Zojirushi Breadmaker

I'm now the proud owner of a Zojirushi breadmaker.  This is something I've wanted for a number of years now, as it is impossible to buy wholemeal bread to my liking in Japan!

I used to have a breadmaker in England, and found it incredibly useful - it's even more useful here where I can't buy the bread I like!  There are many fantastic bakeries in Japan, some chain bakeries (notably Kobeya) and many independent bakeries creating both rustic country breads and breads with unusual fillings or flavours, but nothing quite beats a decent wholemeal roll!

I'll add recipes as and when I experiment...!  The recipes included with the manual encourage me to be really quite creative, but have needed adaptation to be suitably wholemeal - the wholemeal recipes they suggest tend to use only about 1/5 wholemeal flour, not really what I have in mind!  But although some bread hasn't risen quite enough, every batch I've made has been really delicious!

I'm going to post these recipes on a separate website that I'm setting up, mainly for my own notes, Bread to make your mouth water.

Gammon and Chilli Bean Vegetable Casserole

Nutrition Information (per serving)
Calories 147
Protein 11g
Carbohydrate 17.5g
Fat 3.5g
Dietary Fibre 5g





Ingredients (serves 5)
200g gammon, cooked and roughly chopped
1/2 onion (about 100g), chopped
425g (1 tin) Mexican Style Chilli Beans
1/2 white cabbage (about 280g)
1/3 kabocha (Japanese pumpkin, about 160g)
160g packet spinach, roughly torn

Method

• Put the chopped onion in a saucepan.  Soften in a little water over a low heat for about 3-4 minutes, until all the water has evaporated, and the onion is browned.
• Steam the kabocha in the microwave for 8 minutes.  Chop roughly, including the skin.
• Add the chopped cabbage, kabocha, gammon and spinach to the saucepan.
• Add the tin of beans, then fill the can with water to rinse it out, pouring the water into the saucepan.
• Cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, and everything is hot.
• Serve immediately.

Carrot and Ginger Soup

This is a lovely refreshing and tasty soup, with a beautiful colour!

Nutrition Data (per serving)
Calories 61
Protein 1.5g
Carbohydrate 15g
Fat 0g
Dietary Fibre 4g


Ingredients (serves 4)
1 litre stock, made with a stock cube
500g carrot, sliced
40g fresh ginger root, peeled

Method

•  Crumble the stock cube into 1 litre of water.  Add the sliced carrots and bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile mash the ginger root in a blender.
• In batches, add the carrots and some of the stock to the blender.  Puree until smooth, and transfer to a large container.  Obviously the blender will get very hot.
• Put the mixed carrot and ginger puree back into the remaining stock and mix thoroughly.
• Reheat to serve, or I think it's better served ice-cold.

Note
This really is extremely refreshing ice-cold as the weather is getting warmer.  It freezes well, and yesterday I just took it to work still frozen and had it later in the day as a kind of vegetable slush puppy (ice drink)!  Delicious, and it's actually quite sweet too!

Egg and Potato Saute with Baked Beans

This isn't my idea, but is adapted from the BBC Good Food website's recipe http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5588/healthy-egg-and-chips.  I found I had to change a lot of the timings.  It is closer to sauteed potato than chips.




Nutrition Data
Calories 484
Protein 22g
Carbohydrate 83g
Fat 12g
Dietary Fibre 16g

Ingredients (serves 1)
150g new potatoes diced with skin (this is 2 new potatoes)
1/2 onion (about 100g), sliced and broken into semi-rings
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 egg
210g (1/2 tin) of baked beans

 Method

•  Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
• Put the diced potato and onion rings into a baking tin.
• Sprinkle over the olive oil and mix thoroughly.  Sprinkle over the oregano.
• Bake for 35 minutes until the potatoes are cooked and brown.
• Make a gap in the vegetables and break in an egg.  Return to the oven and cook for 8-9 minutes until the egg is set.
• Meanwhile reheat the baked beans in a saucepan.
• Serve immediately.

More bread-making practice needed...!

