Month: January 2015

The seven herbs rice

On January 7th, there is a tradition in Japan to eat a seven spring herbs rice porridge (七草がゆ). The seven herbs consist in fact in 5 sorts of greens an 2 sorts of little radishes. You don’t even have to worry gaｔhering the proper seven products they are sold as a set pretty much everywhere.

I particularly love these seven spring herbs, and because it’s a one-year chance I usually cook the traditional rice porridge or a variation.

This year I went for a very simple rice-omelette with seven spring herbs.

I just steamed for 1min the seven herbs on top of a juicy omelette and served with Japanese rice. Instead of the sauce for the rice-omelette, I’ve just added a bit of salt. Et voila!

Lunch time

I’ve always hated cafetaria for lunch. The single idea of taking food on a tray disgusts me. I don’t have much time to go out for lunch, or I could take it but most of the time after lunch outthen I feel sleepy the whole afternoon. So I’ve always turned around the problem by either bringing my lunch from home,buying  something on the way, and since in Japan I’ve always had access at work to a fridge and a sink, so I often prepare my own luch on the spot. Always something very simple.

Recently I really like to use bagels or fresh bred I can buy on my way in the morning. When it’s tome to est, I fill it with a bit of cream cheese, avocado slices, baby leaf salad, cherry tomatoes… And in less then 5 minutes it’s ready!!!

Bon appetit!

年賀状 – new year's card

In Japan it is more than a tradition to send new year’s card to all your friends, family, colleagues etc… Their preparation is a big business. The post office is also playing an important role, because you can post your cards anytime before January 1st, they will be strictly dispatched only on 1st and after, so no worries that you card will arrive too early!

Well, for me this year that will not happen! I was really out of idea for the design and a good brain storming was necessary to come out with something. It’s very likely that this new year Chinese animal: the sheep, didn’t inspire me much (it’s also a tradition to use the Chinese sign in your design).

Well, I’ve finally managed to design something 

and to prepare the cards. Now I need to post them, oups!

So, happy year of the sheep!!!

Navettes

We spent part of the holiday season in Aix-en-Provence, France, my home town and we went visiting some places I like and used to often when I was a kid. One of these places is the cathedral Saint Sauveur. Not that I visited this place as part of my religious up-bringing, but I spent a lot of time in the beautiful Roman cloister (freely accessible at that time) with my mother, every Wednesday morning after my dance classes until my sister would finish school and we would go home. Since at that time I couldn’t eat a single thing for breakfast, we would often stop by a baker that made some

navettes

(not the dry one from Marseille). Visiting that place again I wanted some navettes and tried to bake some since no-one seems to make any anymore.

I found some recipes on the net and adjusted them to fit my distant memory. The shape, the color and the smell were perfect, but honestly the taste I couldn’t say. It was good, but not to my expectations… I need some more adjustments before releasing any receipe…

Et voila!

It didn’t take me long to open the box and try my pasta machine.

It was my very first time using a machine to make pasta so I decided to read carefully the notice and to follow my usual ravioli dough recipe (100g of flour, 1egg, a bit of milk which can be replaced by water, a bit of olive oil).

To really manage to work it out I had to had some flour, and the kitchen was a real mess, but the tagliatelle were delicious, even if there is room for improvements!!! I prepared a simple tomato sauce on the side and served them only with olive oil to enjoy fully their taste and texture.

Pasta machine!

Oh my god! For my birthday my parents offered me a pasta machine: a Marcato Atlas 150. No more irregular ravioli dough and now so many options open up!!!

I can’t wait to try it!!! Probably tonight!

The most difficult moment…

It’s really a heart breaking moment for me to leave the house and the garden on a sunny morning and to go back to Tokyo (top picture). It’s silly, because the drive by the sea-side is really beautiful and the view of mount Fuji from our apartment is quite amazing (bottom picture)… Yet I can’t resolve myself to go…

Cauliflower soup and homemade croutons

Nothing better when it’s cold outside than a hot soup.

Tonight a cauliflower soup with some rye bread croutons. Simple, easy and delicious. 

Just boiled the cauliflower and blend it, then cut the bread in cubes and fry then in a little of oil. Salt, pepper, over.

First bread of the year

About a year ago I’ve started to bake my own bread on week-ends. Not for being snobbish but because in Ohara there is no good bread, and there is nothing better than a homemade breakfast!

Using a lot Eric Kayser’s book on bread making in the past 12 months I really learned a lot and manage to make some good breads, brioches, etc…

In 2015 I’m well decided to continue and learn more.

So here are my first two breads in 2015:

Rye bread and Orange bread.

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