by : Reiko Bread

Vegan Pan de Muerto
メキシコの死者のパン、パン・デ・ムエルト （ヴィーガン）

One of the things I love about living in the U.S. is that I am exposed to various cultures and I get learn new things.

Yes, with all the social media today, you can do so in any country today, but it is still different in the U.S. where there are actually people living here that are from other countries and bring their own culture and food!

I knew a bit about a Mexican holiday, the Day of the Dead, but it was only a few days ago I found out that they enjoy a certain type of bread to celebrate it.

The shape definitely got my attention first.

It’s a unique one.

I did a little reading, and this is what I learned…

The round shape represents the circle of life and death, the crossed two pieces are bones and tears, and the ball on top is the skull of the deceased.

It’s so intriguing!

The Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1 and 2, and you are supposed to enjoy this bread during the week leading up to it, so I was pressured to make it this weekend.

And I’m glad I did.

I looked at various recipes, and the main flavor used by almost all was orange.

I also saw anise being used in many recipes.

I did use orange, but I decided to go without anise because simply because I didn’t have it at hand.

Instead, I added the almond flavor.

They turned out amazing!!

They are so light and soft, and extremely flavorful, while not being oversweetened.

I absolutely loved it.

I saw some pan de muerto that had some kind of cream sandwiched, and I wanted to try it myself.

I sweetened my homemade vegan cream cheese with sugar, and then flavored with a little almond extract.

This was so good.

I used this recipe (English) as a base and veganized it.

https://theothersideofthetortilla.com/2020/10/pan-de-muerto-recipe/

Here are what I did differently….

-I used egg replacer for the egg

-I used coconut oil for the butter

-I used bread flour and all-purpose flour, half and half, simply because I didn’t have enough bread flour (I loved how it turned out, so I may do this again next time too.)

-I used orange zest and juice instead of orange blossom water

-I used soy milk for the whole milk

-I used almond extract for the vanilla extract

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by : Reiko Bread, Gluten Free

V/GF Baguette
米粉バゲット

I’m not on the gluten-free diet, but I do enjoy baking GF bread.

The main ingredient is rice flour.

I was a bit skeptical, but it turned out beautiful!

The outside is crusty, and the inside is moist and chewy.

I had something perfect to try on my beautiful baguette.

I found this vegan caviar at World Market.

I like the store because they sell products from many other countries.

This caviar is from Denmark!

I thought it was a good product.

I was happy with the look and the taste.

Oh, and the price was not bad either.

I was happy with the results, and I will definitely make it again.

I hope the next one creates some holes.

I used this recipe (Japanese). ↓

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFqBR4UiE_c

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by : Reiko Potatoes/Squash, Soup/Stew

Cauliflower Potato Thyme Stew with a Secret Ingredient
カリフラワーじゃがタイム煮込み、秘密材料入り

This is a dish I made as part of my Sunday meal prep.

That’s when I try to make several vegetable and protein dishes for the week with whatever I have in the fridge.

As a result, they usually end up with a no-name dish.

And it’s also often the time when a really great dish is created.

This dish is one of them.

It’s a rather long story.

But in the morning, I made this for breakfast.

A few days ago I finally bought Marmite which I had been wanting to try for a long time.

When I first tasted it, I didn’t think it was for me.

I don’t know what I expected, but it tasted totally unexpected.

But I didn’t want to give up on it too quickly, and asked people if they knew a good way to use it.

Someone sent me a recipe where you roast potatoes with Marmite.

I didn’t have any potatoes at hand, but I had dried hash browns, and I decided to use Marmite for it,

It turned out…

Hmmm, how can I put it…

Interesting?

It wasn’t bad, but it was not great either.

Since I didn’t think either I or my husband would eat the leftover, I decided to use it to create a different dish.

That’s how this stew was born!

I just threw things in, but it turned out super tasty!!

Marmite definitely gave depth and richness in the flavor.

I will leave a note here for future reference for myself…

Cauliflower Potato Thyme Stew: olive oil, garlic, ginger, cauliflower, water, Marmite hash browns, soy milk, curry powder, cumin, cinnamon, sugar, salt, pepper, thyme

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by : Reiko Mushrooms, Noodles/Pasta

Fall Color Pasta with Garlic Cauliflower Cream and Farmers Market Mushrooms
秋色パスタ、にんにくカリフラワークリームとファーマーズマーケットきのこのせ

There are so many great fall foods, and I’m just so excited to create dishes with them.

