by : Reiko Leaf Vegetabes, Mushroom, Vegan, Vegetarian

Baked Mushroom Wraps
ホットラップサンド

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When we had a potluck lunch at work a few weeks ago, someone brought hot wraps and they were so good.

There was no meat in the filling but a lot of cabbage and I really liked the idea.

So here is my version of hot vegetable wraps.

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The filling is made with cabbage, mushrooms, and fried onion folded in my secret (I guess not so secret because I share my recipe below!) cream sauce.

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I was going to completely wrap the filling, but I was afraid of tearing the tortillas, so I simply folded and closed it with a toothpick.

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Great for lunch, snack for kids, late night snack for adults or of course for a lunch party.

I am freezing several today.

I hope they will taste just as good as they are now when re-heated.

Baked Mushroom Wraps – makes about 5 wraps

filling
– canola oil
– 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
– 1/4 cabbage, thinly sliced
– salt and pepper
– paprika
– 1~2 tablespoons Japanese worcestershire sauce
– 1/2~1 tablespoon sugar
– 2 cups soy milk
– corn starch + water, for thickening
– 1/2~1 cup fried onion
whole wheat tortilla wraps
canola oil

1. Make filling. Sautee mushrooms and then cabbage. Salt and pepper.
2. Add paprika, Japanese worcestershire sauce, sugar, and soy milk. Boil and then turn down to low heat.
3. Add a mixture of corn starch and water and stir until it achieves the preferred thickness.
4. Add fried onion.
5. Wrap the filling in tortilla wraps. Close them with toothpicks. Brush oil on wraps.
6. Bake at 450F for 10~15 minutes or until lightly browned.

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by : Reiko Bento/Lunch Box, Mushroom, Vegan, Vegetarian

Bunapi Mushroom Tempura BENTO
ブナピー天ぷら弁当

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I love mushroom, and I can eat mushroom every single meal.

And lucky me, today there are so many types of mushrooms available at regular grocery stores.

Bunapi is probably one of my favorites.

It’s typically a bit expensive but I can get it for a pretty good price at the local Asian grocery store.

Bunapi is delicious however it’s cooked, and it’s so good when it’s made into tempura.

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In this BENTO box, you’ll find…

– Bunapi Tempura
– Kabocha Squash Maple Balls
– Ume (Japanese pickled plum) Daikon
– Sesame Spinach
– Shiso (Japanese basil) Rice Balls

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This is my new BENTO box I had shipped from Japan.

I absolutely love this traditional look.

It’s a bit deep, so I’m learning how to pack it and still make it look nice.

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You don’t have a BENTO box?

How about one-plate lunch?

by : Reiko Bento/Lunch Box, Mushroom, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Potato/Squash, Root vegetable, Vegan, Vegetarian

Blistered Kabocha Bento
野菜揚げ巻き弁当

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Finally our new BENTO boxes arrived from Japan!

This metal one is for Terry.

I never thought the one I had was girly, but when Terry told me that he wanted a “manly” BENTO box, I could see that the kitties on the lid were probably not very appropriate for a 40-something male (lol).

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I really like this brand.

It’s a beautiful simple design.

The only negative thing is that it easily shows fingerprints.

But it’s a minor problem.

I just need to be careful right before we take pictures.

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Love the retro looking logo on the back, too.

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One of the main dishes of this BENTO box is this blistered Kabocha.

No need to peel the skin.

Delicious!

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The other main dish was this soy curd vegetable wrap.

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The lunch does look “manly” in the “manly” box!

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I’ve started my Sashiko (Japanese traditional embroidery) project #3.

Can’t wait to finish and show it on the blog.

by : Reiko Bento/Lunch Box, Mushroom, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Peppers, Root vegetable, Vegan, Vegetarian

Daikon Steak BENTO
大根ステーキ弁当

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I still haven’t gotten my new BENTO boxes yet, but I didn’t want to wait.

So, here is my today’s lunch BENTO.

