Kumquat maple syrup with lemon zest

Kumquats, maple syrup, lemon zest, walnuts, salt

だいぶ前に金柑をかったのだけどいつの間にかしなしなになってしまったのでメープルシロップで煮詰めました。しなしな感も隠れたし生より食べやすかった。さらに柑橘でレモンのゼストも加えて。

本日はこんな手抜きランチ。

チーズの食べすぎを何とかしないと。。でもおいしいしね。。。

今年も残すところあと２日！

手作りがんもどきと押し寿司

がんもどきを作りました。

よく水切りした木綿豆腐を裏ごしして、すりおろした山芋、下茹でしたにんじん、牛蒡、出し殻昆布、椎茸、卵、塩、だし醤油（椎茸戻し汁、酒、かつおぶし、昆布、醤油で煮たもの）とよく混ぜ合わせて俵状にして揚げます。白ごま油で揚げたかったんだけど、手に入らなかったので紅花湯とごま油のミックスで。

最初作ったときは豆腐を裏ごししないで細かく潰しただけだったんだけど、やっぱり裏ごしした方が断然おいしい。

今回は揚げたてを生姜醤油で。残りは冷凍しておいて今度煮物にしようと思います。

今リトルプレスでお寿司のレシピ本を作ろうといろいろ試作中。
この押し寿司もその一つ。押し寿司の型は木曽に行った時に買った木曽檜のもの。（その後NYでも木曽檜の押し寿司型を見つけたんだけど）檜の香りってたまらなく落ち着く~　

Favorite cards

I love those Jhon Delian's cards!

Tomato jam x biscuits

 I made tomato jam, remembering about the tomato jam sandwich that I had at Seersucker. I found this recipe online and it was great! It uses tomatoes, ginger, clove, chili, sugar, salt; a little bit spicy with a rich flavor.

 I baked biscuits just for this tomato jam. I am not so good at baking. I wish I could bake well like my husband, Robert. I found this recipe online as well. The recipe looked like it had too much salt, but I followed it anyway since it was the first time to bake biscuits. It was a mistake... too much salt...;( so sad. I guess it was a typo, they meant 1 teaspoon, instead of 1 tablespoon;(   I will try again next week..!

Our NY wedding party

Our wedding party journey has finished! All parties were so warm and amazing.

It became a great memory. Thank you for all of people who shared our parties! 

I love cooking party food. Let me introduce our wedding party food!

Our friends Nikki and Giullio made those lovely onigiri!

Cherry tomato x basil x mozzarella 

Cucumber rolled sushi

　　　　

Crackers with smoke salmon and dill mayonnaise source

chick peas x cilantro tomato source in wanton cups

rice noodle with shrimp & lemongrass in wanton cups

                                     

Oshi-sushi 

steamed shitake mushroom x striped egg x Shrimp

Avocado roll

Pair comport x arugula x cheese mini sandwich 

Beats and yam dices 

Dried apricot x goat cheese x armond x honey

Indian curry with beans and cheese

We love Indian food. Tonight's dinner was Indian curry with beans and cheese.

Ingredients: pre-cooked masala, mixed beans, cilantro, safflower oil, butter, garam masala, turmeric, chipotle chilli powder, salt, cheese, water

I often cook "pre-cooked masala". It is used for base of Indian curry.

This recipe is from "From Mom with Love" by Pushpa Bhargava. This book was originally written by a mother who loves her children so much. She wanted her children to carry their traditional cooking to their future families. That's the reason she wrote her book.

This recipe book is amazing. I am very glad that I found this book.

Pre-cooked masala is pureed tomato and onion base, with many Indian spices. It lasts a couple weeks and it is a curry base so it is very convenient to keep in the refrigerator.

This lamp is the one I bought in Turkey when I traveled. I love this lamp so much. 

It is hand made by a Turkish artisan. It is beautiful work.

Real design never gets old. And because people love it deeply, they don't waste. 

I like the idea of making things with lots of love and enjoying them with love.

Our lovely cat, Bruce!

I wanna TACOS!

I was just very in the mood for tacos.

I made tortillas from scratch this time!

 Baja tacos: pan fried perch marinated with olive oil, cumin, coriander, chipotle chili pepper, lime juice, salt,

                   roasted tomato, fresh greens, fresh cilantro

Bean tacos: mixed beans steamed with cilantro, green chili, canned tomato, butter, chipotle chili pepper, salt, onion, garlic, olive oil, black pepper, cheese, rice, fresh greens, fresh cilantro

 Serve with fresh lime and sauce (mayonnaise, ketchup, hot chili)

making tortillas

Tea Spice cookies

 My husband Robert is good at baking. These spice cookies are his original recipe!

   Hint: Darjeeling tea, clove, allspice, cinnamon 

yummy!

Our wedding tree

 I made a wedding tree for our wedding.

                                                      Carving a tree on the wooden canvas...

Finished carving the wooden canvas!

Painting the wood into white...

                                                Guests joined painting "thumb stamp leaves"!

   My grandfather put the thumb stamp on the root saying "I am going to be the root". We were very happy.

                            This is the welcome board that I made for our wedding party in Florida.

                                                  I stitched striped fabric into the Filipino fan!

                                                      Our wedding ceremony invitations

Buster Keaton's silent film

I love Buster Keaton's silent films. He was film maker, actor, writer, comedian and producer... he was handling many things by him self. He didn't use stent actor, he acted by him self. I like that in his mind, creations interact in many ways.

Homemade Miso

Finally, my homemade red beans miso is ready to eat!  

2月に漬け始めた味噌がついに完成！小豆と米麹のお味噌です。

早速朝ごはんに甘辛味噌ダレとお味噌汁を作って頂きました。

小豆だからか、ほんのり甘くておいしかった。残りはもう少し漬けておきます。

味がどんな風に変わるのか楽しみ。

Home Party

 Vegetable Tamale

 dough: Masa harina, corn flower, flower, salt, butter, water

inside: portobello mushroom, zucchini, red pepper, shreded corn, garlic, salt, black pepper, cumin, oregano, chilli powder

 Pineapple fired rice

 ingredients: pineapple, zucchini, carrot, ginger, garlic, green chilli, dried shrimp, scallion, shallot, cashew nats, Thai basil, fish sauce, agave, black pepper, salt, rice 

 Indian cheese ball

ingredients: potato, ricotta cheese, garam masala, salt, flower

sauce ingredients: tomato, onion, garlic, turmeric, cumin, cardamon, coriander, paprika, cilantro, pepper, salt, garam masala, oil, butter, heavy cream   

beets and sweet potato salad

carrot, apple, pecan nuts salad