Spice Up Your Life With a Taste of Japan

*Fun Bento Box**Cute and Natural Food From California*

12/03/2011

Xmas tree cupcakes




Looking for some cute holiday cupcakes?
Put green tea cream leaves on your favorite cupcakes and make sweet xmas tree!

Maccha (green tea) cream
200ml Heavy whipping cream
3tsp Maccha(green tea powder)
3tbs powdered sugar


Beat all the ingredients in a chilled ball.
When it gets thick enough to pipe, put it into a pipping bag with tip of star shape.
Pipe on each cake.



Decorate with dried fruit.
To make the stars, cut out fruit sheet using a star shape cookie cutter.

Football Meat Pies



My boyfriend loves Oregon ducks and meat pies..so I combined both!

Quail eggs ducks wearing corns and broccoli stems hats and football meat pies.

Pies

Ingredients
2 puff pastry sheets
Meat fillings
Cheese

Direction
Cut out shapes with football shaped cookie cutters, using two different sizes.
First cut out 8 larger football pies, then cut 4 of them again using a smaller cutter.(I made the cutters by myself with a thick paper)
Place the second cut pies on the first ones.
Brush edges of pastry with beaten egg.
Bake in a very hot oven, 400F for 15-20 minutes.
When it's done, put the meat filling in the middle of the pies.
Cut cheese and put on the pies to make it look like footballs.



Meat pie filling
Recipe adapted from food.com

Ingredients
500 g minced beef
1 onions, chopped
1 cup water, divided
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/4 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 pinch nutmeg
3 tablespoons plain flour


Directions
Pre-heat oven at 220 degrees Celsius.
Brown meat and onion.
Add 3/4 cup of the water, bouillon cubes, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, pepper, oregano, and nutmeg.
Boil and cover for 15 minutes.
Blend flour with the remaining 1/4 cup water until it becomes a smooth paste; add to the meat mix.
Let cool.

9/06/2011

Toaster Pastry ~ Easy Mille-feullie (Napoleon)~



One of my favorite kinds of cakes is mille-feullie<3 data-blogger-escaped-br="">Sheets of puff pastry sandwiched with pastry creme.

This recipe is very easy. You can bake a pie in a toaster oven:)

★Pie crust
-1 frozen pie sheet

Move the frozen pie crust to the fridge a day before you plan to use it.
Cut into desired sizes.
With a fork poke small holes in the crust.
Line toaster oven tray with aluminum foil.
Bake until pastry is golden brown.
Cover the pastry with another sheet of aluminum foil to prevent it from burning and bake until it swells. ( about 10-15mins)


To make mille-feullie, You can just spread pastry creme between the layers of pies. I made the creme from soy milk this time! It tastes like custard creme.


~soy creme~

almond flour 90g (1cup)
soy milk 300g (1&1/2cup)
grated *yamaimo 90g
agar 1/2tsp
Maple Syrup 75g (1/4cup)
*(nigari 1/2tsp) - if you have.
corn or potato starch or arrowroot 2tbs dissolved in 3 tbs water
almond oil 60g (1/3cup) (5tbs)
vanilla extract 1/2tsp

*Yamaimo is called Japanese Yam. It is a root vegetable that is viscous in texture like okra.

*nigari is the most common tofu coagulants used. It is composed mainly of magnesium chloride and other minerals found in seawater.

You can find both nigari and yamaimo at Japanese grocery stores.

Direction:
place the top 6 ingredients in blender and mix well.
move the mixture to a large skillet and brig it to a boil.
Add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir well.
Reduce heat and simmer about 10 mins.

Let it cool and put in fridge over night.
Place the mixture into the blender and mix well.
Heat oil in a microwave for about 1min and add it to the mixture. Mix well.
Add vanilla extract and blend well.

7/24/2011

Avocado Sesame Cookies



Got a bag of 10 organic avocados for only $3 at a farmers market!
I was searching for avocado recipes and found this one...Avocado Cookies!
Avocado is known as butter fruit... so I thought why not try this...I know it sounds bad, but it turned out good:) My co-workers loved it!

