Category Archives: Recipes

Quinoa Meatloaf

Quinoa meatloaf in a soft wheat bun, Sweet Fire pickles and peppers and homemade slaw.
(Photo by Kanako Shimura)

Great texture and flavor, and interesting recipe find.
Modified from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/turkey-and-quinoa-meatloaf/detail.aspx

Ingredients:

3lb meatloaf mix (1lb each of pork, veal, beef)
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa (soak in hot water for 15 minutes then drain)
1 small can tomato paste, dissolved in 1 cup water
2 tbsp sriracha (or any hot sauce)
3 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 eggs
1 large carrot, grated
2 onions, finely chopped
1/2 head garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat the oven at 350 F. Mix all ingredients together and pack in three loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes and cool 10 minutes before slicing. May stand alone or with a ketchup/worcestershire/sugar sauce or glaze. In sandwiches, top with caramelized onions.

(I like tasting the mix by microwaving a dollop of it in a bowl for 30 seconds to a minute and adjusting seasoning as needed).

Mangia!

Quinoa meatloaf over truffled capellini and broccoli.

Fanny’s Ginger Fish and Cold Sesame Buckwheat Noodles

One evening at a friend’s house, a friend of theirs named Fanny magically appeared with a whole fish in a brown bag. After a few minutes in the oven and stirring up a fragrant mixture in a pan, she came up with this simple but sumptuous fish dish that we’ve tried to replicate since. Below is a recipe for the fish as well as a made-up cold noodle dish that I’m sure is a mockery of someone’s Asian sensibilities. Tough.  🙂

Enjoy!

Fanny’s Ginger Fish

In a greased glass baking dish, bake one whole fish covered in foil  at  400C. Bake for 15-20 minutes then remove promptly. While the fish is resting, in a pan saute ginger strips in sesame oil until brown then drizzle with a little bit of Kikkoman Soy Sauce. While hot, pour ginger and oil mixture on top of fish and serve. 

Cold Sesame Buckwheat Noodles

In a boiling pot of water add 1-2 servings of buckwheat noodles then turn off the heat. Soak the noodles for five minutes, drain and soak the noodles in cold water until ready to serve. In a separate bowl mix together chopped ginger, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoons white or rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon sesame oil to taste and then serve on the side. Drain noodles well and top noodles with scallions before serving, allowing diners to spoon the sauce over their noodles to their taste.


Sesame Short Ribs

Ingredients: 

2-4 pieces beef shortribs
1 head garlic, peeled
1 head onion, peeled
1 large piece of ginger, about the size of an egg, peeled and sliced
2 green chili peppers, hot
4 bay leaves
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup water
5 scallion stalks, chopped
1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Place the beef in a casserole and fill with water until beef is covered. Add garlic, onion, ginger, chilipeppers and bay leaf, soy sauce and sugar. Simmer for two to three hours on low heat until meat is tender.

Roast sesame seeds in a hot pan. Top stew with seeds and scallions before serving. Serve hot with rice or noodles.  Mangia!

A bunch of brocollini added during the last minutes of cooking makes for a good side and a colorful dish!

 (For homegrown Filipinos, this is an imitation of the Korean Beef dish popularized by the Kimchi fastfood chain. Enjoy.)

Other sesame shortrib preparations here. 

Fun Salads

Trying to eat fresh and healthy can become boring after many, repetitive salads. Here are some ideas to mix things up a little bit. It helps to have a fully stocked fridge to be creative.


Arugula, grape tomatoes, goat cheese.


Olives, roasted peppers, white kidney beans and lemons.

Red radish, lime vinaigrette, and garlic scapes.

Tomato slices, basil leaves and burata cheese.

Sweet peppers, avocado, red cabbage and lemon.

Stirfried Tofu and Asparagus

1 square firm tofu, sliced thinly
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1/2 head garlic, finely chopped
soy sauce or oyster sauce
chopped chives or scallions

Saute garlic until brown. Sear tofu on both sides until brown and set aside. Stirfry asparagus in soy sauce or oyster sauce to taste until almost cooked. Return tofu into the pan and sprinkle with chives or scallions. Serve with rice or grain. Mangia!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...