balsamic (soy)bean dippy spread

Thanks for your suggestions and helping me use up what I've got left before we head off across the Pacific for our big move (still doesn't seem real--after 8 years in Japan, life in America will be a bit different!).

I neglected to mention I have 1.5 bottles of balsamic vinegar (got them on sale!), so I was thinking balsamic + beans = ?

Bean dip! Found the recipe I liked at Epicurious (came to them via Bon Appetit, apparently). Of course I changed a few things, as I am wont to do, and instead of cannellini beans I used soybeans (it took 3 small cans at 140 g each). I also added minced garlic, seasoned salt, and instead of using sun-dried tomato oil, I just dolloped on some olive oil with the balsamic, and chopped some fresh basil to strew across. (The soybeans I use come in a dry-pack can, so they are harder and drier than cannellini. I had to add a bit of water to the processor to get it to a good consistency.)

We used it as a spread on baguettes, but of course you could take a dip in it if you like. We LOVED LOVED LOVED this and I highly recommend it--a nice blend of creamy olive-oily beans with the spiky sour hit of the vinegar. Lovely.

counting down and using up

It's not that long till we are moving to the States, and my cupboards (OK, the closet in the Japanese 6-mat tatami room that we use as our dining room/computer room/playroom) is still running over with too many overzealous Costco purchases. We are blessed to have so many provisions!

Here's a quick overview of some of the things I need to use before we go:

• 6 cans tuna
• 2 kg of regular flour (Japanese "soft" flour)
• 9 cans black beans
• 4 cans soybeans
• 4 cans black olives
• 4 cans kidney beans
• 1 can chickpeas
• 4 cans creamed corn
• 6 cans refried beans
• 1.5 big bags old-fashioned oatmeal
• 4 cans coconut milk
• 10 cans cream of mushroom soup
• 10 cans tomato soup
• 4 bags (500 g or 1 lb. each) penne pasta
• 3 bags (500 g or 1 lb. each) angel hair pasta

We've also got some dried chickpeas, dried mixed beans, dried black-eyed peas (I've got a recipe for a black-eyed pea curry meal I'm hoping to try soon), dried lentils, and some staples like couscous and rice.

I feel like I'm cooking up a storm all the time and hardly using up anything (a very good - miraculous? - problem to have).

I've got some ideas already forming, but I'm open to any and all suggestions you may have about easy, fast, fuss-free, and summer-friendly meals that I could make using any/all of these ingredients.

Oh, and by the way, we're probably not going to Costco in Japan anymore! We've got plenty! (OK, maybe just for wet wipes for the kids. We love the Kirkland big, soft wipes for baby bottoms.)

one baguette = two delish dinners

So let's start with the soysage egg mcmamatouilles. I had one fresh baguette, a bit of leftover egg salad (just with mustard, mayo, and seasoned salt), and some leftover soysage (yes, soy sausages) that I had browned the day before. What to do? Toast the baguette slices with some marg, slap on the egg salad, and arrange the reheated soysages on top with some ketchup. Hubby loved it!


The next day we had a big lunch out so needed a light supper. I had two zucchini in the fridge I needed to deal with, so I chopped them, some onion, yellow pepper, and cherry tomatoes. First into the pan went some olive oil, minced garlic, the zucchini, onion, and yellow pepper, and then after they were nicely sauteed, I added the tomatoes and some seasoned salt. Yummy spread on toasted baguette slices with parmesan and basil!


The kiddietouilles got their veggies turned into a puree for their baguette slices (what the eye does not see the taste buds like anyway)...


And sliced into bite-sized pieces that Mamatouille called "pizza". They were mostly eaten by the little beans, and what they couldn't finish turned into an extra little snack for Daddytouille.


I found a small fruit stand at a train station nearby that has two luscious Japanese peaches for only 250 yen (about US$2.60), a bargain here! So I bought four for our dessert - a lovely sweet way to end the veggie-full supper.

mamatouille musings

I've figured it out - the meaning of life and what separates us humanoids from the animal kingdom.

The answer? Ready for this?

Recipes.

(image from shawsinn.com)

summer sakana salad

This is another recipe from my favorite cooking show (and about the only TV that I watch) in Japan (Oshaberi Kukkingu) - it comes on at 1:05 for about 15 minutes, right after I get my boys in bed for naps. Perfect timing!

