Angel Hair Pasta Salad

Quick Main Pasta Dish for warmer weather

Hello Microsoft and Google people, please fix the ‘Live Writer’ program fast! Unable to post my blog since last week,  ‘Copy and Paste’ approach is not so cool! I thought the smart people who work there can all straighten up the problem in the matter of couple hours but….really?

The temperature was pushing upper-80’s last weekend, we turn on the air-conditioning rather than endure…The month of May’s hasty departure, I wasn’t ready for…a basket full of clean clothing ready to be folded…three days ago…in my defense, visiting sick friends take priority. I hope they like this weather appropriate light meal…even though it doesn’t look pretty in a plastic container.

Ingredients and Instruction for 3-4 servings (Print Recipe Here)

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar, white balsamic preferred if you have it.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 10-12 cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/2 peppers, I used yellow, thinly sliced…to bring bright color in!
• 10 or more basil leaves thinly sliced
• 4 slices of thick cut bacon roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
• Angel hair pasta, about 3 oz. per person
• Parmigiano reggiano cheese thinly shaved

1. Make dressing - In a medium bowl vigorously whisk olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
   
2. Add tomato, pepper, basil (leave a little bit for garnish) and toss to coat. Chill it in the refrigerator until needed.
   
3. Cook pasta my way - Lay the pasta (break in half if the pasta is too long) in large skillet and barely cover with cold water. Cook the pasta on medium heat, stirring occasionally so that pasta won’t stick together until al dente. Drain water through colander.Set aside.
4. Heat the same pan on medium heat; sauté bacon until it renders the fat and begins to brown, add garlic and cook for a few minutes longer. Note: do not brown garlic. Turn off the heat.
   
5. Bring the drained pasta back in the pan and combine with bacon and garlic.
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6. Divide pasta in 4 bowls. Top with chilled vegetables. Don’t forget to spoon over the dressing. Garnish with shaved cheese and basil. Salt and pepper to adjust flavor.
   

Arrangement #1: Add red pepper flakes (about 1/4 teaspoon) in the dressing for accent.

Arrangement #2 If you like lot more green then use salad green mix that comes in a bag.

From the TAPAS (#todaystapas) – Incredibly soft, light yogurt bread dough recipe from a Australian blogger Bake for Happy Kids…my husband made into cinnamon rolls…Fabulous! He took some to his office and got nice reviews…he will make more for the other critics/ foodies.

More of garden jewel – dangling earing like Gumi tree

Although the temperature dropped 20 degrees yesterday, still no complaints here. My sincere prayers are with those affected by terrible weather…

Le Marron/栗

Baked Chestnut Rice

Tis the season of chestnuts? I think so… deep in Fall, yearning for chestnuts dishes intensify with love and hate. My feeling of discordance is of course, removing its shells…it’s so darn hard! However, our Autumn won’t pass by without welcoming the shiny brown petite friends.

Although there are many methods to remove the tough outer layer of skin Japanese call it onigawa (demon skin/鬼皮) and inner thin skin called shibugawa (bitter skin/渋皮), right now I prefer pressure cooker method because of no soaking time necessary and quicker…still I don’t feel the love yet at this point.

I say this is French because I borrowed the recipe from a Japanese chef of a French restaurant La Blance I saw in a magazine. I like the uniqueness…yep very original!

Ingredients and Instruction for 4 servings (Print Recipe Here)

• 20 to 25 chestnuts
• 3/4 cup multi grain rice (五穀米) I used 8 grain rice mix 
• 1/2 medium size onion minced
• 3  to 4 slices of bacon roughly chopped
• 2-3 leaves of cabbage roughly chopped (optional)
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• Salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese

1. Prepare chestnuts – remove two layers of skins.
   Pressure cooker method – carefully  notch the peak of chestnuts in cross fashion first without going too deep. Put prepared chestnuts in the pressure cooker. Add barely enough water to cover the chestnuts. Cover with lid, set to low pressure for 6 minutes. when it finishes, release pressure and remove one with tong. The area you notched should now be opened up, pull downward to remove brown shell. Then with sharp knife peel the inner skin from bottom. Do this as fast as possible while it’s still warm. Repeat for the rest. Note: I leave chestnuts in the pressure cooker pan while I’m working on the others. It will be difficult to remove skin if chestnuts cool
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2. Prepare rice -  Boil about 3 cups of water and add rice. Cook until soft about 25 minutes at low heat. Do this step while you are peeling chestnuts. When the rice is ready strain thru fine mesh. Set aside.
3. Heat oven to 390F.  Sauté bacon and onion until onion is transparent. Add cabbage if using (cabbage adds sweetness to the dish), cook till wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. Spread them in the bottom of an oven safe dish with at least 2 inch rim.
   
