Flour days

Bring the Dashi to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Put the tofu and the shitake mushrooms and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Add the enoki mushrooms and cook for another minute.

In a small bowl, dissolve 3 1/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi. Add the mixture to the saucepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes. Turn off heat.

Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Serve with chopped mistuba or chives.

With so much going on around the house, my routine breakfast was interrupted for awhile.

I often found myself eating just a piece of toast and that was it for breakfast.  It's so much healthier to start the day with a bowl of miso soup.  I made it this morning with shimeji mushrooms and tofu.  I have some Negi, Japanese scallions, left over from the soba workshop.  I still picture  Akila Inouye slicing the Negi in mid-air.  The flavor of those uncrushed sliced negi was truely amazing.  

Akila's cut negi, soaking in water

RECIPE:

Serves 4

3 1/2 cups Vegan Dashi or Dashi

3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons Mugi, Koji, white or red miso or a combination of any two

1 package shimeji mushrooms, ends removed (about a cup)

1/2 square of soft tofu,

Bring the Dashi to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Put the tofu into the dashi.  Break it up with a ladle.  Add the mushrooms  and simmer for a couple of minutes.

In a small bowl, dissolve 3 1/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi. Add the mixture to the saucepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes. Turn off heat.

Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Serve immediately.

Optional: You can also add chopped hydrated maitake mushrooms you used to make the vegan dashi.

3 1/2 cups Vegan Dashi or Dashi 

3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons Mugi, Koji, white or red miso or a combination of any two

1 tomato, cut in quarters, and then slice each quarter crosswise into 1/2-inch thick pieces

2 tsp wakame seaweed, hydrated and cut into bite size pieces

1/2 square of soft tofu, cut into 1/4 inch squares

Bring the Dashi to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.  Add the hydrated wakame seaweed, tomatoes and tofu and simmer for a couple of minutes.  

In a small bowl, dissolve 3 1/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi. Add the mixture to the saucepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes. Turn off heat.

Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Serve immediately.

   

 

3 1/2 cups Dashi (see BASICS for Dashi broth recipe) or Dried Maitake Mushroom Dashi (here is the link for the recipe)

3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons Mugi, Koji, white or red miso

1 corn, shucked

3 spinach leaves, sliced thinly, 1/4 inch thick

2 napa cabbage leaves, sliced thinly, 1/4 inch thick

2 green onions, sliced thinly

Bring the Dashi and the diced potatoes to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and add the corn and napa cabbage until they are tender, about 2 minutes.

In a small bowl, dissolve 3 1/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi. Add the mixture to the saucepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes.

Add the spinach and Simmer for 1 minute. Turn off heat.

Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Sprinkle each bowl with chopped green onion. Serve immediately.

RECIPE:

MISO SOUP WITH SWEET POTATO AND TOFU

Serves 4

3 1/2 cups Dashi (see BASICS for Dashi broth recipe) or Maitake Mushroom Dashi (Vegan) 

3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons Mugi, Koji, white or red miso

1/2 satsuma potato or sweet potato, cut in quarters, and then slice each quarter crosswise into 1/2-inch thick pieces (about 1.5 cups) 

1 square of soft tofu

2 green onions, sliced thinly

Bring the Dashi and the diced potatoes to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 4 minutes.  

n a small bowl, dissolve 3 1/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi. Add the mixture to the saucepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes.

Add the Tofu and Simmer for 1 minute. Turn off heat.

Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Sprinkle each bowl with chopped green onion. Serve immediately.

Did you eat your broccoli today?  Whenever I go away on business, I come back to find a nearly empty fridge at home, except for the vegetable compartment. There is always broccoli that keeps Sakai company. It's a good choice. This flowery green vegetable is a dependable food, packed with vitamins and dietary fiber and it is inexpensive in America.  I say this because the last time I priced a broccoli in Tokyo, I was shocked to find that a "single" broccoli branch can cost as much as $7.  I wanted to make broccoli soup for my Dad but I made pumpkin soup instead.  

At home in California, I feel grateful that I can eat broccoli whenever I want. I like to eat broccoli steamed, with a little sesame oil and soy sauce.  Sometimes, I make a whole meal out of it.  Today, I thought it would be nice to use it in my breakfast soup with wakame seaweed.  Wakame, like broccoli, is loaded with rich nutrients, especially minerals.   Wakame is not as common as broccoli in America but it will be sooner or later. I can vouch for that.

