tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172238302012-02-02T09:33:34.139+09:00Our Adventures in JapanKat & Satoshi's eating and traveling adventures around Japan (and sometimes Hawaii)K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.comBlogger20711100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-74818379638376483422012-02-02T00:00:00.004+09:002012-02-02T00:00:00.447+09:00baked furikake sweet potatoes I bought some sweet potatoes recently and wondered how I should cook them.My "normal" way would be to steam them, but I wanted to try something different.Bring in an easy recipe from the Peko Peko Charity Cookbook... (Have you bought your copy yet?! I hope so.)The recipe comes from Barbara Kiebel, who has a beautiful blog here.I didn't cut the potato into the "strips" like she instructed, my K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-35143326922145363282012-02-01T00:00:00.001+09:002012-02-01T00:00:03.269+09:00ma-go-wa-ya-sa-shi-i I learned a new acronym recently...ma-go-wa-ya-sa-shi-iIn Japanese, literally, it means "grandchildren are kind", but when you look at each syllable, they stand for foods we should be eating.Ma is Mame (mah-may = beans) especially soy and adzuki, for magnesiumGo is Goma (goh-mah = sesame seeds) this includes nuts like almonds & walnuts for vitamin EWa is Wakame (wah-kah-may = seaweed) like nori K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-64789165104462247332012-01-31T00:00:00.002+09:002012-01-31T00:00:11.867+09:00standard bookstore The last time I ate at Standard Bookstore, I tried their chili dog, which I wrote about here.Since then, I sometimes hangout here when the Starbucks below is filled and I want to have a cup of coffee.The other day I tried their Standard Dog...this was topped with lots of sauerkraut, some relish & red onions...yummy! with coffee...780 yen.The hot dog also came with a salad and their delicious K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-79094455508454393672012-01-30T00:00:00.001+09:002012-01-30T00:00:07.122+09:00funny Saw this sign at the movies the other day..."Smoking Room, for adult smokers only", um, is there also one for children somewhere?!I can't believe Japan wastes space to accommodate smokers. (I don't smoke so I am not empathetic.) Good thing that I found at the movies, curry flavored popcorn.Bad thing, they told me "once you enter the theatre, you aren't allowed to shake the box (it comes in)"...K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-16135743620074877712012-01-29T00:00:00.000+09:002012-01-29T00:00:07.460+09:00dojima toro-ya Yesterday, we tried a new shop for dinner called Dojima Toro-ya.They specialize in maguro (tuna) and toro (fatty tuna).There was a lot of metal roofing used as partitions, which kind of reminded me of language lab at the university. The lighting was the type you find on fishing boats.Most seating is counter-style. The part I liked best was that it was non-smoking on weekends (I think sushi K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-41717264825021043812012-01-28T00:00:00.002+09:002012-01-28T00:00:08.994+09:00things I'm liking (disliking) Almost the end of the month, thought I'd do a "things I'm liking" post...Kinda disliking the tea by Kusmi...Algothe...it is a mixture of green tea, mint and seaweed...yup, seaweed...funky tasting. My host-sister had given us this...walnut tea from Korea...this was funky also...kind sludgy, not sweet at all...meh. I tried these nail seals (the black one) recently which are made by a Korean K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-45766957700038159282012-01-27T00:00:00.003+09:002012-01-27T00:00:06.592+09:00mac n cheese Satoshi went off on business and it was just me for a couple of days, I usually don't cook when he's away, but for some reason I had mac n cheese on my mind and it had to be a creamy cheesy sauce...sigh! so I decided to make mac n cheese for dinner.noodles:1 package of macaroni (150 grams)watergoodies:1/2 tablespoon olive oil1/8 of an onion, minced1/2 a carrot diced1/4 red bell pepper, diced1 K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-79339495978887553122012-01-26T00:00:00.004+09:002012-01-26T00:00:05.101+09:00on a walk or two Most mornings if the sun is out, I get out for a walk.My route changes with my feeling, but I try to walk at least 2 miles. Sure the weather these days is freezing, but it gets me out of the house, I get a little exercise.Here are some things that caught my eye...This dahlia was huge! love the color too. I thought this banner was cute.It advertises ika-yaki and tako yaki (grilled squid pancake &K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-40393550147795433352012-01-25T00:00:00.005+09:002012-01-25T00:00:05.698+09:00earl grey chocolat chaud Do you like Earl Grey tea? What about dark chocolate?What about chocolat chaud (hot chocolate)?If you answered yes to all of these, then you'll love this.I recently saw this on Pinterest, it is a great way to get inspired not only about food, but fashion and other topics too. (WARNING: you will have lots of fun looking at all sorts of photos, and the time will fly!)The original recipe is here, K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-70410492024853789212012-01-24T00:00:00.004+09:002012-01-24T00:00:07.020+09:00culture shock About this time of year and again during the Fall, Satoshi's company has transfers.If you are being transferred, they usually give you 2 weeks notice. Within that two weeks, you need to move and be able to report to work on February 1st or if it is in the Fall, October 1st.Can you imagine packing up all your belongings and moving within 2 weeks? (If you are being transferred overseas the noticeK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-34837562752592056412012-01-23T00:00:00.002+09:002012-01-23T00:00:04.681+09:00kung hee fat choy It's the start of Chinese New Years...the year of the Dragon.I've posted a picture of this before. This dragon was painted on the ceiling of Myoshinji in Kyoto. The unryuzu (picture of the dragon) is 25 meters (82 feet) long and 20 meters (65 feet) wide and was drawn on the ceiling by Kano Tanyu, no matter where you stand in the room, the dragon is always looking at you.Kung Hee Fat Choy!K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-20867660148329422182012-01-22T00:00:00.002+09:002012-01-23T19:59:34.185+09:00u.f.o. sobameshi I think I first talked about sobameshi here.Nissin recently came up with a Cup Noodle flavored dish, but instead of the noodles they replaced it with rice, which I think they call "Cup Noodle Gohan", gohan means rice, I haven't tried it.Since they figured out instant rice, they paired it with their U.F.O. instant yakisoba and came up with a sobameshi. You pour about 3/4 cup of water