Shepherd's Pie

Make mashed potatoes.

While the potatoes are boiling, cook the meat.

Place in a frying pan:

1 T olive oil

When the oil is heated, add:

1 small onion - minced
1 garlic clove - finely minced
2 minced shiitake (or ¼ C other) mushrooms
1 grated carrot

Stir fry a bit, then add:

250 gm ground chicken
(½ chicken bouillon cube or its equivalent - mashed so it dissolves easily)

Cook over a medium flame. Season with:

½ t sage
½ t salt
¼ t pepper

When the meat is thoroughly cooked, turn off the fire and set the pan aside.

Sauce

Heat in a small pot over medium/low flame:

¾ T olive oil
¾ T butter

When the butter is melted, add and whisk in:

1½ T flour

Be careful to keep whisking so there are no lumps. Continue to whisk until it boils gently and begins to smell cooked (like a pie crust). Then add slowly, continuing to whisk as you add:

¾ C milk

Keep whisking until it thickens, which should be when you first see a couple bubbles start to rise before boiling. Do not let it boil.

Add sauce to meat and stir to mix. To give it a bit more color, add:

1 T minced green onions

Put it together

I prefer to use small, one-serving pyrex type baking dishes. 

Place ¾ C meat in each of 3 dishes. Divide the potatoes and put equal portions on top of the meat. Heat in the microwave until thoroughly heated. Top with:

1T grated cheese

and place under the grill until lightly browned.

Serve with salad or other vegetables.

Mashed Potatoes

Wash thoroughly (no need to peel) and cut into roughly 1½ cm cubes:

About 700 grams potatoes

Place in a deep, heavy pot, and almost cover completely with water. A few little bits sticking out from the top of the water is not a problem.  

Add:

1 t salt

Cover and boil until soft. Test by sticking a fork into one of the bigger pieces. It should go in easily.

Remove from heat and drain the water by holding the lid of the pan slightly askew and allowing the water to pour out (but not the potatoes).

Add:

1½-2 T butter

2-3 T milk (Add it little by little until you get the thickness you want.)

¼-½ t pepper

(1 t finely minced garlic)
(a little more salt, if you think they need it)

Mash until desired consistency. Serve.

Taragon Salad Dressing

½ C mayonaise
1 clove garlic - finely minced
2 T green onions - minced
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 T apple cider vinegar
½ T tarragon
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
½ C plain yogurt
1 T parsley

Put all the ingredients in a jar and shake to mix. Store in refrigerator.

This can be used as a salad dressing or a dip for vegetables.

Chocolate Sauce

Place in a pot and mix well:

½ C water
¼ C cocoa powder (I use Van Houten)
1 C sugar 

Gently boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn. Then add: 

a pinch of salt
50 gm dark chocolate (I use 1 bar of Ghana Black)

Wait for about a minute for the chocolate to melt, then stir gently. When cool, add:

¼ t vanilla extract

Store in an airtight jar in the fridge. This lasts a long time.

Shiodare Buta (Pork with Salt Sauce)

400-500 gm thinly-sliced pork (bara)

½ onion - sliced
1 T cornstarch
1 long onion, cut the white section in thin diagonal slices, use the green part in the sauce

For stir-frying:

approximately 1½ t canola oil

Mix together for the sauce:

½ t salt
½ chicken bouillon cube, mashed
1 T sesame oil
1½ T water
1½ T sake
1½ T lemon juice
minced green part of long onion
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Mix the cornstarch into the meat. Put a little canola oil and sesame oil in a frying pan and heat. Stir-fry the onion and pork, making sure the meat doesn't stick together. Add the cut white long onions when the pork is almost cooked and cook a little more.

Add the sauce and stir. Cover and simmer for a minute or so.

Serve on rice. Top with black pepper and sesame seeds.

Niku-Jaga

Prepare the vegetables:

1 carrot (cut into rolling wedges)
2-3 potatoes (cut into large pieces)
1 onion (sliced thickly)

Heat 2 t vegetable oil in a frying pan. When heated, stir fry:

300-400 grams thinly-sliced beef

When meat turns browish, add:

carrots, and cook for a while. Then add:

onions and potatoes

Stir fry until potatoes start to cook on the outside.

Add:

1 1/3 t konbu dashi

1 C water

Stir. Then add:

1/4 C sake
1/4 C sugar
(1 package shirataki noodles, drained and rinsed)

Place an OK to use on food paper towel on the surface, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Move the paper towel to add:

1/4 C soy sauce

Mix it in gently. Replace the paper towel. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes or so.

The paper towel should absorb any scum from the surface. Turn off the fire, remove the paper towel, and gently mix so all ingredients can have their turn to soak in the broth. Cover and let the niku-jaga rest for about 10-20 minutes before serving. Reheat if necessary.

Serve with rice.

Rice Stuffing for Roast Fowl

Cook:

3-6 slices bacon

Mince and set aside.

Sauté in 1½ T butter:

½ minced onion
3 minced shiitake mushrooms (or whatever mushrooms you have)

Add:

⅛ t sage
¾ t salt
¼ t ground pepper

Mix all of the above into:

Cooked rice (measure 2 C raw rice)
½-1 C Japanese dry bread crumbs (Panko)

Finally, mix in:

½-¾ C milk or chicken broth

Fill the cavities of your bird no more than ¾ full, as the stuffing will expand. 

To bake the stuffing that didn't fit in the bird -

Place it on a piece of parchment paper, place the chicken neck in the center, and wrap it up. Cover the whole thing with foil. Place beside the bird in your oven and bake for an hour or more, depending on the size of your stuffing package. My oven is small, so I divide the stuffing into two smaller packets with ½ chicken neck in each and bake them for 1½ hours. The stuffing is moist and infused with flavor from the chicken.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Grilled cheese with flax-seed bread.

Slice 2 pieces of bread about 1 cm thick.
Butter what will be the outside of the sandwich. 
Heat frying pan over a low flame.
Place one piece of bread, buttered side down, on the heated pan.
Place your choice of cheese on that piece of bread. (Be careful not to drop any cheese on the pan.) Then put the other slice of bread on top of the cheese, buttered side up.
Cook slowly (slowly is the key) until browned on the bottom. Turn it over carefully and brown the other side.
Voila! A grilled cheese sandwich!

Cranberry Sauce

Soak in a pan overnight or for an hour or so:

1-1½ C dried cranberries
freshly squeezed orange juice to just cover
(a dash of red wine, maybe 1 T)

Before cooking, add:

a small amount of sugar, about 1 t 
a pinch of salt

Simmer over a very low fire for about 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid reduces and the sauce thickens slightly. Cover and set aside until you're ready to serve.

Fried Rice

Heat in a frying pan:

1 T oil (olive, or a mix of olive)

Stir fry:

½-1 minced onion
2-5 cloves of minced garlic
200 gm minced chicken

When the chicken is almost completely cooked, add:

1 finely grated carrot
2-3 chopped shiitake mushrooms
1-2 C minced vegetables, such as cabbage, spinach, broccoli stalks, red peppers, etc. (Add the vegetables that take longer to cook first. Think about adding a variety of colors. If you need more color, add some green onions at the very end, after you mix in the rice.)

When vegetables are cooked, push them towards the edges of the pan, make a well in the center and cook:

2-3 scrambled eggs (mixed with ¼ t salt and ½ t sugar)
Add and mix in:

2-3 C cooked rice

Season with:

Salt and pepper
1 t sesame oil 

If you are making more than this amount, you can just mix the cooked vegetables and meat with the cooked rice in a large mixing bowl. No need to cook the rice together with the vegetables in a frying pan.