Παρασκευή 25 Δεκεμβρίου 2009

Russian Beetroot (Borshch ) Soup Recipe



4 to 6 servings

* Butter or oil -- 2-3 tablespoons
* Onion, minced -- 1
* Beets, peeled and grated -- 1 pound
* Tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced -- 1 cup
* Beef stock or water -- 2 quarts
* Red wine vinegar -- 3-4 tablespoons
* Sugar -- 1 tablespoon
* Salt and pepper -- to taste
* Sour cream -- 1/2 cup
* Fresh dill, chopped -- 1 bunch

Method

1. Heat the butter or oil over medium flame in a large pot. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Stir in the beets and tomatoes and stir to heat through. Pour in the stock or water, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Taste the broth, and adjust the amount of vinegar or sugar as needed. Broth should be lightly tart-sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.
2. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 45-50 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked yet retain their texture. Serve hot or cold in bowls garnished with a dollop of sour cream (smetana) and a sprinkling of chopped fresh dill.

Variations

* Some say a true Ukrainian borshch must have beans. Add fresh green beans or cooked white beans to the simmering soup.
* For a borshch with meat, add some chopped beef brisket, ham, sausages, beef frankfurters, or some pork ribs to the simmering soup. Use about 2-3 cups total. Simmer until the meat is tender.
* Try using a variety of vegetables. Sauté some chopped carrots, celery, celery root, parsley root or mushrooms with the onions. Add some shredded cabbage, chunks of potato, parsnip, fresh green beans or cooked white beans to the simmering soup. Use about 2-3 cups total.
* Traditionally, borshch achieved its sour twang by being left to ferment for a few days. These days vinegar speeds the process up. Other ingredients are often used in place of vinegar to add a sour flavor. These include lemon juice, pickle juice, rhubarb juice or fermented beet kvas.
* Use rubber gloves when peeling and grating the beets to avoid staining your hands. The beets can be grated on a box grater, in a food processor, or you can cut them into a small dice if you prefer.

Russian Salad Recipe

This is a colourful and fun-to-make salad from Russia! Really impressing on the dinner table!

Ingredients

* Beetroot
* Canned corn
* Onions, cut in pieces
* Pomegrades
* Canned Cucumber
* Lettuce

Sauce

Mix mayo, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. At the end, add some yogurt to make the taste lighter.

Put all vegetables in a large round plate and put sauce in the middle. Serve it on individual plates after mixing the sauce and the veggies! Enjoy!

Τρίτη 15 Δεκεμβρίου 2009

Munich Japan Dinner :)))

The before:





And the after:

Σάββατο 12 Δεκεμβρίου 2009

La Revancha del Tango


The video that gave me the inspiration of starting dancing tango!

De angelis - PREGONERA

http://www.chorotropio.gr/


You know you're a tango junkie when...

