Project Xmas Fruitcake ... with a Late Start

I know. This is late. Very late. But I’m doing this again this year anyway. :P I soaked dried fruits in rum and orange curacao the day before yesterday. Grated apple, lemon zest and orange zest were added as well as spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice (based on the recipe posted by Canarybird on this site.) I know. I wish I did this earlier, at least in mid. November. (Last year I did it at the end of October but I totally forgot about it this year!) But I didn’t want to skip this ritual because baking Xmas fruitcake has already become my personal tradition with some special feelings I have developed for "a cake that gets tastier with time." Well, there seem to be several fruitcake recipes on the net that tell you to soak dried fruits just overnight or a couple of days. So I thought maybe soaking the fruits for 1 week and maturing the cake for about 10 days could be a tolerable idea. That's what I'm going to do this year... I used “dried fruits mix” and “raisin mix” and not exactly sure what kind of fruit bits are included in these mixes. Next year I want to start earlier, and take time to choose my favorite fruits only. Categories: Sweets

Obachan's Very First Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd OK, here’s the PART 2 of my lemony creations. The recipe is here. I had so much fun making this, singing with the songs from my portable digital audio player in my pocket as I stirred the curd until it thickened. My neighbors must have been sick of hearing my full Bon Jovi repertoire. Hahaha… :P This lemon curd tastes very good, but next time I’m going to try grating the lemon zest instead of finely shredding it, just to see which I like better. BTW, this is my first encounter with lemon curd, to be honest. I’ve heard/read about it and been wanting to make it myself someday, but never actually tried it until today. So I don’t know much about how to use it. What do you eat lemon curd with? Do you use this for baking? Any recommendations? ----- Thanks for all your suggestions, dear readers. OK. I tried lemon curd with scones this morning, as a starter. I loved it! :D Categories: Sweets

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Yesterday I bought a bunch of lemons imported from Chile (on sale, of course). So there’ll be a couple of lemon-related posts on this blog from now on. This is the PART-1: Lemon poppyseed muffins. The recipe is here. I didn’t have lemon-flavored yogurt so I used regular yogurt. Very moist and fluffy, but the lemon juice poured over the muffins at the end made them a bit too lemony for me. I should have tasted the juice before using it. :P For those who are wondering: These are the poppyseeds I can get at regular supermarkets here in Kochi, Japan. I do see some black ones here and there, but the majority is "white" (well, actually it's more like beige, but you know what I mean), I guess. Are these different from what you usually use in your country? Categories: Sweets

Sake to Sakana #4 Tosa Space Sake on BBC Radio!!

It was about a month ago when I received an email from a broadcast Journalist named Mr. Richard Kimber who lives in Tokyo and works for the BBC News. He wrote that he was making a radio program about the Tosa Space Sake 土佐宇宙酒 and looking for people to interview. So I contacted the young president of a local brewery which I visited about a year ago, and asked him if there’s someone in Tokyo who knows a lot about this space sake project. He gave me the information on a big sake-tasting gathering in Tokyo, at which almost all the breweries in Kochi brought their brands of space sake and invited the press people and the public to taste them. I forwarded the info. to Mr. Kimber immediately. Then a couple of days ago, he emailed me and said that the space sake story was broadcasted on the BBC radio. The BBC!! The story in this small, rural city was broadcasted on the BBC!! Can you believe this?! And I contributed to make it come true! :D If you are interested, the story about the space sake was in a program called “Culture Shock.” You can hear the voice of that famous sake connoisseur, Mr. John Gauntner, too. The space sake feature is about 20 minutes into the program, and it will be available until next Tuesday. (Sorry, it's no longer available.) Categories: Sake

Sweet Seasons / November 2006 - Maple and Ginkgo Leaves -

Maple and Ginkgo Leaves I thought it was almost a cliché to use maple and ginkgo leaves for autumn theme, but these looked too cute that I ended up using them for November’s wagashi entry. According to the lady at the confectionery shop, these are the kind of wagashi called kangoori寒氷, which is made with sugar, water, (syrup) and kanten gelatin. But it is not as soft as regular gelatin desserts. Perhaps because of the decent amount of sugar added, its surface is quite dry and hardened and the inside is rather soft. A Japanese wagashi site says that this semi-dry type wagashi is made by boiling water and sugar, grinding it with mortar and pestle until it turns white and thick, then adding kanten gelatin solution. After set, it is punched out with molds. Since it has been rather warm this autumn, leaves didn’t turn colors until recently around here. Now I see the whole town colored with bright yellow and red everywhere, with some greens of evergreen trees. Maybe I should go for an photo-excursion this weekend, if the weather permits. ;) Categories: Wagashi

