Homemade peanut butter 自家製ピーナッツバター

 My wife wanted to make some peanut butter muffins from a recipe she found in a long forgotten and recently re-discovered "Mostly Muffin" cookbook. We did not have any peanut butter (I can't even remember the last time we even had a jar of peanut butter in the house) but we did have jars of roasted peanuts which we keep to feed the squirrels and friendly birds. My wife suggested, "we have peanuts, we should be able to make our own peanut butter". A quick search on the internet produced many recipes/instructions on how to make peanut butter from peanuts. This is the result. It came out really well.

Ingredients and directions for peanut butter.
1 16 oz. jar of dry roasted unsalted peanuts
Place the peanuts in a food processor with a cutting blade.
Keep the food processor running. The peanuts will go from light crumb, to clumps and finally to a smooth peanut butter consistency. This will take some time and is a bit nerve wracking to have the food processor running for so long and the way it thumps and bumps through the various stages.

This peanut butter was the epitome of peanut-buttery-ness. It was characteristically sticky with a clear deep flavor of peanuts which lingered long on the tongue.  The taste evoked childhood memories of PB&J lunch sandwiches for my wife. (Not for me since peanut butter was not a childhood delicacy in Japan when I was growing up).  My wife came up with her "adult" version of PB&J; a peanut butter canapé to have with wine. 

Ingredients: for PB&J canapé
1 slice of white bread toasted and cut into 4 piece
A slather of homemade peanut butter on each piece
Top 2 with Strawberry puree (I made this with strawberries, sugar and triple sec whirred in the food processor).
Top 2 with fig puree (this was a leftover of fig stuffing my wife made for the fig muffin).

My wife declared "Yup this was prototypical PB&J all right". It was astounding at how well the peanut butter went with the red wine. Needless to say the wine component bumped it up to "adult" status. 

Japanse dried "hoshigaki" persimmon compote 干し柿のコンポート

 I am not sure how this came about but I asked my wife if she had ever tried dried persimmon or "hoshigaki" 干し柿 and her asnwer was "no". There are many ways to convert "shibugaki" 渋柿 or bitter/tannic persimmons to edible sweet persimmons. Certain cultivars will become sweet when ripened. Drying it to make "hoshigaki" is another way to accomplish this.  I searched the internet to see if there was a place I could buy "hoshigaki". I found an interesting site called "Japanese taste" that sold Japanese food and other items . Through this site (located in Japan), I bought "hoshigaki" and other Japanese sweets from Hokkaido, Japan 北海道 where I grew up. The hoshigaki I got was called "Ichida-gaki" 市田柿 and is produced in a specific area in Nagano prefecture 長野県.  According to their English webpage, this is produced using a very labor intensive and long process including "hand massaging" the fruit after a certain level of dehydration is reached. In any case, this arrived from Japan about 1 week after I ordered it.

Of course, you can eat the persimmon as is but I also made a few dishes from it. The first one is called "hoshi-gaki compote" 干し柿のコンポート. The recipe came from a popular cooking program on NHK Japanese TV channel  on-line recipe . I served this with some yogurt my wife made and green tea.

The hoshigaki became softer and the cinnamon flavor is very nice. The slightly tart yogurt goes well with sweet persimmon.

Ingredients:
4 (four) Hoshigaki
1 cup water
3/4 white wine (I used French dry sauvignon blanc since I had it)
50 grams sugar
1 cinnamon stick

Directions:
Add the water, wine, sugar and cinnamon in a pot and let it boil.
Add the hoshigaki and let it come to boil again and then turn off the flame.
Let it steep and cool to room temperature and store it in the refregerator (should last 2 weeks)

This is how it looked the next day. I suppose you could serve this as is but I cut off the stem end, and cut it in half and removed the seeds.

This is certainly a better and elegant way to serve hoshigaki.

