easy gravlax

Do you like gravlax? I do.

I recently saw this post on Deb's blog.

The recipe is super easy and fast, which is why I wanted to try it. I think if you make traditional gravlax it takes several days.

I roasted a red pepper, some kabocha (pumpkin), an onion, and some sweet potato to make a warm salad. I also added some lettuce on the bottom.

After the salmon was marinated, I added some dried dill, dried tarragon and fresh parsley. Deb uses fresh herbs, but I only had fresh parsley.

For the dressing, I used the vanilla vinaigrette.

It was a great combination and I loved the flavors.

So far this week we've had this for dinner two times, once with the veggies mentioned above and the second time with different roasted veggies (eggplant, red pepper, sweet potato and carrot). Thanks for sharing a great recipe Deb, if I could get my hands on some guava puree, I would try those bellinis too!

trying new recipes

I recently saw this recipe on Foodbuzz, I cut the recipe down to fit my "50 gram butter restrictions". (If you have been following this blog, I cut all recipes that call for butter to 50 grams then scale down the rest of the ingredients to stretch a block of butter. This way I don't make a lot (which I would end up eating myself if I made the full batch) and instead of 1 recipe I can try 4 different ones because 1 block of butter is 200 grams. Oh and unsalted butter is still kind of scarce where I am).

Because I cut the recipe down, I wasn't too certain as what to bake it in, so I filled a greased round tin and baked it for the amount of time suggested.

The recipe calls for lavender sugar, which I had, but I only put in 1 tablespoon and subbed regular sugar for the rest because I feared it would be bitter with that much lavender in there. I also added some slivered almonds and a handful of cacao nibs. The edges came out a bit crispy and overall it was thinner than the recipe suggests, but it was delicious with a light lavender taste.

Another recipe I tried was on the Queen Creek Olive Mill site. The recipe was for Vanilla Bean Vinaigrette. It actually calls for vanilla infused olive oil, but because I didn't have that, I scraped 1/2 a pod and put that into my food processor, then I added 1/2 a teaspoon of dried tarragon, 3/4 tablespoon of honey, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. While whizzing it, I added 6 tablespoons of EVOO.

The vanilla flavor was subtle....drizzled on my warm steak salad...Delicious.

Today is Thanksgiving in the States, we don't celebrate it here in Japan, I've never even seen turkey in the markets. In fact, Japan has skipped over Thanksgiving totally and is in Christmas mode. As soon as Halloween was over, the next day up went the Christmas displays. I'm going to miss all the good food but mostly I'm going to miss being with family and friends. Hope you have a great day--Happy Thanksgiving!

kinoko and kaki

It is mushroom season here. The supermarkets are filled with all sorts of different kinoko (mushrooms).

Satoshi had to work on Saturday, so I made dinner. I used to meet him in Umeda for dinner, but his job doesn't always end on time, and sometimes I would have to wait until 8:00 pm or 9:00 pm, so instead of waiting around for him to finish, I started making dinner so that I can eat when I was hungry.

Saturday's dinner was beer clams...except that I used white wine and added some maitake (hen of woods) mushrooms. I served them on toasted french bread. (The best part was dipping the toasted bread into the sauce...)

I also made some carrot cucumber salad and marinated some red onion and red bell pepper in the mustard seed vinaigrette.

Monday's dinner was adapted from the French Market.

Pork with eringi and porcini mushrooms (Serves 2)
213 grams (7.5 ounces) thinly sliced pork
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 eringi mushrooms, thinly sliced
handful of dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted, saving some of the mushroom "juice" (strained)
pinch of dried garlic slices
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
flat leaf parsley

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the thinly slice pork.
In another pan, heat the other tablespoon of oil and add the mushrooms.
Cook the mushrooms for about 4 minutes then add the vinegar and garlic.
Add the mushroom mixture to the pork after the pork is no longer pink.
Simmer for about 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Garnish with flat leaf.

Serve on toasted french bread (again dipping the bread in the sauce was the best!).

Simple and delicious.

It is also kaki (persimmon) season here. Recently my MIL gave us 3 bambucha (huge) kaki...each was about 300 grams (about 10 ounces).

Actually, I've never purchased kaki in the supermarkets because I didn't really like them. I think I've had persimmon in the past that was not ripe and really hard.

But after eating them over the past couple of days, they sort of reminded me of ripened papaya. I'll try picking some up the next time I'm in the supermarket.

We've started the weekend early here, be back to tell you about it soon.

li hing vinaigrette

I've written about li hing in the past. It is a local favorite in Hawaii.

