Tangy Lentil Salad with Dill & Pepperoncini

INGREDIENTS

Salad

• 1 ½ cups black beluga lentils

• 1 bay leaf

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

• 2 cups grated carrots (about ¾ pound or 5 to 6medium carrots, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with a grating attachment)

• ¾ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley

• ¼ cup (⅓ ounce) fresh dill leaves, tough stems removed, torn into small pieces

• ½ cup chopped celery (about 2 ribs)

• ½ cup thinly sliced green onion

• ½ cup chopped pickled pepperoncini pepper

• Optional cheese: ½ cup tiny cubes of havarti, havarti dill, mild cheddar, or crumbled feta

Tahini-dill dressing

• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• ¼ cup lemon juice

• ¼ cup (⅓ ounce) fresh dill leaves, tough stems removed

• 2 tablespoons tahini

• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (scale back or omit if sensitive to spice), to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To cook the lentils: Fill a medium-to-large saucepan with water, leaving several inches of room at the top. Bring it to a boil over high heat.

2. Meanwhile, sort through your lentils for debris, then rinse your lentils in a fine-mesh sieve under running water until the water runs clear. Set aside.

3. Once the water is boiling, add the rinsed lentils. Add the bay leaf and salt. Set the timer for 16 minutes. Reduce the heat as necessary to prevent overflow and to maintain a lively simmer.

4. Meanwhile, make the dressing in a food processor: Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, dill, tahini, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes and several twists of black pepper. Blend until smooth, pausing to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as necessary. Set aside.

5. Once your timer has gone off, use a fork to scoop out a few lentils and test for doneness (careful, they’re hot). Your lentils are done when they are pleasantly tender throughout (not mushy or falling apart) and taste nicely earthy (undercooked lentils tend to taste somewhat metallic). If your lentils aren’t fully cooked yet, retest every 1 to 2 minutes until they are. Once cooked, strain off all the excess water.

6. Pour the lentils into a medium serving bowl, and discard the bay leaf. Pour in all of the dressing, and stir to combine. Add the grated carrots, parsley, the remaining dill, celery, green onion, and pepperoncini peppers. Wait to add the optional cheese until the lentils are just warm (not hot enough to melt the cheese).

7. Stir to combine. Season to taste with additional salt (for overall flavor), red pepper flakes (for heat) and/or black pepper. If the salad isn’t tangy enough for your liking, you could add a tablespoon more lemon juice or chopped pepperoncinis.

8. This salad is ready to serve, though it tastes even better after a 20-minute rest. It keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 4 days.

Quinoa & Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing

INGREDIENTS

Salad

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed in a fine-mesh colander

• 2 cups water

• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cupscooked chickpeas

• 1 ½ cups roughly chopped baby spinach

• ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (or additional parsley)

• ⅓ cup chopped green onion (green parts only)

• ⅓ cup crumbled feta

• ⅓ cup toasted pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)

Lemon-tahini dressing

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste

• 2 tablespoons tahini

• 1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To cook the quinoa: Combine the rinsed quinoa and the water in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 15 minutes, reducing heat as time goes on to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove from heat, cover, and let the quinoa rest for 5 minutes, which gives it time to fluff up.

2. Meanwhile, toast the pepitas in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and making little popping noises, about 5 minutes. Transfer them to a large serving bowl to cool for a few minutes (we’ll add more to the bowl in a minute).

3. To make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt and several twists of freshly ground pepper. Taste, and add up to 1 more tablespoon of lemon juice and/or more pepper, if necessary (I like my dressing pretty zippy for this salad, so I used the full 4 tablespoons).

4. Once the quinoa is ready to use, add it to the large bowl. Add the chickpeas, spinach, parsley, cilantro, green onion, feta and toasted pepitas. Drizzle all of the dressing over the salad, and toss to combine. Serve immediately, or let it cool and refrigerate for later. This salad keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.

Autumn Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped

• 1 tablespoon curry powder, plus a bit more for serving

• 1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inchpieces

• 1½ pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 small), peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces

• 8 cups chicken broth, best quality such as Swanson

• 1¾ teaspoons salt

• 1 tart yet sweet apple (such as Honeycrisp or Fuji), peeled and chopped

• 2 tablespoons honey

• Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Do not brown. Add the curry powder and cook a minute more.

2. Add the carrots, sweet potatoes, chicken broth and salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat until vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the apples and honey. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, cool the soup slightly, then puree in a blender in batches. Be sure to leave the hole in the lid open, and cover with a kitchen towel, to allow the steam to escape.) Season to taste with salt, pepper and more honey if necessary. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with more curry powder if desired. (Note: As the soup sits, it will thicken up so you may need to add a bit of water to thin it out.)

Gaspaccio

• about 4 large or 9 small ripe red tomatoes

• 1 small Vidalia or sweet yellow onion, peeled and cut into rough 1″ chunks

• 1 small cucumber, peeled and seeded

• 1 medium red bell pepper, cored and seeded

• ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, plus extra for garnish

• 1 large garlic clove, peeled

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To prepare your veggies, place your blender bowl, a medium serving bowl, and a small bowl on the counter. Core the tomatoes and cut them into rough 1″ chunks. Reserve about ¼ cup of the juicy tomato seeds and place them in your small bowl (we’ll use them as a garnish later). Add half of the tomato chunks to the blender, and the other half to your serving bowl. Add all of the onion chunks to the blender.

