Mozzarella, Tomato, and Prosciutto Salad (モッザレラ、トマトとプロシュートのサラダ)

Mozzarella, Tomato, Prosciutto, Basil, Lime, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt.... What can go wrong with mixing them together ???

I had it with Pasta Peperoncino

Mongo !

Mango season is coming !

Tandori Chicken and Colored Green (タンドリチキンとカラードグリーン)

Indian people don't eat chicken skin, so normally Tandori chicken does not have skin. I thought crispy spicy chicken skin would taste wonderful, and I kept it unpeeled. Yes ! it tasted very good !
I won't peel it any more :p Prepared yogurt sauce with mint and red onion to ease spiciness.

Final look ,

Eggplant Lasagna （なすのラザニア）

Sauteed eggplan in fry pan with olive oil and garlic, and put them in Lasagna. You can microwave lasagna pasta, layered 2,3 sheets of pasta with tomato sauce, egg plant, and  put cheese on the top. It tastes like Eggplant Parmesan, but much easier to make.

Asparagus Salad (アスパラとゆで卵のサラダ)

Asparagus salad again ! yes, it's the season of Asparagus. It tastes really sweet and refreshing.  Adding chopped red onion, boiled egg, mayo, vinegar, and salt.

Rosemary Potato（ローズマリーポテト）

I've got organic potato from farmer's market last weekend. I've heard from friends that organic potato makes a big difference since root veges absorb and accumulate essence from soil.
I put garlic, rosemary from pot, and rock salt on the potatoes, and bake them in toaster oven. Voila ! It's soooo good !

Green Pea Rice （グリーンピースご飯）

It's telling the spring arrival ! Adding green peas, sake, and a bit of salt when you steam rice in rice cooker.

Green Pea Soup with Black Truffle Oil (グリーンピースのポタージュ、黒トリュフオイルで)

I've got this amazing black truffle infused olive oil from a super market in Stanford Shopping Center. It's sold only in that market and redwood city. There are other flavors such as basil, mushroom, French spice, etc, and they are all very good. It'll make a dish special just drizzling a bit.
I boiled green peas, add milk, soup stock, salt, soy milk cream, and blend it with hand mixer. As itself, it's refreshing and good, but adding a bit of truffle olive oil brings it to the next level.

 

Colored Green (カラードグリーン）

I've been trying out new vegetables and colored green is one of them. It's colorful and fun vegetable.

Today's dinner is full of veges !

Asparagus with Melted Cheese (アスパラガスととろけるチーズ）

Nothing goes wrong with this combination ! Adding black pepper add some more kick to it.

Chicken and Celery stir-fry in Chinese style (鶏肉とセロリの炒め物)

I hardly use Celery because it comes in a lot of quantity, and always cannot use it up. Also flavor tastes sometimes too strong to match up with other vegetables. I know it's used very often to make soup base in French cooking, and I kinda know that I haven't reached to that point to be able to use Celery !
I suddenly remember this dish my Mom makes which is simply stir fry celery and chicken. The point of making Chinese stir-fry successful is to cook each ingredients separately, and mix them together in the end. (This is the secret of Chinese food I learnt in Taiwan !)

Ma-Po Tofu (麻婆豆腐）

Ma-po tofu is one of the most popular Chinese dish in Japan, and naturally we cook it in household. Japanese Ma-po tofu is mainly hot spicy because of red chili, but after I came to US I found authentic one is rather spicy from Sichuan pepper which has unique and strong flavor.
In Japan, we use Sichuan pepper on eel, but it's hardly used other than that.
I started making Ma-po tofu with a garlic, green onion, sugar, and bit of Gochujang (Korean spicy miso paste) and a lot  Sichuan pepper. Add super soft silken tofu at the very end after stir fry everything else. You can make it thick by adding diluted starch in the end if you like.

Coconut Milk Jelly with Mango Puree（ココナッツミルクゼリー、マンゴーソースで)

Both coconut milk and mango puree are canned. So easy, and soooooo yummy !
Hiding such a special dessert in the fridge for dessert brings me such a excitement and happiness :D

Idly and red beat sambar （イドリーとビートのサンバー）

I purchased Idly butter from Indian shop, and steamed it with microwavable Idly maker.
Red beat Sambar is my favorite !

Asparagus （アスパラガス）

It's spring ! The season for asparagus :)

Salmon Teriyaki （鮭の照り焼き）

I made this recently, and I wanted to eat this again !
The point to success is 1. small amount of very thick sauce made of soy sauce, sugar and sake, 2. grated white radish and ginger.

Chickin Roast and Kong-Xing Tsai sautee (チキンローストと空心菜炒め）

Toaster oven roasted chicken and Kong-xing Tsai (center empty vege) sautee.
It seems that spring is Kong-xing Tsai season. I've got fresh one from Mountain View farmer's market.

Small Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta （アスパラと小エビのパスタ）

Light and refreshing pasta for Sunday brunch !

