nutty (and fruity) granola

Who knew granola was so easy to make? I came across Ellie Krieger's "Nutty Granola" in "The Food You Crave" and decided to ad-lib a bit. 

 I had some dried fruit that I wanted to use so here is what I did: 

3/4 cups oats 

1/2 tablespoon ground flax seed 

2 handfuls of shelled sunflower seeds 

1 handful of pecans, chopped 

1 handful of almonds, chopped 

5 apricots, chopped 

2 dried figs, chopped 

1 handful of goji berries 

1 handful of 60% chocolate chips 

1 pinch of salt 

20 grinds of fresh cinnamon 

2 Tablespoons of maple syrup 

Mix everything and add syrup. 

Mix until it is well coated with the syrup. 

Spread out onto baking parchment and bake in a 300F (150C) oven for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. 

Put parchment onto a wire rack and let cool. 

Store in an air tight container. 

NOTES: Ellie's recipe calls for rolled oats, but I am not certain about the oats that I found here. 

I am thinking they are more quick cooking rather than rolled. 

Putting the chocolate chips were good but got messy when I tried to stir the granola while baking. 

Next time I will skip putting in the salt (I found a clump of salt when I tasted the granola...blah!).

This is definitely worth making again. 

It wasn't overly sweet.

I added some to my morning banana and yogurt and it was delicious.

I think this will make good gifts too.

maguro no kakuni

After eating this seasoned maguro in Wakayama a couple of years ago, I have been looking around for a recipe to re-create it.

Luckily, there was a recipe in a cookbook I have called "Soshoku no susume: O-bento recipes" by Hideo Makuuchi.

The recipe is easy and doesn't take much time. My maguro didn't turn out as dark as the one I tried but it was still delicious.

Here is the recipe if you'd like to give it a try:
Maguro (tuna) red part 300 grams (about 10.5 ounces)
Ginger 2 nubs, sliced thinly

Sauce:
Dashi (stock) 1/3 cups
sake (rice wine) 1/3 cups
shoyu (soy sauce) 3 tablespoons
mirin (sweet rice wine) 1-1/3 tablespoons

Cut the maguro into 3 centimeter cubes, pour some hot water over it to get rid of the oil of the fish.

Put the sauce together and bring to a boil. Add the maguro and ginger.
Cover with an oshibuta (drop-lid) and cook on medium heat until all the liquid evaporates.

NOTES:I got impatient and didn't wait for the sauce to disappear but it still tasted delicious. I will definitely make this again it is great for bento (lunches) as well as fillings for musubi (rice balls).

Gosh the week flew by (again!), hope you have a great weekend!

maruichi shokudo

I've passed this place many times when I've walked from the Ikeda station back to my home.

On weekdays, I've seen many office people going into this place. Though I have never seen a line out the door, for this place to attract office people it must be good. Why? Because this place is quite a distance away from the station, kind of out of the way.

The shop is tiny only 17 seats. Their sign says that they are Cantonese but they serve Szechuan mabo tofu...hmmm

In fact, their specialty is the mabo tofu.

You could order anything from their menu but you should order the mabo tofu as a donburi (bowl).

Choose your heat. Amakuchi (mild), chu-kara (semi-hot), karai (hot). Satoshi and I chose semi-hot. It comes in a heated stone bowl, bubbling and sizzling. (can you see the steam shooting out?)

The rice is on the bottom, getting koge (burnt), a nice kind of burnt though...the grains of rice get hard and chewy, definitely a good kind of stick to your teeth.

Semi-hot is actually perspiry hot...you don't feel it until after you swallow and it is an addicting kind of heat. I wonder if the lady sitting behind of Satoshi finished her order, she ordered hot...

No matter how long you blow on your food though, I can almost guarantee you will burn your tongue...I did.

For 750 yen (about US$7.50) the mabo tofu comes with a salad and egg drop soup...definitely worth it.

We'll be back.

Maruichi Shokudo
3-11-6 Jonan
Ikeda, Osaka
Phone: 072.750.2212
Lunch: 12:00-14:00, Dinner: 18:00-24:00
Days closed unknown (call ahead)

chocolate

It has been awhile since I've posted about chocolate....

Chocolove's 65% chocolate with crystallized ginger had lots of zing. Crystallized ginger in almost every bite, whereas Weinrich's milk chocolate with hazelnuts had very little hazelnut flavor and was waxy and really really sweet.

Shirayuki Brewery's Chocola Beer had a sickly sweet aroma (kind of scratch and sniff chocolatey) and didn't make for a good tasting beer...totally disappointing.

Homemade chocolat chaud made with melted 65% chocolate and warm milk was heaven in a cup.

re-creating and a re-do

If you recall, last month I made taegu which was too salty. With the rest of the dried codfish, I soaked it in water overnight then used the same recipe for the sauce and I also added 1 teaspoon of kim chee starter.

I liked this version, it wasn't as salty as my first trial and the fish was softer. It was definitely easier to separate from the bone too (though I did find while eating that I missed some). I think the next time I try making this, I will try it with cuttlefish.

Since I had some potatoes that needed to be used, I wanted to try making the korean potatoes that I sometimes get in Hawaii whenever I eat Korean take-out. I found an easy recipe in Jean Watanabe Hee's "Salads, Sides and Soups".

Here is the recipe if you want to try making it:

Korean Potatoes : 6 servings

3 medium potatoes (about 2 pounds)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon Hawaiian salt

Soy sauce mixture:
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper (or less, adjust to taste)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Peel and cut potatoes into bite sized pieces. Immerse in brine of water and salt for 10 minutes; drain. Place potatoes in skillet and pour soy sauce mixture over. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat for 10 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.

