Simple and colorful: steamed baby winter vegetables

Feeling a little down-trodden due to the constant cold, I perused the grocery isle in search of a little color, a little brightness, a little hint of the colors of spring. What jumped out at me was a selection of pint-sized root vegetables: baby turnips, and tiny baby carrots with vibrant greens and sugar snap peas (where are these peas coming from?). I thought: bright, vibrant, crunchy five-minute lunch! I peeled and quartered the baby turnips, peeled the carrots, leaving their stems on and trimmed the peas. The turnips and the carrots went in a bamboo steamer and the snap peas were blanched in some boiling salted water (and then dropped into ice water). I love the way blanching brings out the green, but I could have made even faster work of the dish by adding the peas to the steamer as well. I then drizzled the vegetables with some pure sesame oil, sprinkled them with some black sesame seeds and sea salt and voila! Lunch!

Steam. Season. Serve with some brown rice. Enjoy!

Time for tea: warm, spicy chai

This week, I have received a few requests for use of a chai tea image I shot some time ago (strange: is there a chai convention going on???). The conversations reminded me of how much I enjoy chai and how fun it is to concoct your own flavors. Chai is such a nice option on a cold winter day: warm, rich and soothing with spices to wake up your senses. It was the perfect afternoon beverage to sip while watching the falling snow today. Follow the basic recipe for chai and then add your own spices to taste, or follow some of my ideas below.

Basic chai

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup skim milk
2 tsp loose black tea
Spices to taste
1 Tbs granulated sugar (or to taste)

Heat water and milk along with spices until liquid boils. Remove from heat, add tea, cover and steep for 2 minutes. Strain out tea and spices. Add sugar to taste.

For every cup of liquid, add:

Eastern Blend

1/2 tsp sumac berries
2 pods green cardamom

Sweet Blend

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 pieces "Vietnamese or true" cinnamon or 1 stick Cassia

Spicy Blend

1-2 star anise
3 balls allspice
3 black peppercorns

Satsifying a sweet tooth: quick-bake raspberry rolls

I've been fiddling around with some left over puff pastry from the Sweet Paul piece. It's so fun to work with pre-prepared pastry. It takes just minutes to make something delicious. It's a good thing it's frozen - at least there is some hurdle to baking a hedonistic treat!


Quick-bake raspberry rolls
(makes six, double recipe for 12)

One sheet puff pastry, defrosted according to package instructions
1/4 - 1/2 cup raspberry jam, heated to loosen it (strain seeds if desired but I like them)
Scant handful dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Melted butter for basting
Granulated sugar and sanding sugar for dusting


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place defrosted pastry on a lightly floured surface. Lightly dust with granulated sugar. Brush with butter and use a fork to prick pastry in 4 or 5 different places. Spoon on and evenly distribute jam. Scatter walnuts and cranberries on top. Cut pastry into six rectangles and roll each rectangle horizontally. Place on a non-stick baking sheet, seam down. Brush with butter and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for ~15 minutes until pastry is puffed and golden.

Perfect for winter: miso soup

Do you ever go into a Japanese supermarket and end up with a full shopping basket just because everything looks so beautiful and you just can't leave the store without it? Well, I'm definitely guilty of that. I love browsing through the aisles looking at all of the exotic ingredients and the ones that aren't so exotic but are so beautifully packaged that they seem so.

There's a small but well supplied supermarket in soho that I love visiting when I am in the neighborhood. Earlier this week, I stopped in with the goal of satisfying a soba noodle craving but of course, ended up with enough to make several dishes.

Miso soup is so easy to make and I was reminded how delicious and satisfying it is. I like to short cut the process by buying soup broth concentrate and I like to add whatever strikes my fancy to the soup. This time, some beautiful enoki mushrooms and Japanese garlic chives caught my eye in the produce section. I added tofu to the mix and some chopped scallion and in less than 10 minutes, had lunch. For dinner, I re-heated the leftovers and added some soba noodles and a fried egg on top. It was the perfect light winter meal - protein, vegetables, warm and soothing.With the left over soba noodles, I revisited a favorite recipe I will never tire of, Otsu (pictured above).

Miso soup
(serves 4)

3-4 cups water
Dashi-based soup concentrate to taste (liquid form, ask for a recommendation at the supermarket)
1 package firm, silken tofu, cut into 1/2 inch squares
1 package enoki mushrooms (trim root ends and use amount desired)
3 scallions (white and light green parts), sliced thinly
1/4 cup chopped garlic chives (nira), cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 tablespoons miso (I like shiro miso)

optional:
6 oz dried soba noodles
4 eggs, over easy

Bring water and soup concentrate to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add tofu. Simmer for a couple of minutes. Turn off heat. Dissolve miso in a few tablespoons of the hot soup broth in a small container and add into the pot. Add scallions and garlic chives. Add soba noodles if using. Serve in bowls. Top with fried egg if using.