by : Reiko Sweets

Lemon Cakes
レモンケーキ

My first lemon-shaped lemon cakes!

My mother used to make these when I was little.

Last time I went back to Japan, my mother was going to give me her pan because she was not using it anymore.

But then she couldn’t find it and realized that she had given it to my sister.

I didn’t think I would find lemon-shaped cake pans in the U.S., because I’ve never seen anyone I knew making anything like this, but I did find one!

It took me a few months to decide, but this COVID19 situation made me believe it would be a good purchase.

Isn’t it lovely?

Super lemony, and my husband and I both loved it.

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by : Reiko Mushrooms, Noodles/Pasta

Feta Garlic Mushroom Ravioli with Cauliflower Puree and Lemon Olive Oil
ガーリックきのこチーズラビオリ、カリフラワーピュレー、レモンオイル添え

I love ravioli because it makes a pretty dish.

The filling was a mixture of homemade vegan Feta cheese, mushrooms, and garlic.

One of the reasons I decided to make ravioli was because I found this cool tool.

It worked well!

The cooked and sauteed ravioli was served on a bed of garlicky cauliflower puree, fresh arugula, lemon zest, lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil.

This turned out to be a great dish, and I was super happy with the result.

I think my husband liked it even more, though.

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by : Reiko Breakfast

Apple Cranberry Shiso Pancakes
紫蘇りんごクランベリーパンケーキ

We had another delicious sourdough pancake breakfast last weekend.

I had beautiful Gala apples,

So I made apple compote and mixed in dry cranberries and syrop-soaked shiso leaves.

I was initially thinking serving plain pancakes with this on the side, but at the last minute I decided to add this to the batter.

The pancakes turned out great.

I served them with vegan butter and maple syrup, and it was good.

But actually I really enjoyed them plain, too.

They were very flavorful, and I liked the chunky apple and cranberry pieces.

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by : Reiko Uncategorized

Mushroom Feta Papperdelle
きのこチーズパッパルデッレ

I have always liked pasta, but I’ve been really loving homemade pasta.

Both making and eating.

Whenever I go to Target, I have to check out Bullesye’s Playground which is the first thing you see when you enter the store.

They sell seasonal (and not so seasonal) fun stuff.

Look at what I found the other day.

I liked the design and the price (three dollars!).

Now I can make fancy strips.

I don’t know if you knew, but I love mushrooms.

I could just eat a whole bowl of sauteed mushrooms.

Fresh pasta, sauteed garlic and mushrooms, vegan feta cheese, tomatoes, and Shiso leaves.

Delicious!!

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Mushrooms

Vegan Takoyaki: Vegan Octopus Balls
ヴィーガンたこ焼き

Well, yesterday I made Taiyaki, and today I made Takoyaki.

Sound similar, but they are very different.

Takoyaki is Japanese savory octopus ball.

I use King mushrooms in place of octopus, and this gives a similar look and texture, and I LOVE its taste.

Seriously, I don’t miss octopus at all, as these mushrooms are so tasty.

You pour batter first until it comes up half way and add all the things you want to add to the balls.

I used sauerkraut, scallion, ginger, along with the sauteed king mushrooms.

Pour more batter over to fill (you want to overfill) the holes.

Turn them and cook more.

This is the fun part!

Served with my homemade sweet sauce, vegan mayo, crashed fried onions, dried Aosa seaweed, and scallion.

YUM!

Vegan Takoyaki Batter (makes 25 balls): 250ml boiling water + a piece of Dashi Kombu (let it soak for about 15 minutes), 100g soft tofu, 25g garbanzo flour, 70g AP flour, a pinch of baking powder – Puree with hand blender until smooth. 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/4-1/2 teaspoon sugar

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by : Reiko Sweets

Taiyaki
たい焼き

Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake, typically stuffed with sweet red beans.

Taiyaki pan was on my list for a long time, and I finally pulled the trigger.

Well, this quarantine is definitely loosening my purse strings, particularly for things that I use in the kitchen.

Well, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and that justifies such spending, right?

This is exactly what I expected when I saw it on an online store site.

Nice size.

Light, compact, and easy to store.

My very first homemade Taiyaki!

It’s not difficult to make, but I’m glad I did my homework by watching some YouTube videos.

I did use sweet red beans this time, but I can’t wait to experiment with other filling options.

I wonder if you were ale to spot this one.

If you noticed one had a different color, you were right.

A little Matcha was added to the cake.

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by : Reiko Bread, Salad, Tofu

Sourdough Crouton Bowl
サワードウクルトン・ワンプレートランチ

This was my today’s quick lunch.

I had a lot of homemade sourdough bread cubes in the freezer and decided to use this as the carbs of the dish.

The cubes were toasted, combined with spinach-arugula leaves, and then dressed with mustard maple vinaigrette.

And then, avocado, grape tomatoes, and radish were mixed in.

Served with soft scrambled tofu and sauteed asparagus.

Such a nutritional, delicious, and quick meal!

Loved the crunchy croutons in this.

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by : Reiko Japanese Food, Rice/Grains

Kuruma-Fu Curry
車麩カレー

Japanese curry served over brown rice.

I like to make my curry from scratch, but this time I used store-bought roux.

I do admit it’s easy.

I mean really easy!

Anyway one of the things I added to the curry was Kuruma-fu which is a Japanese gluten product and gives a nice meat-like firm texture.

Another thing I’m excited to introduce today is this.

These are sweet picked shallots, called Rakkyo, in Japan.

When we were there last time, my husband really liked them, and we ate them a lot.

So I was happy to find this at the local Japanese grocery store back home (Minnesota) a few weeks ago.

I like to serve my Japanese curry and rice with some pickled vegetables.

In this picture you see Rakkyo and homemade sauerkraut.

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by : Reiko Sweets

Sweet Plum Shiso Muffins
梅酒梅紫蘇マフィン

Umeshu is Japanese plum liqueur.

It’s very popular, and a lot of people make it at home.

My parents would make it every year, and we would have a few vintage bottles.

The older it is, the milder it tastes.

It’s a sweet liqueur, and it’s delicious on the rock, or mixed with water or seltzer.

This is a little souvenir I bought for myself when we were staying at Fuji Lake Hotel in Japan.

It’s a box of plums (used to make plum liqueur) wrapped in Shiso leaves and soaked in sweet syrup.

Here is a plum!

Chopped plums and Shiso leaves were both generously added.

DELICIOUS!

Now I want to go back to see Mt. Fuji again.

I miss it…

This was the view we had from the Onsen bath in our hotel room.

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