Well, I tried making Delia's easy no-knead wholemeal bread today, but couldn't get it to rise.  I used graham flour rather than wholemeal flour because it looked more suitably brown to me!  I think the mixture was too wet, and I didn't use quite enough yeast.  It tastes OK though, and is certainly brown, so not a complete disaster!  A bit closer to the vacuum-packed German ryebread that I buy than actual bread...!  I'll have another go soon - I think I can get optimal bread proving conditions under my kotatsu!

Oat, Fig and Nut Cookie Bites

Today I did two variations of these.  The first is the one that holds together better, and is easier to make.  These are a little like a cookie form of my trail mix, but use more nuts.






Ingredients (makes 12-14 tiny cookies)
25g coarse porridge oats
25g almonds
25g macadamia nuts
40g sticky figs from a packet
about 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Method

•  Preheat an oven to 200C.
• Put  everything in a blender, and blend until finely chopped and sticky.
• Form teaspoons of the mixture into balls and press into rounds.
• Put onto baking paper on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack, and store in an airtight container.

Variation Ingredients
25g porridge oats
25g almonds
25g pumpkin seeds
40g dried apricots
1 tsp honey
about 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Note
Apricots aren't really sticky enough, and the pumpkin seeds don't bind so well.  Prunes would also work well as the fruit, I think, and other more binding seeds instead of the pumpkin seeds.  But the variation is also delicious.

Science Experimentation Day!

Sometimes it feels like my kitchen is my laboratory, where I create weird and wonderful dishes, sometimes it looks like that, sometimes it tastes like that too!  Those ones don't make it on to the blog, funnily enough...

But usually, I'm very happy with the results!  Today the plan is to create some new concoctions, so watch this space!

Easy Wholemeal Bread

It's very rare to find good wholemeal bread in Japan.  Dark German rye bread, yes.  But not wholemeal bread.  I've just found this recipe for very easy wholemeal bread, no kneading required.
http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/bread/how-to-make-wholemeal-bread.html
I'll report back when I've found the wholemeal flour and have a chance to make it!

Tuna and Avocado Flower

I had this stunning dish in a bar last night, and so wanted to recreate it quickly before I forgot... It looks so beautiful - it was a bar snack, but would be beautiful as a starter for a special meal.






Ingredients (serves 1)
5 very thin slices of daikon (mooli/Japanese radish)
1/2 ripe avocado
1/2 rounded tsp green pesto
about 20g very fresh raw tuna
a little red onion
about 2 tsp flying fish roe (tobiko)
a sprig of something dark green

Method

• Peel a small piece of daikon and slice it into 5 very thin rounds - you can use a knife or vegetable peeler for this. If it is thin enough you will see the veining on the daikon.
• Arrange on a small plate as a 5 petaled flower.
• Thinly slice a little red onion into slivers.
• Roughly chop the raw tuna into about 1cm cubes.
  
• Mash the half avocado with about 1/2 rounded teaspoon of green pesto. Mix in the tuna.
• Arrange the avocado mixture on the daikon petals, top with the slivers of red onion, and scatter the flying fish roe on top.
• Chop something green on top. I just chopped a bit of green salad leaves on top, but you could use basil or parsley.
• Serve immediately!

Trail Mix

This is a really delicious and healthy snack. No measurements are given, because it's such a matter of taste!







Ingredients
Coarse oats
Almonds, chopped into thirds
Pumpkin seeds
Raisins
Dried blueberries
Dried figs, chopped into quarters
Dried coconut
Anything else you might like!

Method

• Preheat the oven to 170C.
  
• Spread the oats in a fairly thin layer on a baking tray, and toast for 20 minutes until crisp and golden brown.
• Pour into a large bowl, and mix in the other ingredients.
• Store in small containers for snacking!

If you like healthy snacks, you might want to take a look at the Sunday Snacks Event - Healthy Snacks.

And also some of my previous posts:
Cheesy Potato Marmalade Balls
New Potato Asparagus and Bacon Hot Salad
Melted Camembert with Toasted Walnuts
Balsamic Figs Ham and Blue Cheese
Mackerel on Rye Bread
Low Fat Lemon Pepper Houmous

Celery, Cucumber and Ginger 'Juice'

It's difficult to call this one a juice, because it's really rather chewy! But it is very fresh-tasting, and ginger is very good for promoting good blood circulation. Of course if you had a juicer you could make it clear, but then it wouldn't have the fibre!





