from the kitchen: setsuyaku recipes

one of my goals this year was to make a meal plan, buy food for the week and actually follow through.  i was just planning on using dishes i already know how to make and just plan ahead but Ro found this website, which combines recipes that use similar (enough) ingredients throughout the week so that by the end of the week, you don't have much "left over" from your shopping.

you can look through all the previous weeks' menus and find a week that you like (or can make; i refuse to deep fry anything like karage or tempura at home because it's just too much prep/clean-up hassle for me) and it gives you a shopping list with everything you need for those 6 days.

at the end of february, Ro and i did this one:  「ひき肉を使ったごちそうレシピ」

and we found a couple of great recipes.  i loved the stuffed peppers (go easy on the bacon) and Ro loved the jyajya men:

we've made it again for dinner one night and have repeated the tomato and egg soup (above) and these caramel apples too:

also, we both loved the dry curry,  the perfect "use up whatever's left in your fridge" recipe and have voted it into regular rotation around here.

i had never made scones before, and the black pepper scones are way too pepper-y (go easy!) but i've tried blueberry, tomato basil, and cranberry scones since then, slightly altering the recipe by adding sugar and dried fruit, and they all came out pretty good.

blueberry scone and hot tea, perfect.

a plate of tomato basil scones.

the cranberry ones didn't last long enough to get a picture.  yes, that good.  :)


and now this week, we are in the middle of this one:  「ちょっとひと工夫でお家レストラン」

earlier this week, i made dinner: omelet with cheese sauce (minus the cottage cheese because we didn't have any but it was fine without it), salad with kiwi dressing, and "western" sushi. 

the little bacon sushi rolls were so cute!  more importantly, they were easy to make and tasted great.

and Ro has cooked the wafu hambagu, chicken saute with cucumber sauce, and daikon with wafu meat sauce.  the first two were my favorites and i definitely want to have the chicken again.  the sauce is onion and cucumber and a little strong, but it grew on me.

we did almost all of the sides too, though we didn't have goya on hambagu night, so Ro just made a vegetable stir fry with stuff from the fridge, and we didn't make the soup that was supposed to go with the daikon.  we had the kiwi banana drink for breakfast on wednesday, and it spurred on the smoothie kick that we're on.


on a money note, we usually buy everything at the beginning of the week and it costs about 8-9000yen.  that includes some bread, yogurt, juice, etc. that we buy for breakfast too though.  also, we still have some stuff (minced meat, mostly) in the freezer from costco trips, rice in the cupboard and tons of chomiryou like soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, and other sauces and seasonings.  we occasionally have to buy something like "you fu soup no moto" or the sauce that is used in the jyajya men, but for the most part, we have most of that stuff.  even if you had to buy that stuff the first time you needed it, you'd have it for later recipes, so in the long run, i think it's pretty cheap.  not as cheap as the website calculator claims (because it calculates only the price of what you use in the recipes, but you can't buy halves of things and do end up with some left over vegetables) but incorporating these meal plans, even just here and there, has definitely saved us money.  sometimes we make more than the recipe calls for, or i can't finish it all and i take it in my bento the next day (hello more money saving!) so it works great for the two of us.  we plan to repeat recipes we liked but continue discovering more good ones.  i  will let you know which "week" we do next!

cupcakes!

in case you haven't noticed, i am on a cupcake kick.

and so, if you too want to make delicious cupcakes:



white cake

4 egg whites
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening or butter*
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups buttermilk or sour milk**

(makes 24-30 cupcakes)

1. allow the egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. in a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  set aside.

3. in a large mixing bowl, beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  add sugar and vanilla; beat until well combined.  add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to shortening mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

5. scoop into cupcake cups, filling halfway, and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean.  let cool completely before frosting.


* i used "cake margarine" i found at the store because all the butter was individually wrapped like restaurant butter and/or it was too expensive.  the recipe says if you use shortening, you'll get a slightly whiter cake.

