Use Your Milk

Milk is a popular ingredient for dishes I make/would like to try out in the future. However, the amount of milk required in a single-person recipe tends to be quite small, and I don't drink milk as is anymore due to calcium overdose as a child. (Think about having 2-3 liters of milk a day due to orders by grandparents...)

With that said, since milk is typically sold in 1 liter size containers and relatively easy to expire, a milk carton could move straight into garbage category after being used only once or twice in my kitchen, which is a lot of waste. Then I came across a simple recipe on the website of a Japanese farm that teaches how to make tofu using just milk and white vinegar, which I tried right away and voila, problem solved! Milk tofu is now one of my favorite side dishes at dinner, served with home-made sauces of all kinds that makes both my fridge and my tummy very happy.

Rediscover Your Salad

I used to hate salads with a passion, which is probably not a surprise considering how much of a junk eater I was before discovering the joy of home cooking. It took some time before I came to the realization that salads require as much personalization as any other complicated dish to become truly likable, i.e. how a recipe learned from books/TV shows is always tweaked according to one's unique daily intake preference before it is made into a staple at respective households.

Whether it be the choice of vegetables or seasoning used, keep trying until you arrive at the absolute best combination for you and you only--that would be when you truly appreciate having a salad at your dining table time after time.

Purple Yam Love

 
Lately I have become quite fond of purple yam as an ingredient for side dishes, served with yuzukoshō (a Japanese paste made from chili peppers, citrus fruit and salt) and black pepper. It is also a great substitute for rice and noodles as part of your daily carbohydrate intake. Give it a shot if you find it at a supermarket near you!

10-minute Vegetable Soup

Once upon a time, I spent every other day of my life living solely on dark chocolate and fried shrimp. Oh the horrifying memories.

As is the case with all youngsters who are overly confident with their metabolism, the idea of eating more balanced meals did not occur to me until late 20s, when the consumption of vegetables no longer posed a big challenge. That being said, I still could not find myself liking the taste of certain items such as carrots and onions at first, even if I am fully aware of all the good they bring to one's body.

Solution to my problem? The 10-minute vegetable soup! A bit of sesame oil combined with specialty sauces can do all kinds of wonders to satisfy your tongue, not to mention you are able to consume a larger variety of vegetables this way.

Today's ingredients: fresh leek, chopped carrots, 2 kinds of mushrooms and green onions