I basically followed the recipe from Chewy & Gooey Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, but I skipped chocolate chips and replaced Earth Balance with Sesame paste(Tahini) to add a Japanese twist to it;)

Avocado Sesame Cookies

1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp tahini
1/4 - 1/3 c mashed avocado (no chunks)
3/4 c brown sugar
3 tbsp agave
2 tsp vanilla

-Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl
-In a separate bowl combine the tahini and avocado to make a smooth buttery mixture, then add the sugars and vanilla to combine until the ingredients are well incorporated
-Add the dry ingredients and mix well, then refrigerate the cookie dough overnight

Preheat the oven to 350º F

-Scoop the cookie dough and place evenly on a baking sheet, flattening them slightly with your hand
-Bake for 10-15 minutes (more or less) depending on your desired consistency - if you bake them too long, they only stay chewy for a bit before becoming crunchy

Sake Peach Jam



Peaches are in season. Yay!
Found a nice bourbon peach jam recipe online, but I didn't have bourbon at home...
So I replaced bourbon with sake. It turned out yummy:)

Sake Peach Jam
inspired by The Sweets Life

Ingredients:
-1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
-2 shallots, finely diced
-1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
-3 large firm peaches, blanched, skinned, and diced (or 1 small package of frozen peaches)
-1/4 cup beet sugar
-1/4 cup sake
-1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
-salt & white pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, shallots, and jalapeno. Season with salt and cook for 2-3 minutes, until tender. Add peaches and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
2. Stir in sugar before deglazing the pan with sake.
3. Reduce heat to low, add vinegar, and allow liquids to reduce (5-10 minutes).
4. After thickened, adjust seasonings (salt & pepper) as needed before removing from heat

7/03/2011

Yuzu Pepper Veggie Pizza



Spice up your pizza with a Japanese unique spice, YUZU PEPPER!
Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit known for its characteristic aroma.
Yuzu pepper is the hot rage in Japan right now and more and more food companies have started making it.
It's spicy paste made from Yuzu zest, green chili peppers and salt.
Look for it in Japanese grocery stores.

I mixed Yuzu pepper with tomato sauce to add a spice for the pizzza.
About 1/4tsp yuzu pepper for 3TBS tomato sauce.
Yummy!!

6/14/2011

Japanese Sweet Potato French Toast



2cups Orange juice
1 Japanese sweet potato
Sugar
Cinnamon
Breads

Blend orange juice, sweet potato, cinnamon in blender and pour mixture into a wide dish. Dip bread slices into the mix, coating both sides. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon and fry in medium-hot skillet until golden brown. Serve with maple syrup.

6/12/2011

Raw Pecan Crusted Cashew Creme Tart




Made with only nuts and dried fruit. Very natural, simple but yummy tart!
Recipe adapted from Whole Living.

5/30/2011

Quick Apple Pie



Who says you need nice pie crust to make yummy apple pie?? Not me!
All you need is the filling and....GYOZA SKIN!
You can make it with your frying pan. Can't be easier!


For the filling (for about 10 pies)
1 apple
1/4cup sugar
1TBS lemon juice
Cinnamon

Cut apple into small pieces.
Mix all the ingredients and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.
Bring it to a boil.
Let it cool.

For the pie
The apple filling
20 gyoza skins
Almond oil

Place the filling on the gyoza skin. (double wrap)
Roll it up.
Fry with almond oil.

5/28/2011

Vegan cupcake with Cashew frosting




I found a post about the vegan frosting made from cashews on a food blog, Roost and it sounded very interesting! What a clever idea.
I gave it a try and it turned out very good. It's a good alternative to buttercreme.
I followed the recipe below, but replaced coconut oil with Tahini.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The cashew cream (The recipe from Roost)

2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 3 hours, drained and rinsed
juice from 3 lemons
4 dates, pits removed
1 TBS coconut oil (this does not need to be warmed just scoop it right out of the jar)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
orange juice

Place all ingredients in a high speed blender (a rinky dink blender will not do the trick!) and blend until you have a very smooth consistency. Add more OJ if you need to thin it out.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Since the frosting is vegan, I wanted to make some kind of vegan cupcakes.
I was browsing around for it and found this interesting cupcake recipe on a Japanese website!
This recipe requires no egg, no milk(even soy milk)........ but the chemical reaction of baking soda and vinegar to increase the volume!!
I've used this reaction for cleaning......
When those two are combined, it starts bubbling up and breaks down stains.
Well you might say "Seriously? Vinegar for cupcakes?".
But trust me! It doesn't taste vinegar at all.
I changed some ingredients of the original recipe to make it healthier.

