by : Reiko Leaf Vegetabes, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Root vegetable, Seafood, Tofu

NABE Hot Pot
アメリカだって鍋

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Yes, it’s the time of the year for NABE, or Japanese hot pot.

When we moved to the condo in the city from the house in the suburbs a few years ago, one of the thing we did was downsizing.

A big one.

Well, we had over 3500 square feet in the house and we shrank our home to less than a half of it.

We got rid of a lot of things, and we actually enjoyed the whole experience.

When you go through a process like thins you realize how much unnecessary stuff you accumulate over years.

Since we moved to the condo, I’ve been careful in terms of what to buy, and I pay attention not only to the price but also to how much space it would take and how often we would use it.

I bought this NABE pot after we moved here.

It was rather an impulsive buy, but overall I’m happy with this purchase.

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I was happy to find the dried shiitake mushrooms and dried Kombu seaweed at the local grocery store.

I used these as the base of the NABE soup in which I cooked the fish and vegetables.

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NABE is probably one of the easiest things to prepare.

Basically you cut ingredients into bite-sized pieces, and that’s pretty much it.

Of course if you have extra time, you can always make your carrots look pretty (lol).

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Add all the ingredients into the boiled soup.

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Turn the heat down, cover, and then wait.

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You can basically use any vegetables, meat, and seafood.

This time I used cod, napa cabbage, scallion, carrots, tofu, and clear noodle, and served with a mixture of soy sauce, white vinegar, and sesame oil as a dipping sauce.

A great thing about NABE, other than that it’s tasty, is that it brings people to the dining table.

Well, in our household “people” would be me and my husband, but it did bring us to the dining table, and had us sit across from each other and a have a great conversation while taking time enjoying the dinner.

We always eat together if both of us are home, but we don’t always sit at the dining table and we often sit next to each other on the couch and eat while watching TV.

We don’t have to do this all the time but it was a great way to enjoy each other’s company, and I wouldn’t mind doing it again soon.

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by : Reiko Leaf Vegetabes, Mushroom, Nuts, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Tofu, Vegan, Vegetarian

Shiro-Ae Bento
白和えBENTO

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Last time I made a bento box I enjoyed so much that I decided to make another one for lunch this weekend.

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The four dishes that went into the box are carrot cranberry shiro-ae, soy fritters, mustard kale, and sauteed Buna-pi mushrooms.

Shiro-ae is a traditional Japanese dish where cooked vegetables are coated with soy and sesame based cream.

I used carrot, pistachio, and dried cranberries for this dish, and this turned out to be delicious!

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The rice was cooked with seventeen different grains, and I loved the texture.

This bento was served in a large black and red bento box that I picked up in Japan.

I thought this box was just perfect for this.

Doesn’t it look pretty?

Again we ate it for lunch right after I made it.

I know I didn’t have to put them in the box, but it was fun.

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Here is a smaller version I made with all the same dishes , and this is going to be my lunch tomorrow.

This time Terry asked me to make one for his tomorrow’s lunch too.

This may become a tradition at our house.

We’ll see.

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by : Reiko Leaf Vegetabes, Mushroom, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Mushroom Coconut Curry Noodle Soup
きのこたっぷりタイカレーヌードルスープ

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A friend’s son spent a few weeks in Europe for his study-abroad program this summer.

It may not be his first trip abroad, but it certainly was his first time to be away from home this long.

His parents were proud of him, but I know they were worried and his mom said she cried when she sent him off at the airport.

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The first time I left Japan was probably when I was his age, 19 or 20.

It was an ESL/study-abroad program organized by my college,  and I stayed with a family in Riverside California for a month while attending an ESL class at a local church.

I am a big supporter of college study-abroad programs.

You can read books, look at pictures, and watch videos (and it’s not difficult to do so today), but there is NOTHING like actually spending time in a foreign country.

I ended up coming back to the US two more times and the third time I stayed.

After 15 years I still find new things, but I never forget my very first time experiencing “American” things, from TV shows (The Simpsons, America’s Funniest Home Videos), music (Paula Abdul was big when I was there; you can probably guess how old I am!), food (I fell in love with bagels with cream cheese), to the shampoo (I still remember the coconut scent from the shampoo my 15-year-old host family sister was using). They were so new, different, some shocking, and some seemed crazy, yet, the experience was so cool!

It really opened my eyes.

And I don’t think anything else has ever done that at the same order of magnitude.

You don’t have to stay in the country for a long time, but traveling to a different country, leaving your comfort zone, and exposing yourself to a language, food, and customs that are totally different from something you have known the whole life at a relatively young age helps you understand what it really means to be open-minded and humble.

Interestingly, one of the things I learned from my first trip abroad was how similar we were in terms of what we want in our lives, despite all the cultural differences.

Family is important. We want peace. We enjoy learning new things. We try to help each other.

Simple.

Yet, true.

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I don’t know exactly where I’m going with this story (lol).

But this post of Thai curry is probably not a too inappropriate place to talk about it.

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Mushroom Coconut Curry Noodle Soup

canola oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 inch thick slice, ginger, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cups, chopped mushrooms (I used Maitake and Oyster mushrooms)
2 tablespoons shio kombu (salted Japanese kombu seaweed)
2 cups water
1~2 tablespoons cane sugar
2 tablespoons dried lemongrass (I put it in a teabag)
3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1 cup coconut cream
salt and pepper
100g cooked clear noodles
2 cups chopped napa cabbage
1 cup chopped red cabbage
chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon sweet chili jam from Trader Joes (optional)
juice from fresh lime (optional)

1. Sautee garlic and ginger in oil.
2. Add onion and mushrooms. Continue to sautee.
3. Add Japanese salted seaweed, Shio kombu, and water. Boil and then turn to low heat.
4. Add sugar, dried lemongrass, curry paste, coconut cream, salt, and pepper. Boil and then turn to low heat.
5. Add napa cabbage and red cabbage.
6. Serve with cilantro, chili jam, and lime.