into the K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-90970948989855401022012-01-21T00:00:00.000+09:002012-01-21T00:00:13.859+09:00jouvencelle Last Saturday after his German class, Satoshi met up with his niece.She is still in college and is starting to look for a job, which I wrote up about here. He received these wafers by Jouvencelle, called Coronetta, from her for taking time out of his schedule to talk to her about job hunting, interviewing, etc.They are very thin, in fact, they were packed in bubble wrap. Inside of the wafer rollK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-4439194894156185352012-01-20T00:00:00.002+09:002012-01-20T00:00:14.506+09:00belated anniversary Our wedding anniversary was on Sunday, but the places that Satoshi had chosen to have dinner at weren't in operation on that day.So we just had a pupu party at home.Then, I had an appointment in Umeda on Wednesday, so we met afterwards at Daimaru for dinner.Satoshi chose Grill & Bar Sun, a restaurant run by Suntory, the beverage maker.We started with some salmon tartar, the taste really remindedK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-19885625325739392702012-01-19T00:00:00.005+09:002012-01-19T00:00:04.099+09:00roasted brussels sprouts salad I forgot to mention that growing up in Hawaii, we had to work in the cafeteria once in a while, I enjoyed these times, because our lunch was free for that day.Also, as far as cleaning went, we used to have to "clap" the chalkboard erasers to clean them once in a while, but never had to do the whole class room.Thanks for all the great comments on yesterday's post. Now onto today's post...after K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-19005888165211096242012-01-18T00:00:00.001+09:002012-01-18T14:53:27.492+09:00culture shock I recently came across this building on my walk.This is where they make the school lunches for all the public schools in Ikeda. (Apparently there is one for Minoo, where we live too) I previously wrote about Satoshi's school lunch experience here.Satoshi also told me that usually during elementary school, their homeroom teacher teaches all their subjects, so they never move from class to K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-90676151785411640002012-01-17T00:00:00.002+09:002012-01-17T00:00:00.162+09:00north farm stock My host-brother's wife, recently sent us a jar of bagna cauda and a jar of espresso milk jam made by the North Farm Stock in Hokkaido.My first food experience with bagna cauda was about the time I started this blog. I really didn't know what it was especially with the name of the dish in katakana.Since that first experience, bagna cauda has been seen more and more over the years on various K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-74507726809771906602012-01-16T00:00:00.001+09:002012-01-16T00:00:00.295+09:00kakiyasu There is a tiny eat-in area called Kakiyasu on the food floor of Daimaru Umeda. We've eaten at the udon place and omurice place on the same floor, but the last time we tried to get into Kakiyasu, the wait was quite long and we were short on time.There are only 6 seats which is why they fill up so quickly.Luckily, this past Saturday, we got seats right away.Satoshi ordered their kuroge wagyu K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-13620037740637430552012-01-15T00:00:00.001+09:002012-01-15T00:00:09.578+09:00yuzu white On the website of Minoh Beer, they had a seasonal beer made with local yuzu (citron).A couple of months ago, I had asked a local liquor shop, if they were selling this beer and at that time, the owner said, "nope the season is over"...boo!To my surprise though, I found it at Yamaya...woot! At first, I was kinda leery about trying this beer because the list of ingredients is malt, hops, yuzu peelK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-41369102340879104182012-01-14T00:00:00.003+09:002012-01-14T00:00:04.808+09:00curry dog The other day on Twitter, I was chatting with one of my friends and we got on the topic of hot dogs with curried cabbage.It seems that curried cabbage on hot dogs is a Kansai (Western Japan) thing.Since I had that on my mind when I went to the market, I picked up some weiners and cabbage and made my own curried cabbage.With a handful of cabbage, slice it thinly.Then in a non-stick pan, throw in K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-65699101674594697562012-01-13T00:00:00.004+09:002012-01-13T00:00:11.689+09:00easy One of my Twitter friends tweeted this recipe that was on Pinterest.Coincidentally, I was planning to make a salmon dish for dinner that night.So, I decided to try out the new recipe instead and it was totally easy.Pecan crusted Salmon adapted from The Girl who ate Everything : serves 21 piece of salmon (161 grams), sashimi grade, cut in half1 tablespoon agave nectar 1/2 shoyu (soy sauce)1 K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-38651375938663695552012-01-12T00:00:00.000+09:002012-01-11T16:37:43.926+09:00whoa?! In the past week, most leafy veggie prices have skyrocketed.After seeing Kirk's tacos, I was thinking of making taco rice for dinner, but as I looked for lettuce at the market, I stopped and had to look again...390 yen (about US$5-something) for a head?! and it wasn't even a "nutritious" head of lettuce, it was iceberg lettuce.So...I subbed lettuce with cabbage.And even cabbage, I bought a 1/4 K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-3929813489962607602012-01-11T00:00:00.000+09:002012-01-11T00:00:08.453+09:00pizza The media has been running pizza delivery ads left and right, so of course, it gave me a hankering for some pizza.I wasn't willing to shell out the money for delivery, so I bought some ingredients and pre-made crusts and dinner was on...Take a look at these huge brown mushrooms, they were selling these in bulk because they weren't "normal" sized...whatever, I was happy that they were selling so K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-48236197852442697752012-01-10T00:00:00.003+09:002012-01-10T00:00:01.677+09:00on a walk Yesterday was a sunny day. The temps were forecasted to reach double digits, which meant 10C (50F) for us, perfect for a walk.Satoshi and I went to check out a relatively new cafe in the neighborhood called Cafe de Mercerie.I looked up mercerie and it means haberdasher in French. Not knowing what haberdasher was I looked that up too. It means someone who sells knick-knacks for sewing like K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-53133993166645024262012-01-09T00:00:00.003+09:002012-01-09T00:00:05.873+09:00yum I mentioned that the first meal I made for 2012, was grilled wagyu with a miso dip, well, I remembered another blogger used the dip for shrimp and had to try it too.With the leftover dip, I