(Gluten-Free) Chocolate Mousse Cake

This recipe makes 6 small servings.

Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF). 

Lightly butter a 12cm diameter loose-bottom or springform pan. Fold aluminum foil around the outside of the pan to make it water-tight. You will bake it in a pan of water.

Place in a microwave-safe bowl:

140 grams bittersweet baking chocolate

4 1/2 T butter

Little by little, heat it until melted. Mix gently together and set aside to cool.

Separate the yolks and whites from:

3 eggs

Place in a bowl and whisk:

the 3 yolks

4 T sugar

When frothy and pale, whisk in:

1 T brandy (or genuine vanilla extract, if you prefer)

Fold the beaten yolk mixture into the melted and cooled chocolate.

Put some water in a kettle, and turn on the heat. You will need boiling water when you bake the cake.

In a clean bowl, whisk:

the 3 whites

a tiny pinch of salt

When thick, add:

2 T sugar

Continue to whisk until stiff, but not dry.

Fold 1/2 of the whisked egg whites into the chocolate mixture. When mixed, add the remaining egg whites. Mix gently so it stays fluffy.

Pour batter into your buttered pan. Place the cake pan in a roasting pan and put it in the oven. Pour the boiling water in the roasting pan until it comes halfway up your cake pan. Shut the oven door.

Bake for 35 minutes, then check. The top of the cake should be firm when it's done. If it is still gooey, bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Remove pan from the water, and place on a rack to cool. When cooled, unwrap the foil and remove the cake gently from the pan. It should be firm on the outside and a bit gooey on the inside.

Serve with vanilla ice cream. ❤️

Salad Dressing — Easy and Quick

It's not beautiful, but it tastes good.

Place in a jar:

1 clove finely minced garlic

1 t French mustard with seeds

3 T olive oil, or whatever oil you prefer

1 T vinegar, such as apple cider, balsamic, etc. OR 1 T lemon juice

1/4 t salt and pepper, Japanese shiokosho works fine （塩胡椒）

Shake. It's best to make this a day or so ahead, so the flavors mix well. If you store it in the fridge, take it out about 30 minutes before using, otherwise the olive oil may be a bit solidified.

Simple Crustless Quiche

Makes 6 servings.

Chop:

1 onion

100 grams or so of ham or bacon

Add to a frying pan over medium heat:

1 T of olive oil

When oil is heated, add the onion and ham. Stir fry until onions and ham are lightly browned. You can cover it between stirs.

While that is cooking, mix in a bowl:

8 eggs

1/2 to 3/4 C milk

Butter a pie pan or other heatproof over pan. This you can do by holding the butter by its wrapper and rubbing the stick of butter on the pan like you're coloring with a crayon. 

When the ham and onions are cooked, turn off the heat. Mix in:

100 grams of frozen, chopped spinach

Cover the pan to let the spinach thaw.

Preheat oven to 190ºC (375ºF).

When the oven is ready, pour the egg mixture into the pie pan, sprinkle on the ham, onion, and spinach mixture, and top with:

1/4 C cheese of your liking

Place in the center of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the center is firm. Take it out of the oven and place it on a rack to cool.

Leave it to cool for about 20-30 minutes before cutting. Serve with easy no-knead bread.

I usually cut this into 6 pieces and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. If I stack the pieces, I put a piece of parchment paper between them to keep them from sticking to each other. Heat each piece for 30 seconds or so in the microwave before serving. It's makes for a very easy lunch.

Hunter's Chicken — easy and delicious Cacciatore

Cut into roughly 5cm×5cm pieces. Remove fat and skin from:

500 grams boneless chicken thighs

Thighs with bones are fine to use, too, but account for the increased weight.

Put in a plastic bag:

¼-⅓ C flour, whatever you need to coat the amount of chicken you are using.

¼ t salt

¼ t pepper

Shake it around to mix. Add the chicken pieces and shake to coat. Set it aside.