* When you realize the milonga is where you see all your friends.
* Walking into new buildings and noticing potential dance space to tango.
* You cross country lines to tango!
* You often find yourself googling phrases containing the word "tango".
* Your first question when buying clothes is "but can I dance in it?"used to be "but can I wear it to work?"
* You wish you paid more attention in high school Spanish class.
* You have a tango bumper sticker or your license plate contains a word related to tango.
* You plan the rest of your social life so it doesn't conflict with tango nights.
* Your fantasy travel destination is Buenos Aires.
* You listen to tango music when you're not at a practica or milonga.
* You now view the world in terms of people who tango and those unfortunate souls who don't.
* Before traveling, you check out the net for tango events in that area.
* You have to work hard to maintain nontango friendships (if you have any left).
* You have developed the ability to turn any conversation to tango within 2 minutes.
* You no longer have parties at your house; you host milongas.
* You practice the roles of both lead and follow to fully understand the dance.
* You have bought a piece of clothing not commonly seen in public.
* You dance tango in your mind.
* You've gone home after a dance with someone else's glitter on your face.
* When you wait in line, you must fight the urge to randomly gancho those around you.
* You constantly have bruises on your legs and feet..
* Your respect for others is measured by how well they can dance.
* You feel exhausted but come alive when you hear a tango and hit the dancefloor.
* When you find yourself dressing a stranger in your eyes in 3" heels and a black dress.
* When you and another contractor are workin on a move to Calo two stories above the ground, tool belts clinking.
* When you laugh out loud at bad tango in movies.
* When you walk backwards to the refrigerator.
* You've remodeled your house mainly to maximize dance space.
* Entering a lift and making a side step with your left foot to give way to somebody going out, you change weight on the doubletime.
* You copied your tango music to your office computer.
* You've danced with one of the biggies and survived.
* You go through withdrawal without at least one tangohigh per week.
* You've stopped saying sorry when you screw up you just tango out of the trouble you got into.
* You keep a pair of dance shoes in your car.
* You've sold or moved most of your furniture to give yourself practice space.
* You are unable to schedule major surgery without compromising tango commitments.
* When you look in the mirror, you are usually looking at your feet.
* Your shopping cart often substitutes as your dance partner.
* You've figured out how to find the hidden tango sections in any record store.
* You are willing to spend twice as much time driving to a milonga as you actually dance.
* Your computer passwords are phrases related to tango.
* Your ear has been trained to recognize the tango possibilities in all forms of music.
* You maintain a phone list of the hardcore tangueros in your area.
* Tango has diminished, if not ruined, the appeal of every other dance you ever did.
* You have become nocturnal.
* You have been spotted dancing tango in parking lots.
* Posters for upcoming tango events are always magnetized to your refrigerator.
* Your interest in shoes can easily be mistaken for a fetish.
* You have been known to sing in the ear of your partner while dancing.
* You recognize that special glow in the night as another hotbed of tango erupts in the distance.
* Friends and family automatically assume that you want tangorelated birthday gifts.
* Your dancing shoes always look wellused.
* You can't resist dancing a few tango steps whenever you cross a wooden floor.
* You find that you sandwich feet far more often than shake hands.
* You find that dancers drawn to tango are the most interesting passionate people you know.
* You draw satisfaction every time you break someone's Hollywood misconception of the dance.
* When you go to a conference, you plan your trip around local tango events.
* The first thing you do when you buy a new cd is skip through each song to evaluate its tango potential.
* You keep a portable stereo and an iPod full of tango music in your car.
* You choose your bars based on how much they mind you bringing in your own music and clearing tables out of the way.
* You'll pay money to attend a regular ballroom dance just on the offchance that they'll play a tango.
* You dance with spare chairs in the middle of the room.
* You gancho your way out of the door.
* You look at random people in the street and try to evaluate their tango abilities.
* You look at dresses and skirts as "good" or "not good", according to how good and practical they would look on you, while you dance.
* In the supermarket you hide yourself behind the trolley and practice forward steps. Now and then you have to check the price of the product you don’t need two meters behind your back to also practice the reverse.
* The first thing you do when you buy a new cd is skip through each song to evaluate its tango potential.

Films I like :)



"Andrei Rubluev" - Andrei Tarkovsky

"Solaris" - Andrei Tarkovsky

"The Mirror" - Andrei Tarkovsky *

"Nostalgia" - Andrei Tarkovsky

"The Yards" - James Gray

"We own the night" - James Gray *

"Two Loves" - James Gray *

"Walk the line", The life of Johnny Cash - James Mangold *

"Cursive II" - Japanese DanceTheatre Play, Music By John Cage

"Summer with Monica" - Ingmar Bergman

"Η νύχτα των σαλτιμπάκων" - Ingmar Bergman *

"Persona" - Ingmar Bergman *

"Passion" - Ingmar Bergman *

"Belle de jour" - Luis Bunuel *

"El ángel exterminador" - Luis Bunuel

"Nazarin" - Luis Bunuel

"The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" - Luis Bunuel *

"Ascenceur pour l'echafaud (ασανσέρ για δολοφόνους)" - Luis Malle

"Shadows" - Kasavetis

"To mystiko frourio" - Kurosava *

"Down by Law" - Jim Jarmusch

"Barfly (Written by Charles Bukowski"

"Yes Man" -
Peyton Reed


* To be watched soon..