added some water until it had the consistency of a marinade then put in 10 cleaned, butterflied shrimp in and left it in the marinade for about 2 hours.I cooked them on a non-stick pan, just watch how hot K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-66453035896538245652012-01-08T00:00:00.001+09:002012-01-08T00:00:01.565+09:00hanabira mochi There is an interesting mochi during this time of year called Hanabira mochi.Hanabira literally means flower petal.White mochi (rice cake) is rolled out thin and a pink colored mochi is added to it so that you can see the pink through the white.Inside of the pink mochi, some sweetened miso and a candied gobo (burdock root). It is said that the 11th head of the Urasenke (Japanese tea ceremony K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-22334232621433361432012-01-07T00:00:00.003+09:002012-01-07T11:26:23.163+09:00harnn I've written about Harnn soaps before, here.Satoshi recently received this rosemary & artemisia bar. I had to look up what artemisia was, apparently it is part of the daisy family.The packaging changed a bit from the time I picked some up, the rosemary fragrance is quite strong, can't wait to use it.Since today is the 7th, we're having our nanakusagayu today.This weekend is also a 3-day weekendK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-43320572234087562732012-01-06T00:00:00.003+09:002012-01-06T00:00:00.145+09:00l-o-n-g Lately I've been buying baguette from Bigot (bee-go). Most places charge between 240 and 260 yen, the size of the baguette range too.Some charge the higher of the price range and give you a teeny baguette...boo! I like the fact that Bigot's baguette is about 60 centimeters (that is nearly 2 feet) and only 241 yen (tax included)...yeah, I measured it.When you toast it, the outside gets crispy K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-84350804804535644172012-01-05T00:00:00.008+09:002012-01-05T00:00:14.943+09:00this and that Had some photos that weren't blogged about...Remember I wrote about tamatoro? Well, we recently tried the ebi katsu (shrimp cutlet) version...for some reason this one smelled really "eggy", I think I like the menchikatsu (hamburger cutlet) version better. For Christmas, we received this matcha (green tea) kougelhopf from my host-sister. (Thank you!) It is made by Jouvencelle, the same place K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-78908652995716583062012-01-04T00:00:00.002+09:002012-01-04T00:00:07.702+09:00kaga onsen-osaka On the last day of 2011, we awoke to a beautiful sunny day.Apparently it had snowed the night before, so there were many slick spots on the sidewalk.There were several shrines that Satoshi was interested in visiting, so we gingerly made our way.Along the way, we stopped in for coffee and some sweets at Premiere.Their popular item is called a Yamashi-roll, a rolled cake made with rice flour and K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-83450382810316161722012-01-03T00:00:00.003+09:002012-01-03T00:00:07.205+09:00kanazawa-kaga onsen The next day, we awoke to snow, sleet and hail.Breakfast for me were two doughnuts from Doughnut Plant (carrot cake with cream cheese and their black out (a very chocolatey doughnut).Both were very moist.Satoshi had two musubi (rice balls) and we both had coffee.The nice thing about Kanazawa is that there are many underground walkways, so that if it is raining (or snowing), you can easily get K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-77929945021716510082012-01-02T00:00:00.001+09:002012-01-02T00:00:04.803+09:00osaka-kanazawa The last time we visited Kanazawa was in 2010 and it was just to pass time until our train connection.From Osaka, Kanazawa (which is in Ishikawa prefecture) is about 3 hours away.We arrived close to 13:00 and luckily we were able to check-in. After unloading some of our things, we went in search of lunch.Satoshi wanted to check out the Omi-cho Market, a huge shopping arcade filled with...K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-67195099859317342912012-01-01T00:00:00.001+09:002012-01-01T00:00:13.277+09:00it's a new year It's a New Year, I hope this year will be a very good year for everyone.For New Year's Eve, we had an array of appetizers and this Cono Sur Sparkling Wine.I'd been saving this for Satoshi's staff party, but that never happened, so we had this bottle last night.It is a mixture of Chardonnay, Riesling & Pinot Noir, fruity but very dry...perfect with yakitori, Comte cheese and other munchies. I K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-83854815839912917562011-12-31T00:00:00.005+09:002011-12-31T00:00:07.586+09:0010 photosI started doing this back in 2008 as a kind of meme...but I think now, it is a nice way to look back at some of my firsts in the kitchen for the year... My first "smooth" smoothie, I still haven't been brave to divert from the strawberry-banana combo... My very first time making manapua (char siu bao).Next I want to try making char siu from scratch... Having some "me" time, I threw together K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-24664594639742700952011-12-30T00:00:00.004+09:002011-12-30T00:00:12.953+09:00books 2011A list of books I read this year...1. Joanne Harris "Holy Fools"2. Haruki Murakami "Norwegian Wood"3. M.A. Harper "The Worse Day of My Life So Far"4. Jeff Talarigo "The Pearl Diver5. Gail Tsukiyama "Women Of The Silk"6. Gail Tsukiyama "The Language of Threads"7. Peter Mayle "French Lessons"8. Ayun Halliday "No Touch Monkey"9. Clotilde Dusolier "Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris"10. Erica K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-20487507320692867402011-12-29T00:00:00.007+09:002011-12-29T00:00:08.137+09:00nengajo Previously I wrote about Nengajo (New Year cards) and Mochu Hagaki here.Usually nengajo uses the phrase "akemashite omedetoo" (ah-kay-mah-she-tay o-may-day-toe) which means "happy new year".Well, this year, due to the big earthquake and tragedy in the Tohoku area, everyone is kind of on egg shells as to how to approach this card trading custom.With reason the people in the Tohoku area aren't in K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-69060731095308154552011-12-28T00:00:00.007+09:002011-12-28T00:00:08.342+09:00ramblings Last year I wrote about changing my planner to a Moleskine Daily planner. Well, it was just too heavy to lug around. So for the upcoming year, I did find this one by Mark's Diary called Ed!T, it is half the thickness of the Moleskine while still having the space to write on a daily basis.Oh and remember my motivator?! Well, I've been using it for a year and 9 months and recently hit 500 miles K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-68395988241748048192011-12-27T00:00:00.005+09:002011-12-27T00:00:01.658+09:00setsuden