Author: Gentiane

Hand making

I’ve always loved making things with my hands… whether it’s been cooking, or small crafts, or drawing, but with a grand mother professional knitter, a mother and elder sister that know sewing, as the smallest one I didn’t really get a chance to learn any on these. Knitting I would probably be able to catch up, I did a little knitting when I was a child, but sewing… except for making squared pillow cases and the like, I really know nothing, and cutting is even worse, ask A. about my attempt of making a cylindrical pillow case… so when my old neighbor asked me if I wanted to learn how to make a traditional Japanese quilted jacket, I knew it would please her to spend some time with me chitchatting, I just couldn’t say no! I love learning new things to do with my hands. She told me what to buy and I prepared everything to be ready when the making day would come. She told me: “you’ll see it’s very easy” I understood “it will take one afternoon or one evening and you’ll have a new overcoat”… it was underestimating the skills needed and my total lack of them!!! It took me one evening just to cut and prepare the basic shape and she was guiding me all along, one other evening to add the filling and do the preparation sewing, and one evening to finally finish the hand sewing! But I did it!!! I am very proud of my first real piece of clothing! Hand sewing is yes time consuming but the cutting and mounting part were really interesting to learn!!! Learning how to make the best of the piece of fabric you have, how to avoid useless cutting and sewing, and how to optimize ease of mounting the whole thing together was really eye opening on knowhow and craftsmanship. I will definitely try again. The thing I found the best of all was that rather than watching an online tutorials I found that having someone experienced to show me was crucial in succeeding and in making the whole experience engaging and fun. Because not only did I learned how to make the jacket but also how to make small consistent knots, to use a supporter to make straight and regular stitches… and one million other things about Japan 70 years ago!!!

That said, you can understand that I had fewer time for cooking, so it was always simple. And with the chilly evenings, a warm soup was always welcome. I made a sweet potato and cauliflower soup. It’s so easy and requires so little work that it was perfect for me.

Sweet potato and cauliflower soup (2 large servings)

– 1 small cauliflower

– 2 small Japanese sweet potatoes (or 1/2 if it’s only big ones you can find)

– 200ml of milk

– salt and pepper

Boil the vegetables after washing/peeling and cutting them. When tender, move the vegetables in a blender, add the milk salt and pepper and mix. If too thick add a bit of the cooking water. Serve immediately and eat hot!

Welcome 2019!

How are you starting this new year? I am welcoming the new year as a normal day in our country house, with a garden harvest of lemons, natsu-mikan, daffodils, camellia flowers and maple leaves… and a lot of cooking and baking. I also started learning cutting and sewing with my old neighbor. Regarding baking, this week I am trying some recipes from my new baking book: bread in 5, that my parents offered me for my birthday, and the new flours I bought at Cuoca in Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi.

I was indeed interested by the book when I first read about it from Giulia @ Julskitchen IG. I thought how wonderful it could be sometimes to have fancier breads than regular French breads, and to be able to prepare them faster. I also got fresh yeast which makes bread so much better, fluffier and they have less the taste of yeast. So far both the book and the ingredients have delivered amazing results. I’ll talk about that in detail in a later post, after I have tried a little more recipes. But simply the introduction and the tips page were full of teachings!

For this first morning of the year, I wanted something rich, sweet and fancy, as A. loves them. In winter I really love cinnamon rolls so I was first going to make some when I found the recipe of this Swedish tea ring in the Christmas bread sections. Indeed, Christmas was just last week!! The recipe uses a brioche dough as base and I was really intrigued by how to shorten the extremely long hand kneading time of the brioche and what it would give. To shorten kneading the recipe uses melted butter, smart indeed. And it worked perfectly for the ring (I need to work on my shaping!!). I modified slightly the recipe of the rolls, and didn’t use neither the egg wash or the icing as I thought it was rich enough that way for breakfast. This for sure was a hit! A. was very pleased with the result and so did I!

I wish you a beautiful year 2019 from my kitchen!

Lemon cake

For my birthday for the past 6 or 7 years, when possible, A. bakes me a birthday cake of my choice. The season is such that it involves often lemon or apple. This year the tradition went on and he prepared on my request a lemon cake. With the lemon just harvested in the garden. These lemons I have seen slowly growing and are totally free of pesticides, wax and other things that make you think twice before using the zest. The cake he made was super delicious, on of the best I have had! I wonder why he doesn’t bake more often!! And because he used the recipe he found online and didn’t want to halve the quantities, we obtained 2 cakes of perfect size for tea and breakfast for two. I slightly ask him to modify the recipe to be less buttery, so here is the actual recipe he used:

Lemon cake

– 200g of flour

– 120g of brown sugar

– 80g of butter

– 4eggs

– 1tbs of baking powder

– 1 lemon (free of chemical)

Melt the butter. Wash the lemon and extract both the zests and the juice.

