Sake Granita with Shiso Leaves

Summer is almost over....

My sister has been asking me to make sake granita which she had at a sushi restaurant as a dessert. I have been thinking how I can do this for awhile, and now I have finally tried it out. It is basically shaved ice, except I did not shave anything. All I needed to do was to put the sake mixture in a Ziploc bag and leave it in the freezer over night. Because of the alcohol content, it does not solidify like a huge block of ice but it becomes rather slushy in the bag ready to serve. How convenient!

Nigori-sake, rich in flavor

Served in a small wine glass

Sake Granita With Shiso Leaves

1 bottle sake, 12 oz, I used unfiltered Nigori-sake
2 cups water
1/2 lemon, juiced
3 Tbsp agave nectar
3 Tbsp shiso leaves, chopped finely

Mix all of the ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Leave it in the freezer over night. You can take it out of the freezer every few hours and mix the content by mashing the bag. I only did this twice, but it came out really nice.

Sake mixture in a Ziploc bag

It is important to add water, or some other liquid to the sake to help it solidify in the freezer. Sake alone does not freeze easily in the regular household freezer. You can add whatever you have, sparkling water or ginger ale to add to the sake. I like mine to be on the sweeter side, so I added quite a bit of sweetener also. You can substitute it with regular sugar or honey. Lemon does add a nice fruity touch.



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Parmesan Crusted Chicken

You have frozen chicken breasts in the freezer. Don't know what to do with them? Here is an idea to add to your thousand of chicken repertoire. Make enough so you can bring the leftover to work for lunch.

Mayo + bread crumbs + Parmesan cheese mixture on the chicken

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

4 tsp Italian bread crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Thaw chicken and sprinkle salt and pepper. Mix all of the ingredients and spread on top of the chicken breasts. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. 

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Dogs in the Parallel Universe

They are like angels when they are sleeping. The stuffed animal, Puppy Friend, is keeping an appropriate distance between them. The parallel universe, we call it, seems like how they choose to maintain their amicable relationship.

"You stay on your turf, I stay on mine."

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Cold Natto Udon Noodles with Pickled Plum

Love, love, love noodles! I am not sure if my hubby likes noodles as much as I do, so when I am eating alone at home, I am usually eating noodles. I am a happy gal when I am eating noodles!

Noodles are ultimate fun food

Cook udon noodles according to the package. I have been loving the frozen udon noodles, which only takes one minute to cook. Delicious and the texture is excellent. Rinse the noodles with cold water and drain well. Garnish with shiso leaves, natto, pickled plum and Japanese cayenne pepper. Pour soy sauce or noodle dipping sauce over the noodles. Mix well before eating.


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Ratatouille

The green tomatoes I picked have turned red on our kitchen counter. They looked perfect for cooking and baking, so I decided to make ratatouille. Any vegetables you have in your fridge would go great with the ripe tomatoes. I baked them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and cooked on the stove top with some tomato paste. 

Cook with your favorite herbs

Ratatouille

3 ripe tomatoes, cut in quarters
1 medium onion, cut in bite size
4-5 small Japanese eggplants
2 stalks, celery
1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
2 parsnips
1 package, mushroom
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 sprig, rosemary
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cube of chicken bullion
Salt and pepper to taste

Coat the vegetables with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, herbs, crumbled chicken bullion, sugar and salt and pepper and bake at 375 for 45 minutes. There will be some liquid coming out of the veges, transfer the veges to the sauce pan, add tomato paste and cook off the excess liquid. 


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Vegetable Garden Updates (27)

Our vegetable gardens are almost finished with producing except for the tomatoes and shishito peppers. Most tomatoes are not turning red, so I have to pick them while they are still green, which is ok by me, since we love fried green tomatoes. The tomatoes which have gotten too ripe on the kitchen counter are going to be baked as part of the ratatouille later on.

This shishito turned red. Looks hot.

Looks like a huge mess, but there are some tomatoes in there somewhere.

Still plenty of harvest

We've let some of the weed grow way too long. But this jasmine looking vine started climbing up the bird feeder, and it actually looks good now. I couldn't have planned it to be this pretty myself. Completely designed and produced by the nature!

The vine is spiraling up to the top of the bird feeder

Bumble bee is enjoying the flowers, too

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Sushi For Saturday Night Out

We love going to our sushi hangout. We don't get to go as often as we would like, but the head waitress there remembers us and gives us a special treatment. This time, she upgraded our miso soup to the shrimp miso soup and gave me a free salad. Tonight's special was fatty tuna. Sea urchin was shipped in just yesterday. It was a good meal, and it was a great Saturday.

Jack mackerel sashimi. Just don't look at the eyes!

We asked them to grill the fish bones till crispy after finishing the sashimi above.
You can eat them like crackers.