2. Cut off about one-fourth of the cucumber. Finely chop that piece and place it in the small bowl. Slice the rest of the cucumber into rough 1″ chunks, and divide them between the blender and the serving bowl. Cut off about one-fourth of the bell pepper, finely chop that piece, and add it to the small bowl. Slice the rest of the bell pepper into rough 1″ chunks and divide them between the blender and the serving bowl.

3. To the blender, add the basil, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and about 10 twists of black pepper. Securely fasten the lid and blend, starting on low and increasing to high speed, until the mixture is completely smooth, about 2 minutes.

4. Pour the contents of the serving bowl (the remaining chunks of tomato, cucumber and bell pepper) into the blender. Fasten the lid and blend for just 10 to 20 seconds, until the ingredients are broken up into small pieces. Stop there, or blend a little longer if you prefer smaller pieces.

5. Add a small pinch of salt to the small bowl of garnishes, stir, and store it in the fridge. Chill the soup for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.

6. Before serving, taste, and add additional salt (I sometimes add another ¼ teaspoon) and/or black pepper if necessary. To serve, divide the soup into small bowls or cups, and top with the reserved cucumber and bell pepper. Top with a few tiny or torn basil leaves and a light sprinkle of pepper. Leftover servings keep well, covered and refrigerated, for 3 to 4 days.

MAKE IT QUICK (SHORTCUT/SMOOTH SOUP METHOD): You can just cut the tomato, onion, cucumber and bell pepper into 1″ chunks, place them in the blender with the remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth. Chill for at least 2 hours, add more salt or pepper if necessary, and garnish your soup with black pepper and a few tiny or torn basil leaves.

Soba noodles with lime, cardamom and avocado

INGREDIENTS

• 200g buckwheat noodles

• 12 green cardamom pods

• 30g basil leaves, picked, roughly chopped

• 30g coriander leaves, picked, roughly chopped

• 70g pistachio or pine nuts, roughly chopped

• 3 limes: finely grate the zest of 3 then juice 2 to get 1/4 cup (60ml); slice the final lime into wedges to serve (remove the skin)

• 1/4 cup (60ml) groundnut oil (substitute grapeseed oil)

• 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

• 3 ripe avocados, cut into 1/2-cm slices

• 1/4 tsp nigella seeds or Urfa chilli flakes (optional), to sprinkle

METHOD

1. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet (they vary from brand to brand). Once cooked, refresh under cold running water and set aside in a colander to drain well.

2. With the flat side of a knife, crush the cardamom pods to open them up. Scrape the seeds out into a pestle and mortar and discard the outer husks. Crush the seeds – you should get about 1/2 tsp – and place in a large bowl with the noodles. Add the basil, coriander, pistachios, lime zest and juice, oil, chilli, avocado and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix everything together well, then divide among four bowls. Spoon any avocado, nuts and herbs left in the bowl on top. Sprinkle over the nigella seeds or chilli flakes, if using, and serve with a wedge of lime alongside.

My Dairy Free Birthday Cake

Today I translated my go to Birthday Cake recipe. I've probably made this cake more than 100 times for my friends and families because you only need eggs, flour and sugar.

My twins were allergic to dairy so it worked perfectly using soy cream or coconut cream to decorate. If using coconut cream to decorate, It's important that the coconut cream doesn't have guar gum. I use this one.

My Birthday Cake

INGREDIENTS

4 Large Eggs (at room temperature) if using small eggs please try to add half an egg

90g Sugar (I use regular white sugar but if children were making it alone, it may be easier to use powdered sugar)

70g Flour (sieve the flour beforehand)

Whipping Cream 生クリーム (milk fat content 35%) 150ml - 300ml (if it says vegetable based 植物性 on the package it doesn’t mean veggie it means cheap cream with additives - you can use cashew cream, coconut cream, etc… if you are a veggie)

9g sugar

You can make it extra moist by brushing some syrup (1tbs Strawberry Jam and 1tbs water, boiled and cooked down)

Rolled cake tray is better if it's completely square (This recipe is made for 28cm x 28cm rolled cake tray) But I don't have one so I use 28cm x 38cm oven tray. Please make it 1.5 times of the portion in the recipe. You will also need a hand held electric mixer.

You’d only need these 3 ingredients that you probably have at home and it works perfectly with any kind of cream for the children with dairy allergy.

You’d only need these 3 ingredients that you probably have at home.

First, thaw the eggs. When the egg white is cut off, add sugar and mix gently.

Put this bowl of egg and sugar mix over a bowl of hot water without burning yourself - be careful for the hot water to not get into the bowl of egg and sugar (if you are making with the kids, not to worry about this method, you can make it without using the hot water) and start beating the eggs.

While whipping at the highest speed, this mixture becomes warm. When it reached to the level of our body temperature, remove it from the hot water and beat again.

It's OK to stop beating when the egg liquid slowly drops like a ribbon and piles up, leaving a clear mark.

Mix in the flour little by little sprinkle the flour from the low position using a sieve and mix quickly with a rubber spatula so that the flour is quickly dissolved. (repeat this process at least 6 times.)

When you finished mixing in the flour, then mix from the bottom part with a rubber spatula while turning the bowl toward you with one hand. It’s like lifting the bottom part of this mixture up while turning the bowl.

Keep mixing using this method. Try to drop some of this mixture and if it still leaves a mark, it’s not ready yet.

It’s ready if it drops into streaks and disappears immediately. (I will take 3-5 minutes to of mixing).

