The art of space in serving pasta: basil pesto (Oct 6)

These days we can get fresh basil leaves very easily throughout year.

Basil pesto is a quick and economical pasta menu when I run out dinner ideas. The perfume of basil and the rich garlic flavour certainly enhance our appetite!! It always secures Mr. Husband's contentment. I truly appreciate Italians who invented this!

Ingredients

• Fresh basil leaves (75g)
• 1 clove of small garlic
• 2 tablespoons of pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese (instead, I used 15g of halloumi)
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• black pepper
• 6-7 mini tomatoes for topping

 Directions

1. Boil 3-4L of water in a large deep pan

2. Cut basil leaves into rough pieces. Process all ingredients except salt and tomatoes for 10 seconds. Open the lid and taste it add salt if necessary (sometimes cheese is very salty). Process it another 10 seconds

3. boil pasta as directed and dress with the pesto. Top the diced tomatoes to serve.

Let me introduce some cost performances in this dish.

Cost performance 1: price

Let's calculate how much is this home made basil pesto.

• Basil (25g): 0.89 pounds
• Halloumi (15g out of 250g offered 2.5 pounds): 0.17 pounds
• Pine nuts (10g out of 250g offered 3.85 pounds): 0.15 pounds
• +garlic and olive oil

This pesto (around 100g for two people) might cost less than 1.4 pounds

In comparison, ready made basil pesto products likely cost 2.7-3 pounds for 100-120g.  

For instance, Sacla basil pesto is offered 

in 2.75 pounds!!

They are fine products but not as fresh as basil leaves. 

Therefore, these products got less flavour but more chemical and salt. 
In addition, they are more expensive. 

Cost performance 2: presentation, the art of space

I serve cappellini or spaghetti in our largest plate as restaurants do

albeit the fact that the dish doesn't fit in our dish washer.

I love the remained space of the dish 

that surrounds food. 

It brings an elegance and romance

in home dinning. 

The below image is from Sacla website introducing recipes of using their products including Basil Pesto.

Looks nice and homely. 

However, even the taste is nice, 

it looks quantitive.

So, what about this?

Same quantity but it looks more tasty!! 

(sorry Sacla)

From this space effect on the serving dish, I can interpret that at restaurants, we pay the space of dishes in addition to ingredients, tenant fee and involved man power. 

At home, the space of dish is free!!

Total time to prepare: 20 mins

Total cost: 3.1 pounds (0.7 for cappellini, 1.4 for pesto, 1 for the rest of veggies and fruit)

The art of Japanese bento: tasty in cold, balanced nutrition, and quick to prepare

Bento is known as the Japanese lunch box. People love to create a tiny cosmology in such small space. 
The recent Lego Bento is a crazy example of bento-deco-fetish and I have to say that we don't have such detailed decorative bento every day. 

However, we concern a lot about the balance of nutrition in bento. Varieties of contents represents the many different foods and ways of preparation involved. Also, we do not spend much time to prepare in busy morning. Sometimes we use leftover, or we prepare in previous night. 

Therefore, bento should look colourful with many different contents and is to be prepared in short time. Besides, it should be tasty when it gets cold.  
That's the art of Bento. 

Today's bento contents and the main nutrition and calories of each is:

• Japanese style fried chicken 70g: protein and fat (250 Kcal)
• yam potato in Japanese style: carbohydrate, fibre (from yam and konjaku), beta-carotene (from carrot) (50 kcal)
• cucumber, tomato and halloumi skewered  salad: vitamin E, beta-carotene, fat and calcium in cheese (40 Kcal)
• 1/2 Boiled egg: Vitamin D, E (38 Kcal)
• 1/4 Apple: kalium, Vitamin E, C (20 Kcal)
• rice: carbohydrate (260 Kcal)
• dried shiso leaf to dress rice: solidum (2 Kcal)

Total calories: 680 Kcal
Total price: 2.4 pounds (1 for chicken, 0.4 for egg, 1 for the rest of veggies)

I seasoned chicken in previous night and also boiled an egg. In the morning, I deepfried chicken pieces in a small frying pan while skewering veggies. 
Rice and yam potato dish were leftover from previous dinner. 

In this morning, as usual, I spend less than 20 mins to complete this bento.

Another bento example is this.

 Contents, nutrition and carories  

• Potato croquette: carbohydrate, fat, vitamin D,E,C, (326 Kcal)
• Omelette with spinach and cheddar cheese: fat, carbohydrate  folic acid, Vitamin A, D, E, K, calcium (210 Kcal)
• 7-8 Cherries: carbohydrate, Kalium, Vitamin D, (60 Kcal)
• Cucumber, apple, halloumi cheese salad:vitamin E, fat and calcium (40 Kcal)
• Rice: carbohydrate (250 Kcal)
• Seaweed: fibre (nearly 0 Kcal)
• Umeboshi: sodium, Kalium (2 Kcal)

Total: 688 Kcal
Total price: 2 pound (0.6 for cherries, 0.4 for egg, 1 for the rest of veggies)

I usually add varieties of veggie dishes but not just salad. Cooked and seasoned veggies taste nicer if served in cold. Whereas salad becomes soggy or dry hours later after the preparation. Skewering small-cut cucumbers, cheese, mini tomatoes, apples makes Bento cute, easy to pick and fun to make.