Vegan cupcakes

100g Whole what flour
3TBS Cocoa powder
3TBS Brown sugar
1.5tsp Baking Powder
1/2tsp Baking Soda
2TBS Oil
110cc Water
2.5TBS Vinegar

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine dry ingredients.
Add wet ingredients except vinegar and mix well.
Add vinegar and mix quickly.
Bake for about 25mins.

*Don't try to make many at a time.. You might not be able to get the volume you want.
The softest cupcake I've ever had! Enjoy:)

5/15/2011

Mitarashi Dango





Mitarashi dango is one of Japanese traditional sweets.
Dango is a Japanese chewy and bouncy dumpling made from rice flour, related to mochi.
The caramel colored sauce is called mitarashi and made from soy sauce, sugar and starch. This sweet but savory sauce is perfect with dango. It's similar to the taste of teriyaki sauce.

You need special rice flour(mochiko) to make dango.
But today I'm introducing how to make dango with more familiar ingredient, RICE!
And it's much easier to make it than using rice flour.

For the dango
1cup Cooked rice ( I used brown rice)
2tbs Potato starch

For the mitarashi sauce
3tbs Soy sauce
80g Sugar
100cc Water
1tbs Potato starch


Mix together rice and potato starch to make dango.
Knead until it form a ball.
Divide the dough into 6 balls.
Cook in boiling water until it comes floating to the surface.
Place into cold water.
Put the dango on skewers.
Grill the skewered dangos on a grill until slightly grill-marked.

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small pan.
Cook until it gets thickened.
Pour the sauce over the dango.

5/09/2011

Mickey and Minnie onigiri (rice balls)



Found a great onigiri idea on one of my favorite Japanese bento blogs!
You need crab meat to make clothes of Mickey and Minnie.
It's really easy!
You can find the pictures of each direction at http://ameblo.jp/kaerenmama/entry-10873988142.html.

4/24/2011

Kyotofu's Chocolate Souffle Cupcakes




4/23 was my boss's 40th birthday, so I decided to make 40 cupcakes for his birthday party. I was browsing recipes online for something new to try, when I came across this Kyotofu's chocolate souffle cupcake.
It won New York Magazine's best cupcake award in 2007:"Imperceptibly enriched with soy milk, tofu, and just enough miso to give it a slight, delectable tang."

Kyotofu is a Japanese dessert bar in NY.
New York Magazine say;"with its focus on the flavors of Japan and the gracefully subtle incorporation of soy into eleven out of the fifteen items on its short menu, Kyotofu is making its own distinctive mark on an increasingly crowded postprandial market."
Zagat says Kyotofu is one of the best Japanese restaurants in the US.


Here is the recipe courtesy of New York Magazine;
Ingredients
2 cups dark chocolate (preferably Valrhona pellets, 64 percent)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon white miso
3 eggs
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup Japanese bread flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder (preferably Valrhona)
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup silken tofu
1/4 cup soy milk, unsweetened (preferably Vitasoy)


Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
(1) Melt chocolate, butter, and miso in double boiler over low heat, stirring occasionally. When only small lumps remain, remove from heat and stir until completely smooth. Whip eggs until they reach “ribbon stage,” then pour chocolate mixture into mixing bowl with the eggs, varying the mixing speed to incorporate chocolate.
(2) Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, mixing together with hands or a whisk. Fold the dry ingredients into the chocolate, mixing until fully incorporated. Add tofu and soy milk slowly, mixing until fully incorporated.
(3) Scoop batter almost to the top of 24 wax-lined mini–panettone cups arranged on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating tray halfway through, until center springs back when touched. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired.
(Published 2009)

4/03/2011

Sushi Cake!





Made a sushi cake for my friend's birthday party.

8inch sushi cake

3cup sushi rice
*5tbs vinegar
*4tbs agave (You can use sugar instead)
*1tbs salt
*1.2inch ish Dried Kombu(edible kelp) optional

Prepare sushi vinegar. Mix all the * ingredients well and let it cool in a fridge over night.
Add the sushi vinegar to hot steamed rice and mix well.

Cover the mold with plastic wrap.
Fill the mold with the half amount of sushi rice. Place plastic wrap on and press the rice.
Spread the avocado salad and put another half of sushi rice over the avocado and press the rice using plastic wrap.
Remove plastic wrap and unmold. ( the bottom-side up)
Garnish the cake.


