Reiko

Reiko

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Salad

Happy Father’s Day
父の日ありがとう

Our family got together at my brother-in-law’s house for the father’s day celebration today.

Since my brother-in-law was cooking burgers and hot dogs, the rest of the members brought side dishes.

These are the things I brought…

Lemony Garbanzo Farro Salad.

Veggies.

As usual.

I’ve learned that people (well, at least our family) eat more when veggies are served separately like this (vs. mixed together in a big bowl).

When I heard my little nephew, Carter, asking his mother to get him broccoli and cucumber, I couldn’t help smiling.

This is my new thing.

Dressing in a jar.

I learned making dressing in a jar from Ms. Ree by watching her show.

This is absolutely genius.

You can mix all the ingredients by simply shaking it.

Also it’s easy to bring to a potluck because you can close the lid tight.

Grandma Kiel’s molasses cookies.

It was great to see everyone today, especially my father-in-law for a good reason.

I’m so glad that he is healthy, active, and enjoying his retirement so much.

My father-in-law and my father are the two most active men I know, and I think it’s awesome.

Leave a comment
by : Reiko Sweets

It Had To Be You Tiramisu Parfait
あなたじゃなくては。ティラミスパフェ

I like tiramisu.

And I like parfait.

Why not put the two together!

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, right?!

Coffee jelly jewelry.

When you mash it with a fork, it becomes so pretty and shiny, just like coffee-colored diamonds!

Cashew “mascarpone” cream.

Super creamy and yum.

And homemade V-cake sponge.

It was cubed and then soaked up sweet coffee syrup.

Then it’s all we need.

Love the Trader Joe’s design.

Just looking at it makes me smile.

Leave a comment
by : Reiko Sandwiches

Tomato Lover’s Avocado Toast
トマト好きのアボカドトースト

I usually do not do grocery shopping at Costco because most of their packages are too big for our household of two.

But sometimes I forget that there are only two people in our house and one of them does not even like avocado (although this has been changing lately!), and grab a large bag of avocados.

When you find yourself in such a situation, you’ll make avocado toast!

This is a tomato lover’s avocado toast plate.

This one is with green salsa.

This is with green tomato chutney.

And this one is with fresh multi-colored mini tomatoes.

By the way, these tomatoes are from Costco, too…

Happy Thursday everyone!

Here is one more thing that came home with me from my last trip to Costco.

The cherries must be in the season right now.

They are so sweet and delicious!

Unfortunately (or fortunately?!), I’m the primary consumer of the cherries, too, though…

Leave a comment
by : Reiko Fruit

Monkey Tacos
モンキータコス

Just saying “Monkey Tacos” makes me smile!

It’s fun!

I read somewhere that if you give a funny name to a veggie dish at school cafeteria, kids will eat more veggies.

(Unfortunately, this trick did not work on my husband, who is not a big fan of banana.)  🙁

Toasted tortillas, sunflower butter, and banana slices are the base.

But after that you can go free-style.

This one was the berry-berry version: strawberries and blueberries.

And this one was the sunshine version: mango and nectarine.

Love fresh fruit.

Make sure you add fresh mint, cilantro, and jalapeno slices.

Well, these are tacos after all.

And surprisingly, these add awesome freshness to my monkey tacos.

Leave a comment
by : Reiko Noodles/Pasta, Soup/Stew

Lasagna Soup with V-Sausage and Nutty Parm
ラザニアスープ

When I discovered something called “Lasagna Soup” exists, I had to try it.

Freshly cooked lasagna sheets were cut into smaller pieces.

My homemade V-sausage was perfect to accompany the lasagna pasta.

Does it look tasty or what?

My nutty parm was made with the recipe from this book (slightly modified).

This soup was absolutely delicious, and I loved it.

Whoever came up with the idea is genius!

By the way, this is one of my recent favorite shirts to wear.

I bought it at Target, but I only recently learned that it is one of their new clothing brands, called “Who What Wear”.

I did notice that Target’s clothing section has gotten a face-lift lately, and I find myself looking at clothes at Target definitely more often than before.

I wore this gingham blouse with puffy sleeves in this post as well.

Leave a comment
by : Reiko Sweets

Almond Jelly Flowers
アーモンドのお花寒天

Although I don’t use gelatin anymore, jelly is something I can still make and enjoy.

What do I use?

I use Japanese agar powder.

