Month: March 2015

One-bowl lunch

This is definitely the end of winter! But the spring greens and veggies are not yet ready, we’ll have to wait a few weeks, so in between, mizuna, brocolli, spinach, na no hana are the best options!
I find that mizuna really goes well with plain Japanese rice, so I prepared it on a rice bowl with some steamed brocolli, and I made some pork-okara-curry bites.
For the mizuna just wash it in clear water, the brocolli I steamed them on top of thd rice for 2 min, the bites, I mixed pork meat with 2 large spoons of okara, one egg, a spoon of curry powder, salt, pepper and cooked then golden. Served all in one bowl, topped with some sesame seeds.
I believed that the pork can be removed and replaced by a little of panko for a veggan experience.

Winter sport in Japan

The valley of Hakuba

Why traveling to Japan for winter sports when you have pretty snowy mountains in your country? I reckon that wouldn’t be worth the hassle, the jetlag, the exhausting travel even if recently magazines have been spreading the word that Niseko is a must destination! But when you live in Tokyo it’s quite easy to go skiing and there are closer places than Niseko. Nagano prefecture and Niigata prefecture offer nice slopes with good snow and welcoming infrastructures. After trying several destinations, our favorite is definitely Hakuba and La Neige hotels, both the “honkan” and the “higashi kan“.

La neige honkan

While the former is a lovely place, a bit retro Japanese-western style (Taisho and Showa period), if your primary purpose is winter sport the latter is really amazing and offers incomparable services. Both are nested in the forest Wada no mori and a 5min walk from the lifts. Great!

Lobby of La Neige higashikan

Hakuba is also a genuine place for delicious local food and restaurants. My ultimate favorite is the Hummingbird, which over the past years has been quite popular　and now reservations are absolutely needed!! Rumors say also that summer and autumn are beautiful in Hakuba… Can’t wait to see that too because so far I’ve only seen it covered in white!!
The valley of Hakuba

Coconut-strawberry tart

Coconut ad strawberry tart with a bit of coconut and ice sugar for the decor
I love strawberry tart and I love to make some! Usually the best time starts end of March in Japan, but this year we’ve started to have delicious strawberry for a few weeks already, so I couldn’t wait!
I love to make variations with the dough, with the custard. This year I added some grated coconut in the dough and made the custard with soya milk and a lot of vanilla. I also wanted to try making the dough in circles and just top it with custard and strawberries. I need a little more practice but the result was not bad at all!
For the dough I used flour, brown sugar, one egg, butter, and added some coconut (I always make the dough without measuring anything, I like to “feel” it).
For the custard I used 2 egg yolks, a little can of soya milk, vanilla, a spoon of flour and brown sugar.

No-time-dinner and almost empty fridge

It is often that around Thursday the fridge starts to be empty because I shop mainly my fresh fruits and vegetables in the country on weekends. Adding a few dinners out for work and a busy schedule, I couldn’t refill at the local shops in Koganei, so I must say that it happens that I arrive home with pretty much nothing to eat and the only option is the little supermarket round the corner. Not too bad but not too great either. It ended up in cooking a tomatoes andbasil  pilaf. Boiled some rice, then in a frypan with olive oil add some roughtly cut tomatoes and basil leaves, salt, pepper, in a circle in a plate, and ready!!! If you have leftover of rice it’s even faster! If you want to top it with some parmegiano perfect!

Sticky millet croquettes

I discovered just recently while on a trip to Nagano prefecture that in Japan they grow some sticky millet. It looks very much like millet but once cooked it is much stickier.

I found this consistency perfect for vegan croquettes. So I mixed some boiled sticky millet with some vegetables sautéed I had in the fridge: a leek, half new onion, 2 small carrots gratted, one egg and a few linen seeds, and made croquettes that I cooked in olive oil in a frypan.

I also made a version with cheese but taste-wise without was really delicious and if the cheese makes the croquettes creamy and more golden, I don’t think it is a must.

Let's talk cooking gears!

Knives, peeler and scissors

I have two kitchens: one in Tokyo and one in Ohara, and I found really
silly to duplicate all my cooking gears. So to solve the problem, except
for a very few things, I have always decided to cook with little
equipment and keep it really simple, skipping all the goodies are
supposed to simplify your life but in the end just lay in cupboards and
drawers for ever (avocado cutter, spaghetti spoon etc…). But still
there is a minimum required that I must have in both places.So let me
introduce you my best cooking allies.

Measuring gears

First of all cutting gears. I have
exactly the same set of knives in both kitchens. It helps me preventing
cuts and bad surprises. Since we have excellent knives in Japan I use
two types of Japanese knives for pretty much everything in the kitchen: a small bamboo knife
that you can find in supermarket and that cuts very well, perfect for
peeling fruits, preparing soft vegetables etc… and when in a hurry. And I have a larger Japanese
knife that is a real danger to me, perfect for preparing fish, meat, hard pumpkin, sweet potato… that I only use when needed and in no hurry. I love the feeling of the wooden handle and the nice metal blade, so I don’t use ceramic knives, never even tried.
I also use a lot scissors not only to chop herbs, but also for bacon, thinly cut meat, smoke salmon etc… I find it very handy, some say it’s the Korean way, I never realized whether Korean use their scissors for meat cutting…
Finally
I love vegetables peelers (this one from Muji), it’s so quick and it peels such a thin skin
that it’s almost as having naked fruits and veggies!
I have a mandolin in Ohara that I love and I’d love to have one in Tokyo too, but yet with limited space in the kitchen I prefer pass.