Let's compare my bento with other popular take away food.

McDonald's lunch (french fry, cheese burgar and diet coke)

French fry (135g): carbohydrate, fat, Kalium (454 Kcal)
Cheese burgar (122g): fat, carbohydrate, sodium, Kalium, calcium (323 Kcal)
Diet coke: sodium (0 Kcal)
Total calories: 777 Kcal
Total Price: 2.90 pounds

Pret A Manger's lunch (BLT sandwich and cappuccino)

Blt sandwich: wholegrain bread, bacon, tomatoes, salad leaves, mayonaise:
fat, carbohydrate, protein, fibre, sodium, Vitamin E (493 K cal, 2.50 pounds)
Cappuccino: carbohydrate, fat, calcium (231 Kcal, 1.79 pounds)
Total: 724 Kcal
Total cost: 4.29 pounds


They got higher calories and certainly additive but less varieties of nutrition either contents. You need to add fruit or salad. Also, they are more expensive.


I introduce one of the most popular Bento contents -Karaage, Japanese fried chicken

Karaage:

Cut chicken thigh into large bite sized

Season the chicken with soy-sauce, mirin 1 tablespoon each, and grated ginger and a clove of garlic.
All are done in a zip-bag.

Close the zip and leave the bag in the fridge overnight. 

Good morning! Start to cook! Heat up a small frying pan and power vegetable oil in 1 cm depth.
Remove the liquid from the bag, take out the chicken and wipe the extra moisture with kitchen paper.
Dust each piece with cornflour.

Deepfry all pieces for 2 mins each side over medium temperature.
While deepfrying the chicken, cut cucumber and tomato into small bite sized and skewer them with a toothpick.

Pack everything tightly!!
Otherwise contents will play football while they are carried in underground.

Bento is ready to go!!

If you need to make bento every day, it is hard. 

However, if you don't, better to make it sometimes. That's the best way to enjoy making bento.

Besides, the person who eats your bento appreciates it more when it happens occasionally. 

When I need to make bento everyday, I'll create more ways to enjoy making it. 

The art of bento will be continued.

Japanese convenient retort-pouched curry with leftover -A Japanese Housewife's secret pleasure 

Retort-pouched curry appeared at Japanese dinning in 1968. Since then, this type of curry product has been the most popular quick home meal. In present, more than 30 different items of retort-pouched curry are sold in Japanese market. As being very competitive in the market, most products are tasty!

Just boiling the pouch in water and power over cooked rice or microwave it with rice, it is very convenient. As Mr. Husband was away for his team dinner, I decided to be lazy for cooking!!


Japanese food retailer Ricewine offered the longest edition, "Bon Curry Gold" in 2.99 (usually 3.99). I used the leftover from yesterday and added to Bon Curry Gold.

 I also added some double cream stored in the freezer.

Mmmmmmm, yummy, yummy.... 


I don't use retort curry products for more than two people unless I am too tired or sick because they are not cheap here, in the UK.
If Mr. Husband were here, I would make curry properly.


This is one of my "secret" pleasures while he is away. Being lazy but still not fully ready-made neither expensive at all, therefore I don't feel guilty for my health and the price. Such relaxed feeling maximises the great taste!

I need to underline one thing. These products are much cheaper in Japan. So please do not think that Japanese housewives' pleasure is having retort-pouched curry in their husbands' absence. 

I guess any housewives got some entertainments or dishes to enjoy at home only when their husbands are away. 

Total time to prepare: 3 mins
Total cost: 2.99

Yam potato in Japanese style,  cauliflower and pork stir fry with salt and black pepper sauce (Dinner 1 Oct)

I always try to use more than 10 different kinds of veggies with small portions of meat every day especially at dinner that Mr. Husband joins.

By taking small portions of meat with lots of veggie ingredients, we can take protein more efficiently compare to taking veggies solely.

This menu was a successful example. 

Menu 

• Cauliflower and pork stir fry with salt and black pepper sauce, 
• yam potato in Japanese style, 
• cucumber and avocado with chilli oil and mayonaise, 
• rice, 
• miso soup with tofu, seaweed and spring onion

Cauliflower and pork stir fry with salt and black pepper sauce: Ingredients

• Cauliflower 100g
• 1/2 pieces of carrot
• 70-80g pork belly
• 5-6 stems of aspragus
• 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon of sake 

<Stir fry sauce>

• 2/3 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 1.5 teaspoon of chinese chicken stock (if not, 1/4 cube of chicken stock)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of cornflour
• 150cc of cold water

Directions

1. Slice pork belly as thin as possible, then put into a bowl. Season with sake, ginger and pinches of salt

2. Cut cauliflower into small bite sized. Slice carrot thinly. Peel the surface of stems of aspragus and remove the bottom. Then cut aspragus into three portions lengthwise

3. Bring water into boil in a pan, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and cook all veggies for 3-4 mins until they get half done. Meanwhile, heat up a large frying pan over medium temperature and fry the pork intil they get half done

4. Take out veggies from the pan and put into the frying pan. Combine veggies and pork and stir fry them over medium temperature for 2 mins
5. Pour the sauce and cook for 1 min to make it thick and dress it with all ingredients. 

