SuzySushi

The only book I know of is Quick & Easy Small Cakes by Kazuko Kawachi, translated by Yukiko Moriyama (Joie Inc., Tokyo, 1983 - my copy is a 1994 reprint - ISBN #4-915249-67-0). Amazon lists it as being out-of-print and has no further information. This presents recipes for individual serving-size cakes. Some are baked individually, such as tartlets, cream puff swans, while others are baked as a larger cake and cut into individual portions, such as a genoise base cut into circles and the molds (biscuit cutters or empty tin cans) filled with mousse before unmolding. They're not the fancy creations of the current crop of Japanese pastry chefs, but rather pretty cakes that a moderately accomplished home baker can replicate, with step-by-step photo instructions.

Will you be renting a car, or traveling by train only? If by train, you're restricted to the centers of larger towns (and cities), while you'll have more flexibility as to accomodations -- as well as places to see/dine -- if you have a car. For reasonable places to stay, you might want to check out Logis de France, a federation of independently owned inns. Prices and facilities range from extremely modest to somewhat pricey. Some of the inns also themselves on their restaurants. If you do have a car, you can stay extremely cheaply at motel chains such as Formule 1 or Premiere Classe. A lot of French people and other Europeans stay there while traveling. They're modern and super-clean, but don't have air conditioning (in case that's a consideration for you). Most of the motels are located by major highway interchanges in the suburbs. I'd second (or third/fourth....) Normandy and/or Brittany as a destination if you'd like to be by a beach. Don't miss the oysters! You can see a lot of oyster beds if you take the drive between Normandy and Brittany, near Cancale and Mont St. Michel.

Interesting, because when I was in the supermarket today, I spotted a box of Swan brand "potato starch flour" that was labeled just that way!

Lambs quarters are also known as mache, and they're popular as a salad green in France, though often viewed as a weed in the USA! They have a more delicate flavor than spinach, with none of the bitterness.

Salad!!! With a vinaigrette dressing and paper-thin slices of French radishes (if you can get them).

Hmmmn.... I grew up eating some foods that my grandmother cooked (not well, mind you!) that are considered "exotic" by American standards, such as brains and chicken feet. I also dined on Chinese food regularly at an early age, and knew how to use chopsticks by the time I was 8. But... My first taste of raw broccoli came at age 8. It was a revelation! (My mother always cooked vegetables to mush.) My first Middle Eastern food, sambousak (semolina flour turnovers filled with farmer cheese), brought to school by a classmate when I was 12. First Japanese food at age 14. Kushikatsu (breaded pork on skewers) and miso soup, which surprised me because I expected a thick bean chowder! First sushi at age 22. I instantly became addicted. First raw oysters, circa age 25. First escargots, circa age 28. My other food "firsts" are mixed up in time.

I've never had Cantonese-style curry as a stew, but several recipes I have for other Cantonese-style curry dishes (curried chicken wings, curry filling for bao) call for a little bit of oyster sauce and ketchup in addition to curry powder. These might be the flavorings you're missing in your recipe.

Happy Birthday Klary!!! I can see I'll become addicted to this blog! I love these cakes, which occasionally are available in Hawaii. The brand they sell here lists rye flour as its primary ingredient. Do you hae such a recipe?

The carrots are actually pretty flexible. They're generally soaked in saltwater and/or a vinegar dressing to soften them first.

Mine too. Excellent recommendation!

Hanalei poi, when I can find it. Haven't tried Waipi`o poi.

That's what I want to know. Anyone? ← Speaking as an American, IMO, most Americans just don't think of beans as ingredients for desserts or sweets (whereas fish is fish, whether raw or cooked). So there's the preconception when first hearing the description of the dish. In addition, many azuki-based desserts have a mealy texture, which many Americans dislike. One can compare azuki beans to chestnut paste in desserts. Most Americans don't like that, either, though Europeans love it. I enjoy azuki bean desserts, particularly uji-kintoki and various forms of mochi (daifuku, sakura mochi, etc.), but I'm in the distinct minority!

Sorry to hear that, Stef. You're absolutely right about adults feeling terribly deprived when they have to stop eating their favorite foods because of allergies. One Japanese friend of mine developed an allergy to soy! She was horrified when the allergist told her.