Garden Report - November 2006 -

Here’s the update of my long-neglected garden report. :P Blueberry (Sunshine Blue) Parsley Sweet Marjoram I forgot what these are. Must be mitsuba or parsley. Let's see what would come out. And this is the photo I took in summer, perhaps late July or early August, and forgot to post. I don’t think anyone remembers this, but seems like I did write something like “stay tuned for my dry tomato project this summer.” :P Well, it didn’t take place, because this was the one and only harvest I got. This is the pic of the tomato when ripe. Categories: Garden

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kabocha Pumpkin Pie Absolutely no energy left for Thanksgiving dinner project this year. You know why. And I'm going to be in my hometown this weekend, helping mom with some kind of tea ceremony event there. I'm leaving early tomorrow morning. So, this was all I could do for Thanksgiving 2006. At least I baked this myself (after I came back from shooting photos of a steam locomotive) today. Have a nice weekend! :D Categories: Sweets

Obachan's Quasi-Kaiseki #3

I guess my quasi-kaiseki is making a slow but steady progress. As you know, now I work at a kaiseki restaurant. Of course, there no one teaches a female dishwasher (me) how to cook, but I can see what chefs do, and later in my kitchen, I can ape what they do. What’s more, now I have this wonderful resource. So being fully inspired, I went through several challenges and did a bunch of aping. But let me emphasize this: I don't mean to disgrace kaiseki. I know very well that it's not something you can master through aping only. I'm doing this just to express my love and respect towards kaiseki, so please take this attempt as my hommage to this beautiful Japanese culinary tradition :) Well, now enjoy this virtual full-course meal! (Photos marked with * in each entry can be enlarged.) ----- 先付 二種　Two Kinds of Sakizuke (Appetizers) １．秋の前菜盛合せ　Autumn Plate: 鶏肉柚子醤油焼き、きのこ肉詰め焼き、かまぼこ紅葉七味風味、そうめん松葉、いくら醤油漬、銀杏、銀杏芋 Broiled chicken marinated in yuzu-soy sauce, Mushroom meat balls, Maple-leaf shaped kamaboko (steamed fish cake) with shichimi pepper, Somen noodle pine leaves, Salmon roe, Ginkgo nuts, Ginkgo sweet potato 2. 胡桃豆腐 Walnut Tofu お造り　Otsukuri (Sliced Raw Fish) ワカナ造り　Young yellowtail 焼き物　Yakimono (Broiled Dish) チダイ西京焼き Broiled crimson sea bream marinated in miso (soybean paste) 蒸し物　Mushimono (Steamed Dish) チダイ蕪蒸し Steamed crimson sea bream topped with grated turnip 揚げ物　Agemono (Deep Fried Dish) 海老のコーンミール揚げ、シソ巻き鮭、サヤインゲン、ナス、ぶなしめじ、レンコン、かぼちゃ、銀杏、銀杏芋 Shrimp coated with cornmeal, Salmon and shiso (perilla) roll, String beans, Eggplant, Shimeji mushrooms, Lotus root chip, Kabocha squash, Ginkgo nut, Ginkgo sweet potato 酢の物　Sunomono (Vinegared Dish) 柿なます　 Vinegared persimmon and daikon strips 御飯・止め椀・香の物　Gohan, Tome-wan, Koh no mono (Rice, Miso Soup and Pickles) しめじ御飯、味噌汁、カブの漬物柚子風味 Rice cooked with shimeji mushrooms, Miso soup, Pickled turnip flavored with yuzu citrus rind 菓子　Kashi (Dessert) 練り切り　Nerikiri Categories: Japanese

先付 二種 Sakizuke nishu (Two Kinds of Appetizers)

