Tag: vegan

New kitchen!

We moved in our new apartment this weekend and we have just finished emptying the last boxes. Now it starts to like home! I’m still not used to it and in particular to the kitchen. It was very difficult to find a place that checked all the boxes of our list of “must”  given the very long list and the very short time we had: the moving was motivated by A.  new job starting next week and by the fact that there is a highrise under construction right in front of our former place which would have blocked seriously our beautiful view of Mount Fuji and Nihombashi skyline. Anyway… it was time to move… after 8 years in the same place, the longuest we’ve ever been. So, I had to give away my precious terraces, the large window in the kitchen, the all white and bright interior, the 3 sides orientation and natural lighting, the no neighbors around… but we kept the view, or got even better! I got a kind of boudoir/dressing room, and a slightly larger kitchen, a new oven, but not much larger… I also kept the gaz cooking range, which is a must!!! And finding mansions where they have gaz cooking range is getting much more difficult. So I am ver very pleased with that! Would you imagine cooking on an electric range???? 

The thing I didn’t expect was a much better lighting in the kitchen to take pictures at night with much less reflections!!! So, while I’m slowly getting used to this new place, I prepared some very simple food, because when I come back to work we worked on boxes, hanging frames etc… And I prepared this a bit weird combination but really delicious dish with chickpeas, bunashimeji, butternut squash and tofu. Seasoned with papeika, salt and pepper. Each ingredient is diced (but the chickpeas) and all are pan cooked in a little of olive oil. I had the spices in the end and served right away.

oh! Yes... there's also a dishwasher... A. is so excited about it!!! 
oh! Yes… there’s also a dishwasher… A. is so excited about it!!! 

Butternut squash…

…what would I do without you? So easy to peel and cut compared to kabocha and most pumpkin, so quick to cook, and so many recipes possible. I can’t help buying one every time I see some at the farmers market. It suits so very well all types of dishes, Italian, Japanese etc… So what did I do with last time? Some autumn spread! Enough of eggplants, chickpeas or yogurt speads summer spreads but Yes! for a butternut squash autumn version.

Butternut squash spread

– 1 butternut squash

– salt, pepper, pumpkin spices (cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, clove)

Simply peel the butternut squash and remove the seeds, cut it into large chunks and steam or boil it. Once it is soft, with a fork just mash it. Add a bit of butter if you like. Add salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and clove. Stir well to obtain a purée. That’s it!!!! Eat with freshly baked bread or crackers for a killer experience!

Red quinoa

I’m on a mission to finish every single pack of rice, pasta, cereals and legumes that is opened and sitting on a shelf or in the fridge half empty. Yes! I keep pretty much everything in the fridge: flour, cereals, rice… to keep them longer (it prevents damages from high humidity and high temperatures in the summer, and low temperatures in the winter) and it allows to avoid pests since they are all organic or natural products and I am tired of food with bugs (more generally in the food that I buy in France…). I’m trying to empty my shelves as much as possible before we move to our new apartment in Tokyo, and same in the country house, just to clean my cupborads and fridge.

So I had a half pack of red quinoa to use. One thing I love to do with quinoa is some kind of croquettes. I cook the quinoa and then mix it with 2 eggs, some chopped vegetables: spinach, bell pepper, zucchini… and whatever else. This time it was some yellow bell pepper and a piece of Hokkaido salmon that was leftover from the previous day. I added some curry powder and some nutmeg, salt and pepper and cooked on both side in a greased frypan until crispy. I served them with some blanched okra, but any green is great. A light yogurt sauce with herbs can also be great.

And I was still having some extra quinoa, so for the next meal I prepared a vegan soup. Simply quinoa, sweet potato, butternut squash and shiitake, and again a bit of curry powder.  Finished with two shishito.

Chestnut rice – 栗ご飯

We are lucky to have a chestnut tree in the garden, but for the past 5 years I never managed to harvest any chestnut because it was too late once they’ve fallen and bugs git them, they were falling to early with typhoons… This year I miraculously managed to harvest about half a dozen of beautiful ones. Nothing much, but enough to make a classic Japanese recipe: chestnut rice. It os a simple autumn delight and it is very easy to prepare. First boil the chestnut for about 30min to 45min. Then peel them completely. In a pan, or a rice cooker, wash the desired quantity of rice (I usually cook 1cup for 2), add 3 boiled and peeled chestnut per serving. You can keep them entire or break them in smaller pieces. Cook the rice as usual. Once cooked stir and add a bit of salt. That’s it!

Baking bread

I haven’t posted any bread recipe recently but that doesn’t mean I haven’t baked any! I have baked a lit of fougasses this summer for our visiting friends. Of course for breakfast I have cooked more pancakes than ever, but bread is still one of my favorite. All warm, just out of the oven, the smells that mixes with A. freshly ground coffee is that of perfect Sunday mornings. After almost 3 years of making bread regularly now I rarely use my recipe book anymore, unless I am doing something fancy, and I just mix my various flours and seeds… in different combinations that all end up being perfectly delicious. Recently I bought a lot of organic whole wheat flour and some local spelt, buckwheat… flours so I’m enjoying making some mixes, to obtain a rich dark bread that suits very well jam, honey, butter, cheese and ham. Adding seeds: flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame; nuts or bran: oat or wheat add a lot of texture to the bread and is also very nice. This time I made a very simple 80% whole wheat-20% spelt and it was really delicious. For the rest of the recipe details please check that post, or look for “bread” in the search tool. You can also click on “bread” in the list of tags just below.

