Chilled Peach Soup

Savory, tangy cold soup by Jason Franey

Overlooking Lake Union in Seattle, iconic Canlis is perhaps a food lover’s dream. Every dish is like a piece of art. Because of the size, the place lacks some cozy feel but the view is spectacular!…the view must cost something…no way is this a cheap eat.

Former Canlis chef Jason Franey who departed last year created the dish featured in Food and Wine magazine in 2011…tangy and fruity and no heat required, that’s what we need when it’s sweltering outside. Preparation is quick though it needs to be marinated overnight (very important step) so it definitely needs your patience and planning.

Ingredients and Instruction for 4 servings (Print Recipe Here)

• 3 cups of peeled sliced peaches (about 4 peaches)
• 1/4 cup peeled diced seedless cucumber, plus thin slices for garnish
• 1/4 cup finely diced yellow bell pepper, plus some for garnish
• 1/4 cup diced dried apricots
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 3 Tablespoons crumbled fresh goat cheese, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup for making croutons
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 cup cubed (about 1/2 inch) baguette  Note: For gluten free, substitute toasted sunflower seeds or pine nuts
• Basil leaves for garnish
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large bowl, toss the peaches, cucumber, yellow pepper and apricots. Add honey, goat cheese, balsamic vinegar and 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, Kosher salt. Stir well and add garlic. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, at least 8 hours.
2. Discard the garlic.Transfer the contents of the bowl to a blender and puree. Add 1/4 cup of water and puree until very smooth and creamy, add more water if the soup seems too thick. If necessary, add more salt and vinegar. Refrigerate the soup for an hour or so until very cold.
3. (skip this process if you are substituting with nuts) Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add cubed baguette and cook over medium heat, stirring until golden and crisp.
   
   My husband made this ciabatta bread…he makes bread every week.
   
4. Pour the peach soup into a bowl and garnish with sliced cucumber, bell pepper, goat cheese, croutons and basil. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, season with black pepper and serve.

From the Tapas post (#todaystapas)…Soy wrapped garden harvest (except avocado). Light, gluten free and fabulous.

Adapted from a Children’s book ‘Guri and Gura’ (ぐりとぐら) Kasutera (カステラ) recipe is easy to make…in the book, they shared this treat with forest friends…isn’t that nice?  The hand stitched kitchen towel is a gift from a friend.

Stay cool! Drink lots of water!

Pork Bowl

もこみちの豚丼/Pork Bowl by Mokomichi

This dish is perhaps not for everyone…especially those who don’t care for slimy textured (Japanese word for slimy is never, never…I mean neva,neva)food, like fermented soy beans AKA natto (納豆). Do not be afraid, it does not contain natto and doesn’t smell as offensive as that. And quite…what should I say, unique?…different!

Mokomichi Hayami (速水もこみち), the Japanese actor, appears weekly on a short cooking segment of a popular morning news show called Zip! His second cookbook ‘Moko  Meshi’ (roughly translated, Moko Dish) has a cheesy subtitle ‘ Cooking that makes you smile’ …right. He is so beautiful I’m sure it will be delicious, if I eat with you …oops, that is the title of his first cookbook.

I star marked* ingredients as the culprit of sliminess for warning.

Ingredients and modified Instruction for 2 servings (Print Recipe Here)

• 5-6 inch cucumber, small or no seed variety preferred. I used English cucumber, minced
• 2 myogas (Japanese ginger, see pic below), you may substitute with ginger, minced
• 1/2 pack of white radish sprout (カイワレ大根), remove roots and mince the rest
• 3-4 okra, remove top and mince the rest *
• 2 Tablespoons white dashi stock, I used bottled dashi stock because I needed so little. For a homemade recipe check my past blog here (step#1,#2) and keep the rest in refrigerator for later use. Also there are many YouTube videos to learn from. Search ‘How to make dashi’
• 1/2 pound thin pork belly meat, cut in about 5 inch strips
• Salt and pepper to season the meat. I used white pepper.
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/2 cup Chinese yam, 長芋 remove skin and grated *
• egg yolk
• Seaweed strips (刻みのり)
• Cooked rice

1. Mix cucumber, myoga, radish sprout and okra in a medium bowl. Add white dashi stock. Set aside.
2. Salt and pepper the meat on both sides. Heat sesame oil in large skillet on medium heat. Brown meat well till near crisp. Note: I think this pork belly is too thin.
3. Put cooked rice in an individual rice bowl. Top with some cucumber mix then grated Chinese yam, meat, egg yolk, finally seaweeds. Serve with soy sauce (or tamari sauce), hot sauce or La-Yu on the side.

