Have you thanked a farmer today?

I did not post about week 3-4-5 of our weekly Harvest Share Food Box! I totally could! The boxes were awesome! They were FULL to the max of fresh and very varied produce. We tried new recipes and discovered new vegetables. 

I really wanted to put up a picture every week, but I was not there when the box arrived. I forgot to ask my mom to take a picture...

But it doesn't matter, I am sure by now, you get the idea ;-)

There is however something I would like to share! Something VERY special that happened in my household! Something that just 2 months ago, would have been thought IMPOSSIBLE! (I hope my husband will forgive me for telling this story...)

My husband is Chinese. My husband LOVES chicken and rice... My husband is POWERED by rice... breakfast, lunch, dinner. My husband also happens to not really like vegetable. Except for a few select greens (asparagus and zucchinis). We've been together for 9 years and it has always been a recurring subject of argumentation! We now have a lovely daughter who needs good role model into building good eating habits. So my husband stepped up to the plate and 1 months ago decided that from now on, he would eat ANY vegetables I put on his plate! (As long as they are cooked). Well it has been a month and he is still sticking to his words!!! Not once has he complained! 

Buying into the weekly box was also part of the plan in making sure we were eating MORE vegetable, while supporting our local economy. I have to admit, everything we get in the box taste BETTER than the same product at the grocery... is it because of the freshness??? 

And this week, a miracle happened. Hudson was having a bad day and I ran short of idea for lunch. I ended up serving some chicken with broccoli, peas, beans, and snow peas (all from the box). My husband asked where the rice was.... OUPS!!! So he sad down with a grumpy face and he started eating. Half way through the meal, he said to me "Look at my plate!!!!!! I ate all the vegetables and I still have some chicken left." I think he surprised himself! He loved the beans, he loved the broccoli, he loved the peas and the snow peas... and did not even miss his rice!!! This was such a GREAT day for us!

Recipe : Super E crab cake

So I really felt like having crab cake for dinner. I went to the grocery but they had none... so I bought 2 cans of crab meat and went home to make them myself!

Here is what I did :

True to myself, I just dumped all the ingredients in a big bowl and mixed it with a potato masher.

-2 cans of crab meat drained
-1 cup of boiled potato
-1 cup boiled broccoli
-1/2 cup bread crumbs
-1 tsp lemon juice
-1/4 cup mayo
-pepper to taste
-garlic salt to taste


After giving it all a good mix, I split the mix in 5 and made patty. I then rolled the patties in more bread crumbs.

I then cooked them in a skillet (with a little bit of oil or butter) for about 4 min. each side or until golden.

And voilà!

And for those interesting... Hudson loved it!

*Note* The amount was fine for 2 adults and one toddler... for a family of four, I would probably double the recipe. Canned Salmon would work as well and be a cheaper option!

Party Time!

 

I love October! I love Halloween! You can only imagine how exciting it was for me to be due at the end of October! For the whole pregnancy, I kept telling my OB that the baby could not come more than a week late! The baby had to be born in October!!! And as you know, Hudson was born the day before my due date or exactly a week from Halloween!

I have been sewing costumes for years (theatre, cosplay, Halloween....)! Off course, Hudson's birthday was going to be a costume party! Now I have to admit, it was hard to get everyone excited about it! I guess most people are not into wearing costume... (That truly makes me sad!) Anyway, I was going to make sure Hudson had an awesome costume, so I started working on it back in April! I crochet a whole Naruto outfit (including the hair). I used wool because I wanted to make sure it was going to be warm enough to go trick-or-treating! I was going to make the outfit of the 4th for my husband (since you know he is Naruto's dad) and Tsunade-sama for me, but I ran out of time. So instead we wore our old Bleach costume from 4 years ago.

My sister came down for the weekend and was kind enough to make a cake that would go with Hudson's outfit. We googled Naruto Cake for some inspiration and were surprised at the amount of cakes! (So much for being original). At first we wanted to make the Nine tails, but we ran out of time and decided on something a lot more simple!

 

I also had a special candle holder, cake topper made for her birthday! This great local artist made it for us! It's a paper crane (off course ;-) She is also the one who made my mom's wedding cake topper and the clay-photographe of Hudson I received at my baby shower! Here is her website, if you want to check it out!

So here are some pictures!