Sakana is "fish" in Japanese, and you can use any sashimi-grade cut for this more-ish cool-and-tangy salad. Don't worry, though - if you're squeamish about raw seafood, this has had boiled water poured over the fish slices and it's perfectly, tenderly, and completely done.

The salad recipe also calls for myohga, a cousin of shohga (ginger), but if you can't find it in your neck of the woods, you could always substitute ginger or maybe even water chestnuts. Myohga has an almost grassy-earthy flavor with a hint of sourness and I sure hope you can try it - it's not as strong as ginger and it adds a wonderful crunchy herby zinginess to this salad. Just what the doctor ordered for when you're natsubatte (wilting in the summer heat).

Myohga - isn't it beautiful?

For the salad you'll need:

• 1 carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
  
• 2 Japanese thin cucumbers, cut the same way
• 3 myohga, ditto on the cutting method
• sashimi fish, about 24o g, sliced thinly
• 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
  

For the dressing you'll need:

• 1 T. mustard (I used dijon)
• 2 T. white wine vinegar
  
• 1/2 t. salt
• bit of cracked pepper
• 5 T. oil (I used canola - any will do)

Do this:

Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl and set aside (I used a small whisk for this). The chef on the show said to add an extra pinch of salt to the dressing for "umami balance."

Put the sliced fish in a colander, set over a bigger bowl, and pour boiling water over it into the bowl. Almost immediately pick up the colander with the cooked fish and place in another bowl full of ice water. Allow the fish to cool, then lift out and drain on a paper towel (also wipe the top with a paper towel) and sprinkle with some salt.





Place a platter or big plate in the fridge to cool, then in a big bowl toss the sliced veggies (except tomatoes), fish, and dressing, reserving a bit of dressing to add at the end. Pull out your cold platter, place the salad on it, then arrange the tomatoes on and around the salad, adding the last bit of dressing over all.

I served this with some suh-weeeeeet corn-on-the-cob for a light summer supper, and I've already ordered the ingredients from the co-op to make it again next week! Can't wait!

silken tofu peanut-butter choco pie

It's cold, it's chocolate, it's peanut-buttery, it's pie, it's perfect creamy-smooth summeriness on a plate.

Nuff said.

Comes by way of my friend Julie (pictured below), who visited us this past week from Kyushu with her hubby, and via her friend Jackie (hi, Jackie, hope to meet you someday!).

I'm used to making my own cookie crusts, but Julie brought a rare and treasured pre-made shortbread crust imported from the States, so we used that and of course it makes it a lot quicker. I also melted the chocolate chips in the microwave, another time saver (you just have to watch carefully and use a low setting - no headache whatsoever). The pie doesn't require any baking and it comes with a bonus track: You could also serve it crustless as a pudding in individual cups. The possibilities are endless: top it with chocolate shavings, use chocolate cookies for a crust, dollop some whipped cream on top. I love it because I used organic salt-only peanut butter and the end result was not too sweet - just chocolatey-peanut-buttery mmmmmmmmmmm.

Grab your blender (definitely could use an immersion blender) and get to it!

You'll need:

• 450 g (about 1 lb.) block of silken tofu, drained
• 2/3 c. creamy peanut butter (I love sugar-free organic PB, with just salt added)
• 1 c. melted chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chips - watch out, they're good right out of the bag, too!)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Do this:

Blend the ingredients in the order given, starting with the tofu, and then just pour into a pie crust or bowls. Chill for 2 hours in the fridge or freezer - yummy either cold and creamy from the fridge or a bit icier from the freezer.

Julie working her pie magic...

searching, summer shakes, and somen

I love my free blog template I use for Mamatouille, but something that's been bugging me from the beginning about it is that it doesn't have a way to search for recipes within the blog. Evidently it bothers a friend of mine, too, because she emailed me and asked me to make it searchable, PLEASE!

Well, hubby to the rescue. I'm not really wanting to change my template right now, but he's got a handy-dandy way to search within a site that lacks a search box.

Let's say you remember seeing Mamatouille's peanut butter balls, but you didn't bookmark it and now you can't remember what month I posted that recipe in. Here's what you do - go up to the Google search box (or whatever search engine you're using) and type in (exactly like this, with the spacing just the same):

site:mamatouille.com peanut butter balls

Make sure there's no space between site: and mamatouille.com, and there needs to be a space between .com and peanut.