* The amount of egg froth that has been whipped should be reduced to about half by now. This is the process is to convert he large bubbles created by the hand mixer into small bubbles that are difficult to collapse. If this is not done carefully, the cake won’t be super fluffy.

Pour the mixture into a baking sheet. Make sure the edge of the tray is also covered by enough dough. Use thin plastic like bread dough cutter or just anything you have in the house like Japanese Shitajiki to level the surface of the dough. Tap the back of the plate with your hand to gently remove air bubbles.

Bake in a preheated (180 degree) oven for 10-12 minutes. After baking, drop the tray from a height of about 20 cm and remove steam. (To prevent the dough from shrinking)

When the steam is gone but while it’s still hot, take the cake out, then flip the plate upside down using it as a lid while cooling the cake (preventing the dough from drying). You can also use food wrap instead.

Remove the paper from the cake. Place a piece of baking sheet and normal paper like photocopying paper connected to the size of this cake) under the dough and do it carefully.

Add sugar to the fresh cream and whisk until it makes a thorn when you lift the whisk from the cream. Spread the fresh cream over the cake. The front part should be thick and the back part should be thin. Try to put less cream at the end of the sponge so when you roll, cream won’t come out.

Put a rolling pin under the paper and lift them together. Try to roll the dough tightly to make a core.

If the cream sticks out, remove it with a rubber spatula and wrap it up to the end. Lightly press with your hands to shape.

Wrap it in a cling film/wrap over a piece of paper and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. If possible, it is best to leave it for more than half a day.

FOR THE TOWERED CAKE

Use the same recipe as above but we use an oven tray of (27cm x 38cm)
Cut it into 6 strips and cut 1 of the strips in half.

Cut the fruits into small sizes. Thinly slice the strawberries for decoration and set aside.

Add sugar to fresh cream and whisk for 8 minutes until it makes a thorn when the cream is lifted.

Apply 60% of fresh cream evenly over the cake. The remaining fresh cream will be used to decorate the top and the side.

After rolling the first strip, continue to roll using the second strip so that there is no gap between them.

After you finished rolling, smooth the surface. Flatten the surface by smoothing out the fruits. The end of the sponge can be cut diagonally as shown in the photo to make it more beautiful for the end of the roll.

After adjusting the shape by hand, fix it with cut paper.

Repeat the same process. Bottom layer 2.5 strips Second bottom layer 2 strips Third layer from bottom 1 strip and Top layer half a strip.

Keep them in the fridge for 1-2h until the shape is settled.

Put the cake on top of each other and decorate!

Kale Salad

CHOPPED KALE SALAD

INGREDIENTS

• 3 bunches destemmed kale, finely chopped (keep the stem for another fish like smoothies)

• 1 cup carrots, finely chopped or grated

• 1 cup red beets, finely chopped or grated

• 1 cup sharp parmigiano cheese, grated (optional)

• 3/4 cup pine nuts (or any nuts you have I love this organic pine nuts)

• 1/4 cup strawberries or dried figs, chopped

• Optional: combo of pear, goat cheese, sunflower seeds and red beets

• Dressing

• 1/3 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1/2 tablespoon mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Remove the stems from the kale and finely chop. Finely chop all of the vegetables. Coarsely chop the nuts. Toast the pine nuts in a pan over low heat for a few minutes until golden brown, being careful not to burn.

In a large salad bowl, combine everything.

In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the ingredients for the dressing, then shake well. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and toss to coat.

Chickpeas

HOW TO COOK CHICKPEAS

In Japan canned chickpeas can be quite pricey and I don’t like to produce more packaging waste so I make them from dried chickea beans. You can buy them at Middle Eastern Food stores or Indian Food Stores.


Soak Overnight

Prep 5 min

Cook 45 min

Makes 600g

• 250g dried chickpeas (You can buy 1kg bag but I love this Organic Chickpeas 500g bag)

• 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (I use this bag or this Arms and Hammer 6kg bag for cooking and cleaning)

• Salt

1. The night before, put the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with cold water at least twice their volume with a teaspoon of baking soda.

2. Leave to soak overnight.

3. The next day, drain the chickpeas.

4. Place a medium saucepan over high heat and add the drained chickpeas and half a teaspoon of baking soda.

5. Cook for about three minutes, stirring constantly.

6. Add the water and bring to a boil on a medium-high heat.

7. Cook, skimming off any foam and any skins that float to the surface. The chickpeas will need to cook for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the type and freshness, sometimes even longer.

8. Once done, they should be very tender, breaking up easily when pressed between your thumb and finger, almost but not quite mushy but still hold their shape, then drain.

9. Drain the chickpeas.

10. You should have roughly 3 2/3 cups now.

You can store them in the fridge or in the freezer in batches.

Eleven Madison Granola

Granolas are so expensive in Japan. I find some in Tokyo but often it’s overprices compared to how much it costs in other countries so I normally make my own.

Eleven Madison BEST GRANORA

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups rolled oats (We get this Organic Oats from Alishan or Bob’s Redmill’s Organic Oats)

• 1 cup unsalted nuts (almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, etc…) Chopped into the size of preference

• 1 cup unsweetened coconut chips (optional)

• ⅓ cup unsalted seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, etc…)

• 1 teaspoon good quality salt

• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

• ⅓ cup maple syrup　

• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

• ¾ cup dried fruits (figs, apricots, cherries, strawberries, etc…)

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 150 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, nuts, seeds and salt.

