, transfer them to your computer and upload them to your MP3 player. You’ll find that your exercise routine goes by much quicker and that you begin to enjoy the work out more.

Apparently a traditional Roman dish, this makes for a great and very simple snack. The meat on the artichoke leaves is delicious and the hearts are just divine. You can provide a dip with which you can eat your artichoke leaves or you can (as I prefer), eat them straight.

A word on eating the artichoke leaves:

• Pull off an artichoke leaf at the tip.
• Holding the tip, place it into your mouth root first.
• Close your teeth down on the leaf.
• Drag the leaf out between your teeth using them to scrape the meat off the leaves
• Discard the empty leaves.

When you get to the heart, enjoy the soft treasure yielded within.

Ingredients (serves 2)

2 small artichokes
olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
grated rind and juice from 1 lemon
1 T ground marjoram
salt
lemon wedges to serve

1. Trim the stems to about 1 inch and get rid of any really tough outer leaves.
2. Cut each artichoke in half and with a knife, carefully cut out the choke being sure to leave the heart intact.
3. Put the artichokes in a pan and add enough olive oil to half cover the artichokes.
4. Add the garlic cloves, bay leaf, a generous pinch of salt and half the lemon rind.
5. Heat the artichokes gently, raising the temp to Low. Cover the pan and cook for about 20 minutes. Turn the artichokes and cover again for another 20 minutes. Remember that you are not frying them, so if the oil starts looking too hot, lower the temperature.
6. Remove the artichokes and drain them thoroughly.
7. Plate the artichoke halves flat side down. Garnish with the remaining lemon rind, a sprinkling of marjoram, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve with the lemon wedges.