Bonzai burgers and a salad with strawberries and feta cheese. I had this burger at Red Robin and loved it! So I found the recipe online to recreate it. All I can say is, who needs Red Robin anymore. I used fresh pineapple instead of canned, and I used about half the teryaki sauce the recipe called for. I used 1lb of beef and made three patties, plus one small one for Ellie. I will definitely make this again come summertime.
RECIPES:
This is Aya’s goes to specialty. It’s quick and easy and she has her own ways of modifying it. We’ve eaten this many many times in our house over the years. It’s always a treat when we do. Originally from the Szechuan province, it is an incredibly spicy dish. Â This is just a modified Japanese version. Â And it’s also one of those dishes that every household has it’s own version of, as it is a typical dish that is served in Japan.
RECIPES:
Mapo Tofu
Ingredients;
Tobanjan(Korean spicy chilli paste) 1ts(more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
Grated fresh ginger 5-10g
Garlic 1 clove(you can use more per your preference)
200g ground pork.(Aya used turkey)
1 package tofu(Aya used firm but you can use silky…but it won’t retain it’s shape once stirred)
1 bunch Nira(It’s a Chinese leek that has a very potent fragrant like garlic does and can be found in Asian specialty stores. May be substituted with green onions)
Aya only added carrots for the extra color and to have Ellie eat more vegetables, but traditionally it doesn’t call for it.
Soy sauce 1 tb
Sugar 2tb
Japanese cooking wine 1ts
Potato starch 1tb(may use corn starch. Asian dishes usually call for potato starch)
Japanese chicken broth 1 1/2 c(you may use regular chicken broth)
Vegetable cooking oil
Sesame oil
Always one of the best meals of the year. It’s a tough choice between this and Thanksgiving, but I think I pick Thanksgiving. Aya picks this. Easter dinner is always at my parents house and my mom does 98% of the cooking. I brought coleslaw and my brother brought carrots. My mom did the rest which included: fresh and smoked kielbasa, homemade peirogis (not homemade by her, but some lady named Jenny), ham, ambrosia salad, deviled eggs, sauerkraut, and homemade bread. Ugh, what a meal! So good!
For dessert she always makes a homemade banana lamb cake (it’s shaped like a lamb). And then as a special treat since my dad loves zombies, we made him his own zombie chocolate Easter Bunny. Good times, Happy Easter!
Aya cooked today utilizing some leftover ingredients from throughout the week. It’s basically fried rice with ketchup, and is commonly referred to as “tomato rice.” She said making fried rice like this in Japan is pretty simple and common. Also that it’s kind of equivalent to how a grilled cheese and tomato soup dinner would be here in the states. Ellie loved it!
RECIPES:
Tomato Rice
She sauteed finely chopped onions, carrots and celery, then added chopped turkey sausage. Next she added cooked rice with peas and corn, then a scrambled egg. Mix altogether and then add ketch-up. Since there’s enough sodium in ketch-up, she said that’s all the seasoning she used. It was pretty flavorful too!
Pork tenderloin with pomegranate molasses, mashed sweet potatoes, and roasted asparagas. Dang! I’m a huge fan of fruit in food and I couldn’t pass when I saw pomegranate molasses and pork. I wasn’t sure where to go to buy some, so I figured I could make some. And sure enough I found a simple recipe from Alton Brown.
The pork was moist and tender and the hint of fruit in the sauce wasn’t over powering. We all gave this high marks. Ellie loved it!
RECIPES:
