soy-milk

if i remember correctly, i never had muffins in japan. i’m sure muffins are available, but it never occurred to me to eat them.

soon after i moved to canada, i realized there were muffins all over. at my ESL school in vancouver (a decade ago), a teacher introduced tim hortons as a part of canadian culture. not so much in saskatoon but in ontario, there’re tim’s at every corner. tim’s here, tim’s there. it’s hard to ignore.

the muffins that i’ve seen so far are huge, greasy and too sweet. i can feel my body expanding with every bite. i couldn’t help thinking about the calories in them. some of them have more than one meal’s worth. i don’t have the courage to eat the whole muffin. the part i like is the edge, the crunchy part. the spongy part, not so much. i don’t like to waste food so i don’t buy muffins at all.

but i like the idea of muffins. freshly baked food always adds a touch of warmth at a morning table.

so i made these petit apricot muffins with soy milk. i didn’t use too much sugar but the sweetness of the dried apricots is enough for me. i used vegetable oil but they didn’t end up very greasy. so, if you like less-sweet muffins, try this:
(ps. i’m not against tim hortons though. it’s nice to see canadian stores doing very well among the other american competitors. especially after laura secord chocolate was bought by american companies despite her effort…)

recipe: apricot muffins with soy milk

• 1 1/3c all-purpose flour
• 3/4c rolled oats
• 1/8c brown sugar
• 2tsp baking powder
• 1/4tsp sea salt
• 1 beaten egg
• 3/4c organic non-sweetened soy milk
• 1/4c vegetable oil
• 1c diced dried apricots, mixed with flour to prevent them from sinking in the batter
• a dash of vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

1. in a medium mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, apricots, and salt. make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside.
2. in a measuring cup combine oil, milk, vanilla essence and beaten egg. add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).
3. add oats to the mixture. — this will prevent the muffins from getting mushy.
4. spoon batter into muffin cups. bake in a 400c oven for 18~20 mins or until golden brown.
5. cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 mins.

bon appetit!

i like food that’s good for me.

when i was growing up, my mom and grandma used to tell me the benefits of food. at the dinner table, they’d say things like, “if you eat carrots, your eyes’ll shine.”, “have more seaweed, it’ll make your hair more beautiful.” or “don’t eat too much eggplant, it’ll cool your body.” etc… it wasn’t like a lecture, though. it was more like…just a part of dinner conversation.

they also used food to cure my pains. when i had muscle pain, they’d make paste from flour and spread it all over on my legs. when i got a prickle in my finger, they’d sprinkle some salt to soften my skin to remove it easily. believe or not, it worked.

health-conscious information is a big deal in japan. there are tons of health-related tv quiz shows or cooking shows. in elementary schools, dietitians draw cute illustrations on school lunch menus to describe how milk will help grow healthy bones, for example.

so in my mind, health and food share the same meaning. when i need more vitamins, i don’t grab vitamin pills, i grab vegetables.

after a long week, my skin looked a little tired. so i chose barley for dinner. barley is one of the foods i like to use often. this oldest cultivated grain is said to balance the digestive system and improve circulation. if you eat it regularly, it’ll soften your skin and you’ll feel refreshed!

i know, it might be just a superstition. who cares? believing is everything.

again, i forgot to keep track of what i used. so here is the hypothetical recipe:

recipe: barley risotto with leek and mushroom

• 1 leek (only white part), thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• a handful or more of brown mushrooms, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• s + p

saute these in 2 tsp of olive oil in a pot until they turn golden brown.

• 5 pieces of sundried tomato, diced

add the sundried tomatos to the sauted vegetables.

• 1 cup of pearl barley
• 2 cups of water

add barley to the sauted vegetables and slowly add some water. stir until the water evaporates, then add some more water.
cover the lid, stirring occasionally

• 1 cup or more of organic unsweetened soy milk

when the barley mixture is cooked, turn off the heat and add soy milk slowly as you stir. then add:

• dash of soy sauce
• S + P to taste
• minced parsley

to the risotto.

for garnish, i used sauteed asparagus and ham, diced red pepper, and shaved asiago cheese.

it’s very creamy even without adding a lot of cheese. soy milk gives a rich flavour.

to finish off, i squeezed some lemon juice on my last bite. i was left with a rich and fresh flavour… heaven!