Four appetizers in new small bowls 御通し4種類と新しい小鉢

We have a good number of small Japanese-style bowls and plates but for some reason my relationship with breakable dishes ends up with them getting broken every-now-and-then. So I am always on the look out for potential replacement small Japanese style dishes/bowls. (Also, since enjoyment of food is visual in addition to taste, I just like different bowls in which to present what I make to complete the entire experience). I found these small bowls on Amazon. They came in four different patterns/colors in a set of four (i.e. total of 16 bowls) . I ended up getting all 4 sets. So, this is the first time I used this set to serve 4 appetizers. The first picture, from left to right, are "salmon nanban" 鮭の南蛮漬け, "hijiki seaweed stir-fry" ひじきと油揚げの炒めのも and Japanese "dashi-maki" だし巻き卵 omelet, "Wood ear"* mushroom, cucumber and wakame seaweed sunomono" キクラゲ、ワカメ、胡瓜の酢の物, and  "shredded chicken tenderloin and asparagus in sesame dressing" 鳥のささみとアスパラの胡麻和え. 

*Wood ear mushroom is so-called because it grows out of the surface of wood like an ear sticking out. Japanese call it "ki-kurage" meaning "jelly fish of the wood" because the crunchy texture is similar to dried and salted edible jelly fish. It is interesting, however, when it is written in "kanji" ideograms, it is  木耳 which means wood 木 ear 耳. There is no way you can pronounce 木耳 as "ki-kurage" but the meaning of these two ideograms indeed mean "wood ear".

The second picture is the salmon dish I usually make, fried and marinated in sweet vinegar with vegetables. In order to serve multiple appetizers, it is necessary to pre-make a number of them and have them last long enough to serve over several days. Due to the vinegar this dish lasts a few weeks in the refrigerator. So this salmon dish is a good one to serve as an appetizer. Perfect with sake but not with wine. The pattern of this bowl is not classic Japanese but nice—also the color complements the color of the salmon.

The third picture of hijiki seaweed is a dish that also lasts for some time in the fridge. I served it with Japanese "dashimaki" omelet which goes well with the seaweed dish both visually (yellow and black) and by taste (sweet and salty). The pattern of the bowl is classic Japanese wave pattern.

This is a variation of my usual "sunomono" dish. Besides cucumber and wakame, I used wood ear mushroom. We can get this mushroom usually dried. One of the problems with hydrating the dried items like this is after hydration, the volume increases much more than expected. This was a case here and I used wood ear in several dishes including fried rice for lunch one day. In any case for this dish, I cut the wood ear into thin strips like jelly fish. I also added ground sesame and sesame oil in the dressing. The wood ear really adds crunch exactly like jelly fish.

I froze sous vide chicken breast a few months ago and decided to thaw one. It came out exactly like it was just cooked. I made the chicken salad I usually make which was really good but I kept the tenderloin part of the sous vide chicken for this "goma-ae" 胡麻和え dish. I tore the tenderloin along the meat fibers to make thin strands. I dressed this with sesame dressing ("nerigoma" 練りごま sesame paste, roasted and ground sesame, sugar, rice vinegar and soy sauce. I kept this dressing in the fridge which made it stiff. So I added small amount of warm water to loosen the dressing) with blanched asparagus (stem cut into thin pieces at a slant and garnished with tips of the asparagus). The meat was so juicy and tender.

These small dishes are nothing special but I make slight variations which make it interesting and adds to the enjoyment of sake.

Fig (stuffed) muffin 無花果入りのマフィン

Recently, we reorganized our book shelves and during this process, my wife found quite a few cookbooks which we forgot we had. One of which was a small book called "Mostly Muffins". It was published in 1984 but it appears to be still available on Amazon. As a devotee of stuffed muffins, my wife could not pass this one up. So this is a fig muffin (first picture). She managed to place the stuffing in the center without any gaping space around the stuffing.

The fig stuffing definitely gave nice slightly sweet and figgy taste and nice slightly chewy texture.

As usual, I ask my wife to take over the rest.

