OMG! That was a close one…I almost cooked Tabby! @_@

I know I cooked enough food for a lot of guests. Knowing Keroppi, he invited everybody for my birthday. But everytime I bring out new dishes to the serving table, they all miraculously disappear! Is my cooking really that good or the guests have not eaten in the past few days?

I went back to the kitchen to replenish just to find out that I ran out of meat! I panicked and ran out into the living room crying, “Meat! Meat! I need more meat!” and bumped into Zashiki. He was holding something cold and gray which I thought was meat. My eyes gleamed with joy and touched what he was carrying, “Is that meat? Oh, thank you for bringing some.”

Zashiki’s small beady eyes suddenly widened and quickly hugged what he was holding and turned around.  I suddenly realized that it wasn’t meat and quickly apologized to him then I heard a soft, squeaky voice coming from Zashiki’s arms, “Noooo…I’m Tabby…”

Surprised and about to cry, Zashiki looked at what he’s holding, “Tabby has finally spoken…” and gently hugged his friend.

Everybody was touched by that scene and offered a toast (with glasses containing milk and apple juice for the lactose intolerant guests like Mimmy). Unexpectedly though, Kuromi, who has been drinking milk since she arrived, poured some on Tabby and was muttering about “milk marinade”! O_O

Hi! Keroleen here and it’s time for a special Autumn recipe. ^_^

Autumn brings lots of changes. The trees begin to change colors, bringing a beautiful array of different colored foliage, which eventually drops off into our yards. It also brings cooler temperatures.

Fall vegetables bring to mind the hearth, coziness, beautiful autumn colors, hearty food and interesting one dish and multi-dish menus. When it comes to food preparation, we think about roasting, caramelizing, thick rich stocks, braising and sauteeing.

Pumpkin is a very versatile vegetable usually used in Fall / Autumn recipes. It can be used for soups, salads, sidings, main course and desserts. Here’s a simple soup recipe which you can use for your celebrations.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp. butter or oil
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. curry powder
3 cups chicken broth
1 can (or 1 lb. pureed) pumpkin
1 tbsp. honey
dash nutmeg
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 cup evaporated milk
optional sour cream or yogurt, topping

Procedure:

Sautee mushrooms and onion in butter or oil. Add flour and curry and stir gradually while adding broth. Add all other ingredients except the milk and continue cooking while stirring for 10 - 15 minutes. Then add milk and heat without boiling. May be topped with sour cream or yogurt.

Technorati Tags: autumn, fall, kerokero, keroleen, kitchen, pumpkin, pumpkin soup, recipes

Hi, Keroleen here. I’m in such a happy mood now. I feel so loved. ^_^ It was a surprise when I opened this blog and see my beloved Keroppi’s message.

He actually said that he loves me to the whole world!

I’d better surprise him with a special cake.

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lemon juice

8 oz. whipped topping

Procedure:

Bake cake according to package directions for two layers. While cake is baking, mix condensed milk with lemon juice and refrigerate. Cool layers completely, then split each layer in half, making four thin layers. Place one layer on a serving plate, then spread with the milk-juice mixture. Place another layer on top and spread with mixture. Place the third layer on these and spread with mixture. Combine the remaining mixture with the whipped topping and use to frost the sides and top. Keep covered and refrigerated.

Hi! It’s me again, Keroleen. I’m feeling better now. Thanks to Keroppi for taking good care of me and I’m sorry for not listening to you that time.

My encounter with W.A.D. was really scary. I hid in my room for a long time, thinking they’ll go after me. @_@ Those Dinosaurs really mean business.

Anyway, it’s now time for a new recipe. Even if W.A.D. scared me, they inspired me to do this cool dessert. I heard that they like watermelons a lot, so here’s a simple recipe for Watermelon Sorbet.

I know it’s not timely to eat sorbets this season, but this is still a perfect way to include fruits in one’s diet. I hope you’ll all like this. ^_^

Ingredients:

1 2 1/2- to 3-pound watermelon, seeds and skin removed, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons of finely chopped mint

1/8 teaspoon salt

Procedure:

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree for 2 minutes. Chill mixture in fridge for at least two hours. Then freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.

Hi! It’s me Keroleen. I would like to share this with you, our dear readers. ^_^ Besides donuts, Keroppi  likes rice balls. *giggle*

The rice ball is Japanese traditional food! It is more popular than the sandwich in Japan. Known as ”ONIGIRI” or “OMUSUBI”, it is eaten at lunch, picnic, party and at meetings. Rice balls can also be bought at Japanese convenience stores.

Japanese families cook plain white rice every day. And usually the ingredients for making rice balls are everyday items from the kitchen pantry or refrigerator.

For the Japanese, making rice balls is such an everyday experience that it’s hard to find a recipe in a Japanese cookbook. However, for people in other countries, the rice ball might be something rare and fun to eat. So I thought I’d write a recipe for rice balls using ingredients which can be found even outside of Japan. You can use any kind of leftover food in your refrigerator for the filling of the rice ball, but I have two suggestions:

1. The filling of the rice ball should not be hard, but fairly soft. The rice and the filling should make a good balance in your mouth.