Prepare the other ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½-1 C sliced or chopped mushrooms

1 can tomatoes, chopped or whole. If whole, cut them up.

¼-½ C dry white wine

1 bay leaf

⅛ t thyme

½ t basil

1 chicken bouillon cube

salt/pepper

Heat in a frying pan:

2 T olive oil

When hot, shake off any excess flour from each chicken piece and place them in the pan. Fry one side until golden, turn over to fry the second side. Add the onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Stir around a bit.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Add a tablespoon or 2 of water to the tomato can to rinse it, then pour that in. Stir to mix, cover, and turn the fire down very low. Cook for 45 minutes or so, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. It is finished when the chicken is fall-apart tender and the sauce has thickened nicely.

Serve with pasta, potatoes, rice, or crusty bread.

Focaccia and Pizza

Mix in a bowl:

300 grams all-purpose flour (中力粉 churikiko in Japanese)
8 grams salt

Mix in:

1 t dry yeast

Whisk gently, then add to the flour mixture:

1 t honey

1 C warm water (236 ml)

Mix with a rubber scraper until dry parts are gone and you have a sticky, wet dough. Cover the bowl with a plate and let it rise for several hours until doubled in bulk.

About an hour or two before you want to eat it, put parchment paper in a baking pan, and spread a little olive oil on the paper. Then, as if the dough were a square, pull one side up and over, then another side up and over, then another, then another. Finally, pick up the gooey mass and put it in the pan. Spread it out to reach the sides of the pan. If the dough doesn't spread well enough, let it sit for a while, then try again. 

Again, let the dough rise until doubled in size. If your house is cold, put it in the oven at 40ºC for 30-60 minutes. Remove from oven and preheat to 220ºC. Use your fingertips to poke holes all over the dough. (Sprinkle on a little olive oil. Maybe 1 T.)

Bake until golden, about 20 minutes.

If you want to add relatively dry toppings (thinly sliced mushrooms, garlic, herbs, etc.), do this before baking. 

If you want to use the focaccia as a base for pizza, bake the focaccia as described above until almost golden (19 minutes or so), then remove it from the oven. (Turn it over.) Top it with sauce and cheese. Set the oven to grill and place it near the top of the oven for 8 minutes until toasted to your liking.

Miso Salad Dressing

Mix in a blender:

2 cloves garlic

2 T soy sauce

4 T vinegar (rice vinegar, whatever)

1 T white miso paste

1 T brown sugar

While the blender is mixing, slowly pour in:

½ C oil (grapeseed, sunflower, whatever you like)

Finally, add and briefly mix in to chop:

¼ onion

Pour in a jar, cover tightly, and keep refrigerated.

No-Knead Beer Bread

 

Mix together in a large bowl:

450 gm bread flour (I use about 370 white and 80 wheat)

9-10 gm salt

¼ slightly rounded teaspoon dry yeast

Add:

350 ml beer (one can)

Stir the beer into the dry ingredients and form into a sticky ball of dough.

Put a plate or something on top of the bowl, and set aside (in a warm room, if possible) for 18-24 hours. If you want to leave it for longer, put it in the fridge for a little while to slow down the rising. 

Sprinkle some flour on a clean surface (that you can later pick up — I use a plastic placemat) and use a floured spatula to loosen and pour the dough out onto the floured surface. As if it's a square, pull one side up and over, then another side up and over, then another, then another. Finally, pick up the gooey mass and turn it over. Put a big bowl over it (or a cloth, if you prefer), and let it rise for 2 hours. In cool weather, put it in the oven, set the temperature to 40ºC (104ºF)—my oven has a setting for rising 発酵—and let it rise for 2 hours. Remove dough from the oven.

Place a dutch oven, donabe, or other oven-safe covered pot into the oven and preheat to 230ºC (450ºF). Carefully remove the pot from the oven, sprinkle a little flour inside the pot to prevent the dough from sticking, and gently turn the dough into the pot.

