tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27120305687537649862024-03-14T03:09:52.034+09:00Kim's Kantan CookingKimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03235039117825500674noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-77928289550182425282011-09-06T14:20:00.000+09:002011-09-07T05:20:30.088+09:00Are the Brownies Done?Now that I am back living in the land of cheap ($.99) brownie mixes (on sale, anyway), being able to tell when the brownies are done properly has become a rather important skill. Really!<br /><br />The first batches of brownies I made were...really pretty raw. I'd leave them out on the counter to dry them out before finishing them. They lasted forever.<br /><br />Then there was the batch I overcooked. What a sad way to DESTROY chocolate!<br /><br />Mixes say to not over bake!!! To check the appearance of the top of the brownie. But, I FINALLY found a mix that lets me use...<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>A TOOTHPICK</strong></span><br /><br />to determine doneness. This is WONDERFUL for me!<br /><br />The mix said that when the toothpick comes back mostly clean when stuck in two inches away from the edge, the brownies are done. AND THEY ARE! Perfectly! Yeah Betty Crocker!!!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-59247594429947159202010-12-17T22:24:00.002+09:002010-12-17T22:42:30.341+09:00Peanut Butter Frosting - BroiledIt was <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ryu's</span> birthday Monday and I overheard him talking with Jun about what they both liked. He loves peanuts and said he also liked peanut butter. I had no idea! So, as we were going out for dinner to a Christmas party, I decided to make up the brownie mix I had in the cupboard and find a new frosting to celebrate at snack time. This is in Betty <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Crocker's</span> Cookbook from 1978. Can that really be 32 years AGO? Anyway, another great NO POWDERED SUGAR recipe!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Broiled Peanut Butter Frosting</span></strong><br /><br />2/3 cup packed brown sugar<br />1/4 cup butter - softened<br />1/4 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy is fine)<br />3 Tbsp. milk<br />1 cup finely chopped peanuts<br /><br />Mix brown sugar, butter, peanut butter and milk. stir in peanuts. Spread frosting over warm 13 X 9 inch cake. Set oven control to broil and/or 550F. Broil cake about 5 inches from heat until frosting bubbles and browns slightly, about 3 minutes. (Watch carefully - frosting burns easily.)<br /><br />I kept the oven door open to keep an eye on things and set the timer. This frosting on brownies (with a few <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">handfuls</span> of chocolate chips thrown into a box mix) was too perfect. The saltiness and the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">crunchiness</span> of the peanuts was a good contrast to the moist sweetness of the brownie. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Mmmmm</span>!<br /><br />I'm going to make this for my Mom's birthday today!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-5078853336914046152010-12-09T06:21:00.001+09:002010-12-09T06:21:00.399+09:00Fudge - Five Minute!I have wanted to make fudge for years and years and years. But, I was too cheap to buy sweetened condensed milk in Japan and had no idea where to find marshmallow fluff. And I certainly do NOT put REAL fudge in the "Kantan" (easy) category.<br /><br />Then, a few weeks ago our neighbor had a box of canned things they didn't need and asked if we could use. Yep! There were a few cans of evaporated milk (non-sweetened). Now my mother and grandmother always use/d this, but I rarely if ever buy it. But, for some wonderful reason I looked at the label. There was this 5 Minute Fudge recipe that DIDN'T call for sweetened condensed milk nor marshmallow fluff! If I'd have had this recipe in Japan...I just might have made it - I wonder if you can use milk for the condensed milk? Hmmm.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Five Minute Fudge</span></strong><br /><br />2 Tbsp. butter<br />2/3 cups undiluted Evaporated Milk<br />1 1/2 cups sugar<br />1/4 tsp. salt<br /><br />Combine above ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Bring to a full boil. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in the following ingredients:<br /><br />2 cups (4 oz) miniature marshmallows (or cut up a bunch of bigger ones?)<br />1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips<br />1 tsp. vanilla<br />1/2 cup chopped nuts.<br /><br />Stir vigorously for 1 minute (until marshmallows melt and blend). Pour into a buttered 8-inch square pan. Cool and cut into squares. <br /><br />It was simply heavenly!<br /><br />Note: I tried to make vanilla fudge for Ryu using this recipe and substituting vanilla white chocolate chips. Hmmm. I don't like white chocolate, but even so, it turned out quite a bit softer than the "real" chocolate fudge.Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-79234261785975103442010-12-07T06:13:00.003+09:002010-12-07T06:21:52.200+09:00Egg NogIn my attempt to do some pre-Christmassy things this year, I decided to start with the ABC's. The letter "E" became "Make Egg Nog" day. Ryu doesn't care for really thick or sweet egg nog. We are tea totalers (sp?), so were looking for a non-alcoholic drink. We also have lived in Japan where raw eggs are OFTEN mixed with soy sauce and poured over hot rice in the morning for breakfast. So, when I found this recipe on About.com, it seemed to be right up our alley. I am typing it out with my notes as well as putting a link to it as sometimes...links - and thus recipes - disappear! <br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"><a href="http://coffeetea.about.com/od/eggnog/r/easynog.htm">Easy Egg Nog</a></span></strong><br /><br />2 eggs beaten well (Why couldn't you use an egg product that is...pasteurized? if you were worried?)<br />3 Tbs. sugar (I wouldn't have minded a full 1/4 cup = 4 Tbs.)<br />1 tsp. vanilla (We could have upped this too. Yum!)<br />1/8 tsp. nutmeg, ground<br />2 1/3 cups milk<br /><br />We washed the eggs before we broke them, and then whisked them well before gradually adding each ingredient. The three of us drank the whole batch for lunch today. Yum!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-78832766814897159202010-10-08T07:49:00.002+09:002010-10-08T08:01:06.472+09:00Easy Chocolate CakeAfter failing to make "Never Fail Chocolate Cake" in Jr. High, making cake from "scratch" was never appealing. So, while living in Japan, I only made "that kind" of cake when I had shelled out $5 for a cake mix or brought one home from the US. Even then, I got out my kitchen scale (oh how I wish I had brought THAT with me here!) and halved the cake mix so I could make two desserts with it. Sometimes a single layer cake and sometimes a batch of cookies. YUM.<br /><br />Well, a year or so ago, some readers and I discussed the "perfect" cookie. In the midst of that discussion, I got some good cookie advice from a new friend AND a question about a recipe for a GOOD "from scratch" cake recipe. I ran from THAT question as fast as I could.<br /><br />Then, a friend here let me taste her scratch cake recipe. She used it while she was a missionary in Mongolia! It was good. I wrote it down. I lost it. I looked for something kind of like it in an old "potluck" cookbook that my Grandma Esther gave me in 1992. And I found something that I had the ingredients for. Of course, I took SOME liberty and changed a few things, but...it was BETTER than the cake mixes I can now buy for under $1 each! Lots better! AND, I know what's in it! AND, it doesn't take 3 eggs like most cake mixes seem to these days. It actually doesn't take ANY eggs. So, here it is!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Easy Chocolate Cake</strong> </span><br /><br />1 cup sugar<br />1 tsp. soda<br />1/2 tsp. salt<br />1 1/2 cup sifted flour (no, I don't have a sifter and didn't sift it!)<br />3 Tbsp. cocoa - I put in a 1/4 cup.