needing the veggies

I've been feeling sluggish.  The annoying part is that I've been running and watching what I eat, so I didn't know what to do!  Then I started thinking about when I feel the best.  It's when I eat what I think my body is meant to eat.  Japanese food.

I was watching the Martha show and got really hungry when she was making this recipe.  I'm generally a purist when it comes to Japanese food, but this one seemed too good to pass up.  And then I picked up one of my favorite books, "Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat", and was inspired to get back to my roots.  And though this recipe isn't really Japanese, I wanted it.  I made some adjustments to make it more my style, of course.  And I was in heaven.  Then we had yoplait's new Greek yogurt, honey, and fresh strawberries for dessert.  They aren't kidding in those commercials when they say that one healthy decision leads to another.

Soba salad

Coarse salt
8 ounces snow peas (or sugar snap peas), trimmed, strings removed
12 ounces soba noodles
2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil, plus extra to brush on tofu slices
2 medium carrots, about 1/2 pound, peeled and shaved into thin strips using a vegetable peeler
3 inch piece of daikon (Japanese white radish), peeled and shaved into thin strips using a vegetable peeler
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
4 scallions, thinly sliced crosswise
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 t fresh lemon (or if you can find it, yuzu) juice
4 large perilla leaves, cut into a chiffonade
1 block firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch thick rectangles, then into triangles

1. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water until cooked through, but still slightly firm to the bite.  Drain, set aside to cool.
2. In a small pot, blanch the snow peas.  Drain, set aside.
3. Place the tofu slices on a baking sheet, brush with a little sesame oil, and place under the broiler until slightly crispy on top, about 7 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, combine the salt (to taste), 2 T and 1 t sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce, and lemon juice.
5. In a large bowl, toss together the noodles, carrots, daikon, sugar snap peas, perilla, scallions, and tofu.  Pour over the sauce and toss to coat.  Serve at room temperature or cold.

christmas eve-eve

My cute sister and her family started a family tradition a few years back where they watch one of our family favorites, "Scrooged" (vintage Bill Murray--can't get much better than that!) and get Chinese take-out for Christmas eve-eve dinner. If you've seen the movie, you'd understand. Back during my single days they always invited me, and even after I was married and lived only and hour away. But the last couple of years, since we live in a totally different part of the country, my husband and I have decided to continue that tradition for ourselves. But we don't know too many good Chinese take-out places around here, so we make our own. And this year we decided on some dim sum. Spring rolls and gyoza (pan-fried/steamed and deep fried). And I think I ate my weight in dim sum. It was delicious.

The food before it was cooked:
ohhhhhhh .... and after. mmmm.
All spread out on the table, ready to be eaten.
It was glorious! If you want my gyoza recipe, look here. And here's a basic spring roll recipe:

makes 9~12 spring rolls

spring roll skins (9~12, depending on how much or how little filling you put inside)

about 1/4 lb ground pork
1/2 t sake
1/2 t soy sauce
pinch of corn starch

1 scallion, minced
1/2 can bamboo shoots, cut into thin strips or chopped coarse
2 cabbage leaves, cut into thin strips
3 dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted in warm water, and sliced into thin strips
1/4~1/3 C super thin rice noodles, soaked in warm water until softened

vegetable or canola oil for deep frying, and for sauteing

"glue":
1.5 T flour
1 T water

cooking sauce:
1 T sake
1 T soy sauce
1/2 t sugar
salt & pepper to taste
1 t sesame oil

1. In a small bowl, combine the ground pork with the 1/2 t sake, 1/2 t soy sauce, and pinch of corn starch.
2. In a wok or deep skillet, stir fry the pork in a little oil until cooked through. Add the bamboo shoots, cabbage, mushrooms, and cook until cabbage softens. Add the noodles and sauce and cook until evenly coated. Place in a bowl and set aside.
3. Clean out the wok and fill with about 1/3 with oil. Heat oil to about 320°~330°F (160°~165°C). Meanwhile, wrap the spring rolls.
   