The Books I like :)


Literature:

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

The Idiot- Dostoyievsky

Crime and Punishment

The Eternal Husband

White Nights

Stieg Larson - Millenium The Trilogy

Several:

Tarkovsky

Yojokun

Woman: An Intimate Geography

Self Trigger Point Therapy

Zen Body Therapy

Cooking:

A Little Taste of Japan

Japanese Cook Book by Harumi

The Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook

Matcha Ice-Cream


from the book "New Tastes in Green Tea", by Mutsuko Tokunaga

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream", Roberto Benini in "Down by Law" :))

* 2 cups milk
* 4 egg yolks
* 2/3 cups sugar
* 1 Tbsp cornstarch
* 1/3 tsp salt
* 4 Tbsp matcha + 2/3 cup hot water
* 1 cup fresh cream
* 1 medium orange, cut into sections
* fresh cherries

1. Heat the milk in a small pan to about 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Place the egg yolks in a pan and beat lightly. Add the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. and mix thoroghly with a whisk. Gradually pour in the heated milk and stir, making sure that no lumps form. Strain the mixture and pour it back into the pan.

3. Place the pan over a low flame and cook until the milk thickens, stirring all the time with a wooden ladle. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Mix the matcha and hot water and stir briskly until the past becomes smooth.

5. In another bowl, whip the cream until semi-stiff, fold the milk, and add the matcha paste.

6. Pour into a metal or plastic container, and place in the freezer to set. After two hours of so, take it out and mix thoroughly with a spoon or whisk, then resume freezing. Repeat this process 3 or 4 times to ensure the ice-cream is smooth.

7. Serve with orange sections and cherries.

Japanese Grilled Salmon


• 1 salmon fillet, skin on (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons red miso
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 1 green onion, chopped finely
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation:

Preheat grill for medium-low heat. Combine all ingredients, except salmon, in a small bowl. Place mixture on flesh of salmon fillet. Place salmon on grill, skin side down, and cook for about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

Matcha Smoothie



* 1/2 banana
* 1/2 cup rice milk (or soya milk)
* 1-2 tsp matcha
* ice

Blend all and taste!

My favorite wake-up Smoothie!

Ichigo Daifuku Recipe


Ingredients:

• 1 cup shiratama-ko (rice flour)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• *For filling
• 1/3 cup water & 1/2 cup sugar & 1/4 cup dried anko powder
• or 1/2 cup premade anko (sweet red bean paste)
• 6 strawberries
• *katakuriko starch for dusting

Preparation:


Heat 1/3 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar in a pan. Add 1/4 cup of anko powder in the pan and stir well. Set aside. Wash strawberries and remove the calyxes. Wrap a strawberry with about a spoonful of anko and rounds to make a ball. Make 6 balls. Put 2/3 cup of water and 1/4 cup of sugar in a heat-resistant bowl and mix well. Add shiratama-ko flour in the bowl and mix well. Put the bowl in microwave and heat the dough for two minutes. Stir the dough. Heat the dough in microwave until the dough inflates. Stir the mochi quickly. Dust a flat pan with some katakuri-ko starch. Also, dust hands with some katakuri-ko. Remove the hot mochi from the bowl to the pan by hands. Dust hands with more katakuri-ko starch and divide the mochi into 6 pieces by hands. The mochi is hot and sticky, so be careful not to burn your hands. Make 6 flat and round mochi. Put a piece of strawberry and anko filling on a mochi piece and wrap it by stretching mochi. Rounds the daifuku. Repeat the process to make more daifuku cakes.
*Makes 6 daifuku cakes

Special thanks to japanesefood.about.com

Mochi - Ohagi (Botamochi) Recipe


Ingredients:

• *For Rice Balls:
• 2 1/2 cup glutious rice (mochi gome)
• 1/2 cup Japanese rice
• 3 cup water
*For Toppings:
• 3/4 lb. anko (sweet azuki bean paste)
• 1/2 cup crushed walnuts and 2 Tbsp sugar, grinded well
• 3 Tbsp black sesame seeds and 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar, grinded well
• 1/3 cup kinako (soy bean powder) and 2 Tbsp sugar, mixed

Preparation:

Put both kinds of rice in a bowl and wash with cold water. Drain the rice in a colander and set aside for 30 minutes. Place the rice in a rice cooker and add measured water. Let the rice soak in the water for 30 minutes. Start the cooker. Put prepared toppings, such as anko and sesame seeds, in seperate bowls. When rice is cooked, let it steam for 15 minutes. Mash the rice with wooden pestle until sticky. Wet hands and shape the rice into oval balls. Cover rice balls with different toppings.
*Makes about 32 rice balls