Cold corn soup

As I was mentioning in my earlier post, I didn’t grow in a family where eating corn or cooking corn is a tradition.  I am still quite unable to cook it in many ways, and I usually limit myself to boiled corn, rice & corn, or corn soup. Since the weather is very hot and humid these days in Tokyo I really like to prepare cold soups. And since the corn season is going to end soon, I bought a few more corn and prepared some cold soup. Similarly to the hot one it is simple and very nice as a starter. The only “problem” with cold soups made from ingredients that must be cooked (contrarily to gaspacho) is that you have to plan a bit ahead (2-3h) to have time to cool it.

Cold corn soup (for 2 bowls)

– 2 corns

– soya milk

– salt and pepper  

First remove the leaves and hairs from the corn and boil until soft. Wash under running cold water to cool them. Take all the grains out and blend until smooth (adding no other liquid help obtaining a really smooth texture), add salt and pepper. Add soya milk to obtain the desired texture. Again, when cooled the texture will be slightly thicker, so think about it to obtain the texture you really want. Blend a little longer. Cool in the fridge or the freezer before serving.

Have a nice week! 

Cold soup

How is your summer? In Tokyo these days summer looks like the rainy season… and it’s even not too hot! Which is perfect for this first week back to work, except that I was expecting having dinner on the terrace (maybe for the last season since we might move to a new place without a terrace) with our guests but rain didn’t stop for the last week more than just a few minutes. Anyway, this doesn’t affect much my cooking! And after eating out in so many cafes I really enjoyed having a little soup to start with and a cold one for the summer. So for our guests last night (one allergic to lactose) I prepared a potato-leek soup. You know this all-time classic that is so warming in winter… but in a cold version. The only problem with cold soup os that you need to prepare them at least 6h before eating so that they really are really cold when eating. 

Vegan cold leek-potato soup:  (4 servings)

 – 1 leek

– 2-5 potatoes depending on the size

– olive oil, salt, pepper

Wash and chop the leek. In a pan, heat some olive oil and add the leek. Peel the potatoes and cut them. Add to the pan and cook at medium heat until slightly golden, stir every once in a while. Cover with 1L of water and cook until the potatoes are really soft. Blend to obtain a creamy soup (add first the vegetables and then the water little by little in the blender to be sure to have the right consistency. It must slightly more liquid than desired since the cooling will densify the mixture). Add olive oil, salt, pepper. Cool in the fridge for a few hours. Stir the mix before serving to make it homogeneous. Enjoy!

Lotus root sushi – 蓮根寿司

When we were in Fuefukigawa, our ryokan had a very nice library where we enjoyed spending some time. It’s very nice to go to someone else library because you can discover many things through others books. That’s how I discovered a little cook book with some inspiring recipes. And I tried one of the inspiration as soon as we got back home. It was a recipe of lotus root sushi. So basically vinegared rice and vinegared lotus roots, served with ginger and sesame.  It’s been many years I haven’t made sushi rice so I was happy to prepare some again. Since it was served with the vinegared lotus root I didn’t make it too sour, and I served it with some ginger-pork sautéed.

So here is the lotus-root sushi recipe. It is quite simple if you can find fresh lotus roots (which in Japan is obviously very easy) and it has a very Japanese flair. 

Lotus-root sushi: 

– 1 cup of Japanese rice (I always use Koshihikari but choose your favorite one) 

– 1 large lotus root, fresh

– a bulb of fresh ginger, not too big

– 2 or 3 myoga

– 3 tbs of golden sesame

– 3 tbs of white vinegar

– 1 tbs of natural sugar

– 1 tsp of salt

– 2 tbs of sake (optional) 

First wash the rice, and cover with 1cup of water, the sake and cook as usual. While the rice is cooking, peel and wash carefully the lotus root. Cut in very thin slices (I used the mandolin for that). Set in a bowl, add some water to almost cover, but don’t put too much. Add most of the sugar, the salt and 2tbs of white vinegar. Stir with the hands, and let rest. Stir once in a while. Peel and cut thinely the ginger and the myoga. In a frypan roast the sesame until it starts to smell. Once the rice is cooked and has cooled down a bit add the remaining 1tbs of vinegar and the remaining sugar, stir well. Add the ginger, the sesame to the rice, stir; add the lotus root drained. Add the myoga. That’s it!!!

Nakasendo, Magome juku – 中山道・馬籠宿

Terraced rice fields along the hike to Magome
Terraced rice fields along the hike to Magome
Magome juku
Magome juku
Yakimochi
Yakimochi

We are still on the road both by car and by foot with A. And after Tsunan, Hakuba, Azumino, Matsumoto, Kamikochi, Takayama, Gero, Ena we are now in the Kiso valley, or rather on the old road Nakasendo, in a very nice little inn where we are the only guests and very well taken care of. Our hike today, shortened by the heat has taken us to Magome juku, an old post town on the Nakasendo, one of the roads widely employed to travel between Kyoto and Tokyo in the past, a still very well preserved place with very picturesque views and old houses. Back at our inn: Shinchaya, our host had prepared a huge dinner as could be expected in every minshuku and ryokan. What is great with minshuku compared to ryokan is that it is more homemade-like food and easy to get recipes directly from the cook! For addresses and tips about traveling in the Kiso valley, please leave a comment!

This time the nice surprise was what is called yakimochi – 焼き餅 but it is not made of rice! The recipe is quite simple and the results quite delicious!

 Yakimochi – 焼き餅 from Shinchaya

– a few taro – 里芋

– buckwheat flour

– salt

– soya sauce

– fresh ginger

Boil the taro, and peel them. Mash them with a fork, add some salt and the buckwheat flour to obtain a smooth mix. Make paddies with the mix and grill them (oven, pan…). Peel and grat the fresh ginger. Serve the grilled paddies with soya sauce and the ginger.

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