<br /><br />Mix all this up. The recipe says to do this in a square baking pan. But, I like to MIX, so did it in a bowl. Add:<br /><br />6 Tbsp. oil - I just put in 1/3 cup<br />1 Tbsp. vinegar - scared Ryu to death<br />1 tsp. vanilla<br />1 cup cold water<br /><br />Add and mix it all up. <br /><br />I added 1/2 cup or more of chocolate chips.<br /><br />I suggest greasing and flouring your 9X9 or deep round cake pan. I didn't and...things stuck to the bottom. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes. Mine took about 27 minutes. <br /><br />This recipe was found in "Potluck Potpourri sponsored by Coos County Extension Homemakers Council 1991-1992, and was contributed by Mary Lundy.Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-77109056222569184482010-07-03T11:45:00.002+09:002010-07-03T12:02:03.873+09:00"Healthy" Chocolate Chip CookiesI have already published my "I LOVE YOU" Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I found it while living in Japan and it's small amount worked great for my small oven. But, then I moved back to the US. And all my favorite recipes written on paper...were in a box...somewhere. And the computer was off so it was a pain to find THE recipe. So, I turned to...the back of the chocolate chip bag. How's that for creative? Oh, and I have a full sized oven. Now if I just had another cookie sheet, think how FAST I could make LOTS of cookies!!!<br /><br />I think that cookies are my favorite food in all the world. Not bar cookies. Individually baked ones. And I love to share them with other people. While I lived in Japan, the "other people" often <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">preferred</span> a less sweet version of whatever I was making and I am no longer a "pack down the brown sugar" gal. I also cheated on butter, I see now. Oh well. But, the audience I bring my cookie offerings to lately are folks who like a little health in their food, but don't want to leave the taste at home. And, it was for them (AND ME) that I was making these cookies.<br /><br />So, I started with the recipe on the back of the bag, substituted whole wheat flour and...flax seed meal. I read on a blog once about putting flax seed or flax seed meal in chocolate cookies. I was <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">appalled</span>. Why would anyone mess with the Queen of Cookies (aka: Chocolate Chip)? With FLAX SEED? But, as I mentioned, the consumers for this batch of cookies liked some health, so I threw in some.<br /><br />I would just like to say that I-HAVE-NEVER-TASTED-SUCH-A-GOOD-AND-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">UN COMPROMISED</span>-CHOCOLATE-CHIP-COOKIE in all my life! Yep. All of it! BTW, the basic recipe is ALSO found on the back of the soda box. Different name, but...same old recipe!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">"Healthy" Chocolate Chip Cookies</span></strong><br /><br />Cream together:<br /><br />1 cup butter - I would just like to say, to my friends in Japan, I am consuming enough butter AND sour cream for myself and most of you! The scales support me in this. I'm about to check out the yogurt section of my supermarket.<br />3/4 cup granulated sugar (I NEVER used granulated in Japan - the wet white was fine.)<br />3/4 cup brown sugar (I never pack it in anymore.)<br />2 eggs<br /><br />Add:<br />1 1/4 cups flour<br />1 cup whole wheat flour<br />1/4 cup flax seed meal (I'm so sorry, I have no source for this in Japan!)<br />1/2 tsp. salt<br />1 tsp. soda<br /><br />When mixed well, add:<br />1/2 cup chocolate chips<br />1/2 cup raisins<br /><br />Chill the dough for an hour or two. Drop by rounded spoonful onto <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">ungreased</span> cookie sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 9 minutes. So yummy!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-30514937468604145522010-05-14T06:47:00.002+09:002010-12-07T06:33:53.784+09:00Cream Cheese FrostingMy friend, <a href="http://www.mamatouille.com/">Abigail</a>, and I were always trying to find frosting recipes that didn't take powdered sugar, in Japan. Even after I learned "how" to make powdered sugar, I never wanted to use <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ryu's</span> coffee grinder that long to grind enough for frosting. So, I am not sure how great the home made would taste in big quantities.<br /><br />Anyway, I have posted my Mom's <a href="http://kimskantancooking.blogspot.com/2008/12/pour-on-chocolate-frosting.html">Pour on Chocolate Frosting</a> that doesn't require powdered sugar, but am ALWAYS on the look-out for other recipes. Even though both Abigail and I are now living in the USA, with pounds and bags of powdered sugar at our fingertips if we could just find the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">aisle</span> they were sold on at the supermarket, I hope the following recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting without powdered sugar will help someone out!<br /><br /><a href="http://not2many.blogspot.com/2010/04/cream-cheese-frosting-desserts-sue.html">Cream Cheese Frosting</a>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-88508805130496846662010-05-14T06:18:00.002+09:002010-05-14T06:42:24.675+09:00Cake Mix CookiesI clicked on this blog by accident today. Took it as a sign I should...you know...WRITE something on it! And, I have been planning a post, so...here goes!<br /><br />Cake mixes are around 500-600 yen each in Japan. $USD? $5-6. So, when I bought one, I always got out my kitchen scale, divided it in half and made at least two desserts out of it. The fact that we have only 3 people in our family, owned only one round cake pan, and had an oven the size of a microwave perhaps also contributed to my thriftiness. Oh, and the fact that I'm not a big cake eater and the fact you maybe should put frosting on it - and powdered sugar is sold by the Tablespoon in Japan, may have been factors as well.<br /><br />Anyway, when we got to the US and went into our first supermarket, other than being totally overwhelmed, we saw a display for cake mixes. 69 cents each if you bought 4 or more! So, we bought 5. And, though many of the other reasons were solved, we are still a family of 3. And I still don't really eat much cake. <br /><br />Then I remembered the recipe for Cake Mix Cookies I made a few times in Japan, that a friend taught me in grad school. However, she used a marble cake mix and actually came up with cookies that were marbled! TMW (My new acronym for Too Much Work!)!<br /><br />So, I started with a lemon cake mix. Purchased at the suggestion of my husband. The first lemon cake mix I have ever bought in my entire life. And I don't think my Mother has ever bought one either. But we needed a treat after hard labor working on this rental, so I whipped up these cookies. They are listed on about 1,000 sites on the Internet, so I will just put it here again!<br /><br />My father thought I was a genius. My husband kept waiting for the next batch. We ran out of cake mixes. I went to the store in our town. Cake mixes? $2.50! I passed out in the aisle. Finally found a cheaper brand that were 4/$5 and got two! Guess 69 cents WAS a good buy!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Cake Mix Cookies</span></strong><br /><br />1 Cake mix - any flavor<br />1 egg - any color<br />1/4 cup water - any temperature<br />1/4 cup oil - any type (that is relatively flavorless, I expect!)<br />1 cup - any yummy thing in your cupboard (choco chips, nuts, coconut, raisins, quick oatmeal, etc.)<br /><br />Mix it all well. I let it set a bit. I think the cake mixey taste goes away with a bit of a wait - 10 min. or so.<br /><br />Bake at 350 for 12-15 min. <br /><br />NOTE: Yep, guess I divided an egg in half in Japan. Half an egg is about 2 Tbsp!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-63461360409972206562009-12-09T08:55:00.003+09:002009-12-09T09:22:38.148+09:00Golden Honey GranolaOne day I woke up and thought, "One often puts honey in granola but its taste is overshadowed by all the other things." One of my favorite breakfasts is butter and honey toast. Mmmmm. So, I thought, "I wonder if I could make granola that yummy?"