Ingredients:
For fig filling
1/2 lb dried figs, trimmed and chopped
1/2 cup triple sec (original recipe calls for freshly squeezed orange juice which we did not have).
3 tbs honey
1 1/2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

For muffin batter
1 1/4 cup AP flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
1/2 cup sugar plus 1 Tbs. molasses (original recipe calls for dark brown sugar)
1/4 cup honey
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp orange flavoring
3/4 cup triple sec (original recipe calls for orange juice).

Double recipe:
Ingredients:
For fig filling
1 lb dried figs, trimmed and chopped
1 cup triple sec (original recipe calls for freshly squeezed orange juice which we did not have).
6 tbs honey
 Tbs. fresh squeezed lemon juice

For muffin batter
2 1/2 cup AP flour

1 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2  tsp baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
1 cup sugar plus 2 Tbs. molasses (original recipe calls for dark brown sugar)
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp orange flavoring 
1 1/2 cups triple sec (original recipe calls for orange juice).


Directions:
For the filling:
In as small saucepan combine the filling ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. If there is excess liquid remove the cover and reduce until thickened. (In this batch all the liquid was absorbed.) Cool slightly then place in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process for 30 seconds until puréed. Set aside.

For the dough:
Liberally grease the muffin tins. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients. In another bowl mix the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Add half the dough to the bottom of the muffin cups. Top with the fig mixture. Don’t let the fig mixture touch the side of the muffin cups. Top the fig mixture with the remaining half of the dough. The next picture shows the muffins partially assembled; 8 muffin tins are shown half filled with the fig mixture and 4 muffin tins completely assembled with the fig mixture covered. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for about 5 minutes and remove from the tins to a cooling rack.

The next picture shows the muffins just as they came out of the oven. 

This is a quite unique and nice muffin. They actually came out much better than expected.  I am not sure what difference substituting orange flavored liquor (triple sec) for the orange juice had but certainly the end result was very good. The muffin had a very tender texture and the fig filling added a mild sweetness. The slight crunch from the fig seeds in the fig mixture was a bit of a surprise but added an additional crunch element that was quite nice. They also provided inspiration on how to make muffins stuffed with other dried fruits...like persimmon...maybe.  

Firefly squid kara-age ホタルイカの唐揚げ

 This is the dish I served using the third and the last tray of  "hotaru-ika" ホタルイカ firefly squid. This is a standard "Kara-age" 唐揚げ. This also came from e-recipe.

It is a simple recipe but requires deep frying. Since the squid contains some moisture, it splatters when it hits the oil. But it cooked rather quickly. (It was already boiled).

Ingredients: (for 2 servings).
Firefly squid, boiled, 100grams
Flour and potato starch 1 tbs. each
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for deep frying.
Lemon wedges

Directions:
Heat the oil to 160C (or 320F)
Place the squid, flour, starch mixture, salt and pepper in a sealable bag and dredge the squid.
Deep fry for 1 minute or until the surface gets crispy. Drain and serve with wedges of lemon.

This is a great way to serve this squid. The surface and tentacles get crispy but the inside is soft.

The only problem of this dish is that the oil splatters.  Among the three dishes I made, we like the kara-age the best. Second was stir frying the squid and asparagus with butter and soy sauce. That one however, was perhaps a bit better than the kara-age in terms of ease of preparation in addition to great taste. 

The first dish of boiled hotaru-kia straight from the packing tray served with sumiso sauce was by far the easiest in terms of preparation but was not as flavorful as the other two preparations. Nonetheless we had absolutely no trouble “choking down” any of the 3 preparations. What a great way to celebrate spring.

Firefly squid and asparagus sautéed in butter and soy sauce ホタルイカとアスパラのバター醤油炒め

This is the dish I made from the second tray of "hotaru-ika" ホタルイカ firefly squid. This is stir fried hotaru-ika and asparagus in butter and soy sauce. The recipe came from e-recipe.  I happened to have pencil asparagus and butter and soy sauce combination is our favorite, so this was a no brainer.

Stir frying made the tentacles crispy which gave nice contrast to the texture of the softer body. Still crunchy asparagus also made a nice texture and flavor, a perfect combination for spring.