Cover and bake for 32 minutes, then carefully remove the lid, and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Check doneness with a thermometer. The bread should have an internal temperature of at least 96ºC (205ºF). 

Cool on a rack before cutting.

Miso Eggplant

Slice in half lengthwise and score cut surfaces in a criss-cross pattern, about 2 mm deep:

2 Japanese eggplants

Coat the cut sides with a small amount of olive oil. Place on the fish grill (or oven grill) and cook for 10 minutes until lightly browned and soft.

 

While the eggplant is cooking, make the miso sauce.

Mix together:

1/4 C miso
2 T mirin 
1 T fine sugar 
1 T sake 

When the eggplant is finished, carefully cover the cut side with 1-2 mm of miso sauce. Grill for 4 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and lightly browned. 

Serve.

No-Knead Bread

 

Mix together in a large bowl:

400 gm bread flour (I use 300-350 gm white, 100-50 gm whole wheat)

8-9 gm salt

¼ t dry yeast

(1 T sugar — this is optional, but it improves the rising and final texture)

(optional: any mixture of seeds, dried cranberries, raisins, chopped dried figs, walnuts, etc.)

Add:

300 ml water, or a mix of whey and water, or beer

Stir the water into the dry ingredients and form into a sticky ball.

Put a plate or something on top of the bowl, and set aside (in a warm room, if possible) for 18-24 hours. If you want to leave it for longer, put it in the fridge for a little while to slow down the rising. 

Cut a piece of parchment paper and place it on a clean surface. Next, as if the dough were a square, pull one side up and over, then another side up and over, then another, then another. Finally, pick up the gooey mass and turn it over, smooth side up, and place it on the parchment paper. Put a big bowl over it (or a cloth, if you prefer), and let it rise for 1.5-2 hours. If the weather is cool, let the dough rise in the oven at 40ºC (104ºF).

I've since learned that flouring the surface is not necessary, but this is an old photo of the dough before rising: 

When the dough has risen, preheat the oven and baking pan. See the risen dough below:

Place a Dutch oven, donabe, or other oven-safe covered pot into the oven and preheat to 230ºC (450ºF). When preheated, carefully remove the pot from the oven, take off the lid, and lift the risen dough into the hot pot. Put the lid back on, and put the pot on a low shelf in the oven.

Dough placed in the hot donabe pot:

Bake for 48 minutes at 230ºC (450ºF). Remove from oven. It should be done, but if you want to double-check, insert a thermometer. The internal temperature should be at least 96ºC (205ºF). 

Cool on a rack before cutting.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Making the sauce the day before seems to heighten the flavor.

Place in a pot:

2 chicken breasts, skin removed (about 500 grams)
2 cups water
1 t chicken (or other) bouillon

Boil on a low flame, covered, for 5 minutes. Turn off fire, and leave until cool. You will use the broth for your sauce.

Now make the enchilada sauce:

Measure these spices and place in a small bowl:

2 T chili powder
1 minced clove garlic
½ scant t salt
½ t powdered cumin
¼ t powdered oregano

Place in a pot and heat:

2 T grapeseed or other oil

Add and whisk for about a minute:

2 T all-purpose flour (中力粉 churikiko in Japanese)

Add the spices and continue to whisk. After about a minute, slowly add while whisking to prevent lumps:

2 C chicken broth
(1 T tomato paste)

Simmer for about ten minutes.

Now, back to the chicken. Shred with a fork on a plate. Put the shredded chicken breasts in a bowl and pour in about ½ cup enchilada sauce. Mix in the sauce and set aside.

Beans:

350 grams cooked beans (black, pinto, whatever)
1 T butter
1 clove garlic
¼ t salt

Heat the beans, butter, garlic, and salt in a ziplock bag (not airtight) in the microwave until the butter melts. Seal the bag and gently pound with a rolling pin to mash and squeeze it about to incorporate the butter, salt, and garlic into the beans. If you prefer not to use a bag, heat them in a bowl in the microwave or in a pan on the stove and mash with a fork. Set aside.

