Category Archives: Tomato

From my Recipe Book: Cold Pasta Salad With Shizuoka-grown Ameera Tomatoes

Cooking is so easy when you have the right and superlative ingredients within your hand’s reach!

Japan, and especially Shizuoka Prefecture, is famous for producing all kinds of succulent varieties of tomatoes.
I brought back home a batch of Ameera (meaning “sweet” in local dialect) tomatoes grown in the Western part of Shizuoka Prefecture. They are the size of large plum tomatoes and are very firm and sweet. You could actually eat them as fruit!

The weather having turned mild (it will soon be hot), cold pasta salad becomes a favorite!

I prepared some Spaghettini and let them cool down while I boiled some broad beans and peas in the pods.
The latter once cooked (but still firm), I peeled the broad beans and cut the peas in the pod in halves at a slant.
I sliced the tomatoes and fried them a little in olive oil.
Once everthing had cooled down to the same temperature, I tossed the lot (including the tomato juices) with cold basil pesto based sauce and some pepper.
Nothing else! The fresh and natural combination of sweetness and light saltiness with basil was just perfect!

Easy, yes. Great ingredients, yes!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

So Good Sushi Restaurant in Nice France
Navigating Nagoya by Paige, Shop with Intent by Debbie, BULA KANA in Fiji, Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pie
rre.Cuisine
, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Ichi For The Michi by Rebekah Wilson-Lye in Tokyo, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
ABRACADABREW, Magical Craftbeer from Japan
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

Vegan Japanese Recipe: Japanese-style Cold Eggplants & Tomato Antipasti

Japanese and Italian influences can be found in this simple antipasti recip!

Japanese-style Cold Eggplants & Tomato Antipasti

INGREDIENTS: (for 3 people)

Eggplants: 3 (400 g)
Tomato: 1 large
Small leek: 1 finely chopped
Ooba or large shiso/perilla : 4 leaves finly cut

For the dressing:
Ground white sesame seeds: 1 very large tablespoon/30 g
Sesame oil: 1 and a half tablespoons
Soy sauce: 3 tablespoons
Sugar: 1 tablespoon
Japanese sake (if not available dry white wine):
Finely chopped fresh ginger: 1 teaspoon
Grated fresh garlic: a ;ittle or as appropriate
Red chili pepper: 1/2, finely chopped

RECIPE:

Cut eggplants in half. Then cut off part of the skin 8to make them easier to eat. Cut each half lengthwise in atrips 5~8 mm thick.

Wet the the eggplants in water. Put them inside a cooking cellphane/vinyl pouch. Fold the pouch so as to have the opening ath bottom. You could also wrap them in cellophane paper.
Cook in microwave oven at 600 W for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
You could also cook them inside a steamer.

Let cool down completely and then chill them inside refrigerator.
If you want to chill them quickly bind the pouch closed and dip it in a bowl full of water and ice.

Put all the sauce ingredients into a bowl. Cover it with cellophane paper and cook in microwave oven for 50 seconds. Let it cool completely and then chill it.

Serving for one person.

Arrange the eggplants on serving dish. Put the tomato thinly sliced and formed into a rose on top.
decorate the eggplants and tomato with chopped leek and thinly sliced shiso.
Pour sauce over the whole as shown in top picyure.

Serve and enjoy with a great beer, cold sake or chilled white wine!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Shizuoka Prefecture Appetizer: Fujiyama Beef, Utogi Wasabi & Ameera Rubbins Pearl Tomatoes!

There are days when things seem to click out of nowhere!
The Missus last night brought home some beef from the newly opened Cenova Department Store.
This was Fujiyama Beef, the equivalent of Kobe Beef bred in Shizuoka Prefecture!
It is expensive but when the Missus noticed the 30% discount tag when she visited the place in the evening she did not hesitate!

The Missus sauteed the four slices (two for each…) up to medium rare in top-class olive oil. Nothing else, good girl!

We had a small pack of Ameera Rubbins Pearl Tomatoes from Iwata City in the fridge. These tomatoes are being grown here and there in Japan these days but until recently only two farmers were growing them in our Prefecture in the whole of Japan. These are very firm and sweet and are eaten like a dessert!

I also happened to have quite a few fresh wasabi roots in the fridge. These were offered to me by farmers who grow them in Utogi, Shizuoka City, the very birthplace of wasabi!
Since Shizuoka Prefecture grows 80% of the total crop in Japan, it is quite a common pleasure here to grate your own wasabi!

Just some grated wasabi and salt for the beef… Simple is best and most extravagant!
incidentally, the red salt is a present from Hawai!
Mind you, true to tell, the rest of the dinner was a bit of an anticlimax! LOL

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
Clumsyfingers by Xethia
Adventures in Bento Making, American Bento, Beanbento, Bento No1, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box, My Bento Box, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat; Bento Lunch Blog (German); Adventures In Bento; Anna The Red’s Bento Factory; Cooking Cute; Timeless Gourmet; Bento Bug; Ideal Meal; Bentosaurus; Mr. Foodie (London/UK); Ohayo Bento

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

BBQ With Shizuoka Local Products!

