Tomatoes in Mid August 09

Tomatoes in Kitchen Garden Mid Aug 09

There are some more tomatoes growing the small growing bag, however, none of them have turned to red yet.

Well, I will see how sweet or ripe they can go, by grown in our part shaded garden in London.

Aloe Vera Plants

Aloe Vera for Medicine Aug 09

I have got two little Aloe Vera in a little pot recently.

I think the hand made moisturiser is perfect for my skin, as well as meeting the huge saving of money for expensive moisturisers I used to buy 150ml for £66.

I posted how I made the moisturiser recently, here.

The only problem so far I have got is that it seems that the tropical nature plants could be so sensitive – they demand for warm, full sunshine as much as possible while they do not really require water.

In my house there is not no such place. I may have to move the plants in the house every day in the house in winter.

Anyway, I think I have to study about Aloe Vera more to grow them vitally.

Katsudon – Pork Cutlet in Half Raw Egg Soy and Rice

Katsudon Close-Up

Just after I made the soy seasoning sauce for Chirashi-Zushi some time ago in this month, I fried pork to cook pork cutlet.

We could serve them with thinly sliced tender green cabbage with thick brown sauce. They are usually served with Japanese white rice and Miso soup and is popular dish in Japan.

Katsudon Served with Miso Soup

On that day as I had some spare time, I cooked the cutlet in the following ingredients:

Ingredients of Katsudon for serves 2:

• around 150g x 2 pork cutlet
•  half onion – thinly sliced
• 300ml soy seasoning – fish stock, sugar, sake, mirin
• 4 beaten eggs
• 50g of mangetout or green peas – boiled with a pinch of salt ( Never allow overcooked. )
• 2 full Donburi amount of Japanese white rice cooked 

I used the soy sauce seasoning used to taste the ingredients of Chirashi Sushi on the other day, so there is some stock from Shitake mushroom and deep fried bean curd.

I actually fried the cutlet for at least 4 portions with the pork shown below, I had them simply with rice and miso soup on the next day.

However, the taste is off course better with the ones which have just been fried for a while ago.

Katsudon Ingredients

Katsudon Ingredients Processed

1. Heat a frying pan in a medium heat and add oil, then saute onions for a half minute or so.

Sliced Onion with Soy Seasonings

2. Add soy seasoning and put cutlet on laid onions all over the frying pan.

Katsu Pork Cutlet Put on Onions

3. Add egg and put a lid, continue to cook in the medium heat for a couple of minutes.

Covered with Beaten Eggs

4. Once the egg starts to firm, reduce the heat and add green topping – mangetout or peas and countinue to heat with lid.

5. Dish up Japanese white rice in Donburi bowls.

6. Immediate after the surface of the egg finaly starts to firm, turn off the heat and cover the rice with them.

If you like thicker seasonings, add more soy seasoning sauce to be absorbed by the white rice. You could also adjust to season the soy seasonings with more or less of sugar, Mirin and soy sauce to your preferences.

This dish is very popular in Japan as well as the set of simple pork cutlet with white rice and Miso soup.

Chirashi Sushi

Chirashi-Zushi

With the prawns I left the half of the packet for the Okonomiyaki I fried this afternoon, I carefully boiled them for very short time to keep the prawns as softer as possible.

For 10 prawns, I have put about half tea spoon of salt in water.

Once the water is boiled fully, I put the prawns and wait for 10 seconds just after the prawns turn white-red colour.

Then, Drain them and keep on a plate.

As it continue to be cooked for while even after it is drained, the waiting time of 10 seconds for 10 king prawns without the shells was adequate time.

