Hooray for you, Mari Sasano.

This is actually something that Aaron improvised once, to amazing effect.

Tilapia is a very affordable (and usually sustainable) fish. I managed to find some filets for cheap at T&T, so I let Aaron make this simple recipe again. It’s so delicious!

He puts the leaves and stems of cilantro and parsley in the blender with a little salt and pepper, olive oil, lemon, garlic, and chili pepper. Blender it up, paste it on the fish, and steam/pan fry. That’s it! This time we had it with some roasted peppers and potatoes for a very healthy, extremely flavourful, quick dinner. There are still a couple tilapia filets in the freezer, too. Do it!

Lots of people who go to Japan invariably come home raving about okonomiyaki, a popular comfort food that is more or less a cabbage pancake. I don’t know if it’s a regional thing, but we never really had it at home. I only remember having it once, actually, and never again. Not really a Sasano thing, I guess.

That’s no reason to try making it at home now. I’m an adult!

I modified a recipe I found on Okonomiyaki World. Since I didn’t have okonomiyaki flour, I used  a cup of regular whole wheat flour and 2/3 cup of water as the base. Traditional recipes seem to call for a little grated yamaimo, which I imagine would improve the texture, but I forgot to get some. Next time. Then I added about 4 cups of shredded cabbage and some chopped green onion and two beaten eggs. This is enough to make two pancakes about a foot across. As the first side was frying, I topped it with slices of veggie bacon for health. In hindsight, I should’ve used regular bacon but less of it. Veggie bacon burns too easily.

After the first side was done, I flipped them over and flipped it over again when the bacon cooked burned. Then I plated them, poured a bit of okonomikayi sauce (Bulldog sauce would probably be fine) and Kewpie mayonnaise. A little sprinkle of katuobushi finished it off. I couldn’t find aonori at T&T, but it sure would’ve been nice.

It’s very simple to make, and quite tasty. Tastier than a cabbage pancake might sound! And if you think about it, it’s a fairly healthy meal. Now when your JET alumni friends start reminiscing, you can shut them up by whipping some up right before their eyes!

As far as Japanese food characteristics, umami gets all the glory.  But nothing says delicious like the distinctive slimy texture of a lot of my favourite traditional foods: tororo and natto, specifically. Much has been made of the legendary stickiness of natto– it’s eaten more as a dare by non-Japanese people than actual enjoyment. Whatever. It’s not even an acquired taste; you either like it or you don’t. It’s the durian of Japanese food. But growing up, it was a very rare treat. Luckily, it has become much easier to get in Edmonton, thanks to T&T Supermarket. I get a bunch and keep it in the freezer.

Anyhow, lately we have been trying to eat healthier : Aaron has been diagnosed with high cholesterol AND borderline Type 2 diabetes! Steel-cut oats is on the menu for most breakfasts these days for its cholesterol-fighting powers, as is barley. I keep a big tupperware of cooked oatmeal in the fridge to make this easier. So one morning in a moment of great hunger and laziness, I decided to try and combine two very healthy and already-made foods. I made the natto in the usual way, with the provided sauce and mustard, a splash of soy sauce, and a raw egg. Poured it over a bowlful of reheated oatmeal. Guess what? IT’S DELICIOUS! Mind. Blown.

The sliminess of the natto combines with the sliminess of the oatmeal, plus the nutty taste of the Scottish staple matches really well with the savoury natto. I know that most of you find the idea disgusting, but for those of you who are natto fans, you really should try this for breakfast sometime.

It’s getting colder now, so it’s time to start making hot pots! One of my favourites is sukiyaki, a hearty salty-sweet meal that’s homey and comforting. My mom gave me a nice clay hot pot a few years ago, but you can use a wok or maybe a sauce pan or something. My mom does it properly and cooks it at the table on a portable burner, but I usually just make it on the stove.

The meat in sukiyaki is a thinly-sliced beef. I like to put in some hakusai (napa cabbage), shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms (so good!), firm tofu, konnyaku noodles, and green onion. All ingredients (except the beef) should be cut into bite-sized pieces. T&T makes all the ingredients very easy to get, which wasn’t the case when I was growing up. Instead of konnyaku noodles, we had to use rice vermicelli, which is just not the same. And forget about getting enoki mushrooms! We are so very lucky these days.