2. The taste of the filling should be somewhat strong because the rice has a light taste. Japanese like salty fillings such as pickled plum (umeboshi). But watch out! If you eat a Japanese pickled plum, your mouth might bend from the saltiness!

Here are some suggestions for the fillings:

Tuna and Mayonnaise

Mixed canned tuna, mayonnaise and a bit of soy sauce.

Broiled beef or pork

Mix some chopped meat, soy sauce, sake and a little bit of grated  ginger. Then broil in a pan. Using meat with a curry taste or spicy taste is also recommended.

Corned beef

Mix corned beef and a little bit of soy sauce.

Now for the rice balls. This will be the steps in forming the triangular omusubi because that shape is more suitable for any filling. ^_^

Hold rice in left palm (or right, if left-handed).

Fillings can be set in the center of the rice and covered. Using other palm with slightly bend fingers and hold together on top to pack rice.

The upper palm forms a triangle while the lower hand holds the rice in between the thumb and fingers widthwise.

Repeat packing three times to form a triangular omusubi.

Ok, now that I have taught you basics, try it out with a filling of your choice. I’ll now go back to the kitchen and prepare Keroppi’s favorite rice balls. XD

Here’s a special entry for our Kero Recipes segment. No new recipes for today, but here’s a special Kero food showcase. I was looking for some recipes over the net and I found these. I feel so honored that people use me as an inspiration for their cooking. XD

Since I like cakes and pastries, this is a favorite of mine. Keroleen will love making cupcakes similar to these. She can even design for each one in the family and for our friends. Hmm…we’d better think of a unique recipe and start making those personalized cupcakes. Just in time for the many holidays this time of year.

There’s also a nice looking cake. Hehe. This seems to be a variant for an ice box cake or a special chiffon cake.

Too much sweets already? Here’s one for the main course, a cute Keroppi bento set. Take me with you to school. Nope, I will not answer your tests for you, I’ll just make sure you always have a healthy meal. Hehe. Isn’t that Den-den and fellow snail friend? XD

These special treats really made my day.

Technorati Tags: bento, cakes, cupcakes, den-den, food, food showcase, kerokero, keroleen, keroppi, pastries, recipes

A few minutes ago someone rang the doorbell numerous times. Whoever’s outside must be in a hurry. Keroleen quickly answered the door and after a few minutes came back with a lot of pink and purple colored boxes in her hands. According to her, inside the boxes were special mooncakes given by Kuromi.

Kuromi isn’t so bad after all. She even took the trouble of giving mooncakes for all of us here. I got a big family and my friends always hang out in my house. Her mooncakes taste really terrific! ^_^

What exactly are mooncakes? It’s a Chinese pastry eaten during the Mid-Autumn festival (15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar). They’re usually round or rectangle in shape with thick lotus paste filling and may contain salted duck egg yolks. Traditional mooncakes usually have a Chinese characters imprint on top that means longevity or harmony. Over the years, the mooncake has achieved a modern twist. Instead of the traditional fillings, bakers offered taro, pineapple, chocolate, nuts, fruits, etc.

That just gave Keroleen an idea. Hehe. She told me that modern mooncake varieties also use jelly mixtures as crust. Being the great chefs, she and my mother immediately made their own version.

Retaining the traditional lotus filling and egg yolk, they concocted a special purple colored jelly crust. The jelly is slightly sweetened. They didn’t use other flavorings because the taste might conflict with the delectable lotus filling.

This is our thank you present for Kuromi. I hope she’ll like it.

Technorati Tags: chinese, festival, kerokero, keroleen, keroppi, kuromi, mid-autumn festival, mooncake

Since Keroleen is back, I’ll start this section in my blog about food and recipes. She’ll help me out with this.

French Crullers

Since we like donuts, we’ll start with Crullers which happens to be the “sister” of the donut.

The word Cruller originated from the Dutch word krulle, meaning “twisted cake.” It’s a type of donut made from choux pastry. They are usually shaped like a fluted ring and have a light airy texture. Sometimes these are also simply known as “crullers”, but they have little resemblance to the other kind of cruller other than that they are both types of doughnuts.

Here’s the basic recipe:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup shortening

1 cup boiling water

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

fat (for deep frying)

confectioners’ sugar frosting

Procedure:

Combine sugar, salt, shortening, and boiling water in a saucepan. Mix and bring to a rapid boil. Add flour all at once and mix and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla. Force mixture through pastry tube onto greased paper, forming circles. Heat deep fat to 375 degrees F on frying thermometer. Carefully turn paper upside down so crullers will drop into fat. Fry and flip over until golden brown. Spread with thin Confectioners’ Sugar frosting.

Technorati Tags: cruller, french cruller, food, kerokero, keroleen, keroppi, kitchen, pastry, recipes