Let me know how it works for you!

In other Mamatouille news, the kiddietouilles and I had a great after-nap snack today: I blended about 400 g (2 c. or so) plain yogurt, 1.5 overripe bananas, about 1/4 c. toasted wheat germ, and a couple of tablespoons or so of honey. Must be drunk with straws so your shinkansen (bullet train) DVD is not missed, even to lift up a cup to your lips. Precious train moments might be lost.

Lately we're eating loads of fresh cold fruit, chopped fresh veggies, plain yogurt mixed with fruit-juice sweetened jams, Camembert cheese (the Japanese version), fridge-cold peanut butter balls, and a bit of ice cream to stay cool. So I'm curious - what are you and/or your kiddiewinks eating/drinking this summer?

I loved this cold somen (noodles) lunch my friend made for us the other day - isn't the art great? Her 3-year-old daughter helped use special cutters to make the food designs with omelet, ham, and carrots. Kawaii! Cute!

lemon-yogurt chicken with raisin-pecan couscous

So Mamatouille was just mindin' her own business one day when WHAM! This luscious combination hit her with full foodie force. She wrote the idea down and the dream became reality yesterday. It's another yasashii (gentle)-to-you-in-the-heat-of-summer meal - you don't need a rice cooker this time, though, just a slow cooker (oh, and a pot on the stove for about five minutes).

The sour/creamy chicken is SO delish with the sweet/crunchy couscous underneath - I hope you try it, and if you do, let me know how it works out for you!

These are all approximate amounts because I was just conjuring, so do as you like if you decide to make it in your neck of the woods.

For the chicken you'll need:

• 15 boneless chicken tenders, left whole
• healthy slosh of white wine
• a few generous splashes of lemon juice
• 1 onion, chopped
• minced garlic to taste
• 2 t. salt (this was a bit salty for me but just right for hubby)
  
• a few sprinkles of ground cumin
• a dash or two of cayenne pepper, depending on your heat tolerance

For the yogurt sauce you'll need:

• 450 g (about 2.5 cups) plain yogurt (one full Japanese carton)
  
• 2.5 T. flour
• chopped parsley
• seasoned salt
• turmeric (for that nice sunshiney color)

For the couscous you'll need:

• 1 c. couscous
• 1 1/4 c. water
  
• olive oil
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1/2 c. raisins (or golden raisins or chopped dates)
  
• 1/2 c. chopped toasted pecans (you can toast them in a 350 F/180 C oven, spread out on a pan, for about 5-10 minutes, stirring them halfway through - it took mine about 7 or 8 minutes)

Do this:

Combine all the chicken ingredients in the slow cooker and cook for about 8 hours on low or about 4 hours on high (I did it the slow way and it was nice and tender). Then shred the chicken with forks, right in the slow cooker.

Whisk the yogurt and flour together in a bowl (this will keep the yogurt from separating), then add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Pour that into the slow cooker with the chicken, and allow to heat up for a few minutes. Shouldn't take long.

In a pot on the stove, boil the 1 1/4 water, crushed bouillon cube, and olive oil, then add the couscous and raisins, turn off the heat, and let sit for about 5 minutes till the water is all absorbed and the raisins are plump. Stir the pecans in with a fork.

Plate it up, enjoy all the contrasting flavors and textures, and say, "Oishii!" (Yummy!).

rice-cooker salmon dinner

Another rice-cooker summertime sanity-saver (and a Mamatouille original). This was one of those meals where I could've added more spices/flavor before I cooked it, but after adding a bit more seasoned salt and lemon juice at the table, it was delightful!

You'll need:

• One hunk of boneless salmon
• 2 c. rice
• 2.5 c. water with 2 chicken bouillon cubes crushed into it
• chopped parsley to taste
• 1 grated carrot
• 1 pack of frozen peas
• 1 onion, chopped
• minced garlic to taste
• lemon juice to taste
• chunks of butter or margarine
• seasoned salt (including black pepper)

Do this:

Mix all ingredients (except salmon and butter) in rice cooker, then put the salmon on top, sprinkle with extra seasoned salt and lemon juice, plop on some butter blobs, and cook on normal setting till it beeps. (You could add the peas after it's all cooked and they would retain their color better.)

With a fork, break apart the salmon and stir into the rice mixture. All is ready - and tummies are waiting.

denny's dessert (and feet)

We don't usually splurge on big desserts (I make more than we buy), but last weekend at Lenny's/Denny's we went for it.

