Spring Cabbage

Hello,

There are lot of cabbages out there lately, those spring cabbages are tender and yummy especially when in season. I use cabbage often, for soups, salads, to saute and steam, to make a Japanese style pan cake ( Okonomi-Yaki ), rolled cabbage...etc.

I created a strawberry dressing and tossed with steamed cabbage. The dressing was so delicious it gives you that fresh spring feeling.


I have tried this dressing with broccoli, celery, and carrots and it was good, too. The consistency of the sauce is pretty thick, so it's good as a dipping sauce also.

Spring Strawberry Dressing:

Makes about 1/3 - 1/2 cup

Strawberry 3 medium

Red Onion 1.5 oz

Red Wine Vinegar 1 tbsp.

Olive Oil 2 tbsp.

Salt and Pepper for taste

Pinch of Sugar

Direction: Put all ingredients into a food processor and mix until combined well, that's it!

Oroshi - Soba (Cold Soba Noodle)

Hello,

I usually go to work in the afternoon, so I make lunch for my husband and myself before I go. Sometimes I make a different lunch menu for each other - like pancakes and eggs, salad for my husband, for me soba or udon noodle or rice bowl something like that.

The other day, I made Oroshi-Soba. Oroshi is grated Daikon Radish. I enjoy the flavor the tangy sauce makes on the cold soba noodle. I also use watercress, thin sliced lunch meat, and a lot of shredded seaweed on it. This Soba noodle is the one that my mother sent me from Japan the other day, and also is known as one of the local favorite soba restaurant's! Oh, I hadn't eaten that for a while! Thank you mother!!

This salad looks like the cold noodle is very refreshing, clean taste. It is nice to have a dish / meal like this in the spring or summer time. (And YES! summer time has begun)

I was a little hesitated to put lunch meat on the top of soba, but it worked out very well and tasted fairly good!

I used a ready to use Soba-Tsuyu (sauce), grated Daikon radish and mixed into the sauce, then poured over the noodle.

If you would prefer a more heavier dish, try putting some Tempura or Kaki-age is a good idea, it's just a little tasty idea :)

Kobu-Maki ( Rolled Kelp )

Hello,

I'd love to sit and blog more, but I haven't been able to manage my time very well. :(

But, little by little, and bit by bit.

The other day, my mother sent me a package with a lot of Japanese ingredients, including various types of seaweed. Yeah! I love to eat seaweed, we have many different types of seaweed and seaweed products in Japan- Nori, Wakame, Kombu, Hijiki, Tororo-Kombu, Ao-Nori...

When I saw the big kelp package in the box, I was inspired to make Kobu-Maki right away.

I soaked the kelp in the water and made until tender, then rolled carrots and shiitake mushroom in a piece of seaweed, and put Kanpyo (Dried Gourd) strip and tied the roll.
Then I simmered the rolls in Dashi (Japanese broth), Soy sauce, Sugar mixture for 30min.

This is a popular New Year's dish. Because Kom-Bu, it is the same pronunciation as "Yo-Ro-Ko-Bu" = to be glad in Japanese (English translation), it is said that kom-bu is considered to be a good luck type of food ingredients in Japan. That's why this dish is recognized as a New Years Dish.
Inside ingredients are vary including the following; burdock root, carrots, other root vegetables, cured or smoked fish...

I only had carrots and mushroom that day, but I wish I had Gobo and Nishin ( Herring ) or so.
I love to make it again soon, and next time I will offer to my husband...

TOFU Recipe 2 - Tofu & Chicken Nugget

Hello,

Here, I made TOFU and Chicken nuggets the other day. This is a dish that I often make, because it's so easy. I just put all ingredients in the food processor and mix about less than a minute, and then pan fry. I like this lean taste, but for my husband, it tastes little blunt and boring, so I add some B.B.Q. sauce for him and make a sandwich with lunch meat sometimes :)

For this one above, I made smaller size like chicken nugget. I usually make this one with very little salt and use some sauce (B.B.Q., mustard, etc...)

