by : Reiko Noodles/Pasta

Spaghetti and Plant-Based Meatballs：Vミートボールスパゲッティ

Spaghetti is a comfort food for a lot of people, including my husband and me.

When I was little, I was always asking my mom to make “meat sauce spaghetti” for dinner, but it seems that in the U.S. spaghetti and meatballs is a more popular dish, and that is probably what my husband remembers as one of his childhood favorite meals.

I used store-bought spaghetti and Heinz sauce.

So, the star of this post is the meatballs.

I believe that getting the right texture is the key in making plant-based meatballs.

I’ve experimented with various recipes, but this one may be one of my favorites.

https://foodwithfeeling.com/easy-vegan-meatballs/#recipe

I had to modify the recipe a little because I didn’t have all the ingredients and I was a bit lazy in completing some steps, but they still turned out great.

I think the recipe is versatile.

I will still use it as a base recipe, but I’m looking forward to changing things a bit to see if I can make them to suit my specific liking.

Doesn’t it look great?!

Now I know how to make good plant-based meatballs, I have a feeling that spaghetti and (plant-based) meatballs will be a part of our dinner rotation.

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by : Reiko Other

Homemade Plant Based Butter自家製プラントベースバター

I always liked my homemade vegan butter, but when I got busy with work and everything else, I stopped making it.

We still needed butter, so we bought vegan butter from stores, and that was convenient.

But I knew deep down that I needed to make it again because I was missing it.

So, I’m happy to announce that I started making plant-based butter again.

I’m thankful that I now have time to do so without feeling stressed out.

And luckily, I can find all the ingredients needed to make the butter here in Bangkok.

Pancakes taste so much better with my vegan butter.

And crusty bread.

Seriously, this butter is amazing.

It looks like butter, melts like butter, and tastes like butter.

And no palm oil!!

This sourdough bread with my vegan butter and homemade ginger jam was scrumptious!

Sad to say, however, that it was the last bite of my ginger jam…

I ‘ve been using the same recipe for vegan butter.

https://avirtualvegan.com/easy-vegan-butter/

I use her original recipe (it seems that she has modified her recipe a bit from the one I use).

I’ve tried other recipes, but I haven’t found any better than this.

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by : Reiko Pizza/Flatbread

Ginger Teriyaki Pizza
ジンジャー照り焼きピザ

I made this pizza on Monday.

I don’t know why.

The idea happened to come to me that day.

We had Pizza Sunday, so that meant we had to eat pizza two days in a row.

Luckily, my husband did not mind (lol).

I tried a new recipe for pizza dough. https://sugarspunrun.com/the-best-pizza-dough-recipe/ , and I really liked it!

It was light, fluffy, and soft, just the way I like for homemade pizza.

My husband likes Teriyaki sauce, and he wanted to buy a bottle for a while.

I told him that I would make some for him, and I’m happy to say I finally got around to it.

I adapted this recipe, https://sugarspunrun.com/the-best-pizza-dough-recipe/ .

On this pizza, you’ll see soy meat, onion, mini bok choy, tangy sauce, and homemade ginger jam, along with the teriyaki sauce.

I made ginger jam when I received this beautiful fresh ginger as part of Happy Grocers’ surplus set.

You can grate it, but I decided to mince it to keep some texture.

Ginger jam is amazing.

If you like ginger, you should make and keep some in your fridge.

It’s so versatile, and you can use it for various things, like toast, pancakes, yogurt, ice cream…

I was pretty sure in my head that the jam would work on this pizza, and I was right.

It was such a lovely addition and took the pizza to the next level.

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by : Reiko Drinks

Virgin Mango Passion Fruit Mojito
ヴァージン・マンゴーパッションフルーツモヒート

I’ve never been a big drinker, but I do like some cocktails.

One of my favorites is mojito.

I don’t remember where I was the first time I tried the cocktail, but I do remember that I really liked it.

I was surprised by the use of fresh mint leaves, and I loved how refreshing it was!

Now I grow my own mint in a planter, so it seemed like a great idea to make mojito.

I got the basics, mint and limes.

Now not so typical ingredients.

I wanted my mojito to be a bit special this time, and I added mango powder and homemade passion fruit jam.

Since the passion fruit jam was already sweetened, I didn’t have to make syrup.

It already looked promising!

This was SO good!!

It’s October, but the temperature hovers around 90 degrees in Bangkok, so it was perfect.

