Miso Soup With Soba Noodles

Saw recipe here first:

http://www.soupchick.com/2010/09/recipe-for-miso-soup-with-soba-and-vegetables.html

5 cups water
3 oz soba noodles
2 Tbsp miso
1 carrot, sliced thinly on the diagonal
3 mushrooms, sliced
1-2 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce, to taste
1 scallion, thinly sliced on the diagonal

Bring water to a boil. Add vegetables and add soba noodles.

It takes about 6 minutes for the noodles and vegetables to cook.

Easy and cheap dinner!

Sesame Crusted Tofu and Peanut Soba Noodles

Recipe from

http://www.anediblemosaic.com/?p=7977

1 (14 oz) block of extra-firm tofu
2 Tbsp oil
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
4 teaspoons soy sauce
2 large cloves garlic, grated 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup  flour
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
To drain the tofu, put it on a paper towel-lined plate; cover it with another paper towel, and then a tray.  Weigh the tray down with a heavy object (such as a large can of tomatoes or beans) and let it drain for 30 minutes.
To make the marinade, whisk together 1 tablespoon of oil, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and black pepper in a medium bowl.  Cut the tofu in half so you have 2 blocks, then slice each block cross-wise into 6 equal slabs; put the sliced tofu in the marinade and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine the flour and sesame seeds in a shallow dish; dredge both sides of each tofu piece in this mixture.  Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add the tofu and fry until golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.

This recipe had some extra steps in preparing the tofu, but the effort payed off in the end.

Here is the tofu marinating

Sorry for the horrible picture. This is the flour and sesame seed mixture.

Tofu frying in the pan.

Browned to perfection.

The tofu was pretty good.  I would say one of the better tofu recipes I have attempted.  Draining the tofu and marinating it definitely affected the flavor and texture of the tofu.  The breading got soft on the leftovers I ate the next day, but it still tasted OK.

For the peanut soba noodles I decided to use some frozen burdock root and carrot matchsticks that I had on hand.  I threw the frozen veggies in a frying pan with some soy sauce and mirin to simmer.

For the peanut sauce I used a combination of two recipes I found online

http://www.food.com/recipe/cold-peanut-soba-noodles-84038#ixzz1nTBbyC8a

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/chilled-peanut-soba-noodles-recipe/index.html

For the sauce I used approximately
1/4 c peanut butter
1/4 c rice vinegar
2 Tbps soy sauce
3 tsp Sriracha
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp water

I cooked the noodles then added in the sauce and veggies.

Broiled Grapefruit

I've always wondered why they are called "grape"fruits.  I think that they should be called "great"fruits.

Anyways, put these on the list of my recent obsessions.  I have been in the habit of making fresh squeezed grapefruit juice in the morning for a while now. I would say probably 2-4 times a week. yup. Gotta have that vitamin C.

Anyways when I saw this recipe it jumped out at me. A new method for preparing one of my favorite fruits... I just had to try it.

So, you sprinkle some brown sugar and cinnamon on a grapefruit half, and then you are supposed to put it under the broiler for a few minutes.  I was under the impression that the sugar would somewhat caramelized like on the top of a brulee, but this never happened for my little grapefruit. :(

Well, it still tasted good anyways of course, and the recipe that I read suggested putting a dollop of plain yogurt on top.

In general I think that eating a grapefruit is delicious, but way too much work. I think I'll stick to juicing as my preferred method of consumption thank you very much ;)

Pickles!

My first attempt at some pickles!  Although I have a great love and appreciation for pickles I remain intimidated and apprehensive about actually making them.

I decided to start with a simple recipe that I found online.  First seen here at http://www.dashofeast.com/2011/08/japanese-pickled-cucumbers-pickling-party-on-my-birthday/ via foodgawker.com.

I used a old jam jar that I had washed out and dried.

2 – 3 Japanese cucumbers

3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 1/2 inches kombu, cut into thin shreds with kitchen shears
7 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

Chili flakes

So Basically you salt the cucumbers.  Stuff them into a jar with the kombu.

