New Recipes: April

Perhaps I was making up for lost time and only two new recipes in March--I tried six new recipes in April!  The recipes are split evenly with three in the sweets/baking category and three in the dinner category.

Sweets:

1) Chocolate Almond Bread from an old Family Circle.

This was a fun weekend project that turned out beautifully.  The next time I make it I will knead it for less time (the recipe said 10 minutes!) consider replacing the almond paste/chocolate middle with Nutella to save a step, and skip dusting the loaves with sugar before baking.  After sharing some with my housemate and co-worker, I ate the rest of the slices for my breakfasts with a smear of peanut butter and strawberries on top.


2) Lemon Pound Cake with Lemon Poppy Seed Buttercream from Joy the Baker

I am usually pretty adamant that dessert isn't really dessert without chocolate, but when I was doing my meal planning this past week, this cake was the only recipe that caught my eye and I wanted to make.  The gorgeous spring weather may have had something to do with it and had me dreaming of tank tops, shorts and lemonades on the porch.

While my first slice didn't quite live up to my expectations, my second, third, fourth (and so on) pieces have been quite delicious.  I frequently find that with recipes that I am excited to make, the first bites somehow fall short, but the next day I am pleasantly surprised by my creation.  Does this ever happen to anyone else?


3) Peanut Butter Banana Cookies from All New Low Carb Recipes Cookbook

No photos, no rave review.  I should probably know better than to expect delicious cookies from a low-carb cookbook.  Perhaps most frustratingly, the portions were such that I could eat four no problem and while there was no sugar, each cookie clocked in at 100 calories.  Not quite as "healthy" as they tasted.

Dinners:

1) Shrimp & Grits

The impetus for this meal came from a package of grits that has been sitting in my pantry since one of my housemates moved out almost a year ago (Hi Christina!)  While technically past the expiration date, I still wanted to try and make something with them--and even when I halved the amount of butter and cheese called for in the recipe--I was a huge fan!  I added some extra veggies in the form of zucchini and tomatoes to make it a more complete meal, and was really excited for the leftovers at lunch the next day.  An easy recipe with a simple ingredient list, yet different enough from what I usually make.

2) Chicken & Sausage Gumbo from All New Low Carb Recipes Cookbook

 I wrote about this recipe earlier in the month.  And yes, those are more grits in the background.


3) Chicken & Tofu Scramble with Peas & Carrots from Homestyle Japanese Cooking

I picked up two slim paperback Japanese food cookbooks when I was teaching in Japan, and in the six or so years that I've had them have made only about two recipes from them.  With this recipe, the total climbs to around three!

As tofu is often considered a meat substitute, it may seem a bit odd to see it paired with chicken.  In Japan I found several instances where tofu was used as "meat-extender" if you will, adding some bulk but retaining the meaty flavor of the dish.  This scramble also featured the classic Japanese cooking combo of soy sauce, sugar, and sake.  I didn't have any sake, but some white wine worked in a pinch.

***

Without a doubt, some good eats this month!  I would make everything again, with the exception of the peanut butter cookies.  If I had to pick just one winner from each category I would choose the Chocolate Almond Bread and the Shrimp & Grits.

日本Fall 2013--Part II: Eating Out

From the very beginning, our mutual love of food has played an important role in Keizo's and my relationship.  The night we met, he bought me donuts and coffee before I caught my train home and on our first real date, Keizo admitted he was still hungry before we had even finished the dessert that came with our meal.  All this is to say that we eat very well when we are together, and this trip was no exception.

The food pictured above is a sample of some of the things we purchased:

• dog-shaped bread with chocolate cream filling.  Why is everything in Japan so darn cute?  These days when I visit, I can't resist animal shaped bread; over the years I've also eaten pigs, pandas and turtles.

• a Japanese take on Italian pasta with shrimp, avocado and wasabi cream sauce.  This restaurant is in a relatively new complex near Keizo's local train station that also houses two bakeries, an import food shop and a stone fired pizza restaurant.  I like to refer to it as "Little Italy."

On this day our lunches came with a bread buffet and drink bar.  On the drink bar were two pitchers of fruit flavored vinegars.  I mixed mine with olive oil to dip the bread into, but other people were drinking them straight!  I suppose they tasted more like juice, but I was still pretty put off by the idea of downing a glass of something called "vinegar."

• minced chicken between slices of fried renkon (lotus root).  This dish is from our dinner of small plates at a yakiniku place in Tenjin.  We enjoyed a lot of delicious things, but the presentation of this one caught my eye: the ceramic plate with woven basket and tiny twigs, plus the large dollop of mayonnaise and salt for dipping are all so lovely.

• I am ashamed to admit I don't know the real name of the little ice cream place near Keizo's training ground.  I just call it the "Cow Shop" since it has several dozen miniature bovines decorating the interior.  They have a rotating selection of some of the most unusual ice cream flavors I have ever seen including tomato and carrot. 

