this and that

Did you watch the Queen’s funeral procession, it was so impressive! 

Watching the guards march also brought back memories of marching in parades for high school band and we had to step in the horse poop if it was in our path so as not to ruin our formation..ew

On Monday, it was a holiday, we were waiting for typhoon Nanmadol (#14) to pass, but since it was sunny out, we went down the street, even if it was krazy humid...

and came upon a tiny pocket park with all these higanbana (spider lilies)…so pretty!

I had bought this for lunch, but realized (just before cooking) it is the type that you eat as is without cooking it.

Note to self: read the label instead of buying it because of the cute packaging...sigh.

Umeshu update (month 3): the liquer is getting darker and all the ume have sunk to the bottom, shriveling and all the rock sugar has melted.

Today is another holiday, Autumn Equinox...

it is supposed to rain this weekend and it may also turn into another typhoon.

So, I went to pick up groceries yesterday so we won't have to go out.

I also tried this nikuman (manapua/meat bun) made by LIFE, a supermarket, this one only uses ingredients made in Japan.

It was delicious, though it could've used a little more filling.

Have a safe weekend.

reminiscing

One year ago, we were celebrating the Jugoya

Six years ago, we were making "dust"

Eleven years ago, we were visiting France

Sixteen years ago, we were trying gozasoro

portuguese "bean" soup

Made a small batch of Portuguese Bean soup with a couple of the linguica...my only problem was that I couldn't find a can of kidney beans at the market I was at.

I ended up buying these kidney beans...50 grams.

This product is intended to be added to salads.

And this one with 5 beans and 5 grains...40 grams. 

Tastewise, the soup came out pretty close to what I've had at home.

I'm glad I got to make this.

everything flatbread crackers

Since I had everything seasoning on my mind, I wanted to make a cracker like the one I had bought this summer from Target.

Found a recipe in a crackers and dip cookbook that I have and tried it.

I subbed yogurt for sour cream.

The dough was super sticky and couldn't be kneaded nor rolled out like the instructions said

I suspect I need to cut back the amount of water since I used yogurt.

Next time I know.

Flavorwise it was delicious, but didn't come out crispy.

From the photo in the book, I envisioned lavosh, so these definitely needed to be thinner.

Will try this again.

ps Yesterday was a holiday…we also survived typhoon #14 (Nanmadol), lots of wind and rain, but we were lucky, Kyushu and other areas took the brunt of the storm.

Have a good week.

everything parmesan crusted potatoes

Saw someone's IG when I went down a Reel rabbit hole and came across these crusted parmesan potatoes.

Friday, Satoshi went out to drink with a friend, so I made myself one of these for my solo pupu party.

Adapted from a couple of online recipes.

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F)

Scrub the potato.

Cut it in half

Score the potato, but do not cut it all the way through.

On a parchment paper, put 1/2 a tablespoon of oil.

In a bowl, mix 1/2 tablespoon of parmesan, the "sandy" type, and 1/2 teaspoon of "everything" seasoning.

Put the cheese mixture onto the oil, mix it a little

Place the scored side of the potato onto the cheese oil  mixture

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

NOTES: so easy and so delicious.

Most recipes online make lots of these on a sheet pan in the oven, some use butter but this one used oil.

It probably doesn’t get as crispy but I like to use parchment whenever I bake so that I don't have to scrub anything afterwards.

If you don't like "everything" seasoning, use dried spices that you enjoy that match with parmesan cheese.

this and that

These Vietnamese coconut crackers...baked with mochiko, sugar, coconut and some oil...they kind of stick to my teeth but I like the coconut flavor.

This flyer was in our mailbox, a family is looking for their cat named "Fu" or "who"...depending on your pronunciation...either way, hope you find your way back to your family!

My non-smoking angels (building management) must’ve heard me, they finally put flyers in everyone’s mailbox to remind everyone to be more considerate when smoking....Which means “stop smoking on your lanai”…so stinky!

Also, thankful the neighbors on the floor beneath us moved, their door used to slam whenever they went in and out, sometimes the door would slam so hard that it would shake our front door and because most days it is very quiet, the noise from the door slamming would scare the "beep" out of me...

Saw this on someone's Instagram and it instantly transported me to my childhood...I had this exact same album! (now you know about how old I am)

Tokyo People: This lady with a sun umbrella...I thought no one was behind me and then all of a sudden I heard a voice...she was talking to someone on her bluetooth thingy...scared the "beep" out of me.

Feeling like this furry one...the heat and humidity are back and we also have 3 typhoons to the left, right and center of Japan…eep

It is looking like Japan will fully open soon, they just need to iron out the details...

Have a safe weekend.

sweet sour spareribs

Sunday, I was looking at some of the market's ads.

Since we needed rice, I chose a market that was having a sale.

They also advertised spareribs, so we picked that up as well.

This was the first time I used this recipe (I think), it was so easy and the meat was fall off the bone tender!

The amount of meat I used was a less than the recipe called for, but I made the full amount of gravy.

With some of the leftover gravy, I made ajitama.

The other night, I sauteed some lotus root in a little oil then added 3 tablespoons of the leftover gravy and cooked it until the gravy evaporated and caramelized the lotus root...so ono!

Satoshi said I should use the leftover gravy for fried rice, so we'll try it that way too.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make the spareribs.

From "Recipes Please"

2 pounds spareribs

3 tablespoons flour

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup oil

Gravy:

1.5 cups water

3/4 cup brown or white sugar

1/2 cup vinegar

1/4 cup shoyu

1/2 teaspoon salt

Coat spareribs with flour

Brown spareribs in heated oil

Add the browned spareribs to gravy and boil until tender, approxiamately 1.5 hours.

NOTES: I didn't use the amount of oil it called for and only sifted a little flour onto the ribs.

I brought the gravy up to a boil then simmered the ribs for the 1.5 hours turning the meat every so often because I used a shallow pan.

Luckily I made this early enough in the day so I was able to scrap off lots of the oil before dinner.

My cousin saw my post on Instagram and asked if I used Grandma's recipe, I think it is similar but not the one she used when she used to make this dish.

Our weather still isn't cool enough to be cooking like this but it was definitely comfort food.