by : Reiko Pizza/Flatbread, Potatoes/Squash, Vegan Cheese

Potato Onion Chutney Black Pepper Flatbread
ジャガイモと玉ねぎチャツネと黒胡椒のピザ

We had this for lunch, but this will be great for snack with a glass of white wine.

I don’t really drink anymore myself, so that would be an idea for someone else though.

I liked this onion chutney, a gift from our neighbor, so much that I decided to use this for our flatbread, too.

Loved the combination of the onion chutney, potatoes, and black pepper.

And homemade plant-based cheese.

It’s the best.

This one was tofu-based.

It was a quick concoction.

To tofu I added salt, garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, and a little sugar.

Itadakimasu – Thank you for the meal.

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by : Reiko Noodles/Pasta, Vegan Cheese

Black Noodles with Plant-Based Cheese Sauce
黒パスタとVチーズソース

The impact of the color black is strong.

It’s unique, but I do like black food.

So when I saw this at a local specialty store, I decided to buy a package.

It really has a nice black color.

It loses the intense black color when cooked, but it’s still pretty dark.

I served it with homemade vegan cheese sauce, sage, and black walnuts.

The pasta’s texture is a bit different from the one of the wheat pasta.

It’s chewier.

I didn’t dislike it, but I couldn’t say I loved it.

Since I’m not used to this type of pasta, there is a possibility that the more I eat, the more I may come to appreciate it.

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by : Reiko Breakfast, Vegan Cheese

Sun-Dried Tomato Shiso Pancakes
甘じょっぱい、がたまらない！サンドライトマト紫蘇パンケーキ

I’m always attracted to dishes that are both sweet and savory.

I still had some fresh Shiso left, so I thought it would be fun to use it for pancakes.

What goes well with Shiso?

Tomatoes!

I added chopped fresh Shiso and sun-dried tomatoes to my vegan pancake batter.

The pancakes were ready.

You can simply enjoy them with butter and maple syrup.

Or…

Add things.

This time I placed homemade vegan cheese and fresh Shiso.

Then…

Here is my not-so-secret sauce.

A mixture of chopped sun-dried tomatoes and maple syrup.

Trust me.

This is SO GOOD.

Ta da!

Scrumptious!

I would put this on the menu if I opened a restaurant (lol).

Yes, it would be served just like that, with salad and Tofu croutons.

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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 Koji, Tofu, Vegan Cheese

Salted Koji Tofu Cheese
塩麹とうふチーズ

I just recently made salted koji ↓.

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2022/09/27/

And I’m loving it.

One of the things I was interested in using my salted Koji for was “tofu cheese”.

I saw other people making it, and I needed to try it myself.

It’s super easy to prepare.

You remove excess water from tofu.

Cover the tofu with salted Koji.

Let it rest in a refrigerator for several days (I waited for 7 days).

And the tofu tastes like cheese!

That’s what it looked like after 7 days.

You can’t really see any difference, but you can tell that the texture is a bit different, smoother and denser.

I removed the Koji.

I can’t say it tastes like cheese, but it definitely developed the cheese-like Umami and creaminess.

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by : Reiko Noodles/Pasta, Vegan Cheese

Spaghetti with Vegan Meat Sauce and Mozzarella Cheese
ヴィーガンミートソースとモッツレラチーズのスパゲッティ

Spaghetti with meat sauce was one of my favorite dinner dishes when I was a kid.

And it’s still definitely one of the dishes I crave once in a while.

Luckily, today there are several “meat” options for plant-based dieters.

This time I used this ground “meat” made of pea protein from Ikea.

It’s super easy to use.

You keep it frozen and then when you are ready to use it, just get it out of the freezer and cook in a pan.

I don’t bother to thaw it.

I just dump it still frozen into a hot pan, and it cooks just fine.

And my homemade vegan mozzarella cheese was cut into cubes and generously added.

It’s such a great comfort food.

But the addition of the creamy mozzarella takes it to the next level.

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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 Leaf Vegetables, Salad, Vegan Cheese

Bok Choy Caesar Salad with Tofu Croutons
青梗菜シーザーサラダ、豆腐クルトンのせ

I saw my SNS friend posting a picture of Bok Choy Caesar salad that she recently had at a restaurant.

I thought using Bok Choy for Caesar salad was a great idea, and I decided to make one myself.

I got this at a local Asian grocery store.

I wonder what “Mui” means…

But whatever that means, I do like this kind.

I tend to like the stalk part of many Asian leaf vegetables, like this or Napa cabbage, as that’s where the flavor is concentrated.

I also like its firm texture too.

The Bok Choy Mui was dressed with homemade vegan Caesar dressing, and then served with crispy ginger air-fryer tofu and vegan homemade Parmesan cheese.

This turned out amazing!!

I really liked the bitterness of the Bok Choy in this salad.

I think I like this version better than the romaine version.

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by : Reiko Breakfast, Vegan Cheese

Vegan Cream Cheese, Cranberries, Thyme, and Walnuts on TJ’s Pumpkin Bagel
ヴィーガンクリームチーズ、クランベリー、タイム、胡桃をTJのパンプキンベーグルにのせる

I haven’t bought bagels for a long time because I usually make bagels myself.

This was recommended by an SNS friend.

And since everyone is enjoying pumpkin-something now, I thought it would be fun to try it.

But the first thing’s first.

Cream cheese.

These are the ingredients I use.

I like the texture and the taste made of the mixture of tofu and cashew nuts.

It’s super creamy.

It’s soft when just made but it hardens when refrigerated.

The bagels have some nice pumpkin color.

They were a bit flat, though (maybe because they were tightly packed in the bag).

I like a thick layer of cream cheese on my bagel.

I don’t know about you, but I just had to keep going…

I just couldn’t wait until tomorrow morning, so I decided to do breakfast for lunch.

It’s hard to see, but there were pumpkin pie spice bits inside.

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by : Reiko Pizza/Flatbread, Vegan Cheese, Vegan Meat

Vegan Pepperoni and Cheese Pizza
ヴィーガンペパロニチーズピザ

It seems obligatory to make a pepperoni pizza when you have awesome pepperoni.

Well, to tell the truth, I don’t know any other dish where I can use my pepperoni (lol).

You usually do not see me make a pizza like this.

I usually like a lot of toppings including some veggies for sure, so you can imagine how hard it was for me to stop here.

But again, I made this pizza to show off my vegan pepperoni and mozzarella cheese.

It turned out great!

The Mozzarella did not melt the way the regular one melts, but it melted in its own way, and I was fine with that.

It was creamy and complemented the pepperoni so well.

I liked this vegan version so much better than the regular pepperoni and cheese pizza I had in the past when I was still eating meat and dairy.

I’m feeling pretty good about this.

Well, good enough to be boldly thinking about making this for my 15-year-old nephews next time they are over and see what they think!

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