Afternoon Champaign Instead of Afternoon Tea

Tea Time on Mother's Day

To celebrate Mother's Day, we had champaign instead of tea.

Some Champaign match strawberries and crispy buttery pie.

Strawberry rhubarb paste and passion fruit cream mille feuille pie

Strawberry rhubarb and passion cream mouse topped with 

marshmallow.

Ham, egg,and potato salad sandwich 

Fresh mango slices, edible carnations, and bing cherries

Japanese Bamboo Shoot Dish, A Good Appetizer for Sake(rice wine)

Japanese Pepper Miso Sauce and Bamboo shoot: Kinomeae

The word "Kinome木の芽" in Japanese cuisine is new bud of Japanese pepper which sprout in spring.  

 Bamboo shoot on the left side and Ainame sashimi(raw fish) on the right 

Kinome Miso Sauce:

Grind Japanese pepper leaves.

Add shiro miso(white sweet soy bean paste) and dashi(soup stock)

Bamboo shoots:

Cook diced or small pieces of boiled bamboo shoot in dashi( soup stock) for 10 to 15 minutes.

Put in miso sauce and mix well.

Seve on a plate.

Also mixed fresh Ainame(greenling) sashimi(raw fish) with the same sauce. 

Steamed Rice with Bamboo Shoot

Bamboo Shoot: healthy vegetarian Japanese dish

Ingridients:
Thinly sliced boiled fresh bamboo shoot　筍
Japanese rice　白米
soup stock(dried bonito fish 鰹節)
sea weed 昆布 soup stock for vegan
sake rice wine 日本酒
salt 塩
 a little bit of soy sauce 醤油
Japanese pepper leaves 山椒

Bamboo shoots are consumed in many Asian countries.  There are various kinds of bamboo shoots.  They are harvested in April and May in Japan.  Usually, Japanese shoots have very bitter acrid taste and hard texture.  

孟宗竹 Phyllostachys edulis

Bamboo shoots have no cholesterol.
Contains good amount of potassium which helps reduce high blood pressure
High in dietary fiber
Low calorie         

Healthy Vegetarian Dish for Chinese New Year

 Buddha's Delight  Jai(羅漢齋luo han zhai)

羅漢齋 Luo Han Zhai is popular in Chinese restaurants in Hawaii.  They call it "Jai"

Buddha's Delight羅漢齋 is a traditional dish eaten on the first day of Chinese  Lunar New Year.  This vegetarian food is originally Buddhist monk's dish.  

Ingredients: 
All dried ingredients (except kobu) should be soaked in water for a few hours and drained before cooking.  Stir fry the ginger in vegetable oil, then add all the ingredients.  Put 1 table spoon of sesame oil just before turning off the heat to add the flavor if preferred.   

ginko nuts 白果
bamboo shoots 竹笋
baby corns 玉米笋
carrots 紅萝卜
water chestnuts 馬蹄
straw mushrooms 草菇
dried shiitake mushrooms 香菇
dried black moss 髮菜　
dried lily buds 金针菜
dried bean curd 枝竹
black fungus 木耳 
fried tofu(bean curd) 豆腐泡
wheat glutens 面筋
shredded napa cabbage 白菜
mung bean noodles 粉丝

Ingredients for seasoning:
sliced ginger 姜
soy sauce 生抽
salt 鹽
shiitake mushroom's soaking water
kobu sea weed 海帶
Chinese rice wine 绍兴酒
sugar 糖
red fermented bean curd 南乳 
sesame oil 芝麻油