Carrying On Tradition

Traditions are what connect us to our ancestors and the essence of who we are. Culinary traditions are even more binding, tying us to the dishes our antecedents made. It is more so in the Japanese and Japanese-American communities. They not only revere their ancestors but carry on with ancient recipes.

Hannah Kirschner, the creator of Sweets And Bitters, a combination of blog and cookbook, wrote about the Sasaki family for yesterday's New York Times's Christmas Day Food issue. The Sasakis have been here for over a century, first arriving to the Seattle area in 1908.The city was a boomtown then , catering to young men looking to make a fortune< He only went back to Japan once  to acquire a bride,Hisaye, They raised four kids who carried on their traditions as well as taking lessons in the art of Japanese flower arranging - ikebana as well as taking Japanese lessons. Their lives were disrupted by  the interment camps of the Second World War. Everything related to their nationality was banned, especially the foods.It changed after the war when they could return to traditional foods , using the  laquered natsume, the wooden canisters used in tea ceremonies. Cousins have come over to use their grandmother's fans to cool the rice used in the dishes. For a while in the Nineties , the family stopped with the celebrations yet a cousin , Ron Sasaki, brought it back. He bakes a snapper or rock cod to symbolizing the return to the homeland . His father did the same thing for earlier family dinners

The New Year's foods are comforting as with the ozoni, or mochi soup. Mochi is a big thing right now. The Sasakis use the plain however, not the sweet usually associated with ice cream. There's also Japanese veggies such as mizuna, Japanese mustard greens and golf ball sized satoimo or taro root.Mirin , a kind of sweet rice wine is added along with yuzu the lemony Asian citrus. Chicken and kamaboko, a kind of steamed fish cake add the flavor too and protein. Rice is always present in Japanese cooking.Mochi rice, a more glutinous version is used in sekihan, red bean sticky rice. This dish is usually made the day before with adzuki,, a mung bean that sort of looks like a kidney bean. It is labor intensive with the rice having to be rinsed several times. The Sasakis also make Nishimi  dashi braised vegetables with chicken. This is a light stew that has all the best of Japanese veggies. There is daikon, the long , white radish used generously in Japanese cooking and kabocha squash. Shoyu, or Japanese soy sauce is used here for flavoring.

Culinary traditions define who we are. They have been defining the Sasaki family for 111 years. The dishes, lovingly made with the same ingredients their ancestors used, tell who the family is.

A Very Vegan Christmas

Christmas is the time for good will towards all and that includes animals. For a more sympathetic and Franciscan holiday think about going vegan and vegetarian. It's surprisingly easy to do  -not to mention delicious with the right foods and treats.

What do herbivores eat for the holidays? I'm asked that all the time , as I cook and bake in a vegetarian household. (I'm not one myself and I will allow myself dairy , eggs and meat/seafood from time to time). For main meals  some kind of tofu pr plant based "meat" is the star. Beyond Meat and Impossible Burgers have expanded the range of no meat recipes. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out my local Stop & Shop had all different kinds of plant based meats, including Beyond Burgers meat loaf and sausages. Even Stop & Shop itself has their own version of the faux meat which is exciting. The chopped "meat" can be made into a fancy loaf and decorated with grape tomatoes, olives and peppers. You could also make a meaty vegan lasagna, perfect for a crowd as a second course. Tofurkey has these little "hams" that have an amber ale glaze or just plain. There 's some fancy recipes regarding them, with one giving it the Hassleback treatment. This is slicing the ham and stuffing the slits with rosemary and tart apples. it's served on a variety of veggies like carrots and fingerling potatoes. Tofurky also gives us their famed tofu turkey loaf and feast package. There is a breadcrumb and rice stuffing in their loaves, while the feast comes with gravy and even a cheesecake.

Many feel that seafood is a luxury, perfect for a lush Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meal. Gardein which has excellent vegan meat like their turkey and gravy and chicken strips offers crab puffs. These mini balls are a perfect way of starting off a meal and have relatively the same ingredients as the real thing. Onions and peppers along with a hint of garlic give them that extra flavor, associated with crab cakes. Vegan Essentials, a great site for all things vegan has some good fish and seafood substitutes. I recently made their Match Meat brand  crab cakes. They were just as good as the real thing, especially with the seafood taste and crumbly texture. One large cake can satisfy one person and they're perfect with a salad and a light side. There's also a nice lemony aftertaste thanks to addition of lemon juice in the recipe. Vegan Essentials also sells "lobster chunks" by Loving Hut which I ordered for Christmas and am excitedly. anticipating their arrival.They're made with konjac root, an herb found in Asia. The lobster supposedly tastes like the real thing so I will have plenty of melted vegan butter on hand. For real luxury there is Caviart, a faux roe that's made with seaweed.

Vegans can eat well for the holidays. There's a wide array of faux meats and fish that can satisfy any taste. The best parts is that no animals were harmed in the making of the Christmas meal.

Holiday Dinners Light

Holidays meals, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas can be lavish and sumptuous affairs with enough food to feed an army. Yet what happens when there's only three or four for dinner? Or two? A lavish meal can seem wasteful. Then it's time for holiday meal light.

A whole turkey would be too much for three or four people. Even one as tiny as an eight pound one can be too much and can lead to a week of leftovers.  Think one half turkey breast which is three pounds and will satisfy diners nicely.  Cooking time is also cut in half - anywhere from forty-five minutes to an hour as opposed to the two or three hours for the entire bird. For Christmas you could roast a half ham or even ham steaks if you have one or two people over. Many home chefs love a standing rib roast for a holiday meal yet it would be like a huge feast for just four people. A London broil would be better . You can still serve it with gravy  - and even better Yorkshire pudding to sop up the juices.It'll also be good the day after in sandwiches or on toast with hot gravy. Seafood lovers always want a briny buffet for their Christmas Day or New Year's Eve dinners. You can still have this even if it's just the two of you. Think the smallest one  such as a one pounder.It's an easy boil or cook and quite filling.  You'll only need one side really if you serve it. Open the meal with a small sized ring of shrimp cocktail that you can easily buy at your fish market or even grocery store.

One thing about having an intimate holiday dinner is that you don't have to go crazy with the sides. Mash potatoes can still be served. You'll only need about a pound and a half of Yukon Golds to create a small pot. Another idea is having baked ones which is a nice change up from mashed. Add small bowls of different toppings - such as melted butter, sour cream, shredded cheddar and bacon along with chive and different spices. You can also do the same with sweet potatoes. If you're mashing them , then use only two or two and a half. If it's individual ones , have little ramekins of melted butter along with cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on. Of course the holiday meal would be nothing without stuffing. You could go the easy route and use Stovetop Stuffing which is great for a dinner party of four. A regular stuffing could be made but be prepared for a lot of it to be left over (great if you're planning on creating take home parcels). As for green sides,  buy bags of Brussels sprouts and broccoli. These steam bags provide enough for three to four people. They're perfect - easy to cook and no cleanup along with no to little leftovers. They can also be served hot or cold as a fun non-traditional salad.

A small holiday dinner can still be lavish in taste.It's just buying and cooking smaller version of the main course and halving the sides. It just the right amount of food for the right amount of people.