In a small saucepan set over low heat, warm the sugar, maple syrup and olive oil until the sugar has just dissolved, then remove from heat. Fold liquids into the mixture of oats, making sure to coat the dry ingredients well.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and spread granola over it. Bake until dry and lightly golden, 30 to 40 minutes, stirring granola a few times along the way.

Remove granola from oven, and mix into it the dried fruits. Allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to a storage container. Makes about 6 cups.

Japanese Pancake

VEGETARIAN

This morning, I woke up longing for some normality. I wish I could eat Bill’s in Odaiba pancakes but with the whole situation, we made some at home.

If you want to be healthy, you can mix in Organic Wholewheat Flour, Soy Bean Flour, Rice Flour, Coconut Flour (be careful with coconut flour you can't use more than 30% in total since it absorbs too much water) and use better sugar like Maple Syrup, Honey, Coconut Sugar, Dried Fruits etc... to sweeten.

Japanese easy 2 bowl pancakes (you don't need special tools).

• 小麦粉(薄力粉)
  160g Flour I use this flour or Bob’s Redmill Gloten Free Baking Flour for cakes but any flour would do. This Japanese Gluten Free Pancake mix has no nasties just soy flour, rice flour, sugar and baking powder.

• 砂糖
  50g Sugar

• ベーキングパウダー(BP)
  4g Baking Powder This aluminium free BP is around a few hundred yen per tin.

• 卵1個
  1 Egg

• 牛乳卵と合わせて160〜170g
  Milk - when you weigh together with the egg around 160-170g
  Each Egg is around 50g so around 110g-120g of milk (You can opt for Soy Milk as well)

• マヨネーズ
  2〜5g Mayonaise (This Vegan Soy Mayo can be used as well)

1. Mix all the dry ingredients (no need to sift) in one bowl.

2. Mix Egg and Milk and whisk with a fork or a whisk in another bowl.

3. Mix everything together

4. Prepare a pan (heat it on lower medium heat)

5. Put oil on a pan

6. Drop the dough on a pan (don't touch the dough after dropping)

7. Cook on lower medium heat

8. When it starts to bubble a bit, flip it over, put the rid on and continue to cook until it's cooked (around 4-6min? depending on a pan) you know it's not raw if a fork comes out clean haha.

9. If you are not sure, start cooking small pancakes, it's hard to mess up tiny pancakes
   
   The key is the mayo. It's important to put the rid on after flipping. If all fails, just cover them up with powder sugar. What’s your favorite breakfast?
   
   Bon appetite!

Hummus

HUMMUS

Making Hummus in Japan. I can’t find ready to eat hummus in Japanese supermarkets so I make my own. Grab some crusty bread or pitta to mop up the fried aromatic oil with this hummus.

QUICK HUMMUS with the ingredients you can get in Japan.

Where can I buy Tahini in Japan? Japanese supermarkets don’t sell them.

I hear this all the time. I make my own in a smoothie maker mixing my favorite goma from onizaki and sesame oil.

But when I’m busy I use good old Japanese Tahini Nerigoma (around 600yen for 300g jar). Nerigoma can be found in every supermarket so it’s really easy to buy it.

Our Tokyo Creative Moms member Olfa has recommended me this store http://www.nascohalalfood.com in Shin Ookubo just north of Shinjuku and they sell authentic hummus http://www.nascohalalfood.com/product.php?id_product=508 .

If you are buying a tinned chickpeas, can sizes are fairly standard and about 400g/15 ounces which yields 250g (1 1/2 cups) of beans once drained.

HOW TO COOK HUMMUS

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tins of chickpeas or you can make your own or 1 1/4 cup dried chickpeas (how to cook chickpeas)

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons tahini (light roast or nerigoma ねりゴマ)

• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (or I use this organic lemon juice)

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed

• 6 1/2 tablespoons ice cold water (IMPORTANT)

• Salt (I love this Fleur de Sel)

• Good quality olive oil, to serve (optional)

PREPARATION

1. Place the chickpeas, ice cold water, lemon juice, garlic, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and oil from tahini (it’s normally separated in Nerigoma) in a food processor and process until you get a stiff paste.

2. Then, with the machine sill running, add the tahini paste but if you are using a small blender to make this, you can add tahini by hand until you get a very smooth and creamy paste.

3. Transfer the hummus to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

4. If not using straightaway, refrigerate until needed.

5. Make sure to take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving.

6. To serve, top with a layer of good quality olive oil. This hummus will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days.

HUMMUS WITH GINGER AND CINNAMON

INGREDIENTS

• 300g freshly cooked chickpeas (see the recipe)

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 small garlic clove

• 2 lemons

• Flaked sea salt

• 60ml olive oil

• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced (optional)

• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced

• 2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned (optional)

• 5g coriander stalks, cut into 4cm lengths, plus 2 tbsp picked leaves (optional)

1.Put the first four ingredients for the hummus in the small bowl of a food processor with the lemon peel, two tablespoons of lemon juice, half a teaspoon of flaked salt and a tablespoon of water.

2. Blitz for about two minutes, until you have a smooth paste (you may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times).

3.For the fried aromatics, heat the oil in a medium pan on a medium heat, then gently fry the chilli, garlic, ginger and cinnamon for five minutes, stirring every once in a while, until the garlic is just starting to brown.

3. Add the coriander stalks and fry for a minute or two more, until the garlic is a light golden brown and the chilli aromatic. Transfer the solids to a plate with a slotted spoon (reserve the oil) and sprinkle generously with flaked salt.