★recommended ingredients for garnish
salmon sashimi (Roll up 2 slices of the sashimi together to make a salmon rose)
crab meat
tomatoes
egg
shrimp
avocado
okura

I used avocado and crab meat mixed with my favorite creamy tofu savory sauce from the vegetarian restaurant in Hermosa Beach, The Spot.
The recipe is here:http://www.food.com/recipe/creamy-tofu-savory-sauce-277729

Love this sauce! So good with brown rice and steamed vegetables.

Also, I put some pickled onions under the salmon roses, like Salmon carpaccio.
The pickles recipe is here:http://taste-of-japan.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-favorite-pickles.html

3/27/2011

Pad Tahi Soba



Used soba instead of rice noodles for pad thai.
Thai sauce + Japanese noodles=Yummy!

Soy MIlk Ramen made with pasta noodles



★How to make ramen noodles from pasta noodles★
Just add 1 table spoon of baking soda and 1 table spoon of salt to boiled water(about 1L for four ounces dry pasta). Use whole wheat pasta to make it healthy.
The baking soda increases the alkalinity of the noodle, making it moist and pliable.

★Soy Milk Ramen Broth★→tastes like tonkotsu(pork bone broth) ramen!
200ml soy milk
50ml water
1tsp vegetable stock
2tsp soy sauce
salt & pepper
1tbs sesame oil
green onions
Your favorite toppings

Put soy milk, water, soy sauce and the stock into a pot and bring to a boil.
Add salt and pepper if desired.
Stir-fry green onions with sesame oil for the topping.

3/06/2011

Strawberry Chocolate Tofu Daifuku



Happy girls's day!!!!
3/3 is a girl's day in Japan.
Find out more in this article.

To celebrate the day, I made strawberry daifuku with tofu and cashew chocolate.
All you need is tofu and potato starch to make mochi. No need to buy mochi flour! Easier and healthier. Potato starch is a very useful ingredient, giving a springy,chewy and glutinous texture like mochi.



For the tofu mochi
1pack silken tofu
1cup potato starch
1/4cup sugar
1tbs(ish) potato starch for dusting

For the filling
strawberries
cashew chocolate creme (recipe below)

1.Add tofu, sugar and potato starch to a blender and blend until smooth.
2.Microwave for about 2 mins. Remove from the microwave and stir. Place back in the microwave for about 1-2 mins. If it looks still raw, heat a little bit more.
3. Coat a cutting board with potato starch.
4. Cut the dough into 4-5 pieces.
5. Roll out a piece of the dough on the cutting board with wet hands.(it's hot so be careful!)
6. wrap the filling and press the edges together.
7. Dust with potato starch.




Cashew chocolate
1cup whole raw cashews
cold water
1tbs cocoa powder
1tbs sugar
1tbs honey

Rinse the cashews very well.
Add cold water to cover them.
Refrigerate for more than 10 hours.
Drain the cashews and place them in a blender with other ingredients and blend until smooth.

Japanese Caprese Salad



Put a new spin on a traditional caprese!
Try this Japanese caprese salad, substituting tofu for mozzarella and shiso leaves for basil.
I LOVE the smell and flavor of shiso. So exotic.

For the salad
1pack tofu
1/2tsp salt
2-3 tomatoes
10ish shiso leaves

The most important thing it to drain tofu very well.
1.Sprinkle salt on tofu.
2.Wrap the tofu with a few paper towel.
3.Press with something heavy for more than 3 hours.
*I always use the pickles pressure to drain tofu. Very easy and works very well.
Cut the drained tofu and add between tomato and shiso leaves.


For the shoyu dressing
1tbs shoyu
1/2tbs sesame oil
1tbs vinegar
1/2tbs sugar

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients.

3/02/2011

Goat Cheese Pancake



Happy National Pancake Day!
I found out yesterday that 3/1 is known as National Pancake Day.
So I'm introducing my favorite goat cheese pancake.
Just put goat cheese scrambles on the top of the pancake.Yummy!

