Vegan Unicorn Frappuccino with Coconut Whip!! ☆ミ ☆ミ

When I heard about the new Unicorn Frappuccino in America, I immediately had to try making it myself. It looks amazing yet so unhealthy at the same time! I decided to make a healthy version that was fruity, sweet, decadent and using little to no processed foods. It is also soy free :)

I had to make 4 different types of slush. I found it was easiest to make enough slush for several servings--I couldn't really blend small amounts of food. For this recipe, I made taro cheesecake, strawberry-beet, mango and blueberry slushes.

Ingredients


Taro Cheesecake Slush

• 7 taro potatoes, peeled, boiled, and cooled
• 3 tablespoons white almond powder
• 1.5 tablespoons (or to taste) shio-koji 
• 1 tablespoon almond milk
• A few drops vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon sugar beet syrup (or brown rice syrup)

Strawberry-beet Slush

• 1 banana, chopped and frozen
• About two cups frozen strawberries 
• 1 small beet, peeled, boiled, and cooled (for a stronger pink colour)

Mango Slush

• 1 mango, chopped and frozen
• 1 banana, chopped and frozen
• ⅛ teaspoon turmeric powder

Blueberry Slush

What the coconut cream
should look like

• About ¼ cup frozen blueberries
• 1 banana
• Enough almond milk to achieve the desired colour

Toppings

• Can of coconut milk, refrigerated
• 2 teaspoons sugar beet syrup
• A few drops vanilla extract 
• Lemon juice that has frozen blueberries soaking in it

Instructions

Whipping the cream
with a fork.

1. Prepare each of the slushes separately by blending all the ingredients until smooth and well-combined. Store each in a separate container until assembly time and rinse out the blender/food processor each time.
2. Open the can of coconut milk and notice that it is hard, about the same texture as refrigerated butter. At the bottom of the can, there will be a watery substance. Instead of shaking or mixing it, take about 6 tablespoons of the hard coconut cream in a bowl and add the syrup/vanilla extract. Whip well until it resembles whipped cream. Store it in the fridge until assembly time.
3. Add the slushes to a glass in random dollops and layers. I put a bit of pomegranate juice in the bottom of the glass before adding a cheesecake layer.
4. When the glass is full, use a chopstick to mix the layers slightly to combine colours (if desired).
5. After the desired effect is achieved, top with some coconut cream. I put it in a piping bag to make it look a bit more like the original drink.



The layers before
mixing slightly.

6. On top of the cream, drizzle some of the lemon-blueberry juice that was set aside earlier.

After adding the toppings.

Coconut cream is a decadent alternative to whip and
the blueberry lemon juice is a healthy alternative to
Starbucks's sour blue "fairy powder." 

vegan ramen with tomato and mushrooms

Hello everyone,
sorry I've been bad about keeping in contact and keeping up the blog lately! work and studying...
anyhow, I have been eating well as usual, making up all sorts of things in the kitchen. you can probably guess what I just had for lunch: ramen. and you may be thinking, hey ramen isn't healthful. well, it can be very healthful! use fresh noodles, make the broth from scratch, add plenty of vegetables and some seitan, and bam!

bam.

let me tell you... that was a good bowl of noodles.

now hurry along to the supermarket so you can buy: 

- about 2 cups konbu dashi

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1 tbsp koi-kuchi soy sauce (use a respected Japanese brand)

- cabbage, sliced (1/16th of a head should be enough)

- 1/2 tomato (or one small tomato) cut into chunks

- 1 oyster mushroom (エリンギ) sliced and cut into sticks

- 1/3 package seitan (in japanese it's called かくふ and sometimes もちふ or あわふ)

toasted mochi

- 1 clove garlic

- 1 packet of fresh yakisoba noodles (the ramen I saw all had eggs in it, but yakisoba is essentially the same as ramen! without the eggs.)

bring the first three ingredients to a light boil and add all the vegetables. 

simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.

add the seitan and simmer for another minute.

add the garlic and the noodles, and simmer until finished!

bonus: serve topped with a toasted mochi

if you want a vegan bowl of ramen in Japan, you pretty much have to make it from scratch, since all the packaged noodles have meat extracts in them, and restaurants make their broths with pork bones. that's just how it is!
but this recipe was so filling and full of umami that I'd recommend it to anyone :) I'll definitely try it again soon.
other tastes that go well with ramen are spicy (black pepper and ra-yu) and sour (vinegar), so I'll have to cover those in another post!

