CT Side-B – Page 139 – Unexpected greatness on the other side of the culinary world

Princess
プリンセス

The color of cantaloupe is just so pretty.

It screams “princess”!

The ingredients are simple: cantaloupe pureed with sugar and lemon juice, vodka, and seltzer.

I like cantaloupe, but I usually hesitate to buy one, because some of them are just not sweet at all, and there is no way to know before you buy it, cut it, and then taste it.

But the other day someone at work who knows that I like fresh fruits and veggies told me that the cantaloupe she bought the day before was so sweet and encouraged me to get one from the same store she got hers from.

I was not able to make it to the same store, but I did get one from a different grocery store.

And mine was sweet and delicious, too!!

The drink was simply garnished with cantaloupe balls.

My husband is not a big fan of cantaloupe, but he liked this princess bubbly as much as I did!

Leave a comment

April 15, 2018

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Breakfast, Sweets

Miyabi Scones
雅スコーン

Scone is usually not my favorite baked goods to pick up from bakeries.

They look and sound cool, but often times I get disappointed by its dryness.

So I got very excited, because these scones turned out to be not only tasty but also nicely moist inside.

This is something I’ve been somewhat obsessed about lately.

It’s roasted soy bean powder, called “kinako”.

Kinako has been used for many many years as part of the traditional Japanese sweets.

It was never my favorite, when I lived in Japan, but now I really appreciate its unique sophisticated flavor.

Trader Joe’s really does a good job with packaging designs.

They make me want to buy their product because they look good in my kitchen.

These beautiful Japanese black beans were a gift from my friend, and I thought these would be perfect to be added to these scones.

I wonder if using beans for sweets is only found in Asia, and if so, why that is…?

Just out of the oven!

These scones were so good, and I really enjoyed them with my homemade v-butter.

Perfect for breakfast and snack.

I still have some “kinako” left, so I guarantee you’ll see other things made with it soon here.

Miyabi Scones – makes about 8

175g all purpose flour
50g “kinako” Japanese roasted soy bean powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
a pinch salt
25g sugar
55g refined coconut oil, in solid condition
150ml soy milk
1/2 cup cooked Japanese black beans “kuromame”
soy milk to brush on before baking

1. Preheat the oven to 410F.
2. Combine flour, kinako, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Mix well.
3. Add coconut oil. Mix using hands.
4. Add milk and black beans. Do not knead.
5. Flat the dough, about 1-inch thick.
6. Cut out; I used a 7cm round cutter. Place on a pan lined with parchment paper.
7. Brush soy milk on top.
8. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Leave a comment

April 13, 2018

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Main Dish, Mushrooms, Rice/Grains

Awesome V Meatloaf
Vミートローフ

Meatloaf was one of my husband’s favorite dishes when we were still eating meat.

I totally forgot about even the existence of this dish, but a few weeks ago he talked about it, and I kind of took it as a challenge.

I have actually made vegan meatloaf in the past, but it was not my favorite.

Although it tasted pretty good, but the texture was off.

It was a little too soft, and “beany”.

So this time I took some time really thinking about the best ingredients and the process to achieve the taste AND the texture that would satisfy me.

And I think I succeeded!

It’s got a nice crusty crust outside, the inside is moist and juicy, but got the right texture, definitely not soft or “beany” at all.

It’s almost crazy that it looks like the real “meat” meatloaf!

With a strong request from my husband, this meatloaf was served with gravy, instead of ketchup-based sauce.

My V-gravy recipe is found here.

The more gravy, the better anything tastes!

Okay, one more picture.

I hope you can really get an idea of how wonderful its texture is.

Leftover meatloaf was crumbled into small pieces and cooked with additional herbs and spice to make Italian sausage and then added to my tomato sauce.

I served it over spinach bowtie pasta, and it was a big hit at our house.

Here is the recipe for the V-Meatloaf.

Next time I will probably double the recipe so that I will have extra for making sausage, burger, or meatballs.

That’s how much we liked it!

