Strawberry and Peach Crumbles

Hello,

I don't write about baking so often, but I love baking. However, I am not good at it as much as I love it, even though I do know my oven's habits pretty good by now. As often as I have baked and used not just this oven, but other ovens as well, I am still not as happy with my level of baking compared to what I think it should be.

I always try to create my own version with a healthier twist; using canola oil instead of butter, wheat flour or other milled-grains instead of breached all-purpose flour...It comes out great sometimes, but not all the time. Some ingredients are supposed to be prepared a certain way, but I try to omit or add those steps and this causes a huge mess sometimes.

Anyway, I made a strawberry and peach crumbles as my husband's request the other day. I made from scratch; panko, brown sugar, Cinnamon, graham cracker, and butter. All ingredients are left-over or always in the pantry as staples. This is a typical pattern of failure, making things like this...

But, it came out pretty well this time!

The sweetness was not too heavy, lighter crumbles, and juicy tender strawberries and yellow peaches were cooked just right.

BUT, I didn't save the memo on how much of each ingredient I used, and I can't remember the recipe of it! I sometimes do that!

Ratatouille - Part 3

Hello,
At the end of a big pot of ratatouille, I finished with omelet for lunch.

There is nothing need to be added, and just crusty bread made the meal perfect.

By the way, have you watched movie "Ratatouille"? I don't want to think the story in a realistic way, but it's a heart warming story, simply the love for food. I like the detail of the ratatouille coming up at the end of the movie; the mean food critic gets flash back of his mother's ratatouille once he puts Ratatouille's ratatouille in his mouth :)

Ratatouille - Part 2

Hello,
Ratatouille again.

When I make ratatouille, I always make curry using from the same big pot.

I just add some sweet curry powder (I got this from Penzeys Spices store), and if I feel like more it more meat, vegetables, or beans, I saute it all and mix together.

This time I added boiled lentil to increase the volume.

This ratatouille and beans curry appeared in my lunch at work many times this summer.

The only thing that I need to be careful not to do and that is not to eat too much rice.

I've always eaten too much rice with curry, but rice rules!

Ratatouille

Hello,

All summer long, (well, I didn't feel like we had a real summer this year though...) I bought Japanese eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes..., at the farmers market and I've been making pot-full of ratatouille almost every week.

In my version, I use KONBU (Kelp) under beneath of those vegetables. I think it doesn't bother vegetable's flavor, and UMAMI flavor is soaked up into the vegetables.

The next day, I toss with spaghetti and it makes a quick lunch.

Dinner for my husband, I mix with turkey meat sauce and volumed up.

This gets along with anything; rice, bread, pasta, etc. I love to make ratatouille, because I can make a lot at one time in a big pot, I can use any vegetables and cleanse fridge, it's so versatile, and I can make a few different dishes from it. (This helps a lot to make sure my husband gets his right amount of veggies!)

Vegetable Sushi w/ Kohlrabi and Zucchini

Hello,

Last month, my co-worker gave me a couple of kohlrabi. I have never used that vegetable before, but the texture was so familiar. I first made some pickles, sliced thin with a peeler and marinaded in rice vinegar based marinade.

That taste and texture remind me of a Japanese turnip and daikon radish, and I really liked it. It is such a fun thing to try a new food, both cooking and tasting it.

Next thing I did was...


I added a thinly sliced zucchini too, and made two types of vegetable sushi with those pickled vegetables.

A refreshing taste; both kohlrabi and zucchini sushi have nice crunchy texture, and this is also a great vegetarian dish.

My husband said the zucchini sushi looks like a caterpillar. What do you think about that!?

Kanten Jelly #5

Hello,

When I was working for re-sizing this picture with my lap-top, my husband was sitting right next to me and said,

"Wow! Is that TUNA? That's nice, babes!"
"No, No-!"

"That's strawberry kanten jelly cut in cubes!"

I used fresh strawberry puree 1/2 cup and water 1/2 cup (1:1), and 1 package kanten powder
(2 grams), that's it. It only took 30-40 min. to mold.

There were a lots of strawberry seeds you can taste and that's very comfortable crunch!

kanten #4

Hello,

Making Kanten Jelly is still going on...This time, I used pureed kiwi fruits and some diced strawberry with it.

The idea was pretty good I guess, but I have made a big mistake while I was making the jelly...

The package of Kanten powder which I have been using contains 2 grams. And you can use 1 cup of water per package. So, I could've measure the kiwi puree and add some water until 1 cup, and use the kanten powder.

But, I use a whole cup water and add the kiwi puree to the water, which makes jelly more softer and watery.

Here the Kanten Jelly looks nice in a glass cup, but it got way too watery for it's texture. But I liked the crunchy texture of the seeds and the taste combination of kiwi and strawberry.