Ha! I guess I did jinx myself, because yesterday, we had some hail and some flurries...woot!Anyway, trending word these days is "setsuden" (set-sue-den) it is the fusion of two words.Setsuyaku means to conserve. Denki is electricity.Since the massive earthquake and tidal wave earlier this year, all of Japan is trying to conserve electricity so that we can help pass on some of it to the Tohoku (K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-27531794105005350282011-12-26T00:00:00.002+09:002011-12-26T00:00:10.831+09:00rosyHope your Christmas was a nice one. Satoshi had to work, so it was just another day for us. To date, we still have no flurries to speak of, though other parts of Japan have been getting blasted with snow....maybe I should jinx myself and talk about the sunny weather we've been having?!Awhile back, Kathy wrote a post asking if being obsessed with rose tea blends was a girl thing?Well... I picked K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-62845197907949579902011-12-25T00:00:00.000+09:002011-12-25T00:00:08.928+09:00madame shinco Recently my friend Hiromi gave us this baum brulee by Madame Shinco.Madame Shinco is actually a real person, she used to be a hostess at a elite club in Ginza, Tokyo.Now she is famous selling all sorts of different baum kuchen and other sweets from her shop in Minoo and at various department stores around Osaka and Tokyo. I've given this particular baum brulee away as gifts, when I want to give K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-30941510602184668912011-12-24T00:00:00.001+09:002011-12-24T00:00:16.693+09:00einfacher stollen It's been awhile since I made my own stollen for Christmas, I think my archives says 2007?!Anyway, I just bought a new Japanese book and inside they had a recipe for "Einfacher stollen" (Einfacher means easier in German).I looked over the recipe and indeed it looked easy. I think the "real deal" stollen is bread-like, so they use yeast, but this one was more cookie/cake-like, so no yeast was K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-74072126839237093142011-12-23T00:00:00.001+09:002011-12-23T00:00:09.987+09:00furoku When I saw this furoku (freebie) with a fashion magazine, I had to get it.The furoku came with a calendar and book cover (and book mark) by Coach to celebrate Coach's 70th anniversary. Unfortunately, the book cover is a tad bit small, only 11 cm (4 in) x 16.5 cm (6 in), a little too small for American sized novels.Luckily, it fits my Japanese sized sketch book. Can't wait to use my sketch book K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-64100149728744641712011-12-22T00:00:00.003+09:002011-12-22T00:00:01.762+09:00maguro soboro The other day, I was at the market, looking for something extra for our rice.I was about to pick up a jar of flaked salmon, but right next to it was flaked maguro (tuna), so I purchased it instead....398 yen. The maguro was tender, flavored with soy and sugar.Perfect on rice and delicious on omlettes too.If you're interested in making your own, here's a recipe I tried for a salmon version.p.s. IK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-46986473311981526452011-12-21T00:00:00.002+09:002011-12-21T00:00:01.962+09:00eringi ragout #2 Remember I re-created a favorite, eringi ragout?Well, I recently had the dish at Capricciosa and realized they add pancetta to theirs.So, I tried making this again adding pancetta (50 grams) and lessened the ground beef a little. I also served this with toasted baguette instead of over pasta.I didn't have leftover creamy tomato soup like I used the first time making this, so instead I added 1 K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-14224504726010220592011-12-20T00:00:00.004+09:002011-12-20T00:00:02.811+09:00things I'm liking Well, there was no snow this weekend, not even a flurry, but the wind was fahreezing cutting through everything and anything you were wearing...still hoping for a white Christmas, though I know Satoshi is not.So many things to post, so little time, so I'm putting them all in a "things I'm liking" post...starting off with the 400 grams of La Mere Poulard's chocolate chip cookies. Not liking thatK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-61478927903568230062011-12-19T00:00:00.001+09:002011-12-19T00:00:05.622+09:00on a walk Friday, I took a walk...it was a route I hadn't been on before.Part of it went up a steep stairway....when you get to the top, you see the huge freeway hovering over you. Then you need to walk under the freeway...it seemed even bigger. Somehow, I think the McDonald's in Japan are really stylish, here's one with a drive-thru. And this supermarket..."now fresh" kinda scary, what kind of foods wereK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-78455011311295357522011-12-18T00:00:00.008+09:002012-01-19T20:11:10.030+09:00saying goodbye I first "met" Nate, when he emailed me to find out how to set up his blog in 2006.We conversed through emails and finally met up in person at Poke Stop.I recently got an email from Dennis, another blog friend, saying he had emailed Nate, but hadn't received a reply.Maybe he was busy at work? Taking a break from blogging?Then, I checked his FB (Facebook) wall...he had passed away.I was shocked, K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-18663405909399512912011-12-17T00:00:00.003+09:002011-12-17T00:00:00.405+09:00chocolate chai snickerdoodles Since moving to Japan, nothing says the holidays to me like a nice warm cup of chai.All the different spices warming you up...mmm!I've had this recipe bookmarked probably since I started this blog, and finally got around to trying it.Of course, I cut the recipe to a fourth, but I'm going to post the full recipe for those with "real" sized ovens.Chocolate chai snickerdoodles from K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-63442117730481248282011-12-16T00:00:00.001+09:002011-12-16T00:00:11.450+09:00buta no kakuni The picture in the recipe book was luscious...the pork had a nice sear to it and the sauce was nicely caramelized.I tried this the other night but didn't follow the directions properly, so these came out a bit too oily.Buta no kakuni (simmered pork cubes) : serves 2 : adapted from "Orange Page's Aki ni oishii kondate"300 grams pork belly, sliced to 1.5 centimeter pieces1/2 clove of garlic2 thin K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-13464610736765453562011-12-15T00:00:00.001+09:002011-12-15T00:00:13.736+09:00shrooms! I was kinda thrilled to find these mushrooms at the market the other day.They are cultivated in Japan and I am eagerly waiting to see portabellos in the near future.With these and some eringi, I made a mushroom sauce, sauteeing the shrooms in some olive oil then drizzling some