11/27/2012

In the bento: brown rice, bean curd braised pork belly, braised shiitake mushroom, bacon with cabbage, carrot with egg, sauteed broccoli.

Lime-Poppy Seeds White Cake

Lemon-poppy seeds cake has been on my to do list for long. The bag of poppy seeds was purchased at an Amish grocery store that I have always wanted to use it. The Thanksgiving provided an opportunity to complete this long-delayed project. The Nordicware cake pan has been used again to bake this beautiful white cake. I have used the recipe here and the cake turned out beautifully. The taste was a bit too sweet and boring to me, but I like how it looks like when converted to the plate. 

11/13/2012

In the bento: brown rice with carrot and mushroom, broccoli, eggplant with minced meat, miso braised saury.

11/12/2012

In the bento: steamed red quinoa, salmon sauteed with celery, eggplant with minced meat, miso braised saury.

Miso Braised Saury

Saury is a very nutritious fish while not as expensive as one kinds. Regularly the fish is pan-fried as a whole piece without moving the guts. I learned a new way of cooking it in miso so it can be cooked and eat in few days. The liquid tastes full of flavor while the fish keeps its only flavor. I shall now buy saury more often and cook it like this.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

The last bit of pumpkin puree from the crown prince squash has been used in this cheesecake. The texture and flavor of the kind of pumpkin is very similar to kabocha, which is a Japanese variety of pumpkin. It is very dense and almost no liquid coming out when drain. The color of the raw flesh is golden yellow. This kind of flesh is perfect for pie or cheesecake since not too much liquid in the filling will mess up when being baked. I like to use Oreo as a crust whenever possible. Plus, the color combination looks good, doesn't it?

Pumpkin Mac-n-Cheese

Mac-n-Cheese is such a cold weather staple that calls for people's craving whenever it wants. Fall is the season for pumpkin, all kinds of pumpkins. The flesh of the vegetable goes very well with mac-n-cheese. Weeks ago when on the way back from hiking, we passed by a local farmer's market, I got some crown prince squash, which I have never seen and used before. I am so glad I gave it a try. It was dense, dry and deep in flavor. It purees very well and goes by nature into all kinds of sauce. I used part of the puree in the pasta, and saved some for a pumpkin cheesecake. Next time if I see this kind of squash again, no doubt I will get as many as I can.

Matcha Red Bean Pound Cake

I received a new cake mode of Nordicware. It's a beautiful rose shape with 10 cups capacity. To welcome it join my collection, I made a pound cake with green tea powder and some home made sweet azuki bean. This has been the largest cake I have ever made. It un-mold easily with non-stick interior. With this new member I might bake more now :)

11/7/2012

In the bento: steamed brown rice, sauteed Chinese broccoli, bacon stirfried with cabbage, pan-fried miso salmon, sauteed onion with egg.

10/24/2012

In the bento: pasta with squash sauce, sauteed long bean, mushroom with red pepper, braised pork belly, sauteed fennel.

Peanut Squash with Gemelli

Fall is the season for squash. When hiking several weeks ago, I picked a peanut squash on the way back from a local farmer's market. I like to roast squash and use it as a sauce for pasta. If you have never tried use squash as a pasta sauce, it is a pity that such a delicious food you have missed.

10/23/2012

In the bento: brown rice+spelt, pipian squash with red pepper, broccoli with mushroom, braised pork belly, miso egg.

10/22/2012

In the bento: rice with spelt, sauteed mushroom with pipian squash, red pepper, braised pork belly, shiitake mushroom, miso egg.

10/11/2012

In the bento: brown rice with black sticky rice, sauteed cabbage with carrots, broccoli, red pepper, pan-fried miso thigh.

10/10/2012

In the bento: brown rice with spelt, sauteed cabbage, green pepper, broccoli, pan-fried pork shoulder, miso egg.

Taro Porridge with Dried Scallop

With the weather feeling cooler and cooler, a bowl of hot porridge is comforting to both stomach and soul. Dried scallop is used a lot in making porridge to add a taste of the sea. Adding taro is a trick I learned from a friend. The creaminess of taro provides texture for the simple porridge. When serving, drizzle some soysouce and green onion on the top. A comfort food in the fall.

10/9/2012

In the bento: dried scallop and taro porridge, sauted green bean, broccoli, miso egg, pan-fried pork shoulder.

10/2/2012

In the bento: black sticky rice+brown rice, pan-fried salmon, sauteed cabbage, yellow pepper, and green bean.

10/1/2012

In the bento: steamed rice, sauteed green bean, pan-fried salmon, sauteed okra, sauted cabbage, sauted red pepper.

9/27/2012

In the bento: steamed brown rice, pork belly with rice powder, steamed taro, sauteed cabbage, carrots sauteed with bacon.

Pork Belly Steamed with Rice Powder

It's a very traditional dish which uses the most humble ingredient but produces the most delicious flavor. And it is also one of the family staple dish always reminds me of home. Nowadays, I don't have to make the rice powder, or more correctly, the crushed rice. In most of the Asian grocery store, the pre-made powder is easy to get. All I did is to marinate the pork overnight with soy sauce, cooking wine and some spice, and steamed the meat the next day.

9/26/2012

In the bento: rice powder steamed pork belly, sauteed cabbage, sauteed onion with egg, sauteed red pepper, steamed brown rice.

9/25/2012

In the bento: sauteed bitte melon, sauteed red pepper, dumpling with shrimp and pork.

9/24/2012

In the bento: sauteed shrimp, onion stir fried with egg, sauteed okra, braised pig feet, shiitake mushroom, sauteed green pepper, steamed brown rice.

Homemade Bread w/ Cream Cheese, Avocado and Smoked Salmon

I also made some fresh soy milk to drink together with the sandwich.