When my Aunty was getting things together for her trip to Japan, she asked me what I wanted. I asked her to buy me some li hing powder.

She was nice to bring the powder and also some dried mango and dried cranberries with the li hing powder on it. (Thanks Aunty!)

I recently saw a recipe for li hing vinaigrette which is apparently being served in Alan Wong's restaurants and in the first class on Aloha Airlines.

The recipe is quite easy. I was leery of putting a raw egg into this, so I subbed the raw egg, lemon juice and salt with mayo.

Anyway, this is a very tangy dressing and great on a salad.

Li Hing Vinaigrette adapted from Alan Wong's
1 tablespoon li hing powder
1 tablespoon ume paste (pickled plum paste)
1/8 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons evoo
1 dollop of mayo
several grinds of pepper

Combine everything well. Use on salad.

NOTES: Although I subbed the egg with mayo, I think I may try it with the egg just to see if there is a difference. This dressing was quite salty, so use sparingly.

dinners & breakfast

As you'll probably notice I've been hooked on "the carrot salad"--it is so simple to make and I love the refreshing flavor...

Friday's dinner was gyo-burg (gyoza burgers) with carrot salad and steamed green beans with a lemon oregano vinaigrette, rice and kurumi tsukudani.

Saturday's breakfast was egg salad sandwiches made with Best Foods mayo which I got from Nate (HwnPakeOkinawa). Growing up with Best Foods, there really is no other mayo. (Thanks Nate!) We also had carrot salad and steamed green beans, plus white peach.

Sunday's dinner buta kimchee (pork with kimchee) omlette, more carrot salad, the last of the kurumi tsukudani and rice.

Last night's dinner minced pork with corn in a miso butter sauce over rice with carrot salad.

This recipe comes from a cookbook I have called "Natsu ni oishii kondate" by Orange Page.
Serves 2
1/2 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic
150g minced pork
1 corn on the cob
100g green beans

400g cooked rice

Sauce:
1 teaspoon tobanjan (chili paste)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons miso (soy bean paste)
2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
2 tablespoons water

ground white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon butter

Preparation:
cut the kernels off of the cob and rinse.
cut the beans into 1 cm pieces, rinse.

1. Heat the oil on low and add the garlic
2. When you can smell the garlic, add the pork, turn heat up to high and stir
3. When the pork has turned color, add the corn and beans and stir
4. Coat everything with the oil and add the sauce ingredients.
5. Turn heat down to medium and coat everything in the sauce.
6. When everything starts to turn thick add the butter to finish.
7. Serve over rice and top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

NOTES: You could use canned corn, but I'm not too sure on the portions. When you add the sauce ingredients, make sure that the miso is completely "melted" and the sauce is smooth. I didn't have white sesame seeds, so I used black ones. Also, if you are watching your calories you could probably omit the butter at the end.

Enjoy!

ho ho ho....bah humbug...sigh

It is Christmas Eve. Satoshi had to work. He also has to work tomorrow, Christmas Day.... Christmas, what is that? I grew up celebrating Christmas with my family, having dinner with family and friends, but in Japan it is different.

Christmas is for couples. Restaurants have expensive romantic dinners for two. Last year, we went out for a nice French dinner. The price of cake also goes up. Can you imagine paying $40 for an 8-inch round cake? I can't, so I usually make some kind of dessert instead of buying.

Here is a picture of our tree.

In Japan, they don't sell freshly cut ones, so for our first Christmas I bought one in a pot. That one died after 3 years, so this is the one we've had for the past 2 Christmases.

Anyway, because of a flight delay or something, Satoshi called to say he would be late, so dinner was my usual "table for one"--I guess I should be thankful that he called early enough for me to eat at a decent time.

I started off with some olives and cheese...one of the cheeses was interesting with bits of almonds. It really went well with the Yalumba 2004 Shiraz Viognier--a dry red with hints of cinnamon and spices.

A filet and baby leaf lettuce with bistro-style vinaigrette, a recipe I saw on Bean and Plum Discover the World (this blog no longer exists) and mashed turnips with olive oil, salt and pepper.

And for dessert a little cup of chocolate pudding infused with Republic of Tea's Green Earl Greyer (a green tea with bergamot oil) tea--I actually intended to make truffles, but the ganache was too soft, so now it is a pudding... strawberries and a slice of cheese cake by Marutoya, from my host-sister, Tomoko, she is a foodie too and loves to order food items from different places around Japan. The cheese cake reminded me of New York style cheese cake with a nice cookie crust.

