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またね！
A bientot!

Gentiane et Prunellia

French in Japan!

Homemade cereals bread and artisanal natural cheese from Komagata cheese factory in Isumi.

There is a cheese factory very close to our house in Ohara. Yes yes! a cheese factory in Japan! and not in Hokkaido!  But, sadly it is impossible to just go there and buy cheese... At least all my trials didn't success.
But, at last, I have found a place where to get some: Na no hana local products shop!!!

They have a selection of cheeses from Komagata and so far what I've tried was really good. A perfect match to my cereal favorite homemade bread!
A French girl, even in Japan is still French!!!

Pork fillet in cocotte

I have a beautiful Staub cocotte that I use  not often enough. It's a pity because I love vegetables cooked in the cocotte, when the juice and extracts mix together.

So today I decided to use it and prepare a Japanese style pork filet in cocotte with new onions and carrots.

 In the cocotte I put a little of sunflower oil, 2 new onions cut roughly, 2 little taro potatoes and one carrot, then I lay a large pork filet on top, salt, pepper, laurel and cooked for 30-40min. (In my case the vegetables were perfect for two, but I seeved only half of the filet)

Once finished, I opened the cocotte and added a little of soya sauce to dilute the extracts, which gave a dark beautiful and delicious glazing, almost tasting like miso.

Served with rice with soya beans and fresh pickled vegetables.

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Sesame cake

Today I decided to make a sesame cake. I didn't have a recipe so I decided to fix one based on a classic cake one.

I mixed 150g butter, 150g brow sugar, 100g rice flour, 100g tahini, 3 eggs and a drop of balking powder. 

Then I put sesame seeds on the top and baked it for 20-30 minutes in a hot oven. 

To perfect the degustation I made a black (grey) chantilly with black sesame paste and liquid cream and a spoon of sugar. 

Here we are. Enjoy!

Colorful plate

I love vegetable sauté and all the possible combinations.

I tried a new one, with sticks instead of slices. I cut the carrots, sweet potatoe with a mandolin, cook them in a bit of olive oil under cover, then added na-no-hana, and served with scrambled eggs.
Perfect brunch plate for a Saturday!

Flan patissier

I love this thick and rich dessert called "flan patissier", which basically is a milk pudding on a dough. It's been years I haven't eaten any, and recently I've been thinking about making some. Chance was on my side with a special issue of "cuisine actuelle" on homemade cooking, and a lot of classical French recipes, and the one of the flan patissier!!!

It is really easy to make and a delicious dessert or a perfect breakfast served with fruits.

The dough is a "pate brisee", so just flour, butter and water. The pudding part is vanila flavoured milk, eggs and sugar like for a regular pudding. And it is baked 45min in an oven at 180.

Delicious!!!

Chia pudding

I found this really quick and simple recipe to "cook" chia seeds. The result is like tapioca with milk but here it's really more easier.

Just add 20g of chia seeds with 250ml of almond milk (or rice milk, or whatever you like), wait for one or two hours. 

It's ready to eat. 

One-bowl lunch

This is definitely the end of winter! But the spring greens and veggies are not yet ready, we'll have to wait a few weeks, so in between, mizuna, brocolli, spinach, na no hana are the best options!

I find that mizuna really goes well with plain Japanese rice, so I prepared it on a rice bowl with some steamed brocolli, and I made some pork-okara-curry bites.

For the mizuna just wash it in clear water, the brocolli I steamed them on top of thd rice for 2 min, the bites, I mixed pork meat with 2 large spoons of okara, one egg, a spoon of curry powder, salt, pepper and cooked then golden. Served all in one bowl, topped with some sesame seeds.

I believed that the pork can be removed and replaced by a little of panko for a veggan experience.

Angel cake

One of my favorite cake is the angel cake. Last week I tried the delicious one at Ciel patisserie in Paris, very sophisticated and very good, especially the matcha one. And the Sakura, just made for few days for hanami.

But at home I just made a regular one, with a drop of vanilla, rice flour, and rice milk (totally gluten free). 

And I had it with a spoon of cream and apple marmalade. It was a success, everyone liked it. 

Winter sport in Japan

The valley of Hakuba

Why traveling to Japan for winter sports when you have pretty snowy mountains in your country? I reckon that wouldn't be worth the hassle, the jetlag, the exhausting travel even if recently magazines have been spreading the word that Niseko is a must destination! But when you live in Tokyo it's quite easy to go skiing and there are closer places than Niseko. Nagano prefecture and Niigata prefecture offer nice slopes with good snow and welcoming infrastructures. After trying several destinations, our favorite is definitely Hakuba and La Neige hotels, both the "honkan" and the "higashi kan".

La neige honkan

While the former is a lovely place, a bit retro Japanese-western style (Taisho and Showa period), if your primary purpose is winter sport the latter is really amazing and offers incomparable services. Both are nested in the forest Wada no mori and a 5min walk from the lifts. Great!

