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

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

Butternut squash ravioli

It’s been a while I didn’t make pasta! It was too hot and the summer vegetables don’t go to well for making ravioli filling. But now that autumn is here, hey! Hey! It’s time to get the pasta machine out and roll some pasta!!!

As the title indicates, I made butternut squash ravioli. It’s not my first time of course, and you can find different recipes already here and here, but this time I decided to try making tiny ravioli and add some spices: nutmeg and cinnamon, and a bit more salt and pepper than usual. And serve them with roasted pine nuts and olive oil… and you know what? It was delicious!!! The cinnamon adds a really nice twist of sweetness and is much better than just the nutmeg alone. So here is the filling recipe and the sauce, for the pasta just as usual…

Butternut squash ravioli

For the filling:

– 1/2 butternut squash

– 1 pinch of nutmeg

– 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

– a pinch of salt

– freshly ground pepper

For the sauce:

– a handful of pine nuts

– olive oil

Boil or steam the butternut peeled.

Drain well and remove all the water, seeds and fibers. Let cool down. Add all the other ingredients and stir well. Fill the ravioli.

In a frypan roast the pine nuts.

Boil the ravioli, dress the plates with ravioli, pine nuts and a bit of olive oil. That’s it!!!

September 19, 2019

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!

September 17, 2019

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!

September 12, 2019

Ugly yummy ravioli

I must say that I hesitated a lot before posting the picture of these ravioli but then remembering them each time I watched them in my photo list, how delicious they were, I couldn’t not share them with you. And anyway you know that plating is not something I am very good at, probably because we are always starving by the time food is ready as I always start thinking about preparing something to eat once I am hungry and A. is stomping in the kitchen asking when food will be ready… and when he will be able to eat… so at some point efficiency enters the equation and things get ugly… yet delicious…

And that exactly the story of these ravioli made with the leftovers of the bouillabaisse my way fish and fresh edamame. Instead of eating the fish with rice in a Japanese way I wanted to make pasta… and make fish ravioli. When all set about fish ravioli and I got started with the flour I realized I put all the remaining eggs in the brioche for breakfast (and since we are traveling to Europe soon I keep my fridge minimally occupied)… whatever… I thought, I made vegan ravioli in the past in a kitchen take over and could do without the egg. Then I realize that once the bones removed the piece of fish I had wouldn’t fill many ravioli, so I browsed my fridge and hesitated between butternut squash or edamame… but really we’re just mid august and I don’t want the summer to end yet so I opted for edamame. And here is the full recipe of these ugly yummy ravioli!!

Edamame and fish ravioli

– 100g of flour

– 2tbs olive oil

– a bit of water

Mix the flour and olive oil, add water until you obtain a hard ball. Knead well until soft. Add a bit of water if necessary. Your vegan dough is ready.

– a piece of white meat fish cooked: steam, court-bouillon, grilled… I used the olive flounder from the bouillabaisse.

– a handful of edamame

Boil the edamame and peel them. Remove the bones of the fish. In a bowl mix them together crushing the edamame. When you obtain a crumbly purée it is good enough.

Now just roll the dough and make the ravioli as usual. Finally boil them, dress them with olive oil, salt and pepper and a few more edamame… or find a much nicer way to dress them and tell me what you did!!!

August 14, 2019

Bouillabaisse my way

As you already may know or you can check here, bouillabaisse is a classic summer dish in my family. My grand mother, and now my mother prepare it for family gatherings. While I love it and have helped preparing it many times with my grand mother as a child (I even fished the soup…) this is something that I absolutely cannot prepare now as the preparation of the fishes indisposes me. The single idea of emptying a fish and cleaning it, or cutting a fish head or crushing a whole fish just makes me sick. That’s why I always ask at the fish stand that they do it to me or I buy sashimi cuts or clean cuts far from the belly. And so you may remember that recipe of simmered fish a few weeks ago… well I got the same cut again. And while I was thinking of preparing it exactly the same way, an outing to Hoff market in Ohara to see our pottery teacher has made me change my mind as I bought lovely potatoes there. Indeed there are always a few stands selling organic locally grown vegetables. This potatoes made me crave a kind of bouillabaisse. So I made it my way. I first prepared ichiban dashi with konbu and katsuo bushi to replace the fish soup. Then I sliced the potatoes and add them to the soup. After a bit added the fish and a bit of soya sauce, sake, and two lovely purple tiny bell peppers (optional and not in the classic bouillabaisse, but I really wanted to try them) , and cooked under cover for 15min. And served.

The fish cooked in the fish stock and with the potatoes definitely had a familiar taste and reminded me a lot of bouillabaisse, but without all the annoying parts!!

Have a good week!

August 11, 2019