Sauteed pea sprouts always seemed foreign to me. It’s a dish that I love, but one that I’d only eat if I ordered it at a Chinese restaurant. It turns out pea sprouts are really easy to cook and enjoy at home. A few months ago we went to visit bebe E’s paternal grandparents on a day when my mother-in-law, whom we refer to as “Yin Yin” (paternal grandmother in Chinese), made pea sprouts. How lucky for us...
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Although I’m not a fan of plain ol’ white rice, I love my mom’s takikomi gohan or seasoned mixed rice. The primary ingredients my mom uses for her takikomi gohan are chicken, carrots, konnyaku, gobo, and shiitake mushrooms. In Japanese, this type of mixed rice using 5 ingredients is called gomoku gohan. If she has renkon she will add this too, or sometimes use this in place of gobo. There are also times when she...
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Every spring my parent’s lemon tree goes wild and starts producing lemons like you wouldn’t believe. As a child I loved this tree because my brother, Aya-chan and her little brother and I would pick a bushel of lemons and make refreshing lemonade with WAY too much sugar. Over the weekend we visited my parents and I asked my dad to help me pick some lemons for us, including the huge funny shaped lemon you see photographed above....
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Pureed peas are one of bebe E’s favorite green veggies and we go through a 1 pound bag of frozen organic peas in about 2 weeks. Peas are legumes and are rich in protein and fiber. They also contain high amounts of iron and vitamin C. We should all eat more peas! Today was a rainy day and a perfect day to stay indoors and stock-up on some of bebe E’s homemade favorites. We’re almost finished with the 6 month foods section...
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Niku Jyaga is a regular dish that my mom made for us and it was definitely a family favorite when I was growing up. It’s the Japanese equivalent of America’s meat and potatoes. I’m not sure what it is about men and their meat and potatoes but my dad LOVES this dish, and so does bebe dada. It’s light enough however, that it will even suit the palate of young kids and possibly even women who don’t care for meat...
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Asari miso shiru is so good it could be a meal on its own. The last time I made this soup was when we hadtemaki sushi (hand-roll sushi). It definitely goes best with sushi but it’s also great with leftovers. My mom and I had the soup with leftover baked sea bass on Friday for lunch and it turned out to be a good meal. We found fresh katsu asari (manila clams) at Marukai – – they were on sale – – yay! These are...
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I love Costco rotisserie chicken – – – it’s the best thing ever. I use this for so many of our family’s fave dishes. Using pre-cooked chicken cuts out a big step in many of my recipes. Last month I made Chicken Mac Soup using leftover Costco rotisserie chicken that I FoodSaved and was hiding in the back of our freezer. A few days ago we had rotisserie chicken for dinner so I made Chinese chicken salads for...
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I am continuing my mission to cook through “The Baby & Toddler Cookbook” I found at Williams and Sonoma. Carrots are listed as an example of a yellow-orange veggie that is rich in vitamin A for healthy eyes and skin. Vitamin A also helps to fight infection. I’m glad bebe E loves her pureed carrots. :) I bought these organic carrots at Albertson’s out of convenience. I usually buy them at H-mart, Whole Foods, or...
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