coffee jelly

Have you ever had coffee jelly?

In Japan, "jelly" is pronounced "zelly" and is a shortened version of "gelatin".

Anyway, you will often see coffee jelly on many menus here.

If you'd like to make your own, do this...makes about 2 servings

200 mililiters hot coffee
5 grams gelatin
20 grams sugar

vanilla ice cream

Make the coffee.
Mix in the sugar.
Using part of your hot coffee, mix it with the gelatin, so that it will not clump.
Put in the refrigerator to set.
Serve with vanilla ice cream.

NOTES: this is perfect for those humid days...I'm pretty sure you could even do this with tea if you don't drink coffee...happy summer!

re-connect

I made a small batch of coffee azuki gelatin yesterday, it's been a couple of years since the last time I made this.

I had a small amount of anko (sweet bean paste) that needed using up.

Some cherry trees have started blooming.

We've been having nice temps but are heading for a cold snap tomorrow.

How is the weather where you are?

things I'm liking (and disliking)

Some things I am liking and disliking...

Disliking...the new drink by Sekai no Kitchen...Maple and spices, sounded good...kinda tastes like chai but with a sickly sweet maple syrup flavor.

Husbands who come home from drinking at 2 a.m., make a ruckus while changing and showering, then fall asleep in a snap, snoring so loudly that their wives who had been sleeping peacefully are now rudely awakened and cannot go back to sleep...I won't name any names, you know who you are....

Quickly moving on to liking...

This bag by Elise Tran. My Aunty M had bought this bag for herself but after using it on a trip, didn't like it, so she gave it to me as an early Christmas present.

This bag holds everything I usually carry on trips...passport holder, hand towel, wallets, cell phone, organizer, train pass & foldable sun umbrella. (Thank you!)

Starbucks Milano Espresso...hints of chocolate...mmm! On the go, when I can't get a hot cup of coffee, I like this type of coffee drink instead of the canned coffees because the canned ones taste like...cans!

Plus, the canned ones have tons of sugar in them. It is cold, but at least I can get a shot of caffeine without all the sugar.

Duchy Originals Organic Orange Biscuits...this cookie is delicious with bits of candied orange peel in it.

Also they use organic wheat flour, and if I remember correctly a portion of sales goes to a charity in England.

Haagen Dazs' newest flavor, sweet potato pie...

Vanilla ice cream topped with a layer of sweet potato and walnuts. The sweet potato layer is a bit gritty/grainy, but overall a delicious combination.

Cleaning out the pantry, I found a really (really) old box of Jell-O....used it up with some canned mandarin oranges for a quick and easy dessert.

These tiny cups hold 3/4 cups of liquid, but were the perfect size for these desserts. I was able to make 4.

Kinda half liking and disliking this one...worms in the lettuce.

Disliking it because he made all the center ribs nasty looking, but liking it because if he is in there, it means this was grown without pesticides...

Diva Chocolate's Mocha Java Rub...after putting the rub on, the instructions suggest putting the protein into the refridge to meld for 30 minutes.

I cooked this on a grill pan and nearly freaked when I saw it all black, I used the tongs to scrape off the rub and realized that the steak wasn't burnt (whew!)

The meat was so tender, not sure if it was the grade of meat (black wagyu) or the spice combination in the rub or both.

This rub had some cinnamon as well as chocolate, it smells sweet when cooking but isn't when you eat it.

Disliking the fact that they are now out of business though--another business bites the dust due to the economy. (sad to see you go!)

Leftovers....now, I rarely say that I like leftovers, but a sandwich made from leftover steak, some mayo, leftover pistachio baguette and leftover veggie sticks made a great quick lunch.

My new 27 cm (10 inch) violet T-fal pan, 1468 yen (about US$14.68). I was recently looking for a new pan and wanted something "made in Japan", but almost everything Seiyu had was "made in China".

Luckily, I found this T-fal (made in France) on sale, another good thing about this store is that if you bring your own bag they knock off 2 yen, not much, but it is something.