With the temperature in low 90’s, I have to get relief from the heat. This healthy popsicle recipe uses fresh strawberry and kiwi, the sweetness comes from agave syrup instead of sugar. I posted this photo on Instagram (#todaystapas).The recipe is from cookpad.com.

My husband and I enjoyed Lake Oswego Saturday Market…last Saturday. Quickly blanched (and chilled) Sea Beans and breakfast radish we bought there, to make salad with sesame oil and soy sauce dressing…simple yet effective wafu salad, 

Microsoft and Google fixed my blogging tool finally!…I’m so happy, I want to do a happy dance…yeah! Let’s!

 

 

Shrimp Delight

Shrimp Salad

I can’t believe tomorrow is already April…Fool me…March left all of a sudden and I am playing catch up game but never can get ahold of the tail ends.
No fuss rule enforced (not really) for weekly meal and the shrimp salad is super quick to fix and refreshingly delightful. The modified recipe and the edible pot idea from Peter Callahan author of bite by bite. If you want to make potted shrimp salad, go to the edible pot instruction first.
Aren’t they Springy and darling? Perhaps great for Easter Sunday Dinner!

Ingredients and Instruction for two servings (Print Recipe here)

• 10-12 shrimp cooked, peeled, deveined and tail removed  Note: I
• used frozen shrimp, cooked in salted (1 teaspoon ) boiling water for 30 seconds or until shrimp turned to bright orange, drain and cool.
• Mango fresh chopped in chunks
• 3 inch length cucumber thinly sliced
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh chives
  
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
  
• 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt

Put shrimp, mango and cucumber in medium bowl. Toss with olive oil and white balsamic vinegar, chives, lemon zest and salt. Chill for 30 minutes in refrigerator.
Making edible pot -  enough to make 6 - 2 inch terra cotta pots
Necessary equipment : terracotta pots (I used 2 inch diameter pot and 1 inch pot), dried beans about 1 cup, parchment paper, rolling pin

• 1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons sweet paprika
• 6 tablespoons(2/3 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
• Non stick pan spray

1. Using a food processor, pulse the flour and paprika together. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture resemble sand.
2. With the motor running, add 3 Tablespoons water until the the dough comes together. The dough may be crumbly and dry.
   
3. Flatten the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap, make a disk and wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Take dough out of refrigerator, leave on counter for about 10 minutes (to make it easier to roll out dough). Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly coat terra-cotta flower pots with nonstick pan spray.
5. Unwrap the dough and place it between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll until it is 1/8 inch thick, remove top layer of parchment and slice the dough according to your terracotta pots. Use the scraps to make balls.
   
6. Place 1 strip in each pot so it runs around sides of the pot. use your fingers to press the dough flat around the edges. Drop a ball of dough inside the pot and press down to make the bottom. Line pot with small piece of parchment paper (the picture showed I forgot to line and the beans stuck to the sides of the pot) and fill with dried beans and place the pots on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the dough is set, about 25 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let them cool completely. Take out beans and tap gently on the bottom to release the pastry pot.Cut up salad and fill in pot. Insert edible flower. I used lavender.

This is shrimp salad in 1 inch pot – you need itsy bitsy fingers…just kidding!
I loved this Today’s TAPAS instagram post (#todaystapas) – Agedashi tofu.
My husband and I were on hands and knees to do the weeding on our lawn last Saturday…remembering the quote by Margaret Atwood…
In the Spring, at the end of the day,
you should smell like dirt.

Wishing you a Happy April! (The picture above is our gumi tree)