Dinner on 25/06/07

Menu: Pork with ginger & soy sauce; fried green peppers & onions; steamed aubergines; simple vegetable soup; rice with peas


As we didn't go shopping over the weekend, we were running out of food. My husband was really tired after working for 27 hours from Friday to Saturday - it was crazy! He was going to work late afternoon on Monday (25/06), so we went to the local supermarket to buy some food just before the lunch time. I saw that packs of pork were on offer and was inspired to cook pork with ginger & soy sauce, which I hadn't cooked for a while, for dinner.

The pork was tender as I used Chinese cooking sake (I use it instead of Japanese cooking sake because it's cheaper than ours). It was rather a lot of meat, so I saved some for lunch the following day.

Sparerib Steak with Marmalade & Soy Sauce

Serves 4

4 pork spare rib steaks
1 clove garlic crashed

Sauce
5 tbsp marmalade
3 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp Japanese/Chinese cooking sake (or dry sherry)

1. In a pre-heated frying pan or flameproof casserole, add a little oil, garlic and the steaks.
2. Fry until browned on both sides.
3. Add the sauce and bring to the boil.
4. Reduce the heat and cook until the sauce thickens.

*Alternatively, you can use chicken instead of pork.

Branch on 24/06/07

Menu: simple chicken soup with ginger & Chinese cooking sake; rice; umeboshi puree

We had a long day yesterday. We had to take our daughter to the allergy clinic in the Ealing area and used the public transportation which was a nightmare!

We were very exhausted by the time we arrived home. When I woke up this morning, it was already 10:30am! I still felt tired and a bit chilly. It's not cold, but it's definately colder than yesterday. I wanted something warm to eat.

So, I decided to make my favourite chicken soup. I created the recipe a few years ago and am proud of it. It's simple, but really nice. I used daikon, Chinese cabbage, spring onions and salt to taste.

I feel warmer now :-)

Dinner on 22/06/07

Menu: Chicken with tomatoes, aubergine, onions, green peppers; rice with peas


I was on the phone with my mum yesterday. I always ask her what she's cooked for that day to get some ideas for my dinner. She told me about the curry she had had at a restaurant with my dad last week. It was a very simple tomato curry - only a few chunks of beef in it. She asked one of the waiters there what was in it, and he said "Only tomatoes and curry powder." My mum got an idea from it and made tomato curry the following day. She fried some garlic and chicken (instead of beef) and added tinned tomatoes as well as grated carrots and potatoes. Apparently, it was really nice.

"Thank you for the idea, Mum!" Hanging up the phone, I got some chicken out of the freezer. I was quite excited as I knew that my husband would love it. He likes curries, especially on Friday night.

I got a call from my husband when I was cutting vegetables. He said "I won't be back home tonight." It's been really hectic for him at work, and some people at work seemed to be staying as well.

So, change of the plan then. I decided to cook chicken with tomatoes, green peppers, aubergine and onions. I added some dried thyme and sage to taste.
It was really nice!

My daughter's dinner on 21/06/07

Everyday, I make vegetable soup and soft rice for my daughter, varying the type of vegetables from day to day.

She loves vegetables as much as I do! My friends are quite impressed with her as she gets really excited when eating vegetables.

That day, I used Chinese cabbage, cabbage, carrots, spring onions, daikon (Japanese radish/mooli) and onions for the soup. She loved it!

She can feed herself quite well now. She gets annoyed with me when I try to feed her and pushes my hands away! Well, sometimes I have to feed her when I want her to try a bit harder food. Otherwise, she swallows it without chewing enough.
Anyway, she seemed to be satisfied with her dinner :-)

Dinner on 21/06/07

Menu:Yasai champuru(vegetable stir-fry); Miso soup;
Rice; Umeboshi puree

As I had a simple lunch on that day, I wanted something nice for dinner.

Especially, when I'm ill, I always want comfort food. So, I decided to cook Yasai champuru which is one of the typical Okinawan dishes.

I used cabbage, moyashi (bean sprouts), onions, carrots, green peppers, bacon and of course, tofu :-) I used garlic & ginger as well. I put in some soy sauce and Chinese five spices to taste. We don't normally use Chinese five spice in our cooking, but I quite like it.

I really enjoyed my dinner.

Lunch on 21/06/07

Menu: Simple vegetable soup;Simple rice bowl with avocado, daikon and cucumber
















I didn't feel well earlier this morning. My daughter has a cold, and so does my husband. I must have caught it from them... I didn't want it to get worse, so I stayed in relaxing. I didn't want to stand in the kitchen for a long time - I wanted something quick and easy, but tasty.


"What can I have for lunch? Let's see...."

Opening the fridge, I found bits and pieces. The first thing which caught my eye was avocado.

"Okay, rice bowl with avocado then!"

It's very easy to make. All you need is cutting. Well, you need some cooked rice as well. Normally, I have it as a sushi rice bowl. I would make sushi rice (mix rice with vinegar & sugar) and put avocado, cucumber and tuna with mayonnaise on top of it. But today, I didn't bother making sushi rice, so I simply used normal cooked rice. When I say rice, that's Japanese rice :-) I didn't want to open a tinned tuna and make tuna&mayonnaise either, so the rice bowl I made was really simple. I sprinkled some soy sauce mixed with wasabi and nori(type of seaweed). It was really nice!


The soup was leftover from last night. Whenever my body needs lots of vegetables, I make vegetable soup. I used daikon, carrots, spring onions, cabbage, Chinese cabbage for the soup. I didn't add anything else.

If you think making sushi is too complicated, you can make this type of rice bowl. All you need is making sushi rice, which is simple enough, and put ingredients on top. And of course, don't forget to sprinkle some soy sauce!