I start by cooking the hakusai in a soup made of about a cup of water (use the mushroom water if you are using dried shiitake), a half cup of soy sauce, a tablespoon of sugar, and a quarter cup of mirin. This is all approximate, of course. Adjust to taste. I don’t like mine too sweet. Add the other ingredients. If you are cooking at the table, you can save the meat for last and cook it to your desired done-ness, shabu-shabu style. I usually just chuck it in at the last minute so I can get it all medium-rare.

All the flavours get rich and delicious. Serve with hot, fresh Japanese rice. Traditionally, you dish out each portion into a bowl of beaten raw egg, which gives everything an added creaminess. However, if you are weird about raw eggs, I understand. Your call. I’ve been eating raw eggs all my life and never had a problem. Either way: so delicious! I’m ready for winter!

Last weekend I made The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever. It involved buttermilk, which only comes in half-litres. I’m a bit lactose-intolerant, so I rarely have or use regular milk, much less buttermilk. But I spotted it in the fridge this morning and didn’t have the heart to just pour it down the sink. But what could I make with it? Something not cake– it was, as promised, a very good cake, but there are only two of us and it took us nearly a week to eat it all. It doesn’t fit in with the long-term plan of being able to fit into my pants. I’ve gained a little weight over the past year, but I’d rather not go out and buy new pants if I can just exercise a little and use the old ones.

Anyhow, pancakes? Nope. I used all the eggs last week and forgot to get new ones. But biscuits are a nice breakfast that don’t require eggs. Buttermilk biscuits! I cracked the ol’ Joy of Cooking to get a basic recipe. It’s really fast and easy.

A cup and 3/4 of flour, a teaspoon of salt, two teaspoons of baking powder and a half a teaspoon of baking soda are mixed together, then about a quarter cup of cold butter is cut into it, pastry-style (I should’ve used the food processor!). Then a cup of buttermilk is mixed in, then the dough is turned out and very briefly kneaded. Roll it out, cut into circles and bake in a 450F oven for 10 minutes.

Fresh out of the oven, biscuits are sooo good. I served mine with jam and a glass of soy milk. Haha!

Some of us around here are donair addicts. It’s terrible, because we live not even a block away from a donair place. Some days, there’s nothing like a donair that fills your stomach like a sack of cement, sopping with sweet sauce of course.

After a whole year of last-minute donair meal plans, I had to stop. I need to take a break. So now I do falafels instead. It’s light(er), and possibly vegan (if you do tahini instead of tzaziki). And here’s the thing: you can make it at home!

A quick wander through the new neighbourhood Superstore yesterday led me to find not only a falafel mix, but organic falafel mix. An hour and a half later (what? I wanted to check out the new Joe Fresh stuff.) I had the makings of a pretty nice, inexpensive, more-or-less healthy dinner.

I just followed the instructions on the box: mix appropriate amounts of falafel mix with the corresponding quantity of water, let it sit 10 minutes. The form into little patties and fry in oil. Easy. I stuffed some whole grain pitas with about three falafel patties, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and a schmear of tahini. Delicious! And it took something like 15 minutes to make. Mmm. I bet I have enough for another round tonight…

This is for the guy on Twitter who asked me for smoothie recipes: I don’t have one.

But I love them! That $6 smoothie from the mall is good, but let’s face it. SIX DOLLARS. SMOOTHIE. Criminal! They’re so simple, too. You don’t need a recipe. It’s more conceptual: you need fruit and you need liquid. You’ll be drinking about a cup and a half of it, so maybe try half fruit, half liquid, then blend? It’s funny because normally I love recipes! Certainty feels good! But in this case, you have to do the thing where you do what FEELS right. You can be like a celebrity chef and BAM!

I’ve been using frozen berries (You know those 5 lb boxes of blueberries you can get at the farmers market? Now that I have a deep freeze, we are ON IT.). I like yogurt for the creaminess, maybe a little scoop of sorbet if you like. Experiment! I don’t add any sweetener, but you could if you wanted to. It’s a good way to get those nutritional supplements in, too. Flaxseed oil or something. Wheat grass?  I don’t know! Just keep an eye on measurements, otherwise you end up adding a little of this and that you have way too much (can it be frozen? I bet it can).