Here is a beautiful broccoli.  You can eat almost every part of it.

I separated the flowers from the stem.

I cut up the stem into small pieces and used them for the soup, too.

I hydrated some cut-wakame seaweed.  It only takes a few

minutes to hydrate into more than triple its original size.

RECIPE

Serves 4

RECIPE:

Miso Soup with Broccoli and Wakame seaweed

3 1/2 cups Dashi (see BASICS for Dashi broth recipe) or Dried Maitake Mushroom Dashi (Here is the link for recipe)

3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons Mugi, Koji, white or red miso or a combination of any two

1 tomato, cut in quarters, and then slice each quarter crosswise into 1/2-inch thick pieces

2 stalks of broccoli, stems cut into small pieces, 1/4 inch thick and flowers separated into bite-size pieces or smaller

2 Tbls wakame seaweed, hydrated and cut into bite size pieces

Bring the Dashi to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Add the broccoli and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the cut and hydrated wakame seaweed.

In a small bowl, dissolve 3 1/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi.  Add the mixture to the saucepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes. Turn off heat.

Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Serve immediately.

Rain at last!  The rain was tapping so hard on the skylight window, it woke me up in the middle of the night.  I got up to make tea. I cleared up the dishes in the dish rack.  I didn't feel like going back to sleep so I started cooking. I  made dashi. Sounds a bit crazy but it is actually nice to work in the kitchen when everyone is sleeping and all you hear is the rain. My mother was worse than me. She used to bake pies in the middle of the night. This morning, I was all set to go with fresh dashi for my miso soup.  The last of my heirloom tomato made the rainy morning cheerful.  

RECIPE:

Miso Soup with Tomato and Tofu

3 1/2 cups Dashi (see BASICS for Dashi broth recipe) or Dried Maitake Mushroom Dashi (here is the link for recipe)

3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons Mugi, Koji, white or red miso

1 tomato, cut in quarters, and then slice each quarter crosswise into 1/2-inch thick pieces

1/2 square of soft tofu

2 green onions, sliced thinly

Bring the Dashi toa boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.

In a small bowl, dissolve 3 1/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi. Add the mixture to the saucepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes.

Add the Tomato and Tofu and Simmer for 1 minute. Turn off heat.

Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Sprinkle each bowl with chopped green onion. Serve immediately.

I cleaned out my fridge today.  That felt so good.  Sometimes, if I don't pay attention, the fridge can quickly turn into a white hole. Scary. I still have some nice Chinese Napa Cabbage and spinach left over from the Nabe dinner. Just a few leaves in the soup and you feel so healthy.  I seaoned the soup with barley mugi miso. This miso soup was light and comforting. You can also add tofu or wakame seaweed into the soup for extra flavor..

RECIPE

MISO SOUP WITH WITH CHINESE  NAPA CABBAGE AND SPINACH

Serves 4

3 1/2 cups Dashi (see BASICS for Dashi broth recipe) or Dried Maitake Mushroom Broth (Here is the link to the vegan recipe)

3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons Mugi, Koji, white or red miso

1 large leaf of Chinese, Napa Cabbage, washed, and sliced 1/4 inch thick

3 leaves of Spinach, washed, ends trimmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 green onions, sliced thinly

Bring the Dashi to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.

Add the Chinese Napa Cabbage let it simmer for a a minute.

In a small bowl, dissolve 3 1/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi. Add the mixture to the saucepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes.

Add the spinach. Simmer  for 1 minute. Turn off heat.

Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Sprinkle each bowl with chopped green onion. Serve immediately.