Pumpkin for my little Pumpkin

Hudson loves everything "squash". Off course she does! She's an October baby!! So in my quest to stray away from the good old fashion "let's have cheerios for a snack" way... I decided to play around with a few pumpkin muffin recipe I found online and finally came up with my own version which I find fit for my little 11 months old girl. (I am not a nutritionist... I simple try to use common sense).

- 2 cup of flour (white, whole wheat, gluten free... they all worked fine)

-1 1/4 cup of mashed pumpkin

-2 eggs (I have yet to try the recipe with applesauce instead, so if you do let me know how it turned out)

-Vanilla (Sorry I never measure)

-Cinnamon (Sorry I never measure)

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1/4 cup olive oil

and....

hold your breath....

SUGAR! (I tried without and honestly it just tasted horrible. I tried with 4 teaspoons... it wasn't so bad. With 1/3 cup it actually taste really good without tasting sweet at all. So I would recommend you try different amount, depending what you feel comfortable with.)

If you put 1/3 cup of sugar, that comes down to 1.7 gram of sugar per muffin (does not take in consideration the natural sugar from the pumpkin)

I just put everything all at once in my kitchenaid mixer... Yes you know me... no fancy step. Give it a good mix. Then poor evenly in mini-muffin. Bake 20 min at 350C The recipe gives about 24 mini-muffins or 12 fullsize muffins.

Now let's come up with a fun name for this recipe just because I can ;-)

 Let's call it... Huddy-Sue's Kabocha-pan

European Mad-dash

 

Let's leave Japan to the side for a while, and let's head over to France! Where I am now! 

 

As a matter of fact, I am currently sitting on the floor of my hotel room. A wonderful little hotel, right in the middle of old Nancy. Walking distance from the train station. Hotel de Guise. Clean, friendly and historical! I love it!

 

So what has my days looked like since leaving... well... without Tuna around, I feel a bit like I've traveled in time and  went back to my old, full of unplanned, last minute adventurous life...

I slept for the whole flight. I got to Paris, jumped on a train after buying a baguette on the go and left for Nancy. On the train, I mostly hid in the toilet since I very very badly needed to pump!!!! Oh... I was in so much pain!  I got to Nancy and walked from the station to my hotel and took in most of the historical sites... I got to the hotel room, and pumped again! Then I went back out and went on a millefeuilles hunt! And millefeuilles I found! OMG! So good! I scored the last millefeuilles at the Boulangerie next door! It was delicious! I also bought a Pâté de la Loraine. It was also very tasty. I then went around town buying more local products. I came back with a beer, a freshmilk goat cheese, a baguette, two pâté (boar and goose) and carambars!

Then I pumped again! Do you know how sad it makes me having to throw away all this wonderful milk... Overall it was a success... I will pump one more time before going to bed!

Food for my little Tuna : Le-tout-en-bar

Ok, so here is a little recipe I created for Hudson. I thought I would share it with you guys! It is essentially a soft-chew bar that could also be baked as a muffin or bread. For the last couple weeks, I have been looking at alternative for Cheerios. Most of the product I could find in store were either over priced organic goodies or cheaper kid's oriented food containing lots of food coloring including caramel food coloring. So I surfed the internet looking for recipe. I tried a few ones that were good but not "tasty good". I was also looking for a recipe that used no honey, no nuts, no egg and limited dairy. It also had to be soft enough for my toothless 10 months soon to be 11 months baby. So I decided to come up with my own. I took every food Hudson loved and mixed them together... here is the result!

-1 cup of oatmeal (I buy a special type mixed with flax seed)
-1/2 whole wheat flour (or you could use a gluten free flour)
-1/2 cup shredded carrots
-2 over ripped mashed banana
-1/2 cup of applesauce (or 1 egg)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1tsp cinnamon
-1tsp vanilla
-2 tbs of soften cream cheese (optional)
-1 tbs of olive oil

(You could replace the carrot with coconut or squash)
(I grated some old cheddar to put on the top before baking.)

In no specific order (I know some will tell you it's a crime, but with a walking baby in the house, I had no time to be fancy) I mixed everything together and spread it about 1 inch thick in a baking pan. I baked it at 350 for 18 min. And voila.

This recipe does not make a big batch since it won't keep long anyway and baby doesn't eat all that much, but cut into little pieces, it's perfect as a snack, on the go or for "dessert".

