Braised Cram and Pork with white wine

Since Marfuga has come, I made the dish we can taste fresh olive oil flavour.

Made braised cram and pork with white wine. Serve with short pasta with marfuga and parmesan cheese.

Here is the procedure. Olive oil, gloves garlic and rosemary/tyme in the pan with low heat. Simmer sliced onion and morocco beans until soften. Add sliced pork thigh(season well S&P in advance) and stir them until the colour change to golden brown. Add cram and white wine(perhaps 50~100 cc ). Then put the lid on the pan and braise until the cram open. Add diced tomato if you like.

Season S& P to taste.

For relish, I made Udo(Japanese herb in spring) and Buntan salad. Both of them are on the season now. Buntan is similar to grape fruits. Just drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper for them.

This is my spring salad.

Taro's rate:★

At first, he had pasta, but after chewing it, he spit it out everywhere on the floor.... If he has not been sick, I would get furious with him!

Self Medication ~for coughing~

Have been coughing for more than one month. Although I went to see a doctor twice and got antibiotics medicine, they all didn't work well. :(

However, gradually my coughing is getting better. Probably my immune system is getting over the virus.

The other day, one of my followers of my blog introduced me Polish self medication!

According to that, to have a cup of linden tea with fresh raspberry juice twice a day is effective against cough.

As soon as I got the information, went to the aroma therapy shop and got linden tea.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the raspberry juice but got cranberry juice instead.

Before go to bed, I had it. It seems to be fine. I am pleased with the colour of it. Not sure whether it works or not, but I felt relaxed and had good sleep last night. :)

Later on, I am going to have my son taste it.

Thanks, ef.!

Fresh Strawberry Crumble Muffin

Still Taro has been having a fever. Once it passed away, but he developed his fever of 39 degrees last night. Today, his temperature is 37.8 degrees. He has been grouchy seriously. I have to nurse him all the time like the stage of a newborn baby!

Even thought such a terrible situation, I cannot help baking some stuff. Since Taro has had no appetite, I came up with the idea that his favourite strawberries into muffins.

Found the recipe from cook pad and adapted from it. Changed the rate of flour and kinds of sugar though.

When he wakes up from taking a nap, I will feed him with it. Hope he will taste it.

The recipe of Fresh Strawberry Crumble Muffin

Ingredients

-crumble topping-

- 25g all purpose flour

- 15g almond powder

- 20g sugar

-20g diced unsalted butter (room temperature)

A- 70g unsalted butter(room temperature)

A- 60g beat sugar

A- one egg(room temperature)

B- 80g all purpose flour

B- 40g whole wheat flour

B- 1 teaspoon baking powder

→ Shifted

C- 40cc milk

C- 1 table spoon yoghurt

- 150g strawberries( half size cut)

Method

1 Make the topping by whisk together the flour, almond powder,sugars and butter in a bowl. Stir using your fingers until coarse crumbles form. Keep it into the fridge more than 30 minutes.

2 Preheat the oven to 180℃

3 Grease a standard 6 muffin pan or line with paper muffin cups. ( I always use vegetable oil spray.)

4 Whisk together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add one egg and whisk together.

5 Add 1/3 of the B and mix together using a spatula, just until ingredients are moistened.

6 Add 1/2 of the C and mix together.

7 Add 1/3 of the B and mix together then add remaining of the C and mix until incorporated.

8 Add the remaining of the B and mix together.

9 Fold in the berries.

10Distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups.

11 Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

12 Test with a long toothpick to make sure the centres of muffins are done.

Set on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan and serve slightly warm.

Make 6 muffins.

Cheese snatcher

This is the moment that Taro tried to snatch a sliced cheese .

Although Taro is still having a fever, he seems to be fine so far.

He ate a few sliced cheese, loads of strawberries and blueberries only.

Taro didn't eat bread at all. Can't believe it. He might want to eat something cool.

MARFUGA has come!!!

I just got it today. This is our basic & essential olive oil, MARFUGA comes from Italy. Every this season, the oil is delivered to us. I am looking forward to tasting this 2009 fresh olive oil.

It costs 23,625 yen for 5 litre. Though you might think it's super expensive, this is enough worth buying it. Very spicy but fruity aroma.

I'll bet that you've never met such an adorable olive oil. It's fresh olive juice indeed!!!

It is matching for not only Italian food, but also Japanese food!! Yes, it's true.

Soy sauce and Olive oil are the best couple rather than Sesami oil.

Yes, I am 100 % sure that if you could use this magical oil, you would be a chef right now.

In Japan, you can get it from here.

