by : Reiko Mushrooms, Noodles/Pasta

Lion’s Mane Crab Cakes; with “too” little filler!

Who likes crab cakes?

Well, I do… I did.

The Lion’s Mane mushroom interestingly mimics the look and texture of crab meat.

So, I decided to attempt to make my first Lion’s Mane crab cakes.

I like my crab cakes with little filler.

Have you ever ordered crab cakes at a restaurant, and when they arrived, you had to ask, “where is the crabmeat?” because there was too much filler?

Well, I didn’t want that in my crab cakes, so I added very little filler.

Okay.

Maybe it was too little of filler…

They barely held their shape.

I made garlic, olive, lemon, herb pasta with crunchy Panko to serve the crab cakes with.

I love this kind of pasta.

Simple and delicious.

I could eat a large bowl of it.

Just that.

This turned out to be such a delicious meal!

The crab cake was tasty undressed, but I also liked it with my vegan lemon garlic mayo.

Because the filler was so little that most of the cakes became “deconstructed”.

They still tasted good though.

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by : Reiko Bread, Mushrooms, Sandwiches

Pulled Lion’s Mane Sandwich; Now I’m a fan!

I get excited when I get to try unique vegetables or fruits, more so than fancy shoes or purses (lol).

I ordered some groceries from Happy Grocers again this week, and in addition to their surplus set, I purchased something fun.

It’s “lion’s mane” mushroom.

I’ve seen it before, sold at the farmers market in St. Paul when we lived in Minnesota, but I don’t think I’ve tried it before.

(It’s much more reasonable here, which definitely encouraged me to try it.)

When it arrived, it didn’t look like much, especially when compared to this one, https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2024/10/18/ .

But I quickly realized how dense this mushroom was.

It’s got so much “meat”.

I had a lot of ideas on how to use it, but for my first attempt I decided to make sandwiches by using this as pulled “meat”.

I tried a new recipe to bake buns this time, and these turned out to be the BEST buns I’ve ever made!

Perfectly sweet, light, and so soft!

If anybody is interested, here is the link to the recipe (Japanese).

https://www.kurashiru.com/recipes/eda36df4-f1e2-445f-9181-58b1c45dc0e3

I added some cucumber and a lot of cilantro to my coleslaw this time.

I love cilantro.

Sometimes I eat a few stalks for a snack.

First, mayo, and then the pulled “lion’s mane”.

A heap of coleslaw on top.

I served the sandwich with roasted potatoes and honey-sesame glazed corn; the potatoes and corn were both from the surplus set.

Now I’ve become a big fan of the lion’s mane!

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by : Reiko Mushrooms, Noodles/Pasta

Homemade Pasta with Golden Oyster Mushrooms -　立派なタモギタケを手に入れたよ。

Eating seasonal food is important to me.

So when I saw a large list of mushrooms on Happy Grocers’ page, I didn’t hesitate to order some.

Everything looked good, but I chose golden oyster.

It said I would receive 200-250g, but I didn’t know how big (or small) that would be.

When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by the large size.

And the quality.

It was so fresh and absolutely beautiful!!

I wanted to enjoy the mushrooms with my homemade pasta.

I don’t have a rolling pin, so I use my husband’s soda again.

It works perfectly :).

It makes a mess in the kitchen, but homemade pasta is so worth it.

I wanted to enjoy the flavor of the mushrooms without added extra flavors, so I simply sauteed it.

They kept their shape and firm texture even after cooked, and I loved that they were meaty and delicious.

The flavor was wonderful, too.

The pasta was served with cream sauce, soy meat, and then topped off with the sauteed golden oyster mushrooms.

It was so delicious.

My husband and I both really enjoyed these mushrooms, and I think I want to try other mushrooms too.

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by : Reiko Mushrooms, Potatoes/Squash, Tofu

2023 Thanksgiving
２０２３年感謝祭

This year I have to cook in a new kitchen, where space and the access to the appliances are rather limited.

So I decided to keep the menu simple.

Although the dishes did not require too complicated steps, that doesn’t mean I compromised on taste.

I mostly stuck with the traditional ingredients/dishes but wanted to add some fun flavors.

This was today’s main dish.

Tofu steak with Nira garlic chive “stuffing”.

I’m not a huge mashed potato fan, but my husband is.

So I make it at least once a year, usually for Thanksgiving.

This is garlicky mashed potatoes with Mikan tangerine Shichimi seven spices.

A friend of mine got me this “Mikan Shichimi” spices from Japan.

It’s a great mixture of refreshing and sweet citrus and spiciness.

The label design is lovely, too.

King oyster mushroom gravy.

It was made with garlic, king oyster mushrooms, flour, water, vegetable bouillon, salt, pepper, sugar, nutritional yeast, soy milk, soy sauce, Italian herbs.

This was probably the best gravy I’ve ever made!

Sauteed haricot verts with garlic.

Simple and tasty.

I like that Aldi sells these fancy (skinny) green beans.

Roasted Kabocha squash with cumin cilantro salad.

I was going to make a “hot” dish with the Kabocha, but I thought it would be nice to have something on the lighter side with extra vegetables.

This year I made cranberry sauce myself.

My original plan was to buy canned cranberry sauce, but I did not care for the ingredients of the one I found at a store.

At the same store I saw this bag of fresh cranberries, and it was so cheap, which made the decision easy for me.

Cranberry sauce is so easy to make!

Who knew?!

I added some fresh grated ginger, and I absolutely loved the final result.

