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.




Hazelnut cake for weekday's breakfast

Cakes are great for weekday’s breakfast because they last 2 or 3 days, are much more delicious than industrial breads and you can make any variation that pleases you depending on ingredients and season!
I bake a hazelnut simple cake this week. It’s a simple recipe base on yogurt cake but without yogurt. I use almond milk instead.
I mixed some flour, a little brown caster sugar, baking powder, salt, hazelnut powder, 2 eggs, a little of almond milk and a little of oil (sunflower).I mix the whole thing and put in a cake pan for 30minutes at 160deg in the oven. Can’t wait for tomorrow morning!!!

Spinach and tomato tart with chick pea dough

Chick pea flour is really easy to use. Mixed with some water and fried, you make soca, a little bit thicker you can make panisse. I love pies because they can prepared in advance and are handy when work is really busy. Today I wanted to try a pie dough with chick pea flour. I mixed chick pea flour, water, olive oil, salt and pepper to obtain a soft dough. I roughly shape it to my pie dish with ghe fingers. Then I’ve cut tomatoes and lined them on the bottom, cover with finely cut spinach, snd a batter of tofu and eggs season with cumin, and finish with a few tomato slices. Bake for 30 minutes and it smells so good… can’t wait to try it!!!

Sunday morning's English scones

Yesterday I’ve been busy cooking for dinner so I didn’t have time to prepare some bread for this morning. Usually when this happens I either cook crepes, pancake or English scones in the morning and in 30min we have a ready to eat breakfast.

This morning it was plain English scones. The recipe for a dozen 4cm scones is simple (based on recipe from BBC of course!!): 175g of flour, 1/2 tsp of baking powder, a bit of salt, 40g of soft butter, 80ml of milk or equivalent, 2tbsp of brown sugar, vanilla (I use exclusively fresh one, no extract, much tastier and love the black dots!!). After mixing all the ingredients and obtaining a nice dough I roll it in sticks of 4 cm diameter and cut thick slices of 1cm or more and line them on cooking paper. Bake in the oven for about 15min  (depending on thickness) at 180deg. And ready to eat!! With butter, jam, marmalade… 
This morning I served an apple-strawberry salad to complete the breakfast.


Simple lunch

I like to use leftovers to cook myself something for lunch. Yesterday evening I cook some veggies ragu (pink radish, sweet potato, leek, na no hana), and one big spoon was left over. So for lunch I added a carrot, linen seeds, pine nuts and an egg on the side, and I got a perfect lunch.

Kappabashi dori – 河童橋通り

If you like cooking and tableware, Kappabashi dori is a must go when visiting Tokyo. This street between Ueno and Asakusa is the home of many shops selling cooking gear and tableware for professionals. Most of the shops sell also to individuals (but it’s better to ask before being disappointed). There, you can find pretty much anything from metal sakura shapes to amazing laqueware bowls. Crazy knives and delicates bamboo baskets. With Prunellia we spent a few hours there the other day, and got plenty of new things to cook with!

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