１．秋の前菜盛合せ　Autumn Plate * 鶏肉柚子醤油焼き、きのこ肉詰め焼き、かまぼこ紅葉七味風味、そうめん松葉、いくら醤油漬、銀杏、銀杏芋 Broiled chicken marinated in yuzu-soy sauce, Mushroom meat balls, Maple-leaf shaped kamaboko (steamed fish cake) with shichimi pepper, Somen noodle pine leaves, Salmon roe, Ginkgo nuts, Ginkgo sweet potato * Broiled chicken: This was not a great success. The yuzu aroma faded pretty quickly and left the chicken rather bland. Mushroom meat balls: Aren’t they cute, looking like sawtooth oak acorns? The bottom parts are big Shimeji mushrooms. I didn’t expect the mushrooms to open up like this, but I think it’s cute. Maple-leaf shaped kamaboko: This is something that I whipped up. I sliced white kamaboko, brushed the surface with mirin & soy sauce mixture and burned it over the open flame of a stove top. Then I brushed the sauce again and sprinkled shichimi pepper. I wanted to brown the surface a little more, but I was worried about the shichimi pepper coming off, so I just punched the kamaboko with a maple-leaf shaped mold. * Somen noodle pine leaves: This was so much fun to make! :D All you have to do is to break somen noodles into 5 or 6 cm lenghths, pick two, seal one end with tempura batter (I wrapped that part with dried seaweed) and deep-fry. The somen pine leaves will sink into the oil and immediately come up to the surface, slightly curved like real pine leaves. And they are done. Perhaps the only challenge would be finding green colored somen noodles. I shopped around quite a bit until I finally found a brand of somen noodles which had a couple of pink and green noodles in each bunch like this. I guess it is meant to add a little color to the noodle dish. Salmon roe in sudachi citrus cup: I’ve seen this in so many photos of traditional Japanese course meals, and I’ve always wanted to give it a try. The salmon roe seasoned with soy sauce was store-bought, but I did make this sudachi cup. Not bad, ha? Oh, wondering why these fish eggs have anything to do with autumn theme? Well, salmon lay eggs in autumn. ;) * Ginkgo nuts with salt: This year I didn't pop the nuts in microwave like I did last year so that I won't scare the neighbors -- hahaha. I cracked and removed the shells with pliers and microwaved the nuts for about 20 seconds. I did another trick with the salt to make it very fine and dry -- I microwaved it and then ground it with mortar and pestle. I saw the head chef doing this once in a while at the kaiseki place where I work at. The other chef told me that it makes the salt dry and fine. He said that tasty, “authentic” salt is usually quite moist, but with this trick, it becomes suitable for sprinkling or dusting. Ginkgo sweet potato: I got this idea from Mr. Murata’s Kaiseki book. My ginkgo sweet potatoes were not soaked in yellow coloring water as mentioned in the recipe in the book, but still looked yellow enough – at least when sitting on white paper. ２．胡桃豆腐 Walnut Tofu * 胡桃豆腐　Kurumi dofu Walnut Tofu This was definitely a big -- or reckless -- challenge for me; I tried out the walnut tofu recipe in Mr. Murata’s book. It wasn’t a great success, as expected, but it wasn’t a crash and burn disaster, either. My walnut tofu didn’t set firm enough to be cut in a cube (I think I added wrong amount of kuzu starch) so I served it in this tiny cup. And I didn’t have the walnut oil which was called for in the recipe. So, what I made was probably very far from what it was supposed to be. I hope kaiseki chefs do not get mad at me for disgracing a famous chef's recipe... :P But one thing is sure: trying out this recipe introduced me to a new combination of tastes that I didn't know before. This walnut tofu IS a delicacy. Indeed, grating sesame seeds and walnuts with a mortar and pestle was some work, but I understand that it had to be done that way. You can’t use store-bought sesame paste for this dish. And you MUST use good dashi broth taken from kelp and bonito flakes. Taking an easy way out would make a huge difference in the delicate taste of this dish. BTW, the black thing on top of my walnut tofu is a quartered piece of a grape. The walnut tofu in the kaiseki book was garnished with a few small grapes, so I wanted to do the same. But only bigger grapes were available at nearby supermarkets, and one whole grape was too big for my tiny tofu, so I quartered it. I left the skin on so that the grape would stand out on the dashi jelly poured over the tofu. Dashi-jelly and grape. What a combination! I’ve never thought about tasting those two together, but the combination was amazingly refreshing. Mmmmm.... My compliments to the person who invented this combination. Categories: Japanese

