falafel

You know whenever I make something, I'm a bit greedy and try to use the ingredients to make many different things instead of a lot of one thing.

For example, I made falafel yesterday. I used half the can of garbanzos for it and with the other half I made my favorite chickpea salad.

Since I used half an egg for the falafel, I plan to use the other half to make a small batch of oatmeal cookies.

Is it only me or do you do that too?

Getting back to the falafel, they were really easy to make and delicious, better than the ones I tried over the summer.

Here is the recipe I used, I left out the salt and pepper, and added some egg (1/2 an egg).

Falafel : About.com

1/2 can garbanzo beans, rinsed
1/4 onion
1 clove of garlic
fresh parsley, leaves only
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 an egg (optional)
1 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon oil

I whizzed everything except the flour in a food processor, then mixed in the flour.

Instead of deep frying them, I put 1 tablespoon of oil into a non-stick pan and pan fried them.

The mixture is quite wet, but when you cook them, they do firm up a little.

I served this with a mint cucumber tzatziki.

For the tzatziki, I mixed some mint, and cucumber with some yogurt and pepper.

NOTES: I ended up with 9 falafel, I think the amount you end up would depend on how big or small you make them.

They cook up pretty fast and had lots of flavor.

I'm definitely making these again. They are perfect for our meatless weekday dinners.

mascot

Awhile back, when I made curry, my blog friend Martin, told me about Mascot's Indian style curry paste.

I am always interested in finding products that make life in the kitchen a little easier without having to give up flavor while not having to eat a lot of preservatives or additives.

This curry paste doesn't use lard or shortening like the boxed roux I've seen (and used) in the markets. And it also doesn't use pork or beef in it, making it vegetarian.

Since they do not use meats to flavor their paste, they do instead use shiitake mushroom and kombu (seaweed) to up the flavor.

The label says that one bottle makes 3 servings of curry, but we had 6 "Kat sized servings" (about 1/2 a cup each) from this.

The directions on the bottle say to dump the paste into your pot and with the empty bottle, measure the water (total 2 bottle fulls--roughly 1 cup each).

Instead, I browned some onions, carrots, red bell pepper with some ground chicken in some olive oil. Then I added 2 cups of water, some garbanzos, potato and some spinach.

I let everything come to a boil then simmered it for 20 minutes (to cook the potatoes), then added the paste.

The result, a very flavorful spicy curry in about 30 minutes (give or take).

At 680 yen (about US$6.80), this curry paste is higher than those boxed roux, but for healthy choices, I'd say this is worth it.

Thanks for the heads-up Martin, this was delicious!

roasted garlic and red pepper dip

I had some cloves of garlic sitting out and wanted to use them up, so I roasted them with a red bell pepper and made a simple dip out of them.

3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 red bell pepper, washed
1/2 tablespoon EVOO

72 grams of cream cheese (about 2.5 ounces)
grinds of pepper (to your liking)
handful of Italian parsley, chopped, leaves only

Heat oven to 220C (425F)
Drizzle oil over garlic
Roast red bell pepper and garlic for 40 minutes.

Peel skin off of red bell pepper and take out seeds.
Peel garlic

Throw both into a food processor, whiz until a paste
Add in cream cheese, pepper & parsley

Whiz until you get the consistency that you want.

Eat with pretzels or bread.

Enjoy!

NOTES: too bad I had a dentist appointment Monday morning, this would have been perfect to munch on while watching the Super Bowl.

I want to try these two ingredients with garbanzos for a roasted red pepper hummus, I think it will taste like a pre-made hummus I used to buy in Hawaii...

p.s. today is Kenkoku Kinen no Hi (National Foundation Day), the day when the first Emperor, Jimmu, ascended the throne. It is a national holiday, hopefully the weather will be cooperative so we can get out and about, it has been raining here for the past couple of days.

sweet potato hummus

While the weather is trying to figure out whether it is Autumn or Summer, the markets are saying that it is Autumn.