Awesome V Meatloaf

1 cup walnuts
1 cup cooked lentils (do not cook too soft)
1 cup cooked wheat berries
1 cup quick oats
0.5 cup baguette slices soaked in soy milk (and then squeeze the milk out)
mixture of 3 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and 5 tablespoons of vegetable broth
1.5~2 cups mixture of chopped and sauteed garlic (3~4 cloves), 1 onion, 2 stalks celery, 1 package crimini mushrooms
1 tablespoon soy sauce
a pinch of sugar
salt and pepper
dried thyme
canola oil for brushing

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Process walnuts in a food processor until chopped into small pieces (do not make it into paste).
3. Add lentils, wheat berries, quick oats, and baguette to the walnuts. Process (pulse) until the mixture looks half paste and half coarse.
4. Take the mixture out of the food processor into a large bowl.
5. Add the flaxseed-broth mixture, vegetable mixture, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, and thyme. Mix well.
6. Place in a parchment paper lined pan; I sed 9.5 x 5.5 x 2.5 pan, but only filled about a little over a 2/3 length.
7. Cook in the oven for 50 minutes. Brush the top with oil. Cook for another 10 minutes. I broiled the top for a few minutes to give the extra crustiness.

Leave a comment

April 9, 2018

by : Reiko Asian Food, Rice/Grains, Tofu

Yakko Rice Bowl
冷奴どんぶり

You may ask what is “Yakko”?

Well, you probably already know what it is.

It’s another name for “tofu”.

I don’t know why but we often use the term “yakko” to describe tofu dishes.

Napa cabbage.

One of my favorite leaf vegetables.

It’s crunchy, juicy, and I love the crunchy texture and the slight sweetness.

Radish is something I almost always have in my fridge.

Rice, a slice of soft tofu, and a mountain of fresh veggies, as well as fixings, such as grated ginger and chopped scallion.

Simple garlic chili sauce: garlic chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, oil

Very refreshing and satisfying.

This is a kind of lunch I can eat everyday.

By the way, these plates are also hand-made.

Since I don’t have much experience, when I put glaze on, I have some rough idea of the color my plates are going to be, but other than that I really have no idea of how (how dark, light, etc.) they will look.

So it’s always a kind of surprise when I go pick them up at the studio.

Yes, I still need to practice, but it’s so satisfying to eat out of a bowl my hands created.

Leave a comment

April 8, 2018

by : Reiko Bread

Bollywood Mango Rolls
ボリウッド・マンゴーロール

Homemade rolls are the best.

This is my homemade mango chutney.

It’s so easy to make and it’s so delicious when you make it yourself.

My hoemamde mango chutney was rolled in curry spiced dough.

This is just out of the oven.

They are good as they are…

But I decided to dress them up a little, with (store-bought) mango chutney glaze; I like this brand.

I sprinkled chopped fresh mint and cilantro.

Don’t they look great?!

I love anything savory and sweet, and this roll is savory, sweet, AND spiced up!

What could be better than that?

Yes, I’m still working on putting focus on food…

Have a great weekend!

Can’t believe we are having snow in April!!

Where is spring???

Leave a comment

April 6, 2018

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Rice/Grains

Secret Garden Sushi Cake
秘密の花園寿司ケーキ

Happy Easter!

My husband got me these beautiful tulips.

Tulip is one of my favorite flowers.

It looks so good in my white kitchen.

So for Easter, when it comes to food, it’s all about the pretty pastel colors, in my opinion.

Ham is out.

So, in that case, really anything goes, right?

So what did I make?

A sushi cake!

This was such a fun project, and I really enjoyed putting this together.

We are big green tea drinkers.

We usually stick to real Japanese tea grown in Japan, but this Harney and Sons’ Matcha Iri Genmaicha is my recent favorite.

Love the color and the design of the container, too.

It comes in individual bags.

I was happy to see the individually cut pieces looked still pretty.

Yep, I got my Easter blouse out.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

2 Comments

April 1, 2018

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Sweets

Adzuki Brownies
小倉ブラウニー

We hear that our country has been becoming diverse.

But when I saw “Adzuki” beans being sold at a regular (not an Asian store) grocery store, the word “diversity” really hit me.

I almost couldn’t believe it!

Adzuki beans are typically cooked to make sweet bean paste that has been a major part of traditional Japanese sweets for many many years.

Although some Japanese dishes (e.g., sushi, ramen) have become pretty well-known, adzuki has not really caught any attention.

So I was extremely surprised that they were this easy to come by.

The price is not bad either.

