Spring is coming fast (at least in Japan!) and whatever your culinary priorities, all kinds of green vegetables are coming around the corner!
Here, in Shizuoka especially, broad beans, corgettes/zucchinis and broad beans are readily available!

Quinoa with Green Vegetables and Vanilla!

INGREDIENTS: for 6 persons

-Quinoa: 250 g
-Young spinach sprouts (small leaves): a fistful
-Zucchini/Courgette: 1 small green and firm
-Broad beans (fesh!): 500 g (pods included)
-Vanilla: 1 pod
-Salt (fleur de sel if possible), black pepper (ground): to taste
-Olive oil (EV): 80 ml/cc

RECIPE:

-Cook the quinoa al dente in lightly salted water.
Cool it under running cold water. Drain well.

- Take broad beans out of their pods and drop into boiling water for 30 seconds. Cool them under cold running water. Delicately peel them.

-Cook the broad beans again in slightly salted water for 3 minutes just under boiling temperature. Cool under cold running water. Drain well and put aside.

-Wash then cut the zucchimi/courgette in small pieces. Wash and drain well the spinach sprouts.

-Cut the vanilla pod along ts length and take flesh/seeds out with the point of a knife and mix with the olive oil in a small bowl.

-In a large bowl mix all the vegetables and then the vanilla sauce.
Leave inside refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

-Before serving, add a little salt and plenty of pepper.

-Drink a white sparkling wine with it!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES
Not-Just-Recipes, Bengal cuisine, Cooking Vegetarian, Frank Fariello, Gluten-free Vegan Family, Meatless Mama, Warren Bobrow, Wheeling Gourmet, Le Petit Cuisinier, Vegan Epicurean, Miss V’s Vegan Cookbook, Comestiblog, To Cheese or not To Cheese, The Lacquer Spoon, Russell 3, Octopuspie, Bread + Butter, Pegasus Legend, Think Twice, The French Market Maven, Fuji Mama, Great Teacher Sato

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi, Easy Does It Recipes
—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Click on the title for the full details or here to be redirected to another site

There is a wealth of vegan/vegetarian recipes in Japanese cuisine to the point that people with such priorities might feel attracted by this country. Don’t forget there is a traditional Budhist (I’m not) vegetarian gastronomy which can be easily amended to vegan tastes!

A note before I continue:
A vegan friend pointed out that honey is not vegan when I advised to use honey-pickled Japanese plums. I shall leave that to you.
Just bear in mind that non-honey Japanese pickled plums are higher in slat, although the same salt can be used as the seasoning itself.

Green peppers, or bell peppers are full of extremely important beneficial elements, so here is a very simple way to accomodate them:

Fried Bell Peppers, Shimeji Mushrooms & Umeboshi!

INGREDIENTS: For 2~3 people

-Shimeji mushrooms: 1 pack or a large fistful

-Bell Peppers: 2

-Umeboshi/Pickled Japanese plums: 2

-Olive oil: 2 tablespoons
-Black pepper: to taste
-Soy sauce: a little

Optional spices (chili pepper): to taste

RECIPE:

-Take seed out of umeboshi/pickled Japanese plum and cut to a pulp with a knife.

-Cut the bell peppers in trips. Make sure you have discarded all the seeds. They are not easily digested.

-Separate the shimeji mushrooms.

-Pour the olive oil on a frypan and stir fry the bell peppers and shimeji mushrooms until as soft as you wish.

-Add umeboshi, balck pepper, soy sauce and optional spices. Mix and stir-fry for a few seconds.

-Serve topped with some fresh green sprouts.

Easy again, ain’t it?

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES
Not-Just-Recipes, Bengal cuisine, Cooking Vegetarian, Frank Fariello, Gluten-free Vegan Family, Meatless Mama, Warren Bobrow, Wheeling Gourmet, Le Petit Cuisinier, Vegan Epicurean, Miss V’s Vegan Cookbook, Comestiblog, To Cheese or not To Cheese, The Lacquer Spoon, Russell 3, Octopuspie, Bread + Butter, Pegasus Legend, Think Twice, The French Market Maven, Fuji Mama, Great Teacher Sato

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Click on the title for the full details or here to be redirected to another site

I have noticed a great interest for rutabaga or Swede turnip 8actually comes with many names) and have always been wndering about many recipes.
It can be prepared almost in the same way as pumpkins, kabocha and potimarrons.

Here is a simple French cuisine-inspired recipe:

Rutabaga Veloute!

INGREDIENTS: For 4 people

-Rutabaga: 1 kg
-Onion: 1 large
-Carrot: 1
-Garlic: 1 clove
-Milk: 750 ml/cc
-Water: 250 ml/cc
-Sugar: 1 tablespoon
-Salt & Pepper: to taste
-Fresh cream: 100 g
-Safran: a few threads
-Chervil: a few leaves

PREPARATION:

-Peel and cut the rutabaga in cubes.
-Peel the carrot and onion and slice.
-Peel and crush the garlic

RECIPE:

-In a large saucepan, drop the rutabaga, carrot, onion and crushed garlic.

-Cover with the milk and water. Add the sugar, salt and pepper.

-Bring to boil, reduce fire so to simmer for 40 minutes.

-Blend the soup in a blender/food processor. or with an electric mixer.
Add the fresh cream and mix.

-Serve decorated with a few safran threads and finely chopped chervil.

NOTES:

-You may add to this soup cooked chestnuts or fried mushrooms!

- You can serve it hot or chilled!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES
Not-Just-Recipes, Bengal cuisine, Cooking Vegetarian, Frank Fariello, Gluten-free Vegan Family, Meatless Mama, Warren Bobrow, Wheeling Gourmet, Le Petit Cuisinier, Vegan Epicurean, Miss V’s Vegan Cookbook, Comestiblog, To Cheese or not To Cheese, The Lacquer Spoon, Russell 3, Octopuspie, Bread + Butter, Pegasus Legend, Think Twice, The French Market Maven, Fuji Mama, Great Teacher Sato, Peas Love Carrots

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-

Click on the title for the full details or here to be redirected to another site

Click on the title for the full details or here to be redirected to another site

Click on the title for the full details or here to be redirected to another site