4. Assembly – Place drained rice on top of the step #3. Then chestnuts, sprinkling chicken broth is next and finally grated cheese.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

More chestnuts fair - Japanese style chestnuts nice, a staple fall dish. This with black beans is a little twist on our tradition. The matsutake mushroom savory custard, steamed pork belly with lotus roots and sweet potato was definitely something  to enjoy the full moon the other night.And last but not least, the Almond cream chestnuts bundles are uncomplicated if you use the store bought frozen pastry.I can feel the love finally! ~ Can you feel the love tonight ?~ that’s my favorite song in The Lion King!…wait,  Hakuna matata is my best?…Circle of life?… oh whatever! What’s a-motto with you?

Anyway, I hope you have no worries for the rest of your days!

Softy

Kouglof Salé/クグロフ サレ

Kouglof, Gugelhuph or kuguroufu…many spellings for the name of the signature wavy design mold (unfortunately mine has straight lines). Also the name of Alsace region in France’s specialty cake. Brioche like dough,often with liqueur soaked raisin in this kouglof pan and baked – it has a nice sweet flavor.

In contrast, salé means salty in French, hence, this is a savory cake/bread. Positioned near Shimotakaido (下高井戸) station in Setagaya district, is Noliette French pastry shop which just celebrated it’s 20th anniversary in September. The owner, Noriyuki Nagai’s recipe produces a superb texture of Cake salé , salty cake - soft, moist, buttery. At the beginning of his career, he was trained as a chef not a pastry chef - that may have contributed to this creation. Use of kouglof pan will put you in a festive mood. I think it will be gorgeous presentation at the Thanksgiving table. Bon appetite!

I just want to let you know that Noliette is now taking pre-orders for Christmas cake. I wonder if the store would ship to the US? Probably not…I guess I have to think of something fabulous to make!

Ingredients and instructions for two 6inch kouglof pans or 1 bundt pan.

Stand mixer with hook, 2 kuglof pans or a Bundt pan.

• 1/4 of medium size onion minced
• 1/2 teaspoon of butter and vegetable oil
• Bread flour 250g plus 2-3 Tablespoons; sift.
• Milk 55g
• Eggs 165g (about 3 eggs) beat well in a medium bowl.
• Granulated sugar 15g
• Yeast,  fresh if possible 12g
• Salt 4g
• Butter 90g melted
• Walnuts 1/3 cup chopped
• Bacon about 2 slices, remove fat and chop small

Day 1 – Preparing dough

1. Heat 1/2 teaspoon of butter and oil in the skillet at medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté till golden. Transfer onion to paper towel. Press gently to absorb excess oil. Cool and set aside
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2. Mix milk and beaten eggs. Set aside
3. In a stand mixer bowl, put 250g flour, milk mixture(#2), sugar, yeast. Note: making the dough process should not take more than 20 minutes, otherwise it will ruin the good texture so start timing yourself. Run the mixer at medium speed. At first the dough will be sticky but eventually, it will pull away from the bowl. If the dough is still gooey and does not come together after 10 minutes, add more flour 1 tablespoon at time.
4. Add salt and mix 2-3 minutes more. 
5. Lower the speed then pour butter in a little bit at a time. When the dough is slick and shiny, add onion, bacon and walnuts. Mix for 30 second or so..
6. Make a ball and double wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest overnight in the refrigerator.
   

Day 2 – Day of baking

Flour for dusting, Pam non-stick spray, foil

1. Dust a flat surface with flour. Divide dough in two - If you’re using a bundt pan then skip this process. Tap dough lightly to release gas trapped in the dough first then kneed the dough 1-2 minutes.
2. Shape dough into big donuts. Here my husband made a hole with his elbow.
   
3. Spray the pan with Pam. Press dough hard into the pan then wait about 1 hour for the dough to rise.
   
4. Pre-heat oven to 446F. When it has reached this temperature, put the bread in and lower the temperature to 420F. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove foil and bake for 5 minutes.
5. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Serve with olive oil or butter.

Tip#1: Although you may lose the “ooh, la, la”  moment you could bake this in ordinary rectangular bread pan and it would be suitable for sandwiches - perhaps turkey?

Tip #2: If you like to make a sweeter Kouglof, add 25g of sugar and 100g of softened raisins (Chef Nagai recommends sultana raisins) in place of onion, bacon and walnuts.

Speaking of bread, my husband and I dined at our favorite Maki restaurant last week. One of the few Japanese restaurants that offer good desserts and sells home made bread. We bought the Japanese style rolls.

We had a surprise visit from friends bearing gifts – chicken thigh mushrooms – the Indonesian name for matsutake mushroom. I leaned the name from an amazing Dentist food blogger, dentistvschef. Okay…that name doesn’t sound appetizing. Anyway, they were wild matsutake harvested from Mt. Hood. How in the world? Compared to regular size one in front, it is Humongous, right? It was bigger than my thigh, I mean my hand!