I bought 300g (0.66 lbs) and it was less than $3.

My mom cooks adzuki beans herself and makes sweet paste.

But this was my first time cooking adzuki, and I quickly found out that cooking beans can take time.

It took me a little over 2 hours from start to finish, but it was so worth it, because it tastes so much better than the store-bought one that I usually get from an Asian store.

There are so many things you can make with this, but there was a recipe I wanted to try.

Brownies!

Adzuki beans and chocolate?

Well, it’s actually not a bad combination.

These brownies are tasty yet light, and before you know it, your hand is reaching for one after another.

The recipe called for rice flour.

I don’t have a lot of experience baking with rice flour, so I didn’t know what to expect.

But I really liked the final result.

Texture-wise, it’s closer to cake than brownies.

These can be a nice little gift when wrapped individually.

By the way, I started pottery again.

I’m still the super beginner, and there are a lot to learn.

But I really enjoy serving food on my own plate.

2 Comments

March 31, 2018

by : Reiko Leaf Vegetables, Sandwiches

Just For You JF BBQ Sandwich
ジャスト・フォー・ユーBBQサンドイッチ

BBQ Sandwich.

This is one of the sandwiches that make my husband happy.

The main ingredient is jackfruit.

The keys to make canned jackfruit taste better are 1) take off the salty taste from the can as much as possible and 2) dry well and then cook until browned to give flavor.

I like my BBQ sandwich with fresh coleslaw, and I’m always on a hunt for fun things to add to make it interesting.

I also like to add some type of fat to my sandwich.

Avocado is such a difficult thing.

The timing is so tricky.

It’s like “I’m not ready, not ready, not ready, not yet… then READY! Eat me NOW!”

I feel like avocados are running the show at times, because I often find myself planning my meals around the ripeness of avocados.

First avocado slices, and then a heap of BBQ jackfruit.

Then coleslaw.

The main ingredients of this coleslaw are napa cabbage, apple, and ginger.

Very refreshing!

It’s almost too pretty to cover up.

Looks pretty good, huh?

I thought about serving it with fried potatoes, but why not veggies??

Asparagus is so beautiful, tasty (sweet!), and cheap right now, so lightly sauteed asparagus accompanied the sandwich.

I don’t think anybody will object.

Leave a comment

March 30, 2018

by : Reiko Breakfast

L.H.P. French Toast
L.H.P. フレンチトースト

My initial plan was to make Matcha flavored french toast.

But I thought it would be fun to add another flavor to it.

–

Then I remembered something.

Leah’s Happy Place!

If you live in the Twin Cities, you may know what I’m talking about.

There is a great neighborhood cafe, called Cafe Astoria.

One of their specialties is Leah’s Happy Place, which is Matcha Lavender Latte, with a sprinkle of pistachio.

First time I saw it on the menu, I was somewhat skeptical.

Lavender and Mathca???

I’m glad my husband wanted to try, because I fell in love quickly just after one sip.

So I decided to try this flavor combination on my french toast.

I pretty much perfected (I think!) my vegan french toast last time I made it, so I used this recipe as a base.

And it turned out awesome!!

It has the right ratio of Matcha and lavender.

You can taste them both, complimenting each other.

I served it with homemade V-butter, maple syrup, and chopped pistachio.

L.H.P. french toast will stay on my “menu” at our house for sure!

Cafe Astoria is listed on My Favorite Restaurants page.

L.H.P. French Toast Batter Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 tablespoons chickpea flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
a pinch of salt
Matcha powder – about 1/2 tablespoon
ground dried lavender (sold for tea) – about 1/2~1 tablespoon

Leave a comment

March 25, 2018

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Breakfast, Tofu

Anything Goes Shakshuka
こんなのもいいシャクシュカ

Shakshuka was one of my favorite weekend breakfast dishes.

So when I switched to the 100% plant-based diet, I thought I would have to say good-bye to it forever.

But once I became more confident in plant-cooking, I thought maybe I could still enjoy the dish with a little twist.

So this shakshuka was made with soft scrambled tofu instead of poached eggs.

Well, anything goes, after all, when it comes to home-cooking right? (lol)

This shakshuka not only has a totally different look outside, but also contains a lot of yumminess inside, like lentils and eggplant,which makes the dish a little more substantial.