 

SM Megamall

Day 3 was... well... you know! It's Manila... so yeah... Day 3 was shopping day! But let's go back to the start... We got up later than usual since Hudson decided it was "daytime" from 2 am to 5 am. We got ready and went out for lunch at a very fancy Chinese restaurant with Tristan's Aunts and Uncles. We had dim sum. It was good... But here is my pet peeve! So. It is 47 degree outside. Yes, I know that is warm. Yet, I froze all day! I actually was shivering and wished I had a jacket. That is because here in the Philippines people have an obsession with AC. It's like there is only was setting! Freezing! So as I tried to enjoy my "warm" meal, I ended up downing hot tea just to stop myself from shivering. I wished this restaurant was an exception but it is actually the norm. Now, off course I am thankful for the AC (I mean who really wants to do anything when it's 47 degree) but does it have to be so darn cold people!!!??? So then we headed out to Greenhills for some "fake" goods shopping (I write Fake in quotation mark, because it is not actually fake. Most of it is legitimate product that did not meet the brand's standard, such as grade B and C merchandise.) I almost bought a pair of Toms but they didn't have my size in the color I wanted. 

After Greenhills we headed out to SM Magamall. I have to say: I love SM (Giant department store... kind of like a very nice looking Walmart with staff that calls you mam.) We bought lots of things for the baby (including more flats because I definitively did not pack enough in my suitcase). 

Am I the only one who thinks these pillow are funny!

 We ended our shopping trip with mango shakes and Bibimka (my favorite). And here too I will open a parentheses... No matter how fancy the Chinese restaurant food is... I always end up liking the Filipino style restaurant much better! You seriously need to try a Bibimka if you haven't yet! A mix between a coconut sponge cake with cheese and butter. Baked in a banana leaf! So yummy! This pretty much sums up our day... Shopping-Cold-Eating... a far cry from Hidden Valley... but it had to be done. And the mango shake and bibimka made it worth it!!! lol

Under the sea!

We finally had our baby shower! It was so exciting getting to see everyone and showing off baby ;-) For the occasion, I made a 3 tiers cake "under the sea". Here is the results!

 

I am no cake artist... at the best, I have a few years of play d'oh-ing under my belt. And to make matter worst, I had a newborn to take care off and a very limited budget!

 

Since we had nicknamed the baby Tuna, the theme had to be under the sea! To decorate the cake, I made 3 amigurumi octopus, 1 sea turtle, 1 clown fish, 1 angel fish, a few corals and starfish. On top of the cake sat a huge Tuna that my sister made (because she helped me with the cake).

I made the layered cake on the Thursday. On the Friday morning, I covered them with fondant and started making the different creature. Once made, they were place to hide all the cracks and bumps in the fondant! (Hey I said, I am no cake artist). On Saturday morning, we took the cake over to my mom's house and assembled it.

The cake ended up being a bit crooked and way too big for the amount of people there, but it looked great!

It's been a while!!!

The last few months have been full of surprises. Some good, some bad and some just plain horrible. Let's go back in time will you. Back in March I started my first day of march break with the horrible news of the Earthquake-Tsunami in Japan. Took me a good 16 hours to reach my friends in the affected area. Everyone is safe, although some have lost their home. I was glued for the week, to my computer, watching the Live Fuji-terebi broadcast. During that week, my sister and I were quick coming up with a fundraiser idea! At her college in Sudbury, she sold origami paper cranes. She raised 500$ for the red cross. At my school, with the help of the grade 5 students, we made onigiri (4 different flavors) and sold them to the rest of the school. The student built a festival like food-stand, got dress in yukata and played japanese music to set the mood. Although no-one had ever heard of onigiri, the students (from kindergarden to grade 6) were pleasantly surprise!! The sake furikake flavor was a hit! In all, we raise 460$ for the red cross. But more importantly, the students had the opportunity to discover japanese culture! The double disaster also motivated the grade 2 class in finishing their 1000 paper cranes. In June, they will be mailing them to Hiroshima.

Although we are a small community in rural Ontario, I was so happy to see how willing to help people of the community were. At my husband's school, kids raised over 1000$ for the relief effort and again last week had a *wear red and white* day to remind people that Japan is still struggling.

