Bunny Filler Post

Took off for a few days to visit my little sister then got back and have been catching up for those days.

Daily posting, hopefully, starting tomorrow.

In the meantime...

Tendon(てんどん)

Today felt like a good day for tendon. A really easy dish to make, albeit a bit time consuming.

Take one cup ice cold water(and one egg's worth of your replacement of choice, if desired) and mix it with one cup flour, rice or unbleached all purpose, until it's got a good batter consistency to it.

Place it in the fridge, it's important to keep it cold unless you want oily tempura, then pour about one or two inches worth of oil into a wok or pot and set to medium heat.

While the oil warms up, chop whatever veggies you want, I went with carrots, daikon, onions, baby bok choy, snow peas, and mushrooms(no need to chop the last two unless too big!).

Once the oil's gotten hot enough that if you drop a tiny bit of batter in it sinks a little then rises to the top, cover your veggies in the batter one at a time and fry them in the oil. The small pot I used today worked fine for three veggies at a time, though use your best judgement on how many fry well for you without being overwhelming.

Veggies take awhile to fully cook, though the end result is worth it. Once done, scoop some rice into a bowl, top with the tempura, sprinkle a little tempura or soy sauce on top then dig in!

For the tea with this meal, I went simple and used the sencha tea bag that came with Den's Tea's $3 Sampler(a great deal for newbies to Japanese tea and for those just new to Den's Tea). Not bad for bagged and overall a splendid meal.

Ochazuke(お茶漬け)

I've gotten over my sickness for the most part, yet that only means it's time to get back to work and catch up with the world from the downtime. Not much, but enough to make me busy.

In that regard, I decided on something quick and rather homey for a late dinner and stomache still not entirely sure it's ready for something more. That is, I decided it was a good time for some ochazuke and, why not?, tea.

Shoveling some rice into one of those square bowels you'll have to get used to seeing, I tossed in some scallions,

tofu, yasai fumi furikake(veggie rice seasoning), enoki mushrooms, nori, garlic, and a mixture of a few spices I'm fond of.

From there I brewed up some of Maeda-en's genmaicha, poured it on in, and stirred it all up in that adult and mature way I liked to eat. That is, as messy as possible.

Just the tiniest bit of Korean, or any type you like, soy sauce and it's perfection. Hot, tasty, and the just thing to settle my stomache while getting in a filling meal.

What is more or less tea/rice soup aside, what about the cup? For the moment, I'm going back to a tea I first tasted via TeaChat's OTTI #7: Asamushi Sencha. That is, Den's Tea's Shin-ryoku.

At the time I rated it third of the five asamushi sencha we were given to play with, below two offerings from Maiko though still really enjoyable.

It's got this nice grassy quality to it and once you hit the third steep or so it becomes, in my experience, quite fabulously sweet. If you're into asamushi sencha and want something from a US-based dealer, I'd recommend it.

For the kyusu? A freebie from Den's Tea. First time I used it with their Fuka Maroni and it got really stopped up making the pour a bit of a pain and lead my mind to pulling a 'well, no wonder it was a 'free gift' deal'. Though this time around it seems to be working perfectly fine and makes a might lovely cup of the Shin-ryoku.

Still gotta wonder what happened that first time. I blame the fuka.

Sickness and Oolong

While I started off the day feeling quite alright, after taking my run in the early afternoon I suddenly started sneezing and it hasn't let up since.

Might make something later, but now calls for something familiar, hot, and tasty. In short, tea.

Since I'm not a fan of using my more pricey or higher quality teas when I'm not in a position to more fully appreciate them, I turned to what's become a bit of a more everyday oolong for me.

At $3.15/oz. Life in Teacup's Cui Yu(Spring 2010, Taiwan, Nantou County) is pretty decent as well as priced in a way that one won't cry over drinking it on a stuffy nose.

Brewed in one of my two yixing bat-themed pots, this one a gift and hailing originally from FunAlliance, this oolong gives off a rather pleasant orchid scent topped off with a lovely floral, not to mention very green, taste.

It reminds me a little of TKY, a favorite of mine, and, possibly, why today it ended up in my cup.

Bi Bim Bap(비빔밥)

I was reading a book last night and bibimbap somehow came to my mind, settled in its roots, and wouldn't leave me be. Yet, with my formerly lacking in veggies kitchen, I couldn't do a thing about it.

Thankfully, with the desire refusing to budge any further, that changed today. So, for dinner, it was my sloppy excuse for bibimbap.

Since the only bowls I have that are large enough for it are square, I tend to go with four around and then something in the middle. In the top corner we have carrots, the green is Shanghai bok choy, the bottom is daikon, and the corner closest is mushrooms.

In the center I fried up some tofu with red pepper flakes and topped it off with a dab of kochujang and roasted sesame seeds.

I love meals that start off with stirring everything together. Though the taste is definitely a plus as well.

Pretty easy to make and utterly delicious, I'm have to say I'm pretty fond of it.

Veggie Shopping

My veggie drawer was looking mighty bare today, due to using up everything for a change before heading to the store, so it was time to replenish!

I love my grocery store. The prices are good and they tend to have pretty much everything I could want. Today it was Napa cabbage, Shanghai bok choy, daikon, snow peas, red onions, broccoli, baby bella mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, carrots, scallions, and bok choy. Also(not pictured), some Korean soy sauce, jiaozi wrappers, and edamame.

Add in potatoes, bean sprouts, lettuce, garlic, ginger, and a few other things eluding me at the moment, and you've got my base of fresh foods I love to use.

Second post = tea time

Also, some tea.

This is just some sencha I get from my local store. The label reads: Tokujyo Sencha Gold.

It's the only tea I drink without much information attached though acts as a solid everyday sencha for me, often taken with me to drink at work though sometimes enjoyed at home.

The tea table, a common feature, is from Puerhshop.com. In the right corner is one of Den's Tea's Kokoro kyusu, I was pleasantly surprised by how blue it is. The two chilling around the center there are Shi and Cha, my teapet, from Chinese Tea Culture. Add in a bit of a fake plant, I have a small collection from work that I use to add a little extra to my settings, and a cup bought from a ceramics student at Radford University and it's a pleasant afternoon tea.

New blog time!

It's been a few years since I've blogged much about the things that grace my plate(or, rather, bento box) but I've found I miss it and in light of that, and my desire to babble a bit about tea as well, I've decided to start a new blog.

That said, both for those who've seen my prior blog(this will be handled differently) and those who are new, what will this blog entail? Simple, vegan food/recipes/pictures(mostly Eastern since I'm not a big fan of Western-style food) and loose leaf tea talk/pictures(greens, oolongs, and pu'erh mostly for now)/teaware.

Sound good? I think so.

So, to get this first post off on the right track, just a quick picture of some of the food, granted simpler things, I plan to cover.