I simply sautéed with butter.

Frost on my lawn…It is getting cold here but I dare not to complain. I’m heart sick to hear the other parts of the country having terrible weather. I hope you’re safe.

And Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Champion of Breakfasts

On weekdays, my husband wakes up at 5:30 AM to go to his usual basketball game. I wake up when I hear the sound of the garage door opening at 7:30 ish, the sign of his return. On weekend, his rigid body clock won’t let him stay asleep past 6:30. I, on the other hand, am very flexible and could sleep in till 8;30 or close to 10:00 AM. He makes his own breakfast – staple is Canadian bacon and fried eggs plus milk (on weekdays after he drinks my home made vegetable juice). Because he has more time on weekends, he may make bread, corn bread or cinnamon rolls and I love waking up to the smell of bread baking in the oven. He otherwise asks what I want to eat questions soon after I wake up but my brain is still dead and my stomach not yet functioning. “I ,,, don’t know” is my usual answer follow by “whatever”. We don’t have a box of cereal at this moment but we buy when our kids and grandchildren come to visit. I may serve them that first to keep them occupied while he makes something yummy.  If I request natto (fermented soy beans) over warm cooked rice, he right away stirs with a egg yolk for me ( you should rest natto 20 minutes or so before eating) then he starts making his own breakfast. We sit down together but eat different breakfasts. I love being an empty nester. I’m selfish to some degree and spoiled by my husband I admit but this mellow time is like small gem of happiness. When company comes then it was like fresh air that break our routine and that is also nice (sometimes).

I saw a Japanese health television show 6 or 7 years ago and this drink was featured. Tall glass of the vegetable juice fulfill day’s green intake they clamed which I wish to believe but have doubts. Anyway I started making it most mornings. I don’t measure anything so some days it is more bitter than others. My husband and my daughter tolerate the taste and my son runs the other way. The key is to drink as fast as you can.

Vegetable Juice for two

• 1 medium size carrot, do not peel, scrub with vegetable brush or tawashi then slice about 1/8 inch.
• 16 to 20 grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes washed.
• 2 big handfuls of spinach.
• 1 kiwis skinned and quartered.
• 3/4 cup to 1 cup soy milk. On the television show, they used milk.
• About 3 tablespoon yogurt (optional).
• About 3 tablespoons of honey (optional).
• 3-4 ice cube-this is a must item. It makes the drink cold and taste less.
• A pinch of salt.

1. Put sliced carrots in a small microwaveable bowl, cover with wax paper and microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute.
2. In a blender, put everything on the lists including the cooked carrots and blend on high speed for 30 seconds then lower the speed and blend for about 1 minute. Serve immediately. The juice is more like smoothie, just not very sweet.

Baked eggs with bacon and spinach

This is dressed up version of bacon and egg with a twist. I love it!

4 servings

• 6 slices bacon. I used apple wood-smoked bacon
• 5 ounce baby spinach
• 4 crumpets or 2 whole wheat English muffins, split horizontally. Toasted
• 4 large eggs
• 8 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 400F.

1. Put 2 or 3 paper towels on a plate. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels. Pour off drippings from skillet and reserve in a small bowl.
2. Add spinach to the pan, sprinkle with pepper and toss over medium heat for 30 seconds.
3. Brush four 1 cup ramekins with drippings.
4. Place 1 toasted crumpet or 1 English muffin half, spilt side up in each ramekin.
5. Divide spinach among ramekins then crumble bacon over, dividing equally.
6. Make well in center of each ramekin using the back of a spoon.
7. Gently crack 1 egg into the well.
8. Drizzle 2 tablespoons cream over each egg.
9. Sprinkle pepper but not salt. bacon gives salty taste already.
10. Bake eggs until whites are just set but yolks are still runny. 12 to 15 minutes.

We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast Inn at Astoria, Oregon several years ago. It was a nice place but they serve breakfast at 7:00 AM to 8;30AM. I never understood why they serve this early. As though we have to go to work or something after breakfast. We never gone back to the place but I absolutely love the town. Full of charm and history and home of Goonies! and several really great eateries.

Speaking of  restaurant, Tuesday night (March 29th) more than 50 restaurants here are participating in Bro and Rosen’s relief effort to benefit earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan. Average of 10 to 20 percent of their Tuesday profit goes to Mercy corps. Beast restaurant is donating 100 percent (Wow!). So just by eating one of  the restaurant, you are donating to the effort. There were several concerts and fund raising events this past weekend and I am so grateful for their generosity. The only thing left is for me to pick a restaurant to eat out Tuesday. That is so easy to be involved in this great cause.

This is one of the breakfasts we had at an inn we stayed at in Japan last year.