tonkatsu sauce. At the end I added a nub of butter. I served this over a hamburger patty and a side of sweet potato K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-70973003825410403862011-12-14T00:00:00.004+09:002011-12-14T00:00:02.675+09:00'tis the season Christmas is coming, what a great way to celebrate with all sorts of sweet treats from around the globe.First off though is not a sweet treat... A french classmate went to Belgium recently and brought back this cute sachet filled with lavender, perfect for Christmas (merci!) Mini pandoro from MUJI. I had read about pandoro on Rowena's blog, but had not tried it myself.Have you seen how big K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-18737844744498612262011-12-13T00:00:00.002+09:002011-12-13T00:00:08.202+09:00made in japan Gofun (goh-foon) nail is something I came across while shopping in LOFT...1200 yen a bottle.I had no idea that there were nail polishes made in Japan, Kyoto to be exact. The best part of this is that the product is natural, made of shells ground to a powder.Apparently this form of paint has been used in Japanese artwork for hundreds of years.This nail polish doesn't have that "stinkiness", likeK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-82503626824628451922011-12-12T00:00:00.002+09:002011-12-12T00:00:04.868+09:00shisen ramen Did you get to see the lunar eclipse the other night? We were lucky.At first we thought it was gonna be a bust because there were lots of clouds, but by the time the eclipse started, it cleared up and we could see it right overhead from our lanai... If I thought Friday's temps were cool, Saturday's were closer to freezing.Since Satoshi had his language class in the afternoon, we headed to Umeda K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-6794373505818306082011-12-11T00:00:00.001+09:002011-12-11T00:00:04.180+09:00dark chocolate pretzel clusters Friday, the temperature high was forecast to be 9C (48F)...brr.As soon as I saw this, I knew I had to try it...Ellie Krieger's Dark Chocolate Pretzel Clusters.Only 2 ingredients...easy and yummy! Dark Chocolate Pretzel Clusters from "Comfort Food Fix" by Ellie Krieger : makes 12 clusters4 ounces any shape thick-style salted pretzels (113 grams)6 ounces dark chocolate (60%-70%), chopped (170 K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-82163701951992322162011-12-10T00:00:00.003+09:002011-12-10T00:00:10.288+09:00recipe index It took me several days to do this but I've created a recipe index near the top of this blog. I couldn't list "my favorite recipes" and have a recipe index (not enough space) so, I just went with the index.I hope I got everything and I hope all the links work.I'm sure in a couple of years Blogger will figure out an easier way for me to create a list like this, like they have with most of their K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-33470786945126072482011-12-09T00:00:00.002+09:002011-12-09T00:00:07.940+09:00re-create It's apple season here and in Japan there are many different varieties.My favorites are the Fuji and San-Fuji, in season, both are crisp and sweet, sometimes you can see the natural sugars that form near the core.Interestingly, the difference between Fuji and San-Fuji is how they are cultivated. The Fuji has a bag put around its fruit while the San-Fuji doesn't.I was craving the apple camembertK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-86790198396674970842011-12-08T00:00:00.000+09:002011-12-08T00:00:11.530+09:00"beets" The "beets" have been harvested.I say "beets" because there really weren't ruby colored orbs like I had envisioned. In fact, there were more greens than anything. I peeled what "beets" I had...this was the biggest.Still, doesn't it look like a jewel?! 5 in all.We ate this raw, they were quite tender. For the greens, I wilted them in a non-stick pan and then chopped them up.We ate these with someK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-62480965936642943722011-12-07T00:00:00.003+09:002011-12-07T00:00:03.650+09:00last colors of fall The fall foliage was a bit late this year what with all the temps going up and down.On top of that there were many days on the weekends where it rained.Luckily we were able to catch the last glimpses of fall this past Sunday.We started off at Tofukuji. We visited this temple last year, which I wrote about here.Somehow there seemed to be a ton more people out and about this time around. Between K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-20645691511937059562011-12-06T00:00:00.001+09:002011-12-06T00:00:06.900+09:00it's been a year? It had been a little over a year since my last physical check-up, which I wrote about here.This year, I have no idea what Satoshi checked-off for my exams, but there was more things involved this year...Besides the usual pee test and blood test, 2 days prior to my check-up I needed to provide samples for poop tests.First time ever for me to do that...eep!Another first was the chest x-ray and K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-48666151222002563042011-12-05T00:00:00.001+09:002011-12-05T00:00:05.497+09:00pork & veggies simmered curry Friday, I was all set to stay indoors since the weather was forecast for rain.Then mid-afternoon, Satoshi called to say that he didn't need dinner...boo!Who wants to cook?!Well, I ended up cooking what I had intended to because, well, I needed dinner and didn't have any leftovers to re-heat.The recipe that I had picked out, turned out to be really quick and easy...yeah!Pork and veggies simmered K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-67097049141267509062011-12-04T00:00:00.000+09:002011-12-04T00:00:07.377+09:00one tablespoon Dunno if they have this type of thing in the States, but I love Japan because they have things like this.You don't need to open a whole can of tomato paste, a packet is 1 tablespoon.Sure, it isn't environmentally friendly, but when you only need 1 tablespoon for a recipe, it sure is convenient.In fact, if I were to buy a can of tomato paste it would probably cost me more because I've only seen K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-34068320511870128312011-12-03T00:00:00.004+09:002011-12-07T17:21:13.485+09:00meatless Made taco rice the other night. I made it meatless this time, but to make it have some substance, I used eggplant and eringi as the "meat".Meatless Taco Rice : 2 servings"Meat"1/2 tablespoon olive oil1 eggplant, diced2 eringi, diced1/4 onion, diced1 tablespoon taco mix*Cook until onion is transparent and eggplant cooked throughAdd taco mix and stir to coat wellBlack Bean Dip1 clove garlic1 K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-41912500498341947572011-12-02T00:00:00.005+09:002011-12-02T00:00:14.118+09:00easy Whoo! the last day of