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Tofu

Japanese Curry with Tofu Katsu
ルーから作ったよ、豆腐カツカレー

I was craving for Japanese curry for a while.

Luckily, they sell a lot of Japanese brands’ curry roux at grocery stores in Bangkok, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find any whose ingredients I was happy with.

So I decided to make from scratch.

I kept it simple and chose the veggies that are traditionally used for this type of Japanese curry: onion, carrot, potatoes.

Instead of beef or pork I added soy meat.

The secret ingredient was a little mango powder.

It is common that people add some kind of fruit (apple is a popular one) to curry in Japan.

It’s so subtle, so you don’t know you are tasting mango, but I think it contributed to creating the depth in the flavor.

Remember the cucumber pickles I made (the one on the upper left in the picture)?

A few days later they absorbed the marinade well and were ready to eat.

I like to serve my curry with pickles.

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by : Reiko Bread, Breakfast

Biscuits, Butter, Passion Fruit Jam, All Vegan, All Homemade
ホットビスケット、バター、パッションフルーツジャム、全部プラントベース、全部自分で作るよ

People have different ideas of what they want to do if they have more time.

For me, there are several different things, but the biggest one is being serious about what we eat.

I did cook most of the time when I was working full-time, but I definitely felt that there wasn’t enough time for everything I wanted to do in and beyond the kitchen, like researching about certain food, making plans for meals, deciding what to get and where to get, and organizing and improving the kitchen functionality.

Thankfully, now I do have time to do all of these things, and I do enjoy spending my time this way.

As part of the Happy Grocer’s surplus package, I received beautiful passion fruit.

We enjoyed some as is, and I used the rest to make jam when they were still fresh.

It turned out great, and you can really enjoy the wonderful flavor of the fruit.

I don’t like raspberry or blackberry’s seeds, but for some reason I like passion fruit seeds.

Does anyone feel the same way?

In order to enjoy the jam, I decided to bake biscuits.

I used this recipe https://www.food.com/recipe/southern-oil-biscuits-with-self-rising-flour-493512 .

(I didn’t have self-rising flour, so I just used the following formula: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1.5 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt)

So I got jam and biscuits.

There was one more thing I needed.

Butter.

I still cannot find vegan butter at stores whose ingredients I’m comfortable with, so I made some myself.

It looks like butter, tastes like butter, and melts like butter.

And I’m happy with the ingredients.

Just like the vegan mayo, it’s extra work, but it’s so worth it.

With everything ready, brunch was served.

Scrumptious!

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by : Reiko Sweets

Autumn Cupcakes
秋うららカップケーキ

I like to make vegan treats myself because it’s a bit tricky to find good vegan sweets even in Bangkok, but more than anything I enjoy baking and creating my own desserts.

As part of the surplus set I received from Happy Grocers a few days ago, I got these sweet potatoes.

When I realized that the inside was orange colored, I quickly thought they would be just like the ones we had in the U.S.

But when I roasted them, I noticed that they seemed rather similar to the Japanese style sweet potato, Satsuma-imo, because of its texture (creamier and fluffier) and its taste (sweeter).

I took the advantage of these features, and I made “frosting”.

(I purposely left a few small chunks for the color and texture.)

A little note to myself – roasted sweet potatoes, maple syrup, salt, coconut oil, soy milk

I brought several baking pans from the U.S., but what I didn’t bring was a cupcake pan.

They sell cupcake pans here, but I decided to go with these individual cups this time.

I wanted a “warm” flavor profile for my cupcakes, so I chose cinnamon.

These cups worked just fine.

The cakes were finished off with the beautiful, orange-colored sweet potato “frosting”.

I call it “frosting”, but it’s pretty much creamed sweet potatoes with a touch of maple flavor.

My husband was skeptical about the “potato” sitting on his cupcake, but with one bite he approved!

I liked them, too.

They tasted great, and I really enjoyed the less-processed “potato frosting.

It’s October, although the temperature in Bangkok hovers around 90 F degrees.

These cupcakes brought a little piece of autumn to our home.

I’ll be honest.

I do miss all the fall things in Minnesota, pumpkin patches, apple orchards, apple cider, Halloween decorations…

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by : Reiko Bread, Sandwiches

Oregano Focaccia & TLT Sandwich
オレガノフォカッチャ＆TLTサンドイッチ

I’m so happy that I’ve been having success with my new oven that I want to keep baking (lol).