Heat in a frying pan:

1 T olive oil

Stir fry:

1 minced onion

When cooked, mix into the chicken.

Now it's time to put together the enchiladas.

Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF).

Lay tortillas on a clean surface. Place small amounts of each of the ingredients on each of the tortillas: grated cheese, beans, meat. Roll them and place seam side down in an oven pan lined with cooking paper. Pour on ½-1 cup enchilada sauce. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges start to turn golden. Sprinkle a little mozzarella or other cheese on top of the enchiladas and return to the oven until cheese is melted. Serve with green salad, and guacamole and chips. (If you have leftover sauce, freeze it to use later.)

Sugar Cookies

Thanks to Jaime-Leigh Gorham for sharing her simple and delicious recipe!

Cream:

114 gm unsalted butter
140 gm sugar

When butter and sugar are creamy, blend in:

1 egg
1 t vanilla

Set aside.

Sift together:

260 gm all-purpose flour (中力粉 churikiko in Japanese)
½ t baking powder
½ t salt

Add sifted ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture. Don't overmix. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes. 

If you want to save some dough for another day, wrap it in plastic and put it in a ziplock freezer bag in the freezer.

Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF).

While the oven is heating, put a little flour on a clean surface and a little on a rolling pin. Roll the dough to 5-7mm thickness. Use cookie-cutters to cut. 

Place cookies on a parchment-covered tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies. The cookies should be only lightly brown. Cool on a cooling rack.

When cookies are completely cooled they can be iced.

Icing

Mix together:

250 gm powdered sugar
1 egg white
1 t lemon juice

If you are going to make a small batch of cookies, you won't need so much icing. Instead, place a pile of powdered sugar in a small bowl, add part of an egg white and a squeeze of lemon. Mix. Add more sugar as needed to make the right consistency for icing.

Divide the icing and mix in a tiny bit of a different color food coloring to each bit. Put icing in the corner of a small plastic bag. Push the icing towards the corner. Cut the tip of the corner. Do this with each of the colors. You now have icing "pens" with which to decorate your cookies.

Wait until the icing on the cookies is completely dry before serving or storing.

Almond Butter Cookies

Beat:

½ C butter

Add and beat:

½ C brown sugar
½ C white sugar
(OR 1 C Japanese brown sugar)

Beat in:

1 egg
1 C almond butter (OR ½ C almond butter + ½ C peanut butter)
½ t salt
½ t baking soda
½ t vanilla extract

Add:

1-1½ C flour (more or less, depending on the wetness of the nut butters)

Press dough into about a 2 cm flat square. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or freeze in a ziplock freezer bag.

Cut into 2 cm cubes, and place 5 cm apart on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. To flatten them a bit, press with a fork once across and again from top to bottom. 
Bake at 190ºC (375ºF) for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Simple Minestrone

Heat 2 T oil in a deep saucepan. Add:

150 grams chopped bacon

Stir fry until golden. Then add:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
2 carrots, peeled and roughly cut
½ t oregano
⅓ t basil
½ t salt
½ t pepper

Stir fry until garlic and onions are tender. Add:

2 potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
1 can mixed beans, rinsed
2 cans chopped tomatoes

1 liter of water plus 3½ t Better than Bouillon or other bouillon
OR
1 liter stock

Stir until mixed. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. If a fork goes into a potato easily, it is cooked.

Add:

100 grams broken pasta

After about 5 minutes, add:

1½ C chopped cabbage or other greens

Cook the pasta for about 10 minutes in all or until pasta is al dente. Taste. Season with salt and pepper. Add more bouillon if necessary.

Serve. Top with fresh basil and/or grated cheese.

Frappuccino

Be sure to use a blender that can blend ice. This recipe makes 2 servings.

Pour in to reach the top of the blades:

water

Add:

1 pack of ice coffee concentrate
2 t Kahlúa (mocha or regular)
1 T cocoa mix (2 parts cocoa to 3 parts fine sugar, like kibi-sato)
(sugar to taste)

Blend, and gradually add:

1 tray of frozen milk sticks, made in water-bottle ice cube trays (long and thin ice)
(5 small ice cubes)

When everything is blended to your desired consistency, it's done.