4. Prepare the "glue" in a small bowl. To wrap the spring rolls, place the wrapper in front of you, with a corner facing you. Place a small amount of filling close to the corner closest to you, in a line-shape. (parallel to your shoulders, if that makes sense) Fold the corner closest to you over the food, roll over once, then fold in the 2 side corners and keep rolling. Using your finger, place a little of the flour glue into the corner furthest from you (the only corner showing at this point) and finish rolling and make sure the glue sticks and seals. Repeat with all of the rolls.
5. Deep fry the spring rolls, about 3~4 at a time, in the oil until golden brown. Let drain on a wire rack over a cookie sheet lined with paper towels. Serve warm with hot rice.
   

quick take-out at home

I didn't have much time to make dinner before our youth activity tonight, and since we are leaving for Utah in a couple of days, I had to try to use up some ingredients. So, the only thing I could think of doing was pan-fried noodles. I know, it's weird. I can't seem to enjoy cooking pasta, a usual staple in our home, but I LOVE Panda Express-type food. Anyway, this was a really quick and easy (with simple ingredients) take-out at home dish. Try it out sometime! Hopefully you can find fresh Chinese egg-noodles, but if you can't, I think angel hair pasta should be ok.

Quick Pan-Friend Noodles
serves 4
1/2 lb fresh Chinese noodles
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
2~3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces at a diagonal
2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 leeks (or 4 scallions), cut into 1/4 inch slices on a diagonal, and carefully washed
3 garlic cloves, crushed
soy sauce
2 T sake, optional
1 T mirin, optional
salt and pepper to taste
canola oil
sesame oil, optional

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large wok, heat about 1 T oil over high heat. Add the garlic cloves and quickly stir-fry until browned and crispy. Remove the garlic from the wok. Add half of the chicken, and let the brown on both sides and remove. Add a little more oil and repeat with remaining chicken.
2. Set chicken aside on a plate. Add another tablespoon of oil and cook carrots and celery. Season with a little salt and pepper. Add sake and mirin, if using, and cook until both evaporate. Add leeks and stir-fry for about 1 minute, and set aside on a plate.
3. Meanwhile, place noodles in a large bowl and pour boiling water over the noodles and drain after 1~2 minutes, when they are barely tender but still slightly firm. Add one more T of oil to the hot wok, and place the noodles flat in the wok to get slightly crispy. Holding the handle firmly, flip the noodle right over and let it get a little crispy on the second side. Add the chicken and vegetables back in the wok and, using cooking chopsticks if possible, break up the noodles and toss all ingredients. Add a little soy sauce to taste. Drizzle a little sesame oil on top, if using, and serve!
   

birthday

For my sweet baby girl's birthday, we had a picnic at a park for lunch. She got a simple ham & cheese sandwich from Target and some whole milk chocolate milk. But Blake and I had some fancier sandwiches. I had a turkey and brie with whole grain mustard on a baguette and Blake got their Italian on ciabatta. It had hard salami and ham and pesto and all sorts of good stuff, a lot like a mufuletta. If you have a super target close by, you have to try these sandwiches. If not, try making them yourselves. I think turkey and brie is my new favorite sandwich combination.
For her birthday, my girl got a new kids' book called "Bee-bim bop" so I thought it would only be fitting to make it for dinner. For her I chopped up the beef really fine so she wouldn't choke. She loved it!And for dessert I made cupcakes. I thought after her birthday party last Saturday I should take it easy on the sugar intake. I was so tempted to have more than one. But don't you worry, I was a good girl and held back.

happy birthday to me!

When Blake got home from work he headed to the kitchen and made me some pad thai like last year (but this time with wide noodles. Yum!) and my FAVORITE panna cotta topped with blueberries and pink grapefruit, a super unique and tasty combination, for dessert. I'm so spoiled! Thanks, sweetie. I love you!

summer salad

I made some potstickers/gyoza for my friends recently, and I called my sister to see what I should serve with it. And she suggested making a simple cucumber salad with shredded poached chicken, and I thought that was genius. So I did just that, and it was a hit! So for my dear friends who were at dinner that night, here's a really vague recipe. Adjust things to your liking.