<br /><br />Those who have read some of my other granola recipes will wonder if this qualifies as granola - the recipe is THAT different. And super simple. And takes NO strange ingredients. Well, at least none that I think are strange, though maybe not those used in "regular" granolas. Here goes!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>Golden Honey Granola</strong></span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Dry Ingredients</span></strong><br /><br />2 1/2 cups WHITE oats (I use the "real" ones from Costco. Old fashioned.)<br />1/2 cup WHITE flour. Yep - different from other granolas.<br />1/2 tsp. WHITE salt<br />1/3 cup WHITE sugar. Stay with me here!<br />1 tsp. baking powder - Really! (It gives the granola a light crunchy texture.)<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Wet Ingredients</span></strong><br /><br />1/4 cup melted butter (or margarine)<br />2 Tbsp. honey<br />1/3 cup water<br /><br />Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly. Combine the wet ingredients and add to the dry. Mix well. Spread out on a baking sheet. Bake at 140C for 1 hour - stirring every 10 minutes after the first 30. Makes about 5 cups of granola. We prefer this granola without any fruit or nuts. The "WHITE" ingredients help the wonderful flavors of butter and honey to shine through. You know, if I HAD vanilla essence, I might add a teaspoon of that too and see how it tastes.<br /><br />I'd love to hear how you like it!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-71165029126615835732009-11-12T16:02:00.003+09:002009-11-12T16:28:07.643+09:00Milk Chocolate GranolaFor some reason, as I was creating granolas of various flavors, I felt that I MUST make a chocolate granola. As usual, I pursued the Internet for recipe ideas. <br /><br />The first one just added small chunks of chocolate to a regular granola. I tried it. Jun picked all the chocolate pieces out, ate them and declared breakfast to be over! So...that wasn't going to work.<br /><br />Then I tried a recipe based on unsweetened cocoa powder. It is pretty tough to maintain a balance of enough sugar for the cocoa and not using too much sugar for the granola. So...it didn't pan out either.<br /><br />Then I thought of the Cinnamon Chip Granola recipe I had come up with and remembered that I had chocolate chips in my fridge. Well, I did then. We finished them off. Sad face.<br /><br />They were semi-sweet chips. I cut them up, added additional sugar to my basic recipe and used some Hershey's Chocolate syrup a friend who was returning to the States sent me. This recipe (as were all the others), was pronounced GOOD by Jun. But, she likes chocolate. Ryu, my husband, on the other hand was not impressed. And, to be honest, it didn't make me burst out into song either.<br /><br />So, this past week I decided to try once more. If THIS recipe didn't work - we would be forever Chocolate Granola-less.<br /><br />And this recipe was eaten three times by Ryu - voluntarily. Jun loved it. We are out and it is Thursday. It's supposed to last till Saturday. <br /><br />That being said, try it. You might like it. Honestly, I haven't burst into song over it, but I'm humming. If you use a less sweet chocolate, you might want to consider increasing the brown sugar to compensate...or not! Also, you will notice the basic recipe is quite close to my other granolas. It makes small clumps that stand up well in milk, as my friend Abigail noted, but that don't break your teeth, as my Mother noted!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Milk Chocolate Granola</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Dry - mix these dry ingredients well in a large bowl</span></strong><br /><br />2 cups/180 gm oatmeal (I use old fashioned oats from Costco)<br />1/2 cup/60 gm whole wheat flour<br />1/4 cup/20 gm wheat germ<br />1/4 cup/35 gm crushed all bran cereal<br /><br /> Note - you are looking for a rough total of 1 cup of flours in addition to the oats. I currently have flax seed meal (from the US) - so add some of that. I have used corn flour, corn meal, and have seen a recipe using rye flour - which...hmmm. I have also crushed up genmai cereal flakes in my coffee grinder and used them in place of other flours. So, use what you have! <br /><br />1/4 cup/35 gm brown sugar (you may want to increase this if you use a less sweet chocolate.)<br />1 tsp/5cc cocoa powder - I use this to add a bit of color!<br />1/2 tsp/2.5 cc salt<br />1/2 cup/70 gm chopped milk chocolate - I used bar chocolate we just HAPPENED to have in the house. Cut about 1/2 of it rather finely and chop the other half more coarsely for some BURSTS of chocolate in your granola.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Wet - Mix these ingredients together before adding to the dry ingredients</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">1/4 cup/60cc oil</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">1/3 cup/80cc cold water</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">2T/30cc Chocolate Syrup. If you don't have it - use honey or Karo Syrup or ???</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Stir the wet and dry ingredients together well, using your hands is a good idea. Spread the granola out on a cookie sheet (you might want to use oven paper or foil...or not) and bake at 140C/275F for 1 hour. I stirred it rather frequently after the 30 minute mark because I didn't want the precious chocolate to burn! It didn't!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I tried this granola with raisins. Killed the chocolate flavor. I tried it with peanuts. Same problem. Maybe chocolate flavored raisins? HAHAH!</span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-15291527878368951582009-10-23T16:57:00.002+09:002009-10-23T17:12:11.474+09:00Cookie ScoopI have been interested in getting a cookie scoop for a long long time. <br /><br />When I was a kid I loved to mix up the cookies, but hated using the two-spoon process to put the cookie dough on the cookie pans. I turned the kitchen over to my Mom for that and went outside to play. She always did a great two-spoon job.<br /><br />Now that I have my own home - OK, I've been on my own since High School, but... - I make cookies for the fans at my house! It is so fun that Jun loves cookies. Must be the taste of Mother's Love - or the sugar. Hmmm. Anyway, I have been doing the two-spoon process all the while pining away for a cookie scoop.<br /><br />On various trips back to the States I have looked for the right sized scoop - whatever that is - and FINALLY found one on my trip this summer. My parents' smallish town has a very very well stocked kitchen store. I paid over my $14 for a cookie scoop - is this NOT expensive? - used it once at home and, when packing to come back to Japan forgot it!<br /><br />A couple of weeks ago my folks sent a package of stuff I'd ordered and threw in my cookie scoop too! Today I mixed up a batch of cake mix cookies and got out my cookie scoop. I had cookies on the pan in nothing flat.<br /><br />Then I began to think. (My husband often tells me I think too much.) Each and every cookie is the exact same size. With the same amount of dough. The same shape. They'd be the same color too, if my oven was a bit more uniform in heating. And scooping out the dough really took so little time, the cookies could not be called a labor of love at all. Well, the fact that I started with a cake mix might have made you all wonder about the love, but cake mixes are spendy here, so the fact that I did use one was an expression of love - oh, and thanks to my friend for giving it to me!<br /><br />So, I'm in a quandary about the cookie scoop. It is the process of baking that helps me relieve stress. That helps me use some creativity. It isn't the end product, though if it is good, I'm happy. It isn't exactly the ease of it, though this blog is called "kantan" (easy) cooking. Being able to do the two-spoon process well was kind of an initiation into adulthood. Anybody can use a cookie scoop.