Am not sure whether people living in other countries can get it or not. if you have a chance to visit Umbria, Italy, you must check it out. :)

Tonnarelli al nero di seppia

Attended the cooking pasta class. We made "Tonnarelli" from scratch. It's first time for me to

use squid ink into the pasta.Tomato and cram sauce is awesome indeed!!

Today, I met an unusual tool for cutting pasta called "chitarra".

It is shaped like a harp! Very cute.

If I have enough space in my kitchen, I would get it right away though!

Next time, I will try and make it and cut them with a knife.

Taro's rate: no mark

He has been grouchy since this morning and in the evening he got a fever around 39℃.

This is the first time experience for us so that I am looking after him hastily.Should I have him get warmer or cooler? Not sure. I just had him take medicine the doctor gave him one hour ago.

It might have been a miracle that he had never got a fever before! Don't you think so?

Hope he will get better soon....

Madam Masako's Dinner

My dearest friend, Masako invited us to the dinner. Actually we quite often gather and have dinner together. Yes quite often!! several times a week!

We are coming and going one another places.

Her son Kai-kai is same age as Taro. They're good friends. :)

Look at the beautiful salad! I named it Spring has come salad. Various Japanese herb and the glittering fish, Sayori. Slightly flavoured with curry. It goes with a special white wine.( actually she is an professional sommelier!)

Beautiful Cauliflower Potage.

The main dish is lemon chicken. Very delicious indeed.

These dishes are for us not kids. Taro enjoyed playing with other mates.

Today, I got the notification that Taro cannot enter the public day care centre due to too many applicants there. I never expected we were not able to get in the school!

Probably he will go to another private day care centre where is located to near my company. I am really worried about the compatibility of my work with child care.

Can he stand the rush-hour and crowded train every morning? We are not ready yet. :(

Jun and I have to think over about each responsibilities at home.

Cannot imagine how much changing we will be in April.

The rest of my child care leave is 34 days only.

Only I can do is that to enjoy my rest of full-time mom and post lots of meals on this blog!

Japanese one plate lunch

Today's lunch

- Roasted Kasu-duke Salmon

- Steamed Broccoli with Katsuo-bushi and soy sauce

- Radish, Morocco beans and steamed chicken breast salad (fresh mayonnaise sauce)

- White rice with Yukari(some sort of Umeboshi Furikake)

- Nameko mushroom and Bean curd Miso-soup

Taro's rate:★

He was playing with food using a folk and a spoon all the time and hardly tasted them. This is the good practise for me to put aside my anger towards Taro. I got furious and scolded him though.

Spanish Omelette

Since he is still addicted to having breads, I baked a spanish omelette. Sliced potatoes, onions, carrot, sausage, Broccoli and Morocco beans for Taro.

He ate it except sausage and potatoes. He prefers Quiche.

Taro's rate:★★

Spanish Omelette Recipe～18cm fried pan (it can be endured the oven)~

Ingredients

egg sauce

- 5 eggs

- Fresh Cream 1/3cup

- 50g ground Parmesan Cheese

- Any vegetables you like would be fine. It would be better not to use watery vegetables such as tomatoes. Besides the vegetables I added, you may add some avocado, Zuccini as well.

- Herb Sausages. (Whatever you like.)

- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 170℃

Place the vegetables and add olive oil into the pan. Stir them with low heat until covering the oil.

Make egg sauce. Mix all ingredients together. Add Salt and pepper.

Add egg sauce into the pan and place the pan into the oven. Bake it for 40minutes.

Serve with tomato ketchup if you like.

Asian Food night

Got Alfonsino heads and bony parts. Made alfonsino soup. Put alfonsino, crashed garlic and ginger, and fresh lemon grass into the boiling water and lemon grass, seasons with fish sauce and S&P. It takes only 15 minutes to serve! We had it as "soup-Gohan" which means that pouring soup over the rice.

The other dish was canola(rape blossoms) and tomato salad. I used the leftover sweet-soy ground meat which I made several days ago as a dressing. Place olive oil, chopped garlic and fresh coliander into the pan with low heat. Add sweet-soy ground meat and rice vinegar.Put the dressing on the rape blossoms and tomatoes. This is also quick and yumm dressing.

Taro's rate:★

He was so tired that he didn't eat anything except breast feeding milk. The soup is supposed to his favour though....

I think Taro might be an alien who comes from somewhere in the universe so-called "Breast-feeding land" to propagate how wonderful breast-feeding is to the everyone.

When will be his propaganda over by the way?

Sweet Potato Browny 2 ~Gorgeous Version~

The other day, I baked sweet potato browny for Valentine's day. This time, as my friend gave me loads of broken "leonidas chocolate", I baked another version's browny. :)

Referred to cook pad recipe.　