I guess while I'm feeling sorry for myself, I'll have another glass of wine while I wait for Satoshi to come home.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

trying to beat the heat (part 2)

So now that summer is here, and it is WAY to humid for my likings here in Japan, I've been in a salad kind of mode and looking for nice, refreshing ways to dress them up.

Here's a recipe I found today while reading Gourmet Magazine's April 2006 edition.

Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette : Adapted from The Signature Room at the 95th, in Chicago. Makes about half a cup

1/2 garlic clove
1.5 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1.5 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1.5 teaspoons mild honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1.5 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

Blend all ingredients except oregano in a blender until combined well. Transfer to a bowl and stir in oregano, then season with salt and pepper.

Notes: if you are using a small food processor, like I did, make sure to slice up the garlic clove before pulsing or you will have a mess in your kitchen (because the garlic moved the blade up and leaked some dressing)--like I did. Also, I used 5 Tablespoons of EVOO, since I didn't have canola oil. And I used about a 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano.

This dressing was really good! Lemony, not too garlicky really refreshing. Definitely worth making again!

Another food that is popular in Japan, especially during the summer, is edamame (soy beans). I like it because it is really easy to prepare, and I don't have to stand near the stove as it cooks. In Japan, they come packaged--still in their pods, and sometimes they are even still attached to the plant!
Get a saute pan with a lid, or any shallow pan with a cover will do.
Snip the bean pods (where it was attached to the plant), I think this is to allow for even cooking and seasoning.
Rinse them.
Lay them as flat as possible into the pan.
Add a cup of water and cook for about 7 minutes on high heat. (You can add some salt before turning on the heat, or after cooking, whichever you prefer.) After the 7 minutes check to see that most of the pods have opened a bit, if not, you can cook for a minute or two more, take them off the heat and run under cold water.
Sprinkle with some kosher salt and enjoy!

Notes: try to make this ahead so that you can chill them in the refrig before eating!

Gaban, a spice maker in Japan teamed up with House Foods, a company which makes curry rues and other "quick food" items and came up with a black peppered potato chip. The chip is a "fake" potato chip (formed into a chip shape like Pringles), but the taste is great--nice and peppery! They also have a chili pepper version, in a red container, for you thrill-seekers!

Today, my student, Tomomi, brought me some onions which her parents got from some of their friends. They are huge! Will definitely be roasting some of these in the next couple of days. (Thank you!)

Here's another bead stitch project which I just finished. I still need to get it graded by the teacher. The 3 similar rings are the actual project. The "Louis Vuitton" marked ring was an extra project. Boy, those seed beads are tiny!

Hope you are keeping cool where you are and enjoying the weekend!

trying to beat the heat

The weather has been hot and humid lately. I don't know about you, but I really dread Japan 's summers mainly because it is so humid! I know, I know, I'm from Hawaii--but until you have experienced a Japan summer (which I never wish on anyone!), you can't know how miserable a time it is here. During summer in Japan, I also dread standing anywhere near the stove to cook something--so, we end up eating a lot of things like salads, edamame (soy beans), tofu (soy bean curd)--stuff that are usually eaten cold.

Yesterday, I noticed that the lemon I had just bought was starting to turn a bit brown. I decided to zest the skin and use it to make Mildred's scones, which I posted before about (here). This scone recipe is really good and the scones come out really flaky! The lemon zest really matched with the blueberries that I used.

I also juiced the lemon to make a lemon-tarragon dressing. I didn't have a recipe to follow (plus I was too lazy to search for one), so I just eye-balled everything and it turned out pretty good (if I do say so myself!). It was really nice on a green salad.

Lemon-tarragon dressing
1 lemon, juiced
10 grinds of pepper
tarragon, amount to be measured by one cupped hand then crushed with both hands
while whisking, add olive oil to create dressing consistency
a little sugar

Notes: Remember, I eye-balled everything, so the measurements are not exact, I just went by taste and smell.

Today, as I was walking back from the grocery store, I wanted to make a dressing using raspberry vinegar, somehow raspberry vinegar has a nice refreshing imagery to it. Luckily, I found a recipe on the internet at About.com

Raspberry Vinaigrette
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1 tablespoon dried herbs de Provence
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup safflower oil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
12 raspberries, optional
PREPARATION:
In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, herbs, and pepper. Gradually whisk in the oils. Add raspberries to vinaigrette if desired. This salad dressing can be made a day in advance, but bring to room temperature before using.

Enjoy!

Notes: I cut this recipe in half, plus I only used the EVOO.

Satoshi is off on a business trip to Tokyo--he'll be back tomorrow night.

Hope you are keeping cool where you are!