Obon Dangos

Chef Azuki continues to be inspired by the obon carnivals.  Today she decided to try her hand at making Dangos.   They always remind me of the story of Momotaro, the peach boy.  In that story, his adopted mom makes him food when he goes off to fight the monsters.  I always imagined him eating these for dessert.  Like a donut hole, only better!

Obon Dangos

Ingredients:

3 C flour

1 C sugar

3 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1/2 C milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Canola oil

*1T sugar

*1 T cinnamon

Directions:

1.  Combine all the dry ingredients except the * items

2.  Whisk milk and eggs together

3.  Combine dry and wet ingredients until a dough forms

4.  Form small balls with the dough

5.  Heat oil

6.  Deep fry until golden brown

7.  Mix together cinnamon and sugar

8. Roll the hot dangos in cinnamon/sugar

9.  Let cool if you can wait!  Don't burn your mouth.

Now you're ready for some delicious dangos.  Dang!  They're great!

BeaNspiration:  Enjoy a little sweet snack to start you on your journey

Shiso Chili

Chef Azuki went to an Obon festival and enjoyed eating chili over rice.  With her new shiso plant on her counter, Chef Azuki came home and decided to try her own version of chili with shiso.  Shiso is a Japanese plant where the leaf is used as a culinary herb.  The Shiso added to the chili cut some of the acidity making a really delicious chili.

Shiso Chili

Ingredients:
1/2 lb top sirloin cut into thin strips
1 onion diced
1 T canola oil
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 C butter
1/4 tsp pepper
2 large shiso leaves
1 can stewed tomatoes


Directions:
Brown the meat, onion garlic powder and seasoned salt in canola oil
Place the meat mixture and all the rest of the ingredients in a crock pot and set on low.
Cook for 6-8 hours.

So get your rice on and enjoy this delicious crock pot Shiso Chili with rice today!

BeaNspiration:  Inspiration is everywhere!

Peach Smoothie

It was so hot and humid today!  The Azuki BeaN Mamas were rushing to get some important mail out and tallying up proceeds from their book sale.  Little BeaN meanwhile created this delicious refreshing drink for us.  Love the taste of summer peaches and the sweetness of our Little BeaNs!

Peach Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 C ice
3 C orange Juice
2 ripe peaches
1/2 C almond milk
1/4 C half and half


Directions:
1.  Cut up peaches
2.  Add all the ingredients in a blender
3.  Blend it all together until frothy and delicious!


Thank you Little BeaN for thinking of us.  I guess we can't call you "Little" anymore since you're
way taller than Chef Azuki and I.  Love that you shared your recipe with us.  Thanks for the refreshing smoothie on a hot and hectic day.

BeaNspiration:  It nice to have our kids treat us to wonderful surprises!

Asian style spinach

Today the Little BeaNs were having pizza.  Chef Azuki and I didn't really feel like pizza so we looked in the refrigerator to see what we could quickly whip up.  Chef Azuki had some spinach and a lot of rice that she already had cooking for dinner.  We decided some tofu and spinach would be perfect with the rice.  As usual, Chef Azuki added her special touch and created a  dish with gluten-free tamari light soy sauce.  Hubby BeaN is trying to eat less gluten so we were testing the taste of the gluten-free soy sauce.  It was delicious!

Asian Style Spinach

Ingredients:

3 C  coarsely chopped spinach
1 Tbsp gluten free tamari light soy sauce
3 stalks of green onions, chopped
1/2 cloves garlic or a dash of garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
Shaved bonita flakes or sesame seeds for garnish

Directions:

1.  Wash spinach and put it in a pot.  The leaves will be wet, don't dry it off.
2.  Cover the pot and heat on medium for 5-6 minutes.
3.  Put spinach in a colander and use tongs to squeeze out water,
     pressing it against the side of the colander.
4.  Add soy sauce, chopped green onions, garlic or garlic powder, and sesame oil
5.  Toss together
6.  Put a mound on a small dish and sprinkle with shaved bonita flakes
     or sesame seeds


This was just delicious with tofu cubes and rice.  The spinach was flavorful and delicious and a great compliment to the tofu and rice.  Shaved bonita flakes can be found in Japanese specialty markets.  If you can't find it, sesame seeds are a great substitute.  You can find sesame seeds in the spice area of the supermarket.

BeaNspiration:  Sometimes you can create a little magic with everyday items!

Black Cod

Blogger BeaN's hubby returned from Alaska with Black Cod.  Chef Azuki loves black cod and made this sweet and savory black cod dish for her family.  This fish is soft, silky and moist.  It's a unique and delicious experience.  Try it, you'll love it!

Black Cod

Ingredients:
1/2 C mirin
1/2 C water
1/2 C shoyu (soy sauce)
1/4 C sugar
1 T sesame oil
1/4 tsp onion salt
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
4-5 generous filets of black cod


Directions:
1.  Add mirin, water, shoyu, sugar and sesame oil in bowl
2.  Put the fish in a skillet and pour sauce liberally over the fish
3.  Heat on the stove at medium heat for about 20 minutes
4.  Place the fish in a bowl and spoon some sauce over it
5.  Sprinkle green onions on top

Have this fish with rice and enjoy!  It melts in your mouth!


BeaNspiration:  Be surprised by the flavor and texture of life!

Easy Quiche

Today, Chef Azuki made quiche.  I always thought quiche was difficult, but with ready-made refrigerated pie crusts and left over roasted chicken, this dish was put together in a few minutes. The hardest part was waiting for it to bake.

Easy Quiche

Ingredients:
1 ready made refrigerator pie crust
1 1/2 C shredded Mexican blend cheese
4 tsp flour
1 C shredded cooked roasted chicken
3 eggs
1 C milk
1/2 C fresh spinach, chopped

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.  Line a pie pan with the refrigerator pie crust
3.  Poke holes in the bottom with a fork
4.  Bake pie crust for 5 minutes (this keeps the bottom from getting soggy)
5.  Toss together cheese and flour
6.  Layer cheese mixture, chicken and spinach in crust
6.  Whisk together eggs and milk
7.  Pour the egg mixture over the other ingredients
8.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until egg is cooked

This was delicious and so much easier to make than I thought.  In a few minutes it's ready for the oven and you can put up your feet and read a book for half an hour while it bakes.

BeaNspiration:  Something exquisite can be made by mixing together the simplest ingredients.

Salmon Steaming in the Oven

Here's a delicious easy way to make fish.  Chef Azuki melds the flavors in foil packages for delicious results!

Steamin' Salmon

Ingredients:
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Shoyu (Soy Sauce)
1/4 C Mirin
1/2 tsp onion salt
1 tsp sesame oil
3-4 salmon fillets (24 oz)
16 asparagus stalks, remove bottom inch or so (where it snaps off)
1 box of mushrooms
1/2 red bell pepper
1 bunch of green onions
Foil


Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1.  Combine Sugar, shoyu, mirin, onion salt and sesame oil
2.  Split salmon fillets
3.  Slice mushrooms and bell peppers
4. Remove the ends of the asparagus
5.  Chop the onions
6.  Package the salmon, sauce, asparagus, mushrooms, bell pepper and green onions in foil packages
7.  Bake in oven about 20 minutes

Then take it out of the oven and serve.  It's so juicy being steamed in it's own juices in the foil package.  You can even make this on a camping trip.  The little BeaNs ate their fish all up!

BeaNspiration:  Sometimes it's all in the packaging!