Cute Caffe in Nelson, BC

We are on our annual Ski Vacation in Nelson, BC, Canada. The city of Nelson is in middle of nowhere, but their streets are like the ones in San Francisco. Very, very cute town.


We had nice espresso drinks and the best Chocolate Zucchini Bread this morning at "grounded - An organic coffee house" on Vernon street!

Sushi Rice Recipe & Asparagus Rolls!

My daughter wanted to eat Sushi Rolls today, but I didn't want to go out and get proper ingredients for them. I checked our fridge and found Asparagus!


Sushi Rice:

• 1 1/2 cups of short grain white rice
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar (apple cider vinegar works too)
  
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

1. Mix vinegar, sugar, and salt really well and put the mixture aside.

2. Wash the rice with cold water a couple of times in a pot and drain.

3. Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the pot and put it on a burner on high heat.

4. Once it starts boiling, put a lid on, reduce the heat to low.

5. Let it cook for 15 minutes or until the steam stops escaping from the lid.

6. Take the pot off of the burner and let it rest for 10 minutes.

7. Spread the rice in a big bowl, so it will cool quicker. Add the vinegar mixture while the rice is still hot. Mix it with spatula lightly while it cools.


Asparagus Rolls:

I used sushi mat to roll my sushi. It is made out of bamboo sticks and very flexible. If you don't have one, you can use plastic wrap about the size of sushi mat - 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches.

I don't know how to explain this, so I put some pictures.

You put Nori (dried seaweed) on the mat, spread the vinegered rice, and add the main ingredient (steamed asparagus this time).


Lightly hold Asparagus (or whatever you are using), so it will stay in the middle. Roll up the sushi using the sushi mat. Once you are done rolling, you can squeeze the roll while it is still covered in the sushi mat lightly. You take the roll out of the mat, and slice the rolls into 6 to 8 pieces!

Okara Chicken Nuggets with Teriyaki Sauce

I made soy milk today again. So I got more fresh Okara today again. Last Okara dish I tried was a disaster, but I decided to keep experimenting every time I get Okara. Today's experiment actually turned out pretty good!


What I used:

• 1 cup of Okara (Soy Pulp from Soymilk)
• 1 cup of ground Chicken
• 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  

1. Mix all the ingredients together well.

2. Pour the 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a large skillet. Preheat over medium-high heat. Drop the mixture on to the skillet using dinner spoon. (about the size and shape of chicken nuggets)

3. Cook them for about 5 minutes, turn them halfway to brown both sides evenly.

4. When both sides of nuggets are browned, pour well mixed teriyaki sauce ingredients below in to the skillet. Cook and stir until bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minitues more.

Teriyaki Sauce: For the teriyaki sauce I actually used 1/3 cup of left over Sobatsuyu with 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch, but if you don't have it you can use these ingredients:

• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoon sake (optional)
• 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch

Please leave me a comment and tell me how you liked the recipe! Please try out my other Okara Recipes also!

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls, An-Pan, and Cheesy Dinner Rolls

I was inspired by cafenelison's Baked Buns with Red Bean Paste! I tried out making Dinner Rolls stuffed with Anko and with Cheese (not together!). Japanese version's Baked Buns with Red Bean Paste are called An-Pan. They are usually wrapped in a dinner roll type of dough. They turned out pretty good.


I used a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book for a reference and changed it around a little.

What I used:

2 cups of wholewheat flour
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 beaten egg

1. Heat up soy milk until warm. Add yeast to the milk and let it rise for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Mix all the ingredients along with the yeast and milk.

3. Kneed the dough for 6 to 8 minutes till it is smooth and elastic. (I used my KitchenAid mixer for this.)

4. Shape dough into a ball. Place in a greased bowl. Turn once. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double.

5. Punch dough down. Divide dough into 24 balls. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes.

6. Shape dough into your desired shapes. The ones in the photo are butterhorns. I made small wedges and loosely rolled them from the wide ends toward the points.

