Will The Real Hello Kitty Please Stand Up?



...I guess not? Well, as long as you stay delicious I don't care who you are, imposter! Your yummy cashew cheese is absolutely wonderful, tart and smooth. Your oddly frumpy and tasty bow are both spicy and sweet at the same time. I...love you

(Monster Kitty pizza Dough Ingredients)

• 1 and 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 tbl Iodized Salt
• 1/2 tbl Rapid-Rise Yeast
• 1 tbl Granulated Sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cups Hot Water

(Pepperoni Curls Ingredients)

• Reconstituted TVP
• 1 tsp Iodized Salt
• Basil, Oregano, Garlic Powder and Chili Flakes to taste
• Paprika for color

(Other Ingredients)

• Cashew Cheese Recipe (not mine)
  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=270643


• Tomato paste

(Directions)

• Mix together all of the dry ingredients and slowly add the water.
• Once it is fully incorporated, knead the dough into an elastic ball and place underneath a damp kitchen towel (I placed mine on top of a floured cutting board for an hour, but you can use whatever you have).
• rolled the dough as thinly as possible and cut out my shapes as best as I could. (You can use whatever you have - it doesn't have to be the kitty).
• Cover them in tomato paste, cheese, cayenne pepper and the vegan pepperoni curls.
• Place them onto a greased baking sheet with olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the cheese and the bread have browned and cooked.
• Enjoy!

Marzipan Mushrooms Make Mario Move

As well as Yoshi too. These are my favorite non-humanoid characters and objects in the game, and the best part is that they're edible! Mario can't say that can he? He took one look and said "Oh no, itsa' shame, I cannot eat Yoshi once I've tired of him. Whenever I eat the mushrooms I get too big and whenever I touch the stars I move too fast and then'a die. I wish I could eat something as delicious as that." Then I said - " Your accent is absolutely horrendous and - you're real!?" True story. Oh, you want the recipe don't you?

Marzipan Recipe:
One cup of Whole Almonds
1/6 cup +1 tbl of Cold Water
1/2 cup of (Vegan) Granulated White Sugar
1 tbl of Corn Starch
1/8 tsp of Iodized Salt or Sea Salt
1/4 tsp of Vanilla or Other Extract (optional)
Vegan Milk Chocolate (optional)

Important Tools:
Candy Thermometor

First off, make sure that your almonds have nice firm skins on them so that they aren't too old and nasty. Next, boil them in hot water until they start to wrinkle like prunes (about 50 seconds). Once that has happened, throw them into some ice water and let them cool for a few minutes, they should melt a few ice cubes. Once they have cooled down and become even more water-logged, use your fingers to remove the skins completely. Pat them dry and run them into a food processor until they look like small pancake crumbs. Put them into a small bowl and rub them between your fingers so that they don't stick together too much.

Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch and tablespoon of water together in a mixing cup with the salt. Leave that to the side and combine the rest of the ingredients (except for the chocolate). Place it in a small saucepan over medium heat for two minutes, place a lid on top for two more minutes, and finally, take the top off and let it cook for about 5 more minutes. Once the lid is off, feel free to place your candy thermometor on the side of the saucepan (but in the liquid). When it has reached the softball stage (it may take a few minutes), place it in a cool area around some ice and allow them to cool. After about 10 minutes, stir it slowly and slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture first, allowing that to mix completely before dividing up your almond crumbs and spreading them throughout the mixture. Don't add any more liquid.

 Allow that to cool for about 2 minutes and then cover a plastic-covered board with powdered sugar and place the almond paste on top. Cover that in powdered sugar and roll it around in powdered sugar, then use your hands to fold it until it becomes a nice little elastic ball (similar to bread dough). It took me 10 minutes to do this, but that was because I kept running out of powdered sugar on my hands and the board. Once it has turned into an elastic ball, wrap it in plastic and store it in the fridge for two hours. Do what you like with it afterwards to make Mario proud. You can stuff the marzipan with the chocolate and then make the candies or you can do what I did, which was use turmeric for the yellow, chlorophyll for the green, and beet juice for the pink. Cocoa powder mixed with water was used for the eyes.

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Vegan Haemul Pa Jeon

Delicious and full of mushrooms. This would be a bit healthier too, if it weren't (pan) fried. But then it wouldn't be the delicious sea-food pancake would it? Besides - would it be that wonderful crispiness? Probably, but I felt like doing it slightly more traditionally.