Ingredients: (this is the amount I used for this dish for two servings)
Firefly squid, boiled 100grams (eye or beak removed)
Pencil green asparagus, 10-14, root potion snapped off by bending the bottom end until it snaps naturally. (I did not bother to peel and cut the stalks in a slant as suggested in the original recipe).
Butter 1 tbs (or 15 grams)
Soy sauce 1tsp or to taste

Directions:
Melt the butter in a frying pan on medium flame.
Sauté the asparagus for a few minutes.
Add the firefly squid and soy sauce and stir for 1 minute.

This was a simple but quite good dish. We liked this more than the previous dish with sumiso dressing.

Sashimi big eye tuna "akami" and "Hotaru-ika" firefly squid メバチマグロの赤身とほたるイカ

 Spring is the season for a species of small squid called "Hotaru-ika" ほたるイカ or Firefly squid. It is so-called because it emits a bioluminescent light like a firefly. Some years ago when we traveled to Kanazawa 金沢 and Kyoto 京都 in spring, we really enjoyed “Hotaru-ika” at various Izakayas 居酒屋. Because this squid has parasites, it must be cooked (boiled) or frozen at -30C for 4 days. That means a regular home freezer (-22 C or 0F) is not adequate. This is not a “ DIY (do it yourself ) home project”. The squid has to come from a commercial source with the resources to at least freeze it properly. While in Kanazawa, we learned, through multiple tastings that our favorite way to eat it is “Okizuke” 沖ずけ. Although this dish is made of uncooked marinated squid it is special to Toyama prefecture 富山県 (Kanazawa city is the capital) where they know to make it safe by appropriately freezing it before making it into okizuke 沖ずけ.  “Oki-zuke” literally means “offshore marinated”. Traditionally, fishermen took the marinade with them on the boat and as they caught the squid , threw it into the marinade. By the time, they got back to shore, it was perfectly marinated. Although traditional, this method is not safe since the parasites will not be killed in a marinade. 

In any case, recently, I mentioned to my wife (who is particularly fond of firefly squid), that  it was the season and I was reading that many of the food bloggers I follow, were enjoying this seasonal delicacy. We had hotaru-ika at Tako Grill some years ago so we thought we should be able to get this in the U.S. A quick search of the internet turned up a company called “Regalis food”. They sell boiled firefly squid among other gourmet food items. They are more geared up for supplying restaurants rather than individual customers, however, so the minimal amounts required for purchase are a bit large. Nonetheless we ordered the minimum 300 grams (or three trays) of boiled firefly squid (which was shipped from Long Island) and the minimum 3 lbs. of big eye tuna akami  (which was shipped  from California). Although coming from different places both shipments arrived at the same time; (over night delivery).

The first picture shows one of the trays of hotaru-Ika.

 

This picture of the tuna akami is the tail portion near the back with skin on. The piece arrived whole; I cut it into portions before this picture was taken. Since I did not have much time, I did not cut the tuna into sashimi blocks (or “saku”). I just removed “chi-ai” 血合い cut it into 4 portions with skin on.  I only prepared one portion for sashimi.  The rest, I vacuum packed and froze for a later time. 

I served the akami with some vegetables. After removing the hard “eye” or “beak” from the firefly squid, I served them with sumiso 酢味噌 dressing.

The Akami of big eye tuna is not too bad. Certainly much better than frozen yellowfin tuna we often have.

Serving the squid with sumiso sauce is certainly a very common presentation. The plate of hotaru-ika shown here is half of one tray (so, the two of us finished a whole tray or 100grams). I think what makes hotaru-ika so special is that the squid are very small and each squid makes one pleasant mouthful. The first part of the experience is the pleasing texture of biting into the soft squid body followed by the  release of the lovely taste of the squid meat then the rich flavor of the innards especially the slightly bitter taste of the liver. Trust me, it tastes much better than the description sounds. 

We feel very fortunate we can enjoy the firefly squid in U.S. Hopefully we can visit the Iizakaya in Kanazawa and enjoy local sake with okizuke firefly squid again sometime soon.