NOTES: while typing this recipe, I realized I didn't put the oil into the sauce. Still, the potatoes are tasty and just like the potatoes you can get at most Hawaii Korean take-out places.

Another comfort food I tried making was portuguese sausage. When we lived in Hawaii, Satoshi and I loved this especially for breakfast and loved putting it into chili. There is supposed to be a flavor packet made by Noh Foods for making portuguese sausage, but I've never found it at the local markets in Hawaii. My mom clipped out the recipe from the paper and sent it to me this past Christmas. (Thanks Mom!)

Portuguese Sausage Patties from HSB "By Request", who got it from Muriel Miura's "Hawai`i Cooks & Saves"

2 pounds pork, coarsely ground or chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 chili peppers, chopped
2 to 2.5 teaspoons salt or 1.5 teaspoons rock salt
1/8 teaspoon cumin, optional
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup water
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring, optional
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

Combine pork with garlic, chilies, salt and spices.
Combine water with food coloring, vinegar and liquid smoke.
Pour over pork mixture and mix well.
Cover and refrigerate 2 days, mixing occasionally.
Shape into thin, 2-inch wide patties and fry in ungreased skillet 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through.
Makes 32 patties, serves 8.

NOTES: I didn't add the cumin, food coloring or liquid smoke. The texture was more like pork sausage, a little different from the portuguese sausage that we know, but it tasted ono (delicious in Hawaiian)! When I fried some up for breakfast, I used a tablespoon to scoop out the sausage mixture, rolled it in my palms then flattened it. The rest of the sausage mixture, I divvied up and put it into the freezer so we have some to fry up for other breakfasts.

The last thing I tried re-creating was a reuben. We don't have delis here where you can get sandwiches made, so I was happy to come across pastrami, rye bread and sauerkraut at the supermarket. The rye bread tasted more like white bread with hard seeds in it, but the pastrami and sauerkraut were delicious. I didn't add any type of dressing, but I did add some cheese and cornichons on the side....delicious.

What have you been eating?

kyoto

Saturday we went to Kyoto to visit my MIL. The sakura (cherry blossom) were in full bloom and we knew that she hadn't been out to see them yet.

The temperature was high maybe 25C (77F) or 26C (78.8F), the sun was blazing, but at least there was a slight breeze.

We had intentions of going to the botanical garden, but after seeing all the trees along the Kamogawa (Kamo River) in full bloom, we ended up walking along the river up to the Kamigamo Shrine.

The trees along a portion of the Kamogawa were shidarezakura (weeping cherry). They have a trellis built near each tree so as to make a "tunnel" of cherry blossoms...really beautiful.

On another portion of the river, the trees were huge and were making their own "tunnel"...at times there were wispy winds which created sakura fubuki (a "blizzard" of cherry petals).

When we reached Kamigamo Shrine, there were many people having picnics around the cherry trees. I think most of these cherry trees are old, so they had them roped off. I have also heard that when people step on the roots of the trees it damages the tree. (I guess kind of like when someone steps on your foot.)

There was a huge shidarezakura (weeping cherry) near the entrance of the shrine's grounds.

Walking back, we walked on the opposite side of the river. This side didn't have many cherry trees, but it was a great view. I loved the reflection of the cherry trees in the river.

Also in many parts of the river you could see an accumulation of cherry petals letting you know that the cherry blossom season would be over soon...beautiful yet kind of sad.

My MIL said she had a nice day. She said she was actually feeling a little depressed before we came. I'm glad we got to spend some time with her.

caramelized onions

After reading Tea's post on caramelized onions, I had to try it for myself since I had never caramelized onions before. (You should know that most adventures in my kitchen are "first times" for me.)

The "new" or spring onions are in season now, these onions are tender and sweet, great for roasting...great for caramelizing.

Tea suggests a heavy pan but I didn't have one, only a non-stick one.

I sliced 2 onions and used a tablespoon of olive oil. And then I let it cook down. I added a total of 4 tablespoons of oil and 30 minutes later....

I got this...sweet caramelized onions.

So what to do with them?...

You could try making the "Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onions and Arugula Pizza" by Ellie Krieger. I did it with feta and flour tortillas, but it was still delicious.

You could make Shepard's Pie. I actually saw Su-Lin's photo and wanted to make some. I added some caramelized onions to fresh peas and carrots and bell pepper, some ground beef seasoned with garlic and a little onion then topped it with the mashed potato. I cooked the peas, and the carrots and bell pepper I "heated" up with the water from boiling the potatoes. The mashed potato, I added some plain yogurt and a little skim milk. Then I baked it. I liked this but want to try her version with a tomato based sauce.

You could try Tea's recipe for curried oatmeal. I have to tell you a little story...When Satoshi and I were first married, I would make his breakfast then go off to work. (I would usually make a bowl of oatmeal and he would eat it when he awoke.)

One day, when we were eating breakfast together, I noticed that he put furikake onto his oatmeal. At first I thought...ewww. I guess because I grew up with oatmeal being a sweet dish rather than savory. He said the consistency was more like o-kayu (rice gruel), which is why he would add furikake.

I didn't have the madras curry powder that Tea used, so I used the curry powder that I had. Her recipe is for one, but I made half the recipe and split it between Satoshi and I.

Satoshi liked it. He said it wasn't "oatmeal-like", though he wished it could have been spicier. Maybe he'll eat more oatmeal if I cook it this way. I liked it and served it with some sausage for breakfast.

What do you use caramelized onions for?

p.s. Happy Easter!