(Vegan Haemul Pa Jeon Ingredients)

• 2 Large Portabella Mushrooms (cleaned and cut into 1/2" chunks)
• 5 Large Reconstituted (Dry) Shiitake Mushrooms
• 2 Minced Green Onions
• Reconstituted Chinese Seaweed
• 1 Cup of All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 tsp Iodized Salt (+ more for Sprinkling)
• A dash of Paprika
• Neutral-Flavored Oil (a few tablespoons per pancake)
• Cold Water (enough for a thin pancake batter)

(Directions)

• Mix the flour, paprika,teaspoon of salt and water together to make a thin pancake batter and set it aside in a cool place.
• Meanwhile, chop your vegetables and place your mushrooms into a small pan with some neutral-flavored oil.
• Saute. Sprinkle them with a bit of salt and let the water come out of them. Once they have decreased in size and look cooked, add them to a small bowl with the green onions.
• Mix the mushrooms and green onions together and heat up your pan once more.
• Once the pan is hot, put some more oil in and drip some of the batter in.
• Place some of the mushrooms, onions, and seaweed on top of the batter.
• Flip when you can slide the spatula underneath and it looks golden brown.
• Once the pancake is crispy, place it onto a paper towel to soak in some of the oil.
• Serve warm and feel free to make a sauce of gochujang, sesame seeds and soy sauce.
• Enjoy!

Sushi Quest Part 2

Some of this is nontraditional sushi and some of it is less-commonly seen sushi. But either way you want it, don't you? You want that sticky rice in your mouth topped with that tofu and mirin - you want that tasty little nublet of tea-smoked "duck". Am I right? I'll just start with the tofu lovin's.

Vegan Tamago Sushi:

1/4 block of Extra Firm Tofu (frozen for 3 days)

1/2 tsp of Turmeric

1/4 tsp Iodized Salt

Granulated Sugar (Optional

A dash of Mirin and Black Pepper

Sushi Rice

After squeezing out your tofu, cut off the corners to make it more oval, make it into thick slices and then added it to a heated pan with some oil. Let it crisp up and add the other ingredients, being especially careful with the mirin. You may even want to add it after it is fully cooked. Prepare your sushi rice and shape it to fit the large piece of tofu. Wrap a thick nori belt around it and place to the side. With the leftover pieces you can make the next sushi.

Tamago Ball Sushi:

Leftover Tofu Pieces

Salt, Pepper, Mirin and Sugar

1/4 tsp of Turmeric

Sushi Rice

Rip the tofu up with your hands and add it to the pan. Make sure to rip it up further with a spatula or whatever you choose to use for this situation. Let them crisp up and then place it into a piece of plastic wrap. Put about a tablespoon of sushi rice into it and form it into a ball. Pull it down and try to make it as round as possible. Set the to side and make the rest of the sushi.

The other sushis were easy and require no recipe. The one in the middle is thinly-sliced tea smoked "duck" on top of rice, the other is steamed asparagus and the one in the background is lightly cooked (reconstitued) dried shiitake mushrooms with a bit of mirin and soy sauce.

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Spirited Away Bread

Despite some obvious mistakes and cracks, this bread tastes delicious and looks completely adorable. If you want you can fill his cheeks with some (vegan) cheese or even make it into a sandwich. I did the latter with some apples and peanut butter, and showed it to my mother. We both love Hayao Miyazaki and all of the animated films that we've seen of his - and we both screamed in delight at the finished bread.

(Spirited Away Bread Ingredients)

• 1 and 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 and 1/4 tsp Rapid-Rise Yeast
• 1/2 tsp Iodized Salt
• 1/2-3/4 cup Warm Water

(Directions)

• Mix the ingredients together (adding the salt at the last minute) and knead it for about 10 minutes or until it is a nice elastic ball.
• Place it into an oiled bowl and turn it around to coat it in the oil, put a damp towel over it and let it sit in a heated area for about an hour.
• After time has elapsed, punch it down and cut about 1/4 of the bread dough off.
• Roll the bigger piece into the shape of the mouse's head and then use the ends of the leftover dough to make the ears by rolling them into balls and placing them firmly on top of the mouse's head. Use a little of the dough to make his cheeks more exaggerated and then make his nose.
• Bake it at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until your knife comes out clean from the side of his head.
• Use cocoa powder mixed with water to mark his nose, ears and to draw his eyes.
• Keep it as is or make it into a sandwich as I did.
• Enjoy!


• Make sure to tuck any excess dough underneath the head. If necessary, you may need to roll the extra dough out to make it smoother and less cracked like mine. 

