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.

recreated

Sometimes when you taste something, you know exactly how to make it again when you get home.

Such was the roasted onion dish we had in Awajishima last month.

All you need to make this is:
sweet onions
your favorite bolognese sauce
shredded cheese
a little olive oil

Grease the dish you will be baking this in with some olive oil.
Peel your onions then make an "X", don't cut all the way through.
Drizzle a little olive oil into the "X"
In a 400F (200C) oven, roast the onions (uncovered) for about 30 minutes.
Add the bolognese sauce and cheese (amounts up to you), then put back into the oven for another 20 minutes.
The cheese should be a little browned at the end of the 20 minutes, if not put it in a couple more minutes.

NOTES: super easy and super delicious! Satoshi gave this a thumbs up. I'm making this again.

me-li-le poom!

Okay, so there was the "mantra" Me-li-le-pi Om!

Now I introduce you to "Me-li-le Poom!"

Mexican Lime, Lemon, Poppy Olive Oil Muffins.

I found some blue poppy seeds at the gourmet supermarket (Seijo Ishii) and since I had some lemon in my refridge, I decided to "re-try" this muffin, this time remembering to add the lemon juice.

I loved the popping of the poppy seeds in my mouth and the citrusy-ness.

This was moist and perfect for afternoon tea and for breakfast.

Follow this recipe subtracting the pistachios, but adding the juice of 1 lemon and 15 grams (about 2 tablespoons) of poppy seeds.

me-li-le-pi om!

"Me-li-le-pi Om!" Is a Zen mantra...not!

The weather on Thursday was cold and rainy so I stayed indoors and tried to keep myself entertained by making some sunshine.

The "mantra" stands for Mexican Lime Lemon Pistachio Olive oil Muffins...I shortened it because, well, it was too long! (See what happens when I stay indoors all day long??...)

I've been intrigued with many posts about olive oil cakes/muffins. Looking at the many online recipes, it seems as though they use olive oil in place of butter, so using a muffin recipe that I always use, I subbed a Mexican Lime Olive Oil which I had received from my cousin way back when.

The oil was amazingly still good and very fragrant.

I had intended to also put some lemon juice into the batter (squeezed the lemon and everything) but totally forgot to, so the recipe only has the zest of a lemon in there (and I had a nice yet sour apertif while waiting for these to bake).

The muffins came out very moist, citrus flavors are strong with a little crunch from a handful of pistachios (should've added a little more!). (I received the pistachios from Rowena, thank you!)

Here is the recipe if you'd like to try it: makes 6
150 grams flour
6 grams baking powder
1 egg
80 grams sugar
50 grams Queen Creek Mexican Lime Olive Oil
70 mililiters milk
handful of pistachios
zest of 1 lemon, minced

Sift flour and baking powder, set aside.
Throw in zest and pistachios into flour mixture to coat

With a hand mixer, beat egg and sugar
Add in oil and milk, beat a little longer

Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix well with a rubber spatula

Bake at 180C (350F) for about 25 minutes.

NOTES: Actually, I was envisioning a lemon poppy olive oil muffin, but couldn't find black poppy seeds, only white. Then I got to thinking about the pistachios I received from Rowena and lemon. And then remembered I had the lime olive oil tucked away in my cupboard.

Anyway, this was very citrusy and moist. I would definitely make this again especially when I am too lazy to defrost some butter.

Even though the weather outside was miserable, I'd say there was a lot of sunshine in my kitchen.

potato chips

I love potato chips, but the oil that most companies use aren't really good for you (that is probably why they taste so good!)

Anyway, I was reading La Fuji Mama and she was making sweet potato fries in her oven. Since I didn't have sweet potatoes (though I will try her recipe soon), I decided to try making potato chips in mine.

I sliced two "danshaku" potatoes thinly (note: be careful and don't nip the tip of your finger with the knife or in my case, finger nail...yipes! thank goodness there was the finger nail protruding...)

Dry potato slices and coat well with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Arrange on broiler pan or piece of foil. I then sprinkled some salt and some Herb de Provence.

Stick into 220 C (425 F) oven for 30 minutes.

Makes a great snack or nice accompaniment to a salad.

NOTE:Growing up in Hawaii, I only knew of red potatoes, russett and yukon gold. In Japan there are several varieties of potato, the ones mostly seen in the markets are danshaku and may queen. The may queen variety is mostly used in stews and curries.

It is another holiday here, Autumn Equinox.