Lobby of La Neige higashikan

Hakuba is also a genuine place for delicious local food and restaurants. My ultimate favorite is the Hummingbird, which over the past years has been quite popular　and now reservations are absolutely needed!! Rumors say also that summer and autumn are beautiful in Hakuba... Can't wait to see that too because so far I've only seen it covered in white!!

The valley of Hakuba

Coconut-strawberry tart

Coconut ad strawberry tart with a bit of coconut and ice sugar for the decor

I love strawberry tart and I love to make some! Usually the best time starts end of March in Japan, but this year we've started to have delicious strawberry for a few weeks already, so I couldn't wait!

I love to make variations with the dough, with the custard. This year I added some grated coconut in the dough and made the custard with soya milk and a lot of vanilla. I also wanted to try making the dough in circles and just top it with custard and strawberries. I need a little more practice but the result was not bad at all!

For the dough I used flour, brown sugar, one egg, butter, and added some coconut (I always make the dough without measuring anything, I like to "feel" it).

For the custard I used 2 egg yolks, a little can of soya milk, vanilla, a spoon of flour and brown sugar.

No-time-dinner and almost empty fridge

It is often that around Thursday the fridge starts to be empty because I shop mainly my fresh fruits and vegetables in the country on weekends. Adding a few dinners out for work and a busy schedule, I couldn't refill at the local shops in Koganei, so I must say that it happens that I arrive home with pretty much nothing to eat and the only option is the little supermarket round the corner. Not too bad but not too great either. It ended up in cooking a tomatoes andbasil  pilaf. Boiled some rice, then in a frypan with olive oil add some roughtly cut tomatoes and basil leaves, salt, pepper, in a circle in a plate, and ready!!! If you have leftover of rice it's even faster! If you want to top it with some parmegiano perfect!

Sticky millet croquettes

I discovered just recently while on a trip to Nagano prefecture that in Japan they grow some sticky millet. It looks very much like millet but once cooked it is much stickier.

I found this consistency perfect for vegan croquettes. So I mixed some boiled sticky millet with some vegetables sautéed I had in the fridge: a leek, half new onion, 2 small carrots gratted, one egg and a few linen seeds, and made croquettes that I cooked in olive oil in a frypan.

I also made a version with cheese but taste-wise without was really delicious and if the cheese makes the croquettes creamy and more golden, I don't think it is a must.

Meat ball Japanese style

It's really easy and simple to make a Japanese style diner. I made meat balls with porc (or veal), add ginger, soya sauce and potato starch.

Mix all the ingredients, make balls and fry them. 

Serve them with soya sauce, and sesame seeds. 

Let's talk cooking gears!

Knives, peeler and scissors

I have two kitchens: one in Tokyo and one in Ohara, and I found really silly to duplicate all my cooking gears. So to solve the problem, except for a very few things, I have always decided to cook with little equipment and keep it really simple, skipping all the goodies are supposed to simplify your life but in the end just lay in cupboards and drawers for ever (avocado cutter, spaghetti spoon etc...). But still there is a minimum required that I must have in both places.So let me introduce you my best cooking allies.

Measuring gears

First of all cutting gears. I have exactly the same set of knives in both kitchens. It helps me preventing cuts and bad surprises. Since we have excellent knives in Japan I use two types of Japanese knives for pretty much everything in the kitchen: a small bamboo knife that you can find in supermarket and that cuts very well, perfect for peeling fruits, preparing soft vegetables etc... and when in a hurry. And I have a larger Japanese knife that is a real danger to me, perfect for preparing fish, meat, hard pumpkin, sweet potato... that I only use when needed and in no hurry. I love the feeling of the wooden handle and the nice metal blade, so I don't use ceramic knives, never even tried.
I also use a lot scissors not only to chop herbs, but also for bacon, thinly cut meat, smoke salmon etc... I find it very handy, some say it's the Korean way, I never realized whether Korean use their scissors for meat cutting...
Finally I love vegetables peelers (this one from Muji), it's so quick and it peels such a thin skin that it's almost as having naked fruits and veggies!
I have a mandolin in Ohara that I love and I'd love to have one in Tokyo too, but yet with limited space in the kitchen I prefer pass.

Next measuring gears. Similarly I have exactly the same two instruments and use nothing else when I use a measuring instrument (which is not often the case except for bread and some patisserie!). I have only an electronic scale (1g precision) and a Pyrex measuring cup. I avoid plastic as much as possible, I am no good friend of Tupperware. So my mixing bowls are either Pyrex or metal. So are also my spoons, spatula etc...

Mixing spoons and spatulas

As for mixing I use a lot wooden spoons (bought in Milano), bamboo spatula (from 100Y shop), bamboo long chopsticks (100Yen the whole set, from 100Y shop), metal whip, metal ladle, natural hair brush (from Mitsukoshi), wooden rolling pin (from 100Y shop too!)... and that's all... I must admit that in Tokyo I have an electric whip, but I almost never use it! I like to whip manually, the energy it requires and the result. Also because I never cook for more than 8 people at a time...