Kushidango


Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup joshinko (rice flour)
• 3/4 cup warm water
For Sauce:
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsps soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp katakuriko (dogtooth violet starch) /cornstarch
• 1 1/2tbsp water
• *Bamboo skewers

Preparation:

Put rice flour in a bowl and add warm water. Knead the dough well. Make small round dumplings. Place the dumplings in a steamer and steam them on high heat for 10 min. Cool the dumplings and skewer them in bamboo sticks. (3-4 dumplings each stick.) Mix water, sugar, and soysauce in a pan and put it on medium heat. Mix the water and katakuriko starch in a cup and set aside. When the sauce boils, add the starch mixture and mix quickly. Slightly grill the skewered dumplings and brush the sauce over them.
*Makes 4 servings.

Walnut Tart with Matcha Whipped Cream


Crust

1 cup whole grain flour
1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (chilled)
Using your fingers, blend butter into flour and salt
until well-blended.
Add approximately 2 tablespoons of cold water over
flour, mixing with a fork. Dough should just barely
hold together.
Gather into a ball, wrap in plastic and flatten into a
4” disc.
Chill for an hour.
When chilled, remove plastic and roll out and press
into a tart pan.

Filling

1/2 cup agave syrup or maple syrup
4 tablespoons softened butter
3 eggs
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 tablespoon arrowroot
2 cups walnuts
Zest from half of a Meyer lemon Preheat oven to 375°F
Combine all ingredients, mix well and pour into crust.
Bake @ 350˚ for 35 - 45 minutes, until set.

Matcha Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons Matcha powder
Mix a couple teaspoons of the cream into the matcha
powder to completely dissolve the powder. Then add
to the rest of the cream and whip until almost done.
Stir in the maple syrup, then finish beating.

Matcha Ginger Tea


With crushed ice, lime and ginger

* 1 tsp matcha powder
* 2 T fresh ginger, chopped or grated*
* 1/2 cup ice
* juice of 1/2 lime
* honey (optional)

Blend ice, matcha and ginger together at high speed until ice is crushed. Pour immediately into a chilled glass. Add lime juice and honey to taste.

* Don't have a blender? Use grated ginger and a martini shaker with ice-cubes for a ginger tea on the rocks. No electricity required.

TIPS and Know-How

* Temperature matters. Heat brings out the bitter flavors in matcha. Ice will bring out the sweetness and the rich creamy mouth feel unique to matcha.
* Use best quality water and iced-cubes available.
* Use KEIKO Bio matcha
* Drink up immediately. Matcha tea does not technically dissolve but rather suspends in liquid. After a while, the tea will float to the bottom and your beverage will separate.

Special thanks to www.matchasource.com

Matcha Shortbread Cookies


1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened but not melted)
1/4 cup dehydrated cane sugar
1 cup whole grain spelt flour
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon sifted matcha powder

Beat the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, arrowroot
powder, sea salt and the matcha powder until thoroughly
blended. Mix into the butter and sugar mixture. Roll out
into a log and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 275˚. Slice the log into 1/4” slices and
bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes. Cool completely.
Makes approximately 24 cookies.

Matcha Butternut Squash Cupcakes



1 1/4 cup whole grain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup melted clarified butter
1 cup squash puree
Preheat oven to 350˚. Put cupcake papers into a
muffin tin.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour,
baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt. In a
separate, smaller bowl, mix the eggs, maple syrup,
clarified butter and squash purée. Add the wet
ingredients to the dry, mixing until just blended.
Spoon the batter into the paper cups, dividing evenly,
and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted
into one comes out clean.

Matcha Ganache

3.5 oz best quality white chocolate, finely chopped
(I use Green & Black’s)
1 cup cream
2 teaspoons Matcha powder
Start out by chilling the mixing bowl and the beaters.
Melt the white chocolate and 1/4 cup of the cream
over low heat, stirring continually. Remove from heat
and cool completely.
Put the rest of the cream into the chilled mixing bowl,
then sift the Matcha powder into the cream and
whisk until thoroughly blended. Beat until beater
marks just begin to show, then add the cooled white
chocolate/cream mixture and continue beating until
soft peaks form. Be careful not to over-beat as it will
turn to butter.
Spread over the tops of cupcakes, then add a few
pumpkin seeds and/or sprinkle with usucha tea.

