"creamy" herbed tofu dressing

I tried a new recipe yesterday for "creamy" herbed tofu dressing. The thing that makes this dressing "creamy" is the tofu.

The original recipe uses the word "fresh" in its title, but I didn't have the fresh herbs listed, so I used dried.

Here is the original recipe: from "Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special" makes 3/4 cup-1 cup

"Creamy" Fresh Herbed Tofu Dressing
6 to 7 ounces firm tofu (1/2 cake)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons unsweetened apple juice or orange juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
5 spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper

Whizz all ingredients in food processor, keeps for 5 days.

NOTES: The tofu I used wasn't firm, it was soft.

I didn't have basil, so I used mint, if I am not mistaken, it is in the same plant family?! I also didn't have the fresh dill nor tarragon, so I used dried and half the suggested amount.

I also didn't have the unsweetened juice and just used 2 tablespoons of water. And I also didn't add the garlic because Satoshi's job requires him to talk with clients and I didn't want him offending anyone...

This was delicious and it reminded me of green goddess dressing. This is a great dressing without the fat and is packed with lots of flavor.

I drizzled a tablespoon of the dressing over steamed broccoli, steamed asparagus & raw carrots.

For dinner, I also served sawara saikyo-yaki (spanish mackerel grilled with sweet miso) and rice "sprinkled" with cooked fava beans.

This dressing would be great for veggie sticks, in potato salad or maybe even on cooked fish.

I'm making this again.

last day of golden week

Yesterday, it was forecast to rain in the afternoon.

Still I wanted to check out the koinobori in Takatsuki. See they had 1000 strung across the Akutagawa (Akuta river), now when would you ever see something that fabulous?!

So, we got out and about early and it was drizzly and cold but we found the place and it was still impressive.

I really liked the handmade koi...can you see the little hand prints used to make the scales of the fish?! Apparently these were made by a pre-school from the area.

Some were really colorful and creative too.

There was even a huge sakura tree mural.

Apparently this area is well known to the locals for the cherry blossoms too.

We'll definitely have to come back next cherry blossom season.

I shot a little video of the koinobori and I touched up the exposure of the photos and video because it was a little dark.

Oh, and you know, when we reached home, the sun came out (boo!) Still, we were happy we got to check this out.

Hope you all have a great week!

children's day

Yesterday was Children's Day, a.k.a. Boy's Day so it was nice to be able to get together with my host-family's children.

5 of them ranging in ages from 11 to 3, talk about noisy and fun.

The weather was beautiful, sunny but not too hot.

After our bbq, we had to move because another family was reserved for the spot. I've noticed that Japan often has reserved areas for these types of things, which is good because you can't hog the place for the whole day.

It is good too because all you do is bring your own charcoal, they provide the grill & teppan (iron griddle) and then they take care of your hot coals at the end too.

Anyway, after lunch, we moved to another area of the park and this one was beautiful. The fuji (wisteria) were in full bloom.

The kids (and Satoshi) ran and played until their "batteries" were low, actually only Satoshi's battery was low. While some of us chatted and some of us napped.

It was a great way to spend time with my host-family and get out and about for Golden Week. (Thank you!)

I had no idea the full moon was being called the "super moon" but here is was at about 2-ish this morning.

I must say, it was pretty big and bright.

Hope to get out and about on the last day of Golden week.

zenigata

The weather has been quite dreary, kind of cold, with showers here and there.

While it is not perfect weather to be out and about, it is perfect for curry udon.

Yesterday, we headed out to check out the curry udon at Zenigata.

This tiny shop near the Hankyu Hattori station serves sanuki-style udon. Sanuki-style is a firmer noodle. They also make a thinner noodle too, so if you like your noodles on the thinner side, just ask.

Be prepared to wait for your food, everything is made after you order. It is a great time to take in all the rules the owner has, like "no smoking" and his sign that explains how everything is made from scratch so you need to wait for your food.

You can also take in all the photos of famous locals that have eaten there and introduced his shop on their television shows.

I had my eye on their keema curry udon....1000 yen.

A bowlful of freshly made udon topped with spicy keema curry. They aren't kidding about it being spicy! My mouth was "on fire" from the start.

It made me cough, it also made my nose run, but it also made me want to eat more.

Satoshi went with their curry udon set...1100 yen.

Their curry udon is a little different from their keema curry. It is a Japanese style curry with just a touch of heat, which is "diluted" with a savory and very flavorful fish dashi (stock).