When it’s cold and gloomy and I feel terrible about myself, I need to eat Japanese food. Most people think of the very expensive stuff when they think of Japanese food, but there is a world of typical Japanese things that are everyday, home-cooking comfort foods. Of course, I love sushi and tempura and all that too, but this is the stuff that my mom made for us growing up. It’s unglamourous, but hey. I’m not judging when you dump a can of baked beans in with your Kraft Dinner.

Glico curry is a sweet, unspicy (even the Hot kind has no bite to it whatsoever), creamy bastard cousin to anything that might legitimately call itself a curry. But what do you expect from a company that is better known as the maker of Pocky? It’s also cheap. For about $4, you can make enough curry sauce to feed a family. Or one person, over the course of several days (Aaron doesn’t like Glico Curry!).

Follow the instructions. It’s not difficult. I usually just put in potato, onion, carrot, and pork. Anything more than that seems overcomplicated, though I usually double the quantities. Something seems off about only putting one medium carrot, one onion, and one potato! Four is better. And twice as much meat, preferably kind of fatty. You’re boiling everything, so a little fat keeps it from getting too boiled-meaty. Serve with hot rice. My mom usually has some pickled ginger on hand (the savoury kind, not the kind served with sushi), but I always forget.

Sweet, gravy-like Glico Curry! So comforting! I can (and do!) eat it for  whole week!

It’s an expensive cut of meat, but compared to ordering it at a restaurant, it’s a bargain. Less than a diner steak sandwich, in fact. I bought a nice rack as a treat from Serben Free Range at the Alberta Ave Farmers Market, a little intimidated, but was surprised how easy it was to make a very swanky dinner for two for under $20.

First, I prepared some potatoes for a side. I peeled and sliced thinly a couple of very ordinary russets, then arranged a layer in a buttered pie plate. Salt and pepper. Then a layer of sour cream and some shredded cheese left over from taco night. Then another layer of potatoes. Then more seasonings and cheese. I threw that into a hot oven (450F) while I prepped the rest of the meal.

The lamb was already Frenched, but it doesn’t seem hard to prepare something whole. I’m a little jealous, actually. All that “scrap” meat could be made into a stew or something. But when it’s already prepared, there’s not much to it. Salt and pepper the rack and give it a sear on both sides in a cast iron pan. Then remove the meat, spread some dijon mustard on the meaty side and pat on a crust. I used a mixture of bread crumbs (I used panko, since that’s what I have), finely-chopped  fresh rosemary, minced garlic and a little olive oil to moisten. You’re supposed to cover the bone ends with foil, so I did. Then it all goes in the oven for 12 to 20 minutes. At the same time, I roasted some asparagus, and covered the cheesy potatoes with foil so it doesn’t burn.

I prefer my meat on the rare side, I removed the rack after 12 minutes and let it rest for 10 more. I think it could have used a couple more minutes, but I was really hungry! And it was so delicious that it hardly mattered. Impress your friends! Rack of lamb!

When we moved into our house last summer, one common question was: “What can we get you for a housewarming?” The answer? Easy. A blender/food processor. It is the gateway to many pureed delights, including whipped potatoes and soups.

Soup! With a blender, you can make a creamy soup that has no cream at all in it! Share it with friends! Freeze some of it for later! You don’t even need a recipe! Chop an onion (or a couple leeks, or shallots, if you’re fancy) and sweat it in some olive oil in a pot for a bit. I roasted a butternut squash the other night. Can two people eat an entire butternut squash at one sitting? No! So put it in soup! You can also use carrots, broccoli, celery, whatever (but you’ll need to add some potato for creaminess). My squash was pre-cooked, and so you can pre-cook your veg too (Boil it? Roast it? Sure!) or just simmer it with the onion in about a litre of stock (Home-made? Canned? Bouillon cube? Sure!) until it’s all soft. Then: BLENDER! That is it. Add some more liquid if you like. Add herbs if you like.

If you, like me, are very lazy about eating your vegetables, a pureed soup is a great way to drink your servings. Note that this soup is also completely vegan and gluten-free. NO EXCUSES!

Soup!