About shapes... I have a series of 3 or 4 Pyrex pie dishes of different size and shapes, a tart dish, and a few flower cookie cutters to make pretty plates, pretty cookies... Recently I've started using stainless circles (you can see how much I use them on the pictures!) and I am pretty addicted to them. I love the clean and neat finish they give to a plate. I love also that you can use them to cook, bake or just prepare the plates. By precaution, I never use silicon shapes, nor non-stick pie dishes except for a set of small tart dishes with removable bottoms prevented from using any tools that could damage the anti-adhesive layer.
I don't bake cookies too often, but since my best friend offered me this cookie stamp I've started to make cookies more often.
As for cooking I use only gaz and I also use the same utensils in both kitchens: the T-Fal home chef series with 2 fry-pan and 2 saucer-pan. I think I wouldn't be able to cook without them anymore! I have a beautiful Staub in Ohara that I use when we have guests, for two it's a little oversize.
The final element to my collection that I use often is a blender. I love smoothies and soups, so a blender is a must have for me. In Ohara I am lucky enough to have a Kitchen aid blender. In Tokyo I have a smaller, cheaper one that works very well too (though for smoothies the KA is really great!). I have no robot for bread making, no bread machines etc... only my hands and patience! Recently I got an Atlas 150 pasta machine (see previous post), and that I must say makes a difference in the quality of the pasta and their regularity.
And you what are your best cooking allies? What do you think I should add to my collection?

Shapes and fun things

Gomadofu

During my last stay in Tokyo I tried, in a very nice restaurant in Asakusabashi, gomadofu: a tofu with sesame inside. It was so delicious.

Back in Paris, I cannot find it at the Japanese grocery so I decided to make it myself. I found a recipe, and it was very easy to make it. 

45g of kuzu (found in naturalia), 30g of tahini, 2 spoons of sushi vinegar, 2 spoons of agave syrup, 400ml of soya milk. Just melt the kuzu with the milk, add all the other ingredients and warm during one minute. Put in a mould and wait until it's cold. 

That's it. 

Chai butter cookies

Nothing better after a day outside than hot tea and treats. Butter cookies are so delicious, easy to make and bake that they are a great pick!

Recently I am trying to look for the perfect Chai to drink and I think I found a very good one in Cape Town, unfortunately it's a bit difficult for refill. After trying Starbucks (too blend), Pukka (too much cinnamon), Marks & Spencer... I think my favorite is M&S! I'm also trying to make my own Chai with soya milk and spices, not bad but needs some more research.

All this to say that since I have all the spices on the shelf I made some Chai butter cookies. Using the recipe in last week post, I added grinded cinnamon, fresh grinded ginger, cardamom seeds to the dough. And as the plum blossom season is at its peak I shaped the dough in plum flowers with a shape bought in Kappabashi dori.

Restaurants in Tokyo

I have had the chance to spend 7 days in Tokyo last week to visit my sister. It has been such a long time I didn't go there, but now it's done. It was so nice, great and lovely to go back there. Nothing has really changed, and that was exactly like in my memories.

During this stay, I went to different restaurants, all very nice from the smaller and traditional one to the best of them, sushi-bar, café, kaiseki, and contemporary Japanese... The menus are completely different but always very good, with a so nice presentation. I choose a few of them for this post.

Radish soup and miso grilled sea-bass

This litlle radish (little compared to giant Japanese daikon), or this big turnip, was so beautiful that I couldn't help buying it at th coop shop.

I didn't how to prepare it and what to do with it at first, but suddenly the idea of using it for a soup was obvious. So I peeled it and boiled it in consome and with a little piece of leek. Once soft enough I blended i into a creamy soup. I served the soup with a piece of local wild sea-bass that I grilled after rolling it in a mixture made with miso, oil and soya  sauce. Simply delicious!

For a 100％ vegan experience you can replace the fish by a piece of mochi (rice cake)

New onion vegetable sauté and seeds

Spring is in the air!!! Sunny days are getting a little warmer, in a week daffodils have sprouted everywhere in the garden and new vegetables start slowly to appear. It starts first with onions. They are so sweet and with a taste that is so much the annunciation of warmer days that I love them!!!

This morning there were plenty of new onions at the coop and I bought several and decided to prepare some vegetables sauté with some seeds.

In a wok I put a little of olive oil, peeled and cut in big chucks one new onion, add one carrot cut in sticks, later I added brocoli, small tomatoes cut in halves, sunflower seeds, salt and pepper. Separately I boiled a mix made of some lentils, barley etc...

Once cooked I mix everything in the wok with a little more olive oil, just before serving.

Waiting for Hanami

During my stay in Tokyo, at the end of February, I could enjoy plum blossoms as a premise for sakura blossom later in March, in all the streets and park, and also in every shop for candy, dessert, kimono even for Daruma...