Call it cooking… or not

But damn… this was a super delicious combination…

You remember me cooking in apron over my suit right after work? Well I was preparing dinner with the leftover veggies: kabocha and tomatoes. I also picked some fresh parsley in the garden and was thinking about what to do with them when the crave for soba noodles just came. All was decided… And that’s how this recipe of kabocha soba was born. It was so delicious that I really need to share it with you! Moreover because it’s been a while I haven’t shared a proper recipe!!

Kabocha-soba (for two regular servings)

– 125-150g of dry soba noodles (I use 100% buckwheat flour noodles)

– 1/4 kabocha

– 1 large very ripe tomato (if not the season anymore where you are use a tomato preserve without any seasoning)

– a few sprigs of fresh parsley

– 1tsp of soya sauce

– a bit of olive oil

While the water to cook the soba is heated, wash and cut in small cubes (5-10mm) the kabocha. Wash the tomato and dice. In a pan grease with a bit of olive oil, start cooking the vegetables. Add 1/4 cup of water if the tomato is not juicy enough. Cook under cover until the kabocha is soft but not too much. Add the chopped parsley and stop cooking but keep warm. The sauce shouldn’t be liquid or juicy. Just moistened a bit.

Cook the soba as detailed on the package. Serve in bowls. Top with the vegetables, add the soya sauce. Eat immediately and enjoy the perfect balance between the rustic soba flavor, the freshness of the parsley, the sweetness of the tomato and the creaminess of the kabocha, enhanced by the salty taste of the soya sauce!

October 29, 2019

Dreaming of country life

Yes… it’s Saturday 22:00, the picture is me in the kitchen wearing an apron over my working cloth, as we just arrived in the country after I flew away from work. As soon as we arrived, I wore my rain boots to check the garden and pick some parsley, and headed inside to start cooking right away. This picture depicts me perfectly…

With all the traveling these past and future weeks, and the long working days that overrun the weekends I dream more and more of a simple country life. I love my job and how interesting it can be, but coming back home late everyday and doing some minimal cooking frustrates me. Boiling pasta and throwing some fresh but too quickly prepared vegetables on top of it is not cooking… it’s bare survival… and the whole week has been like that. I didn’t even make pancakes for breakfast as I had meetings early in the morning too…

I think the weather might be again acting on me too… it’s been raining 75% of the time since I came back from Canada, when the season calls for beautiful blue sky and beautiful days seems to be only for the days when I am stuck indoors at work… I crave for being outside, for working in the garden. Last week between two showers I harvested a few things in the garden: peanuts, persimmons, celery, herbs also, a poor harvest but still… I am happy to have something. I cleaned the kitchen garden that was covered in weeds after 3 weeks without maintenance and planted red onions while thinking about all the plants I could plant in the spring, now that I have a small nursery space to prepare seedlings. I’m testing chickpeas right now with a mitigated success…

When I pass others’ kitchen gardens I look at them with envy, fancying the beautifully aligned plants, the lush greens, the dark soil, clean and nourishing. One day mine will look like that… maybe… For the moment mine is tiny, messy and produces little, but hopefully our garden is not limited to this and the season for persimmons, tangerines, yuzus and later other citrus fruits is happily coming and walking around the garden seeing the trees covered with fruits pleases me very much.

I won’t tell you any recipe today as I did little cooking, maybe tomorrow…

But now it’s time to enjoy the Sunday…

Surfing, gardening, cooking and sewing!