Granola!

I'm not eating hay anymore - I promise! It's just some simple granola that I mixed together. And you can change it to what you like - if you like more sugar or crispness then add more brown sugar and agave nectar, if you don't like apples then you can take them out. I'll just show you my ha- granola recipe for reference.

(Granola Ingredients)

• 1/2 Green Apple diced
• 1/2 Red Delicious Apple diced
• 1/4 Cup of Ground Flax Meal
• 1/2 Cup of Oats
• 1/2 Cup of shredded Coconut
• 1/2 Cup of Wheat Germ
• 1/2 tsp Iodized Salt
• 1 tbl of Coconut Oil
• 1/4 cup of Raisins
• Enough Sugar and Agave Nectar to sprinkle

(Directions)

• Mix the ingredients together and place them onto a greased baking sheet.
• place them into the oven at 200 degrees, mixing them every 10 minutes or so to keep them from going.
• Once they crisp and brown up then you can mix it one last time and place it into a bowl to snack on.
• Enjoy!

Girl's Day Flower and Purse Soup

Тhis is a very simple (and late) soup for Girl's Day in Japan. When your little (insert female-relative) dives into this little soup, they'll get a wonderful surprise. At the bottom of the bowl is some steamed lotus root, and surrounding it are wonton "flowers" and purses. The purses are filled with vegan imitation crab, sesame oil, and spring onions. The broth is simply shiitake broth that has been spiced up a bit with five spice powder, serrano peppers and dried shiitake mushrooms. It's obvious that this was made for me - but you can tweak it as you like for the next girl's day.

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Vegan Yakgwa for Mother's Day

Okay, it isn't exactly yakgwa for a few reasons - it isn't fried, and it isn't Chuseok. But it's the spirit that counts and you can fry it if you like. I would have, but it doesn't seem like a good Mother's Day present to add on the pounds of everyone in the house. It's still delicious and the same basic preparation up until the baking process either way.

(Vegan Yakgwa Ingredients)

• 4 tbl Agave Nectar (I used Light, but Amber would work)
• 1 and 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 tsp Iodized Salt
• 1 Flax Egg (or your choice of Egg-Replacer)
• 1 and 1/2 tsp Rapid-Rise Yeast
• 1/2 tbl Coconut Oil

(Yakgwa Syrup Ingredients)

• 1 tsp of Mirin
• 1/4 cup of Agave Nectar
• 1/4 cup of Agave Nectar
• 3 tbl of Sugar
• A small amount of Sesame Oil and Grated Ginger

( Directions)

• Combine the ingredients together and roll out the dough with a rolling pin.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cut them into your preferred shape.
• Put the finished pieces onto a greased baking pan and let them rise for about 20 minutes. While they are rising, spread a bit of agave nectar over them and put a dot of sugar in the middle.
• Once they are all sugar-glazed, sprinkle some cinnamon onto them and then make a swirl with a butter knife.
• Place them into the oven to cook for about 10-15 minutes or until they seem ready to you (poke a hole in one if unsure).
• Coat them in the syrup and eat them while they're hot or luke-warm.
• Enjoy!

Vegan Tea-Smoked Duck

Lovely and not nearly as expensive as duck, plus you don't have to worry about any of the extra fat! It practically melts in your mouth, and for an added twist I added it on top of some mashed plantains and poured on the mole sauce. Talk some about delicious culinary confusion.

(Tea-Smoked "Duck" Ingredients)

• 1 Package of Vital Wheat Gluten (I used Arrowhead Mills)
• 1/2 tsp Iodized Salt
• 1 Cup of Cold Shiitake Broth
• 1 Package (Green or Black) Tea
• Whole Five Spice Mix (Ex; Whole Cloves, Whole Anise, etc.)
• 1 tbl Sugar

(Directions)

• Mix the first three ingredients together as delicately as possible, making sure that the broth coats all of the vital wheat gluten but that you don't mix it too much.
• Steam that for about 15 minutes while you stuff your tea bag with the whole five spice mix and sugar.
• Dampen the tea bag and place it into a pan on low heat with a clear top.
• Once the fifteen minutes are up for the seitan, add it to the tea-smoker with about 1/4 cup of water and place the top back on. Once the water has evaporated, add some non-flavored oil and let that cook until one side of the tea bag is fried and the seitan is crispy.
• Remove the tea bag and flip the seitan. Once the seitan is fully crisped, feel free to spread a little bit of coconut oil on top and serve as you will.
• Enjoy!