Orange Jelly （オレンジのゼリー）

I just added gelatin and honey to orange juice to make orange jelly. Top with more honey and mint make it special!

Ramen (ラーメン)

Ramen is getting really popular in US, and we can buy very good packaged raw noodle and sauce.
I made Cha-shu  with chicken. It's usually made of pork, but chicken is less fatty, and quick to make.

Non Kneed Bread (こねないパン)

Here is NY times non knead bread again !
This time, it was too cold still, and the bread did not expand enough.
I should have followed fast version of recipe:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/dining/081mrex.html

Sheek Kebab (シシケバブ)

I like juicy Sheek Kebab, but I could not make it juicy and plump. Then I found a recipe online which made it in exactly I want ! I steamed saffron rice with sliced almond and raisin.

 How to make Sheek Kebab:
- mix minced meet (chicken, beef , or lamb) with grated onion, salt, a lot of spice, and half spoon of baking soda.
- mold it and bake it in oven or toaster oven.
- mix yogurt, chopped onion, cilantro, and salt to make Tzajtziki sauce

Asparagus Salad (アスパラガスのサラダ)

This is what my grandma used to make.
Mix lightly boiled asparagus, boiled egg, chopped red onion, mayo, and vinegar.
 Egg and onion remove the green smell of asparagus which I don't like much.

Crispy Teriyaki Salmon with Grated Daikon (鮭の照り焼き、大根おろし添え)

wow ! this is yummy !
Saute salmon in fry pan with sufficient amount of oil to make the surface crispy.
After take out salmon from the pan, put soy sauce, sugar, and sake in the same fry pan to make sauce.
I used to cook salmon in the sauce, but I found it's better to cook salmon and sauce separately.
Then,  on the plate, put grated Daikon (Japanese white radish) on top of salmon.

Shishito and Shimeji Pasta (しし唐としめじのスパゲッティ)

I just added sauteed Shishito pepper and Shimeji mushroom to regular Peperoncino.
Peperoncino is Italian fried noodle, I would say.
To make Peperoncino, stir fried boiled spaghetti with lots of good olive oil, garlic and red chilli flake. When any starch is fried with oil, it tastes yummy, so you cannot be stingy about oil for this dish.

Ceviche and Sashimi dinner (セビーチェ、刺身)

I do this super easy dinner on Sunday.
Buy salmon Sashimi cut and make both Ceviche and Sashimi, and it looks gorgeous !
I saw TV program in Japan saying that Sashimi taste better when it sliced thinner,
so I'm trying to cut it as thin as possible.
I bought some Japanese ceramics in Tsukiji market in Tokyo in very inexpensive price.
There are some retail priced ceramic shops both in in-market and out-market shopping district in Tsukiji market. Tsukiji market is the world biggest fish and vege/fruit maket, but surrounding area is filled with all sorts of food industry related retail shops. It's such a vibrant place !
After I started using these Japanese plates, I noticed they make meal look so good !

How to make Ceviche:
- sliced Sashimi quality fish and add squeezes lemon or lime, chopped cilantro, and red onion.

Shimeji and Red Beet Salad (しめじとビートのサラダ)

I'm exploring new combination of vegetables for salad.
Sauteed Shimeji mushroom and sliced red beet goes pretty well.

Colored Green (カラードグリーン)

I started trying out American green veges such as colored green, kale, etc
They are usually a bit bitter, and tough, but I've heard that it's terrific for health.
There are many kinds colored green and kales, and I'm still trying new kinds, but I prefer spinach or cabbage :p

However, this recipe was really delicious. Saute colored green with garlic and caper.

Couscous（クスクス）

Someday, I want to get Tajine pot and make sauce for couscous,
but for now, my Le Creuset does some decent job for me.
I put Chicken sausage, tomato, red/yellow pepper, and some spices into the pot,
and leave it for 30 min. Serve it on top of fluffy couscous.
It's warm and comfy food.

Tiramisu (ティラミス)

A friend (are you reading this blog ?) made Tiramisu before,
and I have been wanting to try since then.
I looked into online recipe, and this one was the easiest one, but turned out to be the most delicious Tiramisu I've ever had :)))

How to make:
- Separate two egg white and york, and whip egg white with sugar to make solid melange.
- In another bowl, mix egg york and Mascarpone cheese.
- Gradually add egg white melange into the Mascarpone mixture. While mixing, try not to break melange consistency. You can do folding motion in order not to break melange.
- Mix water, powder coffee, ram or some sort of liqueur, and vanilla essence.
- Dip finger biscuit into the coffee mixture. Don't soak it ! It'll break. Place it in to a final container.
- After the finger biscuit layer, put Mascarpone mixture. On top of the final layer of Mascarpone, sprinkle cacao powder, and keep it in fridge.
- I enjoyed it for 4 days, and it become taster better as time went by ! Enjoy !