My trusted bee wax wrap.

I use it all the time.

Focaccia is one of those breads that are easy AND fun to make.

I particularly enjoy the process where you make holes in the dough.

Ta-da!

Since I had the fresh focaccia, I decided to make sandwiches for lunch.

The tempeh is from Happy Grocers.

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2024/10/03/trying-to-eat-more-sustainably/

First, I spread homemade vegan mayo and Dijon mustard.

And then, lettuce, tomato, and tempeh, thus, TLT.

It was simple but so good.

I served it with a bowl of creamy veggie soup.

I cut the rest of the bread into small pieces.

We will enjoy them with olive oil for snack :).

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by : Reiko Fruit, Japanese Food

Trying to Eat More Sustainably
サステイナビリティに目を向ける

I’ve been interested in eating more sustainably for a while, but I wasn’t quite sure where to start until I found Happy Grocers.

It’s a store/organization in Thailand that focuses on organic farming, locally sourced produce, and seasonal consumption, all of which are things I’m very interested in.

They offer delivery service, so I decided to order some online.

You can choose items from their list, but while I was doing it, I came across something called “surplus set”.

It’s a mix of vegetables and fruits that need to be eaten or cooked right away.

It seems like a great way to help reduce waste, so I got that along with a few other items.

Because of the area where we live and how much spend, I qualified for free delivery.

My bags arrived on the day, during the time slot that I specified.

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount and the variety.

The quality was overall very good, too.

Other than one ear of corn which was past its prime, everything else was fresh, and many of them looked so fresh that I didn’t feel the need to eat or cook right away.

In addition to the surplus set, I bought tofu, tempeh, soy meat, and a Jerusalem bagel.

Since you don’t know what you get until they arrive, once they arrive, you have to make a game plan quickly.

Since I got them at 11:00 a.m. I decided to cook some for lunch and some others after lunch.

I thought ratatouille was a good way to utilize the yellow pepper, zucchini, eggplant, and onions.

I also decided to make another dish with the sweet potatoes.

The fruits were perfectly ripe and ready to eat.

They were so sweet!

This was my first time trying Jerusalem bagel.

It came with za’atar spice mix.

It was very tasty.

I love trying new things.

It turned out to be a great meal!

After lunch I prepared a few more dishes by using other vegetables.

Once cooked we could enjoy them for the next few days.

Like this.

This is miso eggplant x soy meat.

My husband is not a big fan of eggplant, but he liked this and had a second helping.

I served this over rice.

Celery kinpira.

Kinpira is a type of Japanese side dish, typically made of root vegetables.

Japanese style potato salad.

The mayo is home-made and vegan.

Pickled cucumber and shio-konbu.

I’ve also prepared a few more dishes with the produce from the surplus set.

Trying to come up with dishes to make based on what are provided is a challenge and fun.

It kind of reminds me of the old TV show, “Iron Chef” (lol).

Happy Grocers – https://happygrocersbkk.com/

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by : Reiko Other

Thailand Vegetarian Festival 2024
タイのベジタリアンフェスティバル

Thailand Vegetarian Festival, also known as J- (or Jae (Jay) Festival, started yesterday, October 2nd.

During this period many shops and restaurants offer vegetarian/vegan options.

I’ve heard that although they call it “vegetarian”, most of the food they mark as “vegetarian” are vegan, but I’m not 100% certain.

We found out that Chinatown is the place where you can really experience this festival, so we went to check it out.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by the size.

There were so many vendors participating in this event.

The yellow sign indicates that the vendor offers vegetarian/vegan food.

These “Takoyaki” were very tasty!

There were also a lot of naturally vegan vendors, like fruit vendors.

I got one of my favorite fruits, jackfruit.

I only paid 50 baht for it, and it was delicious!

This intricately designed Thai tea ice cream bar was also tasty.

In the evening, they close the street to cars so that people can really enjoy strolling and experiencing the food from the street vendors.

We went there in the afternoon.

There were already a lot of vendors, and it was not too crowded, so we were happy that we got there early.

If you are interested in vegetarian/vegan food, check it out!

The festival goes until October 11th.

Today I went to Max Valu, a grocery store, and I was happy to find out that they are participating in this event as well.

They set up a nice sized vegan/vegetarian section inside the store.

I bought a couple of meals to try.

Supporting the businesses that are participating is my way of supporting the event.

I also saw some convenience stores offering vegetarian/vegan options during this festival.

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