In a bowl, mix the flour, the baking powder, the sugar, add the eggs, the butter and end with the lemon juice and the zest. Pour in a cake dish (one 30cm or two 20 or less).

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180deg for 35min to 45min

When ready eat right away or once is has cooled down.

Have a beautiful end of 2018!!

Getting old…

Tomorrow I’ll turn one year up… now I know that I didn’t achieve my main goal for this year, despite trying hard for the past few years, but I realized I actually don’t care much because it doesn’t depend on me actually but on appreciation of others, and being alien in a conservative country doesn’t make things easy. Discrimination, racism, are things I face every day but I live with it because I chose to live in Japan. And finally I prefer that than living in a sad country where I could fit in. Our trip to France last weekend was quite eye opening again. The city was so sad and gloomy that I didn’t enjoy it much. Our hotel was right in the middle of two main riots spots, police cars everywhere, shops closing instantly to avoid being savagely deteriorated, security staff in front of the hotel, with main doors closed and all trying to keep a low profile… There is no way I can regret one second having left that sick self-destructing country.

I ate the idea of getting old… but the good thing with my birthday is that in Japan it is often holiday, as it is the first day of the long new year break. This year is particularly long since we will have 6 days!!! So I decided to go packing on flours, fresh yeast and other baking staples to be sure I am fully equipped to bake everyday. In particular because in my birthday presents bundle (in the gigantic amount of presents I brung back from Paris) I know there is a baking book and I can’t wait to open it!!! Since I went shopping at Cuoca in Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi I also bought a few vegetables and some fresh fish from Chiba, and cooked simple pasta too. Here is my recipe.

Flounder with Brussels sprouts and spinach (2 servings)

– 1 piece of flounder

– 10 Brussels sprouts

– 1 bundle of fresh spinach

– 125g of pasta of your choice

– olive oil, salt and pepper

Boil water and cook the pasta. Wash the vegetables. Chop the spinach, and halve the Brussels sprouts. In a large pan greased with olive oil and heated start by cooking the Brussels sprouts, then add the spinach and the fish. Stir the vegetables, be careful not to break the fish. Remove fish when cooked, add a little bit more olive oil, the pasta, salt and pepper, and stir while cooking at high heat. When all is well mixed, serve in the plates, top with the fish and enjoy right away!

Have a great day today, last working day before next Friday!!!!!

Moyashi – soya sprouts

Soya sprouts (or moyashi) are one of these things I love but I hardly buy and cook because it’s hard to find some that are made properly. I remember reading about how they were made and stopped eating some. So last night when We went shopping after flying back from France, and I found organic moyashi at our local Seijo Ishi supermarket I couldn’t help buying them. Moyashi is a super food: easy to prepare, packed on protein and nutrients, and also it is very very cheap!!!! One of my favorite combination is moyashi and fried tofu. I love the mix of the crunchy and watery moyashi, with the soft oily tofu. This goes super well with simple rice or in chahan (fried rice). Here is one version of my recipe, it’s a vegetarian option that can be turned in a vegan one by removing the eggs or turned into a plain one if adding thinly cut chicken breast or pork slices.

Sautéed moyashi (for 3 small portions or 2 large portions)

– a bag of organic moyashi

– 2 slices of aburage

– 1tbs of sesame oil

– 1tsp of sesame seeds

– 2tbs of soya sauce (light colored recommended)

Optional: 2 eggs, 1 chicken breast or 5 thin slices of pork meat

Wash and drain the moyashi. In a pan greased with the sesame oil and heated add the moyashi. Cut the tofu in thin strips, add to the pan. Stir and cook at medium heat until l the moyashi is getting softer. Add the eggs or the meat if you want, and stir very well. Finish with the sesame seeds. Serve warm with rice.

Xmas approaching

Except for some Xmas decorations and tangerine, pompe a l’huile and panettone I am not a big fan of Christmas. This time of forced happiness, of forced making presents and receiving some, the bad timing with my birthday following just after… no really… I could easily pass. And pass on the weeks before too starting early in November when each family member asks you what you want for Xmas… like I needed anything… I prefer more spontaneous family gatherings than that one, presents made when something nice has been found or is needed. A nice time spent together on no particular occasion. Traveling to the Mediterranean is at least for me a not so bad way to spend the holidays and I definitely miss not traveling to Italy this year, as I already mentioned. This year, with the many circumstances we will spend Xmas eve on the plane on our way back to Tokyo… but way back means that we are going somewhere… indeed before that, we will fly to Paris for the weekend to spend a pre-xmas with our families all gathered in Paris for the occasion. The good point of flying for such a short time is that you don’t have to bother with jetlag and family is happy… Even if it is only for a short time we are away, I prefer to eat simple and delicious food before going to Paris, as the food when eating out is often too much for me. I love conchiglie and in particular with thinly chopped spinaches, when they can hide inside the pasta with a bit if olive oil. Last time I prepared some with bacon and ricotta, this time I used fresh anchovies. The anchovies prepared for sashimi are perfect, the are clear of bones and just need to be cooked. I first blanched the spinach, then chop them, I boil the pasta, and in a pan with olive oil I cook the anchovies and add the spinach, finish with the pasta, salt and pepper. It is really simple and rapid.