This is not necessarily “fall” food.

I believe the orange color is from tomatoes, and the green one is from spinach.

But the colors seem perfect for this season.

The cauliflower is from the local farmers market.

And we got mushrooms from the local vendors as well.

They are delicious when simply sauteed with olive oil (and then salted and peppered).

One thing that was also in this bowl but not mentioned in the long title is pea protein ground “meat”, from Ikea, which I like to keep in our freezer.

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by : Reiko Koji, Pizza/Flatbread

Onion Koji Pizza
シンプル美味しい玉ねぎ麹ピザ

When it comes to pizza I usually say, “the more toppings the better!”

But this time I decided to savor the simple goodness.

Remember the koji onion I made a few weeks ago?

https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2022/09/27/koji-salt-onion-koji%e5%a1%a9%e9%ba%b9-%e7%8e%89%e3%81%ad%e3%81%8e%e9%ba%b9/

I’ve been using it for many different things.

It definitely enhances the flavor of the dish, whatever I add it to, but it usually takes a supporting role.

So, this time I wanted to make it shine as a lead actor!

Homemade crust, tomato sauce, onion koji, and fresh thyme.

With this pizza onion koji was definitely the star.

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by : Reiko Fruit, Pizza/Flatbread, Potatoes/Squash

Apple Kabocha Pizza with Cashew Yogurt and Pecan Nuts
林檎かぼちゃピザ、カシューヨーグルトとピーカンナッツのせ

Walking to the local farmers market is something we do in the morning on most Saturdays.

I love this little routine we have.

But you can tell things are quickly changing, with less leafy vegetables and more root vegetables…

This means we only have a few weeks left before they close until next spring.

One of the things we got from the market was these Regent apples.

This particular vendor was so knowledgeable and friendly, and she helped us pick which to cheese.

We loved these apples.

They are crisp, sweet, juicy, and just super tasty!

The Kabocha is from Trader Joe’s.

I have bought Kabocha from the farmers market in the past, but some of them that they were labeled as “Kabocha” did not taste like actual Kabocha.

So unfortunately, now I only buy Kabocha from stores.

I cooked the pizza with Kabocha slices (quickly pre-cooked in the microwave) and apple slices first, and then, it was served with cashew yogurt, pecan nuts, maple syrup, and cinnamon.

This was delicious!!

There is something so special about fall foods.

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by : Reiko Air Fryer, Tofu

Air Fryer Freeze-Dried Tofu
エアフライヤー・高野豆腐揚げ

Freeze-dried tofu, known as “Koya-Tofu” is great to add a big flavor to.

Usually, you have to remove excess water from tofu before doing so, but Koya-Tofu is already ready to absorb whatever marinade you have.

This is the only brand for Koya-tofu I see in the U.S.

The marinaded koya-tofu was quickly dipped in thick batter and cooked in the air-fryer.

This was really good as it was.

But…

I made this super tasty sauce, made of grated radish, minced garlic, salted Koji, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar (I think that was it).

I’m not a beer drinker, but I’m pretty sure it goes well with cold beer!

We have Asahi beer in the fridge.

It’s my husband’s favorite.

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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 Mushrooms, Noodles/Pasta, Potatoes/Squash

Fettucine with Pumpkin Cream Sauce, Tempeh, Koji Tofu Cheese, and Farmers Market Mushrooms
パンプキンクリームパスタ、テンペ、豆腐チーズ、ファーマーズマーケットきのこ入り

This dish screams autumn, and I’m loving it.

In Japan we say that the autumn is the season for reading, exercising, art, and eating.

I don’t know much about the rest, but about eating, it makes sense.

In Japan there are certain foods that we associate with fall and cherish, such as Matsutake mushroom, chestnut, persimmon…

And pumpkin is one of them too!

The freshly cooked fettucine was served with creamy pumpkin sauce, sauteed tempeh, Koji tofu “cheese” (previous post), and mushrooms we got from the local farmers market.

These mushrooms were sold as “ugly mix”.

They are past prime but still perfectly edible, and they sell them for a reasonable price, which I think is a great idea because we can avoid waste.

Apparently, they are popular, and when we got to the market, there was only a little left, and we bought everything they had.

We were advised to eat them within the three days, but we cooked and ate them the same day, and they tasted great.

What’s your favorite thing to eat this season?

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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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