by : Reiko Dessert, Vegan, Vegetarian

Pumpkin Spice Muffin Tops
パンプキンスパイスマフィントップ

This was my first time to make muffin tops, but it was so much fun!

Elaine is so right about muffin tops (lol).

They are the best.

The flavor?

Pumpkin spice, of course.

I didn’t follow any specific recipe, so I was a bit worried, but they turned out great!

The texture is just like those muffin tops.

They can go into these cool treat bags, too, if you feel generous enough to share (lol).

But wait!

How about drizzling spice mocha icing over them.

Delicious!!

Crunchy at the bottom and soft and moist inside.

Did somebody say “Halloween”?

I’m not very organized or prepared when it comes to events, but as a food blogger I feel I can’t miss this one.

The decoration is minimum this year (well, the bats were hand-crafted a few years ago), but it’s still fun to participate in this event even in a small way.

Pumpkin Spice Muffin Tops with Spice Mocha Icing

muffin tops
– 1 tablespoon flax seed meal
– 2.5 tablespoons water
– 1/4 cup soy milk
– 1 cups all-purpose flour
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 1/4 cup refined coconut oil
– a little over 1/2 cup sugar
– 1/2 cup cooked and pureed pumpkin (I used red kuri squash)
– 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

spice mocha icing
– 1/2 cup powdered sugar
– soy milk
– coffee granule (dissolved in a small amount of boiling water)
– cinnamon
– ground ginger

chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 420F.
2. Combine all the ingredients.
3. Use a small ice cream scoop and drop scoops (makes about 18 muffin tops) on a parchment lined baking sheet.
4. Bake for about 10~12 minutes until baked through.
5. Make icing. Add soy milk and coffee slowly until it achieves the preferred consistency. Add spices. Mix well.
6. Drizzle icing over muffin tops. Sprinkle walnuts.

2 Comments
by : Reiko Leaf Vegetabes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Deconstructed Avocado Toast Salad
アボカドトーストサラダ

I love avocado toast.

It’s good as it is, but I hardly ever eat my avocado toast just like this, and I typically put a lot of toppings.

So I end up with a toast with so much stuff on top and it can be hard to eat with hands sometimes.

So why not making a dish with avocado toast that I can eat with a fork.

This was so good and also ended up with a sophisticated-look.

Each bite is absolutely delicious!

Love this linen towel.

It’s actually quite useful as well because it’s got measurement/conversion information you can use for cooking or baking.

But are they ever going to switch to the the metric system???

Deconstructed Avocado Toast Salad

2 slices sourdough bread, toasted
1 avocado, thinly sliced
salt
crushed red pepper

arugula
radish slices
olive salad
salt

1. Make avocado toasts. Place avocado slices. Mash roughly with a fork. Sprinkle salt and crushed red pepper. Cut the toasts into small bite-sized pieces.
2. Serve with arugula, radish slices, and olive salad. Sprinkle salt.

Happy Sunday!

by : Reiko Breakfast, Potato/Squash, Vegan, Vegetarian

Pumpkin Waffles with Pomegranate Seeds
ざくろとアーモンドのせパンプキンワッフル

Since we switched to the 95% plant based diet five years ago, I’ve been learning tricks to make our favorite dishes vegan.

I’ve heard about this several times from vegan and non-vegan friends (they know I would be interested in vegan food tricks), but it was hard to believe until I actually tried it.

This is whipped garbanzo bean juice straight out of the can.

I did add a little cream of tartar, but look!

Isn’t it amazing how it looks?

The texture is very much like whipped egg whites, and if that’s what you are going for, this is a wonderful substitute.

Myself, I was expecting something more like whipped heavy cream, so it was a bit disappointing.

I sweetened it with sugar and served it with pumpkin waffles.

Terry really liked it and asked me to make it again when we have waffles next time, but I’m not sure how else I could use this…

I wonder if I can make a souffle with it???

I enjoyed my pumpkin waffles with my usual homemade vegan butter.

This time I only had a bit coarser and darker almond meal to make the butter, so the color and the texture was a bit different, but I actually really liked it as it looked more natural and whole.

Along with the vegan butter, I also sprinkled fresh pomegranate seeds and toasted almond slices, and then drizzled maple syrup.

I really enjoyed the crunchiness and the fresh tartness from the pomegranate.

And I always like some nuts with my waffles.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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

Mushroom Spinach Lasagna
きのことほうれん草のラザニア

I like noodles and I make pasta a lot, but lasagna is a different story.

For some reason, it’s something I only make for a special occasion.

Well, for one thing, it includes multiple steps, a lot more than a simple pasta dish.

So I made lasagna for dinner, but of course it took longer than I expected, and it was too dark for me to take pictures when it was finally ready.