November was weird. At about eleven-ish at night the wind picked up and it sounded like a mini typhoon outside.The temperature dropped about 10 degrees and was in single digits all day on the first day of December. But get this, they are forecasting the temps to go back up over the weekend. Definitely weird weather this year.Hope the weather is cooperating for you where K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-72649796850986447772011-12-01T00:00:00.004+09:002011-12-01T00:00:08.058+09:00last days of november I know it is December, but I thought I'd share some sights of the last days of November.This one is of the gingko trees in Honmachi. I took this while I was waiting for Satoshi to finish his German language class on Saturday. On a walk on Tuesday...the maple leaves are kind of brownish-red this year. I saw this kodachi-dahlia (tree dahlia) in someone's yard, it was peering over their wall.This K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-24671267536569010902011-11-30T00:00:00.008+09:002011-12-07T17:54:57.164+09:00muffin style Made a half batch of Ellie Krieger's Banana Pecan Bread with a little twist to it.I made it in muffin papers and adapted the recipe a bit. The original recipe asks you to spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. I don't think we have cooking spray here in Japan.Plus, I don't think I have a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. I also used olive oil instead of canola.Anyway, instead of 4 servings (half of the K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-29685404140256168042011-11-29T00:00:00.002+09:002011-11-29T00:00:00.402+09:00joto curry Tokumasa is well-known in Osaka for their curry udon.I was looking at their website recently and noticed that they also have shops that just serve curry and rice.Saturday's lunch was at Joto Curry. Joto means superior, first class.The shop we tried in Whity Umeda only has counter seats.Buy your meal ticket at the door, hand it over, then sit wherever you like.Satoshi tried their potato curry. K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-57277070938775792112011-11-28T00:00:00.002+09:002011-11-28T00:00:02.221+09:00ikeda kintoki Lately I've been walking towards Ikeda which takes about 30 minutes from where we live, and is a little over a mile.I walk that way because the route is relatively flat and there aren't many traffic lights.There is a tiny shop in their shopping arcade that caught my eye...one selling sweet potato treats called Ikeda Kintoki.I bought the plain "sweet potato". The Japanese literally call this "K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-73083953860781713492011-11-27T00:00:00.001+09:002011-11-27T00:00:04.154+09:00funny I know Satoshi tries his best when it comes to pronunciation of words in English, but sometimes it is just so funny what he hears and what he says.Once we were talking about Victoria's Secret and he said they sell "blahs" yeah?! I said, "bras", he said, yeah, "blahs".And then another time we were talking about "pride" and he says, "plied"...The funniest was when I was talking about "baguette", K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-9962640321715627382011-11-26T00:00:00.003+09:002011-11-26T00:00:05.638+09:00foodie couple of days Tuesday was Ii fufu no hi, Satoshi brought home some sweets from Jouvencelle.A matcha daifuku (matcha cake with matcha cream, whipped cream wrapped with a thin mochi) and a persimmon cake (fluffy cake with cinnamony cream, whipped cream then covered with kaki (persimmon)Both were delicious, thank you Satoshi! Wednesday was a national holiday, Kinro Kansha no hi (Labor Thanksgiving Day)The K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-4526760612257406912011-11-25T00:00:00.004+09:002011-11-25T00:00:10.642+09:00new recipes There is a dish that Satoshi and I like at Capricciosa, their tuna and ika (squid) salad.The ika (squid) is boiled and the tuna straight from the can, placed on top of some purple cabbage and lettuce.I found the recipe for their dressing online at Cookpad.com, it's really close to the real deal.Capricciosa-style dressing from Cookpad.com250 cc red wine vinegar10 grams garlic1 tablespoon sugar1 K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-29443086175765958482011-11-24T00:00:00.007+09:002011-11-24T00:00:04.009+09:00giving thanks Thank you for good health.Thank you for more than enough to eat.Thank you for the sun (and the rain).Thank you for family and friends.Thank you for the opportunity to travel.Thank YOU for brightening my day with your comments.Hope everyone in the States has a great Thanksgiving.K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-17388978635123868662011-11-23T00:00:00.004+09:002011-11-23T00:00:09.346+09:00eringi ragout There is a dish at Capricciosa (a chain Italian restaurant) that I like to get, their spicy eringi ragout with pappardalle.I tried to recreate it the other night for dinner and I think I came quite close.Here's what I did: makes 2 servings1/2 tablespoon olive oil1/8 onion, minced1/2 clove of garlic, mincedpinch of chili flakes1/4 red bell pepper, diced180 grams ground beef pork mixture2 small K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-69163718595058362942011-11-22T00:00:00.000+09:002011-11-22T00:00:08.617+09:00new recipes Saturday's dinner was a trial of two new recipes from "Orange Page's Fuyu ni Oishii kondate"The first was chicken with a kinoko (mushroom) cream sauce.Serves: 22 thigh pieces of chicken (about 350 grams total)1 package shimeji, cleaned and separated1 eringi, sliced thinly1/4 onion, thinly sliced1/2 cup skim milk2 teaspoons grainy mustardsaltpepperolive oilHeat oil in pan and cook chicken, skin K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-78003593186167355922011-11-21T00:00:00.001+09:002011-11-21T00:00:01.073+09:00making my own sunshine The weather on Saturday was awful. Rained all day, sometimes in sheets even.Satoshi had to go to class, so we had a quick lunch at Mickey D's.Then he went off to class and I stopped into buy some groceries then stayed indoors for the rest of the afternoon.I've been wanting to make cookies, but most times need to cut the recipe into half or fourths because a)I don't have a large oven and b)I K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-63752243294381057042011-11-20T00:00:00.005+09:002011-11-20T00:00:02.549+09:00"creamy" tomato soup I recently purchased a copy of Ellie Krieger's "Comfort Food Fix".I haven't "read" through the whole book yet, but since I wanted to make tomato soup for dinner, I flipped through to see if she had a recipe...she did.I didn't follow the whole recipe, just parts."Creamy" Tomato Soup adapted from "Comfort Food Fix" makes 2 servings1 tablespoon olive oil1/4 onion, diced1 (400 grams) can of