Harbor market

Every Sunday morning from 8 to 12 there is a “harbor market” at Ohara fishing harbor. We don’t go very often because the main attractions there are fresh shellfish grilled on the spot, and there are more stalls that have ready to eat food than truly food to buy to take home and prepare. But once in a while, in particular in winter when it is much less crowded we like to go and check it out.

This time I had in mind to buy some ricotta from a local cheese farm, not Takahide, because they don’t make ricotta (and they don’t come to the market anymore) to make ravioli for lunch… a simple picture on IG had the instant effect of me wanting ravioli for lunch… craving… and because there is not much to do in the garden right now I can spend more time in my kitchen!

Not only did I find the ricotta I wanted but also some nice konbu and katsuobushi. I will write later about these two once I will start using them. So back to the ravioli: spinach-pork for A. and spinach-pork-ricotta for me. Prepared with whole wheat flour, and served only with olive oil, salt and pepper. We were so hungry and happy to have ravioli that I just forgot to take a decent shot of them. A. took a rapid one when I was about to through the last one in the water…

For the recipe, as usual for the pasta: 1egg, 100g of whole wheat flour, a bit of water. For the filling, I cooked 100g of ground pork meat with chopped spinach, added salt and pepper for A. and for mine added 2tbs of ricotta. That’s it! I rolled the dough manually and made half-moon ravioli for A. and flowers for me so that we knew which is what when serving.

A week in the clouds – yogurt cake

December is going in a flash this year… busy days leave room to busier days and the gloomy and cold weather adds to the impression of being overwhelmed. The weather reminded more of Parisian winter than that of Tokyo, giving an awkward feeling, and missing the fireplace very much. My head has been in the clouds lately, a lot to think about at work, the plan for constructing something on our new plot of land, the cat that we haven’t seen in 3 weeks and who haunts my dreams… but finally today the bright sun, the Mount Fuji fully covered with snow now, and the crispy morning air seem to remind me that we are in Japan and that things ought to be taken as they come. Nonetheless, a healthy, warming and nourishing breakfast is always a great way to start the day, and with all the big apples I had seating on my kitchen counter I wanted to use them. After debating about an apple pie, an apple tart or an apple cake, I finally opted for a lighter and healthier option: an apple compote and a yogurt cake. The compote with me is easy, I peel and chop the apples, put them in a pan with a very little bit of water and cook at low heat until they have soften. I don’t add sugar, sometimes a bit of vanilla or spice, but I was in the mood for simplicity, so added nothing. The yogurt cake is like the pound cake, of of this recipe that I have learned at primary school and I have kept making ever since. It is so simple and so easy to eat and it keeps well, I love it for breakfast when in a rush. Here is my recipe as I remember it… the units are the yogurt packaging.

Yogurt cake

– 1 yogurt (100-125g)

– 3 units of flour

– 1 unit of sugar

– 2/3 unit of vegetal oil

– 3 eggs

– 1tps of baking powder

– vanilla

In a bowl stir all the ingredients until creamy. In a greased pue dish pour the mix. Preheat the oven to 140, bake at 140 for 15 minutes, than raise to 160 and bake another 15min or until a knife comes out clean. That’s it!!!

Simmered kabocha

All a sudden it has become very cold and warm food, rich and tasty is more than necessary. During the autumn I have used a lot of butternut squash, leaving the little Japanese kabocha on the side for a while, knowing that they would be right there when needed in the winter, as the season for kabocha is much longer (though you may find it year round when grown in green houses). And now the time has come to use it. kabocha, like most squashes and pumpkin is versatile and easy to cook. The great part with kabocha is that it actually doesn’t need to be peeled and cooking time is rather short. One of my favorite traditional Japanese recipe is to prepare it with dashi and soya sauce. It can be eaten hot, cold or reused after in other recipes. It is very simple to make and often found in bento boxes. Here is my recipe for the simmered kabocha.

Simmered kabocha (4 servings)

– 1/2 kabocha

– 40g of katsuobushi in flakes

– 2tbs of soya sauce

Wash the skin of the kabocha, remove the seeds (you can keep them to grill them to make snacks… or plant them)

Cut the kabocha in large bites with the skin on (only remove parts of the skin that is brownish or hard, usually the part that was in contact with the ground).

Put the kabocha in a pan and cover with water. Add the katsuobushi flakes in a tea bag, and cook at low heat until the kabocha is just soft (test with a bamboo toothpick). Do not over cook, you’ll end up with purée. Remove all liquid and the bag of katsuobushi. Add the soya sauce. Eat right away, or when cold.

I used the leftovers in a sautéed vegetable dish. With a bit if oil, the kabocha becomes golden and even more delicious.

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