January Recommends: Simple Recipes

In November last year, I had this idea that each month I’d have a post recommending stuff. Different stuff. In November it was free e-books. Then in December… nothing. Yes indeed, a continuous series of one. Well, now, after that December hiatus, here are January’s recommendations: simple recipes. These aren’t high brow items to keep you in the kitchen for hours, just nice, simple, tasty dishes. Spend some time on each website too – good food likes company.

Tomatoes stuffed with guacamole – More of a spring or summer side dish, but I really liked these, perhaps because I love guacamole (though apparently many of my friends don’t – it’s always left over at pot luck gatherings). They make a good addition to a salad or baked potato or such.

High Protein Mashed Potatoes – If you’re looking for something too add to basic mash, or balance those carbs, give this a try – just remember you’ll need fewer potatoes for the whole dish. This was another simple one, using ingredients you likely have around anyway.

Houjicha Cheesecake -I have a real liking for cheesecake, and so when I saw this recipe I thought I’d give it a try. Houjicha is basically roasted green tea leaves, and this recipe uses them to get a nice smooth flavour. I went with a basic, thin pastry.

Chicken Skewers and Cashew Nut Satay – this is on the Hairy Biker’s website, which is one I recommend everyone have a click around on. This made a great BBQ dish as well as on a grill; the satay sauce was particularly nice.

I could also plug a couple of my own simple recipes – miso shiru or tsukune – and why not. Also, take a look at CookingInJapan for some other tasty dishes – all very healthy.