Ordering is always a chore for me; what flavor do I want to try?  And with a double costing only 50 yen more than a single, which two flavors will go well together?  This time I settled on chai tea and Sweet Potato, which were both quite good.  The chai flavor was pretty strong, but the Sweet Potato was a bit creamier and had small, yummy sweet potato pieces in it.

While we ate out quite a bit (especially compared to my normal routine) we also cooked together a few times.  More to come in Part III...

bistro 204

Inspired by our multi-course meal on New Year's Eve, Keizo and I decided it would be fun to make our own multi-course dinner at home.

The menu was as follows: a toasted baguette with olive oil for dipping; spinach and prosciutto salad; roasted corn and bacon soup; "Cheesetastic" pasta; Lemon-Dijon chicken; and chocolate parfait for dessert.








In all, I think it took about an hour and a half to put everything together, not including marinating the chicken or dessert, which was concocted in about 2 minutes from ice cream, mini cookies and chocolate syrup.

For me, the highlights were the salad and chicken skewers.  As far as Japanese bread goes, the baguette was delicious.  The soup was tasty, and of course my dessert cup was practically licked clean.  I was excited about the pasta, but I didn't feel like it lived up to its cheesetastic name.  It might be better with a different cheese than the one we used.

I've never really cooked courses before, and it was fun to work on my presentation skills.  There were a lot of dishes to clean up afterward!

Training Camp

When we first met, it took me a few dates to realize that Keizo actually played rugby for a living. At first, I thought rugby was his hobby; this was due in part to the language barrier as well as the fact that I had no idea Japan even had a professional rugby league. Even after dating him for 3+ years, I still have some difficulty wrapping my head around everything being a professional athlete entails. Twice a day practices, treatments, visits to oxygen chambers and 6, sometimes 7 day work weeks during rugby season all make his current profession quite different from a regular 9-5.

In addition to regular practices, his whole team gets on a bus/plane/train and heads to training camp for a week, twice a year in a different location. This spring's camp was in Miyazaki, about 4 hours south of Fukuoka by car. The purpose of these camps is to build camaraderie and get their bodies used to performing in different environments. My interest is less in the workouts and more in what they ate (surprise, surprise) and whether there were any fun, camp-like activities There aren't usually, but this recent camp ended in a fishing tournament where Keizo caught a blowfish, but it didn't count towards his team's tally because it was deemed inedible. Shucks.

The food is usually pretty standard Japanese cafeteria fare, easy to make and serve in large quantities. And who can blame the hotel that has to put on 3 meals a day for 40 some rugby players for wanting to keep it simple. I would love to know how much rice they go through!!

This hotel intrigued me though because they had real table cloths! Keizo said that they were the fanciest part of the room they ate in, but I am still impressed.

For dinner on the last day of camp, Keizo's team was treated to quite the spread, including the sashimi tray below. While I prefer any animal product I consume to not resemble the living creature as much as possible, I still love the attention to detail in Japanese food presentation.

On the bus ride home, the team stopped at a michi no eki (road station) for snacks. Keizo chose the gigantic メロンパン (melon bread) below and got a rude shock at the register when they charged him 600 yen for it. Most melon bread (named for its shape, not the flavor) is usually 200 yen or less. Regardless of the cost, the picture below is priceless in my opinion ;-)

What I love about Sunday

There are lots of things to love about Sundays. Sleeping in is one of my favorites.

This past Sunday also included a trip to Costco with my parents. In addition to sampling beef ravioli, sourdough toast, pomogranate juice and some chocolate covered cherries, Baba Foods was having a hummus extravaganza with all sorts of different flavors. The deal was pick 3 for $12, so we left with a spicy chipotle hummus, tabouleh salad and a pack of pita bread. Not having completely satisfied my hunger with all those samples, I dished up this delicious lunch when we got home:

Whoever thought to put olives in bread is a genius.

One is the loneliest number

Except when you are an ex-vegetarian with a carnivorous boyfriend who is out of town!! Keizo played a game in Osaka last weekend, leaving me to enjoy some meatless meals by myself. My general rule when cooking for one is not to make anything too complicated. So I didn't.

I went to the store to pick up some salad fixings and instant soup. After I finished paying at the main register, I noticed that the bakery at the front of the store was getting ready to close for the night and all the bread was 50% off. Bread in Japan is usually of the very white and squishy variety, but this bakery had some interesting looking rolls for sale. I bought a "Naan Pizza" bread and a miniature garlic baguette.

Back in the kitchen, I washed the veggies, toasted some garlic bread and added hot water to my soup packet. I also cut up 1/2 a sweet potato and a remaining chunk of kabocha from the fridge, sauteed them in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Throw everything on one plate (when cooking for one, you never want to use more dishes than you absolutely have to) and cha-ching, a lovely dinner for one.

The garlic baguette really made the meal, crispy and perfect for dipping in the corn soup.