  

 

Chirashi-Zushi Close-Up

 

 

 

 

Ingredients of Chirashi Sushi for serves 2:

   —- for Sushi Rice —-

• 1.5 cup of Japanese rice – cooked with a few kelps and 1 table spoon of sake
• 70 to 80 ml of Sushi vinegar mix – adjust the amount as you like

   —- for mixture —-

• 7cm thick cucumber - thinly sliced 
• 1 beaten egg – fry thinly and then thinly sliced
• 10 prawns -boiled in fully boiling water for 10 seconds after it turns its colour

   —- and for mixture tasted with seasonings —-

• half deep fried bean curd – soak in hot water for minutes and thinly sliced
• a couple of dried Japanese Shitake mushrooms – soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and thinly sliced
• 1 fist amount of dried shredded bonito
• 1 table spoon of sugar
• 1 table spoon of sake
• 1 table spoon of mirin
• 3 table spoon of Shoyu
• 200ml of water

    —- for topping —-

• roasted Japanese white sesame seeds
• roasted Japanese seaweed – thinly sliced

Japanese Shitake Mushroom and Deep Fried Bean Curd

1. Once the white rice is ready add Sushi vinegar and mix well to make the rice cooler and dryer.

2. Boil the water with shredded bonito for a couple of minutes, then add the above ingredients for the mixture which is tasted with seasonings. Please note that the deep fried bean curd is drained and discurd the water. The water from the dried Shitake is to be added to the sauce with the sliced Shitake.

3. Cook it for 5 minutes and leave it to cool down.

4. Add cucumber and the drained deep fried bean curd with Shitake into the rice and mix well.

Chirashi Zushi Ingredients

5. Add 2 or 3 table spoons of sauce when the deep fried bean curd and Shitake are cooked into the rice.

Sauce When Shitake and Deep Fried Bean Curd are Cooked

6. Decorate with the egg, prawns and add topping of the seaweed and sesame seeds.

I was happy to eat the Chirashi Sushi as I had not eaten it for a long time.

As Chirashi Sushi looks as gorgeous as other Sushi and Sashimi, it is often made in home parties in Japan and is also very popular as lunch box we can easily buy from super markets or 24-hour 7-day operating convenience stores in Japan.

Okonomiyaki Japanese Pizza with Prawns

Okonomiyaki with Prawns Close-UP

I fried Okonomiyaki again, but with prawns instead of pork I usually add.

Okonomiyaki Ingredients

As the prawns I used got hard very quickly, the texture of the prawns were as if I was eating something like an old rubber.

Well, for Okonomiyaki, I have to select better quality prawns as prawns have to be cooked with the Okonomiyaki mixture for at least 5 minutes and more.

If such low quality prawns are only cooked for a minute or so, the prawns stay just as soft as I expect.

Anyway, overall taste of the Okonomiyaki today except for the prawns are fine, I could try with other meat or similar recipes which is popular in Japan some time when I have all ingredients.

Kitchen Garden Beginning Aug 09

The tomato leaves gad got so big that I cut back to almost half the size on the other day.

Tomatoes Beginning of Aug 09

I expect that the tomatoes are now regaining the accelarated growth with the concentrated nutrients from the grow bag and fertiliser I give them every week.

Kitchen Garden Tomatoes Aug 09

Aloe Vera Leaves

I made Aloe Vera moisturiser for my face to cut cosmetic cost today.

Aloe Vera Leaves from Victriana Nursery Gardens

Aloe Vera Leaves

Aloe Vera Inside Leave

Aloe Vera Moisturizer in Blender

Aloe Vera Home Made Moisturizer

 

Ingredients are just the 1 large aloe vera leave without the green rind, 200 to 250ml of water and 1 tea spoon of glycerin.

I used two small aloe vera leaves instead and keep it in a fridge and I have to use it within a couple of weeks as there are no additives.

I will try this for a week and if there are no problem to my skin, I will be able to save at least a few hundred of pounds a year.

In fact, I placed an order of 2 aloe vera leaves at the beginning of June 09.

On their website, it was written that it would be available in June or July 09 and when I placed the order I requested to inform me of the date of the expected delivery.

They said the leaves are available at the time I confirmed on the phone and the date of delivery would be informed later by a person in charge later.

There had been no contacts, nor delivery thorought to the end of July and at the beginning of August I called them to find out what is happening.