<br /><br />But, I must admit, I DID pay $14 dollars for it. And it was really easy. And kind of fun. And...well, we'll see if I put it in a box when we move next, or pass it on.Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-50150532738190340102009-10-20T08:00:00.003+09:002009-10-20T08:14:25.590+09:00Biscuits - Drop, OilThis blog is really for EASY cooking - not fancy, but stuff Ryu gives the "umai" (delicious) vote to. These biscuits fit that role. I am not a biscuit maker. If you have read any of my other posts, you will perhaps remember that I do not like to cut shortening or butter into flour. I have a pastry cutter and CAN do it if necessary, but will go to great lengths NOT to do so. Also, big old cans of Crisco are not available to me and butter is too spendy for daily consumption. However, a student received many many bottles of oil for a mid-summer gift. She and her husband are not great oil consumers, so she gave me a bunch of them. I don't use oil in much of my regular cooking, but...free is FREE!<br /><br />Then, I found this recipe for biscuits - using oil. And they are sufficient if you like drop biscuits. If you are dead set on cut out ones, don't try this recipe - though the original recipe says you can roll the dough out between pieces of wax paper - why try to do the impossible???<br /><br />As this recipe is not the same as the one Betty Crocker has on her web site, I'll post it all here:<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Baking Powder Biscuits - Drop, Oil</span></strong><br /><br />1 3/4 cups flour<br />2 1/2 tsp. baking powder<br />3/4 tsp. salt<br />3/4 cup milk<br />1/3 cup oil<br /><br />Heat oven to 450F or 230C. Mix dry ingredients together. Combine milk and oil and dump into the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until all is moist. Avoid over-mixing. Using a spoon, drop the batter into a greased cookie sheet (I never grease mine.) Bake until golden brown. 10-12 minutes (cooking time depends on the size of your biscuits - so check on them.)<br /><br />Source: Betty Crocker's Cookbook, New and Revised Edition, Copyright 1978. Baking Powder Biscuits page 194<br /><br /><em>In the original recipe, the oil is shortening and is cut into the flour mixture.</em>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-61316320814761651102009-10-03T16:25:00.000+09:002009-10-01T16:47:29.039+09:00Bread Crumb CobblerOur family is more or, as was THIS day, LESS bilingual. On the "less" days, that seventh sense is really important. If someone is tired, this seventh sense is usually out of service and strange things happen.<br /><br />I was on a bread baking binge this winter. Yes, it is now fall again. Months later, and finally this post is applicable! Finally! My husband KNEW I'd been baking bread. Our minuscule kitchen was covered in flour. He'd been EATING the bread! How could he not have understood me when I gave him the shopping list and asked for...<br /><br />OK, let me back up a tiny bit and give you a tiny Japanese language lesson so you won't think I was totally crazy! We put the word "ko" before or after things/people/animals to make them small. Like "dog" is "inu". A puppy is..."ko inu." Pretty cool, huh? Many women's last names end in "ko" - like an endearative. (Was that English? Oh well.) In the kitchen we have items that have been ground up and are called "something something 'ko'". Like flour is "mugi ko."<br /><br />Now, I suppose there are tons of different kinds of flour in the US too, but I never had to feed a family there so never thought about it. But, here the flour that I usually buy here is definitely NOT bread flour. And I needed bread flour. The word for bread is "pan". I asked Ryu to buy me a bag of "pan ko." Now, doesn't that make sense to MOST OF YOU OUT THERE? OK, I know some who speak Japanese are howling in their green tea, so I'll let the rest of you kind folk in on the joke.<br /><br />Ryu came home with a HUGE bag of Bread Crumbs. Yep. And I KNEW this, of course, but...in the heat of the moment spaced right out - "pan ko" means ground up crumbled bread. Thus began the 1/2 year long search for ways to use up this huge bag of bread crumbs.<br /><br />I always suspected that they could be used as a topping in dessert but never experimented to figure out how. Then, just yesterday evening - when I was FINALLY down to a mere 3/4 cup of bread crumbs, I ran across <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/crunchy-panko-fruit-cobbler-recipe">this recipe </a>when I was drooling over <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/individual-pie-slice-pans?go=RT90929B&utm_source=RT90929&utm_medium=email&utm_content=">individual pie slice pans</a>. I made a 1/2 batch of it - see above at the mere 3/4 cup of bread crumbs remaining - and it was so so wonderful!<br /><br />Let me tell you why it was wonderful. Cobbler is basically a fruit pie filling with no crust on the bottom and one of a few crusts on the top. The first common crust is a standard pie crust. My Grandma Mary used to make this. I couldn't understand why someone would go through the torture of cutting shortening into flour for a mere cobbler! My Mom (she'll surely correct me if I'm wrong), would make the drop biscuit type top crust for cobbler. This is fine if you can actually get the fruit done and the biscuits neither soggy or burnt. The third type of crust that I am familiar with is the oatmeal crust. Frankly it is usually too something. Too sweet, too...something.<br /><br />So, that is why this crust is so wonderful. It is TRULY crunchy! It was way too sweet, but THAT can be changed in the twinkling of an eye. The recipe states that you can use prepackaged "panko," which I understand is on sale in most supermarkets in the US now, or that you could use fresh bread crumbs. You may be scratching your head at the oxymoron of fresh bread crumbs, but...my mother in law makes them when she makes pork cutlets. Grab your fresh bread and a cheese grater and give it a try! I think a "crunchy" bread with nuts and stuff in it would really add to this topping! Mom - why don't you try it and let me know?Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-9014788526721747922009-09-29T15:35:00.004+09:002009-10-01T16:25:43.477+09:00Red Tomato ChutneyYou may or may not remember that I made chutney for the first time last winter. And we loved it! It is a <a href="http://kimskantancooking.blogspot.com/2008/11/chutney.html">Pear and Peach Chutney </a>with ginger root in it that makes it nice and HOT! It is great with curry and rice!<br /><br />So, when my friend at Shinshu Life published a <a href="http://shinshuulife.blogspot.com/2009/09/two-chutneys.html">recipe for red (vs. still green) tomato chutney</a>, I was really enthralled! Just looking at the color made me want to rush out and make it. However, Shinshu Life cooking is based on their wonderful and HUGE gardening enterprise. My balcony garden, on the other hand, was recycled early on in the summer, and replaced with flowers. So, when I compared prices of "real" (fresh) tomatoes with canned, canned won out. Here is my version of Shinshu Life's school textbook's Red Tomato Chutney:<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Red Tomato Chutney</span></strong><br /><br /><br />2 cans whole peeled tomatoes - I roughly cut them up with a pair of kitchen shears<br />3/4 cup rice vinegar<br />1/2 cup raisins<br />1 tsp. salt<br />1 Tbsp. pickle spice wrapped in a mesh cloth - cloves are the ticket, I think!<br />1 cup sugar<br /><br />I threw all of this (EXCEPT THE SUGAR) into a saucepan and boiled it till the liquid was reduced by about 1/2. About 20 minutes. Then I added the sugar and boiled it for about 20-30 minutes. Ryu (my husband), isn't a real vinegar fan, and found this to be a bit sour at first, so be sure to adjust the sugar to your own taste. This made 2-3 cups of chutney. The color is so rich and the flavor so robust! I love it! <br /><br />We weren't sure what to eat it on but it would work with yogurt - REALLY! and cream cheese and crackers. It is also great with chicken and white rice. I think we will be finishing it up tonight! Mmmm! Thanks for the inspiration, Heather!