pinwheel cookies

Using a Betty Crocker recipe. (Felt nice and sneaky straying away from Martha Stewart for once)
Rather than adding cocoa, I melted dark chocolate to add to the inner-part. Do be careful if you`re not using a double boiler, as nothing is more depressing than burning chocolate in the microwave.
All those Ghanaian child-slave`s toiling in the jungles, wasted....

But I made some deeee-liteful cookies!

pre-baking

post-baking

Mini tarts !!

Occasionally you find things that are better the smaller they are. Take desserts for example...
While a towering cake is breathtaking, it lacks cuteness, not to mention how your precious piping gets smooshed as you cut out your guest`s pieces.
Miniature cakes, pies, and even mini-cupcakes are dainty, and pre-portioned. They can be seen almost as an elegant part of the table setting when placed in each guest`s seat.


Today I decided to make miniature fruit tarts, with half being filled with strawberry, and the other half being cassis-filled.  They are for an acquaintance with whom I shall be working today, and it is customary for me to bring sweets! In the mood for something pie-like, a tart or pie would be hard to carry, and may be too big or overwhelming to hand over to a single person.
So, Teeny tarts it is!!!   Its easy, I just made a simple pie crust (but added brown sugar and cinnamon ;D   ) and used foil cupcake liners and a cupcake pan. The filling was made out of jam, and  on top I did cutout crusts. 
Fun variations could be 
-cookie crust with a mousse filling
- chocolate crust with a truffle filling
- no crust and no filling because your`re dieting.

Healthy Mitarashi-Dango オカラ入りみたらし団子

I love chewy japanese sweets <3  Any time my sweet tooth calls, it is impossible to feel bad eating anything mochi-based. For gods sake, its only riiiiiice 


So recently I have been making a lot of mitarashi-dango (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitarashi_dango)
But, rather than do the normal shiratamako (rice flour, 白玉粉) and joshinko (glutenous rice flour, 上新粉)   
I made it healthy with shiratamko and okara (soy pulp オカラ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okara_(food)

Dry-okara is at most super markets for close to 100 yen,,, If you buy it raw at a tofu shop, I wouldn`t doubt that it would be cheaper, or free if you work your charm.




While normally these are pretty chewy and bouncy, when making them with soy pulp, they become slightly softer. But equally delicious! 


 Ingredients:
Shiratamako
Okara (optional)


(for the sauce)
Soy sauce                           4 tbsp
mirin (rice cooking wine)          4 tbsp
sugar                                   1/2 cup
katakuriko starch (Oftentimes outside of japan, cornstarch is used as a substitute)  3 teaspoons
water                                   1/2 cup


☆ the amount of sugar can be adjusted to taste,, I prefer a sweet to savory here.




1)Take the shiratamako and dump it into a bowl. Slowly add water by the tablespoon while mashing it all together until it forms a dry-mashed potato-like consistency. It should be dry enough to make a ball shape without it sticking and spreading across your hands, but not too dry that it itsn`t soft.
☆　if using the okara (healthy soy power, if you can, do it.) add a little extra water while incorporating, as the okara dries it out pretty quickly (☆however, if using fresh,raw okara, this may not be a problem.)

It should be around this consistency. Doesn`t stick to the bowl, but also isn`t crumbly and dry.

2) Form balls out of the mixture and drop gently into a large pot of boiling water. Once they start floating and surfacing, allow them to boil for 2 more minute before removing and transferring to a bowl of ice water.


SAUCE SAUCE SAUCE


1) While the dango are cooling off, take all of the sauce-ingredients and in no particular order, pour into a small sauce pan on medium heat. As it heats and comes to a boil, it will thicken and become a nice caramel colored sauce. You can make it thin , or let it gel up a bit ( I diiiiid)




Completion and presentation:
You can place the dango in a bowl and pour the sauce on top, or (like me) skewer the dango and brush the sauce on top.
You could also get creative and try throwing sauce-covered dango into your friend`s mouth from a distance as a challenging game. Your call.

Finished!

Review: Sparkling Rose Soda 生活の木 - Tree of Life

My new favorite shop, Tree of Life, specializes in herbal beauty products, foods, and essential oils. They also boast a large collection of all organic stuff.