7. Place them on lightly greased baking sheets. cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size.

8. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until rolls sound hollow. Immediately remove from pan. Cool on wire racks.


An-Pan Recipe: At step 6, Roll each portion of dough to 4 inch circle. Put 2 tablespoons of Anko in the middle. Pull edges and pinch them together and place them pinched side down on to baking sheets. Move on to step 7, then 8.

Cheesy Dinner Roll Recipe: At step 6, put a cheese stick cut into 2 inches at the wide end of the wedges and roll them with it. Make sure cheese is covered all the way around by dough. move on to step 7, then 8.

Please check my other posts for Japanese Desserts also! If you have a chance to try out any of the recipes, please let me know how you liked it.

Cheese Pockets with Wanton Wrappers

I was making Wantons with Okara as part of ingredients for the stuffing. The end result was horrible, we had to go out to eat that night.... I think I have to change the ratio of Okara...

Anyway, I had some left over Wanton Wrappers from it, and decided to wrap some mozzarella sticks and toast them in a toaster oven. (for about 10 minutes) It turned out pretty good. My daughter enjoyed them as her afternoon snack!

French Baguettes!

I was so happy with my pizzas and pita breads; now, I'm trying French baguettes! My wholewheat flour run out, so I used about 1/2 wholewheat 1/2 white flour. It turned out great! I'm getting really into baking now!

Soba Salad with Sesame Dressing!

I am making a Soba Salad today with left over boiled Soba from yesterday. I love eating Soba as a salad with crunchy veggies!

What I used:

• 1 cup boiled Soba noodles
• 1/4 cup halved grape tomates
• 1/4 cup sliced red radishes
• 1/4 cup chopped English cucumber (English cucumbers are cruncher than regular cucumbers)
• 1/4 cup mung bean sprouts
• 1/4 cup sprouted seeds (I used clover sprouts today)
• 2 tablespoons of chopped green onions
  

Recently I started to pour boiling hot water over any sprouts to kill bad germs on it for in case. Sprouts still taste fresh and crunchy this way.

Mix all the ingredients together and eat them with your favorite dressing! Here is how to make my personal favorite - Sesame dressing!


What I used for Sesame dressing:

• 2 tablespoons of Sesame seeds (I used hulled white sesame seeds)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon of Wasabi powder

Mix Sesame seeds and olive oil in a food processor until Sesame seeds are chopped into small pieces. Put the rest of the ingredients and mix them till the mixture is creamy.


Enjoy!

Over baked Pita Bread!

I was baking Pita Breads with left over Pizza doughs today. I started to talk with my daughter's friend after I put the last bread in the oven, then I forgot about it a bit too long.


This is what came out of the oven! All other Pitas went flat after they came out of the oven, but not this over baked one! It kept its shape. My daughter and her friend were so excited to see it. I will have to make some hummus, so they can eat it with this strange looking pita.

Cold Soba and Sobatsuyu - Buckwheat Noodles with Dipping Sauce

This is the very basic way we eat Soba (Buckwheat Noodles) at our house. We usually eat them cold with dipping sauce (Sobatsuyu). We top Soba with shredded Yakinori (Roasted Seaweed) and green onions. You can put Wasabi in your dipping sauce if you like.
1. Boil 4 bunches of Soba (about 16 oz) for 5-7 minutes in a pot full of water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

2. When it's chewy but firm in the center, it's ready. Empty the entire pot of Soba into a strainer. Wash the noodles with cold water. Makes about 4 servings.


How to make Sobatsuyu (dipping sauce):

• 2 cups of Dashi (Japanese Soup Stock)
  
• 1/3 cup of Soy Sauce
• 1/3 cup of Mirin (if you don't have Mirin, you can use 1/3 cup of Sake with 2 Tablespoons of suger)

Mix all the ingredients in a pan, and bring it to a boil. Stop the heat and cool the sauce.