Pimp up your rice with pandan and bird food (via Gourmande in Osaka)

In today's rice with a simple variation. There is what you can see. Small yellow grains of awa. It's millet des oiseaux in French, so the name indicates it's food for the birds. It's Setaria italica, AKA foxtail millet. I simply added them to brown rice, in the cooker. With something else that you can't see. But it perfumes the house… A knot of pandan leaves. That's magical. That fills the air with a fragrance of sweet rice. That's exotic here. … Read More

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Dry fruits with milky sesame tofu (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Gomadofu, sesame tofu exists in two types. One is made only of sesame. The other, that I have today is made with soy milk flavored with powdered or pasted black sesame. I bought it. It's very soft and sweet with a light nutty taste. Sauce ? I don't know. It could hide the flavor. So just a little salt. For escort, sunflower seeds, peanuts and goji berries. Snack or side dish. Delicious, light and fresh. … Read More

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From the shop : kashiwa-mochi, oak leaf sweet (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Lucky ! You've found a pearl in your oak leaf. This sweet is eaten in this season, and particularly on May 5th , for the Children Day. This one is bought. That's why it is more perfect than mines. Hey, baker is a job and you don't get the professional skill overnight. It's really shiny, and harder in texture than daifuku mochi. The recipe is different. Use the little wood knife to cut it… It's filled with koshi-an (smooth anko bean paste). Good … Read More

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Catching bargains and late afternoon light on flavorful fruits (via Gourmande in Osaka)

At the end of the day, Japanese grocery stores, markets and supermarket discount fresh products. 5%, 10%…50% as the hours pass. And they make big bags of fruits "for juice". What is wrong with those fruits ? The apples for instance, they fell. And did you know that a fallen apple was very bad for your health or even less tasty ? No. Because that's not the problem at all. You can keep the "not-fallen" ones months, and the ones that got some shoc … Read More

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Ume plum blossoms for an early Spring tea (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Ume (Japanese sour plum) trees are blossoming in Osaka. Their fragrance is like in a dream. Old style yatsuhashi sweets (from a shop, not home-made). They are a specialty tea cake of Kyoto, whose production started in Yatsuhashi (8 bridge street) in 17th Century. The oldest ones were yaki yatsuhashi that are cookies, shape in half cylinder, like the bridge that gave the name. Today, it's nama yatsuhashi (fresh time), a more recent type. My green … Read More

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Home-made condiments : karashi miso for jajamen. (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Gourmande's green chili karashi miso. The sauce to make : Jajamen (click here). How many sauces and sauce bases do you need in your kitchen ? Er… 476, 477… It's endless. You run all over town to find them, they won't be cheap, and/or you get will them in a bucket and to use it up before it's stale, you would have cook with it daily for 6 persons. And the list of ingredients can be scary. The thing is there are some sauces that can't make at h … Read More

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For a sick cat (via Gourmande in Osaka)

Ginger kuzu-yu. You were getting canned posts because I stopped food. Yep, eating is a nasty habit. All you need is a little strength of will… I have none. The other way is to be 99% dead and sick in bed, which is what I have done mostly for the last 3 days. Now I am back to life, but not totally repaired yet. I'm left with a voice of cat, as they say here, or a cat in the throat as we say in my country. So take fresh ginger and kuzu. Starch of … Read More

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