tofu "cheese"

Tried a new (to me) recipe that turns tofu into "cheese"

Recipe from Asajikan

200 grams firm tofu

2 chili peppers

2 cups olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

dried herbs: parsley, oregano, basil, rosemary

Set the tofu onto a paper towel with a weight on top to drain (at least 2 hours)

Cut into 1 centimeter squares and put into a 500 milliliter glass jar.

Add the chili peppers

Add the oil, salt and herbs.

Soak in refrigerator for at least 2 days.

Keeps for 5 days.

NOTES: I have a tofu container that has a removable strainer basket within the container, (which I bought at the 100 yen store many moons ago), so I put my tofu into this with some paper towel and a weight on top and had it in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.

Then I cut the tofu into cubes and put it into jars.

I filled each one using only a total of 3/4 cup olive oil.

Then I added 3 shakes of this herb mix into each jar and used a total of 1/2 teaspoons of salt.

It is not as firm as the marinated feta I have bought in the past and doesn’t taste like cheese, but it is a very inexpensive way to make this salad 

Also, if you cannot have dairy I think this is a nice substitute.

With the leftover oil, I will mix it with vinegar to make dressing and/or use the oil whenever I cook.

Next time, I would mix the salt, herbs and oil before adding to the tofu.

I would definitely make this again.

lemongrass butterfly pea tea

Tried this Lemongrass Butterfly Pea Tea from Kaldi.

Satoshi wasn't too impressed with the color.

Me, I love the color!

Because it is blended with lemongrass, the lemongrass flavor stands out.

I hear if you add lemon juice to it, the blue will turn pink...hope to try that!

Our temps are supposed to hit 30C (86F) this weekend...eep!

new

The weather is weird, one day cool, the next day hot.

Still, it's a new month so how about some new plants?!

I recently went to the DIY store and picked up these...spearmint, red bergamot & lavender mint.

I actually wanted to buy more herbs but refrained.

Hopefully I won't kill these with the cold weather coming up and can enjoy them as tisanes (herbal tea).

on the lanai

I caught a glimpse of the bell pepper, there are about 5, really skinny ones.

The four goya (bitter melon); 1 is really big, the others not so.

Since the "full sun days" are getting less and infrequent, I'm getting ready to harvest the cilantro.

Probably going to make salsa and some banh mi with it.

Hope your week is a good one.

sometimes for "clarity" you just need to "detox"

I think I've gotten your attention with the title of the post, no?

I was recently in the gourmet supermarket (Seijo Ishii) and came across their sale on teas.

Pukka Teas is a UK brand which I was introduced to when I won a couple of boxes from a Japanese foodie magazine that I used to subscribe to.

These two really jumped out at me...

Clarity---organic lemongrass, ginger & amla fruit. I didn't know what amla fruit was, but after looking around on the internet found out that it is an Indian gooseberry. This tea was warming from the ginger. The ginger flavor stands out the most and makes for a nice tea after lunch.

Detox--organic aniseed, fennel & cardamom. Loved the spicy aroma, this is definitely nice after dinner or a heavy meal.

If I am not mistaken, a reader once recommended "Detox" to me??

What kind of teas are you enjoying?

daikan

Last May, Nate sent me a foodie care package filled with goji berries, mayo (Best Foods) and several packets for his herbal chicken soup.

Summer was way too hot to make soup, so I finally made some last night. On the Japanese calendar, January 21st was daikan (literally large cold) which translates to the coldest day. So, what a better way to warm up than with some soup.

I put several pieces of chicken with the skins on, into some water, added the packet contents brought everything to a boil with a nub of ginger and some spinach, then simmered it for one hour.

I added some salt and pepper to taste and then threw in a handful of goji berries at the end.

Then with a fork, I picked out the skin of the chicken (otherwise Satoshi won't eat the soup) and then shredded the chicken. My version didn't come out as soupy as Nate's still, it was a nice, comforting way to warm up on a near freezing night.

Thanks Nate!

kyongdong herbal market

One of my students, Kazumi, just came back from Seoul. She stopped at the Kyongdong Herbal Market, which is known for their Chinese and Korean medicinal herbs. (The Koreans apparently call this market GYEONGDONG.)

She was kind enough to bring back some star anise and dried figs for me. (Thank you!) The star anise will come in handy when making chai or roast pork or chicken. The figs are quite sweet, but I wonder what I can make using them....any ideas?

hokkaido gourmet fair (part 2)

Remember I wrote about the Hokkaido Gourmet Fair held at a department store? (here) Well, on top of Satoshi's bento, I also bought some bagels made by Otaru Bagel. These bagels were interesting, gokokumai (5-grain) and earl grey.

These bagels were good and chewy. I particularly like the earl grey bagel. The bergamot oil from the bits of tea in the bagel were so fragrant and tasty.

I also got some herb tea from a company called Koyu-Seikatsu. I've bought this brand before when we travelled to Hokkaido. Their tea is certified Japanese organic and has many different herbs, one in particular is called Dokudami (Houttuynia cordata) I remember taking this tea while growing up, it was supposed to help with acne--but I think it is actually supposed to help you "go".

I was talking to the vendor at the kiosk and she was asking me if I had ever tried their tea. I told her, "yes" and she wanted to know if I had seen them at another fair that they had participated in Osaka. I told her, "no, I've bought your brand in Hokkaido". She was so thrilled that I remembered their brand that she gave me a free sachet of tea!

I guess it pays to be a foodie with a semi-photographic memory :)

Otaru Bagel
2-21-17 Shinko
Otaru, Hokkaido
Phone: 0134-51-3251

Koyu-Seikatsu
14-3 Kashiwagi
Kitami, Hokkaido
Phone: 0157-66-1201

Hope you had a great weekend.