Serving Leftovers with Flair

When the weekends arrive, we are usually left with a few leftovers. Rather than re-heating the same and serving them up, I try to be creative, or should I say recreative. Last week, we had a fridge that included spiced, sauteed chicken filling for tacos, cherry tomatoes, rice, pasta and a pantry full of the usual suspects. Wanting to make some form of Mexican rice, the internet seemed to suggest that onion, cumin, garlic and beans were the integral ingredients. So, I sauteed some onions, added cumin, threw in the chicken, sprinkled garlic powder, a can of black-eyed peas, cherry tomatoes, chilli powder and finally the rice. As a side dish, opened up a can of refried beans and heated it up. I grabbed a handful of cilantro (coriander) from the backyard, chopped it up and threw it on the rice before turning it off. Note on cilantro, do not overcook, and do not cover the dish after adding it. This is my mother's advice when cooking Indian food. 'Cause if you do, it turns bitter.

A family favorite is a re-hash of leftover pancake batter. The one-cup flour recipe I detailed last week shouldn't leave a family of four with leftovers, but doubling the recipe might... So, my solution is to make my version of Okonomiyaki - a type of Japanese pancake with vegetables and a tasty dipping sauce. Please see link for an authentic recipe: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/holidaytraditionalfood/r/okonomiyaki.htm

Okonomi literally means "as you like it" - quite Shakespearean... Yaki means fried. It usually comes with a thick dark sauce and some mayo and is covered with fluffy bonito flakes - flakes of dried tuna. My version lacks all the above, except for the Shakespearean title. It originates in Osaka, which is where I had my first Okonomiyaki.

Here is my recipe for leftover pancake batter:

1. Make pancake batter from "Lemony Pancakes"

2. Saute one of the following veg combos-
*sliced cabbage and carrots
*leeks and ham
*onions and spinach
with garlic powder, soy sauce,salt, and pepper

3. Prepare sauce of soy, sesame oil, and Chiu Chow Chilli oil (or any Chinese chilli oil).

4. Add sauteed vegetables to batter and mix well. Make small pancakes and serve with sauce.

It's a great way to get kids to eat vegetables! I hope you enjoy it.

Cinnamon

All Things Sweet and Sakura

My husband and I are in Japan to celebrate my birthday. What better way to celebrate than a foodie trip to Tokyo! It's only day two, and I've already discovered a number of great food experiences.

We're very fortunate that our trip coincides with the cherry blossom season, known as hanami. Whilst I was expecting to see all of Tokyo awash with the pink and white water colours of the sakura, I wasn't prepared to also find them in my tea cup and on my plate. The first experience was at a bakery in Ginza, where we were handed samples of sakura tea in small paper cups whilst we browsed the fragrant breads and cookies. The next was at lunch at a well-known soba (thin buckwheat noodle) restaurant, where we found sakura-flavoured soba as a seasonal special. I'd describe the taste as subtle bitter candy (without the sweetness). It was interesting, but I preferred the normal zaru soba, which was perfectly al dente and delicious dipped cold into a soba sauce.

Today was also a day for sweets! It started off with matcha (green tea powder) cookies that we bought in the bakery. These were crunchy and yet so creamy somehow! I imagine it's the result of just the right amount of butter and the fact that green tea powder is so fine. Later, at lunch, we had matcha ice cream with shirata masendai (a ball of rice pastry) and red bean. At dinner, although we didn't have dessert, the sweetness managed to sneak in early, in the form of sukiyaki (thinly sliced beef and vegetables cooked in sweet soy sauce on a hot plate) and shabu shabu (beef and vegetables again, but boiled in a hot clear broth, and dipped in a sweet sesame sauce). Where do I even start?! The sesame dipping sauce contained two kinds of sesame (I imagine black and white), peanuts, sake, ponzu soy sauce and milk. I was previously familiar with beef paired with peanuts, as in beef satay with peanut sauce, a Singaporean/Malaysian staple. But what surprised me was how much sesame complemented beef. Maybe Cinnamon (when she next makes her famous satay sauce for me) might add a little sesame paste in the mix? :)

Love

Truffle (happily munching on matcha cookies)