Nutrition Data
Calories: 36
Protein: 1.5g
Carbohydrate: 8g
Fat: 0g
Dietary Fibre: 2.5g

Ingredients
Stalk celery (about 60g, with or without leaves)
1 Japanese cucumber, or 1/3 English cucumber, unpeeled (about 90g)
Piece of root ginger, unpeeled (about 15g)

Method

• Wash the vegetables.
• Break the vegetables up into the blender with a little water, and blend until as smooth as possible.
• Drink immediately!

Tip

• If you don't want to drink it immediately, then store it in a vacuum flask. This keeps it cool and dark, so that you don't lose too many nutrients.

Spinach, Avocado and Tofu Smoothie

OK, so as from this last week, I'm on a bit of a health kick, and feeling really energetic all day as a result!

This very green smoothie really is filling! It also supplies about 20% RDA calcium, nearly 200% RDA Vitamin A, about 70% RDA Vitamin C and about 30% RDA iron.



Nutrition Data
Calories: 272
Protein: 13.1g
Carbohydrate: 17.8g
Fat: 19g
Fibre: 8.9g

Ingredients (serves 1)
120g spinach
1/2 avocado
150g soft silken tofu

Method

• Wash the spinach and tear roughly into the blender bowl.
• Add a little water and blend until finely chopped.
• Add the avocado and silken tofu and blend until smooth, adding water until it's a consistency you like.
• Drink immediately!

If you like spinach, you may also like to look at the Healing Foods Event - Spinach.
Also my previous spinach posts:
Spinach, Cucumber and Avocado Salad
Sesame Sauteed Spinach


Tips

• So now you have half an avocado that you need to keep without it going brown. Don't brush with lemon juice, but keep the half with the stone and wrap it in foil, making sure that the foil is pressed down well over the cut side. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
• If you don't want to drink it immediately, then store it in a vacuum flask. This keeps it cool and dark, so that you don't lose too many nutrients.
  

Cheesy potato marmalade balls

Ingredients (makes 5 or 6)
2 medium potatoes
50ml milk
honey according to taste
3 cheese slices (for melting)
marmalade for topping



Method

• Cut the potatoes into 1cm pieces and put in the LeKue steam case for 5 minutes in a 600w microwave. Carefully mash as much as you can and then microwave for another 3 minutes.
• Mix in the cheese slices, milk and honey. Microwave for another 2 minutes.
• Mix well, put spoonfuls onto cling film and twist and squeeze into balls.
• Unwrap and decorate with marmalade.
  

Honey Castella

Ingredients
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
50g soft light brown sugar
40g white flour
half teaspoon baking powder
10ml milk or 10g mascarpone
5g soft unsalted butter
10g/ml honey

Method

• Line the bottom of the steam case with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180C.
  
• Beat the egg with the sugar and butter.
• Beat in the flour and baking powder until smooth and mix in the milk and honey.
• Spoon into the LeKue steam case.
• Bake with the case open for 15 minutes and then close the case and continue baking for a further 5 minutes.
• Turn out immediately onto a wire rack and cover with a clean kitchen towel until cool.
• Serve in thin slices.
  

New Potato, Asparagus and Bacon Hot Salad

Ingredients
4 new potatoes
4 pieces asparagus
4 pieces of lean bacon or proscuitto ham
1 thick triangle processed cheese (I used processed mozzarella)
Black pepper

Method

• Wash the potatoes, but don't peel. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
• Wash and cut the asparagus diagonally into bite-sized pieces.
• Cut the bacon or ham into small pieces.
• Put the potato pieces into the LeKue steam case and into a 500w microwave oven for 2 minutes.
• Add the asparagus and bacon and continue cooking in the microwave for 1.5 to 2 minutes.
• Add the processed cheese and microwave for one more minute.
• Stir and add freshly ground black pepper to serve.
  

Yuba

It's time to introduce this little known food - yuba.

Yuba is sometimes known as tofu skin, but in fact is just the skin that is formed when you boil soy milk.