Stephen had a huge chocolate sundae with the works...


And I opted for an "American cherry" sundae with berry sorbet, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, cherries, bananas, cherry sauce, blueberries, and mint on top.

Served with a toddler shoe, just how I like it.


And don't worry, the Kiddytouilles had treats, too: Matthew had a scoop of chocolate ice cream and Joel had some kiwi sorbet.

Mmmmm, everybody happy.

rice-cooker curry

Lemme tell ya - it's hot, DARN hot over here in Japan, and it's not even August yet. I'm so thankful that we have air conditioners in each room (no central air or heat in most homes and flats in Japan), but my eeny-weeny kitchen, poor thing, doesn't have an outlet for an air con (or a window that opens, either - designed by someone who never cooks, obviously).

So my life these days is all about cutting corners in the kitchen and doing whatever I can, however fast and cool I can.

That's where my rice cooker (suihanki) comes into play. I LOVE it, love it, love it. So versatile and obviously designed by someone who does cook!

I've made two complete rice-cooker meals in the last week or so, and this first one was based on a baked "Indian chicken" recipe in More with Less (one of my favorite wedding presents). Here's my rice-cooker version.

You'll need:

• chicken (I used boneless tenders, about 5 or 6, that I chopped into bite-sized pieces)
• 1 onion, chopped
• minced garlic and ginger, to taste
• salt - start with 1 t. - probably enough, or more than enough with the bouillon and soy sauce, too
  
• 1.5 T. curry powder
  
• about 1/3 c. honey
• about 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 2.5 c. chicken bouillon (I use water and cubes that I mush up - about 2 cubes for 2.5 c. water) - play with the amount of liquid here 'cause I'm having a hard time remembering just how much I used - usually the rule of thumb with a rice cooker is equal amounts of rice and water, but with this complete meal, I'm pretty sure I added a bit of extra liquid
  
• about 2 cups rice
• can of chickpeas
• about 1/2 c. raisins

Do this:

Put your rice in the cooker, then add all the other ingredients and stir. Then just push the button for the normal setting, go into the living room (leaving your apron on), and play with your kiddiewinks in the air-con. Wait till your 3-year-old hears the beep and announces that the rice is ready, go back into the kitchen, wipe your brow, plop some curry into bowls, and flounce into the dining room carrying a martyr complex on the food tray like you've been slaving for hours. The kids won't notice, but you'll feel better anyway.

taco rice

We're trying to hang out with as many loved ones in Japan as possible before our big move, and so today we met up with some mighty fine friends at the Lalaport Koshien Mall (a good in-between place between our apartment and theirs).

I just adore Japanese mall food courts - and our food today was no exception! Mmmmm, Okinawan taco rice. Yum yum yum. I think this is a product of all the American military bases in Okinawa and all the rice the Japanese folks eat there - it's basically taco fixins on top of rice and you eat it with a spoon. Could easily be done at home.

This shop also does a version with an omelet on top with mayo and ketchup (not a big fan of mayo but this worked for me).


Definitely don't try it without Thomas.

My friend's daughter and son ate these Okinawan noodles - I'd never seen words on nori (sheets of dried seaweed), but it was beautiful! (The kanji said "Okinawa".) And apparently it was very tasty to boot.

preemio award

Tribeca Yummy Mummy recently gave me a Preemio Award (thanks, Cate!), and though my family and I are gearing up for a big global move, I've finally gotten around to writing 7 things about myself. Here they are, in no particular order:

• When I was growing up I vacillated between wanting to be a chef, a lawyer, a doctor, and the President of the United States.
  
• I'm not really a collector of anything (maybe just recipes), but I can do all kinds of things with my toes. Check this out:

Looks like a normal mama/baby scene, right?

But zero in on my toes - they're always up to something...

Happy foot...

And useful, too (not just for walking)...

(Sorry, I know this is a food blog and you didn't come here to see my feet, but I just couldn't help myself.)

Let's see, where were we?

• I have a tendency to spontaneously buy plants. My wallet just seems to fly open if we pass a flower/plant shop and I seem to have no willpower to stop the money from just pouring out. Maybe I have some kind of oxygen deficiency.
  
