by : Reiko Bread, Sandwiches, Vegan Cheese

Vegan Cream Cheese & Sweet Black beans in Homemade Dog Buns
クリームチーズ黒豆餡ドッグサンド

We, Japanese, love the combination of cream cheese and sweet beans as much as the butter-sweet bean combination.

As I always say, you have to have good bread if you want to make a good sandwich.

Homemade bread is always a good idea.

Homemade vegan cream cheese.

Red beans, or Azuki beans, are typically used for sweet beans, but this time I used black beans mostly because they are easier to come by here in the U.S.

And really why not?

Nobody said it has to be red beans.

Moving to a different country encourages me to try new things and often makes me realize that there are so many other ways to do things (I’m not just talking about cooking).

I liked how they turned out.

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by : Reiko Sandwiches, Vegan Cheese

Vegan Turkey Cranberry Cream Cheese Pumpkin Focaccia Sandwich
ヴィーガン七面鳥ハムとクランベリークリームチーズ入り、パンプキンフォカッチャサンドイッチ

The pumpkin focaccia (previous post) is tasty simply with vegan butter.

But I thought it would be fun to make a sandwich with it.

I like this Sweet Earth brand’s vegan oven roasted-style turkey.

I don’t understand why reviews are not great on some sites….

I added chopped dry cranberries to my homemade vegan cream cheese.

I drizzled a little bit of maple syrup.

It is great for lunch or brunch.

So good!!

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by : Reiko Breakfast, Sandwiches, Vegan Egg

Bagel Breakfast Sandwich with Vegan “Unfried Fried Egg”
焼かないヴィーガン目玉焼き入り朝食サンドイッチ

It’s always fun to make a vegan egg.

It’s almost like an art project.

My mission is to create something that looks like the real thing AND tastes good.

It doesn’t have to taste like an egg, but I want it to taste good.

I was pretty happy with how this one turned out.

I used my homemade sesame bagel for this sandwich.

A good thing about making a sandwich at home is that you can add anything you want.

In this one you will find lettuce, vegan cheese, tomato slices, avocado, vegan unfried fried egg, and vegan mayo.

Air fryer potatoes.

Unsweetened vegan yogurt with homemade green plum jam and rhubarb jam.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

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by : Reiko Bread, Sandwiches

Vegan BLTC Sandwich
ヴィーガンBLTCサンドイッチ

This was not planned, but when my Instagram friend told me about a new vegan bacon, I had to check it out.

She said it was the best vegan bacon she had ever had.

I’ve never tried store-bought vegan bacon, but with the strong recommendation I thought it would be fun to try.

It was pretty convincing.

It smelled and tasted good and like bacon.

And it got crispy.

I liked that it was not too salty.

Parsley bread.

I got lettuce and tomatoes for my BLT sandwich, but when I got home I realized I didn’t have the type of bread I wanted to use for the sandwich.

So, I decided to bake one quick.

This is my favorite Boule bread, but this time I baked it in my Le Creuset Dutch oven.

I did it because the dough was a bit loose, and I didn’t want it to be flat (I wanted a nice height for the sandwich).

This trick did work, but it also ended up creating a nice soft crust, which I didn’t expect.

I liked hard-crusted Boule too, but this was actually perfect for a sandwich.

Homemade cheese spread, romaine lettuce, mayo, tomato, and bacon.

And everything is vegan!

Air fryer Japanese sweet potatoes.

I love my air fryer (I know you’ve heard me saying it so many times now!).

I know coating them with more oil would have made them “look” better, but it was perfectly tasty without the extra oil.

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by : Reiko Breakfast, Sandwiches, Vegan Egg

Sunday Brunch Picnic in the City
日曜日のブランチピクニック

Since I bought a picnic basket, I wanted to have a pinic.

We’ve been busy, but a few weeks later finally this morning we decided to do that.

Since it was brunch, I didn’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen.

I slept in, put together this breakfast sandwich quick.

The only thing I made was the tofu-chickpea omelet.

Our favorite everything sourdough bread, dijon mustard, vegan cheddar cheese, vegan deli meat, homemade vegan omelet, arugula, and vegan mayo (I used store-bought mayo for this, but I doctored it up a little; it’s convenient, but I haven’t found any vegan mayo that tastes right as is.).

Some veggies and grapes.

Homemade vegan cheese dip.

This basket is smaller, but really perfect for the two of us.

I got hot green tea in a thermal tumbler.

Now ready to go.

Unfortunately, right before we left, we saw the weather forecast predicting rain.

Initially we were planning to walk to the picnic spot, but we decided to drive.

It actually turned out to be a perfect weather.

75 degrees.

No strong sun.

Very comfortable.

Luckily, the rain that was supposed to come disappeared before getting to our area.

Simple but satisfying!

But first.