curry potato salad

so yesterday I wanted to make some curry, but since it's summer, I wanted something more refreshing than a big plate of hot steaming curry and rice. so I thought i'd make a "cold curry"... if you will. it has all the basic ingredients of a japanese curry but in potato salad form!
how do you make a fantastic vegan potato salad that is also extremely healthy? one could go the easy route by adding a ton of vegan mayonnaise but an even better way is to use lemon juice. it goes extremely well with the potatoes and I have to say it gives the salad a light, tangy taste--way better for the hot summer months than heavy, oily mayo dressing. this is something non-vegans will love too, maybe more than traditional potato salad.

curry potato salad
3 potatoes, cubed
1 carrot, cut into the same size as potato
1/4 white onion... diced
(you could also add some green peas!)

boil these in water with 2 pinches of sea salt. when the potatoes are cooked through, drain the water and transfer to a bowl to cool.


add:
a splash or two of vegetable oil
about a teaspoon of curry powder
2-3 pinches of black salt
2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice

mix until incorporated, but not so far as to make mashed potatoes. (we'll save curried mashed potatoes for this winter.)
cool well, and enjoy!
I had this in my bento on monday, along with a rice ball and homemade agar jelly (not pictured)!

the other compartments contain a block of deep-fried tofu, and:

mizuna no o-hitashi (blanched Japanese arugula)
boil a large pot of water, and blanch the greens (almost anything can be used, such as spinach).
try not to mix it around, but keep the stems and leaves straight.
then take it out and wring out the water.
cut into sections of 4-5 cm, arrange nicely in individual dishes (so that the stems and leaves are straight) and top with about 1~1.5 tsp of Japanese soy sauce (such as Kikkoman) and ground sesame.
one serving is about the same size as what I have shown in my bento box.

Vegan Soymilk hotpot (Tounyuu-nabe) and Veggie kayu (congee)!

so apparently I didn't post my recipe for a basic nabe/hotpot (called yudofu) but I guess I'll post this one first! Nabe is the perfect dinner for winter because it is easy, and cooks on the table, so the pot doesn't get cold. Also it fills you up! especially soymilk-nabe.

Soymilk Hotpot (Tounyuu-nabe)

What you will need
is a hotplate and shallow saucepan or large frypan
and the following ingredients:

fry the onions
and boil the kabocha and sweet potato.

- half an onion, chopped
- oil for frying
~ kabocha squash, gutted and thinly sliced
~ japanese sweet potato, sliced
~ carrot, sliced
＊3 - 4 cups water
＊2 tbsp mirin (or cooking wine and a bit of sugar)
＊1 tsp soy sauce (preferably usu-kuchi)
＊1 tbsp shio-koji (not sure what to substitute in N. America, but you could try a mixture of sea salt and cornstarch...)
- 1/2 - 1 cup organic plain soy milk (I actually used sweetened plain soymilk for this, so if you want you can try adding a bit of brown sugar or corn syrup to taste)
~ sliced boiled renkon (lotus root)
~ shiitake (sliced or whole), enoki, or oyster mushrooms (or other varieties of asian mushrooms)
~ Kyo-age tofu (or your choice of deep-fried tofu), sliced/diced/prepared however you like it
~ Mizuna (not sure about the English translation but you could try to substitute arugula or other light-tasting cookable greens)
~ shirataki / konjac noodles, rice vermicelli, or other clear noodles
- about 10 cm naga-imo/yama-imo, peeled and grated (do this last!) - for extra fibre, omega-3 fats and nutrition, mix in a spoonful of ground flax seed, hemp hearts, or ground sesame to the grated naga-imo.
note: ingredients marked with ~ are optional or you can add as much/as little as you can eat.

add the soymilk and cook a bit, and you're ready
to add the rest of the ingredients :)

Directions

1. put your hotplate on the table and gather everyone around for a real epic mealtime.
2. fry the onions on medium until light brown. add kabocha and sweet potato, water, and bring to a boil.
3. add＊ingredients and stir well. once the squash is a bit softer, add the carrot. simmer for a couple of minutes, add the soy milk, and stir well. cook until these ingredients are almost ready to eat.
4. add the rest of the ~ ingredients, arranging neatly in sections. lower the heat to between medium and low, put the lid on, and cook for 2-5 minutes or until all ingredients are cooked and soft.
5. when it's ready, put about a tablespoon of grated naga-imo in your personal bowl, and on top of that ladle the veggies/tofu/noodles that you want, then a few ladlefuls of the soymilk soup. mix the soup and naga-imo together. you will have a melty, rich and creamy soup for your soymilk nabe perfect for cold winter days. 
6. as you take things from the pot, put more things in so there is always food cooking in the pot. 

What your soymilk-nabe should look like before cooking through.
clockwise from top:
renkon (lotus root), sweet potato/kabocha/carrot,
kyo-age tofu, enoki, mizuna, shiitake

in the bowl and ready to eat!

