Tag Archives: Prevention

Some Weekdays call for Wasabi

Wasabi is plentiful here in Korea. You can purchase bags of wasabi powder or paste at just about any supermarket. What am I saying? Gosh, wasn’t that just the understatement of the year? What I am getting at is that really anything with a nice spicy kick is plentiful here! Mr. B and I feel that wasabi is one of those ingredients you either love or don’t. For us, we are addicted to the fiery, nose-clearing unexpected heat that takes over the palate. Yes, we are oddballs.. but oh it’s so good!

We recently picked up a new cookbook by Max and Eli Sussman, “The Best Cookbook Ever”. Cocky title right? We were instantly drawn to the exciting recipes like carrot wasabi soup. If you ever have tasted carrot ginger soup this recipe is very similar only edgier with you guessed it, wasabi.

The soup is rather simple and it has you start off by coating your plump carrots in olive oil and roasting in the over. I feel that this one simple factor truly brings out the flavors of the carrots more in the soup. After roasting you then toss the carrots into a blender or food processor with water and the remaining ingredients, rice vinegar, mirin, sesame oil, and wasabi. The only two adaptations we made to the recipe was we used baby sweet peas instead of sugar snap peas, as well as we would cut the rice vinegar amount in half. Overall Mr. B and I throughly enjoyed the soup and will serve it cold or hot in the future with some dinner guest. Truth be told, I’ve had so much of the soup this week I believe I am starting to get an orangish tint.

Continuing on with our wasabi weekdays kick, we also made salmon sandwiches with wasabi and pickled ginger for dinner one night. What an interesting delicious twist of ingredients on this sandwich! It was light and just a perfect paring for the warmer Spring temperatures we have been enjoying.

Salmon Sandwiches with Wasabi and Pickled Ginger
Slightly adapted from

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup olive oil mayonnaise
1 Teaspoon wasabi paste
2 Cups (14.75-ounce can) canned Alaskan wild salmon, drained
8 Slices of Ezekiel bread, toasted
4 Thin slices red onion
4 Thin rings yellow bell pepper
4 Teaspoons sliced pickled ginger
1 Cup arugula

Directions:

Combine the mayonnaise and wasabi paste and stir until smooth. Taste. Add in more wasabi, if desired, to tickle your fancy. Gently fold in the salmon.

Place 4 slices of the bread on a work surface and top each with the salmon mixture, 1 onion slice separated into rings, 1 pepper ring, 1 teaspoon ginger, and 1/4 cup arugula. Top with the remaining 4 slices of bread. Enjoy!

So what are your thoughts are on wasabi?
Do you think you could handle the carrot wasabi soup? (Honestly, it wasn’t that spicy)
What’s cooking in your kitchen this weekend?

Backpackbees

Where’s the Meat?

When I eat burgers not made with meat I often think back to my childhood and giggle. It was a summer month and I was with my dad vacationing on Nantucket Island visiting my aunt and uncle. My aunt’s sister’s husband prepared us all eggplant burgers. It was the first time that I had ever tried anything with the title burger not consisting of meat. I immediately fell in love with the burger and raved about it to my grandparents once we returned home from vacation. I proudly exclaimed, “I ate a burger, loved it and it wasn’t even made of meat!” I am sure at that point I confused my grandparents with my statement and had to elaborate. Nonetheless, I know whatever they kindly responded with at the time to appease me, they were thrilled that I was open to trying new things and loved my vegetables so much.

These days you cannot keep me away from my vegetables. I try to incorporate as many fresh ingredients into our meals at home during the work week. The weekend…yeahhh..those are more of our cheat nights. Hey! we all need our cheat days to keep sane.

After crazy days of work there isn’t anything more that I look forward to than cooking in our kitchen, just Mr. B and I. I love how creative we get never knowing what concoction we might whip up. I love the moments of when he gets excited to have me try a new sauce he’s made. It takes the edge off the day. Cooking together and being in the kitchen releases tension, worries and stressors that might be plaguing me at the moment. I often think of my in-laws home where everyone always gathers in the kitchen, always such a homey and welcoming environment.

Tonight’s meal I am sure you guessed revolves around a meatless burger, a portobello burger with swiss cheese and caramelized onions sided up nicely with oven roasted crinkle cut sweet potato french fries.

Portobello Swiss Cheese Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Source: Prevention Cookbook

Ingredients:

2 Tsp. olive oil
1 Medium onion, thinly sliced
1 Tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
4 Portobello mushroom caps
⅛ Tsp. salt
¼ Tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 Slices Swiss cheese, for each mushroom
4 Buns of choice

Directions:

In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tsp. of oil. Add onion and sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5-6 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, combine vinegar and remaining oil. Brush over mushroom caps and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill, covered, turning occasionally, about 9-11 minutes or until tender. Top each mushroom with slice of cheese and continue to grill about 1-2 minutes or until cheese melts. Transfer to plate and keep warm.

Top off bun with 1 mushroom and caramelized onions. Repeat for dinner guest and eat!

Backpackbees