I generously used 140g leonidas chocolates. It should be yummy. This is the best gorgeous browny ever. Thanks, Mikiko-san! We shall taste them tomorrow. :)

Taro's rate :★

Fortunately he doesn't like bitter taste.He spit out the browny with bitter face.

I got relieved that he is not interested in such an addictive sweets called chocolates!!

Good boy, Taro-san!

Glutinous Rice Siumai（糯米燒賣）

Made 糯米燒賣. I am not sure where it comes from, probably from China or Taiwan??

This is quite easy to make rather than ordinal Siumai. Serve with soy sauce and mustard.

Another dish is 2 kinds of spring rolls. Stuffed shrimp & Yamato-imo/cheese, tuna and onion.

Those 2 dishes go with beer very much :)

Taro's rate:★★

He had a little since he had late lunch at 3 o'clock.

By the way, he took 1.5 year check-up today. Weighed 11.5 kg and measured at 83.7cm long.

I am very glad that he is growing up healthy without any serious sick and fever.

Tea Time @ my friend's place

I brought sweet potato pudding and egg white cookies I baked yesterday to my friend's place.

She made strawberries sweets for us.

Had lovely tea time!!

Beautiful plates make much more beautiful & NOBLE sweets.

Hummm.

Thanks my friends! :)

Sweet Potato Pudding

Baked sweet potato pudding. This recipe is almost all the same as pumpkin pudding I posted before. But as the potatoes are very sweet, I reduced the sugar. (probably I put 60g sugar only)

I am going to bring this pudding to my friend's place tomorrow. Hope they will like it.

Spring Pasta

Sparkling Enope Squid & Rape Seed are on the season now!

Made pasta using those two ingredients.

Taro is pleased with this tiny cute squid. It's enough soften that even he was able to chew it.

Taro's rate:★★

He hardly had fettuccine. Was it too hard for him?

Okonomi-yaki ~Cabbage Pancake~

Our Okonomi-yaki is quite diffrent from the one you usually have around the town.

Loads of cabbage and a little Okonomi-yaki flour. This is our style.

The texture is quite soft though. I am pleased with it anyway.

We usually use Okonomi-yaki flour that I get from Radish Boya. Just mix with an egg and other stuff together. Readily make it.

Taro's rate:★★★★

He loves Otafuku sauce. He is having lots of vegetables today. Happy. :-)

Breakfast for Taro

Since Taro has been addicted to having breads and had less vegetables, I made Japanese menu for him.

Made 3 colour rice. This is very traditional Japanese home-made food.

Placed stir-fried ground chicken meat (sweet soy taste) and sweet scrambled egg, and saute spinach and zucchini with butter on the rice. Plus I roasted Hokke fish.

At first, he started eating fish but after that he finished all the meal on his plate.

Yeah! I did it! He had well-balanced nutritions this morning.

I think it would be better to stop baking breads for a period of time and make Japanese food for his breakfast.

Taro's rate:★★★★★

Good boy, Taro-san :-D

Stir Fried Beef and Vegetables with 海鮮醤

海鮮醤 is one sort of sweet miso sauce. It is made from soy beans and sugar. When I use this paste and 豆板醤(chinese hot chili sauce), the dish dramatically turns earnest Chinese food.

As the main dish is really thick and rich taste, another dish should be plain and refreshed taste. Made egg and tomato soup. For Taro-san, I added his favourite radish. The soup is based on Chicken and rice vinegar.

Taro's rate:★★

The radish was not enough soften for him, but he seems to like the soup. He is seriously keen on having bread this week. What is happening to him?

Tororo Soba

Our Tororo-Soba: Topped with tororo( a kind of potato. very sticky) & a raw egg, which poaches in the hot soup.

This is the one of our classic lunch menu. :-)

Taro's rate:★

Since he was eating it by his hand, tororo brought him out in an itchy rash.

Poor Taro!

Chanti Festival

Attended Italian cooking class. Today, we used lots of Chanti Wine in the pasta, sauce and meat dish.

This pasta called "Maltagliati". 50cc Chanti wine are in it. It's first time to make wine pasta from scratch. When I was kneading the dough, the smell pervaded the air! What a romantic pasta!

Served with Chanti wine and "salsiccia"which is Italian fresh sausage sauce.

It's first time for me to have fresh Italian sausage. very yumm. Must get it ASAP!

For main dish, my teacher demonstrated making the"Filetto di maiale col cavolo nero" which means pork and Chinese cabbage. Use 100cc Chanti wine! This menu enable us to consume 1/4 chinese cabbage at one time!