October 27, 2019

Travel and hotel life in Toronto

When I travel for more than two days I usually manage at some point to have access to a kitchen so that I can cook a bit wherever I am. Whether I rent a place with a kitchen or I do a kitchen take over at some friends’ place. I like to cook the local and seasonal products, and also to have homemade meals with just the right preparation and the right size. But sometimes this is not possible and I feel miserable! This trip to Toronto is one of these. I stay the whole week at a hotel without access to a kitchen… and without the time to shopping in a nice grocery store. My schedule was too busy for that and I only could shop at the 24-7 nearby grocery store with fruits coming from wherever it is… So I am craving for homemade fresh and local food. Of course I am a master of in-room food preparation. Before traveling I often search for the hotel nearby grocery stores or farmers markets, preferably the one with local products and arrange my schedule to have a chance to visit them. I always travel with a super good multipurpose Sicilian knife that can be used for anything from fruit peeling to bread cutting, and I often prepare food in my room. Indeed, the first thing I do when I arrive in a hotel is to get geared: I ask room service for a kettle, one or two plates and cutlery and it all usually comes with proper clothes to be used as kitchen clothes, but they never have good knifes.

As usual I did my homework and had a list of places to go visit upon arrival, but it was without counting that I arrived on Thanksgiving day and the many places I wanted to visit were almost all closed. So that dramatically limited my access to food resources. Not to add that Ontario may have a large variety of fruits and vegetables in the summer but when fall arrives, apples are pretty much the only local fruit available and the beautiful season of mushrooms and pumpkins requires a cooking range or some more elaborated equipment. Anyway… I managed to survive I guess…

Though my working program was quite intense with very little free time, I managed to have breakfast at a place I discovered last time I was in Toronto, where they have a delicious spice chai: Hot Black Coffee, and delicious muffins, with also plenty of vegan options, and to check out a place that everyone was talking about: Momofuku. I could see it Momofuku from the hotel elevator on my way to the pool every morning but didn’t know what it was (I first thought it was a daifuku place!!!). But it was on everyone’s mouth…

For those like me who don’t know, Momofuku is a branch restaurant of very popular NY chef Wang, that specializes in Asian fusion and in particular in noodles/ramen (kind of reminded me of the movie You’ll always be my maybe). The Toronto branch has a noodle bar and a high-end restaurant. I didn’t have time for the high-end. Knowing that I only had ramen once before with fish broth because I don’t like the pork-chicken… broth, I am not an expert in ramen, so eating some fusion ramen is not a blasphemy to an institution for me but I can understand that some purists may be shocked by some of the combinations proposed on the menu. I took some vegetarian noodles, with pumpkin (now or never!) and cheese. This was definitely an inventive combination! But not an uninteresting one… In any case, the restaurant itself was a very nice bright space quite enjoyable.

Now I’m heading back home to my kitchen and you can’t imagine how happy I am to have a long weekend to cook and bodyboard! The simple idea of making pancakes for breakfast while A. prepares his coffee rejoices me!

October 19, 2019

Typhoon…

Yep! The now worldwide famous typhoon 19 was passing over Tokyo last night. It rained a lot and the wind blowed hard. It’s a typhoon, something we experience a few times every year between August and November in Tokyo… They said it was more powerful than usual, but from the cosiness of our Tokyo apartment, things didn’t look so terrible, though I would lie saying I wasn’t worried about our house in the countryside (which is apparently fine!!!), but there was definitely a end-of-the-world feeling in Tokyo. All highways around and within Tokyo were closed. All train lines stopped, metros had also altered routes and schedule, and all shops, museums, theaters were closed all day or closing at noon and didn’t reopen until Sunday noon or later. We thought we would spend the day in a cinema or in a museum or both but not even… While looking at the empty streets and roads and this morning walking under a perfect blue sky in a rather empty city was quite unfamiliar. A city emptied of its restless inhabitants or visitors going here and there in an almost frantic agitation is so refreshing that it felt really good just walking around. And the morning view was just stunning…

Though I knew the typhoon was coming I didn’t forecast that all grocery stores around our place would be closed so I had to cook 5 meals with what was left in the fridge, which was very little as usually I pack fresh food in the country on Saturday and even less than usual as we are leaving tonight for the whole week on business… and what I have in the pantry in Tokyo now is very limited as I hate pest and I noticed that organic food (in particular that I bring back from Europe) is more prone to pest. So I felt that this forced time at home was a good opportunity to browse a few old cookbooks and do some old recipes with a twist: classic pancakes, grilled miso eggplants, cocoa cupcakes bites for tea, and grilled bacon lentils with radishes and radish tops… and then a bit of leftovers with poached eggs. Nothing really fancy but just right for the little activity we had while at the same time fulfilling.

