by : Reiko Bread, Breakfast

Bagel with Fresh Figs and Blueberries
無花果とブルーベリーのせベーグル

There are a lot of fruits and vegetables I like, but figs are a few on the top of my list.

I should probably put it on my “love” list, not “like”.

So when I found organic black figs being sold at a store yesterday, I had to buy them.

They are SO good!!

I might have talked about this before, but I didn’t know what good figs taste like until I was vacationing at a resort in Mexico a few years ago.

They always had a plate of fresh fruits at the lobby every morning, and their figs were out of this world good!

That was when I realized that a few times I had had figs in my life up to that point were mediocre, to say the least (sadly).

I do like “organic” but it is not a huge issue for me when I choose my produce, but when it comes to figs I do choose organic ones without hesitation.

They just seem to taste better.

Homemade bagel.

Luckily I found the last one in the freezer.

It already looks good simply toasted.

But wait to see how it gets dressed up.

A thick spread of homemade awesome white creamy cheese.

I don’t know the best way to describe this vegan cheese, but it’s kind of a combination of feta, cream cheese, and goat cheese.

It’s got wonderful tanginess, creaminess, and a unique flavor, which can be found in all the three types of cheese I mentioned.

I could eat so many bagels just with this spread!

It was then loaded with fresh figs and blueberries.

Scrumptious!!

The time period when we can get fresh figs (from the west coast) in the Midwest is limited.

So I am intending to enjoy them to the fullest while I can.

Breakfast is ready.

This is my first blue plate I recently purchased from a store that was having a big closing sale.

I wasn’t sure how the food would look on it, but that turned out not to be an issue.

This blue color really makes food looks great.

I wish I had bought a few more pieces in this color.

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by : Reiko Sandwiches

Cheese Steak Waffle
チーズステーキワッフル

This was something I wanted to make for a while.

It’s not a difficult thing to make, but it does require preparation, mostly because I make my own cheese and “meat.”

Yesterday I finally had time to make my vegan meat, and today I sliced and cooked it to make the steak.

Doesn’t this look great?!

I also made my vegan cheddar yesterday.

So I was ready.

All I needed to do today was to make waffles.

I made sourdough waffles as I had the perfect amount of sourdough discard I wanted to utilize,

Love sourdough waffles, as it create a wonderful crispy texture outside and nice chewiness inside.

I kept it very simple.

Sourdough waffle, homemade vegan cheddar, homemade vegan steak, and a mixture of fresh spinach and arugula.

This was so delicious!!

I had a hard time convincing myself one was enough.

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by : Reiko Sweets

Vegan Madeleines
ヴィーガンマドレーヌ

Yes, I continue to bake madeleines, trying to perfect my vegan version.

The last two times I used egg replacer in place of eggs, but this time I used apple sauce for one batch and flax seeds for another.

I really liked the apple sauce version.

The color and the texture was perfect, and it was delicious!

The only thing was that you do detect the taste of apple.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not supposed to be an “apple” cake.

The flax seed version was okay.

It was still tasty and the texture was fine, too, but it was not as flavorful as the other versions.

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by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Rice/Grains

Creamy Coconut Azuki Rice Island Plate
クリーミーココナッツ赤飯で南国プレート　

Azuki red rice is a popular Japanese rice dish, and we enjoy it simply, usually with a sprinkle of salt and maybe black sesame seeds.

But I wanted to create something fun when I made my first Azuki rice.

I added some coconut cream, a little sugar, and salt and created this creamy risotto-like dish.

So good!

I sprinkled a little coconut flakes on top.

Since the rice had some island-like flavor, I decided to use it as a theme for the entire plate.

The vegan meatballs were coated with spicy-flavorful jerk sauce.

Coleslaw was leveled up with an addition of chopped sweet mango.

Turmeric cauliflower also added a beautiful yellow color to brighten up the plate.

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by : Reiko Breakfast

Sunday Breakfast with Shiso Tomato Salad
紫蘇トマトサラダ日曜ブレックファストプレート

I went back and forth between waffle breakfast and this toast breakfast, and I decided to go with this, mostly because I wanted to eat the tomatoes my mother-in-law gave us yesterday.

These are not the prettiest, but I actually like that, as they make them look less commercial.

They were naturally ripened with a lot of sun, and you can tell by just cutting them.

I simply combined the tomatoes with Shiso leaves, salt, and a little olive oil.

That’s really all you need.

Delicious!

On this plate you will find Shiso tomato salad, scrambled turmeric tofu, hash browns, sauteed asparagus, and cinnamon raisin whole wheat bread.

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by : Reiko Breakfast

Garbanzo Waffle with Teriyaki Tofu Steak and Kale Caesar
ひよこ豆粉ワッフル、照り焼き豆腐ステーキとケールシーザーサラダのせ

Here is a waffle dish that was made savory.

I did a little experiment, by making waffles with garbanzo flour.

It’s a dense waffle, but I really liked it as it was the right texture for this savory dish.

The waffle was topped off with kale Caesar, teriyaki tofu steak, and julienned radish.

It was a good way to start a day!

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Rice/Grains

Sekihan Azuki Red Rice
お赤飯

Osekihan, or Azuki red rice is something we eat for special occasions, typically to celebrate something.

You use sticky rice for this, and cook it with Azuki beans.

The beautiful red color comes from Azuki.

This was my first attempt to make Osekihan, and it turned out perfect!

I hadn’t eaten Osekihan for such a long time, and it was such as nice treat.

There was no special celebration, but being able to eat this dish after so many years itself was kind of a celebration (lol).

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by : Reiko Sweets

Vegan Madeleines
ヴィーガンマドレーヌ

I’ve been kind of obsessed with madeleines.

This is my second time making vegan madeleines.

Both times they turned out fine, and I did like them,

But madeleine is such a simple cake, and this is probably an only cake my husband eats without any icing or frosting.

I really want to make the best vegan version.

So I will continue to try different things until I feel I got the best recipe.

Last time I only used flour, but this time I used almond flour and flour, 50/50.

Interestingly, I (or my husband) did not notice a big difference.

So I think I’ll go back to flour only (not almond flour) next time.

I think I’m getting there in terms of oven temperature.

Next time the big change I want to make is using a different substitute for eggs.

Weekend does not come fast enough!

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