Reiko

Reiko

by : Reiko Leaf Vegetables, Sandwiches

Just For You JF BBQ Sandwich
ジャスト・フォー・ユーBBQサンドイッチ

BBQ Sandwich.

This is one of the sandwiches that make my husband happy.

The main ingredient is jackfruit.

The keys to make canned jackfruit taste better are 1) take off the salty taste from the can as much as possible and 2) dry well and then cook until browned to give flavor.

I like my BBQ sandwich with fresh coleslaw, and I’m always on a hunt for fun things to add to make it interesting.


I also like to add some type of fat to my sandwich.

Avocado is such a difficult thing.

The timing is so tricky.

It’s like “I’m not ready, not ready, not ready, not yet… then READY! Eat me NOW!”

I feel like avocados are running the show at times, because I often find myself planning my meals around the ripeness of avocados.

First avocado slices, and then a heap of BBQ jackfruit.

Then coleslaw.

The main ingredients of this coleslaw are napa cabbage, apple, and ginger.

Very refreshing!

It’s almost too pretty to cover up.

Looks pretty good, huh?

I thought about serving it with fried potatoes, but why not veggies??

Asparagus is so beautiful, tasty (sweet!), and cheap right now, so lightly sauteed asparagus accompanied the sandwich.

I don’t think anybody will object.

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by : Reiko Breakfast

L.H.P. French Toast
L.H.P. フレンチトースト

My initial plan was to make Matcha flavored french toast.

But I thought it would be fun to add another flavor to it.

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Then I remembered something.

Leah’s Happy Place!

If you live in the Twin Cities, you may know what I’m talking about.

There is a great neighborhood cafe, called Cafe Astoria.

One of their specialties is Leah’s Happy Place, which is Matcha Lavender Latte, with a sprinkle of pistachio.

First time I saw it on the menu, I was somewhat skeptical.

Lavender and Mathca???

I’m glad my husband wanted to try, because I fell in love quickly just after one sip.

So I decided to try this flavor combination on my french toast.

I pretty much perfected (I think!) my vegan french toast last time I made it, so I used this recipe as a base.

And it turned out awesome!!

It has the right ratio of Matcha and lavender.

You can taste them both, complimenting each other.

I served it with homemade V-butter, maple syrup, and chopped pistachio.

L.H.P. french toast will stay on my “menu” at our house for sure!

Cafe Astoria is listed on My Favorite Restaurants page.

L.H.P. French Toast Batter Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 tablespoons chickpea flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
a pinch of salt
Matcha powder – about 1/2 tablespoon
ground dried lavender (sold for tea) – about 1/2~1 tablespoon

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by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Breakfast, Tofu

Anything Goes Shakshuka
こんなのもいいシャクシュカ

Shakshuka was one of my favorite weekend breakfast dishes.

So when I switched to the 100% plant-based diet, I thought I would have to say good-bye to it forever.

But once I became more confident in plant-cooking, I thought maybe I could still enjoy the dish with a little twist.

So this shakshuka was made with soft scrambled tofu instead of poached eggs.

Well, anything goes, after all, when it comes to home-cooking right? (lol)

This shakshuka not only has a totally different look outside, but also contains a lot of yumminess inside, like lentils and eggplant,which makes the dish a little more substantial.

Doesn’t this look tasty?

This shakshuka turned out to be an awesome breakfast, but it was even better when served with crusty bread with homemade v-butter.

Or if you add a bowl of roasted brussels sprouts and a tray of fresh fruits to your table, this becomes an elegant brunch for a small group.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Did you know 1 dash equals 1/8 teaspoon?

Or there are 60 drops in 1 teaspoon?

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by : Reiko Sweets

Ube Parfait Japonais
ウベパフェ・ジャポネ

I’ve never been a big ice cream person.

So when a vegan ice cream shop, Crepe and Spoon, opened, I did go check it out, but I didn’t think I would go back so quickly.

But I did.

Because I found the flavor I loved.

Ube is not only pretty-colored, but also delicious.

The ice cream shop changes their flavors quite frequently, so when I was there last time and found that they did have Ube, I decided to come home with a pint.

By the way, this is how my husband eats his ice cream.

He is a “melter”.

It is obvious that he was eating the melting edge!

This Ube parfait was so good.

Along with the Ube ice cream, what you find in this parfait are sweet red beans, wonton crisps, and roasted chestnut.

When I decided to make this parfait, I knew this is the bowl I wanted to serve it in.

This beautiful organic look screams “wabi-sabi”.

Happy Thursday evening, everyone.

Who else is excited about getting close to the weekend?

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by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Potatoes/Squash, Soup/Stew

Comin’ Home Baby Cottage Pie
カミン・ホーム・ベイビー・コテージパイ

Cottage pie has the word, “homey”, all over the dish.

I’m not English, but I love cottage pie because of it’s the kind of dish I would love to come home for after a long day.

The stew inside has lots of things I love, like lentils, cauliflower, and carrots.

They were all cooked together to create a wonderful flavor depth with a little (or probably not so little!) help from red wine.

I also spiced it up a little.

Can you see the cinnamon stick?

And never forget the wonder these fresh herbs can do.

The garlicky mashed potato on the top was made with regular potatoes and sweet potatoes, which is why it ended up with this beautiful orange color.

The stew is pretty chunky, just the way I like it.

This makes an awesome dinner when served with simple green salad and a glass of wine.

And how about playing that jazz song for the background music…

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by : Reiko Breakfast, Fruit

Beautiful Planet Open Sandwich
ビューティフル・プラネット・オープンサンド

Welcome to my new blog, CT Side-B!

I think this is a very appropriate first post.

Lots of fruit!

The #1 dietary risk factor is reported to be “not eating enough fruit” (source: nutritionfacts.org ).

It’s not an issue at our house!

I always have fresh fruit in the kitchen, but on the weekend I have a little more time to play with them.

These are multigrain toasts.

I spread homemade vegan butter on one and sunflower butter on the other, and then decorated them with fresh grapes, strawberries, and blueberries.

I sprinkled a few fresh thyme leaves, initially for the look.

But I was surprised at how well it went with the fruit taste-wise, too.

Recently we vacationed in a resort in Cancun Mexico, and they had trays of fresh fruits every morning at their breakfast buffet.

So I decided to re-create them.

Plants are all pretty in general, but fruit really makes me realize how beautiful a planet we are lucky to live on.

My old blog, The Culinary Tribune is found here.

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