My hubby enjoys miso soup with a shrimp head

Tonight's star, fatty tuna

My personal favorite, salmon roe

My hubby's sushi plate, he liked the squid with shiso 

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Afternoon Siesta for Dogs

It takes some energy to try to catch those critters in the backyard. They don't want to miss anything out there. But once they are inside the house, that's when they realize how tired they are. The hard wood floor in front of the AC vent is nicely cold for them. Look how comfortable they are!

They may be dreaming about squirrels

The cold floor feels gooooood!

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Lemon-Limeade with Elderberry Flower and Rose Syrup

When your day has been dull, or you just can't wait for another weekend, a glass of this lemon-limeade with an unusual twist may help you get out of that funk. I added some elderberry flower syrup and just a few drops of rose syrup.You don't want to put too much rose syrup since it is quite strong. Just enough to make you think "Hmm, what is this I am tasting?" A hint of the flower scent touches a tip of your nose when you take a sip of this refreshing drink.

Seltzer water brightens up this concoction

Lemon-Limeade With Elderberry Flower And Rose Syrup
(For two tall glasses)

1 lemon juiced
1/2 lime juiced
2 tsp elderberry flower syrup
1/2 tsp rose syrup
Seltzer water to top off
2 sprigs mint for garnish
2 slices lemon for garnish
2 slices lime for garnish
2 slices cucumber for garnish


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Sesame Steak Lettuce Wrap with Kimchee

I think lettuce wraps are great alternatives to flour or corn tortilla wraps. You can get lots of veggies with them, and the texture is just so different and fun. And who doesn't like fun food? Roll up your favorite fillings, and you are ready to go. This time, I made lettuce wraps with a Korean flavor.

Fresh veges and sesame steak in Korean BBQ sauce

Buttery Boston lettuce works well as wraps

Sesame Steak Lettuce Wraps With Kimchee

1/2 lb any kind of thinly sliced cut of beef
1 head Boston lettuce, washed and separated
1 red bell pepper, sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup Korean BBQ sauce
1/4 cup kimchee, chopped small

Salt and pepper the steak with sesame oil. Sprinkle some sesame seeds. Take them out of the pan and let them rest. Cut into bite size and put them in a small bowl to coat them with Korean BBQ sauce and set aside. In the same pan, sauté the onions with salt and pepper as well as a drizzle of Korean BBQ sauce. Prepare kimchee, lettuce, carrots, red peppers, rice and whatever else you might want for your wraps. Wrap with a piece of lettuce.


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Purple Cabbage and Apple

When you start thinking about using apples in your cooking, you know that fall is near. The worst heat seems to have passed us, although, it is still quite hot out there during the day. I've noticed there is a little chill in the air in the early morning now. 

Apple turns beautiful purple

Purple Cabbage And Apple

1/2 small head purple cabbage, shredded
1 apple (I used Red Delicious this time), peeled and sliced
1/2 large red onion, sliced
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 box, kid's apple juice (about 6 oz)
2 tsp honey
1 Tbsp Smart Balance
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

In a sauce pan, add all except for Smart Balance and vinegar. Bring to a boil. Add Smart Balance, put the lid on and simmer for 15 minutes. Add red wine vinegar. A little bit of Smart Balance or butter gives a nice mild flavor to it, taking some edge off the red wine vinegar.


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Office Makeover Update

I like the simple lines of this desk

After we came back from our vacation, we resumed our project of redoing our office. The desk we ordered three months ago (!) has finally arrived, and I must say, it was worth waiting for. We might still have to get more of the file drawer cabinets to store all the paperwork we accumulated over the years. But it is starting to look like a decent room now.

That's where I make my jewelry

We are waiting for an art print to arrive for the wall

It sure has been taking a long time to finish this project when we have to juggle a lot of things. 


In the previous posting of the Office Makeover, the room looked like this....


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Fried Pork Cutlet and Shiso with Pickled Plum Aioli

Use Japanese panko to coat the pork chops for the nice crispy texture. I had the purple cabbage cole slaw I made the other day on the side. The sauce has more of the fragrant shiso leaves as well as the pickled plum. 

Specks of shiso in the sauce

They make great sandwiches, too!

Fried Pork Cutlet And Shiso With Pickled Plum Aioli

6 sliced pork chops
Flour for dredging
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups panko
Salt and pepper

Pickled Plum Aioli:
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp pickled plum paste
1/4 cups fresh shiso leaves
1 tsp sake
1/2 Tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper the pork. Lay a few leaves of shiso on each pork cutlet and dredge them with flour. Dip them in beaten eggs and coat with panko. Fry them in canola oil.

For the aioli, blend all the ingredients and blend well in blender. Adjust the amount of pickled plum since they can be very salty. I think the sauce goes better with the pork if it's not too salty. Balance it with agave nectar and see what you like.


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Yes, Please!

Here are the well-behaved pups in our house. They are sitting perfectly so they can get a treat. Look away! They may melt your heart!

Deep focus and great concentration

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