So the pictures had to be wait until the next morning.

With a few pieces missing (lol).

But actually the lasagna tastes better the next day, if you ask me.

The layers are beautiful!

You take a piece, microwave it, and it’s ready to go.

No wait!

We have to get the table ready first.

This is one of my favorite retro plates.

I like the color and the design, but I like to use this plate for blog pictures because of its unique size, not too big and not too small.

I found these cool glasses at a restaurant that we had dinner at in Door County, WI, a few years ago.

The food was not that memorable unfortunately, but I loved these glasses, and luckily I was able to buy them at their little souvenir shop.

To me this carbs x carbs is a “no-no”, but I understand some people like to have a slice of bread with lasagna (or any dish).

We use these glasses mostly for drinking wine.

For some reason we hardly ever use an actual wine glass with a long stem.

Oh, I know why “I” stay away from those glasses; I’m always afraid that they tip over easily.

Mushroom Spinach Lasagna

red sauce
-olive oil
-5 cloves garlic, chopped
-1 onion, chopped
-2 cans tomato sauce
-2 cans tomato paste
-1 large can crushed tomatoes
-sugar
-2 bay leaves
-Italian seasoning
-onion powder
-salt and pepper

homemade vegan cheese x 2

olive oil
3~4 cups chopped mushrooms
1 large bag spinach
salt and pepper

no boil lasagna noodles

chopped fresh basil

1. Make red sauce. Sautee garlic and onion in olive oil. Add the rest of the ingredients. Boil and then simmer.
2. Make vegan “cheese”.
3. Sautee mushrooms and spinach in olive oil. Salt and pepper.
4. Preheat oven to 475F.
5. Assemble in a 13×9 lasagna pan. A little red sauce at the bottom, lasagna sheets (1/3), red sauce, mushrooms, spinach, “cheese”, lasagna sheets (1/3), red sauce, mushrooms, spinach, “cheese”, lasagna sheets (1/3), red sauce, cheese.
6. Cover and bake for about 1 hour (or follow the instructions on the lasagna box; mine said 45 minutes, but it needed to cook a bit longer for the lasagna noodles to be fully cooked). Uncover and cook for another 15 minutes.
7. Serve with fresh basil.

2 Comments
by : Reiko Breakfast, Vegan, Vegetarian

Mocha Pancakes with Salted Caramel Maple Syrup
モカパンケーキ

Happy weekend everyone!

We decided to have pancakes for breakfast the night before.

These mocha pancakes are beautiful.

It’s not too shabby for weekend breakfast, is it?

Some of you might have noticed the dark color of the syrup, but this maple syrup from Trader Joe’s is “salted caramel infused”.

When we saw it we had to buy it.

Terry’s homemade cold brew is a must for weekends.

Mocha Pancakes

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
3 tablespoon cane sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 1/2 cup soy milk with 1.5 ~ 2 tablespoons instant coffee granule, dissolved
1 tablespoon canola oil

canola oil for cooking

1. Combine all the ingredients.
2. Lightly coat the griddle surface with oil. Cook pancakes for a few minutes each side.
3. Serve with vegan butter and maple syrup.

Lately I like my coffee with almond milk.

It was so warm and beautiful yesterday, and we visited The Willow River State Park.

I had a T-shirt on and it was perfect!

I so wish this kind of weather lasted for a few more weeks.

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Bento/Lunch Box, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Tofu, Vegan, Vegetarian

Soboro Bento Box
テンペそぼろ弁当

Today it is well known that Japanese people eat with chopsticks.

But did you know that they “cook” with chopsticks, too?

For cooking we use larger sized chopsticks like these.

I do cook with tongs and wooden spoons, but my go-to cooking utensil is still my old chopsticks that my mom got for me.

I was in a mood for a Japanese Bento lunch.

This Bento is called “Soboro” Bento in Japan.

Typically ground meat is cooked with soy based sweet sauce and then placed on top of rice along with eggs and vegetables.

My version is 100% plant-based, so what you see here are tempeh “soboro”, sugar peas, cumin tofu, and carrots.

This is how you use the big chopsticks (called “Sai-Bashi” in Japanese).

I can’t think of using any other utensils to do this.

Voila!

The colors are so appetizing.

If you take it to work, school, or a picnic, you want to wrap it like this.

The best part of having a Bento is this moment.

It’s always exciting to open it (especially when someone else made it and you don’t know what’s in it).

Well even when I know exactly what’s in it, it’s still a fun moment (lol).

This Soboro Bento is relatively easy to make, as you can prepare some of the toppings the day before.

And it’s nutritious enough as it is, so you just need some fruit or soup to bring with.

Have a great weekend everyone!