by : Reiko Sandwiches

Jackfruit Cake Croissant Sandwich
クロワッサンサンド

Eureka Compass Vegan Food makes awesome vegan baked goods.

I love their stuffed croissants, but I also like to get some extra plain croissants.

I have used them to make bread pudding, but usually I enjoy making sandwiches with them.

I’m a strong believer that bread is as important as (or more important than) what gets sandwiched.

I happened to have something fun to use for my sandwich.

I had just found and bought Jackfruit Cakes at Trader Joe’s.

The ingredients look decent.

Looks pretty good.

I got other components ready.

Ready to put it all together!

Arugula, Jackfruit Cake, tomato, cabbage, and homemade spicy mayo.

Lovely!

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by : Reiko Breakfast

Rustic Scones with Cheddar and Arugula
チェダールッコラ・ざくざくスコーン

I was in the mood for country-style rustic scones.

I used whole wheat flour for one-third of the flour.

I knew I wanted to make cheddar scones, because I still had beautiful homemade vegan cheddarleft.

But then I saw a bag of fresh arugula, and I thought this green would go well with the bright orange color of the cheddar.

The cheddar melted and solidified BEAUTIFULLY, and the scones turned out exactly (or actually so much better than) how I wanted!

Aren’t they just gorgeous?!

They were fresh, cheesy, salty, and a little sweet.

Just perfect scones, if you ask me.

Served with my homemade vegan butter.

This was a huge hit at our house.

My hubby loved it too.

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by : Reiko Sweets

Persimmon Galette with Brandy Cream
田舎柿パイ、ブランデークリーム添え

Persimmon has become easier to find in the U.S. lately.

The last few years I’ve been able to find it at Costco.

It’s one of the most popular fruits this time of the year (fall-winter) in Japan.

My parents actually have a persimmon tree in their yard, and they harvest hundreds of them every year.

The interesting thing is that when I’m carrying persimmons, almost always a stranger asks me questions like “What are they?” “What does it taste like?” “How do you eat it?”, etc.

They are delicious fresh (you do need to peel the skin).

It makes a great salad. Peel and slice. Combine with fresh kale and serve with maple mustard dressing. Yum!

You can make delicious jam with persimmon.

But my favorite is probably a pie.

I used my trusted/my current favorite vegan pie crust recipe for this.

The persimmons were peeled, sliced, and then combined with fresh lemon juice, a little sugar, and a little corn starch.

I served it with brandy coconut cream.

DELICIOUS!

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by : Reiko Noodles/Pasta

Gochujang Macaroni and Cheese
コチュジャン風味マカロニ・アンド・チーズ

I liked the vegan cheddar cheese so much that I wanted to make something to showcase the cheese.

I thought macaroni and cheese would be a good one.

The macaroni was added to my cream sauce.

This picture (above) shows the pot right after the cheddar cheese was added.

The cheese was beautifully melted and added the beautiful orange color.

Okay.

I know macaroni and cheese usually does not contain anything green, but if you ask me, it’s a shame, although my nephews would disagree.

Since I didn’t have to share this with any kids, I couldn’t help but adding broccoli.

It already looks better with the beautiful green color.

I could have stopped, but I thought adding gochujang would give the right amount of sweetness and spiciness, and I was right!

Earlier I was gonna say “Who doesn’t like macaroni and cheese”, but I know someone who is not a big fan.

My husband.

So I was initially thinking about keeping it all to myself.

But guess what?

After having a small bowl, he declared that it was good, and he came back for more (yeah!).

I was happy sharing.

Good food is always meant to be shared.

The Gochujang Macaroni and Cheese was served with fried onion and fresh scallion.

Delicious!!

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by : Reiko Potatoes/Squash, Soup/Stew

Chili and Chips
チリ・アンド・チップス

Chili and Chips!

First, chili.

I used my homemade vegan meatballs.

They were roughly crumbled and they kept their texture in chili really well.

Potatoes are not probably the typical thing that accompanies chili, but why not?!

I oven-baked them, and they turned out delicious!!

I probably like these more than fried ones.

I like my chili with something sour, cheesy, and creamy, so that’s what I made.

This is cashew-based, and you can do so much with the nuts.

More fixings.

This was my first time to have potatoes with chili, but I really liked it!

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by : Reiko Bread, Other

LIV-Cheddar Cheese
Vチェダーチーズ

When I saw the recipe at Loving It Vegan, I had to try it.

My husband likes to have vegan cheese around in the house, but we’ve been out of it for a while.

I’m not a huge fan of store-bought cheese (I’m a strong believer that homemade is always better!), and I thought I should give it a try.

I knew it was going to be delicious, because I couldn’t stop licking the container where everything was blended.

I waited overnight, and it turned out great!

So smooth, and it’s even got some holes just like dairy cheese.

A few slices of the beautiful cheddar cheese on freshly home-made crusty bread.

So pretty and delicious!

Served with a little lingonberry jam and fresh thyme.

I will definitely make it again!

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by : Reiko Leaf Vegetables, Main Dish, Potatoes/Squash

Thanksgiving 2018
感謝祭２０１８年

This was our second year plant-based Thanksgiving.

I got a little help from The Herbivous Butcher.

Guess what we got?

Turducken!

I got my collection of vintage (and not so vintage) plates out.

It turned out great!

Menu:
Turducken from The Herbivous Butcher
Cornbread with V butter
Braised Kale and Lentils
Spiced Maple Butternut Squash
Green Bean Casserole
German Apple and Red Cabbage

Loved all the vibrant colors on the plate.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend.

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