It can wrap fillings and be fried, or eaten on its own like this with a little soy sauce and ginger or wasabi. It's really creamy and delicious!

Orange Caramelized Onion & Potato Frittata

Nutrition Data (for the whole frittata, serves 4 with a salad)
Calories 800
Protein 42g
Carbohydrate 98g
Fat 25g
Dietary Fibre 14g


Ingredients
3 large onions, chopped
100ml orange juice
1 tablespoon marmalade
about 250g potatoes
5 medium eggs, beaten with a teaspoon of dill and a good grating of pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil for greasing the pan

Method

• Wash and scrub the potatoes and boil them whole in a pan of water until tender. Chop roughly into cubes.
• Meanwhile, boil the chopped onion in the orange juice and marmalade until brown. Right at the end of cooking time, as the orange juice has evaporated, stir well to get all the dark brown caramel to coat the onions.
  
• Beat the eggs.
• In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and coat the pan, making sure that the sides of the pan are oiled. Add the potatoes and onions and pour over the beaten egg.
  
• Leave on a medium heat for about 10 - 15 minutes without disturbing, until the egg is set.

Bite-Sized Pepper Steak

OK, the picture really doesn't do this justice... The beef isn't really burnt, but it's a really wet day today and the lighting on this photograph is terrible.

Although I've never been vegetarian (I like sausages too much!), my family and friends know that I eat very little meat as it is, but instead add smaller quantities (usually ham) to vegetable dishes.

As a child, I hated beef, and I still never choose it in restaurants because it's never cooked as I like it. Since I came to Japan, and discovered the sliced medium roast beef in the supermarkets, I now eat it every few months just as it is. It is still pink, but is actually cooked, and really melts in the mouth.

Today, I decided to make pepper steak for the first time - I don't think I've ever eaten it before. For this many mouthfuls, I used a 100g piece of steak.

Ingredients
100g piece of good quality steak
a lot of freshly ground black or mixed peppercorns
about 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
about 4 tablespoons of mirin
olive oil for frying

Method

• Cut the steak into bite-sized pieces.
• Grind the pepper onto a plate.
• Coat both sides of the steak with the pepper.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, and add the steak pieces. Brown both sides.
  
• REMOVE FROM THE HEAT.
• Quickly pour in the soy sauce and mirin (exact quantities don't matter, just roughly 2 parts mirin, 1 part ssoy sauce). It will bubble vigorously and thicken a little. It will also produce an impressive flame if you forget to remove from the heat... Make sure that the beef has been coated in this sauce. Tip: use the sauce to cook the beef to your liking, rather than the browning stage - the bubbling sauce will quickly cook the beef through.
  
• Serve immediately.
  

Ham and Mustard Twice Baked Creamy Jacket Potatoes

I'm not going to give any measurements because you will need to use more or less depending on the number and size of the potatoes, and according to taste. If you can get baby new potatoes, they would be best.






Ingredients
Small potatoes
Mascarpone cheese
Dijon mustard
Proscuitto type ham, chopped
Salt and black pepper

Method

• Bake the potatoes until they are soft. (I have a magic baked potato setting on my oven).
• Take out from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes until they are cool enough to handle. Turn the oven up to 230C.
• Slice off the top of each potato and eat it to keep you going until the potatoes are ready.
• Using a teaspoon, carefully scoop the potato out of the little jacket potatoes into a bowl.
• Mash with the mascarpone, dijon mustard, salt and black pepper, stir in the chopped ham. Taste and add accordingly.
• Using a teaspoon again and your fingers, pile the mixture back into the potato skins, and press the skins back into place if you tore them. Grate lots of black pepper over the top.
• At this point you can wrap some of these up with cling film and keep in the fridge for a couple of days until you are ready to reheat.
• Bake the potatoes in the 230C oven for about 10 minutes until the mixture is hot.
  

Cod and Poached Egg on Wholemeal Toast

Now that was a delicious breakfast! I steamed some cod in the microwave for a couple of minutes, mashed it with some fresh dill, and piled it on one small slice of wholemeal bread. I put a poached egg on the other piece of wholemeal bread.