October 13, 2019

Changing habits

Like pretty much every one we have our habits. Ours change with seasons and adapt to our agendas. And sometimes we pick up new ones and abandon those that don’t fit with our philosophy or ethics anymore. There has been two major changes recently, one by choice, the second forced. We used to go swimming in the ocean before breakfast on weekends, and I would do a bit of bodyboarding then, but the whole point of building a garage and workshop was to have a space for our diy activities and to buy a new car to go to the beach, one with which we could carry our boards and get in all wet and salty. Originally we thought of buying two SUP, but A. was really keen in starting surfing so we first got him a fun-board. Going surfing with an empty stomach was not an option for him. So it’s been two months now that instead of heading to the beach as soon as we woke up, we now go surfing around 11:00-12:00 for one or two hours. And sometimes we go for another session at 16:00. This has considerably changed our schedule but it’s nice, in particular now with the beautiful autumn weather (when there is no typhoon) and the very warm ocean water (no need of wetsuit!). And when there’s no wave, we just swim… This changed as meant a richer breakfast (more carbs and fruits) and also that I prepare most of the lunch before 11:00, so that when we’re back from the ocean lunch is rapidly ready.

The other change in our habits was forced, we didn’t have the choice, and it has a big impact on us. It relates with the simultaneous closing in Ohara of the local supermarket that was my supplier for local fresh fish and milk, Coconut milk, butter and some other simple things like chocolate, baking powder, soya sauce, and olive oil; the Genji butcher shop that was my Isumi pork filet and smoke ham supplier; and A.’s wine shop… we have looked around in a reasonable distance but we have found nothing that could be a good replacement, the only solution we have found so far is to drive 10min-15min to Kuniyoshi and shop at the local supermarket there where they have a different selection of products but they still have local fish, local milk and pork. I don’t see the point to drive inland that far to buy fish that comes from the harbor that is 2min from our house… I could probably have been fine without the meat and the fish (though I enjoy them once in a while), but A. is not ready to give them up. This also has started to make us think more seriously about the aging problem in Japan, how a local supermarket is crucial for elderly independent living, how it is not just a grocery store but also an important feature for the conservation of social fabric. Fancy ideas came to our minds but I don’t know if we have the guts to make them true… time only will show… that’s when our Dr, Jekyll and Mr. Hyde lifestyle shows its limitations…

What I think of every single sunny day!!!

October 11, 2019

Sewing

I really love cooking but the food we can eat is limited and instead of stuffing ourselves with madeleines, cookies and other delicacies I can make, I decided that I could use rainy days to work on new projects. I love drawing and painting, I love embroidery, I love the pottery workshop. But I wanted something I could do at home and would challenge me, that I could stop and take back at anytime and that would produce useful things. I found sewing was ticking all the boxes. So a few years ago I bought the cheapest sewing machine. I started by making pillow covers, and then challenged myself with a fabric, a shape and a construct that were way over my abilities and failed miserably. After the I didn’t sew for a while until last year my neighbor offered me to teach me how to sew Japanese traditional clothing. During the early winter I did two quilted coats, one for me one for A. This early summer I did two yukata again one for me and one for A. Then A. challenged me with a fitted surfboard bag, and yesterday, rainy Sunday again, I decided to try making myself a sweater with the remaining fabric of the surfboard bag. My first piece of western clothing!!!

Luckily, now I have a full floor just for myself overlooking A. wood workshop, so I have plenty of space to unroll fabric, cut and mount and mess up! So I started with the one and only sweater I have and planned in reproducing the same cut and shape. With cardboard I drew each piece, cut them and apply on my fabric and cut it, being careful of the jersey orientation etc… yes yes… then I mounted everything once to see if things would come out nice and also see what would be the proper order to sew things together. Then I unmounted everything, and starting sewing. It took me only 60min to sew everything back together for real and to wear my sweater!!!