If you want to make a chocolate shake, just leave out the coffee concentrate and add a little extra cocoa mix.

Banana shake

Pour in to reach the top of the blades:

milk

Add:

½ frozen banana
½ t vanilla extract
1 t sugar

Blend, and gradually add:

½ tray of frozen milk sticks, made in water-bottle ice cube trays (long and thin ice) about 5-6 sticks
(3-5 small ice cubes)

No-bake Stuffed Peppers and Eggplant

Prepare vegetables

The number of green peppers and eggplant you will need depends on their size. I used 8 small green peppers and one Japanese eggplant for this recipe. 

Cut green peppers in half and carefully remove seeds, some pith, and the stems. Rinse and put open-side down in a sieve to dry. Wash the eggplant and cut lengthwise, leaving on stem. Cut out about ½ cm from the edge all around, and then scoop out the center part of the eggplant with a spoon. Chop the center part and set aside.

Filling

Finely mince:

1 garlic clove
½ onion

Mix lightly with:

½ pack tofu (first rinse it and squeeze out as much liquid as you can)
⅓ C Japanese bread crumbs (panko)
1 egg
about 300 grams minced chicken
¼ t salt (more or less)
¼ t pepper (more or less)

Gently fill peppers and eggplant with meat mixture extending about ½ cm over the tops. Place on a plate until all vegetables are filled.

Heat in a frying pan:

1-2 T garlic infused olive (or other) oil 

Turn fire to low and place peppers and eggplant in the pan meat side down. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Turn them over, cover, and cook for another 3 minutes or so until the meat is cooked and vegetables are soft.

Put foil on a grill tray. (In Japan, I use the fish grill portion of the stove.) Place peppers and eggplant meat side up on the foil. Sprinkle cheese on top of the meat. (Be careful not to let a bunch of cheese fall on the foil.) Grill until cheese is melted. While the vegetables are grilling, stir-fry the center part of the eggplant, salt, and serve as a side.

Pan-fried Chicken with Garlic and Lemon

Slice 2-3 chicken breasts lengthwise to make two thin slices each. 

Rub with:

1 clove finely grated garlic or garlic paste

Coat lightly with: 

flour mixed with salt and pepper

Heat in a frying pan:

1 T olive oil 
1 T butter

When hot, turn flame to medium low. Shake off excess flour and lay chicken in the pan. Cook for 3 minutes on one side, turn over and cook for 3 minutes on the other side. Put a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken. It is cooked at 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius). If you don't have a thermometer, cut the thickest breast and make sure it is white (cooked) all the way through.

Put the chicken on a plate, and pour on one of the following sauces:

Sauce 1

¼ C lemon juice
2-3 T honey, to taste

Sauce 2

¼ C lemon juice

2 T water

¼ C honey 

A pinch of salt

1 T cornstarch - mixed with 3 T water until smooth

Heat lemon juice, water, honey, and salt. When very hot, add cornstarch mixed with water. Keep stirring until slightly thickened.

Bread Machine Prep

Bags of homemade bread mix stored in an airtight container.

My son and I have been take a few minutes after dinner once a month or so to prepare bags of bread mix. This has greatly simplified making bread and has had the added benefit of making it almost impossible to spill any flour outside of the bread pan when putting ingredients in the machine.

Each bag contains:

100 gm whole wheat bread flour
150 gm white bread flour
2 T* brown sugar
1 T milk powder

1 t salt

When it's time to put on some bread, put into the bread machine:

10-15 gm butter

180 ml cold water for regular bread or 170 ml cold water for sandwich bread

1 bag of flour mix

1 t dried yeast 

If your machine doesn't have a special place to put the yeast, make a shallow well in the center of the flour and pour the yeast there. The yeast should not touch the water. 