** i don't know which carton in the "milk section" at the store is buttermilk, so i used the tip in my cookbook that says: "if you don't have buttermilk on hand, substitute sour milk in the same amount.  for each cup of sour milk needed, place one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a glass measuring cup.  add enough milk to make 1 cup total liquid; stir.  let mixture stand for 5 minutes before using."  i actually only used 1 cup but it worked like a charm.



butter frosting

butter
powdered sugar
milk
vanilla

i didn't include measurements because the ones in my cookbook seem way off.  i end up starting with a stick (about 1/2 cup) of butter (cake margarine) and then just add a bunch of powdered sugar, a splash of milk, and a teaspoon or two of vanilla and mix with my electric mixer.  then i do a very scientific taste test and add more sugar and/or milk to get the consistency and taste i want.  i made a chocolate version, which was even more fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, adding cocoa and a bit less powdered sugar and then slowly mixed in milk and vanilla until it passed the taste test.  there aren't a lot of ingredients, so it's kind of hard to mess up.


both recipes from better homes and gardens new cook book.

recipe: frittata

a couple weeks ago i saw this post over at homesweetsarah and it was perfect for the random left over things i had in my fridge last week (photo in last week's wordless wednesday).

i almost feel silly calling this a "recipe" since it was just taking a great idea and doing some fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants cooking.  (my favorite kind!)

basically, cut everything up (i had corn, eggs, spinach, bacon, and onions)

throw it all in a frying pan.  (i cooked the bacon and onions together first, then added the corn.  i beat the eggs, added milk and salt and pepper before adding them to the frying pan.  the spinach went in last, but i can't imagine it would be the end of the world if you just threw it all in together, really).

when the eggs are almost done, put it in the oven (i transferred the whole thing from the frying pan into a glass oven safe pan first) until the top starts turning golden brown.

cut and serve hot.

it was delicious, though some cheese on top would have really made it fabulous.  a perfect miscellaneous left-over "stuff" user.  this one will be happening in my apartment on a regular basis i feel...

recipe: green pea and potato soup

one can (14oz) chicken broth
one small can mixed beans
about 1.5 cups green peas
2 small potatoes
splash of milk
salt and pepper


1. pour the chicken broth in the pot.
2. using some of the chicken broth, blend the can of mixed beans until smooth. add to the pot.
3. using some of the broth again, blend half of the peas until smooth. add the pea "paste" and the unblended peas to the pot.
4. cut the potatoes into cubes. add to the pot. (i blended 1/4 of the potato cubes for some extra thickness in the soup)
5. add a splash of milk and salt and pepper to taste.
6. let sit on low heat until the potatoes are soft.


so maybe this is a no-brainer and everyone is thinking, "well, yeah, duh! that's how you make soup!" but i'm just discovering the world of homemade soup. the weather is turning colder and it's perfect for a nice bowl of hot soup. it takes practically no time at all and you end up with leftovers for the next day's lunch. it also helps put a dent in those cans of chicken broth bought on one of many overzealous costco trips.

recipe: pork and cucumber kimchi salad

ingredients (serves two)

200g thinly sliced pork (shabu shabu pork)
100g kimchi
2 cucumbers
2 tablespoons sake
1 teaspoon salt

dressing
1 tablespoon seasame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar



1. boil 3 cups of water. add the sake and salt, then turn the heat to low. add the pork. once the meat changes color drain the water and run cold water over the meat to cool it down.

2. cut the cucumber into 3 or four pieces and then hit the pieces so they break into smaller bite sized pieces (a couple good whacks with the handle of a spatula and they crack open, then use your hands to break them apart completely)

3. cut the kimchi into bite sized pieces.

4. in a separate bowl, mix the dressing (seasame oil, soy sauce and sugar).

5. mix the meat, cucumber and kimchi in a bowl. then pour the dressing over top and mix.

6. crack open a beer, because you'll want it. i promise. it's the perfect combination.

banana muffins

yesterday i headed over to an old coworker's house.

she and i worked together (split an english class and made our exams together) for a year an a half before she quit. before she quit, she got married and then last summer she had a wedding and announced that she was pregnant. her son is now almost two months old and the recipient of this bag.

and i took with me:

heart shaped mini banana muffins!!



(i couldn't wait to taste them before taking a photo...)



banana muffins

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. sugar

1 egg
1/3 c. margarine
3 bananas
a splash of vanilla


mix wet ingredients (smashing bananas with a fork first helps)
then add to dry ingredients.
bake at 170°C for 15 minutes.


the only ingredient that may be a little bit difficult to find in japan is baking soda (or am i just not looking in the right places?). i found some at a random "international" store in omiya a long time ago, and have a HUGE bag from costco that i don't think i could use up if i tried. otherwise, everything is easy-to-find stuff. (finding stuff is half the battle for me in japan)

also, i used a silicone muffin "tin," which i highly recommend: you don't need muffin cups and the muffins pop right out. plus, it's super easy to clean.

i made some "regular" sized ones too (baked for 19 minutes, upon using the toothpick test), but only filled the cups part way so they didn't puff up and over like classic muffins, but they were just as delicious.

and i just finished the last one.