Tag: Coriander

Over excited…

not about the fuss about this damn virus, nor about my duty as exam supervisor at the university entrance exams… but there are many things going on around me that have gotten me very excited recently. First, spring is coming and with it the new greens are on their way for sure. Then, it is time to start preparing seeds for the kitchen garden. The potatoes are on their way, sprouting, and I have started to prepare the kitchen garden soil. Now, I need to see what I will grow this year, with the lessons learnt last year: fennel, beat, peas, chick peas…

After a long pause in my sewing activities I am back at it, and discovered mistakes I made in my last yukata so now fixing them to have it ready for the warm days. I am thinking of sewing a obi myself this time, but right now with the stupid virus, I still prefer not to see my 89yo teacher.

Last year we started to use bamboo we cut with our neighbors, and I really loved it. This year A. has decided to take it to the next level. Equipped with a bamboo cutter, we are now making our own slats and then the possibilities have expended. We have started with a simple fence…

OK! All this may not be too exciting for most people but for me it is! Spending the day outside cutting, sawing, arranging the slats… was really fun and I can’t wait to do the other fences!!!

I got excited last night when after a few days if minimal cooking I finally decided to do something for our dinner: the spicy noodles soup I made for myself sometime ago and that A. hadn’t had a chance to try.

I replaced in the former recipe the coriander seeds by some fresh coriander as they start selling some at the farmers market and I made the noodles with 120g of flour for the two of us. And I had a bit of broccoli I wanted to use so I cut it in small bites. That was a big success and A. liked it as much as I did!

Oh… and there’s a final reason I am quite excited… it’s our forthcoming moving… more coming soon about that… but this is one of the thing on top of work that has kept me pretty busy!!! And now it’s getting real!

Artichokes

One of the food I miss much in Japan as you already know, is artichoke. For some reason it is something that reminds me my childhood. From the simply boiled large ones that one of my grand mother would prepare to eat one leave after the other dipped in mustard vinaigrette, or the tiny purple artichokes barigoule of my mother or a recipe from my other grand mother “greek style artichokes” I love them all. When we lived in Paris I used to prepare some quite often and the greek style artichokes were always a good pick for casual dinners. When we go back home, my mother always prepare artichokes for me, usually for the very first day when we arrive, since they can be made in advance, and they are very good warm or cold it means lunch or dinner is always ready for us to eat anytime. Yesterday for a family lunch she made artichokes greek style. I thought I’d share that recipe today.

Artichoke greek style (for 2)

– 10 large artichokes (in worst case artichokes heart preserves)

– 10 bell onions

– 1 tbs of coriander seeds

– 2 leaves of laurel

– a branch of thyme

– 3 tbs of olive oil

– 3tbs of white wine (optional)

Boil the artichokes and extract the hearts.

Clean the bell onion by peeling one layer.

In a large pan put the olive oil, the wine, the artichokes hearts, the onions, the coriander, thyme, laurel. Add just a bit of salt and pepper, cover with water and cook at low heat under cover for 40min.

Perfect eaten with fresh rustic bread to enjoy all the delicious juice.

Autumn days

With the sudden change in weather, my inspiration is back! Though I’m still tired of the rainy weekends and sunny week days (when at work… when I’d rather be in my garden…), I’ve been busy with some sewing projects, perfect for the weather. A. has challenged me to make a cover for his surfboard, and I think I did something quite great, that needs just the final touch. In the meantime, my neighbor came to me last week with some cotton fabric to make a yukata for A. and I’ve taken up the challenge!! I’ve completed it!!

Cooking-wise, with the almost cool evenings, it’s been really agreeable to cook and knead. And I’ve come up with a new ravioli recipe (coming later this week), salmon croquettes and other delights for the palate!!!

Let’s start today with the salmon croquettes! This is the season for autumn salmon 秋鮭 and I really like it. It goes well with fresh ginger which is also in season. I bought half a salmon and we ate it grilled first, but with so much I could definitely do another meal! So here is my recipe:

Salmon and coriander croquettes

– 150-200g of fresh salmon, better if grilled and leftover

– a handful of fresh coriander leaves

– 1tbs of panko

– 1 egg

Remove the skin and bones of the fish (if not grilled then grill it first). Crumble it in a bowl. Add the egg and panko. Wash and chop the coriander. Add and stir well. In a greased heated pan make small balls with the mix and cook until golden on each side. Serve with grated ginger and with whatever you like!