Veggie Rice Porridge

How about another recipe??  I came up with this "cheesy" veggie kayu (congee?) when I was trying to make lazy risotto but added too much water. Enjoy this vegetable rice porridge on a chilly day!

What you will need

day-old rice/cooked rice that has gone hard

3x water to rice (give or take)

1 - 2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp shio-koji (or maybe potato starch and salt)

kabocha squash, gutted, sliced and with the skin cut off

enoki, cut as such:

a pinch of black salt

2 - 3 tbsp nutritional yeast, or to taste

a pinch of curry powder, or to taste

mizuna (or arugula?) 

dried parsley or basil

Directions

1. bring rice, water, and oil to a boil in a pot. you're going to boil this rice until it gets mushy so add plenty of water along with the shio-koji.



boil until soft.

2. chop up the sliced kabocha and add it to the pot. boil until soft. 
3. add enoki, black salt, curry powder, and nutritional yeast. stir well and simmer until desired consistency is reached.
4. spoon into bowl and garnish with plenty of mizuna and parsley flakes.

another recipe, this time for creamy stew.

I'm back with another recipe but first some updates on my very interesting life.

last month, I taught a lot of our classes alone, and this week until the 6th I am teaching alone again! it's all good fun though. our 3 9th-grade students are starting to study for their high school entrance exams. I feel kind of sorry for them because it's all they do over winter break... study for their exams (at least that's how it was with last year's 9th graders).
we also had two halloween parties, one at the Kibi (main) classroom and one at the Tsujido classroom in Arida city. they were fun. I dressed up as hen-na ojisan...

hilarious! he's one of my favourite comedy characters...
come to think of it, this is the second year in a row I dressed up as a man.. last year I was Chuck Testa hahaha. I remember when I was like 10 or 11 I went as one of the Thompson twins from Tintin, too. strange...

and I rode another 160 km on my bike (over 3 days)... on sunday I rode to wakayama city to buy two lights and a bike pump. but when I got to the bike shop it started pouring rain. nothing like I've seen in vancouver... this was almost typhoon style! so the nice guys at the shop told me to wait until it stopped :) and lo and behold, it stopped an hour later (also nothing like I've seen in Vancouver!) by then it was dark though, so the shop guy lent me a light so I could ride home more safely. the trip to the shop and back home is about 70 km apparently. but the next day I wanted to return the light. so I rode back to the shop again... this time I brought them some really nice persimmons too. mmm persimmons.. probably nature's most perfect fruit.

today  I rode way up a mountain road in part of Aridagawa called Kanaya. it's about 13 km from home.

took this picture from a bridge...

... the bridge in this picture! (this was taken at my lunch stop)

my bike had a rest while I ate a quick lunch in an orange field.

as for this week's recipe... in japan there is such a thing called "cream stew" which is basically like a creamy chicken-vegetable soup. the stew part comes in a box.
except I think I can make a better one, japanese style... and without using milk or chicken to boot!




ingredients (feel free to add your other favourite veggies)

- canola/sunflower/vegetable oil
- an onion, coarsely chopped
- a couple of potatoes (yellow or white, not baking), washed, eyes removed, and cut into chunks
- a carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
☆ oyster mushrooms or other mushrooms, cut into slices or coarsely chopped
☆ sliced lotus root [renkon], boiled
☆ julienned bamboo shoots, boiled
☆ your choice of tofu (I chose deep fried soft tofu blocks called atsu-agé. you could also use ganmo, deep fried tofu balls; or sliced usu-agé, deep-fried tofu; or crumbled firm tofu.), cut into easy-to-eat pieces

step 2

- a tablespoon of all-purpose flour (optional)
- naga-imo/yama-imo
- unsweetened, unflavoured soy milk with a high solid content (I'm sure any soy milk would do, or even unsweetened almond or coconut milk)
- salt and pepper
- for garnish: green onions and/or nutritional yeast

directions

1. in a pot, sauté the onions in a tablespoon or two of oil until lightly browned. add the potatoes and carrots, add water, and simmer until soft.
2. meanwhile, prepare the ☆ ingredients. add to the pot and let them incorporate.

step 4

 3. after that, prepare the cream stew part. peel the naga-imo and, using a fine-tooth grater, grate it into a bowl. the end product should be the consistency of raw eggs. the peeled naga-imo feels like a wet bar of soap, so don't let it slip out of your hands!
to the grated naga-imo, sift in the flour. but I don't think you actually need it because the naga-imo will thicken the soup enough. you can always add flour after if it's too watery.
4. to the imo-and-flour mixture, add some soy milk. I think I added a cup and a half or so but it really depends on how creamy you want the stew to be, and how much imo you grated. I grated the whole thing, it must have been half a cup or so. mix this well and you should have something that looks like a batter. add some water to this if it seems too thick to you.
5. there should still be water left in the pot... add the cream mixture to it and stir well. at this point if you think you need the flour, add it so it can cook. simmer for a few minutes and add salt and pepper to taste. make sure that the mushrooms are cooked through and everything is soft and tender.
6. taste test and add more soy milk, salt/pepper, water, or simmer more until it's to your liking.

