I think everyone has a place in their home that can be considered a “safe zone”. Somewhere that is all your own. When Brad and I moved to Japan 3 years ago (has it really been 3 years already??) the first thing I wanted to do was find a little space that felt like home to me. I needed it. I craved it. When we finally moved into our apartment after a long wait, that place, for me, was the kitchen. Our first apartment had a large kitchen/dining room for Japanese standards. There was minimal counter space, but it had a lot of beautiful light that bounced off the white wallpaper with tiny blue flowers. That was the first space in Japan that felt like home to me. That felt like it was mine.

We have lived in 3 apartments in Tokyo, each of them with drastically different kitchens. And yet somehow each of them felt like my own. The sad part is that each year I have to say goodbye to my little corner for 3 months. I go without having my kitchen for so long that I begin to feel slightly aimless. Spending time in my kitchen gives me focus that I lack in many other areas of life. Cooking is my creative outlet and without it I dont’ feel right.

This summer has been no different. My in-laws in Colorado have been doing some work on their kitchen, rendering it useless to me at various times. This is doubly difficult now that I’m pregnant and hungry every 5 minutes- but for what? I am never certain until I rummage around the kitchen for a while. The combination of these factors makes it best for me to eat small, easy meals throughout the day. From yogurt and sliced peaches, to crackers with peanut butter, to cheese and an apple, I am constantly looking for small, healthy things to eat. I thought food occupied my mind a lot before I was pregnant but these days it is constant.

One of the best things I have found to make are these crostini. The variations are endless, easy, and can be very healthy and satisfying. None of them take more than 15 minutes to throw together and they are perfect for an individual snack or for a party tray. Minimal ingredients, minimal time in the kitchen, maximum results. Perfect.

Each of these has a unique flavor that reflects some of the best parts of the summer season. The mushroom & fromage blanc, for example, is earthy yet bright with the addition of basil and drizzled olive oil. The peppadew pepper & fromage blanc is a stark contrast to the mushrooms. The peppers are bright and slightly sweet with a bite that is mellowed by the fresh cheese. Again, a splash of basil (though you could use any herb you like) adds a pop of color and summery flavor. The tomato and peach combination may seem a bit odd, but the flavors work perfectly together. I actually made the exact same combination for my brother-in-law and his family last summer and they loved it! The salty-sweetness of the tomato blends perfectly with the smooth, juicy peach. A splash of lemon juice ties it all together along with a sprinkle of fresh black pepper and sea salt.

I used Carapelli Olive Oil to drizzle over the top of each crostini. It adds the perfect fruitiness that can only come from a good quality olive oil. It is made with organically grown olives (a big plus for us preggos out there), PLUS I can find it at grocery stores in Tokyo! That’s pretty awesome. I’m a big fan of using the last bits of bread from my crostini to soak up any left over olive oil on my plate. Pretty delicious.

Full Disclosure: The Carapelli Olive Oil was sent to me from the company. I did not receive any payment for this post. The views are all my own.

For all crostini recipes:

Buy a loaf of good quality bread. It doesn’t have to be a french baguette- it can be anything you like as long as it is sturdy enough to support your toppings. I chose the Heirloom Wheat from Whole Foods.

Regardless of which recipe you are using, slice the amount of bread you would like to use (I would make only one per person because mine were quite hearty). Melt about 4 tablespoons of butter in a pan. When the butter is melted, place the bread in the pan and allow to brown over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Flip and brown the other side.

Next, I like to do something I learned while traveling in Tuscany. Cut a garlic clove in half and rub one side (the side you’ll put your toppings on) with the garlic. Place the bread on a plate and set aside until you are ready to add the toppings (recipes below). Guilty pleasure- eating just the buttered garlic bread. Oh-so-delicious!

Sautéed Mushroom & Fromage Blanc

Serves 4

2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms (or cremini, or shiitake)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

salt & black pepper

1/3 cup fromage blanc (farmer’s cheese)

1/4 cup chopped basil (or other herb)

4 slices of crostini bread (see above)

Carapelli or other good quality, fruity olive oil

In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the sliced mushrooms (make sure they are not crowded!) and brown for about 5 minutes on each side. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer to a small plate and set aside.

Spread the cheese onto each piece of bread. Top with the mushrooms, then the basil. Drizzle with olive oil an serve immediately.