Matcha (Green Tea) Truffles


• 7 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 10 ounces white couverture chocolate(8 ounces finely chopped,2 ounces in block form)
• 1 teaspoon matcha powder
• Confectioners' sugar
• 45 small fluted paper cups (optional)

1. Place cream in a 2-quart wide saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and immediately sprinkle chopped chocolate into cream. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes; the heat should melt the chocolate. Stir very gently until smooth.
2. Strain mixture into a shallow bowl by pressing it with a rubber spatula through a fine-mesh strainer. Whisk in matcha powder, cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll, preferably overnight.
3. Grate remaining chocolate on largest holes of a box grater; place in a small bowl. Coat your hands with confectioners' sugar and roll ganache into 3/4- to 1-inch balls.
4. Toss truffles in grated chocolate coating. Place in fluted paper cups, if desired, and serve at room temperature.

Dango


Materials:
- a pot
- bamboo skewers
- a spoon
- a strainer
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Shiratamako Sweet rice flour (you should be able to get this at an asian food store or a supermarket, no substitute.)
- 1/2 cup water
- water to fill the pot
- Anko or soysauce.

Instructions:
1. Put the water into the pot and start it boiling.
2. Combine the water with the sweet rice flour. (It's best if you combine it slowly) You should get a dough that isn't too soft and is well combined. (sort of like hard bread dough)
3. Roll it into small balls
4. If the water is boiling let the balls of dango in gently with a spoon.
5. Boil them long enough for them to float and then cook them for about a minute more.
6. Put them on a bamboo skewer. About three to four each. Then serve with soysauce and sugar and/or sweet bean paste.

Anko (Red Bean Paste)


Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hours, 15 minutes
Ingredients:
• 1 1/3 cup bio azuki beans
• 2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt

Preparation:
Put lots of water in deep pot. Soak azuki beans in the water overnight. Heat the beans on high heat and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium and simmer beans for about 10 minutes. Drain the beans. Put the azuki beans in the pot again and add about four cups of water. Heat the azuki and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and simmer the azuki beans for about one hour, or until softened. Drain the liquid from the pot. Add sugar and salt in the beans. Stir and simmer beans until thickened. Stop the heat and cool the anko.

Japanese Omelette (Tamagoyaki) Recipe



Ingredients:
• 4 eggs
• 3 tbsps dashi soup stock
• 2 tbsps sugar

Preparation:
Beat eggs in a bowl. Add dashi soup and sugar in the egg and mix well. Heat a frying pan on medium heat. *Preferably, use a square tamagoyaki pan. Oil the pan. Pour a scoop of egg mixture in the pan and spread over the surface. Cook it until half done and roll the egg toward the bottom side. Move the rolled egg to the top side. Oil the empty part of the pan and pour another scoop of egg mixture in the space and under the rolled egg. Cook it until half done and roll the egg again so that the omelet becomes thicker. Cook the omelet until done. If you are using a regular frying pan, shape tamagoyaki on bamboo mat. Cut tamagoyaki into 1-inch thick pieces.
Makes 4 servings (2 tamagoyaki)

Perfect for Japanese Breakfast. Serve it with natto, miso soup and rice!!!

Art...














Japanese Teriyaki Recipe


This is my favorite Teryaki Recipe by Harumi's Recipe Book

Chicken Teriyaki (serves 4)

boneless, skinless chicken breasts (two large breasts)
salt & black pepper
1 1/2 tbsps vegetable oil
teriyaki sauce (recipe below)


Heat oil in a thick-bottomed pan over medium high heat. Salt and pepper the chicken, then add to the pan. Brown the chicken on both sides until cooked through.

Add teriyaki sauce in spoonfuls, until the chicken is coated, but not drowning. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened into a nice glaze (about 1 minute). Remove from heat. Let the pan cool for a few minutes. That's it!! Simple as that!

Teriyaki sauce

Teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup mirin*
1/8 cup soy sauce*
1/2 tablespoon sugar

Tips:

- Serve on top of salad
- Use Bio incredients (ARCHE shoyu and brown came sugar are recommended)


Mix all the incredients. Ready!