diced K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-19518089902547665012011-11-19T00:00:00.004+09:002011-11-19T00:00:05.956+09:00yuzu marmalade I was hoping to buy a couple of jars of yuzu marmalade, but I think I'm a little too early in the season because I couldn't find any around the Minoo station area.I did come upon a vendor selling 3 yuzu (citron) for 150 yen (there was another vendor selling 1 yuzu for 100 yen!), so I bought some and decided to try making some myself.The skins on most of these yuzu were speckled, so I only used K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-21597009304323431492011-11-18T00:00:00.002+09:002011-11-18T00:00:06.405+09:00ki ki Yesterday, Satoshi had the day off so we went to see "Moneyball", a great look at the financials of baseball.Afterwards we had lunch and then bought something for snack.I got this cream bread that looked like a monkey. This was from the same bakery I bought the rabbit and lion from.The cream filling was banana flavored and the bread was chocolate...delish.Did you know that in Japanese the K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-90715749023401741672011-11-17T00:00:00.002+09:002011-12-07T13:32:11.319+09:00cinnamon rolls Remember those True North almond pecan cashew clusters I told you about?Well, there were a lot of "crumbs" at the bottom...about 1/4 cup worth, that I couldn't see throwing away.Then over the weekend I watched, "Kamome Shokudo" a quirky Japanese foodie movie set in Finland.The main character opens a cafe in Finland and the adventures begin.During the film, one of the items she makes are cinnamonK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-19638653216053273352011-11-16T00:00:00.009+09:002011-12-25T17:27:25.256+09:00fou de france Tuesday after French class a handful of us went to lunch at Benoit.They were having a food event called Fou de France (Food of France). This event was started by Alain Ducasse in order to showcase the chefs who have restaurants in regional France.The chef who would be cooking for us was Xavier Isabal of Hotel Ithurria, a farm hotel that has been around since 1657, located in Ainuhoa, Basque.OurK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-66078140787024821082011-11-15T00:00:00.002+09:002011-11-15T00:00:12.296+09:00world kindness day Did you know that Sunday was World Kindness Day? I didn't.On Monday, I ran into some kindness...a person had a box of persimmons sitting at the front of their house with a note..."please help yourself".I've not seen this around our neighborhood much, but thought it was nice of them, so I took one. Another man, who bypassed me while walking had taken three. The persimmons were quite large. I K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-52715890792004324022011-11-14T00:00:00.003+09:002011-11-14T00:00:08.757+09:00coconut sorbet I made a batch of coconut pearls. When the liquid was still warm, I made a serving of Che Chuoi...yum!After that, we had several servings of cold che chuoi, and then I threw the remaining 1.5 cups of the sugary coconut pearl liquid into my ice cream maker to make coconut sorbet.After taking it out of the freezer, I had to wait almost half an hour before I could scoop it, but it was K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-19385246582009971112011-11-13T00:00:00.001+09:002011-11-13T00:00:06.914+09:00yamaya I heard about this place, Yamaya, and was interested in having Satoshi try this place out. He ordered the gyusuji nikomi (simmered beef scraps)...980 yen this comes with a soft boiled egg, a salad, a big bowl of rice and miso soup.The meat wasn't the best of cuts so it was simmered for a long time and you can tell because it was so tender and flavorful. I ordered the buta shogayaki (pork ginger)K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-1763306362210813282011-11-12T00:00:00.002+09:002011-11-12T00:00:15.980+09:00things I'm liking If you take a look near the left corner of the photo there is a box of sugars.Belle de Sucre, has an assortment of sugars called Meli-Melo. I opened this box of sugars and was surprised, it was only held closed by a piece of plastic around the box.On the inside, the sugar wasn't in a package or anything. Lots of trust in that one piece of plastic...These are cute and colorful. Byron Bay's K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-28590697297943104332011-11-11T01:11:00.001+09:002011-11-11T01:11:00.985+09:0011.11.11 It's 11.11.11 today...Pocky Day here.Not a holiday or anything, but a chance to eat some delicious pocky. Pocky are crackers that look like pretzles dipped in chocolate and decorated with nuts or pureed fruit.In fact, there is another product called Pretz which are the undipped versions of Pocky and are more savory. This Pocky is shaped as a heart...cute, yeah?!It's Friday, have a good weekend K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-30542705263330161202011-11-10T00:00:00.002+09:002011-11-10T00:00:18.603+09:00lanai Thought I only had one goya this year, but found this one hidden...it was about 6 or 7 inches long. I made this into a "champuru" with the goya, lup cheong and egg.This one was really bitter but delicious. The champuru went nicely with a Bass Pale Ale, an English beer, 5.1% alcohol. A little bitter aftertaste but delicious. I was reading up on Swiss Chard and Beets and the info mentioned that K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-67360377485714334462011-11-09T00:00:00.002+09:002011-11-09T00:00:18.857+09:00made in usa A great food find at Kaldi Coffee recently...natural peanut butter.Peanuts and sea salt...that's it.Be sure to mix it well as there is oil from the peanuts on the top.Even after mixing, this was a little more liquidy than I am used to, but delicious all the same.Also, it isn't creamy, it is crunchy. The bits aren't all uniform in size which makes it more unique.It's made in the U.S.A., maybe K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-71742451726684256332011-11-08T00:00:00.005+09:002012-01-30T08:54:30.889+09:00standard bookstore After French class last Tuesday, I had lunch at Standard Bookstore located in NU Chayamachi Plus.I tried their chili dog & drink set...840 yen.There is no table service, after ordering at the counter, they give you a number and when your order is ready, you go back to the counter to pick up your food.Everything on a silver tray (fancy, yeah?!)The chili wasn't too spicy, and could have been K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-18297265469383514032011-11-07T00:00:00.005+09:002011-11-07T00:00:03.604+09:00pupu party Yesterday, the weather was humid, a little rainy.We went to my favorite bakery in Minoo, A Bientot for breakfast and afterwards we did some grocery shopping.And then since the weather was so