The finished product, with added sunflower seeds.

* If you are using Japanese measurements, 1 T is approximately 1 大さじ, 1 t is approximately 1 小さじ.

Spicy Garlic Pork

Marinate 500 grams of thinly sliced pork for 30 minutes in:

2 T light brown sugar
3 T soy sauce
2 T sesame oil
1-2 t tobanjan (or other chili paste)
1 t minced ginger
¼ t ground pepper
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced into thin crescents

Heat a little canola or other flavorless oil in a frying pan. Stir fry the meat and onions. (Cover and leave over a low flame for a couple minutes, if you like.) Turn up the fire and stir fry to darken the onions and evaporate most of the sauce. Serve over rice.

Swiss Butter Cookies

Melt:

½ C + 1 T butter

Set aside.

Whisk in a large bowl:

2 eggs

Blend into the eggs and beat until thick, about 10 minutes:

½ C + 2 T white sugar

Mix in:

the melted lukewarm butter
a smidgen of salt
(¼ t vanilla or lemon essence)

Fold in:

1½ t grated lemon rind (just the yellow part, not any white part. Don't forget to wash and dry the lemon first.)
2 C white flour

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Alternatively, you can freeze the dough in batches. Wrap each batch in plastic, then put in a ziplock freezer bag.

Preheat oven to 170C (325F).

Lightly flour a clean surface, your rolling pin, and the bottom of a cookie cutter. Roll dough into about ½ cm (¼ inch) thickness, cut with a cookie cutter. Place the cutouts on a thinly buttered sheet of parchment paper (or baking pan or cookie sheet.) Ball up the scraps and roll out again until you've used all the dough.

Spread the tops of cookie with egg yolk. Bake until golden at the edges, for 12-15 minutes. Cool for a minute on the sheet before moving them to a cooling rack.

Broccoli Sprouts

Day 1 

Soak 1-2 T broccoli seeds for about 10 hours.

Day 2 morning and evening

Drain, rinse with fresh water, drain.

Cover with gauze and a rubber band.

Place in a warm, dark place, like under the sink.

Day 3 morning and evening

Rinse with fresh water, drain. Repeat if the water seems cloudy.

Cover with gauze and a rubber band.

Put them back in the warm, dark place.

The fuzzy bits are roots, not mold.

Day 4 morning and evening
The same routine: rinse, drain, put back.

Day 5 morning

Rinse with fresh water, drain. Repeat if the water seems cloudy. 

By this time, your sprouts should be pretty good-sized. If you want, take some out and place them in sunlight for a couple hours to get nice and green to use that day. Return the rest to the cool, dark place, covered with gauze.

After sunshine

Day 5 evening

Rinse with fresh water, drain. Repeat once or twice. 

Day 6 morning

Rinse with fresh water, drain. Repeat once or twice. 

Place the jar in indirect sunlight for a couple hours, then cover and refrigerate. 

Tips

• Broccoli sprouts take 4-6 days to grow.
• Excess moisture is bad. The seeds should be damp, but not wet. Don't leave any water at the bottom of the jar after rinsing.
• On day 2-3, when tiny roots appear, they will look fuzzy. That is not mold. If they get moldy, they will smell foul.
• I rinse mine only morning and evening. Others suggest rinsing them 3-4 times a day. Sometimes I give them a soak for a few minutes.
• The brown hulls keep them a little too moist, so you can remove them while you soak the sprouts by touching the surface of the water with a wooden chopstick. They stick readily to the chopstick and you can get rid of them.
• You can start eating them from about day 4. Take out what you want that day and give them some indirect sunlight for a few hours to make them green. Direct sunshine might cook them.
• You may want to start another batch on about day 4 in order to have a constant supply of fresh sprouts.
• I start taking out portions each day from about day 4, and by day 6 or 7, if there are any left, I put them in indirect light for a few hours and then rinse and store them in a covered container in the fridge.
• 1 T of seeds seems to make about 3 cups of sprouts.