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The main dish was this Daikon steak.

The secret ingredient was rice-malt seasoning.

This was my first time to try this seasoning, but it was absolutely wonderful and took my soy sauce-based sauce to the next level.

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The main dish number 2 was garbanzo and mushroom soft fritters.

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The side dishes were this curried onion and green peppers, and creamy tomato coleslaw.

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This is what the whole lunch looked like.

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I recently made this napkin.

This is called “sashiko” a kind of Japanese traditional embroidery.

This was my first try, and I wasn’t sure if I had enough patience to finish, but actually I really enjoyed the entire process.

I already have another sashiko project planned (I’m waiting for threads), and I can’t wait to start it.

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Daikon Steak

5~6 about 1/2 inch thick daikon slices
canola oil
sauce
– 1/2 cup water
– 2 tablespoons soy sauce
– 1~2 tablespoons mirin
– 1~2 tablespoons sugar
– 1~2 tablespoons shio-koji (Japanese rice-malt seasoning)
– salt and pepper

1. Cook daikon slices in water in microwave for a few minutes; I cooked mine for two minutes each side, but the cooking time may vary.
2. Sautee the daikon in oil both sides, until browned.
3. Add the sauce. Turn heat down to low-medium heat, thicken the sauce, and let the daikon absorb the sauce.

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!

Stay warm.

We’ve got about 6 inches of snow so far, and it looks like more is coming…

I’m on Instagram.

by : Reiko Bread, Mushroom, Potato/Squash, Vegan, Vegetarian

Sweet Potato Crusted Pizza
スイートポテトクラストピザ

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Terry and I make a good team in many areas, and the kitchen is not an exception.

I’m the chef in our house, but Terry often gives me really fun food ideas.

I love it when he sends me an email with a link to a food site or a restaurant that he recently visited during his business trip.

The other day he told me that he wanted us (me) to make sweet potato crusted pizza.

He did not remember exactly where he saw it, but he said it was suggested as a way to use up left-over cooked sweet potatoes.

Terry and I made our crust with home roasted sweet potatoes, a mixture of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour, yeast, salt, water, and olive oil.

The crust turned out great.

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The toppings I chose for this pizza were Crimini mushroom, cauliflower, jalapeno peppers, green onion, and cashew cream.

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Here, you can see the color of the crust.

It’s rich dark orange, and I find it very attractive and appetizing.

You may not notice there are sweet potatoes in the crust if you don’t pay attention to the color, but it’s definitely there and you can taste the wonderful natural sweetness from the potatoes.

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Actually, this is my sweet potato crusted pizza number 2.

Terry and I made the first pizza together, and I decided to make this to use up the rest of the dough.

I’m so bummed because it turned out so delicious and Terry is not home!

He had to leave this morning for business today.

I definitely have to make this pizza again when he is home.

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Sweet Potato Crusted Pizza
I was experimenting and at this time the measurements are a VERY rough estimate; this is mostly for my personal note. So please feel free to use this as a rough idea, but do NOT follow this recipe/measurements without adjusting them to your liking.

sweet potato crust
– 1/2 cup roasted sweet potatoes, pureed
– olive oil
– warm water
– 1 tablespoon yeast
– 1 tablespoon salt
– 3~3 1/2 cups flour (bread, a-p, whole wheat)
BBQ sauce
toppings
– sauteed crimini mushrooms
– sauteed cauliflower
– a few slices jalapeno peppers from jar, chopped
cashew cream
– 1/2 cup cashew nuts, soaked in hot water
– white vinegar
– Dijon mustard
– sugar
– salt
– water
chopped green onion
crushed red pepper

Oven: 425~450F
Cook crust. Brush olive oil on the edge of the crust (optional). Spread BBQ sauce and place toppings. Cook until the crust is crunchy and the cauliflower is slightly browned. Serve with cashew cream, green onion, and crushed red pepper.

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I’m on Instagram.

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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I’m on Instagram.