I am curious about what people eat for breakfast.  We got to talking about it with my Japanese friends Taku and Keiko the other night. They moved from Japan six years ago and live in Venice Beach. What's interesting is that when it comes to breakfast, Taku wants his bowl of rice, the Japanese way. Rice everyday? I asked him. "Yes, rice everyday. Not bread."  His wife Keiko, on the other hand, prefers a bowl of cereal, the American way.  Not rice. Not bread.  She comes from three generations of a cereal-loving modern Japanese family. Me? I am not big on cereal. They sit in the box and go stale. What about rice? I am partial to having rice for breakfast but I don' eat it as much as I used to when I was a child. My mother often made a wokful of fried rice during the morning rush to feed five children.  I can picture us coming down into the bright lemon yellow Pasadena kitchen and find my mother standing in front of her Kenmore stove dumping Green Giant's frozen vegetable mix and dehydrated onions into the day old rice to jazz up the flavor.  She served the fried rice in plastic Melmac ware that matched the color of the kitchen and the frozen vegetables. What I remember most about her breakfast fried rice was not so much the flavor but the texture of these still frozen squares of carrots and peas.  My teeth would always tingle when I bit into them.

In my adult life, I rarely use Green Giant frozen food in my cooking, even though they say it stands for goodness. I make miso soup and bread for breakfast and my family is happy.  If I do a full on Japanese breakfast of miso soup, steamed rice, grilled salmon, fermented soybean, natto, nori seaweed and pickles, my family is very happy.  I made miso soup this morning, with enoki mushrooms and tofu. We had some natural comb honey, a souvenir from North Carolina, and good butter to spread on the toasted baguette. It was all good. I kind of miss my mother's breakfast fried rice and the tingling sensation I got from eating those green -snappin' fresh, kitchen-sliced to taste the best veggies but what matters most, my mother would agree, is to eat a solid breakfast.  

RECIPE

Miso Soup with Tofu and Enoki Mushrooms

Serves 4

3 1/2 cups Dashi(here is the link) or Dried Maitake Mushrooms Dashi (here is the link to the vegan recipe)

3 1/2 to 4 tbls koji, white or red miso

6 oz soft tofu, drained

1/2 pack enoki mushrooms, ends trimmed

3 green onions, chopped thinly

Bring the Dashi to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.  

In a small bowl, dissolve 31/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi.  Add the mixture to the suacepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes.

Add the tofu to the soup.  Break up the tofu in the saucepan.  Add the enoki mushrooms. Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Sprinkle each bowl with chopped green onion.  Serve immediately.  

I am feeling a little tired from the show last night. Sakai is still sleeping. I know he is really exhausted.  For an artist though, the work never stops.  Soon he will be back in his studio.  A bowl of miso soup can give us a boost of energy on a morning like this.  

I find a piece of daikon radish and deep fried tofu, Age, left over from making Inaris the other day. I will make a Miso Soup with these ingredients.  Using Deep-fried tofu, Age, in miso soup is very popular.  If you don't have age, you can substitute it with a block of medium or soft tofu.

RECIPE:

Serves 4

1 cup daikon radish, peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch matchsticks

2 pieces of Deep Fried Tofu, Age, blanched in hot water  or 1 block of soft or medium tofu

31/2 cups of Dashi (see link for recipe) or Dried Maitake Mushroom Dashi (here is the link for vegan recipe)

3-4 Tbls brown miso

1 scallion, chopped

Bring the Dashi to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.

In a small bowl, dissolve 3 1/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi. Add the mixture to the saucepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes.

Add the deep fried tofu and daikon radish pieces to the soup.  Bring to a simmer for 1-2 minutes.  Turn off heat.  Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Sprinkle each bowl with chopped green onion. Serve immediately.

Tip: Once you put the miso into the dashi stock, do not boil the stock but gently simmer

for a couple minutes unitl the miso is dissolved and the soup is heated. Reheating doesn't improve the flavor of miso soup so best if you serve it all at once.

If you are using age, make sure to blanch it with hot water to

remove excess oil.

I need to start with dashi(here is the link for the recipe)

because I used up my last batch.

Remove the Konbu before the water boils.

Turn off the heat and add the bonito flakes.  Let the broth

stand before you strain the flakes.

Voila!  In less than 5 minutes, you have a lovely dashi broth.

Dissolve the miso paste into the dashi. 

Add the sliced Daikon radish and Deep fried tofu, age, 

and bring to a simmer for a couple of minutes.

Turn off heat and garnish with chopped scallions or chives.

Morning toast.

Sakai's been working in his studio from dawn to dusk. There is not enough time in the day when you need it. His show is almost together.  We loaded the big wooden sculpture on the truck. The wooden pieces are delicate.  We cover them with blankets.