4. Spoon the hummus on to a large plate, creating a large well in the centre with the back of a spoon.

5. Spoon the oil into the well and drizzle over the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice. Top with the fried aromatics and fresh coriander, and serve.

For ingredients like chickpea flour I get some online.

If I see Sumac at Nisshin Supermarket or get a pack on amazon.

I make my own zatar using this recipe.

Dukkah is also lovely with homemade bread!

Okonomiyaki

Serve 2-3 people

Ingredients

Cabbage 200g

Vegan cheese, Halloumi, Meat etc… 100g

2 eggs (or no eggs)

2-3 tablespoons of tempura crumbs (tenkasu)

1 tablespoon pickled ginger

DOUGH

flour 80g

Grated sticky potato 160g

1 pack of dashi

Light soy sauce Soy sauce 1/2

Okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, green laver, picked ginger to add on top

Instruction

Put BOLD font ingredients in a large bowl and stir with chopsticks until it is soaked in air.

Let it sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Cut the cabbage into coarse strips. (Length 5 cm x width 3 mm) Cut the protein of your choice

Mix all the ingredients gently with a large spoon so that air is included from the bottom.

<In the case of a frying pan> Oil thinly over low heat and drop the dough thickly without spreading. Shape it into a round shape with a spatula, put cheese/protein on it, and bake it slowly.

When you flip it over, do not push it down from above, but slowly bake it over low heat and gradually increase the heat. Flip it over again and make it crispy on medium heat.

Gyoza

26 Gyoza

Minced Pork or Hard Tofu (Momen) 100g

Chinese Chives 1 packet

Cabbages 3 big leaves

Ginger 2 Tbsp

Garlic 2 Tbsp

Oyster Sauce 1 Tbsp

Sake 1 Tbsp

Soy Sauce 1 Tbsp

Sesame Oil 1 Tbsp

Salt 1/2 Tsp

Pepper 1/2 Tsp

For the Skin

All purpose flour 2 Cups

Boiling Water 2 cups

Cornflour some to prevent from sticking

Preparation

Coarsely chop chives and cabbage, grate the ginger, finely chop or press garlic, and put in a bowl with minced meat or tofu. Includes all the water that comes out when chopping the veggies. Do not drain the vegetables, just knead them in. This water is the secret of juicy dumplings

Put all the seasonings in a bowl and knead well for about 5 minutes until it becomes sticky.

Let it sit at room temperature

☆ If you are making the flour wraps ☆ Put flour in a bowl and sprinkle with boiling water. Roughly mix with chopsticks. When the temperature reaches the point where you can touch it with your fingers, knead it with your hands until it becomes smooth. Divide the smoothed dough into two pieces, wrap them in plastic wrap, and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Make a rod with a diameter of about 3 cm and cut it with a kitchen knife so that it weighs about 10 g. (10g-large size 8g-normal size)

Use a rolling pin to make it as thin and round as possible. Layer the stretched dough while lightly applying potato starch to prevent it from sticking.

Apply water around and wrap the ingredients with skin.

Heat the frying pan on high heat. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of oil and lay the gyoza. Pour 100cc of hot water over the gyoza. Cover and cook on high heat. Estimated cooking time is 5 minutes.

Moisture will evaporate in about 5 minutes, so sprinkle oil on top if you’d like.

Strawberry mille crêpe

We made the last pancake really big and used a bowl.

200g flour

20g sugar (can be maple syrup or no sugar) 400ml of milk (any kind of milk)

2 eggs

After mixing we let it sit in the fridge for 1h to settle then made crepes.

My Favorite Carrot Cake

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups flower (315g)

• 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)

• 1 cup light or dark brown sugar* tightly packed (200g)

• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 cup canola or vegetable oil (235ml)

• 1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter melted (113g)

• 4 large eggs room temperature

• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

• 3 cups grated carrots (340g)

• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans optional (125g)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened (113g)

• 8 oz cream cheese softened (brick-style, not spreadable) (226g)

• 4 cups powdered sugar (500g)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare two 8-inch pans or whatever you have in your kitchen by lining the bottoms with parchment paper and lightly greasing and flouring the sides.

• In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

• Add your canola oil and melted butter and stir well (batter will be pretty stiff and thick at this point, I usually use an electric mixer or my stand mixer to combine everything nicely).

• Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.

• Stir in vanilla extract.

• Stir in carrots and nuts (if using) until ingredients are well-combined.

• Evenly divide carrot cake batter into prepared baking pans and bake on 350F (175C) for 40 minutes (toothpick inserted in center should come out mostly clean with only few moist crumbs).

• Allow carrot cake to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert onto cooling rack to cool completely.

• Allow cake to cool completely before covering with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy, well-combined, and lump-free.

• With mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until ingredients are completely combined (be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula).

• Once your cake has cooled completely, cover with frosting.

Notes

Either light or dark brown sugar will work fine, dark brown sugar will make your cake slightly more moist and rich, but light brown sugar works perfectly if you don't have dark on hand. I use around 4 large carrots. I always peel my carrots before grating. Make sure to use the small shred of your box grater. Another way I like to prepare my carrots is to use the "shred" setting on my food processor (don't over-do it though, or you'll have carrot juice!). A single batch of my cream cheese frosting recipe will cover this cake, but because I like a lot of frosting and will usually pipe decoration on the top of the cake, I generally increase the recipe by 50% or even double it.

