Vegan weekend pop up -country style Inari bento

This weekend’s vegan takeaway pop up is “Inari bento.”

And it is country style. Foraged cherry blossoms and blackberry shoots, fiddle heads - Lots of fresh spring taste from the forest.

About the main item, “Inari” sushi is sushi rice in a puffed tofu pocket.

This version is open faced Inari sushi with foraged, wild vegetable toppings.

The highlights are Salted cherry blossoms, almond pulp miso pickled fiddle head, Espresso miso roasted eggplants.

Every content is made with thoughtful method to balance the each flavour, cured or marinated, etc.

A set with seasonal vegetable miso soup.

Pick up 24 & 25 April at Harken coffee, 338 Powell street.

Pick up time : 11-4pm.Limited numbers. Pre-order from our market site.

More photos and descriptions Tomoko Tahara instagram

Nettles

These are for my weekend pop up at Harken coffee.

Farm and forest chirashi Bento box with miso soup.

Nettles are for the mochi in the miso soup.

We boiled, and mashed, then knead into mochi dough.

For more details of bento box, visit Mæst Market.

Nettles are truly a gift from spring.　Lots of nutritions.

Spring harvest

Harvested some spring wilds. Butterbur, mustard leaves, miners lettuce, stingy nettles.

Spring is busy, exiting time for harvesting and preserve the edible plants.

So finalized the menu for this weekend’s take aways pop up at Harken coffee.

Important: We have to apologize about that we announced as we will be available for dine-ins, however Harken isn’t able to do 100% dining for food service now & this event is basically take out. Still you can enjoy coffee & food in the room but it will be self service basis.

Walk-in purchase is available but the numbers are limited, highly recommend to make pre-orders.

Anyways back to subject. Harvests. Introducing how to cook butterbur in traditional Japanese way.

This plant has a hole inside of the stem. Some says it can be a straw?

Clean the leaves and extra parts, salt.

After salted, boil whole stems and peel the skin little by little.

Voilà.

Thank you for everything, and new start.

Minor’s lettuce, common edible plants in BC

Thank you for all guests enjoyed the food program at Harken coffee.

I’m no longer involved with their actual food menu for a while, hopefully until their reopen for their kitchen.

However I am stick around with them with my food project called “Maest”(pronounce like must), that is rebuilt my food project “Cookhatter”. I am doing this project since 2017.

The world is different since pandemic - the word “essential” is taking over everything.

Staying home is basic human life in the earth for now, travelling is banned, meeting people are limited, many of entertainment spots are closed, creative restaurants and some service industries are suffering.

Writing all those reality, feeling terrible, but I don’t want to give up.

We need to keep our creative ideas alive -

Having completely new ideas, or finding solutions that the creative people can survive with their ideas getting along with this world of conservatism.

Anyways, my project’s goal is making our clients smile with unique food experience, that is the same as before. The most important thing to make delicious food - love, not egos.

The menu will be different than the menu I made for the Harken - it won’t be Japanese food menu based. 

More focussing on ingredients and flavours, comfort yet fancy food with a twist of Japanese cooking ideas.

To start, popup 0.1 :

Weekend take away lunch box will be at Harken March 6 & 7th. 

The event will happen every week.

The details coming up very soon.