Asian Cucumber & Chicken Summer Salad
Serves 4~6
1~2 English or 3~4 Japanese cucumbers, sliced VERY thin (if you can't find English or Japanese cucumbers, use American cucumbers, but scoop out the seeds and peel the skin before slicing)
1 vidalia onion, sliced VERY thin (you can use any other onion, but remember to soak or rinse a little longer if you choose not to use a vidalia)
1~2 chicken breasts, poached, shredded and cooled
1/2 head of nappa cabbage, savoy cabbage, or even lettuce would work great (optional) (I used arugula in this photo and it was tasty, so really, almost any green would work well, I think), sliced fairly thin
1 carrot, grated (optional)
1/2 block of silken tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes (optional)
2 T toasted white sesame seeds
2 T sesame oil
2~4 T rice vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 T soy sauce

1. In a small bowl, place the thinly sliced onion, and cover with water. Let soak for a good 15 minutes or so. If you don't have that kind of time, place in a colander and rinse under cool water for a couple of minutes. This takes down a lot of that harsh onion-ey flavor.
2. Place all ingredients in a large bowl, and toss to combine. Adjust flavors to your liking.
   

happy memories

When I was a kid, there was a restaurant up the street from our house that I always looked forward to going to. From what I remember it was a steak house, and I love steak so that's all I ever ordered there. But my mom always got the amazing Korean dish, bi bim bop. And every time she got it and would give me a taste, I felt defeated in knowing that yet again she won the best dish of the night award. Well, in the last few years I've gone to several different Korean restaurants and never had bi bim bop that was quite as good as what I remember. And last week my sister made it for her family and said it was fairly easy, so I decided it was time that I create it for myself. It was going to be my new "I need to perfect this recipe" project. I went from website to website, looking up different recipes, and what I realized was that everyone has their own way of making it. So I kind of just did things my own way, just made sure it was very Korean.

And oh my gosh I am so glad I did! It was perfect. I'm sure I can still improve on it, but I was sure satisfied. It was as good as I remember, and it was actually really easy. So please try to this at home. You won't be disappointed.

Bi Bim Bop
serves 2
Just a note: usually this dish is served with a fried egg on top, which I LOVE, but if you aren't a hug fan or runny fried eggs, you can scramble and egg or make a simple scrambled egg pancake and slice it really thin, like I did for Blake's (below).2 eggs
1/2 lb steak, sliced very thin
1/2 lb bean sprouts
1 carrot, grated lengthwise
1/2 english cucumber, grated lengthwise
4 oz baby spinach
1 scallion
soy sauce
sesame oil
1 tsp granulated sugar
Korean barbecue sauce*
toasted sesame seeds

2 servings of white rice

1. Marinate the steak in the Korean barbecue sauce for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, blanch the bean sprouts, drain, and place in a bowl. Add 1 t soy sauce, 2 t sesame oil, 1 t granulated sugar, and 2 t sesame seeds (those are very flexible measurement. Feel free to do it to taste). Toss to combine, and set aside.
3. Boil the spinach until barely wilted, drain, and place in a bowl. Add 1 t soy sauce, 1 t sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Toss to combine, and set aside.
4. In a large frying pan heated to medium-high, place the beef after shaking off excess sauce. Cook though, about 4~5 minutes. Don't over cook or it'll be tough. Place in a bowl and toss with sesame seeds.
5. Fry the eggs, over-easy or to desired doneness.
6. In each bowl, place the rice. Place each vegetable on top of the rice, side by side, in a wedge pattern in a circle. Place the beef in one section also. Top with the egg. (if you're serving the egg scrambled, I think it looks better with the beef on top, but that's just preference)

* If you can't get Korean Barbecue sauce, here's the recipe:

4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp rice wine,
1 tbsp chopped green onion
1 tbsp crushed garlic
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame seed
black pepper to taste

Christmas Eve Eve Tradition

My sister and her family have always watched "Scrooged" on December 23rd and ordered Chinese take-out (if you've seen the movie you'd understand), and I've always joined them. But this year I'm obviously a little too far away to make it, so we decided to continue that tradition ourselves. Except I don't know any good Chinese places around here, and I didn't want to risk ordering from a gross place on such a special occasion;) so I decided to make some cashew chicken myself. It was so easy and so tasty that I can't wait to make it again!