Vegan Croissant

Le Cordon Bleu has announced the launch of a vegan croissant at their London café - and it's a permanent addition to the menu. Croissants require time, patience, and A LOT of rolling. I want to share plenty of tricks based on what I’ve learned from all my mistakes. I started working on croissants around 24 years ago as a teenager when I could't find any good really croissants in England. I studied many recipes, tested them, tweaked what I found necessary, and played with this dough for years. The croissants need to be golden brown, extra flaky, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside it does take dedication. Good thing is you don't need any equipments and you don't need any special ingredients. If you want to make it easier you can use vegan puff pastry as well. You can add Vegan Nutella to make pain au chocolat and it’s also fun to put in pistachio cream. My friend’s favorite is rose jam and raspberry jam with vegan cashew cream inside.

 Ingredients

• 2 ½ tsp active dry yeast

• 1 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk (cannot be unsweetened)

• ¼ cup caster sugar

• 3 cups pastry flour

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 cup vegan butter (used Miyokos)

Instructions

1. Heat the almond milk until luke warm.

2. Pour one cup of the almond milk into a bowl. Pour the active dry yeast on top of the almond milk and mix for a couple seconds. Now let the almond milk and yeast set for approximately five minutes, or until the yeast begins to foam. The yeast must foam in order for the croissants to turn out. If the yeast does not foam try again.

3. Put the milk-yeast mixture into a bowl. Pour the rest of the almond milk along with the caster sugar and mix briefly to combine.

4. In a separate bowl, sift the flour to remove any lumps. Slowly add the flour to the almond milk-yeast mixture. The dough is ready when it looks soft and sticky. The amount of flour can vary depending on the temperature and humidity of the room. The amount of flour we usually end up with is somewhere between 2 ¼ cups and 2 ½ cups. After the dough appears soft and sticky, add the salt and mix to combine.

5. Sprinkle a quarter cup of the flour onto a clean surface and prepare a plate that is dusted with about 1 tbsp of flour. Dump the dough onto the floured surface and kneed for approximately two minutes. Then work the dough into a ball. If the ball starts to fall slightly, the dough was made correctly.

6. Place the dough on the plate and cut an X into the top of the dough. Sprinkle another tablespoon of flour on top of the dough and place it in the fridge. Let the dough rest in the fridge for at least one hour.

7. While the dough is resting, take the butter and put it a bowl. Beat the butter until it is completely smooth. This should only take about a minute or two. Now beat in 2 tbsp of the flour. Mix until uniform in texture.

8. Put the butter on the floured surface and shape it into a 4 inch x 4 inch square. Wrap the butter-flour mixture in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to cool. The butter-flour block should be hard to the touch when you take it out of the fridge.

9. Once the dough has been in the fridge for an hour, remove it and put it back on the floured surface. Now, get ready to roll out this dough is some semi-complicated ways.

10. You’re going to roll out your dough so that the center has enough room to hold that 4x4 butter square. Roll your dough into a large square, much larger than the butter block.

11. Place the butter block in the center of the dough like shown below and fold in each of the petals. It should look like a nice little present.

12. Take your rolling pin and lightly smack the butter-dough wrap. Make sure the butter is evenly distributed throughout the dough. Now roll the dough into an 18 by 10 rectangle.

13. Now we’re going to make our next fold. Imagine the dough in three sections. You’re going to make the fold so that the end result looks like a thick square, not a long rectangle. Fold the first third of the dough over, following by the second third. Lightly roll the dough to make sure the layers stick together.

14. Pop the dough back in the fridge for an hour and a half.

15. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it back out into another long rectangle. Do another tri-fold and set that dough back into the fridge for a minimum of six hours.

16. When the six hours are up, take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out into a rectangle that is ten inches long and as wide as you can roll it out. Cut the dough into triangles that have a base of approximately four to five inches, depending on how large you want your croissants. Take the triangles and slightly stretch them out, just so they’re a couple inches longer. Starting from the widest side of the triangle, roll the triangles into crescent shapes.

17. Transfer the croissants to a parchment lined baking sheet and brush each of them with the rest of the almond milk. Let the dough sit out until the croissants double in size, this should take approximately two hours.

18. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Bake the croissants for ten minutes at this temperature. Then drop the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and bake for fifteen minutes or until golden brown on top.
    

    To make it Vegan Pain au Chocolat please make your own Vegan Nutella
    
    Ingredients

    • 3 cups raw or roasted unsalted hazelnuts

    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

    • 1/2 tsp sea salt

    • 2/3 cup dairy-free dark chocolate (chopped // see notes for cacao version)

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and add hazelnuts to a baking sheet in a single layer. If raw, roast for a total of 12-15 minutes. If already roasted, roast for 8-10 minutes just to warm the natural oils and loosen the skins. This will make it easier to blend into butter.

    • Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Then transfer to a large kitchen towel and use your hands to roll the nuts around and remove most of the skins (see photo). You want to get as much as possible off because it yields a creamier Nutella. But it doesn’t have to be perfect!

    • Leaving excess skin behind, add hazelnuts to a food processor or high-speed blender. Blend on low until a butter is formed - about 8-10 minutes total - scraping down sides as needed.

    • In the meantime, heat the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave in 30 second increments. Set aside.

    • Once the hazelnut butter is creamy and smooth, add the vanilla and salt and blend well. Then add melted chocolate a little at a time and blend again until well incorporated. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt or vanilla if desired.