Yam potato in Japanese style

This is called Nishime and a traditional recipe of root veggies

Ingredients

• 3-4 Yam potatoes 
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 of  Konjaku pack (about 80g)
• 100g chicken thigh

<seasoning>

• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 100cc of dashi (japanese fish stock)
• 2 tablespoons of mirin
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Directions

1. Boil konjaku for 2 mins to remove out the smell of lime. Take out from the water and allow it cool

2. Tear konjaku into small bite sized pieces with hands. Cut all other veggies into large bite sized. You can cut konjaku with a knife but using hands allows the seasoning get into the fiber of konjaku much quicker than using a knife

3. Heat up a thick large deep pan over medium temperature. Grease the pan with sesame oil and fry all ingredients for 4-5 mins with sugar. Add mirin in the end

4. Add dashi, soy sauce and salt

5. Shimmer gently for 10-12 mins until veggies get tender. In case using a pressur pan, cover the lid and bring it into boil then turn the heat over small temperature. Leave it for 3 mins and turn off the heat. Leave the pan until the lid is ready to open

6. Add some green veggies (beans or sugar snaps) to boil. Serve in a small dish with some depth.

Important Point

Japanese cuisine often combines soy sauce seasoning with sugar or mirin sauce to deepen the taste. In this salty-sweet combination sugar must be added first, and soy sauce second. If the sequence is reversed, the dish just tases of soy sauce.
This is because sugar molecules are much larger than salt molecules. If ingredients are seasoned with sugar first there remains space to absorb salt in the cells. In the opposite order, salt is absorbed densely, leaving no space for sugar. (Please refer to the illustration of this site: http://www.tsujicho.com/oishii/recipe/j_food/ichinensei/sashisuseso.html)

Time to prepare: 40 mins
Total cost: 4.9 pounds (1.2 for yam poptatoes, 1.5 for chicken thigh, 0.7 for cauliflower, 1.5 for the all other veggies and meat)

Pasta with Gorgonzola cheese and pear, insulation for the Hampstead-winter

The rich and sharp flavour of gorgonzola cheese is moderated 

by the sweetness of pear. 

The perfume of truffle oil deepens the taste.

This pasta is very very delicious!!

Ingredients

• Rigatoni pasta (or penne) 250-300
• 125g of gorgonzola cheese
• 1 fully ripe pear
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of truffle oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• black pepper
• (+1 tablespoon of sea salt for boiling pasta)

Directions

1. Bring 3-4L of water into boil in a large deep pan. Add rigatoni to cook for 10-12 mins as directed or until the al dente condition,

2. While cooking pasta, slice pear into the similar size as rigatoni. Chop gorgonzola cheese into rough pieces

3. Once the pasta is done, store one scoop of boiling water and drain the rest though a net. Then immediately put pasta back into the emptied pan

4. Add gorgonzola cheese and 2-3 tablespoons of stored boiling water. Heat up the pan over small temperature to allow cheese melted. Add pear, black pepper, salt and truffle oil. Combine all ingredients well to dress the sauce thoroughly then serve in a plate.

Time to prepare: 20 mins

Total cost (including salad): 3.95 pounds (1.75 for gorgonzola cheese, 0.7p for pear, 1.5 pounds for veggies)

Hampstead is pretty and massively green. These old (or old-looking) brick and stone constructions are also the feature here.  However, residents must suffer from cold rooms or, if not, a heavy gas bill arrives after winter.

A view of our communal garden

One of my big achievements of last week was, saving heat in this chilled flat.

Our gas boiler is installed under the kitchen sink. Two bare copper pipes come out from the boiler to provide hot water elsewhere. These pipes kept warming underneath of kitchen sink where a garbage bin is accommodated. What a waste of energy.  

I got 3 pieces of insulation lagging for pipes (1m each) from Amazon.

With some efforts, I could squeeze two hot pipes together into one lagging to cover. No more heat under the sink. I felt so good!! With the remained lagging, I covered these warm-pipes of the bath room tank as well.

Another achievement was, sealing gaps of windows. Residents here are not allowed to replace wooden framed windows into the modern ones to preserve the old and pretty landscape of Hampstead. Wooden framed windows got many gaps and they are mostly too big to fill with regular insulation tapes sold in DIY shops.

The quickest and cheapest methodology is the Russian way (according to my Russian husband), sealing windows with transparent tapes!!

Except one, I sealed all windows in our living room as I did last winter. In last year, as a result, we could cut the gas bill into the half from the previous. 

One window is enough to survive
in the Hampstead-winter!!
Anyway, holes are everywhere in this old building. 

I am already excited to see our gas and electricity bill after winter.