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-9600585199574925612009-09-29T14:51:00.003+09:002009-09-29T15:21:49.828+09:00Cinnamon Chip GranolaI have created so many wonderful posts about newly created recipes. Posts describing the process, the root of the recipe, the delicious discovery. Only to actually taste the creation and have to chalk it up to "practice." As I stood in the shower this morning smelling the delicious aroma of cinnamon wafting out of my kitchen - 2 feet away - I asked myself, "Self, will this be another post and recipe that will be tossed into the pit of experience? Or, will this really be one you can print?" And, as Jun and I chowed down this granola at lunch, I am so so happy to say that THIS one is a keeper!<br /><br />I have been trying to make a REAL Cinnamon Granola. One that tasted like cinnamon. I made one recipe and put a Tablespoon of precious cinnamon in it with a little extra sugar. Think of cinnamon sugar toast without the sugar. YUCK! Of course, we ate it, but... So, this morning when Jun and I finished the last of the Peanut Butter Granola and I reminded myself that my supermarket no longer stocks peanuts (think small store, but not THAT small, friends), and I would have to trape around looking for another store that sold them, (Seriously, how can a store stock selling PEANUTS?) I decided it was time to try a new recipe again. (Last week's Chocolate Granola try was just that, a try. No printable post!) So, I happened to remember that I had cinnamon chips in my fridge just looking for a use. (They are WONDERFUL in scones, but...you have to cut butter into flour. That, is a labor of love at our house!) It turned out sooooo good!<br /><br />The "base" of the recipe is a lot like my <a href="http://kimskantancooking.blogspot.com/2009/04/peanut-butter-granola.html">Peanut Butter </a>and <a href="http://kimskantancooking.blogspot.com/2009/05/gingersnap-granola.html">Gingersnap Granolas</a>. If it isn't broken, don't fix it, I say. And, it makes lovely chunks which satisfies the child in my house, (Jun). The only caveat is that I get the mini cinnamon chips from the US. I THINK I've seen some in Japan, sold by the tablespoon, but am not sure.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>Cinnamon Chip Granola</strong></span><br /><br />2 cups oatmeal (I use old fashioned.)<br />1/2 cup whole wheat flour<br />1/4 cup wheat germ<br />1/8 cup crushed all bran<br />1/4 cup flax seed flour (Truly, you could substitute any flours for the wheat germ, all bran or flax seed. This is a truly flexible recipe!)<br />1/3 cup <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/cinnamon-mini-baking-chips-16-oz">mini cinnamon chips </a>(I've put the link to King Arthur Flour's chips.)<br />1 tsp. cinnamon<br />1/2 tsp. salt<br /><br />Mix the dry ingredients well and add:<br /><br />1/4 cup oil<br />2 Tbsp. honey<br />1/3 cup hot water<br />1 tsp. vanilla<br /><br />Stir to combine well. Use your hands if you like. Spread out on a baking sheet. Use "oven paper" if you have it as this granola sticks more than some others. I never have oven paper, however, and survive! Bake at 140 C for 1 hour. I'd probably stir it after the hour and then let it cool in the oven. I didn't stir it today and had one huge LOVELY chunk! SMILE! It breaks up easily, however and Jun was happy! Store in an air tight container. Serve with raisins - if you like! Incidentally, I was surprised to find that many Japanese don't like raisins. Who knew?Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-83275722943478177172009-09-09T14:53:00.004+09:002009-09-29T15:33:04.914+09:00No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter CookiesTHERE! By THAT name, perhaps people who WANT to make these cookies can actually find a recipe to do so!<br /><br />This recipe is called Peanut Butter Cookies in my "Old-Fall-Apart-Cookbook" Favorite Recipes of the Great Northwest. Anyone who has EVER made a peanut butter cookie knows it is round, light brown, and has <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">fork marks</span> making an x across the top! These cookies are NOT Peanut Butter Cookies! I am shouting!<br /><br />And, I CANNOT make these cookies successfully. Again - one more point AGAINST DNA, and FOR ... what was the other ... Nurture!<br /><br />My Mom and niece make them regularly. Successfully! The problem is not in the recipe! Well, not now that I called my Mom and asked HOW she made those cookies, and what "full boil" really means! The problem is in ... my favorite things in the world - substitution and scrimping!<br /><br />I have tons of old fashioned oats from Costco. I use them for making granola. This recipe calls for quick cooking oats. I don't have any of those and am not really sure WHERE to get them in my town. So, I used the old fashioned kind. Big big looser. Took the batch to church. No one actually said it tasted like they were eating chocolate covered horse food, but...<br /><br />The next time I decided to toast the oats before using them. I was too <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">embarrassed</span> to take this batch to church - burnt the oats a bit - so they tasted like chocolate covered burnt horse food.<br /><br />So, as Japanese cornflakes seem to be harder, thicker and crisper than US ones, I decided to use them instead. This was the worst substitution yet. Though they may be a bit crisper, I bought the cheapo store brand, and I ended up with soggy, tough chocolate covered cornflakes. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">ARGH</span>!<br /><br />So, unless someone has a good way to make old fashioned oats into quick cooking oats, I may have to put off making this recipe till I find the "real" thing. Or, until I think of another option. Seriously - don't you think this recipe would be good with slightly broken up salty <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">pretzels</span>? <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Mmmmm</span>?<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies</strong></span> (Peanut Butter Cookies)<br /><br />contributed by Mrs. Fred T. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Mellinger</span>, Portland, OR page 168<br /><br />2 cups sugar<br />1/4 cup butter (we use margarine)<br />1/2 cup milk<br />2 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa<br />2/3 cup peanut butter<br />3 tsp. (1 Tbsp.) vanilla<br />3 cups oatmeal<br /><br />Combine sugar, butter, milk and cocoa in saucepan. Bring to a full boil. (Full boil means a boil you can't stir down. Then I counted to 10.) Remove from heat and add peanut <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">butter</span>, vanilla and oatmeal. Spoon onto waxed paper. Cool. Yield 3 dozen.<br /><br />From my experience, one should not skimp on any of the above ingredients (sugar, peanut butter)! Also, from my experience, if making a substitution for the oatmeal, one might just want to start with a half batch!<br /><br />I tried other recipes like this one that had less peanut butter. They tasted more <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">chocolaty</span>, but didn't set well. This really tastes like peanut butter chocolate fudge with oatmeal in it. If you make them right.<br /><br />Remember, I am waiting for your ideas about a better substitution for the quick cooking oats!!!<br /><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>NOTE:</strong> <em><strong>I DID try to cut those oats up in my blender/mixer thingie before trying again. And they were much much better. If I had quick oats, I think they are still best, but "blended up oats" worked just fine! Thank you for the suggestion!</strong></em></span><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386771967555906098" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Rz-yjLO-AyM/SsGokGwzqjI/AAAAAAAAASo/ut57NhvNxBA/s400/DSCF3862.JPG" /></div><div><br />HEY! I might use the chocolate/peanut butter mixture as frosting on my birthday cake this Friday!!!??? What do you think??