Easy little carbonade, with early Autumn market’s basket…

The inspiration is the Belgian dish carbonade flamande, a beef stew with dark beer. It’s hugely adapted to my local ingredients. I had that alcohol free beer to finish and some frozen beef meat leftover. And season’s produce waiting to be cooked. All that took us away from the rich original Winter dish, but that’s ideal for now as weather is hot (versus sooo hot before).

I’ve started by pan-frying a sliced onion till they get a golden color. Added beef thinly cut (2/3 defrost), a chunk of kurozato black sugar, thyme, a little fresh ginger, a piece of dry chili pepper and 2/3 of a can of beer (alcohol free). Covered. Let 15 minutes on low heat. The meat is so thin that it cuts very quickly.

I’ve added croutons made of toasted abura age (fried tofu pockets) with mustard spread on it, a little water, salt, pepper. Let 15 more minutes.

Served with more croutons and thyme on top. And I had veggies :

Small long satsuma imo sweet potatoes.

I steamed them with kabocha pumpkin and small potatoes.

Freshly boiled black edamame.

Asian breakfast : salmon okayu

Second morning of okayu rice porridge with the leftover cooke for the umeboshi okayu

The base is the same : brown rice + cooked aka endomame red peas + a little salt.

Grilled salted salmon.

With the salmon, I’ve toasted a few abura age (fried tofu). To make croutons for a Fall salad, with figs :

The fish on top of the rice, with sesame seeds and shikwasa lime.

Petite soupe de poisson (fish soup 2.0)

Adaptation of the fish soup from Provence that often served with bread croutons, rouille sauce and grated cheese.

I had the fish soup base (explanation here), reheated with saffron, turmeric, red bell pepper, hot chili.

Prepared croutons, then rubbed them with raw garlic.

Rouille (garlic sauce).

That should be cheese, it’s my beloved sake kasu + miso.. (read here).

Side one : Raw veggies.Thinly cut goya (bitter squash) and red bell pepper.

Side two : steamed veggie. Sweet corn and romanesco.
All that makes a meal !

Cardamom green patties and red wax squash

Another meatless Monday lunch, quickly prepared. The 2 dishes are togan (Winter melon wax squash) in tomato sauce, and these green sweet spice patties.

I’ve released the cardamom seeds from pods (used only 3), and there is a few ajowan seeds too. I pasted the favas (broad beans) with a bit of onion, in the blender. The bamboo shoots cubes give a crunchy edge.