I make Sakai a big breakfast: two eggs sunny side up with sliced tomatoes, toast and sliced melon.  I could also make miso soup but he's gone off to walk Ana so I will wait until he comes back. Miso soup only takes a couple minutes since I already have the dashi made. It's a traditional Japanese breakfast soup.

My breakfast compared to the sculptor's is simple. I don't need such a big breakfast, though health experts say everybody should eat a hearty breakfast.  I usually have toast with Jam or honey, some fruit and coffee.  I still have a little left of my homemade apricot butter.

I also have the artisinal butter I brought back from Montreal. I spread them on the toast, using my grandmother's butter knife.

I used to dislike butter as a child.  I would gawk at the sandwiches my mother made because she put too much butter on the bread.  It was as thick as a piece of American cheese. Eating butter was a luxury for my mother.  She grew up during the war feeling hungry for many years that when she was finally able to afford some luxury, she went overboard on butter, cream and milk.  She was that way with jam too.  My father used to stare in disapproval at the amount of jam she would spread on her toast. 

My grandmother used butter regularly for baking cakes. This was unusual for a Japanese lady born in 1902 but her parents were innovative.  In fact, she was one of the first Japanese ladies in Kamakura to own a western oven.  The women in the neighborhood would wander over to our house, wondering where the lovely aroma was coming from. So much so that Grandmother started giving lessons in baking. She handled the butter with great care and didn't allow any of it to go to waste. She even recycled the waxed paper in which the butter was wrapped to line her cakes. Grandmother was also rather English when it came to breakfast.  She had Black tea with milk, yogurt, toast with butter and jam. She would take her time to brew the tea and spread the butter on her toast.  She always used her favorite butter knife which she inherited from her father. My grandmother ate butter every day and lived to 102 years old.  Butter must have done her some good.

Finally, there is my 86 year old father who doesn't eat any butter except when I bake him butter cookies. Whenever I am back in Tokyo. He buys butter just for me so I can have it on my toast.  He brews the coffee and puts a little square of butter in the microwave to soften it so that when I come down to join him for breakfast, the butter is spreadable on the toast. He says he is my butler.

My mind is already full with  to-do-lists this morning.  When I sit down to have breakfast, however, I bring out my grandmother's knife.  I spread butter on my toast with quiet pace.  

It helps me start the day right. 

We've had cool weather in LA.  It was perfect weather for the eight mile hike we did up   Westridge fire road last Sunday.  I got my arm stung by a bee as we were coming down the mountain but otherwise, it was nice to be outdoors.  My hiking pal Ellen always asks the same question when we get to the top of the Santa Monica mountains, "So what does this remind you of?" and we all have the same answer,  "TUSCANY!"  (...........without the vineyards!).  See, you don't have to spend all the money or free miles to see Italy.  If you have never done this hike before,  try it.   it's very nice.  You can bring your dog along.

On cool summer days like this, you can have warm soup in the middle of the day and get a nice lift of energy.  I made some miso soup. It only took a few minutes to whip it up since I already had the Dashi broth ready.  Good girl.

For this miso soup, use the freshest tofu you can find.  I love Meiji Tofu.  You don't  have to cut the block of tofu in cubes.  Just put the half or whole block of tofu into the saucepan and break it up with the ladle to get uneven size pieces of tofu.  It is more fun and textural this way.   

MISO SOUP WITH TOFU

Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 10 minutes

3 1/2 cups Dashi (see BASICS for  Dashi broth recipe) or Dried Maitake Mushrooms Dashi (here is the link for the Vegan recipe)

3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons koji, white or red miso

6 ounces soft tofu, drained 

1 green onion, chopped, optional

Bring the Dashi to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.

In a small bowl, dissolve 3 1/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi. Add the mixture to the saucepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes.

Add the tofu to the soup.  Break up the tofu in the saucepan.

Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Sprinkle each bowl with chopped green onion. Serve immediately.

The kabocha was sitting on top of my counter for a couple of weeks waiting for me to cook it.  I love kabocha but peeling the thick skin is always a lot of work so I kept putting it off.   But once I make up my mind to cook kabocha,  the process of cutting and peeling is rather meditative. The skin is hard and thick so if you are not careful, you can cut your finger.  You have to pay attention. I use a Japanese deba-knife, which is also used to cut bones.  It as a nice weight and a thick blade that keeps your hand steady.  