I liked the taste of his broth. Perfect for the nip that was in the air that day.

We agreed we would go back on a weekday to check out other items on their menu...we'll be back.

Zenigata
2-2-21 Hattorinishi-machi
Toyonaka, Osaka
Phone: 06.6862.9090
Open: 11:30-15:00, 17:30-22:00
Closed Wednesdays and the 3rd Tuesday of every month

foodie thursday

Yesterday, Satoshi and I got together with my friend Val in Namba. She got an awesome deal on hotel and airfare, so she decided to jump at the chance to shop in Osaka.

After doing more shopping and lunch, we had ice cream at Haagen Dazs, they were having a special, three scoops for 500 yen. (You should know that 2 scoops usually costs that much).

Then we said our goodbyes and then Satoshi and I decided to walk as far as we could back towards Umeda.

Of course as we were walking back, I thought about Sammy Pooh!

And since we were in the area, we checked them out.

They had an item that I'd had been wanting to try called "butter wa oishii" (this literally means butter is delicious).

Luckily we grabbed their last two.

The pastry is based on the french Kouign Amann. Flaky, filled with almond paste and lots of butter, this was worth trying.

Just to show you how much butter, take a look at the wrapper....

We enjoyed these at Utsubo Park, even though the skies were looking like it was about to rain. On the brighter side, some of the roses were already in bloom.

I'm glad we got to try these pastries. But I'm even more happy that we were able to spend some time with our friend from Hawaii.

cafe n.a.t.

On Tuesday, I met up with my friend, Hiromi, for some walking and lunch.

We walked from Ishibashi to Kawanishi-Noseguchi, about 3 miles. It was really sunny but also really windy! Our sun umbrellas couldn't compete with the wind.

So, by the time we reached Kawanishi-Noseguchi (about an hour), we were wind-blown and maybe a little sunburnt.

Hiromi introduced me to a rather new cafe, tucked in between a condo or two...Cafe N.A.T.

This cafe is unique because they only serve quiche and cake salé (a soft savory bread). AND they only make the quiche after you order it. (Actually, they do have other items on their menu, but their "star" is the quiche.)

There were several quiche to choose from and we both chose the seasonal version: fava beans & tuna.

Love love love the crust! It was flaky and the inside of the quiche was just perfect, not too eggy with lots of "stuff" (fava beans & tuna).

The cake salé was nice too, I think the green one was spinach and the orangey one was carrot.

It was a great day despite the wind, on the way back we checked out the koinobori and chatted our way back home.

I'm glad we did all that walking because on Wednesday, it rained all day!

We have a couple more days until Golden Week ends, I hope the weather gets better.

Cafe N.A.T.
21-14 Sakaemachi
Kawanishi, Hyogo
Phone: 072.741.4203
Closed Wednesdays, Hours: 11:00-22:30

oven baked shoyu chicken

I have a vivid memory of this dish. I am at our neighborhood/family Christmas party, my Aunty M is opening the oven and pulls out a jelly roll tray of wings and it is sizzling.

Besides the chicken, there is a lot of oil and the aroma is pretty amazing.

On my visit this past March, I found the recipe for this dish in a local cookbook. When I asked my Aunty, she said that it is the recipe that she uses.

Oven Baked Shoyu Chicken : from "Simply Delicious Recipes II, Koganji Temple"
5 pounds chicken thighs
3/4 cup melted butter (170 grams)
bread crumbs

Sauce: 1 cup shoyu
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cloves garlic
1-inch piece ginger, grated

In a large bowl combine sauce ingredients.
Mix well.
Marinate chicken for at least 4 hours.
Dredge chicken in bread crumbs, arrange on jelly roll pan.
Drizzle butter over each piece.
Bake at 325F (170C) for 45 minutes.

NOTES: the aroma that came from the oven was pretty much what I remembered it to be...shoyu-garlic-butter, delicious.  Even Satoshi commented on the aroma.

For the last 5 minutes, I stuck my chicken under the broiler because they were looking a little pale. I only used a pound of chicken (drumettes) and 50 grams of butter. Also, I made half the sauce, grating the ginger and garlic.

It is quite a messy and rich dish from all that butter. You'll want to eat it right after it comes out of the oven, the skin is a little crisp. I think if I had marinated the chicken overnight, the flavors would have been more prominent.

Still, this got a thumbs up from Satoshi, who doesn't really care for chicken.