A perfect lunch!
I had Portobello mushrooms to make steak, fresh arugula, homemade vegan gorgonzola, and homemade crusty bread.
You can also see some tomato slices on the bread as well.
They were served with balsamic reduction glaze.
Super yum!
Silken Tofu Rice
奴どんぶり
Sunday, February 17, 2019
This dish is one of the best examples, “simple is best.”
What you need to make Silken Tofu Rice are…
Rice.
Silken tofu (warm or cold).
Soy sauce.
These are the basic ingredients.
And toppings of your choice.
This time I had avocado mash (avocado plus wasabi and chopped radish), chopped tomatoes, and Japanese Shiso basil.
This was my breakfast this morning.
I love a meal like this.
Simple, yet, fresh and very satisfying.
By the way, my husband had the same food.
This is one my favorite rice bowls.
Love everything, the organic shape, the colors, and the design.
Broccoli Cheddar Steak Rice Plate
ブロッコリーチェダーライスプレート
Friday, February 15, 2019
Broccoli Cheddar soup is not my favorite soup.
But I do love the combination of broccoli and cheddar.
I happened to have my homemade vegan cheddar and seitan steak, and I decided to put together a rice plate for lunch.
Easy, tasty, and super satisfying!
Chocolate Red Wine Heart Cake
赤ワインチョコレートケーキ
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Since Valentine’s Day lands on Thursday this year, we decided to celebrate two weekends, before and after.
So last weekend for our celebration part one I wanted to make a chocolate cake for us to enjoy.
I did a little google research to see if I could make my cake heart-shaped without buying a heart pan.
Well, who knew!
There was a way.
And a relatively easy way.
For the cake itself, I knew exactly what recipe I wanted to try.
Amy’s Vegan Dark Chocolate Red Wine Cake.
She has so many great ideas for Valentine’s day, and I had a very hard time deciding which one of her recipes to try until the very last minute.
But I just couldn’t resist the combination of red wine and chocolate.
This is a two-layered wine-chocolate cake with raspberry filling and chocolate frosting.
I made my own berry filling with a touch of red wine, but other than that I followed the recipe without modification.
I LOVE her whole-food approach.
For instance, the main ingredient of the frosting is such a brilliant idea (I won’t tell you what it is. You have to go to her site to find out!), and probably one of my favorite features of this cake.
Making a cake following her recipe is not just a process but a joyful and learning experience.
I served my cake with wine reduction berry syrup.
This cake was ABSOLUTELY SCRUMPTIOUS!!
I’ve eaten enough delicious vegan foods by now, so I would hate to say “you can’t believe it’s vegan.”
But this cake can be enjoyed by everyone, vegans and non-vegans.
I shared it with my husband and a couple of neighbor friends (non-vegans), and everyone loved it.
Thank you, Amy, for this wonderful recipe!
It was so perfect for our (early) celebration.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.
Going Back to Basics Spaghetti with Meatballs
基本に戻ってミートボールスパゲッティ
Sunday, February 10, 2019
I like to create fun unique dishes, but once in a while I do enjoy going back to basics.
I had a few bags of homemade vegan meatballs in the freezer.
I sometimes use a jar, but if I have all the right ingredients at home, I prefer making my sauce myself.
Homemade sauce is so much better than store-bought!
I asked my husband to make “nutty parm,” and his version was a bit rougher than mine, but it was still very tasty.
This rough texture was different, but I liked it.
By the way when it comes to pasta, I like mine “long” and “regular.”
(I’ve tried whole wheat and other “healthy” pasta, too, but when it comes to pasta, I’m like an ordinary Joe, and I like my ordinary pasta (lol).)
Vegan Tsuke-Men
ヴィーガンつけ麺
Saturday, February 9, 2019
Tsuke-men is like a cousin of ramen.
It’s basically the same thing, but the noodles and the soup are separated (soup typically has a bit stronger flavors).
You scoop up a few strands of noodle, dip them in the soup, and eat. And then repeat the process.
I added a generous amount of sprouts.
I love sprouts in my ramen/tsuke-men.
Tsuke-men is becoming pretty popular, and I’ve started seeing it on the menu of some ramen shops.
But I’ve never seen vegan Tsuke-men yet.
For extra spiciness here is my trusted chili garlic paste.
Clementine Jasmine Blondies
みかんジャスミンブロンディー
Friday, February 8, 2019
My husband travels often for business.
Since I work full-time also, we don’t talk much during the day.
But he never fails to let me know when someone gives him interesting food ideas or recipes even when he is away from home.
When he told me about this recipe, I had to try it.
I was so interested in the ingredients, because the list does not include flour!
I didn’t have everything on the list, so I made mine with what I had.
I used maple syrup in place of honey, clementine for orange, jasmine-sencha tea for chamomile, and walnuts for pecans.
I decided not to use chocolate chips, because I wanted to keep it relatively “healthy” but added chopped dried persimmon.
This was SO GOOD!
Even before baking, I couldn’t stop licking the batter-covered spoon.
(I could have eaten the whole bowl of batter!)
I was worried about baking though because there was no flour in the batter.
But it came out just fine.
The texture is different from that of “regular” blondies, but I really liked it, probably better!
Such an awesome recipe.
Thank you, Liz, for sharing.
Mushroom Ravioli in White Bean Soup
きのこラビオリ白豆スープ
Thursday, February 7, 2019
I had some wrappers left that I wanted to use up.
So I decided to make them into ravioli.
The filling is simple but tasty.
Sauteed garlic and mushrooms.
A great thing about ravioli is that it cooks so fast.
It was a great lunch.
Exactly what I needed on this cold snowy day.
Berry Custard Pastry
ベリーカスタードパイ
Monday, February 4, 2019
I had frozen puff pastry sheet in my freezer I wanted to use up.
My neighbor just gave me ripe strawberries that needed to be eaten fast.
And I recently got to make vegan custard cream successfully.
Why not putting all together?
First, the puff pastry.
Perfectly light and flaky.
Thick custard cream first.
And then fresh berries and mint leaves.
The ratio of everything was just perfect!
Simple, fresh, and elegant.
This will be a good dessert option when we have our non-vegan family over for dinner.
I think my father-in-law will like this.
2019 Super Bowl
今年のスーパーボウル
Sunday, February 3, 2019
I’m not a huge Super Bowl fan (unless the Vikings get to play), but it gives me an excuse to make fun snacks!
These are a few things I prepared for the game today.
Walnut and Blue Cheese Grapes.
I saw Ms. Giada making this on TV, and I immediately knew I wanted to try them.
These are DELICIOUS!!!
The flavor combination is amazing.
Here is a link to Ms. Giada’s recipe.
I used my homemade vegan gorgonzola cheese (recipe from this book) to replace cream cheese, blue cheese, and heavy cream.
Meatballs covered in Asian BBQ sauce.
I used my favorite recipe for the meatballs.
Flat Samosas.
I like samosas, but often times the wrappers are thick and too heavy for me.
I simply used wonton wrappers, flatten, and pan-fried them.
Yum!
In the filling you’ll find potatoes, carrots, peas, and corn.
Are you watching the game?