In other news, at the end of the month of March I finished my contract. I was sad to leave the kids behind, but glad to have more free time to finishing writing my thesis which I am suppose to defend in August. I just need my intro and conclusion and then it's editing time. 160 pages in all. Wish me luck! And for those who wonder, the subject is (this is a rough English translation since my thesis is in french) cultural and aesthetic hybridity in Ook Chung's novels and short stories : the influence of Japanese and Korean culture.

Then came April. Oh boy! Did it rain. Outside and inside. I ran into some health issues... Then there was the emotional roller coaster of getting to my pregnancy due date (I miscarried back in October). We were on the road a lot, for basketball tournaments. (My husband is an assistant coach). My sister moved back in with us for a few weeks. Overall April felt like a stop and go type of month with endless car ride and lot's of waiting. Did I have the time to cook? Not one chance! We were barely ever home.

Now May and June should be fairly exciting! My sister is moving into her new apartment this weekend. Then in two weeks, my sister in law is coming from Vancouver to visit. And if everything goes according to plan, in June I will be welcoming my Japanese friend and her parents. They decided to take a holiday from all the after shocks. This is very exciting since my friend's mom is the best cook I have ever met! I am hoping to learn a few recipes from her!

As for me, I will take this month to finish writing my thesis, to finish transferring my old blog to this blog. And also finish posting about last year's trip to Japan. In the main while, check out this fabulous rice-cooker give away!!! For those who know me, I always brag about my Zojirushi rice-cooker!! Yes the one that cooked over 50 cups of rice for the onigiri fundraiser ;-) Here is your chance to win your own!!! Even better, this is the new model with the Umami setting! Check it out right here. The contest is open until May 12, 2011.               

Not so challenging bento challenge

216!

That is the official number of bentos we made for the Valentine's day school fundraiser.

In the end, we raised close to 500$.

As we were not expecting such high demand, we had to overcome some major thecnical difficulty such as, how to fit 216 bentos in a fridge, but in the end, with the help of family and friends, we made it!

The healthy lunch consisted in a turkey and cheese whole grain sandwich, a tomato and cheese kabob, veggys and dip, a tofu-brownie kabob and a fresh fruit. It also came with a juice box. Each box was individually labelled with the student's name.

For the bento, we used a 100% biogradable recycled paper box. 

Bento Challenge is a hit!

88!!!! One week left to order and we have already reached 88 bento sold! Our ambitous goal was 100. Our realistic goal was 50. (We are a small school.) We also have a second school on board with us! We are still fixing the details but I am very optimistic!

On a side note, here are the pictures from the 2 bentos I made this weekend. They are not fancy looking but they were delicious. Rice balls (salmon furikake, umemoboshi), tamago, sweet and sour daikon, dinosaure shaped eggs sandwich. In all it was a really easy-tasty bento.



Not so challenging bento

Here we are, back from our grocery trip. We managed to price our bento below 2.50$ a unit. Which means we can expect a profit of 2-3$. Since this is a fundraiser for the school, we might bump up the price a bit. We haven't decided yet. But here is a sample picture of what we are going to offer.

• Cheese, turkey, salad, sandwich
• Veggy and dip
• Pretzel
• Fruit
• Brownie trio
• Tomato-cheese trio

The quantity will be adjusted to fit the size of the box as to not leave any holes. The meal also comes with a juice box.

We are really excited about this and hope the kids will be too!!!

Challenging Bento Challenge

I am so excited about this, I can't wait any longer! My coworker and I had the ok, from the school we work at, to organize a fundraiser. We will be selling bento lunches on St-Valentine's day! For the last 2 weeks, we have been discussing different options and tomorrow we are finally ready to present the project to the rest of the school staff! 

We decided on heart shape sandwiches, with pink dip and veggy. Heart shape rice crispies square and pretzel. Tomorrow morning, before work, we are going to price all the material and food. Then we will sketch the bento. We might make one or two to showcase to the staff.

All this is part of a much bigger project we have been discussing in the last month. We would love to perhaps turn this into a side business. Although we believe in the product, there are still many great hurdle to overcome. 

Next month, we intend on having a few kids at school (with the parents permission off course) to help us out in a food tasting survey. We are curious to find out if kids from this very Caucasian rural community would be willing to eat rice balls and furikake!!! With the fundraiser we are staying within known territory and we have a goal of selling 100 bento!