    • If your Nutella isn’t sweet enough, add stevia to taste, or 1-2 Tbsp maple syrup or agave (amount as original recipe is written). NOTE: Just know the more liquid sweetener you add the firmer/stiffer the Nutella will get, so add sparingly.

    • Transfer to a clean jar and store at room temperature for everyday use for 2-3 weeks or more.

    Notes

    *If you don’t want to use melted chocolate, sub cocoa powder. Once the nut butter has formed, add 3 Tbsp cacao or unsweetened cocoa powder, vanilla, and sea salt and puree. Once incorporated, add 1-2 Tbsp maple syrup, agave, or honey if not vegan. Or - our preferred - coconut sugar to taste. PLEASE NOTE: The more liquid sweetener you add, the firmer/stiffer the Nutella seems to get. Blend until creamy and smooth.
    *Recipe as written yields roughly 2 1/2 cups nutella spread.

    
    If, at any point, the dough becomes too warm… stop. Stop what you’re doing and place the dough back in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

    Laminating dough is the process of folding butter into dough many times, which creates multiple alternating layers of butter and dough. When the laminated dough bakes, the butter melts and creates steam. This steam lifts the layers apart, leaving us with dozens of flaky airy buttery layers.

    We’re going to laminate the dough 3 times, which will create 81 layers in our croissants. Yes, 81! Let me paint that picture for you.

    Start with dough, butter layer, dough = 3 layers

    Roll it out and fold it into thirds = 9 layers

    Roll that out and fold it into thirds = 27 layers

    Roll that out one last time and fold it into thirds = 81 layers

    So we’re only laminating the dough 3 times, but that gives us 81 layers. When the croissants are rolled up and shaped, that’s one 81 layer dough rolled up many times. So when you bite into a croissant, you’re literally biting into hundreds of layers.

Non Vegan Version
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons; 60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling/shaping

• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 Tablespoon active dry or instant yeast

• 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) cold whole milk

Butter Layer

• 1 and 1/2 cups (3 sticks; 345g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 2 Tablespoons (16g) all-purpose flour

Egg Wash

• 1 large egg

• 2 Tablespoons (30ml) whole milk

1. Read the recipe before beginning. Make room in the refrigerator for 2 baking sheets.

2. Make the dough: Cut the butter in four 1-Tablespoon pieces and place in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment (or you can use a handheld mixer or no mixer, but a stand mixer is ideal). Add the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Turn the mixer on low-medium speed to gently combine the ingredients for 1 minute. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the milk. Once all of the milk is added, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat the dough for at least 5 full minutes. (If you don’t have a mixer, knead by hand for 5 minutes.) The dough will be soft. It will (mostly) pull away from the sides of the bowl and if you poke it with your finger, it will bounce back. If after 5 minutes the dough is too sticky, keep the mixer running until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

3. Remove dough from the bowl and, with floured hands, work it into a ball. Place the dough on a lightly floured silicone baking mat lined, lightly floured parchment paper lined, or lightly floured baking sheet. (I highly recommend a silicone baking mat because you can roll the dough out in the next step directly on top and it won’t slide all over the counter.) Gently flatten the dough out, as I do in the video above, and cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and allow the covered dough to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

4. Shape the dough: Remove the dough from the refrigerator. I like to keep the dough on the silicone baking mat when I’m rolling it in this step because the mat is nonstick and it’s a handy guide for the exact measurement. Begin flattening out the dough with your hands. You’re rolling it out into a rectangle in this step, so shaping it with your hands first helps the stretchy dough. Roll it into a 14×10-inch rectangle. The dough isn’t extremely cold after only 30 minutes in the refrigerator, so it will feel more like soft play-doh. Be precise with the measurement. The dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working the edges with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle.

5. Long rest: Place the rolled out dough back onto the baking sheet (this is why I prefer a silicone baking mat or parchment because you can easily transfer the dough). Cover the rolled out dough with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and allow the covered dough to rest in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight. (Up to 24 hours is ok.)

6. Butter layer (begin this 35 minutes before the next step so the butter can chill for 30 minutes): In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and flour together until smooth and combined. Transfer the mixture to a silicone baking mat lined or parchment paper lined baking sheet. (Silicone baking mat is preferred because you can easily peel the butter off in the next step.) Using a spoon or small spatula, smooth out into a 7×10-inch rectangle. Be as precise as you can with this measurement. Place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill the butter layer for 30 minutes. (No need to cover it for only 30 minutes.) You want the butter layer firm, but still pliable. If it gets too firm, let it sit out on the counter for a few minutes to gently soften. The more firm the butter layer is the more difficult it will be to laminate the dough in the next step.

7. Laminate the dough: In this next step, you will be rolling out the dough into a large rectangle. Do this on a lightly floured counter instead of rolling out on your silicone baking mat. The counter is typically a little cooler (great for keeping the dough cold) and the silicone baking mat is smaller than the measurement you need. Remove both the dough and butter layers from the refrigerator. Place the butter layer in the center of the dough and fold each end of the dough over it. If the butter wasn’t an exact 7×10-inch rectangle, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to even out the edges. Seal the dough edges over the butter layer as best you can with your fingers. On a lightly floured counter, roll the dough into a 10×20-inch rectangle. It’s best to roll back and forth with the shorter end of the dough facing you, like I do in the video above. Use your fingers if you need to. The dough is very cold, so it will take a lot of arm muscle to roll. Again, the dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working it with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle. Fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter. This was the 1st turn.

