A Little Home-Cooked Goodness

Jalina's caramelized onion and zucchini quiche

People always say to us, "Wow, you're vegetarian? So you eat lots of tofu and rice and beans, huh?" What a misconception! We haven't even begun to take advantage of Indian cooking...in fact, we've only skimmed the surface of vegetarian possibilities...there are just so many delicious, savory, sublime delicacies...and of course some "pretty darn good" quickies for those nights when nobody has the energy to cook.

Basil, feta, melted cheese...and home-made pumpkin soup
with curry, sesame oil, and cream

In Japan, one of my best friends was Shelly, who I called my own personal "gourmet chef" because she had gone to school to be a chef, and because she would show up at our house with a bag of groceries, and proceed to take over our kitchen as she cooked us the most amazing vegetarian meals (and she is not even a vegetarian!).

Shelly was also a chef at a Japanese/Vietnamese/Thai-fusion restaurant downtown where she made coconut-curry noodles to die for. This restaurant was fantastic: every inch of wall and ceiling was covered in long, thick, brown fur and drunken Japanese business men would come in and sing karaoke! This restaurant was close to all of the bars, so a mix of American and Japanese partiers would straggle in late at night. The "Drunken Noodle" was another favorite, where we Americans had full license to act obscene and idiotic while filling up on huge Sapporo beers and eating sushi and noodles glutinously with clumsy chopsticks.

Home-made split-pea soup with hot pepper and dumplings

Back to my friend Shelly. She would sometimes also come over to our house without groceries, and magically she'd whip up meals to die for from the most barren cupboards. She taught me so much about cooking in her "a pinch of this, a dash of that" cooking style. We never, ever consulted a cook book, and to this day, I still rely upon my intuition (and taste buds) to guide my creations.

yummy leftovers

I have a lot of fun looking through magazines and recipe books, then adjusting a recipe to fit my own needs and tastes, or fusing several recipes into one. Once in a while this results in disaster, but more often than not the result is serendipitous. Then I have to backtrack and scribble it all down (hoping that I haven't forgotten anything).

Chive and feta quiche with almond crust

In Japan I had another friend who loved to feed me: my good friend Annette, who I called my "food fairy" because she would cook sensational vegetarian meals for me and leave them on my doorstep. I would come home, not expecting anything, and find piping hot acorn squash/pumpkin/tofu stew on my front steps! She'd also visit us from Yokosuka years later and make us home-made salsa with fresh cilantro...

My personal favorite that I make for every special occasion:

sweet potato / choclate cheesecake. . . I came up with recipe

in Japan and it's become a family tradition. . .

Annette was a wonderful food mentor for me. She was always cooking for me and also for our "Circle Gathering" group potlucks. Circle Gathering, which I started as a spiritual discussion group for free-thinkers, turned into an excuse to indulge in the ecstasy of Annette's cooking.

It was with Annette that I experienced the best sushi in Japan, while visiting her in Yokosuka (near Tokyo): it was one of those little sushi dives with conveyor belts and different colored plates indicating the price of each dish. I feasted on eggplant and rice sushi: a large, lazy swath of irridescent, buttered eggplant on top, its skin scored in a grid pattern to let the butter saturate it. Oh my. A little soy sauce and wasabi and I was in tears and delight. The best sushi ever. Mmmmmm.

Tofu, beans, and rice? Heavens, no. I hate tofu.