</div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>NOTE:</strong> <em><strong>I DID use the "chocolate sauce" part for frostening on my cake! It turned out great! I made 1/2 batch to "frost" a single 8" layer that I cut in half to make two layers. And you don't need a knife!</strong></em></span></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386771951414414546" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Rz-yjLO-AyM/SsGojKoYDNI/AAAAAAAAASg/zwC0OLaYCgU/s400/DSCF3845.JPG" /></div>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-91563279145611104792009-08-31T13:53:00.000+09:002009-08-29T14:04:50.445+09:00Sesame DressingWe had only been married a little time before Ryu told me he liked Chinese food also. Wow! Learning to make Japanese food as well as Chinese - I recruited his help. We bought a Chinese cookbook at the 100 yen (Dollar) store and have used it and used it!<br /><br />This is the Sesame Dressing for one of the dishes (whose name I can't remember or READ!)<br /><br />The cookbook is Bon Cook #23 Chinese...Something. The recipe is on page 48.<br /><br />Anyway, this is Ryu's dish to make, but, we are on a chicken eating frenzy, so I am always looking for ideas. The other day I decided to boil a chicken breast, tear it into shreds, steam some green beans and cut them in half, and pour this sauce over it all. We were ALL (meaning, Jun too!) in heaven!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Sesame Dressing</span><br /><br />3 Tbsp. White Sesame Seeds - grind these up in a food mixer you can later add wet ingredients too for ease in preparation. (I'm sure you could use black too. We used roasted white ones.)<br />3 Tbsp. Soy Sauce<br />1 1/2 Tbsp. Sugar<br />1 Tbsp. Vinegar<br />1/2 tsp. Sesame oil<br />1/2 tsp. rayu (very hot oil. We leave it out when Jun is eating with us - ALWAYS - though we love it!)<br /><br />After grinding up the sesame seeds, add the rest of the ingredients and blend well. This is the first time I used our food grinder/mixer. Ryu does it by hand. Do as you wish, but I will always use our cheapo frustrating mixer after this! So easy!<br /><br />This is great over chicken and pork. Also, over steamed veggies like broccoli, green beans or spinach. It would also be great over a salad or chilled tofu! Of course, you can adjust the flavor/sweetness to your liking, too! Try it!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-15936163666720062372009-08-29T13:33:00.004+09:002009-08-29T14:05:20.883+09:00Chocolate Frozen YogurtThis summer I have been playing with making frozen yogurt. It began with wanting a lemon dessert and having no lemons! I had a small can of lemon pop, mixed it with a small carton of yogurt and froze it! A great sherbet! Even better when I added sugared crushed raspberries!<br /><br />From there I (and Jun) forged into uncharted territory - for us. The latest recipe-less yogurt was banana, cinnamon, peanut butter yogurt. As strange as it sounds - it was healthy and pretty good.<br /><br />However, the time had come to start Googeling Frozen Yogurt recipes. And chocolate was the flavor we NEEDED! I found a cooking blog called Chocolate and Zucchini. I like both of those, and, actually, my grandmother used to make wonderful chocolate zucchini bread and it was just like cake, but...I wasn't sure what I'd find here - frozen yogurt with zucchini?<br /><br />But, no! She has a wonderful recipe for <a href="http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2008/10/chocolate_frozen_yogurt.php"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chocolate Frozen Yogurt</span></a>.<br /><br />However, her pantry and fridge are a little more exotic than mine. I would love to try the REAL ingredients, but...here are my humble substitutions.<br /><br />Good quality bittersweet chocolate - the remaining box of too bitter chocolate in the cupboard supplemented by some of those semi-sweet chocolate chips I am hoarding.<br /><br />Creme fraiche or heavy cream - Jun kindly allowed me to use some of her milk. It is 3.6% milk fat. That's about has heavy as our kitchen gets.<br /><br />Raw cane sugar - I suspect I could find this in Japan, but haven't. I used regular old white, cheap, moist sugar.<br /><br />Good quality unsweetened cocoa powder - I hoard this too, but I used my Hershey's cocoa. That's as good quality as we get here.<br /><br />Sea salt - Ummm. Not sure where ours came from, but Ryu bought the cheapest he could. Now I have a whole kilo of wet (a pain to use and unable to be shaken) salt. (Actually, now that I think of it, I forgot the salt! Oh well!)<br /><br />Natural Vanilla Extract - Good old imitation here, though would LOVE some of the real thing!<br /><br />Greek Yogurt - Well, I have no idea what makes yogurt Greek, and have only seen Bulgarian yogurt here - and I'm sure it isn't Bulgarian, though Kotoshu has been on some of the commercials for it and HE's Bulgarian. Instead I bought the cheapest low fat yogurt at the store. I hate to eat it, but don't mind it in my yogurt concoctions. However, first I drained it (thanks for loaning me your coffee maker/filter, Ryu) to make it a bit thicker.<br /><br />I used a cooking method I thought was easier. I combined the yogurt and vanilla in the freezer container. I put the dry ingredients in a small sauce pan and made sure the cocoa was lump-free. Then I added the milk and stirred constantly over very low heat. When the chocolate was about 1/2 melted, I took it off the heat and kept stirring till it was all melted and mixed in well. Then I poured it slowly into the yogurt while Jun and I stirred.<br /><br />The blogger, Clotilde Dusoulier, gives good advice on how to be sure the frozen dessert is sweet enough and how to make it without an ice-cream maker! Good common sense advice!<br /><br />I made half batch, as we are only three. Each time we stir it, we taste it. And we love each taste so far. I hope there is some left for dessert tonight!<br /><br />I will be visiting this food blogger often, I think!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-38320745384171073392009-08-07T17:36:00.004+09:002009-08-07T17:48:09.451+09:00Mexican ChickenMy husband commented on my "strong arm" in the arena of cooking this week. This means, I've made some things that he likes and that fill him up!<br /><br />I thought of waiting and measuring and all that stuff to give you this recipe, but...this is Kantan (simple) Cooking, so - here is the recipe in its simplicity.<br /><br />I need to add that it was inspired by this recipe for <a href="http://www.mamatouille.com/2008/10/mexican-burgers-smothered-in-guac.html">Mexican Burgers</a> that we LOVE and often make in little meatball sizes for obentos and dinner!<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Mexican Chicken</span></strong><br /><br />2 whole skinless and boneless chicken breasts cut in bite-sized pieces<br />1 splash of milk<br />1 Tbsp. or so of taco seasoning - if you have it<br />1 bag of flavored taco chips. We get them for 100 yen at the convenience store. Crush them up into tiny pieces.<br /><br />So, take the pieces of chicken, throw them in a bowl. Salt them a bit. Splash with some milk (2 Tbsp?) Add the taco seasoning, and mix it in well. Put it in the fridge if you have time, and let it set for awhile for the seasonings to soak into the meat.<br /><br />Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Roll each piece of chicken in the crushed taco chips and toss into an oven safe pan. If they need to be layered - that's fine. If you have chips leftover, sprinkle them over the top.<br /><br />Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken is done.<br /><br />I "garnished" this with well drained yogurt - fake, but yummy, sour-cream like topping, and chopped green onions. I could see some salsa over it as well, or tomatoes and shredded lettuce. If one had cheese in the fridge, I'd sprinkle a bit of that over the chicken before baking and Mmmmm.<br /><br />Very SIMPLE - but, it's summer, and the hubby loved it, and I don't want to forget about it. My Japanese Mama friends' reaction? Very good and "You COOK with taco chips???" I love to shock them as often as possible.Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-35834434269601816512009-07-28T18:03:00.002+09:002009-07-28T18:12:59.872+09:00Mugicha - Barley TeaWhen I first came to Japan I was not yet a coffee drinker! Late bloomer, I know! So, when I was offered a nice cold glass of barley tea...I suddenly wasn't all that thirsty after all. My dislike of barley tea was quickly realized and I alone was given a goblet of delicious orange juice with a straw while everyone else drank mugicha out of water glasses. How embarrassing!!!<br /><br />Well, I learned to drink coffee and mugicha as well. I often made mugicha for my students. I'd get to church and realize students were coming in 5 minutes and there was nothing cold for them to drink. So, I'd throw a tea packet into the pitcher, add water, and shake! The water changed color, but not flavor!!! Gross, but it worked in a pinch. Now our pastor makes sure there is always plenty of mugicha in the fridge! THANKS!<br /><br />A friend recently taught me a new way to make the "BEST" mugicha. I must confess that I am lazy, so never have followed the recipe to its completion, but...here goes:<br /><br />One packet of mugicha in a mug. Pour boiling water over it and let it sit for one minute. <br />Add the packet to a pitcher of water to make one liter of mugicha. Take the bag out after one hour. HA! Then add a bit of instant coffee. Wa la! Excellent mugicha, I'm told. I never take out the bag and have no instant coffee in the house, so... I also like weak mugicha, so use one packet for two liters! However, I do use the one minute hot water method. Much better than shaking!<br /><br />Last week my friend told me of another mugicha recipe. If you make your mugicha right - it is supposed to be 3:10. 3 parts mugicha and 10 parts milk. Our weaker mugicha works better at 1:1 (half and half). This sounds kind of gross to those of us who take our mugicha STRAIGHT! No sugar and never any milk or lemon. However, this milk mugicha tastes like coffee au latte! Add some sugar syrup, and, a nice no-caf coffee tasting drink!<br /><br />Any other "strange" ways of doing mugicha???Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-51902237506593245412009-07-26T18:17:00.002+09:002009-07-26T18:26:42.220+09:00Cleaned the Freezer - Ended Up With a Cake!I am, as I assume most people are, pretty good at cleaning out the fridge for a few last meals before going shopping again. After our trip to the US, I fed the family out of an empty fridge for nearly a week!<br /><br />But yesterday, I cleaned the freezer! And ended up with a cake! I usually at least start with a recipe when I bake. However, yesterday, it was all bits and pieces of leftovers, a quick defrost, a quick stir, and a quick bake! Mmmm.<br /><br />I started with a cup or so of chocolate chip cookie dough I froze before going home to the US. Just couldn't find it in my heart to heat up the kitchen for the few cookies it would make, so there it sat in the freezer. Then I ran across a 1/2 cup or so of pureed pumpkin I cooked and blenderized when pumpkin was on sale...a while back. There were two halves of bananas - left over from Jun's lunches. Peeled and wrapped in wrap and frozen for a baking day.<br /><br />As I was mixing this combination up, I noticed that the chocolate chips had mostly melted in the defrosting process, so I now had chocolate cake. Hmmmm. Maybe more chocolate chips? Nope, as I was reaching for the chocolate chips, my hand touched the cinnamon chips! Well, as chocolate goes great with pumpkin and bananas, so does cinnamon go with chocolate, pumpkin and bananas! So, I added a handful of cinnamon chips. Then, as the pumpkin was not sweetened and I had some ginger sugar also taking up space in the freezer, I dumped a bit of that in too.<br /><br />Turned the oven on to 170, oiled the round cake pan and threw it all in. 25 minutes or so later, we were gifted with the moistest yummy cake!!! <br /><br />It was so fun to try something crazy for a dessert when I usually only do it for "meal" food!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-36377412101140511082009-07-11T14:45:00.003+09:002009-07-11T15:24:31.981+09:00Preemio AwardMy friend, <a href="http://www.mamatouille.com/">Abigail</a>, gave me the? a? Preemio Award the other day. Recipients are supposed to write seven things about themselves. As this is a cooking blog, I will attempt to entertain you with seven silly things about cooking/food and me!<br /><br /><ol><li>Carrots - WHAT is it with CARROTS here in Japan??? First, they are kind of short and really big around. Second, they go bad in my fridge in a day or two - ROOT VEGETABLE!?!??! Third, according to my husband, they should not be cut into rounds (wagiri), but should be cut into the equivalent of short carrot sticks. This makes them sweeter he says...the crazy thing is - it does. I don't even really LIKE carrots - but, don't tell Jun or Ryu! </li><li>Ginger - I am a GINGER freak, I think. This last trip to the US, I caught a terrible cold. AND...had NO <a href="http://kimskantancooking.blogspot.com/2008/12/candied-ginger.html">candied ginger </a>to fend off the germs! As I was getting well, I found some ginger candy at a health food store. And, was introduced to this website - the <a href="http://www.gingerpeople.com/">Ginger People.</a></li><li>Strange - I LOVE strange RECIPES. For me, STRANGE is a reason TO make something new, not to avoid it. Sue just posted a recipe for <a href="http://sue-livingandlearning.blogspot.com/2009/07/summer-help-do-it-yourself-body-powder.html">body powder</a>. Vicki posted a recipe for <a href="http://hyotenka.blogspot.com/2009/04/braeside-cottages-soda-bread.html">soda bread </a>you cook on the griddle. Abigail posted recipe for <a href="http://www.mamatouille.com/2008/09/cabbage-meal-3-okonomiyaki.html">okonomiyaki</a> made using top ramen. How STRANGE - to me, at least, and FUN! (I made the soda bread and okonomiyaki!)</li><li>Spurts - I cook things in spurts. I am currently in the Granola Making Spurt. I made up two recipes - <a href="http://kimskantancooking.blogspot.com/2009/04/peanut-butter-granola.html">Peanut Butter Granola</a>, and <a href="http://kimskantancooking.blogspot.com/2009/05/gingersnap-granola.html">Gingersnap Granola</a>. Too yummy. I am in the process of making a Chocolate Granola recipe. I bought some healthy flours to put in granola while I was in the US this trip. I can really FEEL all those fiber things cleaning the cholesterol out of my veins. Really. I'm serious! SCRUBBING!!!</li><li>Lettuce - I didn't grow up on lettuce. We were a canned/frozen corn, peas, and green bean family with some broccoli and carrots thrown in for good measure. I do remember the occasional beet, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts - YUCK! But, we weren't adventurous vegetable eaters. Ryu isn't either. Lettuce - adventurous? Well, I seem to not like raw veggies all that well. We have thrown away more heads of lettuce than probably any other veggie! But, I bought some again yesterday. We'll see.</li><li>Cookbooks - Jun and I like to read Cookbooks. Not to find something to make, but, because they are interesting. I especially like old ones with old fashioned recipes. Jun especially likes my cookie ones with pictures! I USED to collect cookbooks. Now I live in a tiny tiny apartment, so we read and reread the good old ones! </li><li>CONFESSION - the REAL reason I started to cook - as a kid - was because in our family we have the Golden Rule that is THE BEST! If you cook dinner, you don't have to do the dishes - nor clean the kitchen. I HATE to do dishes - so cooking was a wonderful golden trade off. My mom was happy too, as she was happy not to cook, and had two other kids to do the cleaning! HAHAHA!