Lost in Translation

Hello friends :) Happy Wednesday- we are almost to the weekend.

I finally decided to break out the miso that my friend helped me pick out at the Asian grocery store and make some soup.

She told me that white miso is sweet, red miso is very salty, and yellow is in-between. I followed the instructions on the lid of the miso and also used the ground seaweed stock that I also got at the store. The entire package was in Japanese though! Luckily, there was a website printed in teeny tiny font on the package.

Of course, it was also in Japanese. Thank goodness for Google Translator!

I was able to find the ratio of powder to water that I was supposed to use on their site. Then, I got very excited when I found a "Recipes" section.

Unfortunately, this is what I got:

umm yeah. Thanks a lot, Google!

I am not sure what "bee tie" is, but I know I am not eating it. And I am definitely not smoking this soup.

I am however, slurping this soup:

Yummy miso! I put broccoli, tofu, and a small amount of carrot and bell pepper in mine. It was wonderful and I think I want to put some mushrooms in it next time! I told my Japanese friend what I had done with my miso and she said she always laughs at what people here put in their miso. It may not be traditional, but it was tasty! 

I ate two bowls of soup and put the rest away for later. Do not do this. This soup did not keep well in the fridge and had a strange odor and taste when I tried to eat it again...

Something else I've been experimenting with is the Sencha tea that I also got in Champaign. This was the first time I've had Sencha and I really like it! It took me a few sips to get used to it though- it has a really strong seaweedy smell at first, but it doesn't taste fishy at all.
I found this awesome interactive site that has a lot of information about Sencha, too.
Of course, I have to do more with my tea than just drink it!
Yesterday after I got home from school, I whipped up this Sencha Infused Tofu:

I made a marinade loosely based off of one of Averie's recipes for Green Tea & Honey Ginger Tofu.
I used:
1/2 cup brewed Sencha tea
2 TBSP agave nectar (or honey)
1 TBSP ginger-garlic paste
2 TBSP apple-cider vinegar
1 TBSP sesame oil

I marinated to tofu for a very short time (I was so hungry!) and baked it for 25 minutes at 425* turning it at the 20-minute point. Then, I broiled it for a minute. I didn't press my tofu very well beforehand, but if you did you probably won't need to broil it.
This was great! The Sencha and the agave nectar were really good together and I will definitely make this again.

Well, I've gotta go- I really need to make some Radish Sesame or Unjustified...

Kidding.

Do you ever use your ingredients in non-traditional ways? What do you make with them? I definitely test the boundaries of many ingredients...from Channa Masala Pizza to Faux-Co Crispies, you can tell I like to mix it up in the kitchen!