Frugal Japan » Recipes

Amazing Summer Gazpacho

Frugal Japan — Sat, 26 Jun 2004 21:00:18 +0000

Please enjoy this Frugal Japan summer vegetable favorite — now is a great time of year to enjoy delicious summer vegetable recipes for half the usual cost.

(For those not in the know, gazpacho is a cold tomato base soup originating in Spain. My grandmother made a wonderful version, so I always thought it was a traditional Southern food! Little did I know it was originally European.)

Ingredients

Vegetables:
Ripe tomatoes (1 kg, or 8 or 9 medium-size tomatoes)
(Note: Apparently, only the very red tomatoes will work. The paler pinkish tomatoes do not have enough flavor to make a good soup.)
Onion (1/2)
Small green peppers (3)
Cucumbers, peeled (2)
Chop the above vegetables until they are chunky.

Seasoning:
Stale bread, broken up into crumbs (30g.)
Garlic, peeled and crushed (one clove — you can add more according to taste)
Olive oil (5 to 6 tablespoons or oosaji)
Salt (1 to 2 tablespoons according to taste)
Wine vinegar (3 to 3 1/2 tablespoons — other types of vinegar may be used)
Cumin, if you have it (a little to taste)

Instructions:
Add the mixed seasonings to the chopped vegetables in a bowl. Mix well.
Let the mixture “marinate” for 2-3 hours, preferably in the refrigerator.
Run the mixture through a blender. Add one cup of water to thin out the mixture.
Very easy, and very refreshing for summer. Serve in a chilled dish and with parsley sprigs for garnish.

Frugal Recipe: Butter/Soy-Sauce Flavored Potatoes

Frugal Japan — Sat, 17 Apr 2004 21:00:44 +0000

A yummy looking recipe appeared in Saturday’s Nikkei Shinbun Lifestyle section, of all places, for Butter/Soy Sauce Flavored Potatoes (Jyagaimo Batta-Shoyu Ni). Potatoes are quite cheap now at supermarkets, and are also seasonal.

Ingredients

Four potatoes (600 grams)
Butter (30 grams)
Sugar (2 osaji/tablespoons)
Soy sauce (1 1/2 osaji/tablespoons)
Water (1 1/4 cups)

(Servings: Four portions, 169 Kcal portion)

Directions

Peel potatoes, and cut each potato into two or three bite-sized portions. After soaking in water for about five minutes, drain the potatoes.
Put the potatoes, butter, sugar, and soy sauce in a pot, turn on the heat. Cover with a drop lid (otoshibuta – I use a piece of aluminum foil) placed slightly off center. Let pot simmer for 12 or 13 minutes on medium heat until the potatoes become soft.
Finally, remove the drop lid and let the juices boil off.

Tip: A key to making sure the taste and nutrition are not washed away in the juices is simmering the vegetables in a small amount of liquid using a drop lid.

Did you know that there is a delicious collection of eleven recipes on our Frugal Japan YahooGroups website. Interested in viewing them? Click on: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/frugaljapan/database and select “Recipes” from the Database. You must be a Frugal Japan YahooGroups member to view the recipes.