dreary, we then proceeded to stay indoors for the rest of the day.Dinner was a hodge podge of items...pupu-style (appetizer-style)Pupu #1: shrimp with avocado with chinese chicken salad dressingClean 5 K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-73661975315557852152011-11-06T00:00:00.004+09:002011-11-06T00:00:05.660+09:00hitachino nest beers I've been seeing posts on Hitachino Nest beers for some time now. And found out from Rowena that it was International Stout Day on the 3rd (woo!).Hitachino Nest beers are a craft beer made in Ibaraki prefecture by Kiuchi Brewery. While we have a lot of International beers, I don't see many Japan craft beers in Osaka.Craft beers are called "ji-biru" (gee-bee-roo), literally meaning local brews,K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-52158718964001196882011-11-05T00:00:00.019+09:002011-12-07T17:48:07.613+09:00manapua It's been awhile since I've baked bread, but the weather has been quite summery during the daytime, and I had some time on my hands yesterday, so I finally got around to trying my hand at manapua or char siu bao.Manapua is a food I had growing up and I really like the baked version.I used the same bread recipe that I use for anpan.For the filling, I used some char siu, lup cheong (which I took K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-71702056289371204592011-11-04T00:00:00.011+09:002011-12-09T18:05:46.864+09:00mille feuille You won't find many nabe (hot pot) dishes on this blog for three reasons...on weekdays, most times Satoshi and I eat at different times. On weekends, we mostly eat out. And I don't have a proper donabe (doe-nah-bay = deep ceramic pot).After seeing a similar dish on television, I was itching to try this, but not wanting to go out and buy a donabe, so I made do with what I had...a 10-inch K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-43274375392730895462011-11-03T00:00:00.003+09:002011-11-03T00:00:07.716+09:00danshari Today is Bunka no hi (Culture Day), a national holiday here. Thought I should share something "cultural".The word that is trending in Japan these days is "danshari". It is made up of 3 different chinese characters."Dan" also read as "kotowaru" means "refusal", "decline", "refuse to"."sha" also read as "suteru" means to "throw away"."ri" also read as "hanareru" means to "separate from".In otherK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-74454030112340488602011-11-02T00:00:00.004+09:002011-11-02T00:00:11.592+09:00made in japan Do you have a touch panel screen cell phone?If you live in a country where you need to protect your hands from the cold, then you may want to get a pair of these...MUJI's touch panel gloves.It is such a pain (and cold) to take off your gloves when you need to use your phone, then put them back on after you're done.These special "finger-tips" (thumb and pointer on both gloves) help you maneuver K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-48734926189096654212011-11-01T00:00:00.006+09:002011-11-01T00:00:18.507+09:00cake pops Cake pops...they are all over the web.I've tried them here, and here.My blog friend, Genki also documented her adventures making them, here.It was a rainy day on Sunday, so since I was stuck indoors, I decided to try my hand at making them.I took the easy way out and bought 2 slices of cake instead of making a whole cake. The type of cake I used is called castella, a moist eggy cake that K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-84053900756546807352011-10-31T00:00:00.006+09:002011-12-02T21:23:39.242+09:00things I'm liking It's the end of the month, I'm cleaning out some photos and posting some random stuff I'm liking.The weather was beautiful the other day, so I went to check out Aramaki Rose Park, I packed myself a bento, and went to check out the roses. There was a slight rose fragrance in the air, though the rose bushes looked a little shorter than when we visited in the Spring. I won these assorted coffees K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-82010019843498939532011-10-30T00:00:00.005+09:002011-10-30T00:00:04.626+09:00ze roku There is a tiny coffee shop called Ze Roku in Honmachi that has been in business since 1913.They only have 12 seats and their menu kind of limited...Coffee, tea, cream coffee (ice cream coffee float), iced coffee, ice monaka, ice cream.The nice thing about this place is that it is non-smoking and everything is under 500 yen. Their top seller is their ice monaka. Vanilla ice cream with a hint ofK and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-79233198895934723682011-10-29T00:00:00.003+09:002012-01-19T20:05:55.453+09:00sin choi chow jee yuk Did the title freak you out?! No, it isn't a typo.When I was in Hawaii this summer, I tried sin choi for the first time with Nate.Sin choi is a pickled mustard cabbage that is sweet-sour in flavor.I scribbled down this recipe from my mom's stash.Sin Choi Chow Jee Yuk (Pickled mustard cabbage & Pork) adapted from Honolulu Gas Co. February 1965Make the Sin Choi (pickled mustard cabbage)5 bunches K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-18222318174366990412011-10-28T00:00:00.002+09:002011-11-04T11:49:13.240+09:00goya The temperature is supposed to drop to the lower 10s Celsius (50s Fahrenheit), so I picked the one and only goya that grew this year.It got bigger than a week or two ago...from around 10 centimeters to 17 centimeters! With part of it, I sauteed it with some lup cheong. It was delicious, the sweetness from the lup cheong helped to cut the bitterness. And with the rest I made goya tsukudani.I K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-5188595268878268582011-10-27T00:00:00.001+09:002011-10-27T00:00:01.277+09:00scones If you look through my archives you'll see several many recipes for scones.I've talked about these scones before here, but somehow never shared the recipe.Here goes: Scones adapted from "O-uchi de cafe"180 grams flour8 grams baking powder20 grams sugar55 grams unsalted butter30 cc milk30 grams yogurt1/2 eggCut butter into flour and baking powderAdd sugar, milk, yogurt and eggMix until dough K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17223830.post-22209744438108298822011-10-26T00:00:00.002+09:002011-10-27T19:29:06.202+09:00kabocha & roasted red bell pepper soup I recently threw together this soup with some veggies I had in the fridge.Kabocha & roasted red bell pepper soup: (5) 1/2 cup servingsCook:*1/4 kabocha (pumpkin), peeled & de-seededwaterRoast:**2 medium sized red bell peppers, roasted, skins removed1 tablespoon olive oilSoup:***1/4 onion, roughly chopped1 tablespoon olive oil1 chicken consomme cube3 cups waterpinch of dried thymesalt pepper*K and Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15375282198168168331noreply@blogger.com9