This is good for snack and my lunch for work too.

For this one above, I added some parsley and Mrs.Dash, and less salt ( 0.5% amount of the tofu and chicken's weight ) for taste. Thanks for all the herb's great effects, you don't need any sauce. It's a little technique for less salt in your dish. Here's some tricks I usually use for dish like this:

1) Using some herbs ( dry, or fresh)

2) Using soy sauce for 1/3 or 1/4 of salt usage

3) Adding chopped roasted bell pepper (this is GOOOOOD!)

If you like to serve with something on the side, fresh crisp salad goes well, like spinich, arugula, watercress, carrots mix, with roasted sunflower seed sprincled. That's my favorite combination :)

OK, that's it for today,

See Ya!

TOFU Recipe - "SHIRA-AE"

Hello,


It's been a while I posted the last one, and it's already February!
Unfortunately, I still haven't had much time to try some new recipes as much as I would like too. :(

I just got my favorite magazine ( Clean Eating Magazine ), so I want to try some recipe from that.



Well, this morning, I made a SHIRA-AE, meaning "tossed in white ( TOFU ) sauce" in Japanese. This is a pretty popular dish in Japan, compared to here in the U.S. where a "Sesame Sauce" ( GOMA-AE ) is a more common flavor.
I would like to develop this recipe for cooking class.




For a more rich flavor and creaminess, I add a white sesame paste ( Tahini ) to mashed tofu, and mixed it together so it would blend nicely with a savory sesame flavor. For the vegetables to mix with, I used sliced carrots, shiitake-mushroom, daikon leaf, and I added some walnuts for accent.

Traditionally, the tofu sauce is made in a Japanese Mortar ( SURIBACHI ) to achieve a creamier sauce, but, I don't have a Mortar, I really want to get one though. So, I improvised and made a similar version using the utensils that I have in my kitchen. It turned out, OK, and I was pleased with it and it's flavor. :)

This is a very healthy side dish you can try.

Buckwheat - it's all good

Hello,

I have been using buckwheat groats a lot lately.

For me, I am making a soup, and for my husband, it's oatmeal.

These are the photos for the soup I made the other day, first one is curry flavored vegetable ( onion, cabbage, carrots ) soup with buckwheat groats.

Secand one is chichen, lentils, buckwheat groats and vegetable ( napa cabbage, carrots, pumpkin, potatos ) soup.

This is my husband's favorite oatmeal bowl lately. Cook buckwheat and rolled oats in the water first, and then add some milk, fruits, and brown suger. This is great easy breakfast.

But! I love to eat oatmeal little Japanese style :) I cooked rolled oats and buckwheat in Japanese "DASHI" broth, and add cooked salmon, little salt, bonito flakes, and sesame seeds. Here you go! "Japanese style oatmeal"

Scalloped Potato Gratin

Hello,

When I was talking with my husband about my cooking and various recipes and so on..., he said, "Why don't you try to make other people's recipe and add a little twist and write about it in your blog?"

"Hum... That's interesting, sounds like the movie "Julie & Julia" huh?"

So, I decided to take my husband's idea, by making some dishes using any recipe from whatever magazine, TV, supermarket recipe card, or book. Then add my little healthy twist to it and make it healthy, so my husband will eat it and like it.

Then, I cooked this scalloped potato from Food Network's chef Mr. Tylor Florence's "Scalloped Potato Gratin".

I changed two things from the original recipe, the amount of heavy cream, and cheese. The amount of heavy cream was too much for both of us, so I substituted a less fat milk and half the amount of the heavy cream for a lighter dish. Also, I used 1/2 Gruyere cheese and 1/2 Parmesan cheese. 　

Still, it finished very creamy, and rich in taste. And we both loved it! I especially liked the fresh thyme flavor, it was great with the cheese and gave it a nice accent.

It was so easy, and a great side dish. You should try it, too :)