Fennel Potage Soup

In order to consume a bunch of fennel, made potage soup.

In Japan, fennel is quite expensive that I cannot get it, but one day I found it with super cheap price, 450yen! (Usually it costs around 1200 yen.) I am lucky. :)

The method is very simple. Chopped fennel, a half of onion and one potato. Place in the pan and braised them. ( I used olive oil.) Add some water until covered them. Simmer until enough soften. Use bamix/mixer/food processor to make potage. Season salt and pepper.

If you don't have potato, that's fine. I just wanted them to get thicken.

Farewell Party

Cranberry and Wild rice salad

Grilled Potatoes

Stuffed Mushroom and Pecorino Romano cheese

Vegetable Paella

Braised Pork with Prum

My dearest friend Masako held a farewell party for us. What for? Because some of our friends including me will go back to my work next week!!

She's really gorgeous and her meals are splendid indeed.

Thank you Masako-san, I am really proud of you!!

Tonight she prepared for the special red wine called "Barolo 2000". I am not familiar with wine at all but I am 100 % sure that was awesome. We got lucky. :)

I wish I could tell the taste like a "sommelier"!

Taro has still got diarrhea. He is taking medicines though.... Tomorrow he is going to be absent from school. Hope he will get well soon....

Bread Pudding

The top of the bread should be crispy. This is my bread pudding :)

Serve with lots of maple syrup.

Taro has been suffering from diarrhea since last Sunday.

He has no appetite at all except breastfeed milk. This morning, I baked bread pudding because these all ingredients- bread, bananas and eggs- are his best favourites! Not sure they are suitable meal when we get cold though. Probably it would be better than French Toast. :P

Recently, when he feels happy/ satisfied/ very yumm/, he expresses his feeling like this with tweeting "Pi". I am not sure where he learnt from and why he says "Pi".

It's like a labour who lives in mainland China especially in the summer time! Don't you think so?

Taro's rate:★★★★★

He is fine except his tummy. Just to make sure, I didn't sent him to school today. Diarrhea is some sort of a bioterrorism. We have to stop the chain of virus!

My cold is gradually getting better but still have running nose. Jun also got a same flu and had a fever last night. All my family catches the flu.....

Hope we all will get over soon.

Mantou 饅頭

Since Taro has been suffering from diarrhea, I made Mantou for him from scratch.

Stir fried pork and vegetables with Sweet bean sauce.(回鍋肉）

Chinese Vermicelli Soup

I thought Taro would like the Mantou, but I was wrong. He doesn't want to eat anything except breastfeed milk! I think I always say it many times whenever he gets sick. :(

Here's the Mantou recipe.

Ingredients

200 g all purpose flour (put aside 100g flour to another bowl)

110g water(room temprature)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon yeast

a pinch of salt

Method

Place 100g flour and other all dry ingredients in a bowl.

Add water and stir until incorporated.

Cover the wet towel on the bowl and leave it for 1 hour until bubbles.

Add the rest of 100g flour. Mix everything to a dough.

Turn it onto a floured board and knead until smooth.

Roll the dough into a cylindrical shape and cut into 6 pieces.

Place the dough in the steamer. Leave them for 30 minutes.

Steam them for 15 minutes.

Serve with hot.

It go with any dish. I like to eat it with butter and strawberry jam for breakfast. :)

Nyumen (Japanese Vermicelli)

Made "Nyumen" with various herbs and shred boiled chicken breast.

This Japanese noodle is called "Soumen" made from flour.

For the topping, I used various herbs- coriander, Italian Parsley, Celery, Fennel and Myoga(Japanese herb).

Season with S&P, sesami oil, fish sauce and lemon juice. The soup is chicken broth which was taken out when I boiled chicken.

The taste might remind you a "Pho Ga"which is Vietnamese noodle.

Although I have a stuffy nose, I want to feel exotic flavour. :)

Yumm, indeed.

Chinese Boiled Dumpling（水餃子）

Though I am having a terrible cold, I cannot stop making something.

Made Boiled Dumpling from scratch.

Fennel+ Ground Pork

Celery + Ground Pork

Chopped lotus + Ground pork

I took around 2 hours to make dumpling from scratch. Especially wrapping filling was a tough work. We made 60 dumplings for 3 tastes. Celery, Fennel and Lotus. The first two ingredients fascinated us, especially the flavour. As for the lotus, we can enjoy the texture.

As for the dough, 300g all-purpose flour and 165cc water(room temperature). ( do not add more water.)

Knead the dough until the surface become smooth. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

Basically, for the filling I seasoned salt, pepper, sesami oil, soy sauce, a little bit Sake and ginger juice. Mix together well until sticky. I prefer simple filling, one vegetable and one kind meat.

I had a fever yesterday. Still have a sore throat and runny nose. Today Taro got a fever as well. Probably the same flu.

My immune system is something wrong.

Taro's rate:no mark

He had no appetite at all. Poor Taro-chan. Tomorrow, he is going to challenge staying at a school for 2hours. He must be crying during the whole time. Good luck!

Kamaage Udon

Have a sore throat...... Am staying at home and doing nothing. But it is quite difficult task for me not to do anything. :(

Jun made lunch for me. Just boiled Udon and serve with various topping such as grated radish, ginger, chopped green onion, white sesami, and Umeboshi plus soup. The soup was the leftover of Oden we had last night. Recyle menu. :)

It is said that ginger and green onion make our body warm and good for cold.

After having this meal, my stuffy nose got runny. :)

Am going to take more enough rest today.

Thanks, Jun!

Kaori's rate: ★★★★★