お造り Otsukuri (Sliced Raw Fish)

* ワカナ造り　Wakana tsukuri Young yellowtail After gutting/filleting small fish (horse mackerels) frantically for a couple of months, I was ready for a challenge, i.e., a bigger fish. So I went for it. ;) One funny thing in Japan is that some fish are given different names as they grow up. Yellowtail is one of the teasers. It is given 4 or 5 different names and the regional differences in the use of the names make things even more complicated. Gee, how could fishermen and sushi chefs handle that? This one was labeled as “Wakana” at the supermarket so I used the name here, but it may not be correct… Most websites I consulted said that wakana refers to young yellowtail around 20 cm or smaller, while the fish I bought was definitely bigger. This is my sashimi bocho 刺身包丁(fish slicer). And I have to admit this: the close-up of the flesh of the fish looks much better than the vegetables I cut. Hence, this small photo of the garnish. I guess those who are familiar with traditional sashimi garnish would laugh at my work if they had a close look at the veggies I cut. To tell you the truth, this was the only yori-ninjin (twisted carrot strip?) that curled up properly. :P Categories: Japanese

焼き物 Yakimono (Broiled Dish)

* チダイ西京焼き　Chidai saikyo-yaki Broiled crimson sea bream marinated in miso (soybean paste) As you probably know, I love grilled fish marinated in miso. Last year I tried it with yuzu-moromi miso, but this time I used shiromiso (white miso) to make Saikyo yaki. I heard that the name came from Saikyo miso, a kind of white miso that has very mild saltiness. Because of its mild taste, the miso is said to better preserve the good flavor of the fish marinated in it. I agree. This was just oh so HEAVENLY… Some saikyo-yaki recipes tell you to simply marinate fish fillet in white miso, while others require an extra procedure for making miso more flavorful. It is adding sake and mirin to miso and stirring well over a low heat. Of course, I'm a strong believer of the sake-and-mirin method. Here's a close-up. See the part with browned miso and imagine the wonderful aroma. * Categories: Japanese

蒸し物 Mushimono (Steamed Dish)

* チダイ蕪蒸し　Chidai kabura-mushi Steamed crimson sea bream topped with grated turnip I don't think professional Japanese chefs would ever use same fish for both broiled dish and steamed dish, but I did so, due to the low-budget nature of my kaiseki project. ;P Anyway, this was my very first time trying out kabura-mushi, steamed fish with grated tunip topping. The dish is served with dashi-based soup thickened with starch poured all over. I said grated turnip, but actually whipped eggwhite is usually added to the turnip to make it white and fluffy. The ginkgo nuts and boiled lily bulb give a nice accent to the soft and smooth turnip topping, and the dashi soup brings the taste of the topping and sea bream together. It is an authentic dish that warms you up on a cold autumn/winter night. I wished I could have served this kabura-mushi in a bowl with a matching lid like this, but I don't have anything like that and I couldn't find one at the daiso 100-yen shop. * Categories: Japanese

揚げ物 Agemono (Deep-fried Dish)

* 海老のコーンミール揚げ、シソ巻き鮭、サヤインゲン、ナス、ぶなしめじ、レンコン、かぼちゃ、銀杏、銀杏芋 Shrimp coated with cornmeal, Salmon and shiso (perilla) roll, String beans, Eggplant, Shimeji mushrooms, Lotus root chip, Kabocha squash, Ginkgo nut, Ginkgo sweet potato This used to be my basic tempura batter recipe. When I was making kakiage, I used 55 g flour as in this recipe, and when making regular tempura, I increased the amount of flour to 60 or 65 g. This time I tried something new to make crispy tempura -- I added rice flour and baking powder to the batter and didn’t use egg yolk. The result was not bad in terms of crispiness… but I think the batter tastes better with egg yolk. Tempura is often served with grated daikon and a lemon wedge in addition to the tentsuyu dipping sauce, but I prefer sudachi to lemon. BTW, before shooting the photo on top of this entry, I played around quite a bit putting the brown sprig here and there. I finally decided this was the best because I liked the shadow of the sprig on the white paper. I think these bamboo sieve, brown sprig, ginkgo sweet potato and ginkgo nut look very nice and autumny together. This is my favorite shot. Categories: Japanese