Peppadew Pepper & Fromage Blanc Crostini

Serves 4

8 oz. jarred peppadew peppers, drained of the water and cut in half

1/3 cup fromage blanc

1/4 cup chopped basil or other herb

1/2 a lemon

4 slices of crostini bread (see above)

Carapelli or other good quality, fruity olive oil

Spread the cheese onto each slice of bread. Top with the peppers and basil. Drizzle with a little lemon juice and the olive oil. Serve.

Tomato & Peach Crostini

Serves 4

2 roma tomatoes, sliced about 1/4″

2 fresh, ripe peaches, sliced about 1/4″

1/4 cup chopped basil

1/2 a lemon

4 slices of crostini bread (see above)

Carapelli or other good quality, fruity olive oil

Fresh black pepper and sea salt

Arrange the tomato and peach slices, alternating each as in the photos above, on top of the bread. Squeeze lemon juice over each crostini. Top with the basil and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper and a bit of sea salt. Serve.

Easter has always been a big deal in my family. Actually, all major holidays are a pretty big deal in my family. We enjoy the same exact dishes each year at the same house. For 20+ years, holidays have been predictable and wonderful. Of course, when we moved to Japan everything changed. Holidays like Thanksgiving and Easter were no longer spent around the same group of family members. Instead, we found ourselves surrounded by a new “family” that helped us to break out of tradition and try some new things. In many ways, the changes we experienced helped me to appreciate the consistency I’ve had throughout my life.

Experiencing holidays in both concrete and transient environments has lead me to strongly believe in the power of sharing traditions with others. By sharing I don’t mean forcing people to like the way you do things, just simply allowing those closest to you to see what makes you who you are. The traditions we develop and carry with us help to create the diverse groups of people that make up this beautiful world and we can always learn from those outside of our close-knit circles.

Since many of you will be participating in Easter celebrations this weekend, I’ve put together a menu featuring recipes from Tokyo Terrace that represent the traditional and not-so-traditional aspects of holiday gatherings. Some of the recipes are based on my own family traditions, while others are new developments that have come about over the past couple of years in Japan.

No matter where in the world you find yourself, I hope you are surrounded by good people and comforting food.

Enjoy!

Drinks

Pink Lemonade & Thyme Sparkler

Bloody Marys with a Japanese Twist

Appetizers/Side Dishes

Deviled Eggs

Sweet & Spicy Thai Pineapple

Edamame Crostini with Meyer Lemon & Shiso

Mini Pommes Anna

Main Dishes

Savory Vegetable Galette

Phyllo Squares with Egg, Spinach & Cheese

Desserts

Whole Wheat Cranberry Citrus Scones

Strawberries & Japanese Whiskey Sabayon

Blueberry Tart

Brown Sugar Shortbread with Fig Jam

It’s been exactly one month since the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11th. One month ago, no one would have guessed that at 2:46pm, approximately 2 minutes of violent shaking would change everything. For some, their entire lives have been swept away. For others, daily life continues with a sense of confidence. Although, with each aftershock, the quiet nervousness returns. I have such admiration for the people of Japan after seeing just how much inner strength they have. While I am nowhere near as strong, witnessing their ability to live each day with a little more grace has been encouraging.

Blogging has proven to be difficult for me over the past few weeks. There has been a lot going on, aside from the whole earthquake thing, that has kept me from doing much cooking or photographing. The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I became. Nothing seemed to inspire me and I just couldn’t get over the writer’s block that had been crowding my brain. With some great advice from fellow writers on Twitter, it seems I’ve mostly broken through the brick wall. I’ve learned through watching the Japanese people continue as best they can with their daily lives that this is part of the healing process.

This simple asparagus salad was a great place to start. The bright green and yellow colors are fresh and vibrant; perfect for a clean start to a new month. The beautiful, clean flavor of the asparagus (which is in season in parts of the U.S. right now) with the gentle citrus flavor of Meyer lemon are perfectly contrasted with crispy shallots.

I hope the simple beauty of this salad is a precursor of good things to come in April. What are some of your favorite feel-good meals for spring?

Asparagus Salad with Meyer Lemon & Crispy Shallots

Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side

* If you can’t find Meyer lemon, you can use regular lemon but it will be more tart. Add a touch of olive oil to the lemon juice to mellow the flavor. Meyer lemon is best to use because it is a milder flavor to eat on its own, but you can make regular lemons work too.