Sweet potatoes are in season here. I love steaming them. The satsuma imo (sweet potato) turns a bright yellow.

In July, while I was in Hawaii, I found this recipe in "Body and Soul" for hummus using sweet potatoes.

Since I had some leftover sweet potato, I bought a bottle of garbanzos and tried this recipe.

I've put the amounts that I used in (italicized parentheses).

Sweet Potato Hummus from "Body and Soul" July/August 2009

makes about 4 cups (made a little over a 1 cup)

1 pound (about 453 grams) of sweet potato, steamed, cubed and peeled (150 grams sweet potato, steamed and cubed, I didn't peel all the pieces)
1 can (19.5 ounce) chickpeas, drained and rinsed (220 grams garbanzos about 7.5 ounces)
1/4 cup lemon juice (3 tablespoons lemon juice)
1/4 cup tahini (2 tablespoons tahini)
2 tablespoons EVOO
2 teaspoon cumin (1 teaspoon cumin)
1 clove garlic, chopped (1/2 clove garlic, chopped)
salt & pepper (I didn't add salt nor pepper)

Steam the cut sweet potato about 10 to 12 minutes
Whiz everything in a food processor
Add water if necessary (I added 1/4 cup of water)
Serve with pita and/or veggie sticks

NOTES: I think if I used more sweet potato, the flavor of the hummus may have turned out a little sweeter. While peeling the steamed potato, I thought it was a waste to throw out the skin, so I left the rest of them and found that it added some nice purplish flecks here and there.

My food processor is quite small, so there were a lot of "unprocessed" bits. Still I liked this, and would definitely make it again, maybe adding more sweet potato the next time, just to see if the flavors would be different. I served this with carrot and celery sticks.

trying new recipes

Yesterday, our area went into the rainy season, this is actually 12 days later than last year and is supposed to last for 40 days. Not looking forward to this muggy, uncomfortable weather, but it is something that has to be done, for the plants, etc.

So in need of some "cool" foods...Monday, I tried several new recipes for dinner. Here is my dinner tray.

One I found on Serious Eats, this recipe which combines tuna with garbanzos as a salad. It is easy to put together and delicious.

Fragrant chickpea salad : Nick Kindelsperger, The Paupered Chef, serves 2 -3

1-15 oz. can chickpeas, drained & rinsed

2 bellpeppers, red or yellow, diced

5 tablespoons EVOO

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 onion, diced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

2 teaspoons paprika powder

1 can of tuna, water/oil drained

handful of parsley, chopped

salt & pepper

Roast peppers

Heat oil, add onions & spices

Whisk in vinegar

Add all the ingredients

Combine well

Season with salt & pepper

NOTES: I cut this recipe in half. I didn't have sherry vinegar and subbed balsamic vinegar. I also didn't have fennel seed so I left it out. I ate this as is, but this would be great on baguette or as a sandwich filling.

The original recipe heats the spices and roasts the bell pepper, but I just dice and throw everything together without heating anything up. I do this a day ahead and we eat this cold.

Another recipe I tried was Ellie's "Muhammara" from "The Food You Crave". Another easy recipe which uses walnuts and roasted red peppers, it was great on this pistachio baguette I got from Ferdinand.

This baguette was delicious, filled with lots of pistachios from end to end!

The recipe uses bottled roasted red peppers, but I roasted my own, and cut the recipe to match the one red pepper that I roasted (actually for the tuna with garbanzos it uses a roasted pepper also and I roasted a yellow one for that).

I didn't have bread crumbs, so I added some ground flax seed. I also didn't have pomegranate juice or pomegranate molasses, so I used balsamic vinegar. I really liked this and want to try it as a sandwich spread.

The last recipe I tried was Ellie's "Chickpea and Spinach Salad with Cumin Dressing", which was also from "The Food You Crave".