enjoy! I had this for dinner with some green pea rice I cooked this morning. all you have to do is make regular rice except add green peas and a bit of extra water too.

adventures in new wave japanese vegan cooking and cycling extremely long distances!

hi folks! it's getting colder these days... but around noontime it's still nice and warm, like a september day in vancouver. in any case, I'm gonna break out the winter blankets tonight because it's too chilly to sleep already.
I'm doing well. we are celebrating halloween in our english classes. people here love halloween but the kids don't go around door to door. it's just our classroom that organizes a door-to-door event.
I also bought a road bike and last sunday rode it to the beach in Tanabe which is about 65 km south of here. so that day I rode nearly 130 km total. I'm sure that if I left earlier i could go further though. maybe one of these days I'll go to osaka... or Nara. or even Tohoku! I bet on this bike I could go anywhere. here's a video of my ride back in september... I was riding my regular bike (the townie) but I still went 108 km. total.

I thought of the title because whenever i go deep

into the countryside on my bike, I get a lot of stares.

I guess they don't see many people like me on bikes!

my second adventure tonight was an experiment in cooking! have you ever thought, "I really hate pork, but I really love gyoza. I cannot accept such a cruel fate! alas!"?
you have?! wow, me too! so that's why I made up this recipe for vegan gyoza. it's easy to make and rich in protein. the measurements are extremely inaccurate (I used my eyes!) so just add as much or as little as you see fit.






ingredients
15 round gyoza (potsticker) skins
50 grams okara* (soy pulp, a byproduct of making soy milk)
1-2 thirds of a nagaimo/yamaimo*
1 tsp. yuzu or lemon juice
a medium carrot, sliced with a mandolin and then finely chopped
a bunch of mushrooms, finely chopped (I used maitake, but you can use any mushroom, really!)
a stalk of green onion, finely chopped
a couple cloves of garlic, finely chopped (I did not use this)
a dash of salt (I did not use this)

a small dish of water
water for steaming
oil for frying
ponzu (or soy sauce with lemon/lime/yuzu juice) for dipping

make the filling

1. peel the skin of the nagaimo with a vegetable peeler. make sure all sides are peeled and that there are no dry areas left. when you are done, it should be more slippery than a bar of wet soap. get a fine-tooth grater and grate the whole thing into a bowl. when you are done, you should have something that feels like beaten raw eggs. mix the yuzu or lemon juice into this to prevent browning
2. into this bowl, dump the okara. mix it around well until it is the same consistency of ground meat. this means you can make a ball with the stuff without it crumbling or dripping.
3. mix in the remaining vegetables and mushrooms. the reason the carrot should be sliced with a mandolin first is because carrots are hard to cook through if they're thick at all, and this filling will be cooked from raw. so make sure your ingredients are small enough and then mix them well into the okara mixture.

assemble and cook

1. take about a teaspoon and a half worth of filling and put it in the centre of a gyoza skin. wet the tip of your finger with the water from the dish and wet the skin in a ring. I don't know how to explain how to pleat the outside skin so I found this video for you. basically you hold the bottom part flat and fold the top part in several "Z" shaped pleats using both of your thumbs. she did two big pleats, but I did pleats of about 1 cm all facing in the same direction. do whatever works for you. it takes some practice. if the pleats start coming undone, just go back and press on the seam harder :)
2. do this until you've run out of filling or skins.
3. get a big pan and fill it with 0.5-1 cm of water and start to boil it. when it has almost boiled place the gyoza filling side down and pleats facing UP, all in a row so they are all in a tight line. steam for, I don't know, 5-10 minutes.
4. when the water is gone or before they start to get too puffy, drain any remaining water and fry them in oil. I used the same pan. if you move them around too much, they stick to the pan and tear. just let them fry and the pan will take care of it. after a few minutes, take off the heat and they should come free with some coaxing.

Notes

*items can be bought at a japanese grocer or other asian grocer. nagaimo are regularly stocked at T&T but I'm not sure about okara. Fujiya carries both (along with aji-pon ponzu, the best ponzu in a thousand suns)! 

*okara might sound disgusting or bad when you describe it as "soy milk byproduct" but all it is is 100% soybean pulp and is naturally flavourless, and naturally good for you :) 

my dinner tonight (I had seconds of gyoza :3)