Lack of inspiration

I don’t know if it’s the super hot and humid weather, the hard time we’ve had with jetlag (it took almost two weeks to recover with a permanent impression of being tired, feverish, and to have a cold), or the impression that the summer is over and somebody (Mr. bad weather) still it from me… as it was way too short… but I have difficulties in finding inspirations to cook. For I don’t know how many days our meals have consisted of pasta and vegetables. Not that I don’t like them… but still… or of rice and umeboshi… But even if I have time to cook I don’t have the energy or the inspiration… because nothing attracts me anymore. I reject the autumn vegetables, too early!, and I am not enthused with the late summer ones anymore…

So last night I decided to cook something I don’t cook often but we love: a potato salad with fresh greens, a rich yogurt dressing and herbs plenty. And this morning, the first autumn day was here! Temperature under 30 and a nice breeze… so now I will start cooking a lot more butternut squash, kabocha, shiitake and other mushrooms! But still, here is the potato salad recipe, because what is good is good!!!

End of summer potato salad

– 3 or 4 potatoes

– 1/2 branch of celery

– 1 cucumber

– fresh coriander leaves

– fresh sprouts: broccoli, soya…

– 1/2 cup of greek or nordic yogurt, drained

– olive oil, salt, pepper

Boil the potatoes and peel them. Slice them. Wash and cut in thin slices the cucumber. Cut in 5mm cubes the celery. Wash the sprouts and the coriander.

In a bowl, put the potatoes, the yogurt and the olive oil, salt and pepper, stir well. It doesn’t matter if you crush the potatoes. Add the vegetables, stir again, the sprouts, stir and serve! That’s it!

Mini vegan burgers

Oops! I did it again!  with some leftover boiled lentils I had, I made some vegan burgers!!! Well or some sort of burgers because I use my seed preparation as the base of my burgers and then just add a spread of avocado to glue them together. This time I was running out of time so I couldn’t blend the lentil to puree, so I used the whole boiled lentils, flax seeds, and a handfull of vegan burger mix to have some texture to work with. I assume that some flour of any kind would work as good. Added some warm water and worked it into a sticky paste. Then I added a tea spoon of paprika, a bit of chili pepper, and a bit of all spice. I finally formed small patties (4-5cm of diameter) that I cooked in a frypan greased with olive oil at low-medium heat until crispy and brownish. For the spread I used one avocado ripe and soft that I roughly pureed with a knife, the added chopped fresh coriander, salt, pepper and curcuma (tumeric)  powder. Once the patties are well-done I topped them with the spread and pile two of them in a plate. Add some blanched fresh green peas and a 1/2 Japanese cucumber diced. Enjoy the soon coming weekend!!! 

Green salad

Winter and spring continue their little twists. My cooking is thus following the same pace. And for a warm spring day I prepared a nice little green salad with fresh lettuce, cucumber, okara and plenty of fresh coriander. Very simple and fresh. For the dressing I simply used a tbs of soya sauce. This salad is perfect to eat with rice, grilled fish or just on its own. Have a beautiful week!

Dinner one-plate

Some brown rice left over? The perfect base for a one-plate dinner. I oven grilled some white eggplants marinated in a bit of olive oil and added plenty of fresh coriander; grilled some horse mackerel pieces and added some fried beet on top of the rice. A bit of kosher salt and here is a perfect dinner after a long day at work. Quick, simple, colorful and tasty! What else? 

Vegan coconut milk curry

Yes I know, the picture is not the most pleasant, but really taking pictures of risotto and curry is not an easy task! But both are super delicious! Since yesterday I had this recipe in mind and just tried it: perfect for our palates that don’t like spicy-hot food. It starts with simple brown rice, cooked as you like. Then I used 1 yellow zucchini, a handfull of shelled cooked edamame, fresh coriander plenty, a small bulb of fresh ginger, 4tbs of coconut milk, 1tsp of curry powder, salt, a bit of oil. In a pan I heat the oil and add the zucchini cut in chuncks (suze and shape you like), cook at high heat, when it starts to golden on one size I stir and reduce the heat. Add the coconut milk, the ginger gratted, the salt and the curry powder. Stir well, add the edamame. If the mixture is getting to liquid (water in the zucchini) add a table spoon of flour or starch and cook a little longer while stirring. Remove from heat and add the fresh coriander chopped, serve with the rice. Have a nice weekend!

Quinoa salad

Nothing too fancy here but just a very simple fresh recipe that is very rapid to prepare, colorful and tasty. Perfect when the weather is warm and nice as it was yesterday. I just boil quinoa, rince it in cold water and drain it well, add the fresh vegetables I have available, here a cucumber and two tomatoes, really nothing new… And cover the whole thing with fresh herbs: mint, coriander, or what pleases you and suits the vegetables. Finish with a little of olive oil, salt and pepper. 

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