Pictures.

This is me arranging things so that they look good in pictures.

My husband is so patient.

Love him :).

Now we get to eat!

These are the savory muffins I made a while ago (I kept some in the freezer).

Everything tastes extra good when you eat outside.

The hot green tea tastes great too.

This was our picnic view.

The Mississippi river.

Not bad, right?

We were only a few blocks from our place.

This is the city view behind.

It’s fun to go for a drive to a countryside and have a picture in the nature, but I also enjoy a city picnic like this very much too.

I took a few more pictures before we left.

This was such a great idea.

We enjoyed it so much.

I can’t wait to do it again!

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by : Reiko Sandwiches

Best 3 o’clock Snack Sandwich
３時のおやつサンドイッチ

Out of desperation (!) this sandwich was created.

I was hungry and wanted a quick snack.

Something substantial and tasty.

But I didn’t want to spend too much time making one.

I just put together I found in the fridge and freezer, and it turned out awesome!

So since then I’ve made this sandwich so many times.

It’s my current favorite sandwich for snack.

These are all you need.

Everything sourdough bread from Aldi.

The saltiness and garlic flavor from the crust are an important part of this sandwich.

Dairy-free plant butter with olive oil.

We usually get this at Target.

Vegan cheddar style slices from Aldi.

Medjool dates.

Again I get this from Aldi.

I like to keep a package in the fridge.

One of my favorite snacks.

Make sure you remove the pit and the stem end.

Arugula.

Well, this is a package of spinach and arugula mix.

I just pick arugula leaves for this sandwich.

Spread butter on bread and place the cheese.

Place the dates.

And arugula.

A snack plate is ready!

This combination works just so well.

The saltiness from the cheese.

The sweetness from the dates.

The bitterness from the arugula.

The garlic from the bread.

And the right amount of fat from the butter…

I hope you give it a try!

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by : Reiko Asian Food, Sandwiches, Vegan Meat

V-Chicken Waffle Banh-Mi
Vチキン・ワッフルバインミーサンド

I love banh-mi sandwich.

Its flavor combination is so good.

It’s traditionally made with a short baguette, airy inside with light crust.

Today I thought about giving a little twist and decided to use a waffle instead of a baguette.

A waffle.

Vegan butter.

Cucumber slices.

Vegan ham.

Vegan chicken.

Pickled veggies.

Cilantro.

Vegan mayo-like sauce.

So you ask how I made the “chicken”?

(or maybe you didn’t?! (lol))

I used Butler’s soy curls.

I love this product.

I don’t know exactly when it came out for the first time, but I know it has been in the market for a long time.

It was there before Impossible, Beyond, or Next…

One of the things I like about this product is its simple ingredient.

Another thing I like is that you can store them in the pantry, as it is dry.

And it doesn’t take time to have it prepared when you are ready to use them.

They need to be soaked in water for 10 minutes and they are ready to be cooked!

I like to cook them well and add some color.

This is looking so good!

I wasn’t sure if it would keep its form when folded, but it did!

Scrumptious!!

The slightly sweet and soft waffle was so good.

I will definitely make it again.

The carbs/fillings ratio passed my test, too.

Carbs < fillings.

Always.

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by : Reiko Sandwiches, Tempeh

Vegan Grilled Cheese with Tempeh and Ginger Rhubarb Jam
テンペ＆生姜ルバーブジャム入りグリルチーズ

I didn’t grow up with grilled cheese, but it has become my adopted comfort food.

But my grilled cheese has to have something in addition to cheese.

I can’t help it!

My mother-in-law always gives me fresh rhubarb that grow in her backyard.

I usually go and pick some up myself, but this year she brought some for me when she visited us for lunch.

Using some of that, I made ginger rhubarb jam.

It turned out delicious!

I tend to burn things, but with this I did a good job.

Toasted sourdough, tempeh steak, homemade vegan cheddar, and ginger rhubarb jam.

It’s salty, sweet, tangy, together and super tasty!

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Rice/Grains, Sandwiches, Vegan Meat

Futon Rice Sandwich
折るだけご飯サンド

I was initially thinking making some type of rice ball or sushi, but at the last minute I got lazy.

I still wanted to eat my sushi rice and roasted seaweed.

But I didn’t want to put too much time or effort into the process.

So here is something I named “Futon” rice sandwich.

No complicated task involved.

I’ll show you how to make it.

First you need a roasted seaweed sheet.

Once you put a thin layer of sushi rice, you can add whatever you like.

Here I first added turmeric tofu and homemade vegan mayo.

Then Shiso leaves, Next Meats vegan meat, Romain lettuce, and tomato slices.

You gently fold it like this.

That’s it!

Looks good, doesn’t it?

I like being able to see what’s inside.

You need two hands, but it’s still easy to eat.

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