March 26th tart

The day has come again, faster and in a busier moment than usual, my parents being with us. It’s A.’s birthday. The weather has been bad enough to be remembered, A. always says it’s usually sunny on that. Today was not, and after drizzling now it’s pouring. That gave me plenty of time for preparing A.’s birthday cake, or rather tart. He originally wanted a strawberry tart, the classic one, but after stopping at three different places I couldn’t find proper local strawberries with the correct size. So we agreed on a chocolate tart. Last year one was a big hit!

But you know me… I like to try new recipes rather than doing over and over the same things. So I made a classic dark chocolate tart using my recipe from last year, but I also improvised a new one with A’s favorite white chocolate, coconut and cardamom. And though I am not a fan of white chocolate, it was surprisingly not as rich I thought it would be and I enjoyed it a lot. So here is my recipe.

White chocolate tart (4 servings)

  • Flour, sugar, butter and a bit of water for the dough.
  • 110g of white chocolate
  • 100ml of coconut cream
  • 2tsp of ground cardamom
  • 1tbsp of brown caster sugar
  • 4tbs of ground coconut
  • 1 egg

Prepare the dough and bake it, until still soft and about to golden.

In a pan heated at low heat stir together the chocolate, coconut cream, add the sugar, the ground coconut and the cardamom. Let cool then add the egg. Stir well and pour in the baked pie crust. Bake for 10-15min at 150deg. Let cool a bit and enjoy!

Sorry for neglecting you…

For those that follow me on instagram or Facebook, you already know what I was up to, for those who don’t let me summarize why there hasn’t been a post in two weeks.

No, I have not decided to go on a two week fast. No I have not stopped cooking. Well… I have been what we call “busy”. Started a new professor position with the University of Tokyo on the first. The day Japan started accepting new visa applications. Then it’s been a race to know if my parents would get one, how, produce all the documents, run here there to gather and send everything. Then prepare their arrival, cancel, rebook etc… and finally, 2 days before the D-day they arrived in Japan.

Then now spending some time with them. Cooking for them, strolling around with them, and working too.

Enjoying tourist-free Tokyo

Yesterday I received the insignia of the French National Order of Merit (the reason why my parents could enter Japan!) and we could share this moment altogether.

And now we’re enjoying some time in the country… eating delicious local food.

So, accept my apologies if I am not trying new recipes or inventing new ones. I’ll be back soon!!

End of winter recipe

It was 13 years since I left Tokyo University for Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and started my own research lab. The beginnings were hard but the past few years I really reached a stable balance… maybe too much balance… it was time to change… I’m back at the university of Tokyo… and starting from 0 again!!! You may call me crazy but I need some challenges to feel good. So as you can imagine the transition is keeping me busy and I don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen. Even though…

I can’t help spending 10min to prepare something to eat, and improvise a little new recipe with what was in the fridge: tiny potatoes, komatsuna and eggs. The preparation is very simple, it takes just a bit of time to cook it, which is perfect, hands are free to work!!!

Komatsuna jagga 小松菜じゃが (2 servings as full course)

  • 10 small potatoes
  • 3-5 bundles of komatsuna
  • 1 piece of thin aburage
  • 20g of katsuobushi flakes
  • 2tbs of soya sauce
  • 1tsp of oil
  • 2 eggs (optional)

Peel the potatoes and slice them, wash the komatsuna and cut them 2cm long. Slice thinly the aburage. In a greased (with the oil) pan put the potatoes and komatsuna and cook at high heat for 2min. Then add the aburage and cover with water, add the katsuobushi flakes, the soya sauce, and the eggs, stir well and cover. Let cook for 10min or until the potatoes are soft. You can serve as a soup or remove the cover and let the liquid evaporates before serving. Eat hot, because spring may be around the corner, evenings are still cold!!!

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