I cut this recipe in half and used the remaining half can of garbanzos. I couldn't find spinach so I just served this on iceberg lettuce. I was really disappointed with the lettuce at the market, everything didn't look too good, even the iceberg lettuce. The salad also calls for mint, but I forgot to add it...still, I loved the flavors of the salad.

Actually all three recipes had overlapping flavors, so they all tasted slightly similar, but I really enjoyed them.

p.s. on Tuesday night I put some thinly sliced chicken in the oven with ras el hanout, salt and pepper and cooked it for 12 minutes @ 350F (180C). I put it into a pita with the muhammara and some lettuce...mmm.

sufferin' succotash

Sorry, I couldn't resist putting that as the title.

When I saw this recipe on Healthy & Gourmet, I knew I had to try it. Why? I've never eaten succotash before. I've only known succotash from Sylvester and Tweety cartoons.

It turns out it is like a bean salad (you can see a more detailed explanation on Healthy & Gourmet's post)

For the dressing, I didn't have red wine and added white wine vinegar instead (I know it probably wasn't a good substitution). Anyway, I made a mistake by adding too much, but it was still tasty. In place of the key lime, I used sudachi.

I also added veggies that I had, canned corn, okra, carrots, red onion, tomatoes, soybeans & garbanzos. I threw everything into a plastic container and poured the dressing on, then let it chill before eating. I think the acid from the lime and vinegar "cooked" the okra because the slime from the okra was quite heavy.

I loved the rosemary pecans, it gives this dish a nice crunch. Pecans aren't readily found here, I buy them at Down to Earth in Hawaii and bring them back. I also didn't have dried rosemary and used a little from my lanai.

This would be a great dish for a picnic or party. It is especially nice when you don't want to "cook" anything, just keep the nuts separate until you are ready to eat.

p.s. this was dinner on Wednesday. Satoshi is away on business so my kitchen has been closed...stay tuned to what I've been eating.

Have a good weekend.

odds & ends

It is the end of the month, so let's clean out the photos that weren't posted about.

Baked some scones using a new recipe. These definitely have to be eaten with jam--not sweet at all, still delicious though.

New version of stuffed bell peppers, added some renkon (lotus root) to the beef and onions and left out the egg.

Made some 3-bean salad (only with 2 beans--canned garbanzo & cooked daizu(soy bean)). Added corn, bell pepper and onion.

Curry fried chicken. Added some curry powder, salt and pepper to panko (bread crumbs). Dipped the chicken pieces in egg then dredged it in the panko mixture. Ate it with some tonkatsu (pork cutlet) sauce--delicious.

New version of Meiji's almond--this one has salted caramel wrapped around the nut. Japan's latest fad is salty sweets. Delicious, but gets quite salty after awhile.

Used one pod of the Lifou vanilla to make strawberry jam.

Have been enjoying the jam on yogurt in the mornings.

Cut some basil tops so that it wouldn't flower, put them in water---hydroponics?? (maybe) Planted them in the soil, hopefully they will grow.

Found these cute bananas, called "monkey bananas" in Japan and are also called Senorita. Thought they would taste like apple bananas, these were really sweet, not tart like the bananas we get in Hawaii.

Tried the Green & Black's Organic Cocoa. Followed the instructions on the can. Not much flavor. Kind of disappointing.

Got this Japanese confection from one of the memorial services. It is called Hakata no hito (lady from Hakata). A tiny baum kuchen with a sweet bean paste filling--delicious.

Our neighborhood 7-eleven closed on Friday. Satoshi and I are particularly sad to see it go because it came into the neighborhood the same year we moved into the neighborhood.