8. If the dough is now too warm to work with, place folded dough on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before the 2nd turn. I usually don’t have to.

9. 2nd turn: Turn the dough so the short end is facing you. Roll the dough out once again into a 10×20-inch rectangle, then fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter. The dough must be refrigerated between the 2nd and 3rd turn because it has been worked with a lot by this point. Place the folded dough on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before the 3rd turn.

10. 3rd turn: Roll the dough out once again into a 10×20-inch rectangle. Fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter.

11.  Long rest: Place the folded dough on the lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. (Up to 24 hours is ok.)

12. At the end of the next step, you’ll need 2 baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. The dough is currently on a lined baking sheet in the refrigerator, so you already have 1 prepared!

13. Shape the croissants: Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured counter, roll the dough out into an 8×20-inch rectangle. Use your fingers if you need to. Once again, the dough is very cold, so it will take a lot of arm muscle to roll. The dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working it with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice the dough in half vertically. Each skinny rectangle will be 4-inches wide. Then cut 3 even slices horizontally, yielding 8 4×5-inch rectangles. See photo and video above for a visual. Cut each rectangle diagonally to make 2 triangles. You have 16 triangles now. Work with one triangle at a time. Using your fingers or a rolling pin, stretch the triangle to be about 8 inches long. Do this gently as you do not want to flatten the layers. Cut a small slit at the wide end of the triangle, then tightly roll up into a crescent shape making sure the tip is underneath. Slightly bend the ends in towards each other. Repeat with remaining dough, placing the shaped croissants on 2 lined baking sheets, 8 per sheet. Loosely cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and allow to rest at room temperature (no warmer! I suggest just keeping on the counter) for 1 hour, then place in the refrigerator to rest for 1 hour or up to 12 hours. (Or freeze, see freezing instructions.) I prefer the shaped croissants to be cold going into the oven. When you poke the dough with your finger, it will slowly bounce back. That means they are ready to be baked.

14. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).

15. Egg wash: Whisk the egg wash ingredients together. Remove the croissants from the refrigerator. Brush each lightly with egg wash.

16. Bake the croissants: Bake until croissants are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking. If croissants show signs of darkening too quickly, reduce the oven to 375°F (190°C).

17. Remove croissants from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes before serving. They will slightly deflate as they cool.

18. Croissants taste best the same day they’re baked. Cover any leftover croissants and store at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw on the counter or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm up to your liking.

Original Recipes are from veganosity.com and sallysbakingaddiction.com and minimalistbaker.com

Muhallabieh

Muhallabieh is a classic and simple Middle Eastern pudding, similar to a blancmange in France or the Italian panna cotta. It is a very traditional dessert in Syria, and is often served in homes and restaurants.

it’s a very frugal pudding that is be made with ingredients you’ll probably already have in your cupboards – milk, sugar and cornflour – but it is then turned into something exotic with a flavoured syrup and pretty garnishes. the original syrup recipe uses a mix of bay and vanilla which I love but i’ve been using rosewater and orange blossom alternatives (just add a few drops when you take the syrup off the heat).

Bergamot, orange blossom, rose water – these are all scents that I really enjoy cooking with. The intoxicating smell of a tiny drop of orange blossom water can transport you to a million different places. It’s traditionally used in Middle Eastern cooking, mainly in desserts, but has also found its way to Europe and is used to flavour madeleines. In Morocco it is also used as a cleanser to wash your hands before you enter a house or take tea – how lovely! Needless to say, this is a Middle Eastern-inspired pudding.

Muhallabieh (serves 6)

• 50g cornflour

• 500ml full fat milk

• 200ml water

• 80g caster sugar

• 25g desiccated coconut

For decoration

• 25g pistachios (nibs or roughly chopped)

For garnish

• rose petals

For the syrup

• 60g caster sugar

• 60ml water

• 1 bay leaf

• ¼ vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

1. Start with the pudding, whisk the cornflour with 100ml of the milk to make a smooth paste. pour the remaining milk, along with the water and sugar, into a medium saucepan and heat gently so the sugar melts.

2. When the milk mixture begins to release steam whisk in the cornflour paste. Continue whisking until the mixture boils and thickens so it resembles thick custard.

3. Remove from the heat and pour into six small bowls or glasses. cover the top of each pudding with cling film to prevent a skin forming (the cling film should touch the top of the pudding) and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours or until set.

4. For the syrup, place the sugar, water, bay leaf and vanilla pod and seeds into a small pan and heat gently until the sugar melts. remove from the heat and allow to cool.to serve, top each pudding with a tablespoon of syrup and a sprinkling of coconut, pistachios and rose petals.

Hiyashi Chuka

Recipe of cold Chinese noodle
For 2 people

Boil 200 g of spaghetti with 2 tablespoons of Baking Soda and salt.
Make the sauce while boiling.
★ Soy sauce 50 cc
★ Vinegar 60 cc
★ water 70 cc
★ sugar 20 g
★ salt 1 knob
★ Sesame oil 1 tsp
Put everything in a pan until sugar is dissolved and let cool.
Add Eggs Tomatoes, Cucumbers (whatever you like)a

I normally drizzle a bit of quality sesame oil, sesame and some seaweed.

Olive Oil

I love olive oil so much that I got to design the packaging for these bottles.

Iron Rich Food

veganrecipeclub.org.uk and southerninlaw.com have great advice!