Monday, October 13, 2008

odds & ends

Just some odds and ends: This huge carrot was one of two that I got at the supermarket recently for only 98 yen (about US$.98). Most times the carrots are narrow and skinny.

Chili cheese burger at MOS a couple of weeks ago, the chili was spicy, but delicious. Made me feel like I was in the U.S. or Hawaii.


Starbucks has a new "canned" coffee out-- Matcha Latte. I didn't like this though, the flavor was good but it was kind of gritty.
Mini tai-yaki filled with all sorts of creams & bean pastes...delicious.

Instant ramen from Tamakikat which I got a while back and ate awhile back too, these had little Hello Kitty kamaboko in them. Whenever I make instant ramen I usually throw out the soup and only cook the noodles for half the time, I like the noodles to be on the hard side. (Thanks Tamakikat!)

A new tea cup which I bought in the shopping arcade. Every so often different vendors come to a stall in the shopping arcade. I love it when this vendor comes because I can usually buy Aritayaki dishes for 100 yen each (about US$1).



Next door has started construction, it looks like it is going to be 5 or 6 homes. Yesterday they were installing the power lines. Our power went out several times yesterday afternoon (good thing I wasn't on the computer, but some of our appliances in the house kept going off and on). Since I was the only one that flew out of their apartment to see why the lights went out, they came to apologize several times. They also left a letter in our mailbox just in case some of our appliances got broken because of their "outages".

I made a batch of rafute, this past Wednesday and with some of the leftovers made a rafutedon for dinner last night.

To make the rafutedon (2 servings), take some thinly sliced onion, and heat in a pan. Add the slices from 2 pieces of rafute and add 1/4 stock (from when you boiled the pork). Let things heat up. Add some gravy from the rafute and throw in some chopped green onions. Then with one scrambled egg, add it to the pan in two pourings. Depending how well cooked or rare you like your eggs--cook them, then serve over hot rice...delicious.

The rosemary on my lanai must think it is Spring, it has started to flower.

October 10th was apparently tomato day. The Japanese love to take the sounds of numbers and make up different days. 10-10 is toe-mah-toe in Japanese.

We spent the 3-day weekend at my MIL's, lots to tell, will post about it soon. Have a good week.

17 comments:

OkiHwn said...

The rafute and rafutedon looks great!

K and S said...

Thanks Nate, I like this recipe because it caramelizes towards the end.

Take care.
Kat

Jenster said...

The Hello Kitty kamaboko is too cute! And that is one huge mutant carrot. I bought some strawberries once that were about three times the size of regular strawberries. They were delicious but looked so strange I was almost afraid to eat them. My friends and I made a lot of steroid jokes while eating them.

Nate @ House of Annie said...

Matcha Latte? Eww.

I'd rather have that mini tai-yaki.

Were the Hello Kitty kamaboko already in the ramen, or did you buy that separate?

Anonymous said...

I also like my ramen noodles on the crunchy side...with a dash of hot sauce! :)

K and S said...

mutant and steroid = very scary, Jenster :)

some places actually make good matcha lattes, Nate & Annie, the kamaboko was already in the ramen :)

what kind of hot sauce, Lori? may have to try it the next time :)

Take care everyone.
Kat

Anonymous said...

Hey Kat,
I use either Tabasco (garlic or original flavor) or a dash of bottled kim chi sauce.

K and S said...

cool I have both :) thanks for the info Lori!

Take care.
Kat

Barbara said...

Kat a lovely story about the white orchid flowering on your FIL's birthday.

K and S said...

Thanks Barbara, I was quite surprised that it flowered so quickly!

Take care.
Kat

nordwolke said...

What a whopper carrot! :)

K and S said...

Yes Beadexplorer, it was a whopper indeed :)

Take care.
Kat

Phoebe said...

ooo hey Kat, is it possible to make Rafute without having to add Okinawan Sake? A little hard eh? Because the sake is basically the key ingredient of Okinawan cuisine.

Deb in Hawaii said...

I love the fact the orchids bloomed on his Birthday--how special for your MIL. Love the tea cup--my blue and white fetish. The ramen with the hello kittie kamaboko is fun too. Great odds and ends!

K and S said...

hmm not sure what you could substitute with Phoebe, unless you have Japanese sake?

Thanks Deb. I tend to lean towards the blue and white dishes too :)

Take care you two.
Kat

Jann said...

Wish we could buy a decent tea cup for a buck! Now you can sit on your porch with a beautiful cup of tea and watch the building going on outside! Loved all the little clips and photos! Thanks so much!

K and S said...

you are welcome, Jann :)

Take care.
Kat