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by : Reiko Bread, Leaf Vegetabes, Sandwich, Vegan, Vegetarian

Edamame Veggie Sandwich
枝豆サンド

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We got back from our trip a few days ago.

We are home, but technically we are still on vacation.

Terry says we can go out to eat and I don’t have to cook, but after a while I WANT to cook because I miss my food (it sounds strange, but it’s true!).

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I was in the mood for a sandwich with LOTS of veggies.

So that’s what we had for lunch today.

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I pile up everything high, hoping they stay between the bread slices.

Love all the colors.

Edamame was salted and slightly mashed.

Next time I will spread more of this edamame paste.

It was simple yet tasty.

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I think I’m getting better at making sandwiches.

One of the lessons I’ve learned is to use thin slices of bread.

My sandwiches used to be so thick, and I always felt I was eating too much bread!

Not this time.

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Edamame Veggie Sandwich makes 2 sandwiches

4 slices bread
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 carrot, julienned
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1/3 English cucumber, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
1 cup lightly mashed and salted edamame (with a little lemon juice)
1 cup baby spinach and mustard greens, dressed with simple dressing (oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper)
salt

1. Spread mustard on bread slices.
2. Sandwich all the vegetables.
3. Sprinkle salt.

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by : Reiko Leaf Vegetabes, Peppers, Root vegetable, Vegan, Vegetarian

Big Salad
おっきいサラダ

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I hesitated to post this one, because it’s a salad and there isn’t anything super special about it.

But I decided to go ahead and post it because I think people will have a good idea of what we eat a lot on a daily basis.

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You’ll find this type (and size) of salad at our dinner table often.

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I make all the dressing we consume at home.

Once in a while we buy a bottle of dressing just because Terry wants to keep one just in case he is home alone and there is no homemade dressing ready in the fridge.

But almost always we end up throwing it away with more than half full because we simply do not use it.

I tell everyone all the time, but everyone should make their own dressing because it’s easy, cheap, and it simply tastes better than store-bought ones.

This is my recent favorite thing to eat my salad with, and I shouldn’t even probably call it dressing.

It’s a mixture of olive salad (from Costco) and olive oil.

I just drizzle this over my salad and sprinkle some salt.

Simply delicious!!

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In the beginning of this post I said there is nothing special about this salad, yet, it’s so hard to find a salad like this at restaurants.

Often times, restaurant salads are too leafy and they do not have much substance. And if they do, they are usually loaded with cheese, chicken, and bacon, and not with vegetables.

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Cucumber is one of my favorite things in my salad.

Love the crunchiness.

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Curry marinated cauliflower.

Another crunchiness.

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How much did I like this salad?

Well, this much (lol).

Big Salad

kale strips
cucumber, sliced
mini tomatoes, cut in half
carrot, sliced
green pepper, sliced
pickled red onion (red onion, sugar, vinegar, salt, peppercorn)
curry marinated cauliflower (cauliflower, vinegar, sugar, salt, curry powder)
olive salad from a jar (I used the one from Costco)
olive oil
salt

1. Serve all the vegetables with a mixture of olive salad and olive oil. Sprinkle salt.

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by : Reiko Leaf Vegetabes, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Root vegetable, Vegan, Vegetarian

Chirashi Rice Salad
ちらし風ライスサラダ

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A big bowl of rice and salad for lunch.

I call it “Chirashi” because all the veggies are “scattered (chirashi in Japanese)” over the rice.

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A perfect lunch for a rainy Saturday.

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I’ve wanted to make a big salad like this since I got these chioggia (or candy cane) beets.

Our neighbor casually gave us these, and they didn’t say anything, so I assumed that they were regular beets.

But when I cut the edge off, I noticed the beautiful pink stripes!!

I’ve seen them in pictures, but never in person.

These beets are absolutely beautiful.

I wonder how you make them.

Or is it one of the wonders created by nature.

All the vegetables you see in this bowl are either from the local farmers market or from our friends’ garden.

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Fresh vegetables were served with this interesting rice, “smoked Basmati rice” from Trader Joe’s.

Yes, I said “smoked”, and it definitely smells “smoky”, more so before cooked, but it still has a nice flavor when cooked as well.

The rice looks like regular rice, but when it’s cooked it gets so big, or I should say “long”.

They almost looked an inch long when cooked.

Terry likes balsamic dressing, but you can’t eat salad with the same dressing every single time everyday.

I like variety.

So this salad was served with ginger mustard soy dressing. Yum!

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Rice and Salad with Ginger Mustard Soy Dressing

ginger mustard soy dressing
– 1 tablespoon soy sauce
– 1 tablespoon white vinegar
– 1 tablespoon canola oil
– 1 tablespoon sugar
– 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
– 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
– salt
fresh vegetables; I used beets, cucumber, yellow squash, radish, bell peppers, cabbage, peach, and kale.
1 cup cooked rice; I used smoked Basmati rice from Trader Joe’s

1. Make dressing. Mix all the ingredients well.
2. Serve rice and vegetables with dressing.

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