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 Potato/Squash, Root vegetable, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Root Veggie Soup
酒入り根菜汁と、うつわ。

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There are a lot of great root veggies to enjoy this time of the year.

Some of my favorites are Daikon radish and Japanese Satsuma potato.

This miso-based root veggie soup is an ultimate comfort food for me.

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This Nigori-Sake found at CostCo has been one of my recent great finds.

I enjoy sipping it cold, but it’s also great for cooking.

Adding a tablespoon of this is like waving a magic wand, because it makes any soup, stew, and sauce taste so much better!

You don’t want to put too much to the point where the whole dish taste like Sake, but use enough to add a depth to the dish.

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Root Veggie Soup

canola oil
1 cup bite sized pieced of carrots
1 cup bite sized pieces of Daikon
1 cup bite sized pieces of Japanese Satsuma potatoes
1 tablespoon Nigori-Sake (I used “Sayuri”)
3~4 cup water
1~2 4×4 inch dried Kombu sheet
1~2 tablespoons cane sugar
1~3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3~1/2 cup miso
salt

1. Sautee the vegetables in canola oil.
2. Add sake. Continue to cook.
3. Add water and Kombu. Boil and then turn down to low heat.
4. Continue to cook until the vegetables are cooked through.
5. Add sugar, soy sauce, miso, and salt.

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I don’t remember if I talked about this, but I recently started making pottery.

I took a class last year at a local pottery studio and I absolutely loved it.

The whole experience was nothing I had expected.

I felt so calm and zen when I was touching the clay, and just the process of creating something out of nothing (well, clay, but you know what I mean) was so exciting.

I actually sucked in class (lol) and I did not quite master the art of using the pottery wheel.

But a year later I bought a wheel and set up a small pottery studio in the corner of our extra bedroom.

These are a few of my very first piece created in my home studio.

I don’t have a kiln so I bought a firing membership at a pottery studio.

I just picked them up today.

Some of them turned out just the way I expected and the others didn’t, which is a process I embrace.

These particular pieces were mostly made by hand, but I am using my wheel and I think I’m getting better….slowly.

I hope I can present my pieces with my food on or in soon!

by : Reiko Potato/Squash, Vegan, Vegetarian

Satsuma Potato and Green Bean Stir-fry
さつま芋インゲン炒めと、刺し子。

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I wouldn’t know how to name this, because in Japan they don’t really have a specific name for a dish like this.

But lucky me, in the U.S. I can give this a proper name, “stir-fry”!

Green beans (cooked), Japanese Satsuma sweet potatoes (they are called “Oriental Potatoes” at the local grocery store where I found them) (cooked), and fried and braised Inari soy curds were simply sauteed with a little oil.

Love the natural sweetness from the Satsuma potatoes.

It’s awesome that I can find these pretty easily at many stores now.

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This is my second Sashiko (traditional Japanese embroidery) project.

When I took this picture I was still working on it.

But I’ve since finished it and I’m so happy with the final result!

I liked the soft pink threads, but the thing about Sashiko is that you never know what the final result will look like until you finish it.

The design is delicate, yet it still looks organic and natural.

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Ta-dah!

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This is how it looks on the back.

A cool design, isn’t it?

This is something I want to work on on my next project, though. Making the back look a bit neater.

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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, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Potato/Squash, Vegan, Vegetarian

Rice Salad
ごはんサラダ

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I like salad, but I often feel “cheated” (lol) when the main meal is a salad.

My solution to it is adding cooked rice to veggies.

Just having a little rice makes the salad so much more satisfying, in my opinion.

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As you can see there are a lot of vegetables in this bowl, but the star of this salad is the roasted sweet potatoes.

Terry bought some at the local farmers market for me.

When I saw them, I was not very happy, because they did not look “pretty”.

They looked somewhat deformed and dirty still covered with dirt.

But what a surprise (or not so)!

These were the best sweet potatoes ever.

When I roasted them, they turned out perfectly sweet, and the texture was just right, not too wet or mushy.

I could have eaten a whole sheet panful of them as they were, without any dressing, sauce, syrup, or butter.

They were that good.

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I was able to keep some of them for our lunch salad.

In this bowl are Japanese white rice, roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, tomatoes, persimmons, napa cabbage, and spinach.

This was served with lime tahini dressing (and soy sauce; I have to have soy sauce for my avocados! I think it’s a Japanese thing (lol).).

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By the way, what do you use When you want to add an extra flavor or an extra richness (or fat) to enhance the flavor of your dish or make it a bit more interesting at the last minute.

Bacon bits?

Cheese?

Well, how about if you want to keep your dish plant-based?

As you can see already ↑, this is one of my favorite last minute flavor-enhancers: fried onion.

I keep a good quality can in my pantry.

I sprinkle it on salads, soup, and really anything!

I’m on Instagram.

by : Reiko Bento/Lunch Box, Bread, Potato/Squash, Sandwich, Vegan, Vegetarian

Panda Sandwich Bento
パンダサンド弁当

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I was so excited to make these sandwiches.

I got this panda sandwich kit a few weeks ago, and I hadn’t had time to try until yesterday.

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This is how the whole face looks.

Isn’t it adorable?!

These are pretty easy to make, and I was quite surprised at how clearly you can stamp the facial features.

These are jam sandwiches (lingonberries and tropical fruit), but you can basically add anything that is not too wet.

Ham and cheese, cheddar cheese and mango chutney, cream cheese and herbs, peanut butter and fruit… possible variations are endless.

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In the other layer of this Bendo box were potato salad and Buffalo cauliflower.

I usually don’t, but this time I wanted to put in as many vegetables as possible so I added carrots and onions to my potato salad.

Well, when I think of it, my mom used to add these veggies to her potato salad, too.

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I’ve made Baffallo cauliflower before, but this time I succeeded in making them vegan.

These are so good that even I would want a glass of beer to wash them down (lol)!

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Panda Sandwich Bento

Panda sandwiches (I used this kit)
– white and whole wheat bread slices
– jam, or other fillings
Baffalo cauliflower (I used this recipe, but used corn starch instead of eggs)
Potato salad
– potatoes
– carrots
– onion
– dressing (white vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, mustard)
– chives

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With Terry’s suggestion, I toasted some of these Panda sandwiches with cheese inside.

They turned out pretty good as they kept the facial features well, but you do get some brown spots on the face. I do like the toasted crusty bread, but the “burned” spots may make some kids not too happy.

I’m on Instagram.