Stay tune to find out more about this project!!!   

Recette de Gyoza en français!

 

Voici la traduction de la recette de gyoza dont j’ai parlé pendant les vacances de noël!

Je dois spécifier qu’en général, je modifie la recette selon ce que mon réfrigérateur contient! Alors n’hésitez pas non plus à expérimenter! Il est aussi possible de les faire végétariens.

Néanmoins, peu importe les modifications que vous apporter, il y a une certaine recette de base à respecter.

 

·         I chou finement coupé

·         3livres de porc haché (peut être remplacé par de la dinde, du bœuf, des crevettes…)

·         ½ tasse de ciboulette finement haché

·         ½ tasse de sake

·         1/8 tasse de sauce soya

·         1/8 tasse de mirin

·         De temps en temps, j’aime ajouter de la coriandre et du gingembre.

Je prends tout les ingrédients et je les passe au robot culinaire. Si vous n’y avez pas accès, vous assurer que tout soit très finement coupé et bien mélangé.

Je n’ai jamais encore essayé de confectionner mes propres pâtes à Gyozo. Je trouve plus simple acheter les pâtes rondes à dumplings chinois (généralement disponible dans les épiceries chinoises mais aussi nord américaine.) Faîtes attention de ne pas acheter les pâtes à won-ton. Elles sont de constitution différente. Avec cette recette, j’ai généralement besoin de 150 à 200 pâtes.

Lorsque vous façonner chaque gyoza, utiliser de l’eau et non pas un œuf pour sceller les côtés. Le plus simple est de prendre une petite cuillérée de mélange, la déposer au milieu. Humecter le contour de la pâte avec de l’eau et de la refermer en demi-cercle. Selon la tradition japonaise, il ne faut plisser qu’un seul côté. Il est par contre standard pour les dumplings chinois, de plisser les deux côtés. Rien ne vous empêche de le faire de l’une ou de l’autre façon. Si vous avez utilisé toutes les pâtes et qu’il vous reste du mélange, vous pouvez l’utiliser pour faire un stir-fry.

Lorsque vous avez tout terminé vous pouvez les faire cuire ou les mettre à congeler. Pour la cuisson, il y a plusieurs façons possibles. Vous pouvez tout simplement les faire cuire à la vapeur. Vous pouvez les faire bouillir dans une soupe. Vous pouvez les faire frire dans l’huile. Toutefois, noter que la façon traditionnelle japonaise (et la meilleur selon moi) est de les faire cuire lentement dans une poêle qui a été remplie d’une fine couche d’huile. De cette façon, ils seront croustillants mais tendre. Il n’est pas nécessaire de les retourner pendant la cuisson. Néanmoins assurez vous qu’ils demeurent couvert afin qu’ils ne s’assèchent pas.

Pour la sauce, vous pouvez acheter de la sauce à gyoza ou faire votre propre mélange de sauce soya, sauce à tamari et  vinaigre rouge.

Akemashite Omedetou (Happy New year)

Oyster Okonomiyaki in Miyajima

Happy New Year everyone! What better way to start a new year than to have Okonomiyaki! One of my favorite food when traveling in Japan. Unfortunately, I find it really hard to duplicate when in Canada. No matter how much a try it just never taste as good as when in Osaka (or even Hiroshima). I just found a very well explained recipe on a fellow blog's. I will give it a try today! Here is the link.

But first I should give a little intro about Okonomiyaki. Here a lot of westerners call it Japanese Pizza! I have to say, personally I find it resemble more a stuff crêpe or a cabbage omelet. Here is what Wikipedia has to say : Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き^?) is a Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked" (cf. yakitori and yakisoba). Okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan, but is widely available throughout the country. Toppings and batters tend to vary according to region. 

What make this dish interesting is the distinction one has to make between Osaka-fu (Osaka-style) or Hiroshima-fu (Hiroshima style) okonomiyaki for they are quite different! In the Osaka-fu okonomiyaki, all the layers are mix together. In the Hiroshima-fu, the ingredient remain layered (like a Shepperd pie) and include noodles. Personally I much prefer the Osaka-fu but if you are traveling through Japan make sure you try both version.