• Lately I've been really really really not caring about whether I blog about food or not. Sorry, guys - or maybe you've been happy about that. Just other things on my mind, like moving to a different country. You know, little things like that.
  
• I've gotten into this reading rut - it seems like I only read parenting books these days, and even though I was an English major in college, I'm having a hard time remembering the last work of fiction that I devoured with my little brown orbs. Hmmmm. Make a note to remedy that (looking forward to libraries with books in ENGLISH again!).
• If you've never seen Next Stop Wonderland, rent it now, please! I adore that film! And don't forget to buy the soundtrack while you're at it - nice jazzy, Brazilian music mix.
• I must not be in a writing groove lately because this post took WAY too long to think up and write. Or maybe I'm avoiding the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. I think I'll have to go in the kitchen soon, though, because I'm having a serious craving for a peanut-butter ball. Be still, my expanding hips! I'm supposed to get into a bridesmaid dress in November...keeping my fingers crossed, my lips zipped, and my toes on red alert.
  

Gosh, none of this really had much to do with food, but I guess it is my party and I'll cry if I want to! (Sorry, flashback to listening to golden oldies as a kid.)

I'm passing this award on to Kim at Kim's Kantan Cooking (yummy food that you can make with ingredients available in Japan - and she's also my good friend), Joan at Foodalogue (always gorgeous photos of delectable, healthy food, and there's the Florida connection, too), and Tamakikat (cool photos of food and scenes around Kyoto).

berry-surprised father's day chocolate cake

The Nigella chocolate-orange cake never gets old, but since I just made it at the beginning of June for hubby's b-day, and then again a week after that, I thought I'd revamp it just a little for Dad's Day.

Last year I'd bought a (rare-in-Japan) can of jellied cranberry sauce, thinking I'd use it as a last resort if I couldn't find some of the whole-berry kind, but then I went and made my own sauce from dried cranberries and plum wine that ended up being perfect over cheesecake for Christmas.


I still had that can lolling around and haunting me for spending about US$5 on it. I wondered why I couldn't just go ahead and and blast it with my immersion blender, add it to the cake instead of the orange marmalade, and then add in some frozen mixed berries (raspberries, marionberries, and blueberries) that I recently purchased at Costco (don't even ask how much I paid for those beauts!). (I defrosted them a bit first but you probably wouldn't have to.)

So that's what I did. I'm sure if you had cranberry curd (which I still can't wait to try) or jam, it would work just as well.



The cake ended up being uber moist and WAY delish - if I do say so myself. I'm really partial to the berry-choco combo and this just worked. It worked WELL.

Oh, and for those of you out there who asked me last time about leavening for the cake, I realized I did use Japanese bread ("strong") flour last time I baked the choco-orange version, and this time for the berryfied beauty as well, and it rose nicely and stayed firm.

This is wonderful freshly baked and still warm, or even more amazing after it's chilled in the fridge. I'm sure you could jazz it up with some very slightly sweetened whipped cream and some mint leaves or extra berries on top, but we ate it as it was and it was perfect for us.

I just love cake cracks, don't you? Makes me feel all homey inside.

just-dug-potatoes feast - spring rolls, etc.

When I say these puppies were fresh, I mean fresh (as in, just dug up five minutes before cooking)! Check out our adventures digging them up (potato harvesting in Japanese is called imo hori).

If you're drooling to know how my friends made these amazing (and the best I've ever had) harumaki (spring rolls), then read on, my friends...


Start by gathering the potatoes from the garden plot and these verdant, fresh-tasting shiso (perilla) leaves from a plant on your balcony.




Best when working as a team with hubby. Get your gaijin friend (aka Mamatouille) to wash the potatoes (see, I did help!), julienne those freshly washed and unpeeled spuds (the skin was very thin and fresh so didn't need any peeling), and saute the potatoes and some enoki (long, white, thin) mushrooms in sesame oil till all is tender, then sprinkle some salt over and let it cool a bit.


Employ the gaijin friend again to (gently and carefully) peel apart/separate all the spring-roll papers, then lay a shiso leaf on one, and cover that with a bit of the potato/mushroom saute.


Use a flour/water mixture to rub on and seal the edges after rolling each one up, then fry in hot oil till brown and crispy.



Dip in a mixture of soy sauce and hot Japanese mustard (karashi), and serve alongside a roasted dish of those new potatoes, chicken legs, rosemary, onions, and some celery leaves and spices. Yum!