Cashew Chicken
Serves 4
1-1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 T cornstarch
salt and pepper
2 T vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, minced (NOT grated this time)
8 scallions, white and green parts separated, each cut into 1 inch pieces
2 T rice vinegar
3 T hoisin sauce
3/4 C raw cashews, toasted; or roasted salted cashews (much cheaper option, usually)
white rice, for serving

1. In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with some salt, pepper, and the cornstarch until coated.
2. In a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 T of the oil over medium-high heat. Cook half of the chicken, tossing often, until bronwed, about 3 minutes. Transfer to plate.
3. Add the remaining chicken to the skillet along with the garlic and the white parts of the scallions. Cook, tossing often, until the chicken is browned, about 3 minutes. Return the first batch of chicken to the pan. Add the vinegar; cook until evaporated, about 3 seconds.
4. Add the hoisin sauce and 1/4 C water; cook tossing, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the scallion greens and cashews. Serve with white rice.
   

This one's for Marie

... if you still like Thai food.

Tonight I decided to make some coconut shrimp and chicken soup. I got the recipe in my Everyday Food cookbook again, but I added chicken and fish sauce and used chicken broth instead of water. I also would add cilantro next time I make this. Of course, if you would rather, use a full pound and a half of chicken or shrimp instead of combining the 2. I just liked the combination. (Plus, chicken is cheaper than shrimp, but I definitely still wanted the shrimp in there) It was a really easy and tasty soup. Perfect for a freezing cold night like tonight.

Coconut Shrimp and Chicken Soup
serves 4 1 T vegetable oil
1 T grated peeled ginger
2 cloves garlic cloves, minced or grated
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
3 carrots, peeled, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
1 can coconut milk
1 T cornstarch
4~6 oz rice noodles
3/4 lb large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
3/4 lb chicken breast, sliced
2 C low-sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 C water
1 T fish sauce
juice of 1 lime
salt
4 scallions, thinly sliced
cilantro, finely chopped

1. Fill a large bowl with hot water and add the noodles. Let sit until softened (about 10~15 minutes), drain, and set aside.
   
2. In a 3.5 quart or larger saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken on both sides until almost cooked through and lightly browned. Add carrots and cook until they start to wilt. Add ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add coconut milk, chicken broth, fish sauce, and water. In a small bowl combine corn starch and 2 T water; add to the pot, and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium, add shrimp; stir until shrimp is opaque, about 1 minutes. Add noodles, remove from heat and add lime juice; season with salt. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with scallions and cilantro. Serve immediately.
   

Exciting New Recipe

As I was blog surfing, I came across a recipe that fascinated me and I thought I should give it a try. I was nervous to break the news to Blake because he's not too huge of a fan of "weird" food, but he said he trusted me, and even said he was pleasantly surprised and liked it a lot more than he expected. So here is my new favorite sandwich.

Asian/French Sandwich?
Makes 2 servings

1 baguette or artisan loaf
1/2 block of extra firm tofu, sliced into 4 pieces
1/4 C soy sauce
3 T rice wine vinegar
1/2 t chili oil (or as much or as little as you want)
fresh ground black pepper
2-3 crushed cloves of garlic
1-2 large carrots, grated lengthwise
1 long seedless cucumber, sliced thin lengthwise
1 large handful of cilantro
mayo or herb aoli (optional)

1. In a large container, pour the soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil, black pepper, and garlic. Stir to combine. Place tofu slices and let marinate for 10-15 minutes.
   
2. Slice the bread to seperate top from bottom and then cut into 2 large sandwiches. Toast bread, if you want.
3. On one half of the loaf, place the mayo, 2 tofu slices cucumber, carrots, and cilantro. Cut the sandwich in half to make it easier to eat and serve.
   

Day 20

I made my "wannabe Asian" again, but this time I added grated fresh ginger and thinly sliced nappa cabbage. I thought it worked a little better. If you want the recipe, you can check out my original attempt at generic Asian-American from July 26.

Day 2

For dinner tonight, we made quick Asian Lettuce wraps.

Every Friday I make a menu for the week and we go grocery shopping. We don't necessarily decide what meal we eat on what day so that we can have what we feel like. (This started when I was pregnant and my food mood changed every 5 minutes) Well, today was an especially cranky day for our little princess so we had to eat something fast, and since we actually went to the gym today and worked out, I thought it would be good to have something semi-healthy, too. Makes your workout feel even more worthwhile. Anyway, with all those factors thought through, we decided to make our favorite Quick Asian Lettuce Wraps that Blake made for my birthday last year, and we made on Kumo's birthday this year on May 22.