Then you mix together the water, vinegar and sugar, and then you pour that over the pickles.

Cover the jar's opening with plastic wrap and then put on the lid.

These "quick" pickles will sit in the fridge for 12 hours before they are ready to eat.

I had gone through a few bad disappointment recipes recently, so I was skeptical about how these would turn out.  They were sweet, tangy, spicy, and crunchy and fully approved by me! 

Orange and Anise Seed Cake

http://agoisfoto.com/2012/01/26/bizcocho-bundt-cake-de-naranja/

Ingredients

1 Cup butter

3 Cups flour

1Tbsp baking powder

2 Cups sugar

1 Tbsp Salt

2 Tbsp orange zest

Juice of 3 oranges

3/4 Cup plain yogurt

1 Tbsp vanilla

6 eggs

2 tsp. anise seeds (my addition to the recipe)

-Preheat oven to 350

-Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

-Beat sugar and butter with mixer until smooth.

-Add eggs one at a time, and then add in orange zest and juice.

-Gradually mix in flour mixture and yogurt, and then add in the vanilla and anise seeds.

Butter and flour bundt cake pan

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

 

Let the cake cool about 10 minutes before turning over onto a plate.

I like BIG Bundts and I cannot lie!

Butter Cake Bars

 I guess I was craving something sweet and boy did this fit the bill.  It was easy, with only a few ingredients, but very dense and sweet.  The recipe calls for cutting it into 1" squares and believe me, one bite in you will understand why.

Was browsing foodgawker.com and saw the recipe here first:

http://somekitchenstories.com/2012/01/17/momofukus-butter-cake-bars/

 

Ingredients
1 box of yellow cake mix (1 pound)
4 ounces of butter, melted
3 eggs
8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 pound (16 ounces) of powdered sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
Prepare
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper.
2. Make the base first: mix together cake mix, butter and 1 egg.
3. Pat into pan, create an even layer.
4. Make the ooey gooey layer: Cream together the cream cheese, 2 eggs, sugar and vanilla.
5. Pour gooey layer over cake layer, spread to edges.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until edges are golden brown, center should be a creamy consistence like cheesecake or heaven.
7. Cool completely in pan before cutting into 1-inch squares with a clean, dry knife. For best square results, pop into freezer and chill before slicing.

Yes, you use the ENTIRE bag of sugar!

Melt that butter!

The cake and butter is the bottom layer.  It was very playdoh like.

Spread evenly in the bottom of the pan.  I used a round 9" cake pan because I didn't have a small square pan.

Next is the gooey cream cheese and sugar layer...

Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Behold the sugary goodness!

Honestly, a little too sweet for me!  Still, I ate most of it though :)

Shabu Shabu House

So many good places to eat on Convoy Street!  We tried a new place the other night called Shabu Shabu House.  We both ordered Sukiyaki with beef.

This dish was quite the feast and was served with udon noodles, shitake and enoki mushrooms, kabocha squash, carrots, green onion, tofu and seaweed.

The beef is very thinly sliced and cooks quickly in the broth.

We each had our own individual iron pot filled with a sweet broth.  Once the broth starts bubbling you add your meat and veggies and cook accordingly.

Sukiyaki is served with egg for dipping meat and vegetables before or after cooking.

http://shabuhousesd.com/

4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Kanpai Restaurant

Recently lunch time brought me to Kanpai- Best Japanese restaurant in Chula Vista! I have eaten here many times, but this last visit was probably one of my all time favorites.

I ordered a lunch combination with Tonjiru and Onigiri.

Onigiri are balls of rice, wrapped in seaweed, and filled with various traditional ingredients.  They had three different choices for fillings- salmon, umeboshi (pickled plum), and bonito flakes with soy sauce.  I had one of each!  This was served with yellow daikon pickles.

Tonjiru is a traditional Japanese winter miso soup with pork and root vegetables.  Need I say more..?

http://www.kanpairestaurant.com/?cmd=contact

Kanpai Restaurant
301 Palomar St.
Chula Vista, CA 91911