Year: 2014

Farewell 2014

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2014 has been ‘a very challenging’ year. Thus have strongly reminded me of a phrase from ‘Kaibara Ekiken’, a Japanese Neo-Confucianist philosopher. If life is short, even if obtained a wealth of world Four Seas, the limit of time will not make it worthwhile to have such property. Health can be governed and attained by oneself. The greatest fortune is non-comparable that long-living. 命が短ければ、天下四海の富を得ても使う時間が無く、どれほどの財産も意味をなさない。 自身を律し、健やかに身を保ちて、長命になる事ほど大いなる福はない。 A new year 2015 is dawning…. Wishing you all a the best and a happy new year!!!!

For Scone lovers….Cinnamon Scone Bread | シナモンスコーンブレッド

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This is my version of a ‘Cinnamon Scone Bread’ which is irresistible for scone lovers. Inspired by a recipe which I picked up at Food 52, a great attractive cooking site. It is sort of like a scone biscuit, not exactly like the soft scone fermented overnight with natural yeast which I is one of my husband’s favorites but his recipe combined with the streusel filling is unique in its own. I love the idea of layering it with streusel which I will probably make my own favorite filling in due course. This is how it looks in the pan before it goes into the oven. Dimensional photo…… This is my original recipe – Fruit scone fermented overnight with natural yeast; which is like a scone bread  (for say..). Food 52 – Cinnamon Scone Bread Recipe

Kiwi Jam

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Fresh and natural grown KIWI from my sister. I’ve been waiting to ripen – which I have kept the Kiwi in a dark room concealed in a plastic bag together with an apple. Kiwi jam goes well with yoghurt and my handmade breads…especially the ‘Campagnes’.   Kiwi Jam Kiwi (ripe) Sugar 20% of Kiwi Pinch of Salt Lemon Juice   If the Kiwi is not ripe, keep the Kiwi in a dark room in a plastic concealed bag with an apple. The apple will help the Kiwi to ripen. Peel the Kiwi and add 20% of sugar and a pinch of salt and bring to medium boil. Once the Kiwi starts to soften in syrup add lemon juice (to your liking).

Four days fermented Brown Rice | 寝かし玄米

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Due to my circumstances which have occurred to my family, I have started to investigate how to ‘warm the body’ – a slight temperature rise in the body kills unwanted bacterias and illness including cancer cells. One of the recipes which has been added into our food table is – a 4 day fermented BROWN RICE. Brown rice is well known for it natural goodness, lots of fiber and to retain a healthy body. But I must say it is not quite popular…..especially for men who adore WHITE RICE. This ‘4 day fermented BROWN RICE’ is warmed in the rice cooker for practically four days in which the bran and husk disintegrates and combines well with the actual rice turning it slightly like an OSEKIHAN, soft and easy to eat. Using brown rice totally free of pesticides is recommended, especially brown rice. This is what it looks like before the rice is cooked with aduki beans. 4 days Fermented Brown Rice Recipe Brown Rice 4 cups – 720cc Aduki Beans 50g Salt 4g Sake 4g …

Merry Christmas!

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Several months have past since I stopped blogging. This autumn season had been a difficult time for my husband, diagnosed with larynx (throat) cancer and had undergone laryngectomy surgery. Luckily the doctors were able to remove the entire cancer tumor and no evidence seen in the lymph glands; so he is still in process recovery – slowly but surely. So I’ve decided….no blogging…for a while until I feel our lives our back in track and our daily ‘food life’ has undergone changes to adjust to his illness. The ‘Laryngectomy surgery’ has taken his entire larynx which has produced a stoma (for lung breathing) and consequently he has lost the ability to smell and speak. The ability to ‘speak’ can replaced with an artificial voice cord in due course but the ability to ‘smell’ is lost permanently and to recognize the importance of ‘smell’ which changes the perception of ‘taste’ is quite enormous. I am still in the process of experimenting….. What is tastes good….. without smelling or without scent? This is also a challenging path …