Next measuring gears. Similarly I have exactly the same two instruments and use nothing else when I use a measuring instrument (which is not often the case except for bread and some patisserie!). I have only an electronic scale (1g precision) and a Pyrex measuring cup. I avoid plastic as much as possible, I am no good friend of Tupperware. So my mixing bowls are either Pyrex or metal. So are also my spoons, spatula etc…

Mixing spoons and spatulas

As for mixing I use a lot wooden spoons (bought in Milano), bamboo spatula (from 100Y shop), bamboo long chopsticks (100Yen the whole set, from 100Y shop), metal whip, metal ladle, natural hair brush (from Mitsukoshi), wooden rolling pin (from 100Y shop too!)… and that’s all… I must admit that in Tokyo I have an electric whip, but I almost never use it! I like to whip manually, the energy it requires and the result. Also because I never cook for more than 8 people at a time…

About shapes… I have a series of 3 or 4 Pyrex pie dishes of different size and shapes, a tart dish, and a few flower cookie cutters to make pretty plates, pretty cookies… Recently I’ve started using stainless circles (you can see how much I use them on the pictures!) and I am pretty addicted to them. I love the clean and neat finish they give to a plate. I love also that you can use them to cook, bake or just prepare the plates. By precaution, I never use silicon shapes, nor non-stick pie dishes except for a set of small tart dishes with removable bottoms prevented from using any tools that could damage the anti-adhesive layer.
I don’t bake cookies too often, but since my best friend offered me this cookie stamp I’ve started to make cookies more often.
As for cooking I use only gaz and I also use the same utensils in both kitchens: the T-Fal home chef series with 2 fry-pan and 2 saucer-pan. I think I wouldn’t be able to cook without them anymore! I have a beautiful Staub in Ohara that I use when we have guests, for two it’s a little oversize.
The final element to my collection that I use often is a blender. I love smoothies and soups, so a blender is a must have for me. In Ohara I am lucky enough to have a Kitchen aid blender. In Tokyo I have a smaller, cheaper one that works very well too (though for smoothies the KA is really great!). I have no robot for bread making, no bread machines etc… only my hands and patience! Recently I got an Atlas 150 pasta machine (see previous post), and that I must say makes a difference in the quality of the pasta and their regularity.
And you what are your best cooking allies? What do you think I should add to my collection?

Shapes and fun things

Chai butter cookies

Nothing better after a day outside than hot tea and treats. Butter cookies are so delicious, easy to make and bake that they are a great pick!

Recently I am trying to look for the perfect Chai to drink and I think I found a very good one in Cape Town, unfortunately it’s a bit difficult for refill. After trying Starbucks (too blend), Pukka (too much cinnamon), Marks & Spencer… I think my favorite is M&S! I’m also trying to make my own Chai with soya milk and spices, not bad but needs some more research.
All this to say that since I have all the spices on the shelf I made some Chai butter cookies. Using the recipe in last week post, I added grinded cinnamon, fresh grinded ginger, cardamom seeds to the dough. And as the plum blossom season is at its peak I shaped the dough in plum flowers with a shape bought in Kappabashi dori.

Radish soup and miso grilled sea-bass

This litlle radish (little compared to giant Japanese daikon), or this big turnip, was so beautiful that I couldn’t help buying it at th coop shop.

I didn’t how to prepare it and what to do with it at first, but suddenly the idea of using it for a soup was obvious. So I peeled it and boiled it in consome and with a little piece of leek. Once soft enough I blended i into a creamy soup. I served the soup with a piece of local wild sea-bass that I grilled after rolling it in a mixture made with miso, oil and soya  sauce. Simply delicious!
For a 100％ vegan experience you can replace the fish by a piece of mochi (rice cake)

New onion vegetable sauté and seeds



Spring is in the air!!! Sunny days are getting a little warmer, in a week daffodils have sprouted everywhere in the garden and new vegetables start slowly to appear. It starts first with onions. They are so sweet and with a taste that is so much the annunciation of warmer days that I love them!!!
This morning there were plenty of new onions at the coop and I bought several and decided to prepare some vegetables sauté with some seeds.
In a wok I put a little of olive oil, peeled and cut in big chucks one new onion, add one carrot cut in sticks, later I added brocoli, small tomatoes cut in halves, sunflower seeds, salt and pepper. Separately I boiled a mix made of some lentils, barley etc…
Once cooked I mix everything in the wok with a little more olive oil, just before serving.




Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren.

Up ↑

Verified by MonsterInsights