2/27/2011

Tofu Gyoza






I'm not a vegan, but this is the best vegan gyoza recipe ever!
This is the one I made at the tofu cooking party.
Gyoza is fun to make with many people:)

1/2 tofu
1/2cup brown rice, cooked
1/2 onion, diced
3 shiitake mushroom, cut into small pieces
2tbs potato starch
1tbs grated ginger
2tbs grated lotus root (optional)
2tbs soy sauce
1tbs seasoning
1tbs sesame oil
20-30 gyoza wrappers

For the dipping sauce
1/2 green onion
1clove ginger
2clove garlic
1tbs soy sauce
1tbs sake
1tbs sesame oil

Wrap your drained tofu in a few paper towels.Press with something heavy for about 3 hours.
Saute onion with sesame oil. Combine with other ingredients and mix well.
Place about 1 tablespoon of the mixture in the center of each gyoza wrapper. Fold wrappers in half and seal edges with moistened fingers.
Cook gyoza with canola oil.

To prepare the sauce, cut green onion, ginger and garlic.
mix all the ingredients and leave it for about more than 1 hour.

Tofu Cheese Cake



Had a second cooking party with my foodie friends.
Since I have a looooooot of tofu, the theme of the party was TOFU this time!
I made tofu gyoza and tofu cheese cake.
I baked tofu cheese cake before using real cheese, but this time, I tried to make it with sake lees as a sub for cheese. As I wrote it before, sake lees taste and smell like cheese when mixed with oil and salt.



****************************
For the filling

1pk tofu
3/4cup coconut milk
4tbs sake lees
1/2 banana
1tsp plum vinegar
3tbs sugar
1tbs miso
2tbs lemon juice
1/2tsp cinnamon
1.5tbs agave
1tsp vanilla extract
★1tsp agar powder
★2tbs almond meal
★1tbs potato starch

For the crust

4tbs pancake mix
4tbs walnut
4tbs rolled oat
2tbs potato starch
2tbs strawberry jam
1tbs soy milk

*************************

To prepare the filling, wrap your drained tofu in a few paper towels.Press with something heavy for about 3 hours.
First, mix agar with almond meal and potato starch(★), and then mix all the ingredients well with a blender. Let it cool over a night. (sake lees make it ferment and taste more like cheese)

To prepare the crust,preheat oven to 350F(180C).
Mix together walnut and oat with a blender.
Combine other ingredients in the blender and mix.
Press mixture into the bottom of a cake mould.
Bake for about 15mins.
Put 1tbs honey(or agave, maple syrup)on the crust, which makes the crust crunchy.
Pour the filling into the crust and bake in a preheated oven for about 45mins.
Let it cool and then chill in a refrigerator for about 3hours.

2/23/2011

savory cupcakes with onion rosemary cakes and goat cheese frosting



Non sweet cupcake!
Found the recipe here.

2/21/2011

Blueberry Basil Tofu Goat Cheese Cake



Saw a guy eating a goat cheese blueberry basil pie on Food network yesterday.
It looked so delicious and unique! I had never hear basil cheese cake before.
I got so many dozens of tofu from a client and was wondering what to make with them...so I decided to give it a try with tofu.


For the crust(Easy!)
1cup Pancake mix
3tbs Butter
1tbs Soy Milk

For the filling
1/2pkg Silken Tofu
4oz(1/2pkg) Goat Cheese
3tbs Tahini, Butter or Peanut butter
1/4cup Sugar
1/4cup Lemon Juice
1 Egg
2tbs Dried Basil
1pack Blueberry


Combine all the crust ingredients. If the mixture crumble when you squeeze it together in your hands, add more butter.
Press the mixture into a pie mold.

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Wrap your drained tofu in a few paper towels.Press with something heavy for about 30 mins. Mix all the filling ingredients except blueberries with a blender.
Add blueberries and mix easily.
Spread the filling over the crust.
Bake for about 20-30 mins.
Let it cool and enjoy!

2/20/2011

Sake Cheese Pizza (Non Daily)



Sake lees taste and smell like cheese when mixed with oil and salt.
That's because sake lees are the fermented food like cheese.
I wrote about sake lees before but it's quite nutritious!
It's a good substitute for cheese.

Another sake lees recipe↓
http://taste-of-japan.blogspot.com/2011/01/sake-white-sauce-seafood-gratin.html

Sake cheese creme

Tofu 1/2pack
Sake lees 1tbs
Salt 1/3tsp
Plum vinegar 2tsp
Thini 2tsp
Basil paste 1tsp

Mix all together with a blender.
Use as a substitute for cheese.

2/04/2011

mochi bread



This is a very easy recipe of a Japanese sweets, Daifuku.
Potato starch is the key ingredient, giving them a springy,chewy and glutinous texture like mochi.