Seasonal Fish ｜the Grilled Mackerel Pike

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There is a Japanese saying that ‘No heat or cold lasts over the equinox’ which was September 23rd this year. But arrival of autumn seems a lot more faster than what we expected and at around September 6th we have been seeing cool temperatures and rapid signs of autumn. The ‘MACKEREL PIKE’ (Pacific Saury) becomes a very popular seasonal fish, not to mention a extremely popular fish among the Japanese. The ‘kanji’ spells autumn knife fish; which is exactly what it is. It is long pointed swordlike fish.     I have never seen this sold at fish markets in the United States nor Europe; so it must be a typical Japanese fish or an Asian fish.   Salted and grilled is the most common and popular way of eating the ‘Mackerel Pike’ with shredded radish and sudachi (citrus). written by Hisako Makimura/Tokyo, Japan

Ohagi｜Red Bean Sweets for Autumnal Equinox Day

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September 23 is an ‘AUTUMNAL EQUINOX DAY’, a national holiday and officially the end of the summer season.  It is also a time for visiting our ancestors’ graves and making OHAGI (also called BOTAMOCHI) – which is a sticky rice red bean cake as a sign of everyday gratitude.   Sticky rice covered with sweet red beans (left and right column) and red beans paste in the inside covered with kinako-a soybean flour (middle column). written by Hisako Makimura/Tokyo, Japan

Homemade Cragel (Crogel)｜a Hybrid Croissant-Bagel

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Trendy food catches on fast. I mean really fast, especially in Tokyo. A fashion magazine introduced the CRAGEL or CROGEL (whichever you may call in English but pronounced the same in Jan-glish), a croissant and bagel – hybrid bread and bread fans are already looking for small boulangeries that may sell a homemade CROGEL. Unfortunately not yet except for a convenience store (Lawson) which is far beyond what is described as the real CRAGEL born in New York. The croissant is a flaky bread…. the bagel is a soft moist chewy bread… a combination of both doughs and the combined bread texture made me curious enough; no wonder it seems to be a big seller at the bagel store in New York. So…since I, myself run a ‘Saturday Bakery’ to my registered bread friends; this is my version of the CRAGEL which all of what is described with this ‘hybrid Croissant – Bagel’,  FLAKY, CRISPY, SOFT and MOISTY in the inside. I hope to be testing this CRAGEL (CROGEL) further, but it already is quite …

Almonds…..an anti-aging snack | アーモンドスナック

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It’s been quite a busy for the last couple of weeks with family events, followed by a short trip at the end of the summer season. So…. it’s been a while since I last blogged and I (hope) to be back to my normal daily routines, suddenly to notice that summer has suddenly closed it’s curtain to open another new season; one of my favorite autumn season.   Croquants aux Amandes (Crunchy Almonds) This is a light snack I made for the short road trip which I picked up from a cooking magazine. It keeps well at humid temperatures AND… it serves as my ‘anti-aging’ beautifying snack!!!! SO…. ‘beauty conscious people’ here is a recipe you should definitely try. FYI, 20~23 almonds are allowed to be taken as an anti-aging nutrient so this is perfect munchie or coffee snack.   Makes about 60~80 Flour…..150g Egg Whites…..100g Almond Powder…..100g Cinnamon Sugar…..45g Almonds…..300g Glazing Liquid Egg Yolk…..2 Granulated Sugar…..10g Milk…..10g Preheat the oven to 150C . Roast the almonds for 30minutes at 180C. Combine ingredients in a …

Starbucks at home?…DUFFIN recipe | ダフィン

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The gourmet trend in Tokyo is fast and ever changing, just like any other cosmopolitan cities; and the diversity of international cuisine is so abundant that funny enough, we sometimes tend to misinterpret what real Japanese (WA) food is. The fast food culture… the starbucks culture… the macDonald’s culture… the 24 hour convenience store culture.. Yes! it’s all here like any other cities in the world. I myself loved Starbucks Cafes at the height of my working suitcase life, the blueberry muffins and cinnamon rolls were my favorites but now, I keep a reasonable distance from going to Starbucks like getting off from drugs and addictions and replicating their cakes and breads is a fun challenge at home. So, here it it is …. The DUFFIN. This is my own morphed recipe so it has less sugar, organic apricot slices and replaces any item I can possibly think of to make it healthy, which makes me feel less guilty to eat so more so the effort rather than the result is probably more gratifying. It …