Both of these sweets sound really yummy! Can't help you with the recipes, though. If Turkey is considered part of the Middle East, years ago I ate a dessert of candied butternut squash at Anatolia, a Turkish restaurant in NYC. I wheedled out the recipe from them, adjusted it for home quantities, and it's basically this: Anatolia's Candied Butternut Squash Serves 8 2 medium butternut squash sugar 1 cup water juice of 1 lemon 8 whole cloves Slice squash in 1" thick rings. Peel and seed. Arrange in a single layer in a baking dish. Sprinkle with a layer of sugar. Pour water, lemon juice, and cloves over the squash. Cover dish with foil. Bake 40 minutes at 400F, until squash is tender. Serve at room temperature. I recall making it several times years ago and it came out well. More recently, I made it substituting kabocha squash, and it was too mushy; I probably should have baked it for a shorter time and/or used less water.

How true! I distinctly remember an article that appeared years ago in the entertaining at home section of Bon Appetit magazine. The featured chef was a Filipina woman (from Philadelphia, I seem to recall) who was a gynecologist! She was preparing a traditional Filipino party dish of rolled flank steak, and the prep photos showed her wearing rubber gloves.

Apple Quickbread This is a tried-and-true recipe for a very easy apple quickbread, taught to me many years ago by a Japanese friend. I don't know the recipe's original source. Apple Bread Makes 2 9 x 5" loaves 2 cups sifted flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup sugar 3 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 to 5 apples, peeled, cored, and cut in eighths Preheat oven to 375F. Sift together first 4 ingredients. Combine oil and sugar. Mix in eggs. Add to flour mixture, mixing well. Add vanilla. Mix. Stir in apples. Bake in 2 greased 9 x 5" loaf pans 50-60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes before removing. Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Fruit, Cake ( RG1698 )

I share your frustration! Several tactics I've used successfully at various times: Ask a store clerk/manager/owner if the item can be special ordered. Some stores (even one of my local supermarkets) have a policy of special-ordering hard-to-find items; others won't do it under any circumstances. If the ingredient is featured in a restaurant, ask if you can buy some of it from them for home use. Again, some will sell it to you, some won't. If it's a packaged product, contact the manufacturer. Sometimes they'll sell it to you directly or put you in touch with an online supplier or local distributor. I've even gotten generous free samples this way. For produce items, check with a farmers' market or the local agriculture extension agent (often at a local college) to see if anyone in your area is growing it or is willing to grow it. Contact the food editor of your local newspaper, if there is one. S/he may know of a source.

Slightly off topic... but a Japanese friend of mine recalls with great distaste the natto sandwiches (natto on white bread!) that were served for lunch regularly at her junior high school cafeteria. She is not a natto fan, nor am I, but our husbands (hers, Japanese, mine, American) love it!

Giving restaurant patrons the nutritional information only after they've eaten the meal is a pretty lame idea, IMHO. Pretty useless, unless they plan to eat the same meal at the same restaurant again, and what a guilt trip!

Sheesh! the search I did on Google before asking my question brought up the Sanrio character (Purin the dog), but not the "pudding" connection. Any idea why "pudding" is spelled as "purin" in katakana, and not as pu-di-n-gu?

Yup. I could easily become an addict...

A mistranslation of curry!!! ← Wow! ← I'm still trying to puzzle out the correct translation of "purine"!

I don't have a recipe for apple cake, but I do have a tried-and-true one for a very easy apple quickbread, given to me many years ago by a Japanese friend. I don't know the recipe's original source. Apple Bread Makes 2 9 x 5" loaves 2 cups sifted flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup sugar 3 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 to 5 apples, peeled, cored, and cut in eighths Preheat oven to 375F. Sift together first 4 ingredients. Combine oil and sugar. Mix in eggs. Add to flour mixture, mixing well. Add vanilla. Mix. Stir in apples. Bake in 2 greased 9 x 5" loaf pans 50-60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes before removing.

A mistranslation of curry!!!

While there are plenty of vegetable and tofu dishes in Japanese cuisine, it can be difficult to find vegetarian foods in Japanese restaurants (unless they're specifically vegetarian restaurants) because the dashi broth used as the basis to cook and season many Japanese dishes is usually made from fish. That said, it's easy to cook Japanese vegetarian food at home. Arm yourself with a good Japanese cookbook (see other threads in this forum for recommendations), substitute "vegetarian dashi" (made from mushrooms or other vegetables), and cook away!