The skies indicating that the season is changing and Autumn is coming....love it!

Is there something you are liking or disliking?

keeping cool

After reading this on Sue's blog in May, I've been wanting to try her recipe for Bi bim kook soo. 

2 tablespoons kochujang

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon sugar 

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

I only used her recipe for the sauce and put some bulgogi on top so that it would make this a bit more hearty for dinner. The sauce has just the right amount of zing to it, not to sweet, not too spicy, just right. I would definitely make this again.

A new limited edition beer from Minoh Beer, a local brewery. I've tried their Stout and written about it here. 

This beer was a bit different though, they used the juices from the cabernet and viognier grapes and then added the hops and stuff to turn it into a beer. 

It smells like wine, tastes like wine with fizz then the wine taste ends with a beer taste. Different indeed!

The other day, I made another batch of Coffee Azuki Gelatin. 

This time I didn't use condensed milk, I substituted skim milk for it and just let the sweetness come from the an (sweet bean paste).

It was a little bitter, yet refreshing and helped me forget about the heat and humidity if only for a bit.

Hope you are keeping cool/warm (depending on which hemisphere you are in)!

coffee azuki gelatin

There was a dessert, coffee azuki gelatin, that I used to make in Hawaii for office parties and kind of forgot about. Then, last month, when we were going to entertain Satoshi's friends and I was trying to plan a menu, I remembered about the dessert. I asked my mom for the recipe since the books that I have, didn't have it.

By the time I got everything together it was too late for the dinner party, but I still wanted to try it. The recipe called for gelatin, but I wanted to try it with kanten (agar). The only thing with kanten is that it has to be heated for it to start to congeal and once it sets, you can't re-heat it again to get it soft.

I used the kanten, koshian (smooth sweet bean paste), condensed milk and instant espresso and regular coffee. I cut the recipe drastically, because I didn't have much koshian, I also don't have a 9x9 inch pan and it was only for Satoshi and I.

It came out so hard that the spoon could barely pierce it! Plus, there wasn't that nice layered look that it is supposed to have. See, when you mix everything together, the an (sweet bean paste), sinks to the bottom and the milk and coffee tend to make layers too. Oh, well, so much for trying to use kanten...guess I'll have to tweak the recipe more if I want to use kanten.

I hated the fact that I failed, so I decided to try it again with gelatin and cut the recipe in half....success! I used a coffee that is made on Miyako Island (Okinawa)--Banbo(previously Ruka Coffee), they have interesting flavors, like Pineapple, Hibiscus and Sugar cane flavors, and they also have a very nice flavored coffee called U-ji Caramel. If I remember correctly, u-ji means sugar cane. The aroma of this flavored coffee is very sweet and paired nicely with the condensed milk and tsubuan (chunky sweet bean paste).

This is what the coffee azuki gelatin is supposed to look like--a nice gradation of colors.

The consistency came out nicely too--not hard as rock! This dessert reminds me of the times I used to ask my father to drink some of his coffee. Of course, he would say that coffee is only for adults and then he would save the last sip of his coffee, pour in LOTS of milk and sugar in it and then give it to me.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a try yourself.
Coffee Azuki Gelatin from Favorite Island Cookery Book IV (Hongwanji)
3 packages unflavored gelatin (1 packet of gelatin that is about 7g)
1/2 cup cool coffee
2 cups hot strong coffee
1 (14 oz) can condensed milk (about 414 ml)
1 (12 oz) can tsubu or koshi an (chunky or smooth sweet bean paste) (about 355 ml)

Dissolve the gelatin in cool coffee. Add hot coffee and stir well. Add milk, an and stir well. Pour into a 9 x 9 inch pan. Chill.

NOTES: Follow the directions for your gelatin, the one I had said to dissolve it into hot water, so dissolved the gelatin in the hot coffee instead of the cooled coffee. Also, I didn't have enough condensed milk so I poured out what I had and added regular milk to it to make up the rest. I mixed the milk and an together to soften up the an, then added the coffee with gelatin and then poured into different dessert cups.

Enjoy!