Why do I always cook AND eat too much for Thanksgiving???

Cardamom apple upside down cake.

For the dessert I deviated from the traditional choice and went against a pie this year.

I served it with vanilla coconut yogurt.

I was extremely happy with how the whole meal turned out.

It was a bit of challenge not only cooking and baking in a kitchen I’m not too familiar with but also taking photos in a different setting, but it all worked out fine.

Hope your meal was delicious and your day was wonderful as well.

A few day ago I saw this in front of the Union Depot building in St. Paul.

I was surprised to see them putting lights on the tree before Thanksgiving, but I’m okay with that.

I just love this time of the year when things are becoming festive around the city.

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Mushrooms, Soup/Stew, Tofu, Vegan Egg

Autumn Sukiyaki
秋のすき焼き

Sukiyaki is a popular Japanese Nabe(pot)-style dish.

You cook various meats and vegetable in a soy sauce based sweet broth.

Thin sliced beef is usually the main ingredient.

As you can see, in my plant-based version you won’t see any meats, but instead there are a lots of mushrooms (three kinds!) and two types of tofu (fried and extra firm).

You can basically use any vegetables, but the ones you see here are probably often expected in Sukiyaki pot: Napa cabbage, Shungiku, mushrooms, tofu, carrots, and yam noodles.

Luckily, I can get all these ingredients at the local Asian grocery store today.

One thing that is not authentic is the addition of an apple.

Since it’s in the season and I got beautiful fresh apples from a farmers market that morning, I decided to add some to the pot.

I also used a little bit of the apple cider I also got from the farmers market to the broth.

Not everyone, but many people enjoy Sukiyaki with a raw egg as a dipping sauce.

The Sukiyaki broth tends to be quite strong, and the egg balances it.

I did grow up with this tradition, but I never liked the egg white.

So this time I made my vegan “yolk” with carrots and it worked great!

It was rich, creamy, and the beautiful orange color was bright and appetizing.

It was so delicious!!

Let me share some pictures from my last weekend’s trip to the local farmers market.

What’s your favorite kind of squash?

Love this one!

So beautiful.

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by : Reiko Mushrooms, Noodles/Pasta, Tofu

Fettuccine with King Mushrooms, Ground Koya-Tofu, and Garlic Chives
きのこ高野豆腐”挽肉”ニンニクの芽フェットチーネ

I like pasta with red sauce.

And we have that a lot for a weeknight dinner.

It’s an easy and tasty meal.

But I also like pasta without sauce, especially when I have certain ingredients.

I love any mushrooms, but king mushroom is one of my favorite mushrooms, mostly because of its meaty texture.

Ground Koya-Tofu (freeze dried tofu; cooked with soy sauce based sauce).

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2023/04/10/rice-with-bean-sprouts-and-ground-koya-tofu

I can’t help buying it when I find fresh chive flower (or garlic chives) at the local Asian grocery store.

I also used baby bella mushrooms.

They (and garlic) were all sauteed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and combined with freshly cooked fettuccine.

No sauce needed.

Simple and delicious.

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Mushrooms, Noodles/Pasta, Soup/Stew

Ankake Noodles with King Oyster Mushrooms and Soy Curls
キングオイスターきのことソイカールのせあんかけ蕎麦

Ankake or thick soup is one of my favorites.

It makes any dish a bit special.

I like this brand.

The noodles are NOT fried but “air-dried”, and the ingredients appear very good too.

Also the texture is wonderful when cooked.

Soy curls.

I get these mushrooms at the local Asian grocery store, Ha Tien Supermarket.

They are always fresh, and I like their size and how they look.

it’s currently one of my favorite mushrooms.

Today I put away our Christmas tree and all the decorations.

The spot where the tree was looks so empty now.

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by : Reiko Mushrooms, Sweets

Plant-based Shiitake Madeleines
斬新！椎茸マドレーヌ（ヴィーガン）

I hope it’s not too shocking to you.

The idea came from last night…

I celebrated our anniversary month at Kaiseki Furukawa, a Kaiseki restaurant, in Minneapolis.

This was our second course, a part of the 10-course meal.

This course consisted of eight different things, and one of them was a Shiitake shortbread cookie.

When the chef told me what it was, I was initially skeptical.

But once I had my first bite, I loved it!

It definitely tasted like Shiitake.

It was unique and delicious.

Since I liked the cookie so much that I wanted to make Shiitake sweets myself.

Luckily, I had some dried local Shiitake.

I picked madeleine to be my first Shiitake sweets.

I added powdered dried Shiitake to the batter.

They turned out great!

They got the beautiful brown color.

And they were delicious!!

Who knew mushroom can taste so good in a cake?

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

Grilled Matsutake
焼き松茸

Matsutake is considered a delicacy in Japan.

It’s something that is enjoyed only during the fall season, and yes people spend big bucks for it.

I was lucky because a friend gave them to me as a gift.

And she even gave me Sudachi as well.

Sudachi is a citrus fruit that typically accompanies Matsutake.

I simply grilled the Matsutake.

When the ingredient is tasty, you don’t want to do too much to it.

This one plate meal consisted of grilled matsutake, herb chickpea salad, cranberry-pecan Kabocha salad, mushroom soup, and toasted Boule.

Kabocha, homemade vegan mayo, salt, pepper, maple syrup, dry cranberries, pecan nuts.

Chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, yellow pepper, cumin, mint, basil, olive oil, white vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper.

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