1 lb fresh asparagus

2 Meyer lemons (1 for the juice and the other to slice for garnish)

2-3 medium shallots (about 1/2 up sliced)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. When the water comes to a boil, add a generous tablespoon of salt to the water. While the water is heating, break off the woody ends of the asparagus. Next, cut the asparagus into 2-3 inch pieces. Prepare an ice bath and place it close to the stove top.

Add the asparagus to the boiling, salted water and allow to blanch for 1 minute or until the asparagus have become bright green. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the asparagus to the ice bath to cool. Strain the asparagus and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with the lemon juice and set aside.

In a medium heavy pan, melt the butter. Add the sliced shallots and cook over medium-high heat until they are golden and crispy, about 10-15 minutes, gently stirring occasionally. Keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn and turn bitter. Remove the shallots from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer them to paper towel lined plate.

Arrange the asparagus on a serving platter and garnish with the sliced Meyer lemon and top with the crispy shallots.

It has been just over a week since the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but it feels like it’s been a month. So much has happened. Every time I turn on the television, I am reminded of the loss so many of the Japanese people are dealing with right now and my heart breaks a little more, and a little more. It has been stunning to watch how the Japanese have handled this catastrophe. Calm and collected, as always, they have shown the world that it is possible to get through hardship without making things worse with greed and violent behavior.  By showing compassion to others and taking things in stride, they have been a wonderful example to the rest of us. It’s beautiful to see such grace in the midst of something that might otherwise have very little silver lining.

While most of us cannot be side by side with the people of Japan who need the most help, we can provide for them through the charities and organizations listed below. If you haven’t already taken a moment to donate, please do. In no more than 5 minutes you can help more than you can imagine. So, spread a little red pepper hummus on some whole grain bread and top it with fresh baby spinach leaves, have a seat at your computer, and find out how you can help.

If there are more links I should add to the list, please include them in the comment section and I will update the list as often as possible.

So far this year I have been all about simplicity. Getting back to basics. Unloading baggage. Whatever you want to call it, it’s been freeing. Last weekend, I emptied two garbage bags of clothes out of my closet (some that I’d had since, gasp!, high school) leaving me with a sense or organization that I’m pretty sure I’ve never felt. After that came this desire to, gasp!, keep the apartment as clean as possible! If you are my parents and you are reading this right now, I hope you are sitting down.

I’ve been a bit of late-bloomer when it comes to housekeeping. I’ve been known to leave piles of stuff- just clutter- sitting around for weeks. I’ll admit it. Cleaning was one of my least favorite activities. What I realized while cleaning out my closet was that there was one central problem: I just had too many things. I tend to get emotionally attached to most things that I own. However, with each move over the past few years, I’ve been able to cut the cord. Packing is much easier when you have fewer things. Lesson learned! Just let it go!

My cooking has been significantly altered this year as well. I still love the same foods and crave the creative release of putting together a beautiful meal, but I realized the beauty doesn’t have to come from a million ingredients or “fancy” food. The humblest ingredients, often those left in the refrigerator as an after-thought to an insanely involved recipe, can be the building blocks of rustic, flavorful, honest food. This galette, for example, is made of carrots, an onion, and an apple that have been roasted with a light drizzle of olive oil until the flavor has intensified. The crust, enhanced with red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese, comes together quickly while the vegetables slowly roast. And there is still time left to clean up the (small) pile of dishes from prep.

Perfect for a weeknight meal or an elegant dinner party. Simplicity. That’s what it’s all about.

*Check out RestaurantWare.com if you’d like catering supplies like these bamboo plates and flatware of your own!Enter coupon code “tokyoterrace” and receive 10% off! In this post, you see bamboo fork & knife and bamboo leaf plate.

Savory Vegetable Galette
Filling
2 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, 1/2 inch dice
1 apple (I used Fuji, but you could use any variety) cut into 1/2 inch cubes
*cutting the vegetables into smaller cubes greatly reduces time for roasting
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with tin foil to make clean-up easier. Spread the vegetables in an even layer in the pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize. While the vegetables are cooking, make the crust:

1 cup of flour
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
5T unsalted butter, placed in the freezer for 30 minutes-1 hour
1/4 cup ice water
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, red pepper flakes, salt, and butter. If you froze the butter (which I highly recommend) use a medium-large sized cheese grater (not a microplane) to grate it into the mixing bowl. This will make it easier to work into the flour and keep the temperature cold. This is a trick of my mother’s that works beautifully! Using your fingers, combine the dry ingredients with the butter until the mixture resembles small crumbs. Using a teaspoon, slowly add the ice water 1 teaspoon at a time. Do this until the mixture holds together well and is not dry or crumbling. I usually have to use 2, maybe 3 teaspoons, but this can vary depending on climate, etc. Gently knead the dough until it comes together completely. Gather the dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for half an hour and up to 2 hours.
2. While the dough is chilling, remove the vegetables from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Set the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
3. When the dough has chilled long enough, turn it out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough with a rolling pin or wine bottle in a large circle until it is about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Place the rolling pin in the center of the dough (like you are drawing a line in the center of the cirle). Gently fold the dough in half over the rolling pin, making a half circle with the pin in the center. Lift the rolling pin, supporting the dough with your other hand, and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Open the dough and set the pin aside.
4. Pile the vegetables in the center of the dough and spread evening, leaving about 2-3 inches of dough around the edges. Fold the dough around the vegetables and gently press folds together to seal (see photos to see what the folds should look like). Brush the dough with the egg white and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
5. Bake the galette for about 20 minutes or until the crust in a golden brown around the edges. Serve with a green salad and a glass of bright Chardonnay or a Pinot Noir.

Sorry about the title…couldn’t help it!

Pommes Anna is a French dish made simply of potatoes, butter, salt and pepper. The potatoes are very thinly sliced, layered, and baked to a blissful combination of crisp creaminess. It’s the perfect example of humble ingredients resulting in indulgent, flavorful dishes. Now, I can’t claim the genius behind making this mini-version. The credit for that goes to Naomi of Bakers Royale, a fantastic blog with a whole host of wonderful recipes. Her mini Pommes Anna can be found here.

The moment I saw her gorgeous photos, I knew I had to make this dish. But with a Japanese spin, of course. The first step was to use Japanese sweet potatoes, satsumaimo, in addition to small white fleshed potatoes. Then, I walked past a display of Kyoto red carrots. This is the perfect time of year for these beautiful roots and they are traditionally seen in Japan around the New Year. Their gorgeous red color and sweet flavor are similar to the familiar orange carrot, but slightly different. The flavor was perfect in these little 2-bite appetizers. And since Pommes Anna is basically the same color bottom to top, I thought a splash of red Kyoto carrot would be gorgeous!

Fortunately, the carrots were perfect. I layered them with the potatoes and put a few on the top for a splash of color. (Next time, I would add even more carrot slices, fanning them out so they are easier to see between the layers of potato.) With a leaf of chervil as a garnish, this is an ideal recipe for a holiday cocktail party. They are easy to eat as finger food and look beautiful on these bamboo dishes.

I used Naomi’s recipe, which you can find by clicking here. I didn’t need to change anything at all and it worked perfectly!

*You can purchase eco-friendly products like catering supplies and plastic plates from restaurantware.com and receive 10% off by entering the coupon code: tokyoterrace. For the dish used in this post, click here to purchase.

There are few flavors that excite me more than the combination of sweet and salty. These two drastically different tastes are magnificent and used in seemingly endless ways. Usually, I only find this flavor combo in unhealthy dishes. OK, I’ll be honest: that’s probably because the unhealthy dishes win most battles based on my own inability to say ‘no’.

That was the case until this salad came along.

Made with umeboshi, a Japanese plum that is dried then pickled, this salad is simple yet bursting with exotic flavors. The salty and tart flavor of the umeboshi can be strong on its own, but paired with creamy avocado and a walnut oil dressing, the flavor is a bit more mild. Mild, yes. Unnoticed, no. The flavor still pops, just like the pink color, in the midst of the crisp greens and smooth avocado. The addition of walnut oil vinaigrette, made with walnut oil and Japanese mirin, adds a slight earthiness that helps to counter the tang of the umeboshi. Because mirin is slightly sweet, the marriage of the vinaigrette with the umeboshi is perfect. Subtle and beautiful, this salad fulfills the need to quench my salty-sweet cravings in a healthy way. And how gorgeous are the black sesame seeds? The contrast in color is nearly as wonderful as the flavor itself.

I chose to use a bitter green for the salad, but any light, leafy green, such as bibb lettuce, frisée, or microgreens, will suffice.

If you are interested in giving umeboshi a try, check at your local Japanese or Asian grocery store.