50cc water
2tbs potato starch
2-3 slices of bread

Cut the crust of a slice of bread and roll out.
Pork holes all over with fork.
Mix water and potato starch.
Coat a slice of bread in it.
Wrap in plastic wrap. Cook in microwave for about 50 seconds.
Put creme, sweet beans or whatever you like on the center of the bread and wrap.

1/30/2011

Sake white sauce seafood gratin



I've seen a lot of Sake lees recipes on a Japanese cooking website, cookpad lately.
I found out why by reading this article about sake lees in Japan Times.
A popular Japanese science TV program introduced the health benefit of sake lees.

So I bought a bag of sake lees at a Japanese grocery store to try some of them.
Sake lees are the leftover from sake production and quite nutritious!
The most popular dish using sake lees is "kasuzuke" which is made by pickling fish in the lees. But today, I made sake white sauce for the gratin.

Sake white sauce

2tsp sake lees
1cup soy milk
1tbs miso
1tbs tahini
1tbs soy source
1tbs vinegar

Put the sake lees in a pot with soy milk and stir while heating over a medium low heat until the lees melt. Add the other ingredients and use as white source for gratin.

1/19/2011

Pumpkin Mochi



1/4 pumpkin
3tbs potato starch
some pumpkin seeds

1.Place pumpkin chunks into water and bring it to a boil.Cook until tender.
2.Push pumpkin through a mesh sieve.
3.Mix the pumpkin and potato starch together.
4.Make pumpkin shape with the pumpkin.(usu the back of a knife to make pumpkin ski)
5.put in a microwave and heat about 3mins.
6.put a pumpkin seed on a top.

1/18/2011

Tofu Nama Chocolate (ganache)




In Japan, women give chocolate to men on Valentine's day.
This article is about Valentine's day in Japan!
http://japanese.about.com/od/japanesecultur1/a/Valentines-Day-In-Japan.htm

Nama chocolate is one of the most popular valentine's chocolate.
Nama means raw in Japan, but it's not raw food. In this case, nama means "melt in your mouth".

I used tofu instead of creme so it's much healthier than regular nama chocolate!


150g chocolate
100g silken tofu
cocoa powder

1.Drain tofu between paper towels with a heavy weight on top for about 1 hour.
2.Add to a blender and blend for about 3mins
3.Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water.
4.Add the tofu using a mesh sieve.
5.Line a container with plastic wrap and pour the chocolate. Refrigerate well.
6.Cut and dust with cocoa powder.

1/11/2011

Non Daily Pumpkin Puddings




For caramel source
2tbs sugar
3.5tbs water

1.Place the sugar and water in a souecepan.(dont't stir now)
2.Bring it to a boil and then swirl. Shift this caramel souece into puddings cups and cool it down in a fridge.

For puddings
2tsp agar
1/4 pumpkin
2cups soymilk
1/2cup agave

1.Place pumpkin chunks into water and bring it to a boil.Cook until tender.
2.Remove the pieces and let cool.
3.Push pumokin through a mesh sieve.
4.Add the other ingridients and mix together.
5.Shift 4 into a bowl and bring it to a boil.
6.Place into the pudding cups.

Sesame cookies




Here is my favorite sesame soft cookies' recipes.

★2tbs canola oil
★2tbs tahini
★3tbs apple source
★1/2tsp vanilla extract
☆3tbs beet sugar
☆1/2cup brown rice flour
☆1/2cup whole wheat flour
☆1/4cup oatmeal
☆1/2tsp baking powder
☆1/3tsp salt
☆dry fruits

Preheat oven to 320F.
Shift ☆ into a mixing bowl. Stir the mixture to blend evenly.
Place ★ into the mixing bowl.
Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 mins.

1/10/2011

My favorite pickles



Best pickles ever! My friends love this recipe too.

1cup vinegar
1cup water
6tablespoons sugar
2teaspoons salt
2 red peppers
1 baby leaf
3 cloves
2 peppercorns
1 garlic clove

Remove seeds from red peppers and mix all the ingredients in a pot. Bring it to boil. Cool it down and then pour in a jar. Put your favorite vegetables in it.

Sushi Cup Cakes



Happy New Year!
Celebrated Japanese new year with sushi cup cakes:)
It's easy to make sushi cups.
Just line a small cup(column shape is desirable) with plastic wrap.
Put sushi rice on the cup and push with plastic wrap to shape.