This is a good news for guys who are concerning about a big Chinese cabbage in the fridge.

The both meal are very beautiful. But it costs too much if I want to make genuine yummy meals.

I will make them again when the special occasion happens.

When? Hope my friend who loves wine very much will bring special chanti to me some time. :-P

Strawberry Tart

Made strawberry tart. Loads of custard cream on almond cream tart. Since I totally forgot buttering a tart plate in advance, it was hard to cut and serve keeping the beautiful form. :-(

The taste is brilliant though!

I will have to practise making it again soon.

Taro's rate:★★

He ate a little. He might have get fed up with this sort of sweets....

Thai Night

Had dinner with my friends and their kids.

Made Thai green curry and Vermicelli Salad that I learnt from my uncle.

For kids, made coconuts milk chicken soup.

Taro's rate:no marks

He focused on playing with other kids and he ate breads and some snacks only today.Does he consists of breads? I am worried about his health.

Molded Sabre

Taro has been crazy about vehicles, especially a bus! When he find a bus, he shouts "Hachi, Hachi!!". All kinds of buses turn Hachi for him.

Hachi is a community bus in my town. The name derived from the dog which swore the loyalty to the master.

He recognise what the bus is, but he dare to call all buses "Hachi".

I am looking for the mold shaped like a bus. Unfortunately, I haven't find it yet. I have a train, an airplane, and a car only.

Will he notice what they are?

Really look forward to his reaction.

Simmered Turnip with Chicken ground meat

This is the one of my favourite Japanese food in winter. The melting turnip are really beautiful.

I didn't use any Dashi at all. Just used sea salt, Sake, Mirin, a little bit soy sauce and sugar.

Serve with shred ginger.

Taro's rate:no marks

He didn't eat anything. He is supposed to love it though! Maybe he ate rusk too much... :-(

Cinnamon Sugar Rusk

Today's Recycling menu.

Spread butter& cinnamon sugar onto the crust. Preheat the oven to 110℃. Bake them for 70 minutes. Crispy rusk are done!

Taro's rate:★★★★

Bread & Crispy & Cinnamon= His favourite triangle

Snail Currants Jam Pie

My mother's friend gave black currants jam before. She lives in the country side and does subsistence farming. The currants jam is her home made one.

Preheat the oven to 180℃. Spread out the jam on the pie sheet and roll it. Put it into the freezer until freeze. Then cut 1.5cm, and put some granuated sugar at one side. Bake them for 20 minutes.

Any kinds of jam/peanuts butter would be suitable for the pie.

The shape looks like a snail doesn't it?

Taro's rate: ★★

He doesn't like currants jam so much.

Lasagna Night

Had dinner at my friend's place. Every Monday, we have toddlers gathering. It is quite FUN. One and half old toddlers are playing together! Amazing.

Since the bolognese sauce stock are still in the freezer, I made lasagna.

This time, I didn't make lasagna from scratch, used "DE CHECO" lasgna instead.

My friend made a fabulous salad for us. Pancetta dressing is very beautiful. :-)

Taro's rate: no mark

he didn't eat anything except a bread. He wanted to focus on playing with other mates.

Avocado Natto Don

In my apartment ground, there is a big avocado tree. Although no one takes care of it, it bears lots of avocado now!! It is completely organic!

Avocados are supposed to bear fruits in southern country.

However, the miracle happens in ,freezing cold, Tokyo.

Perhaps long time ago, someone planted avocado seed and it is growing and expanding. Our apartment was built around 60 years ago. Who planted it? He/She must have had a stylish life.

The tree is so high that it is hard to gather up the avocados. I always wait for their dropping by windy night. I feel lucky when I get them a lot.

When the avocado get enough ripe, we usually have "avocado and natto don". This is the perfect nutrition breakfast. If you are able to eat natto, you may want to try it. Just mix them together when you eat. We prefer to add fresh egg too.

Taro's rate: no marks

He doesn't like natto.....

Dinner for Two

Jun was out tonight due to attend the wedding banquet.

As I found the leftover Kimpira, I recycled it to make a new dish. Rolled kimpira in thinly sliced pork and season Teriyaki taste.

Tonight's Menu

-Grilled Miso-marinetd GinDara(black cod)

-Rolled Kimpira in thinly sliced pork~Teriyaki taste~

-Boilled Spinach with soy sauce and Yuzu

-White rice with Umeboshi

-Chinese Vermicelli soup

Taro's rate:★★★★★

As you can see the photo, the moment I took photos, Taro reached his hand to the soup and tasted it. He has a good appetite indeed.

All dishes are his favourite. :-)