by : Reiko Leaf Vegetables

Shungiku Caesar Salad with Vegan Fried Chicken
Vチキン春菊シーザーサラダ

It’s always fun to try a new recipe.

I’ve been making various vegan meats for a while now, but it still amazes me that you can “make meat” that is plant-based and tasty.

When I saw this post, I immediately got interested.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have all the ingredients needed, so I had to use some substitutes, but mine still turned out great!

The above picture is the vegan fried chicken I made with the “chicken.”

The texture of this “chicken” is so tender and I absolutely loved it.

I served the fried “chicken” over Shungiku Caesar salad.

This was so tasty!!

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by : Reiko Sweets

Lemon Cardamom Banana Cake
レモンカルダモンバナナケーキ

I found a banana in my produce basket that I had totally forgotten about.

I do eat bananas, but if I eat one fresh, I prefer it at the slightly under-ripe stage.

So this one I found needed to be used for baking.

I like banana cake, but I like to brighten up the flavor a little bit.

I soaked the cake with tangy lemon syrup while the cake was still warm first, and then I poured lemon icing later.

Delicious!

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by : Reiko Breakfast, Sweets

Caramel Tea Rice Muffins
キャラメル紅茶・生米マフィン

I loved the rice bread (made from rice, not from rice flour) so much that I decided to try another recipe from the same recipe developer.

Yes, these muffins were made of rice as well.

The result was absolutely amazing!

They are soft, moist, and perfectly (and not overly) sweet.

These muffins are so good not just for gluten-free, but just delicious period.

Rice must do some magic to create this great texture.

I flavored these muffins with caramel maple syrup and tea, and then added some blueberries (freeze-dried) on top.

Loved these!

The base recipe is here (in Japanese).

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by : Reiko Noodles/Pasta, Tofu

White Miso Casserole
白みそキャセロール

Casserole? Hotdish? or Gratin?

What should I call a dish like this.

This is basically cauliflower, Ticken (firm tofu cubes), and pasta, mixed with white miso cream sauce, they were put in a dish, vegan cheese was put on top, and then it was baked.

I think I’ll go with casserole.

I like how it sounds.

Here is before it was put in the oven.

Doesn’t it already look good?

Homemade pasta.

I used to try to form my pasta in certain ways, but lately I’ve been free-styling.

Since it’s homemade anyway, it really doesn’t matter how it looks.

The possibility is endless, and I just form it the way I feel like that moment.

This time I decided to go with two different shapes: one flat and one 3-dimentional.

This was just out of the oven (and garlic chive was sprinkled).

I absolutely loved how it looked!

Creamy, cheesy, and filling.

A perfect meal when served with light salad.

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by : Reiko Uncategorized

Shungiku Pasta
春菊パスタ

One of the reasons why I like going to Asian grocery stores is that I find something I can’t find at any other stores.

When I found this green leafy vegetable at an Asian market, I knew it was Shungiku.

I loved Shungiku when I lived in Japan.

I hadn’t seen it outside Japan, and I was so excited.

Interestingly, it was labeled as “Tongo”; after doing some research, I’m pretty sure it is the same as or at least in the same family of Shungiku.

I also learned that it may also be called chrysanthemum greens.

I hope this information helps, if anyone is interested in trying this beautiful greens that have wonderful herbal flavor.

Yes, I made pasta myself.

Every time when I want to eat pasta and realize I don’t have any dried one in my pantry, I ask myself why I don’t buy them.

But then when I make it and it was time to eat, I know exactly why I make my own pasta.

It’s so delicious!

Olive oil, garlic, cremini mushrooms, Shuungiku, tomato, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper.

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