Strawberry sushi crepe with minty chocolate sauce

Green tea infused Strawberry Carpaccio in Crepe Rolls with choco-wasabi paste and chocolate minty sauce

When my baby cry you would think she's the daughter of Luciano Pavarotti. Her capacity to keep high notes could fairly pass for a soprano soloist in any audition for opera. I couldn't blame her for I nourished her with my singing prowess during pregnancy. :-) It is the reason why, everytime I succeeded in making her sleep it is such a great relief for me (and probably for our neighbors too) and I do all the precautions to keep it that way. Sometimes I even unplug the phone to avoid waking her up from the noise of the incoming calls.

Unfortunately that day I was too late. The phone rang. Definitely it woke her up. I was torn between, answering the phone (probably scold that person at the same time) and taking my baby from her crib. Since I was angry I opted to pick up the phone. It was my husband. My anger transformed into worries because It's unusual for him to make calls at this hour. Then he blurted out the reason of his call, was to ask me if I would accept living back again in Japan for 2 or three years. Apparently there was a proposition for an expat job in Japan. Wow! Definitely I said yes. I love Japan and terribly miss my friends back there.A short stint there will be a great idea I thought.

That day I got so excited with this news that I saw everything already in Japanese color.

Strawberry Sushi Crepe with spicy chocolate paste and minty chocolate sauce

Sushi Crepe
250 g of flour
half a liter of milk
3 tbsps of oil
2 tbsps of sugar
a pinch of salt
3 eggs

In a bowl mix the egg with all dry ingredients. Add the oil. Eventually add little by little the milk. Continue mixing until the mixture becomes homegenous. Let it stand for a minimum of one hour. Cook over very hot crepe pan. Dust icing sugar over each crepe and roll delicately. Cut the uneven edges of the two sides. Eventually cut regular sizes for each rolled crepe. Then set aside.

Strawberry carpaccio in Mint and green tea infusion
250 g of strawberry
5 tbsps of hot water
1 tsp of green tea
8-10 leaves of mint leaves
2 tbsp of honey

Slice each strawberry lengthwise. In a small bowl mix the hot water with the green tea powder, honey and sliced fresh mint leaves. Pour over this mixture over the strawberry and let it infuse for minimum of 30 minutes. Insert the starwberry carpaccio in your sushi crepe.

Choco spicy paste
50 g of bitter dark chocolate
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tbsp of cold water

In bain marie melt the chocolate then add the chili powder. Turn of the heat then add one tablespoon of cold water this will make your thicken your chocolate mixture. Prepare this last as this have the tendency to harden when temperature is too cold.

Chocolate minty sauce
50 g of mint chocolate
2 tbsps of fresh cream

Melt the mint chocolate in bain marie and add slowly the fresh cream. Mixed continously until the mixture becomes liquid. Serve hot.

Dunk it here...

Banana Chocolate Crepe: When Romeo Proposed to Juliet: the art of making Banana Crepe with Chocolate Sauce

Marriage Proposal Blog Carnival

(This is based on a true story. Characters and names where changed to protect the shy blogger)

Before the beginning

It was during the late summer of 1994 when Juliet and her classmates were invited (punished) by their university professor at his place to help correct some school papers piled-up in his desk. His place was located in the suburb outside Manila, a lovely place with lots of tall fruit trees. They were all captivated by a giant mango tree heavy laden with fruits and everybody decided to gather instead. It was at this moment that Juliet saw an old man seated close to the tree. He took the hand of Juliet and started reading her palm. And these were his words: "you will need to travel a thousand miles to meet your prince charming." Of course, everybody burst with laughter.

Mix two eggs, with 200 g of flour, half a liter of milk, a liitle bit of salt, 1tbsp of sugar and 20 g of melted butter. Fry them on a non stck pan.

The Beginning

Many years have passed since that summer. Juliet have had quite some relationships in the past but decided this time to focus on her career instead after the last tumultous relationship she had two years ago. When Juliet discovered she was awarded a scholarship grant to Osaka, it was a mixed emotion. She was excited but was scared at the same time for it it was her first time to go really far from her family. When she received her plane ticket to travel it was also during the summer.

In a pan caramelise some bananas with butter and brown sugar. Fold in this mixture inside each crepe.

The Encounter

There were so many foreign students gathered at the hall. For fear of uttering words in Japanese, Juliet stick only with some acquintances she made earlier. From among the crowd her attention was caught by nice looking backpack in red and blue color. Looks like a giant sneakers with a magnificent shoelace, she thought. It was Romeo's. But their first real encounter was not really there. It was when all the french students invited Juliet and her german friend to stroll around the city in bike. Juliet panicked, she doesn't know how to bike for his strict father never allowed her to learn when she was a kid. But Romeo like a galant soldier didn't think twice to offer her a lift. And that was the real beginning of their friendship.

Cover it with melted dark chocolate mixed with some creme fraiche.

The Day She Said I Do

Romeo & Juliet despite their racial differences (he is white, she is brown) have plenty of things in common that binds their relationship: that is their love and passion for travelling & Japan. Their love for each other have survived long distance and cultural differences crisis. Juliet never imagined that summer night promenade with Romeo in Odaiba will be the day she said "I do". After strolling for a while, he invited her to sit on the beach sand. Romeo took her hand and murmured these lovely words.."veux-tu m'epouser [1] ?".. And Juliet replied; "huh?? what?? I don't understand." Luckily though she noticed the diamond ring he was holding and she replied, "oo, payag ako [2]." He didn't understand her reply but they kissed each other.

[1] Will you marry me (in french)
[2] Yes I do (in Tagalog)

And that is the making of our Banana Crepe with Chocolate Sauce "story". I guess I don't need to explain why.

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