Agar is made of algae, and I’ve seen some people write it smells/tastes seaweed.

I’ve only used Japanese products, and they’ve NEVER smelled or tasted seaweed.

The texture is very different from jelly made of gelatin.

It’s less elastic and gummy, and cleaner and lighter, which I prefer personally.

I made my jelly flowers almond-flavored (almond milk and almond extract), and served them in strawberry soup.

Sweet, refreshing, and makes a light yet satisfying dessert.

I’m a sucker for the Target Dollar Spot (or Bullseye’s Playground).

Whenever I go to Target I have to check out the section because I often find the cutest things, often for props.

These adorable strawberry-themed items were only 1 dollar each!

Love the retro-looking colors and designs.

Leave a comment
by : Reiko Sandwiches, Tofu, Vegan Egg

Go Local! V-Egg Salad Sandwich
ローカルがいいね、Vエッグサラダサンド

I got beautiful whole grain English muffins from a co-op store.

While I was at the store, something caught my eye.

“Minnesota Local”.

Since we changed our diet and now pay so much more attention to what food we buy, certain key words get my attention, like vegan, plant-based, no preservatives, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, organic…

And “local” is also one of them.

Well, it’s actually a big one for me.

This green tomato chutney was produced by Urban Roots, a local organization that help “youth interns to develop leadership, entrepreneurial, and life skills” through their Market Garden, Conservation, and Cook Fresh Programs.

This is how I built this sandwich.

First, tomato and onion slices.

Spinach.

And then crunchy tempeh.

They look pretty awesome already at this point.

But wait.

It gets even better.

A heap of V-egg salad goes next.

Left-over V-egg salad goes into my pretty Pioneer Woman cup to be stored and enjoyed later.

Now here is the main supporting actor!

Green tomato chutney from Urban Roots.

I love when the producer lists the ingredients up front, not in small print hiding in the back.

This always means that the maker is proud of their product!

And I liked what I saw.

They apparently create wonderful flavors.

The tomato chutney was a GREAT addition to this sandwich.

The only other thing I need is a glass of home cold-brewed coffee.

Leave a comment
by : Reiko Asian Food, Main Dish, Rice/Grains, Soup/Stew

Pot Sticker Combo Meal
食堂餃子ランチセット

Combo meals are nothing new in the U.S.

But typical combo meals you get in Japan look a bit different.

Instead of fries and soda, you typically get rice and soup (and maybe some kind of small veggie dish) that accompany the main dish.

And this is the kind of lunch option I often wish we had here.

My pot stickers were cooked beautifully.

Love the nonstick griddle.

It’s big and cooks a lot of pot stickers at once.

Garlic black pepper scallion soup.

Pea and corn fried rice.

Having a lot of plates on the table always makes me happy.

But it also usually means that you get a balanced meal.

Leave a comment
by : Reiko Main Dish, Mushrooms

Morel Galette
あみがさたけガレット

Galette is one of my favorite things to make.

I think I like the “free-style” type of crust.

I got these beautiful morel mushrooms the other day.

Interestingly, there is this pizzeria in our neighborhood which sells pints of morels this time every year.

And I never miss the opportunity.

I was already loving this even before putting it in the oven.

The galette turned out great!

We devoured it.

My husband liked it so much that he has been asking me to make this again already.

Leave a comment
by : Reiko Main Dish

Red and Green JF Enchiladas
JF赤緑エンチラーダ

When you see enchiladas featured in recorded cooking shows twice in a row, that pretty much becomes a message.

Enchiladas for dinner!

Then I realized that I’ve never ordered or made enchiladas, and it became a fun project for me.

I happened to have cooked jackfruit, and I thought it would be a perfect filling when combined with cooked garlic and onion.

I used Trder Joe’s cans of jackfruit for the first time, and I really liked it.

I think my shredded jackfruit turned out the best this time.

When I asked my husband if he wanted green or red sauce, he said “both” as I expected.

A good thing about home cooking is that you can do that!

No problem.

I used a can of store-brand (aka, cheapest) red enchilada sauce for the red, but I doctored it up by adding a few things, including spices and a little sugar.

For the green I used this green salsa; I chose this because I liked their straight-forward ingredients.

I poured it after cooking, and it really added freshness and brightened up the whole thing.

The drop of sour cream-like cream on the top was homemade, and this really added the tangy creaminess to the dish and complemented the dish very well.

Happy Saturday evening everyone!

Leave a comment