Monday, April 1, 2013

Goodies

Meatball  Miso soup

_DSC8743We are having warm days lately – last Saturday it reached 80 degrees – and not a good time to find out the air-conditioning in your car is not working properly. I was on a last minute shopping spree before going to Japan. Frantic and rushed, I don’t think I was enjoying the sunshine as much as I should be grateful to feel. 

I must use up all the left over goodies like drying up burdock roots, green onion that was wilting, limp carrots, new-shooting potatoes before the trip and it had to be quick to prepare. Warm soup on a hot day is not ideal but this gives me some breather. Goody! I can cross out something from my travel check list…only 8 more to go.

The recipe I loosely followed was found in a old Japanese magazine and I like the ginger flavor in meatball and no need for dashi stock. The butter is optional yet adds depth and fat of course to it.

Ingredients and instruction Serves 4

  • Ground beef 1/2 pound
  • Ground pork 1/2 pound
  • Grated ginger 1-1/2 Tablespoon
  • Green onion 2 stalks finely chopped
  • Potato starch or corn starch 2 Tablespoons
  • Sake 2 Tablespoons
  • Soy sauce or Tamari sauce 1 Tablespoon
  • Burdock about 6 inches length peeled and thinly sliced diagonally. Soak in cold water for 5-8 minutes.
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  • 1 small carrot slice into half rounds
  • 2 small potato peeled and chopped then soak in cold water for 3-4 minutes.
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  • Miso paste 4-6 Tablespoons
  • Broccoli 1 adult-sized fist worth; divide into individual florets 
  • Butter 1 teaspoon
  1. Put meats, ginger, green onion, starch, sake and soy sauce in large bowl and knead well then make1-1/2 inch balls. Set aside ._DSC8718
  2. Boil 5 cups of water in pan. Gently slide the meat balls in and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
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  3. Put burdock, carrots and potatoes into the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes at medium heat. Scoop off white scum that appears on top._DSC8733
  4. Dissolve miso paste in the ladle with little bit of cooking liquid from #3 before adding to the pan. Do the taste test. Add more miso paste if necessary. If it’s too salty, pour some water in._DSC8736
  5. Add broccoli florets and cook for about 1 minute._DSC8738
  6. Add butter (optional) and serve hot.
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We must consume cucumber also. Made quick pickled cucumber._DSC8735Cut cucumber in chunks and put in the Ziploc bag. Add vinegar, salt and chili pepper to taste. Push air out, close tight and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. 

We had a wonderful Easter service at our church. What a blessing!_DSC8747The Easter basket/nest plus blue chocolate eggs are from William Sonoma. Very pretty but the chocolate is overly sweet. I hope I could re-use next year, not the eggs._DSC8803_DSC8790A friend brought me this candle holder filled with Easter candies. So nice of her!_DSC8811Easter dinner made easy by purchasing the honey baked ham. _DSC8809

My son’s friends were here for last games over pizza. My son is concentrating on his own game. DSCN1744Do-over birthday cake- Strawberry short cake for real._DSC8787I started to make some kind of design yet I couldn’t finish it. I figured that those guys don’t care how the cake looks so I stopped caring like whatever._DSC8780Thumbs-up’ taste for sure!DSCN1747And we had some left over for Easter. _DSC8798Spring came in full force.DSCN1732The weeping cherry tree. We didn’t know it’s pink when we planted it.DSCN1739_DSC8756Asian pear tree
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Neighbor's cherry blossom. Can you say gorgeous?P1030062Hey, you on the right, your days are Round-Up!DSCN1731_DSC8752

Neighbor’s lawn ornament – This is so cute, right?P1030069P1030059

I’m  hoping to see cherry blossoms in Japan too. My blog will resume sometime in April. Y’all comeback and see me now, ya hear?P1030057

9 comments:

  1. I feel sorry for the Dandelion! :-(

    Everything looks so yummy as usual. Beautiful pictures too.

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  2. Oooooh, I would love to have some miso soup and strawberry cake! I wish I could go with you to Japan. Have a nice trip!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! We're back! We had awesome time! It was too short though.

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  3. Replies
    1. Thank you so much. Now that I'm back home, I miss Japan already.

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  4. I was in Korea at this time of the year for their cherry blossoms. I wish you having lots of great time in Japan. Springtime in Japan must be very beautiful :D

    Zoe

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Zoe. Japan's cherry blossom season came early this year but we were able to see some. It was way too short trip and sad that it's over. I love to go back soon!

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  5. 桜見れました?まだ咲いてるところもあったから、見れたんじゃないかしら。すごいケーキ。さすが明美さんですね。お味噌汁美味しそう!

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