Another store which closed on Friday is the bakery in our shopping arcade a.k.a. my almost everyday lunch pick-up place. Since I have to find somewhere new, looked into buying bento (boxed lunch) from a sozaiya (pre-made foods store)--420 yen (about US$4.20)--rice with crunchy ume (pickled plum), hijiki (edible brown seaweed), tsukemono (pickled veggies), iwashi hamburger (sardine patty), tamagoyaki (omlette), pumpkin & kusamochi (rice cake mixed with yomogi (mugwort)).

spicy and cool dinner

Summers in Japan are HOT, hotter than the summers that I am used to in Hawaii. In Hawaii, we have tradewinds, this makes the heat of summer bearable, in fact most homes in Hawaii do not have air conditioning, or at least where I've lived in Hawaii, we didn't. Japan's summers have this awful, wet humidity that makes every piece of clothing stick to you. (If you've been reading this blog, you know that I do not like summers here.)

One dish that I really like during summer is tan tan men. Most times when I eat this dish at Chinese restaurants I usually can't finish it and give it to Satoshi, it is so spicy that just a taste will do. I found out while watching a program that Japan added soup to this dish, apparently when you eat this in China, it is just the noodles and no soup.

I've been anxious to try making tan tan men after I found a recipe for it in a cookbook I have called "Tenyu".

First off, you need to make ja jan, this is the minced pork which I used to make ja ja men. I posted about that here.

Tan tan men for 1 translated from "Tenyu"
50g ja jan
30g spinach
1 bundle of chinese noodles

Sauce:
1 teaspoon tsuonyu*
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
3 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
1/3 teaspoon minced tsa tsai (pickled mustard tuber)
2 tablespoons chimajan**
1.5 tablespoon ra-yu (chili oil)
1 tablespoon minced scallion

Soup: 320cc chinese soup

*tsuonyu is an oil that is made with leeks, ginger and lard
you can make your own with the following recipe:
300cc melted lard
50g green part of leek
30g thinly sliced ginger

Rip the leek with your hands and put into a pot with ginger. Put 50cc of melted lard into the pot of leek and ginger, cook until fragrant then add rest of lard. Do not mix too much and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Then turn up the heat to high and fry the leek and ginger. Strain the liquid. Keep up to 1 month in an airtight container, makes 300cc.

**chimajan is a sesame oil with more of a paste consistency like tahini. To make your own, follow this recipe:
500g sesame seeds
500cc canola oil

Roast sesame seeds in a pan until golden and fragrant, put out onto a pan to cool. The seeds roast pretty quickly so work fast, if burnt it will taste bitter. When cool, put into a food processor or meat mincer to create a paste, run through the processor/mincer twice. Bring the oil to 140-150C (I wasn't too sure what the Fahrenheit temperatures would be) and mix in with a wire whisk. Mix well. Keeps in an airtight container for up to 1 month, makes 850g.

Now back to making tan tan men....

Boil spinach and drain.
Prepare your noodles according to the package.
Put the ingredients for the sauce together.
In a bowl add the sauce, then add the soup. Place your noodles into the soup and top with the ja jan and spinach....enjoy!

NOTES: If you don't like it really soupy, the sauce and soup can actually be used for 2 people. I didn't use or make the leek oil, also I didn't have tsa tsai or spinach so I left that out. It still tasted great. I had somen (Japanese vermicelli) instead of chinese noodles. Oh, most important, I only put 1/2 tablespoon of chili oil. It was just enough heat to leave a little sting on your lips, without setting your whole mouth on fire.

So that was the spicy part of my dinner last night, the cool part was this 3-bean salad. When I was living in Hawaii, my mom would make this every so often and I like it because it is tart and makes your mouth pucker, plus I love beans! She uses 1 can each of green beans, kidney beans and garbanzo beans and adds diced onion and bell pepper. I couldn't find canned green beans and refused to pay the ridiculous price for canned kidney beans, so I steamed green beans and soy beans instead.

The recipe for the dressing is as follows:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup oil

NOTES: Try to make this a day ahead so that all the ingredients will be nicely marinated. I made this salad at lunchtime and it was pretty marinated by dinner time.

So, summer is finally here, the rainy season officially ended in the Kansai area yesterday. The cicadas are out and creating a ruckus. The news said that Osaka has the noisiest cicadas (um, okay...). They also said that today will be humid (I guess I jinxed myself...ugh.)