Tonight, I felt like miso soup.  It must be this weather - it can't make up its mind whether it wants to be hot or cold.  In the evening, the temperature gets down enough to want something warm and soupy.  I made this Kabocha miso soup which is light and summery but filling.  I garnsihed it with "Myoga", which is a type of ginger that has a wonderful fragrance and spice.  You can find myoga in Japanese markets at this time of the year. They are a bit expensive, about $2 per myoga. But you don't need to use very much.  It's a garnish that gives it a spicy lift.  As a child, I used to pick the wild ones that grew in the shade of our garden in Kamakura.  I don't think we could grow them in California because it is too dry here.   I like to use chopped myoga not only to garnish miso soup but also on tofu, grilled meats, rice and noodles.

  kabocha sliced with my deba knife. 

KABOCHA MISO SOUP WITH MYOGA GINGER

Serves 4 

• 1/4 Kabocha, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces, about 2-inches long
• 2  myoga, sliced thinly or use 2 scallions, chopped
• 3 Tbls White miso paste or more to taste
• 3 cups Dashi broth (Go to Basics for Dashi Broth recipe) or Dried Maitake Mushrooms Dashi (here is the link for the vegan dashi recipe)

1. In a medium size pot, bring the dashi to a simmer. 
   
2. Add the sliced kabocha and cook over medium heat until the kabocha is tender, about 7 minutes.
   
3. Just before serving, dissolve the miso paste into the dashi broth. Turn off heat and serve immediately in small bowls with sliced myoga.

Kitchen note: Do not reheat the miso soup after the miso has been added. The flavor diminishes with reheating. So do it last minute.

TURNIP MISO SOUP WITH CHIVES

RECIPE

Serves 4 

• 4 young turnips, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces
• 1/4 cup chives or 2 scallions, chopped
• 3 Tbls White miso paste or more to taste
• 3 cups Dashi broth (Go to Basics for Dashi Broth recipe) or Dried Maitake Mushroom dashi (here is the link for the recipe)

1. In a medium size pot, bring the dashi to a simmer. 
   
2. Add the sliced turnip and cook over medium heat until the turnip is slightly tender, about 3 minutes. 
   
3. Just before serving, dissolve the miso paste into the dashi broth. 
   
4. Turn off heat and serve immediately in small bowls with chopped chives or scallions.
5. Kitchen note: Do not reheat the miso soup after the miso has been added. The flavor diminishes with reheating. So do it last minute.

Once in a while, it's nice to make scones or waffles at home.  My sister who is a pastry chef in Tokyo often makes waffles or scones for her son, Hayato, in the morning.  You think she would have enough things to do on a school day.  But she likes to put a smile onher son's face, so she does, plus she irons his clothes (I never did that for my son when he was little), makes him a bento box for lunch and gets ready to open her shop.  

This morning, I was in the mood for making scones for my  friend Marisa who spent the night at our house.  Putting the scone recipe together was not that much work.  I even started the washing machine. With the scones baking in the oven,  my kitchen began to smell like a bakery. While waiting for the scones to bake, Marisa showed me how to work  my new digital camera. My new camera came with three booklets worth of stuff to learn.  I am willing to tackle almost any complex recipe but when it comes to reading any kind of hardware instruction manual, I fail.  In contrast, Marissa is very patient. She put her reading glasses on, read the instructions and showed me how to make the camera work better.  I learned some new tricks. Her advise was " Don't use the Auto setting. Digital cameras have a mind of their own."  So true.  Ineed to play with the camera.  Learn the manual way.  It will take time but I will have better control of the camera.  By the way, the scones turned out great.  Marissa took some home.  There is still more for later.

SCONES WITH ORANGE ZEST

• 2 Cups flour
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup half and half 
• 2 tsp grated orange rind 

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Use a fork or knife to cut the butter into the flour until it becomes like a corse meal.
2. Beat eggs with half and half.  Add orange rind and flour mixture.  Stir until just blended.  
3. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough and make 3/4 inch thick circle.  Cut into 3 -inch circles. 
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until the scones are brown.   
5. Split the scones and serve while piping hot with butter, jam and clotted cream (if you can find it). 
6. Makes about ten scones.