Umeboshi & Avocado Salad

Serves 2 as a main dish and 4 as a side dish

1/2 cup umeboshi, pitted and roughly chopped

1 head leafy-greens, frisée…anything you prefer, washed and chopped

1 avocado, sliced

1/4 cup walnut vinaigrette (see recipe below)

2 teaspoons black sesame seeds

Pile the lettuce in a large bowl. Arrange the avocado slices on top followed by the umeboshi. Drizzle with the walnut vinaigrette and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve.

Walnut Vinaigrette

Makes a scant 1/3 cup

1/4 cup walnut oil

3-4 tablespoons mirin

Whisk the walnut oil and mirin together. Season with salt if desired. (If using on the Umeboshi & Avocado Salad, refrain from using salt as the pickled plums are very salty on their own.)

Inspiration comes in many forms. I find myself inspired by the lunches Japanese students bring to school that are so carefully prepared and planned by their mothers. Inspiration creeps in while riding my bike down the street and passing a noodle shop that smells like rich miso broth and sounds like grateful soup slurpers. Other times, inspiration finds its way into my mind by opening up a book. A cookbook, that is. It’s no secret that we all have different moments that give us that creative jolt to come up with the next great idea, whether it is in the kitchen, at the office, or elsewhere. That’s the beauty of creating. It happens differently for each of us and the result, though not always what we imagined, becomes just what we need to continue developing ideas.

For this recipe, my inspiration came from David Chang. Chang’s recipe for miso butter in his cookbook, Momofuku, is a simple combination of salty miso paste and creamy butter. But oh, the possibilities that come from these two simple ingredients are endless. I modified the miso butter recipe slightly for the wine dinner. Using equal parts miso paste and butter resulted in a perfectly creamy, flavorful base for crisp, green sugar snap peas, rich, perfectly cooked salmon, and a gorgeous fried egg with a bright orange yolk.

For the wine dinner I used a fried quail egg. Let me just say that was the worst idea ever. Oh, it turned out beautifully in the end, but it was madness trying to break open all those little eggs for 40 people! And then frying them?!? Long story short: What was I thinking? So, since quail eggs are difficult to find for some, I’ve substituted a regular, sunny-side-up egg in this post. Feel free to use whatever you like- they both make a gorgeous presentation! I have a pretty serious love affair going on with eggs, so anytime I can top a meal with one I jump at the chance.

When you shop for salmon, make sure to look for thick lines of white running through the flesh and try to smell it if you can. It should be odorless. Having adequate fat in the salmon ensures it won’t dry out when you cook it. For the wine dinner, we used Scottish salmon from Coastal Seafoods (if you live in the Twin Cities and aren’t already buying your seafood there, get on it!) that was just perfect. Here in Japan we are fortunate to find plenty of salmon year round (yay!). It looks like this:

As the main entree, this dish was perfectly paired with a 2007 Deux Amis Zinfandel. When Kurt told me he was going to pair the salmon with a Zinfandel, I was skeptical. But as I’ve said before, Kurt is a master when it comes to wine (he has several awards for Best Wine List from Wine Enthusiast to prove it!) so I went with it. It turns out that the Zinfandel stood up nicely to the miso butter, salmon, and egg without overpowering the dish. Perfection.

Here are the recipes and pairings we have covered so far:

Lotus Root Chips with Hou Hou Shu Sparkling Sake

Edamame Crostini with Meyer Lemon & Shiso, paired with Yuki No Bosha Junmai Ginjo

Scallop and Corn Gyoza with Sriracha Dipping Sauce, paired with HB Picpoul de Pinet 2009

Pork Belly & Leek Yakitori with Asian Slaw, paired with Ramon Bilbao Crianza Rioja 2005

Salmon with Miso Butter, Sugar Snap Peas, and Fried Quail Egg, paired with Deux Amis Zinfandel 2007

Only one more post to go! Are you ready for dessert?

Salmon with Miso Butter, Snap Peas, & a Fried Egg

Serves 4

4 center cut salmon steaks, skin on

2 cups sugar snap peas

1 cup shiro (white) miso paste, room temperature

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

4 eggs

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Lightly pat the salmon dry with a paper towel. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the miso paste and butter. Stir until smooth and fully incorporated. Use  a pastry brush to smear about 1/4 cup of miso paste in the center of each serving plate. Arrange the sugar snap peas on top of the miso butter in one layer. Set the plates aside while you cook the salmon and eggs.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. After about 1 or 2 minutes, add about 4 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Wait for the oil to heat, about 1 minute, and add the salmon, skin side down. (The pan should be hot enough that it immediately sizzles when the fish is placed in the oil.) Allow the fish to cook on one side for about 3 minutes. Flip the fish and cook or another 2 minutes for medium-rare. Cook for 3-4 minutes if you’d like your fish more done.