Good Wannabe Asian

So I am not usually a fan of generic "Asian Food", but I found a recipe for Asian Sesame noodles using whole wheat spaghetti. And though I was a little skeptical of the spaghetti, everything else looked pretty good (well, for the most part), and it was healthy, so I thought I'd just try it out. I took out a lot of things and added a lot to make it more authentic, and I actually think this is a winner meal! So this is my own Americanized Asian dish ... if you can believe it.

Oh, and I used 1/2 of a rotisserie chicken just because I am making something else with it later this week, but by all means use the whole chicken if you want.

Peanut Sesame Spaghetti
makes 1 lb of pasta
sauce:
1/2 C chicken broth
3 T creamy peanut butter
2 T fish sauce
3 T soy sauce
2 T mirin
1 T chili garlic sauce

1 lb whole wheat spaghetti

1~2 carrots, grated
bean sprouts (as much as you want)
4 scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces (or thinly sliced, if you like)
1/2 rotisserie chicken, shredded
3 T toasted white sesame seeds
juice of 1 lime
cilantro

1. Boil pasta to al dente with salted water. (probably about 8 minutes).
2. In a sauce pan, heat the sauce ingredients together and whisk until peanut butter is dissolved. Set aside.
   
3. Toss pasta, sauce, vegetables, lime juice, cilantro, and sesame seeds. Garnish with some more sesame seeds and cilantro. Serve hot or cold.
   

Happy 1st Birthday Kumo!

In honor of our beloved family pet, Blake and I decided we should celebrate with a meal that he could kind of enjoy with us. So we made lettuce wraps and omitted the lettuce for Kumo. Super easy and can be done in about 30 minutes. And, for your low-carb people out there, there only carbs you get in this meal comes from the water chestnuts, red bell peppers, and hoisin sauce (I think ...). So be comforted in knowing that you can still eat decent food once in a while;)

Happy birthday Kumo!

Lettuce Wraps
serves 4 1 head of Iceberg lettuce

1 lb ground chicken
3 T hoisin sauce
2 T soy sauce
2 T water
5 cloves of garlic, grated
3 t fresh ginger, grated
sesame oil
vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 (8 oz) cans water chestnuts, drained and chopped fine
8 scallions, chopped
7 dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted and chopped

1. Cut the core of the head of lettuce out and gently run water through the leaves. That will make it easier to pull the leaves apart. Try to keep the leaves intact. Pat dry and set aside.
2. In a measuring cup, combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and water. In a small bowl combine garlic, ginger, and 2 t sesame seed oil.
3. Heat a little vegetable oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken, breaking up into clumps, until just cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a bowl.
4. Add a little more oil to the wok and add bell pepper, water chestnuts, scallions, and mushrooms and cook until peppers soften a little, about 3 minutes. Clear the center of the skillet and add garlic mixture and cook until fragrant, just a few seconds. Add chicken back to the wok and add sauce and stir until sauce thickens a little. About 30 more seconds.
5. Spoon the chicken mixture into a lettuce leaf and serve.
   

Some Random Updates

Now that I have basically settled in to our new home, I have finally found my recipe notebook and these old photos of recipes I need to include. So it'll be a little bit random, but bear with me. They were all created at totally different times.

Lemon Panna Cotta
4-8 servings (depending on the size of ramekin)

My sister taught me how to make Panna Cotta when I was in high school and it has always been one of my favorite desserts. And one day, she made lemon panna cotta for me when I went over to her and house I couldn't believe how much better it was (if that's possible!), so I decided for Christmas Dinner to try to make it myself. It was a lot easier to adjust than I thought. You can't get much better than lemon and cream. Perfect combination.

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 C heavy cream
1/3 C sugar
2 T cold water
1 C half and half
2 t pure vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon (I recommend using a microplane grater)
juice of 1 lemon

*berries or whatever fruit is in season that you think would go well. I added strawberries and blueberries tossed in sugar, lemon juice, and a little cinnamon in this picture.