October 7, 2019

Perilla – shiso

If you like Japanese food or have traveled to Japan you that green leaf for sure!! Perilla, or shiso 紫蘇, or ooba 大葉 grows very easily and spreads like weed in both planters and the garden. It requires very little maintenance and grows every year with more and more plants, only the caterpillars seems to like it. I never planted any in our garden but it’s been growing steadily every year. It blooms in the early autumn and the flowers are really delicious. And this year I harvested plenty of flowers so it’s time to prepare them. So far I was using them always the same way: in miso and to make some kind of tempura. I call them fake tempura because they are deep fried, but I use a simple mixture of flour and cold water just like for tempura.

This year I am also trying something new: I want to make syrup. For that my plan is to use the same recipe as the lavender syrup and replace the lavender flowers by shiso flowers. I’ll update you in a few days when it’s ready!!

In the meantime have a good week!!

September 30, 2019

Pumpkin

At last… the beautiful autumn days have arrived and with them the most typical autumn vegetables (with mushrooms): the pumpkins!!!

While in Tokyo supermarkets you may find only Japanese kabocha, the one with the soft dark green skin and the vibrant orange flesh, that is also found all year round… In the countryside, in farmers markets and local cooperatives you can find many more varieties. Of course the butternut squash is now a classic, but not only. And last week one of our friend gave us a beautiful little pumpkin. It was so cute that I was sad to cut it open, but there are a few recipes I really enjoy and at some point I decided it was time to eat it.

One of my favorite Japanese style to cook kabocha of all kind is to boil them in dashi, add a bit of soya sauce… serve that with rice and I am more than happy. I shared that recipe before but just to make sure, I share it again. It is so simple.

Simmered kabocha in dashi

– a piece of kabocha/pumpkin (200-300g)

– 2 tbs of soya sauce

– a handful of katsuobushi flakes

Wash the pumpkin/kabocha. If it is a Japanese kabocha you don’t need to peel it. Otherwise peel it. Cut in bite size. In a pan put the cut kabocha, cover with water. Add the katsuobushi flakes. Bring to a boil and boil for 5min. When the kabocha is almost soft (use a bamboo toothpick), if there is a lot of water remaining drain. Otherwise just increase the heat for 20sec to make the liquid evaporate.

Add the soya sauce and roll the kabocha in by gently shaking and turning the pan. Don’t be violent or you’ll end with a purée!! Serve warm or cold.

The point in this recipe is that I don’t remove the katsuobushi flakes after using them in the dashi, on the contrary. Mixed with the soya sauce they are delicious.

September 26, 2019

Lemongrass

With the terrible summer the garden hasn’t produced much since August. My eggplants are having a hard time growing, same for the celeriac, and the ukon. The beets have disappeared… only the peanuts, the celery branch, and the herbs are doing fine. Regarding the fruits… the jujube are few and very tiny, the persimmons are very small too, I have no lemons and a dozen of yuzu that are not yet mature so will see how this ends up. But little is not nothing so let’s enjoy what we got! And among the harvested products I kind of enjoyed a lot the lemongrass. It was my first year planting some and it easily picked up and produce quite a bit. Well for a plant that loves water must have been satisfied this summer!!!!

I have not a lot of experience cooking with lemongrass and my favorite preparation it definitely herb tea. I found it simple to harvest and dry lemongrass naturally. I just cut in 3cm long the leaves and they dried in 2 days. I use a pinch for a large mug of drink.

In food, I remembered using quite a lot lemongrass back then when we lived in Paris and also getting tired with the too strong flavor. But a few things I remember loving it for was in clear soups and in vegetables preparations. Remembering that last one I prepared us a very simple meal with simmered chickpeas, carrots, kabocha and I using lemongrass to give a nice fresh flavor to eat. Served with a fresh leaves salad, and a bit of olive oil… it was very nice!

Enjoy the autumn, it’s official now!

September 23, 2019