I simply mashed some fried plantains with salt, garlic and chiles and made a quick mole sauce. The next day I had it in a delicious salad, and preferred it much better (hence no recipe)

Vegan Crab Rangoon

This recipe was only precooked because I planned on using it in soups and stews and for frying. Either way it was absolutely delicious and reminded me of some of my favorite foods that I used to get from a nearby Chinese Take-Out place. You can do what you like with it, as long as it makes you happy.

(Vegan Crab Ingredients)

• 1 jar Sweet Potato Baby Food(Make sure its vegan)
• 1 Box of Arrowhead Mills Vital Wheat Gluten
• 1/2 teaspoon of Iodized Salt
• 1/2 block of Silken Tofu
• 1 tsp of Turmeric
• 1 cup of Vegan Fish Sauce (from Sushi Quest)

(Vegan Crab Rangoon Ingredients)

• 1/2 block of pureed Silken Tofu
• 1 tbl of Iodized Salt
• 1/2 tbl of Lemon Juice
• 1/2 tbl of Apple Cider Vinegar (with Mother)
• 2 Large Green Onions minced
• 1/2 tsp of Dried Chives minced
• Salt to Taste
• 2-4 edges of Vegan Crab, finely chopped
• Your choice of wrapper

(Directions)

• For the Vegan Crab: Split the package of vital wheat gluten into two separate bowls lined with plastic wrap.
• Add the sweet potato and turmeric to one bowl and mix that together. Then add blended silken tofu to the other, make sure to add the fish sauce after the ingredients are incorporated.
• Gently shape each pieces of raw seitan into squares, and lift up the orange one by the plastic wrap, being sure to support the bottom.
• Gently place it on top of the white one and then you can place the seitan in a basket steamer for about 30 minutes.
• Pan fry the white side first (after steaming it for about 20 minutes or so), then flipped it over so that the orange one could get a nice crust. When it came out it looked like a real crab!
• Cut off the edges and then use them in a delicious vegan crab rangoon or whatever you would enjoy crab in.


• For the Vegan Crab Rangoon: Combine the ingredients together and place about half a teaspoon into the middle of a dumpling wrapper (I used Shanghai-style from an Asian Grocery), ran across the edge with some cold water.
• Form it into the star shape of the rangoon.
• Finish all of the wrappers; pan fry them and enjoy!

Its'a Bento!

This isn't my first bento but it is my first fully kyaraben one. It just so happens to be Mario-themed! You could already see that from the picture though, right? I made everything except for the "chicken "patty, and the filling for Yoshi's egg will be revealed very soon. Lets'a cook!

Koopa Shell Recipe:
3 tbl Chlorophyll (or Spinach Juice)
1 tsp Iodized Salt
1 cup of Warm Water
1/2 a packet of Rapid-Rise Yeast
1 tbl Soy Milk
1/4 cup of Granulated Sugar
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

Combine the ingredients together and shape them into Koopa shells. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and let the buns rise for about 15 minutes before brushing them with soy milk. Place them in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until your knife comes out clean once you stab one of the buns. Let the buns rest on a wire rack for about 30 minutes before stuffing it with lettuce, tomato and onion. Make an "X" out of the nori sheet and place it on the shell.

For Yoshi's egg it is simply "crab" filled onigiri, shaped like an egg and covered in nori circles. Underneath him is the rest of the vegan crab filling and a lettuce leaf to hold it all.

I heated up a Boca Mock Chicken Patty in the oven until it was heated through and crisped up a bit, then I sprinkled it in five-spice powder and cut it's face into the shape of a Koopa. I slid part of it into the bun and cut out an eye from a radish and the pupil from the rest of the nori sheet. The mushroom is also a radish that is cut has patches cut out carefully with a knife. I lined cauliflower around the edge behind the mushroom and the yellow block as well.

Yellow Stars and Blocks:
3/4 a tsp of Rapid-Rise Yeast
3/4 a tsp of Iodized Salt
1/2 cup of Bread Flour
1/2 a cup of Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tbl Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp of Coconut Oil
Paprika, Garlic Powder and Red Pepper Flakes to taste
Turmeric (just enough to color the dough a bright yellow)

Cut them into the shapes you like and then place them on a greased baking sheet. Let them rise for about 5-10 minutes, then you can place them into the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees or until they look done. For mine I used a knife to cut out four blocks (I ate three), one star, and Yoshi's name (sprinkled around the Koopa)

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3