1. In a small microwavable bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water and let settle until softened. Microwave mixture until gelatin is dessolved. 5-10 seconds.
2. In a saucepan bring the cream, half and half and sugar to a boil, constantly stirring. remove pan from heat and add gelatin, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla until combined.
3. Divide cream into 4-8 molds and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

*To un-mold, dip mold into hot water for 2-3 seconds and invert onto a plate and serve. I like to serve it in the ramekin that it's molded to so I never worry about that. But if you like fancier presentation, go ahead and un-mold it:)

Thai Coconut Curry
serves 4

I got this idea from Everday Food by Martha Stewart Living. I love Thai curry but had never made it before, so I decided to give it a try. I took a few liberties, though, and made it more authentic than her recipe seemed to be. If you don't like shrimp, I think this will help you to like it, or if you hate it that much, you can always use beef or chicken. But I really think Thai coconut curry is best with shrimp.

salt and pepper
about 2 T vegetable oil
1 lb shrimp (or chicken or beef tenderloin, cut into thin strips)
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 bell peppers (I used red here, but I think green would also be great), thinly sliced
2 small Japanese eggplant or 2/3 of a big eggplant, diced
1 T Thai red curry paste
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
1 C Thai basil leaves, torn into little pieces
1 T fresh lemon juice

Rice to serve it with

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 T oil over medium-high. Season shrimp (or chicken or beef) with salt and pepper and add to skillet until almost cooked through. (For shrimp, that is when it starts to get pink and opaque, but don't let it got cooked all the way through or it will be over cooked and rubbery later)
2. Put Eggplant in skillet and cook until slightly softened. Add onions, bell pepper, salt and pepper and cook until crisp-tender. 3-4 minutes.
3. Add curry pastes, cook scraping the bottom of the skillet, about 1 minute.
4. Return shrimp to the skillet and add coconut milk. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in basil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve with Japanese white rice.

Chunky Banana Oat Muffins
makes 12 muffins

I got this idea from Ina Garten's cookbook. I can't remember which one. Since I've been pregnant I've been craving bananas like crazy and we always have bananas in our house. So I thought I'd try out her chunky banana bran muffin recipe, but I ended up changing it a lot because I like oat-ey muffins instead of bran-ey ones and I like a good crumb topping on them. So here is my successful experiment. And just to let you know, this is where I got the idea of the strawberry white chocolate muffins for Lisa Hall's shower. I just took this recipe and altered the add-ins.


1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 C rolled oats
1/4 C honey
1/4 C brown sugar
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 C melted butter
1 egg
3/4 C milk
2 t pure vanilla extract
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softenend
1 mashed banana
3 bananas, cut into 1/2 in chunks

Oat Crumb topping:
1 C melted butter
2-4 T cinnamon
about 3 C brown sugar
2 C flour
about 2 1/2 C oats

1. Combine flour, oats, sugar, bakindg powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg slightly. Stir in milk, melted butter, vanilla, and honey. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly. Gradually stir in flour mixture until just combined. Once batter is combined, carefully add banana chunks.
3. Line a 12 C muffin pan with paper baking cups and divie batter among them.
4. Generously sprinkle crumb topping on all muffins.
   
5. Bake at 400°F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
   

Japanese Cucumber Salad
Serves 21/2 onion, sliced very thin, soaking in water
2 T dried wakame seaweed
2 Japanese cucumbers, sliced thin at a diagnal
1 T rice wine vinegar
2 T sesame seed oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. put the wakame in a bowl with warm water until reconstituted. Drain.
2. Add cucumber, wakame, and onion and toss with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
3. serve cold.
   

Really Quick Dinner

Vegetable Stir Fry (野菜炒め)12-14 pieces of frozen or fresh shrimp (if frozen, thaw in cold--not warm--water until tender)
1 green pepper, sliced into long, thin strips
1/2 of an eggplant, cut into thin long pieces
1/4 of a cabbage, coarsely cut into similar shapes to other vegetables
carrots, cut into thin long pieces
onions, sliced into long thin strips
4 cloves garlic, crushed, not chopped
canola or vegetable oil for wok/frying pan

soy sauce
hoisin sauce
grated ginger
rice wine vinegar
sesame seed oil
chili oil
white pepper
salt & black pepper
mirin

1. Heat wok/frying pan on high heat and add canola/vegetable oil. Add carrots, onions and cook until slightly tender. Add green peppers, eggplant, and cabbage and cook until cabbage cooks down a bit.
2. Push the vegetables over to the side a little to make room for the shrimp. Add the shrimp to the wok, making sure they all are touching the hot metal. Cook quickly on both sides until slightly pink.
3. Add garlic, and continue to fry. In the mean time, mix all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Add the sauce to the stir fry and toss.
4. Serve on the side with rice, while still hot.