i hope you eat good food, grow beautiful things, and have more love than you know what to do with.
I absolutely love Gudetama–he’s just so adorable! I even have a mug with him on it that my husband has ferreted away because he likes it so much too! In this bento, I have him laying on seven grain rice (recipe below), with the egg …
It’s winter, with quite a bit of snow on the ground, so there’s very little for me to do in the garden, This means I can focus on a hobby I had abandoned after I had kids: Kyaraben (or “charaben”) making. Since it’s been a …
As you all know, I’ve been slowly getting rid of the plastic in my life in an attempt to be environmentally friendly as well as becoming more self sustainable–and in the event of the collapse of society/apocalypse, I would much rather have a kitchen well stocked with glass, metal, and wood cookware than plastic.Â
Onto the meal itself. When my husband and I were in Japan for our honeymoon, in the basement of one of Tokyo’s largest department stores (ISETAN), we bought two boxes of beautifully packaged chirashi (and wandered around looking for a place to eat them). Instead of what I was familiar with, with slices of sashimi atop vinegared sushi rice, the toppings were cubed and garnished with daikon sprouts. Once I had a bite of this style of chirashi, I was hooked. I liked how the serving style is distinctly different from just eating sashimi sitting on the rice, and again different from nigiri sushi. In one bite, you could taste all the different toppings, each bite different depending on what mix of toppings you got in it. I love the way it looks, just like a beautiful jewelry box for which it’s named.
Years later, a food stall opened in New Jersey’s Mitsuwa and I once again was able to enjoy this style.
I first learned how easy it was to make pastry cream from my sister (The Chef) two Thanksgivings ago. She made choux cream puffs which is a little more involved than just filling a graham cracker pie crust with pastry cream and piling berries on …
There’s a restaurant in Flushing that I introduced my husband to called Debasaki–their specialty being deep fried wings stuffed with cheese and either kimchi, vegetables, or corn. It’s delicious but… far for me, terrible parking, and expensive (close to $20 a dozen pieces!) I prefer …
I have mochiko powder as well (glutinous rice flour) so I did make a few pieces of mochi, but it’s totally optional. However, sweetened red bean, mochi, strawberry are a timeless combination (especially as daifuku), and often eaten with a cup of hot green tea… So I guess you could call this a deconstructed reconstructed tea time snack!
Recipe
Optional Toppings
1. Mix matcha powder, sugar, and instant gelatin together until well combined. Add two cups chilled milk, whisking evenly until pudding has formed.
2. Add your favorite toppings and refrigerate the rest!
Colds blow through our house like a tornado, and despite the fact that neither of the kids go to daycare, the husband-unit often brings something home with him. While his immune system seems to be impervious to the viruses that ravages the winter seasons, myself …
One of the plants I was super excited to get my hands on this year was Crocus Cartwrightianus, otherwise known as Cartwright’s crocus or wild saffron. It’s widely accepted as the wild ancestor of our modern saffron, before it mutated into the sterile triploid form …
The last of the dandelions are holding on as the cold weather moves onto Long Island. I saw them as I worked in the yard yesterday, and knew that if I didn’t nab them now, I wasn’t going to see them until next spring. They are the tender new growths that come out during the fall, making them much less bitter than their summer counterparts.
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a fermented, pickle binge lately and decided that making dandelion kimchi would be the perfect way to say goodbye to this healthy treat. I paired it with apple for some sweetness to balance the bitter greens and the hot, spicy pepper flakes.
Recipe
1. Rinse dandelions under cold water to remove any sand/dirt. Drain and salt generously and set to the side as you prepare the other ingredients. This leeching process will further reduce the dandelion’s bitterness.
2. Combine garlic, ginger, chopped apples, and quarter onion in a blender and puree. Mix with Korean hot pepper flakes, fish sauce/soy sauce, salted shrimp/crab paste until well combined. Then toss the spring onions, matchsticked carrot, daikon, and remaining apple and set to the side.
3. Check on the dandelions. They should be somewhat wilted with water drawn out of them. Rinse under cold water and then squeeze and remove as much moisture as you can.
4. Toss and combine with the pepper mixture and place in a container. Allow to marinate for at least an hour before using.
You never have kimchi when you need it–especially when you’re craving kimchi fried rice and all the other things you could make with it! This week I set out to make my own from scratch, as I think the work and love I put into …