</li></ol><p>I'd like to tag the following three women because I enjoy their blogs and wonder what THEY cook on a weekday night. </p><ol><li><a href="http://tswailes.blogspot.com/">Tammy in Ukraine</a></li><li><a href="http://sue-livingandlearning.blogspot.com/">Sue at Living and Learning</a></li><li><a href="http://okaasanmommy.blogspot.com/">CG at Okaasan Mommy and More</a></li></ol>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-14282303668651392712009-06-03T16:17:00.002+09:002009-06-03T16:27:39.177+09:00Furikake - Sprinkles for the top of your white rice!My husband likes furikake. Actually, furikake is the savior of many Japanese housewives, or housewives of any nationality, or I guess anyone at all, who make obentos. These sprinkles add so much flavor, color, fun to the white rice part of a lunch.<br /><br />We have been buying furikake for years. It has yellow chunks that are supposed to be egg. Hmmm. And dried seaweed - nori. Well, I hate the stuff. I think all the yellow chunks are are lumps of sodium with no health benefit at all.<br /><br />So, when I was at church last week, and a lady was showing me the furikake she had made and said it was easy - my ears perked up. Her suggestion, my friend Kaoru's help, and an idea or two from the internet turned into this furikake. The hubby loves it! YEAH! It is NOT cheaper than the purchased sodium, but, it is worth it.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Furikake</span></strong><br /><br />50 gm. tiny white fish (raw, not dried)<br />1/3 cup sesame seeds<br />1 cup bonito flakes (not packed!)<br />1 Tbsp. soy sauce<br />3 Tbsp. mirin<br /><br />In a dry frying pan, "dry" the fish out. Then add the sesame seeds and bonito flakes. When the sesame seeds start popping a bit, add the mixture of soy and mirin. Then, stir over low heat till all the moisture is absorbed/evaporated. Won't take long. Store it in an airtight container in the freezer! It doesn't get hard, even when frozen, and lasts a long time - or not - if you serve it on lunches every day!<br /><br />I also heard you can use dried radish or daikon leaves. I just got a batch today to try. I will also cut up some of the tons of dry seaweed sheets we have been given and add that next time I make it. Hubby also bought some dried shrimp he wants in a furikake. A friend just told me she cuts up konyaku and uses it in furikake. So, I guess the ideas are endless. And, though the fish is a bit expensive (we paid 350 yen for 50 gm. of fish), the other ingredients are CHEAP! I might even dry out some scrambled eggs for my own version of the purchased stuff!Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-38378286924432409472009-05-12T18:28:00.000+09:002009-05-12T18:28:00.399+09:00Reason #2 Why I Will Never Be A Great CookI was trying to blend some homemade pumpkin the other day in the tiny/cheap blender I bought when I realized that mothers in Japan MAKE their baby food because it isn't available in the stores in the single food types for the beginners. My cheap streak, kicked into overdrive by sleep deprivation, resulted in a small/worthless blender. Somehow Jun was fed during those formative months, but...<br /><br />I realized I will never be a good cook because I don't own, and really don't plan to own, any cool kitchen equipment, and if I do buy anything, it will be second hand or cheap because I am CHEAP! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ARGH</span>! I've <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">dreamt</span> of food processors that blend butter and flour, but I have a pastry cutter - my splurge. I've <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">dreamt</span> of mixers with dough hooks, but I've found recipes that don't take much kneading. I've <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">dreamt</span> of juicers, but then I'd have to buy fruit - and I'm too cheap for that usually. Our ceramic lemon juicer is adequate. I've <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">dreamt</span> of a hand-held electric mixer to make cakes, but a former co-worker showed me I could make them (from a mix) just fine with a fork. And, if I had something to whip cream, well, I couldn't just buy the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">pre</span>-whipped stuff, could I? And, I don't like whipped cream all that well either. How's THAT for talking myself out of equipment? Now, I have heard of a "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">silpat</span>" that is popular for baking things. I have no idea what it is. Kind of a re-usable oven paper, I think. But, I am even too cheap to buy oven paper - I grease and flour my pans when necessary. What was that, Mom? Heavily grease and lightly flour? <br /><br />I would like another set of measuring cups - with the 2/3 and 3/4 sizes included. A 3/4 tsp. would be nice too. Oh, and I DID splurge on a kitchen scale to weigh ingredients for Japanese recipes. I LOVE scales and tape measures and thermometers. Am I crazy?<br /><br />So, most of my recipes call for more elbow grease than perhaps their counterparts would. But, hey, THAT kind of grease tastes like Love - Right?Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712030568753764986.post-12360775437442960442009-05-09T15:23:00.007+09:002009-09-29T15:22:27.522+09:00Gingersnap GranolaGrowing up, our breakfasts were pretty standard. To us, anyway. For example, pancakes were NOT a special dish saved for Saturdays and Sundays. We had pancakes ALL THE TIME! When I went to a friend's house and saw they got RAISIN Bran, I was just too jealous. We only had Total. We had hot oatmeal and scrambled eggs often too. But, breakfast was rarely "special." (Sorry, Mom!)<br /><br />It was in the very early 70's that I was introduced to granola, at a friend's house. Hot and homemade right out of the oven for breakfast! YUM!<br /><br />The <a href="http://kimskantancooking.blogspot.com/2009/04/peanut-butter-granola.html">Peanut Butter Granola</a> is the first granola I've ever made. And, boy have I been making it. (Ryu bought some baby chocolate chips to add to it!) But, one day, I suddenly had a hankering for Gingersnap Granola. You know, that hard and crunchy gingersnap cookie? But for BREAKFAST. Not to say I don't eat cookies at breakfast time, but...wouldn't it be great to eat them LEGALLY?<br /><br />I searched the web over and found a very few number of Gingersnap Granola recipes. But, they gave me a start. I've worked on revamping this recipe, and NONE of the tries has been bad! Well, I guess there IS one bad thing about the recipe. Unlike the Peanut Butter Granola, it is a bit more clumpy. JUST right for eating with one's hands as a snack. I could eat this for every meal and snack all day! Too yummy!<br /><br />Jun started off calling the granolas I made, "Mama Made It Cornflakes." Now she calls the Peanut Butter Granola - the "White Granola," and the Gingersnap Granola, the "Black Granola."<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Gingersnap Granola</span></strong><br /><br />2 cups oatmeal - I use the regular old ones.<br />1 cup of various flours (whole wheat, corn flour, corn meal, crushed up All-Bran Cereal, crushed up Genmai Cereal (a whole rice flake cereal - I crush the cereals in my hubby's coffee grinder!))<br />1/4 cup brown sugar<br />3/4 tsp. ground dried ginger<br />1/2 tsp. cinnamon<br />1/4 tsp. nutmeg<br />1/4 tsp. salt<br /><br />Mix the above well, and heat your oven to 140 C. Around 250 F.<br /><br />In a small saucepan, warm the following ingredients:<br /><br />1/4 cup oil<br />1/3 cup water<br />2 Tbsp. molasses (kuro mitsu works great)<br />1 tsp. vanilla<br /><br />When the "wet ingredients" are warmed, pour over the oat mixture and mix well with your hands. Squeezing and squishing to mix it all in well. Spread the mixture out as thinly as possible on a baking sheet. Bake for one hour at 140 C. Stir every 15 minutes after the first 30 minutes. When it is done, it will still be soft. This is your chance to carefully break up any big chunks, and let it cool. Then add:<br /><br />1 cup raisins (I tried almonds in this recipe as well as dried apricots. Jun and Ryu wouldn't touch the "orange things", and the almonds overpowered the ginger, so...I stick with the raisins!<br /><p>Store it in a dry place in a zip-lock bag...or whatever!</p>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848246862878846083noreply@blogger.com1