I will also mention a close cousin to the Okonomiyaki from the Kanto region (Tokyo). Monjayaki, closely ressemble okonomiyaki. The main difference is the fact that it is a lot more watery. I only eat monja when I meet up with my Japanese friends since I find it a bit challenging to cook myself. 

The Okonomiyaki I will be making today will be Osaka-fu. I will modify the recipe a little since I do not have access to taro roots at this time. I will use:

• 1/2 cup  flour
• 2 cups cabbage
• 3 tbsp tenkasu (tempura bits) Don't worry if you don't have any
• 1 tbsp dashi stock in 4 tbsp of water Don't worry if you don't have any
• 1tbsp of corn starch
• 3 eggs
• shrimps or Canadian bacon
• 2 green onions chopped
• 2 tsp. chopped red marinated ginger 
• oil

Chop cabbage, ginger and green onion. Mix together. In a separate bowl, mix dashi, water, corn starch and eggs. Add to the flour. Mix until smooth. Mix the batter with the cabbage. Add the tenkasu.

In a greased pan, cook bacon or shrimp. When golden, pour the batter on top of it. Press it down into a nice round shape. Cover and cook at low heat. Flip over once. It should cook about 10 minutes, or until both side are golden. (You can make 2 small okonomiyaki or 1 large okonomiyaki.)

For the topping, I use tonkatsu sauce, shredded nori, bonito flakes and japanese mayo.

Sweet and Sour Daikon

Some of you might know this great side side as part of the Vietnamese sub (sandwich) or as part of a Korean meal! Many Japanese restaurant in North America, also serve this as a side dish! It is a very inexpensive and easy marinade to do at home and taste great by itself, or in a stir fry! 

• Daikon (also known as Lo Bok)
• Carrots
• Water
• Vinegar
• Sugar
• Chili flake

The traditional way has you cut the daikon and carrot in thin long sticks! But feeling festive, I used a vegetable cutter (star). (I kept the extra pieces for a soup)


You then place all the pieces in a jar.

You boil the water, the vinegar, the sugar and the chili flake together. I did not gave exact measurement here because everyone does it differently. In this case, for two jars, I used 3 cups of water. 1/4 cup of vinegar. 5 tbsp of sugar and a pinch of chili flake. You can adjust the sugar and chili flake is you want it sweater or more sour! 

Pour the mix until the jar is filled. Then close. Let it marinade for 3-4 days for best result. But it can actually be eaten as early as 2 hours after you make it.   

TAMAGO

Tamago is probably the most useful recipe I know. It is great as a side dish, as a snack, as a party finger food, or in lunches and bento! You eat it cold so there is no need to keep it warm or reheat it. But more importantly; it tastes great and is quick to make.

• 4 eggs
• 4tea spoons  of sugar
• 1/2 tbsp of Mirin
• 1 tea spoon of Soya Sauce

You will also need a small square pan if you own one and a sushi rolling bamboo mat. 

 

First to put all the ingredient together and you mix. You do not want to whisk it since that would put too much air in the mix and make the tamago thicker. I usually use chop sticks and try to break down the egg by lifting the mixture.

Cooking the tamago is probably the hardest part! It took me month of practice before I got a perfect shape, color and texture. Still now, it tend to be a bit too dark. 

 

You first poor about 1/4 of the mixture. You want a thin layer but thick enough so that it won't break as you flip it. If it starts bubbling : burst the bubble with the chopstick. When it is half cook (not runny anymore but still humid), fold it over twice with the chopstick. It might break a little as you try, especially the first time but don't worry too much about it. Then add more mixture. As you pour it in the pan, lift the roll so that the new mixture gets underneath. That will help with the connection of the layer. Fold over you roll until you have no more mixture.

When the roll is done, remove form the pan right away. Place on a sushi rolling mat. Fold over the rolling mat so you can press the sides. This will give the nice rectangle shape. As you press, there should be a bit of juice coming out. This is normal. When you have the shape you want, plate it and store it in the fridge. Wait for it to cool down before you slice it in thin slice. It can then be eaten as is or you can use it in your sushi making endeavor!!

*If you do no have a square pan, you can use a round pan but you won't have the nice shape. If you do not own a sushi rolling mat, don't worry! It will still taste great! But it might not hold its shape well and migth crumble a bit.*   

GYOZA

 I recently up dated my status on facebook to "Making Gyoza" and was surprise to find so many people wanting to make them but not knowing how! First off, here is a great basic recipe ! 