In Japan and Shizuoka BBQ’s are taken very seriously!
Today, Sunday October 9th, I took part in the 2nd Shizuoka Products BBQ organized by Nagashima Wine Shop in Shizuoka City!
The event catered for no less than 50 people and certainly required some organization like the Japanese are so good at!

The event took place on the bbq space of Yamako/山幸 soba shop up in the Mariko mountains in Shizuoka City!

The BBQ was scheduled for 11:00 a.m. but I came early to give a hand and to be able to report on the whole day!
It certainly was hot for an October Sunday!

Plenty of hands needed, but organizing committee included some hefty guys!

We still took time to share a joke or two!

Let me introduce all the good people who made it possible!
Takahiro Nagashima/長島孝博/ owner of Nagashima Wine shop in Shizuoka City, the main organizer.

Kazutaka Takashima/高嶋一孝, owner and master-brewer of Takashima Brewery in Numazu City.

Yuusuke Tozaki/戸崎雄介, owner-chef of Hana Oto Chinese Izakaya in Shizuoka City.

Takao Shimura/志村剛生, owner-chef of Narusei Tempura Restaurant in Shizuoka City.

Shigeru Sano/佐野茂治, owner-chef of Kamoshibito Restaurant in Shizuoka City.

Ken-ya Yoshimura, owner-chef of Uzu Izakaya, the leader of the group!

I took a break to take a stroll in the natural surroundings. Beautiful but unfortunately inedible karasu uri/烏瓜!

Things getting ready!

Preparing the charcoal BBQ!

Washing the vegetables!
All the vegetables of the day, except for the mushrooms and the jumbo peanuts were organic and grown by Bio Farm Matsuki in Fujinomiya City!

Little beauties for the salads!

Organic tomatoes!

Butternut squash!

Oura burdock roots!

Yuzu Koshio and Basil Paste created by Ken-ya Yoshimura at Uzu!

Sauces/dressings for the BBQ!

All the sakes of the day were nectars called Hakuin Masamune brewed by Takashima Brewery!

Kazutaka Takashima makes it known all through his sake labels that the Suruga Bay has the largest number of edible seaweed varieties in Japan!

The water of the day all came from Takashima Brewery’s own well!

All the guests were provided a sake cup with a removable cap to make sure not a single drop would be spilled!

Rainbow trout from Kunugi Fish Farm in Fujinomiya City!

Preparing the rainbow trout sashimi plate!

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Boiled jumbo peanuts grown in Shizuoka City! Great snack!

Pick your tomato!

Gomadare/sesame dressing by Sanoman Company in Fujinomiya City!

Boiled mangenton pork belly slices, cucumber and boiled bean sprouts salad!

The star of the day: dry ageing beef (Holstein) by Sanoman Co.!

The star of the day on the charcoal grill!

Decorating the bbq’d beef tray with mushrooms grown by Mr. hasegawa in Fuji City! To be savored raw!

Cutting the beef sashimi style!

Placing the beef on the tray…

Almost ready… I wasn’t left any time for a last picture!

Mangenton pork sausages!

Red Moon potatoes tempura!

Oura burdock root tempura!

Preparing the butternut squash tempura!

Absolutely delicious!

Organic sweet potatoes!

Anchovy sauce potatoes!

The guest product of the day: mozuku seaweed brought all the way from Miyako Island in Okinawa!

The other star of the day! Toshiyaki Horie/堀江利彰, owner of Horie Chicken Farm in Shuzenji, Izu Peninsula, who came all the way tpo demonstrate the cutting of his Amagi Shamo Chickens!

An attentive audience…

Amagi Shamo is arguably the best and rarest chicken in Japan!

Charcoal-grilled Amagi Shamo Chicken!

Yummy!

Some very happy and contented ladies!

See you again next year same time!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
Clumsyfingers by Xethia
Adventures in Bento Making, American Bento, Beanbento, Bento No1, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box, My Bento Box, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat; Bento Lunch Blog (German); Adventures In Bento; Anna The Red’s Bento Factory; Cooking Cute; Timeless Gourmet; Bento Bug; Ideal Meal; Bentosaurus; Mr. Foodie (London/UK); Ohayo Bento

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Italian Cuisine: Cold Pasta Salad With Shizuoka-grown Ameera Tomatoes

Cooking is so easy when you have the right and superlative ingredients within your hand’s reach!

Japan, and especially Shizuoka prefecture, is renown for producing all kinds of succulent varieties of tomatoes.
The Missus came back home with a batch of Ameera (meaning “sweet” in local dialect) tomatoes grown in the Western part of Shizuoka Prefecture. They are the size of large plum tomatoes and are very firm and sweet. You could actually eat them as fruit!

The weather having turned mild (it will soon be hot), cold pasta salad becomes a favorite!

The Missus prepared some Spaghettini and let them cool down while she boiled some broad beans and peas in the pods.
The latter once cooked (but still firm), she peeled the broad beans and cut the peas in the pod in halves at a slant.
She sliced the tomatoes and fried them a little in olive oil.
Once everyhing had cooled down to the same temperature, she tosssed the lot (including the tomato juices) with cold basil pesto based sauce and some pepper.
Nothing else! The fresh and natural combination of sweetness and light saltiness with basil was just perfect!

Easy, yes. Great ingredients, yes!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope, Agrigraph, The Agriculture Portal to shizuoka!

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