New Food: White Miso Paste

I found this new food in our local Asian Grocery Store (Ranch 99), in the refrigerated section.  I've never seen it in my grocery stores before but saw it in a recipe and wanted to give it a try.  I love miso soup, have never made it myself but have ordered it out before.  I have tried the instant miso soup but it wasn't great so I'm hoping that this paste will make it better.  Another good thing about is it came in a tub (like margarine) and it will last till 2/2012 so I'm sure I will be able to u see it up.

Last night I sauteed some zucchini in some EVOO with pepper and garlic salt.  Zucchini isn't one of my favorite vegetables but if I make it with a sauce it isn't bad.  Since I couldn't find the recipe I bought the darn miso for, I decided to give the miso paste a try in my zucchini.  It was YUMMY!  Now that I have found the recipe (Broiled Salmon glazed with a mixture of miso, mirin and soy sauce) it will be my next test and then the miso soup.  I'll let you know how that goes.  I also found the mirin in the Asian store.

SAUTEED ZUCCHINI
2 zucchini, sliced
½ onion, diced
1 t. bacon grease
-Salt and Pepper to taste
1 t. minced garlic

Slice zucchini in coins. Saute in bacon grease till golden brown. Add spices and garlic. Serve.

Variations:

• Use EVOO vs. bacon grease.
• Use EVOO and saute with pepper and garlic salt. Add 1 T. of white miso paste along with a few drizzles of chicken broth to make a sauce.
• Like it spicy add ⅛ t. red pepper flakes.