As for mine, I don't follow a specific recipe. I always start with a whole cabbage and about 3 lbs of ground pork, then to taste I add, chive, sake, soya sauce and mirin. When I feel fancy, I add snow peas and coriander. I put all the ingredient in my food processor and make sure everything is very finely chop.

The great thing about gyoza is that you can pretty much make them anything you like! If you want them vegetarian, skip the beef! If you like shrimp better... go a head!!

As for the wrapper, any Chinese grocery and even some Zerhs or Loblaws carry Dumpling wrappers. You want to buy the little round shape ones.

 

If I use a whole cabbage and 3lbs of meat, I usually need 4 packs of wrappers. I know it makes a lot but don't worry! You can easily freeze them and eat them later!

When you wrap them, use water to seal the edge and not egg (like you would when making won ton). You should also only pleat one side of the dough (not both side like for Chinese dumplings). This way, they will stand up when they cook.



The wrapping process can be really long and tedious. Get some friends or family member to join you. It then becomes a great afternoon activity! The process is simple enough that children could help. (I remember as a kid, making won ton with mom. It was always lots of fun!!!) 

When you cook them, you can:

1. Steam it!
2. Boil it in a soup.
3. Deep friend it.
4. or my favorite way: Pan fried them. First at low heat for about 15 minutes, then at higher heat for about 10 minutes to get the bottom part crunchy. Just make sure they always stay covered so they don't dry out!

For the sauce, I usually buy it already made. But you can make your own with a mixture of Soya Sauce, Vinegar and Tamarin.

Bento Challenge

Good Morning!! I am glad to finally report on my Work Place Bento Challenge! On Friday the 17th of December, as to mark our last day of work before the Christmas Holidays, my coworker Lynn and I decided to have a friendly kawaii bento competition. For the both of us it was the first time attempting such thing (I had previously made some bento but not with a cute factor. As for my coworker, it was her very first bento EVER!!)

We had agreed on free choice of theme, even thought we both ended up making a winter-Christmas theme bento. I spend most of the night before preparing the bento following scale drawings I had made in the previous week. So did my coworker. And here are the results!!

Her bento featured a Santa Sleight made out of kani, a sliding penguin made of Devil egg and tortillas and a Christmas tree made of stuff beans. She added a gingerbread man, in a crêpe to mimic Santa's Toy Bag!  In total, she had 12 votes from the staff members. The penguin was a hit!

 My bento featured an inari reindeer, a tomato-sausage santa as well as a umeboshi star shape onigiri. I also made a Vietnamese rice roll that I decorated with Hungarian salami. I added, tamago, cheese cube and squash to complete the meal. In all, my bento received 13 votes. 

In all, we had a great time, trying each others food. We also shared with our school principal and our friends. We are now looking forward to our next challenge which  will be just in time for Valentine's day!!

OHHHH-Bento

My first bento: Kimchi, rice, spinach roll, umeboshi et tamago

If you know me, you know I love bentos! I can spend hours looking at them. Through all my trip to Japan, I have built myself a small bento box collection with all the necessary tools to make them as Kawaii as possible.

This is the definition given on Wikipedia for bento:

Bento (弁当, bentō^?)^[1] is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware. Although bento are readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops (弁当屋, bentō-ya^?), train stations, and department stores, it is still common for Japanese homemakers to spend time and energy for their spouse, child, or themselves producing a carefully prepared lunch box.

Recently, I have spent countless hours looking at the web site, youtube videos and pictures of those mini-boxe lunch. Here is my favorite:

 

Off course, bentos are not always this elabore. In Japan, they are a commodity in any Combini (corner store) and sell for a few dollars.

My favorite bento place in Japan is Original bento! For just under 4$, you get a full delicious meal (fish with rice and tempura). They are easy to find since they have a bright pink sign.

A few weeks ago, I made bento's for 3 of my coworkers. I rolled some sushi, made some inari and tamago and a few sake-onigiri. It was a hit.That is when Lynn (one of my coworker) and I decided to challenge ourself in a friendly bento competition.

On december 17, we are to bring 2 identical bento each to be judge for taste and looks by the rest of the staff. I have started designing my bento and choose a "cute" theme. Tune in for some pictures of the process and the result!!!