Carefully remove the salmon from the pan and put on a plate. Set aside.

In the same pan you used for the salmon, fry the eggs in the olive oil until the whites are firm (but do not flip for sunny side up). If the whites are not done and it seems the bottom is getting too done, you can transfer the eggs to a lined baking sheet and put them under the broiler, watching VERY carefully, until the whites have set.

While the eggs fry in the pan, place the salmon steaks on top of the sugar snap peas. When the eggs are done, put them on top of the salmon. Sprinkle with black pepper and red pepper flakes and serve immediately.

Going home to the Midwest from Japan for the summer is a funny sensation. On one hand, I feel completely relaxed. Like I can finally take a deep breath instead of a shallow one. Like I can finally stretch my limbs and soak up some open space. On the other hand, when summer is over and it is time to return to our Tokyo life, I get to come back to my own kitchen and to familiar routines. I am reminded that I am living in an exciting city where I get to have experiences (and eat food) that I will remember for the rest of my life. While I am thankful and happy with life in Tokyo, there is little that can take the place of going home.

The recipe for my scallop and corn gyoza is a little bit like home for me. It’s a recipe that turns out beautifully every time I make it. I always end up wondering why I don’t whip these up more often. And there is never enough for the people I serve them to.The golden brown crisp on the side that has been fried, the chewy noodle-like consistency of the opposite side, and the filling of sweet, salty, crunchy and soft corn, scallops, cabbage, soy sauce, ginger and garlic is mouth-wateringly perfect in every way. I love the sizzle of the pan when I first toss these babies in the oil. Ah, beautiful music that can only be made better when followed by a bit out of one of these dumplings…

You may remember seeing this recipe a few months ago. No, you aren’t crazy- this did appear on the site already. However, I dressed up the presentation for the wine dinner at Ursula’s Wine Bar & Cafe, where it was served with a 2009 HB Picpoul de Pinet. It was like taking a little black dress (already a classic) and adding a pair of red stilettos. It just needed to be gussied up. The red dots on the plate are Sriracha, a spicy Asian sauce made with garlic and chili, and the sauce under the gyoza is Sriracha mixed with Greek yogurt.

Click here for the recipe if you’d like to give these a try! You will not be disappointed. Enjoy!

Wow. What. A. Week. I sort of felt like this little frog in the midst of the corn in my parents’ garden over the past few days…

If you read Mr. Terrace’s post from a couple days ago, you may know that we have had quite a bit of excitement happening ’round these parts. Our friend’s brand new baby arrived, then there was the wine dinner at Ursula’s (you can see photos on facebook by clicking here), and I got my wisdom teeth removed. I won’t go into all the gory details, but let me just say that I don’t really want to do that again. Although, thanks to my sweet husband and mother, I have been well taken care of. I can’t quite imagine having to go through all of that while in Tokyo!

Those of you who have had your wisdom teeth removed can probably relate to my menu the past couple of days. Basically anything soft, creamy, and white. Or ice cream. This is all well and good for the first two days, but by the third day a girl gets a little restless! Since I felt well enough today to get myself up out of the chair I’ve been inhabiting since “the incident”, I decided to mix things up a little bit. My mom brought a beautifully ripe avocado home from the grocery store for me, which gave me a perfect place to start something that wasn’t mashed potatoes, vanilla pudding, or water.

So, into the blender went the avocado, some greek yogurt, milk, lemon juice, lime juice, cilantro, fish sauce, hot sauce and a sprinkle of salt. Within 5 minutes I had a creamy bowl of green goodness just waiting to be eaten. We are also enjoying some very humid weather today in Minnesota, so a chilled soup was absolutely perfect for lunch.

Hopefully this Chilled Avocado Soup will tide everyone over until I get back to cooking again! The next post will be the first of a series about the wine dinner at Ursula’s Wine Bar & Cafe, so make sure to stay tuned!

Chilled Avocado Soup

Makes 4 appetizer-sized servings

1 1/2-2 ripe avocados

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 cup 1% milk

juice from half a lemon

juice from half a lime

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce

Combine everything in a blender and pulse until broken down. Then blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Spoon into small bowls and garnish with a cilantro leaf. (If you don’t plan to eat this right away, store in the fridge until ready to eat.)