This was a soda made with Damask rose extract, cranberry juice, and colored with red cabbage derived pigment.
Delicately sweet and champagne-like fizzy, it was perfect to come out of a mineral bath to.
Love love love,
They also sell herb cognac syrups (but are non-alcohol ...?)   I can not seem to decide if I want the lavender or rose based ones 

Setsubun and Eho-maki makizushi

Setsubun is the Day before the beginning of spring in Japan (2012, it is February 3rd)
It is known as the bean throwing festival, where roasted soybeans are thrown either out the door, or at a family member wearing a devil mask , all while chanting `Demons out! Luck in!`

These ones are candied and for eating, unlike the throwing ones which are just plain. But tasty as well! 

 We also make a roll of uncut sushi called makizushi and eat the entire thing without talking, and while facing the yearly lucky compass direction.
So, lets make makizushi!!!!!!!!!!!!
youll need:
sushi mat
japanese rice
rice vinegar
sugar
nori seaweed 
whatever fillings you want


I did dried Kanpyo gourd and dried shiitake mushrooms. Both were re-hydrated overnight. Then, using the water they were brought back to life with, I added 4 tablespoons of soysauce, 3 tablespoons of sake, and 1 tablespoon of sugar to them and put them into a pot. Slowly boil until no liquid remains and they are soft.

 I also wanted egg in mine! make it like an omelet, but before cooking, add about two teaspoons of sugar to make them fluffy.

 For an entire rice cooker worth of rice, I mixed in about 4 tablespoons vingegar, 3 tablespoons of sugar.

 Cut it in!

 Lay out aaaaaal the ingredients. 

 Spread the rice across the nori , which is on the sushi mat. Using a spatula, make an indentation in the middle. Be sure to leave the top bit of the nori un-riced.

 Put your first filling in the indentation. I did shiitake. 

 Layer the fillings...

 Roll it up while squeezing gently to keep it together.

 It should look like this, and its ok to have it sticking out the end.

Now, you either eat the entire roll as is in silence while facing the NNW, or cut with a sharp knife, dipping the knife into vinegar between each slice.




You can get creative with the fillings. Fried SPAM and mayo.... cat food and cucumbers..... this is really fun to do!

Review: Himel - AzabuJuuban 麻布十番

Himel is a juice stand that focuses on making juice for your health, beauty, and detoxification.
http://www.himelcafe.jp/
There are 3 stores, the one I go to is in Azabu-Juuban
The menu doesn't seem to change, but they had two winter-time hot drinks that were interesting.

I got the はと麦くるみ茶,  Job`s Tears and walnut tea. Job`s tears is this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job%27s_Tears     I`ve never had it prior to coming to Japan, but it is really good for having nice skin.
The tea had peanuts, almond, and pumpkin seeds in it as well. Was nice and creamy with chunks of nuts in it. Definitely going back again before winter is over!!

Pumpkin Mont Blanc ☆ 南瓜モンブラン風

Mont Blanc is one of my favorite desserts, because chestnuts are delicious!

But, chestnut puree isn't cheap,  so I made one with the leftover kabocha pumpkin we had in the fridge. You could use buttenut squash just as well, I think.

For the base, do whatever you want. Cupcakes. Tart shells. Any size too, big ones are very appealing for dinner parties, but mini-sized ones for each person is equally as elegant. 

Pumpkin Cream-

Pumpkin of choice

Heavy Whipping Cream　(1 carton was enough for me to make 6 mini-sized ones)

Sugar

Almond powder or Powdered Sugar (optional)

This one is easy---its all up to you! Going by the taste and texture, you can decide how much of what to use. 

I had about 150grams of pumpkin,,,

☆ make sure you have enough cream to whip and put onto your base☆

-wrap and microwave the pumpkin until soft. Remove the flesh from the shell with a spoon, and mash it. ( A food processor would be ideal, as if there are any chunks, they get caught in the tip of the piping bag)

- Combine with cream and sugar. If it seems runny, add almond powder or powdered sugar to get a good consistency. 

- Fill the piping bag with the pumpkin cream.

-On top of each base, put a dollop of whipped cream. (Ice cream could be a fun substitute if its summertime where you're at!)

-Over each cream-topped cake/tart, squeeze the pumpkin cream out in a swirling motion.

- Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!