They said that this year they can not get large leaves, however, there are some small aloe vera plants available. 

As by the end of June 09, my interest to the aloe vera I have ordered had gone, I told that I could cancel the order due to the missing stock of the supplier.

But they said that they would somehow send them by the end of this week – then I received it today.

If the leaves are so small and it cost 1.70 x2 in minimam order + carriage 3.95 = total cost of 7.35, after waiting for 2 months. 

If I knew it would take 2 months to deliver and the leaves are not long enough as standard in a general sense of manner, I would not have bought it.

This is another typical expensive living cost in the UK. 

Imagine that most of services and products in the UK work like this example, how much living costs of us in the UK have been flown away, in comparison with other major cities in the world?

Gyoza with Homemade Bread

Gyoza

Usually Gyoza is served with white rice, Ramen noodles, Chahan egg fried rice or other Chinese origin dishes.

Gyoza with Bread

Today, as I baked a loaf of bread and served with the Gyoza kept in the freezer.

Actually, it could be a good combination, though the soy sauce for Gyoza may be changed with other vinegar based sauces.

Pasta with Chicken Stock

When we are used to the artificial taste of instant stock cubicalor powders in busy life, our tongues are less likely to demand in every details.

Farfalle Pasta in Chicken Soup Close-UP

When I have time to spend for better food life, my tongue starts to require a lot of picky sensitive demands.

Farfalle Pasta in Chicken Soup

On the other day, the simple pasta in home made chicken stock satisfied my tongue, in addition to the Japanese cream puff with delicate ratios of use of selected fresh ingredients – vanilla beans, fresh cream, sensitive portion of sugar, handmade custard cream with sensitive portion of butter, sugar and other ingredients, we have at last been able to buy in London since a couple years ago.

Beard Papa Cream Puff Choux Bun

I think tasters and decision makers of supermarkets in the UK need even more food sophistication business trips to other countries in the world. However, I admire the fantastic improvement of taste of food sold in supermarkets in the UK over the past a couple of years.

Rice Porridge with Pork Stock

Pork Stock Rice Porridge with Cabbage

I made pork stock with the pork bones with fat part left over from the other night when I cooked Tonkatsu pork deep fries and have kept it in the fridge for a couple of days. 

 

Pork Stock

 

 

 

Ingredients of Pork Stock for 300ml:

• 250g of pork with bones, fat part 
• 1.2 litre of water
• Some vegetables in your stock, 2 spring onions, 1 onion, 3cm ginger cubical, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 leaves of cabbage, etc

1. Cook above in high heat and once it boils, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for about 1.5 hours.

2. Turn off the heat and after leaving the pan for several hours as it is, keep the pan in the fridge for more than 1 night, up to a couple of days.

 

 

 

Pork Stock Rice Porridge with Cabbage Close-UP

 

Ingredients of Pork Stock Rice Porridge for serves 2:

 

• 300 ml of pork stock
• half cup of Japanese rice
• 300 ml of water
• 2/3 tea spoon of salt
• 1 cabbage leave, sliced
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 spring onion – sliced

1. Heat the pork stock with rice and salt at low-medium heat for 15 minutes, occasionally stirring the rice with stock.

2. When the rice absorbs a lot of water and makes the soup thicker, add 100 cc of water and continue to cook at low heat for about 5 minutes or until it becomes thicker again.

3. Repeat the process number 2. above twice.

Pork Stock Rice Porridge with Cabbage in Pan

4. Taste the porridge and adjust with salt or water. add cabbage and cook for a couple of minutes until it just becomes tender and never allow them overcooked.

Pork Stock Rice Porridge with Cabbage, Egg

5. Add beaten egg in the pan and cook in high heat, once the beaten egg starts to firm, stir well for about 10 seconds or the egg has just turned into whitish cooked colour. Do not allow them overcooked.

Pork Stock Rice Porridge

Serve them with the spring onion topping and enjoy. It contains a lot of colagen from the pork.