so...

So, I went to the post office yesterday to pick up those new foodie stamps that I had ordered...

Well, the lady at the post office misunderstood me and only reserved 1 sheet of 10 stamps!

I wanted 10 sheets totalling 100 stamps...

The problem lies with the counting system in Japanese...

When I said, 10 "mai" (flat pieces of something) the lady took it to mean 10 stamps...

I needed to say I wanted 10 "sheets".

No problem though, I bought more from another post office down the street.

Lesson learned and I realize that counting in Japanese is still confusing.

On the up side, how cute are these stamps! Can't wait to use them for our overseas nengajo (New Years cards).

Have a nice weekend.

kei-chan

Kei-chan is chicken that is simmered in a spicy miso sauce. We got a chance to try this dish back in September when we visited Gujo Hachiman.

This dish reminded me of Hokkaido's chanchanyaki, except that chicken is used instead of salmon and chanchanyaki is made on a large hot plate.

Kei-chan : 4 servings :adapted from the internet
1 large chicken breast, skinless and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cabbage, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Sauce
2 tablespoons shoyu
2 tablespoons dashi (stock)
1 clove garlic, grated
1 nub ginger, grated
2 tablespoons miso
2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tablespoon sake (rice wine)
1/4 teaspoon tobanjan (chili paste)

Mix all ingredients for sauce and set aside.
In a heated pan add the oil, onion, cabbage, red bell pepper and chicken
Cook until chicken is cooked through.
Add sauce and let simmer until cabbage is tender.
Serve over rice.

NOTES: Actually, I added the red bell pepper to give the dish some color, you could also add some carrots or other veggies too. If the sauce is a bit thick, you can add a little water to thin it out. Also, try to use a dark miso rather than white miso. I really liked how easy this was to put together and it was great on rice. I'm making this again.

daily stuff

　The daytimes have been warm (hot!) while the early mornings and evenings have been quite cool.

Last night we had quite a rainstorm. No thunder but it was coming down quite hard.

Today, I went to the post office to get their Star Wars masking tapes. They are really cute!

Also in preparation for the end of the year, the post office is bringing back the foodie stamps. This year's version is of ramen & sukiyaki.

Last year I was late to the game and wasn't able to get enough stamps for the cards I send overseas.

Since the stamps go on sale tomorrow, I put in an order so that they could keep some aside for me.

How is your week going?

throw together dinner

Sometimes I get into a rut as to what to make for dinner.

Usually when I feel like this, then "laziness" also follows...

Not really knowing what I wanted to eat, I decided to use a can of sardines and bake something off in the oven.

I sautéed some spinach, red bell pepper and onion.

Then I mixed some diced tomato sauce with some garlic and anchovy.

I cooked a little amount of quinoa.

And then I put everything into a baking dish and topped it off with some panko, parmesan and a little pepper.

Then I baked everything for about 5 minutes then under the broiler for another 5.

Relatively fast, easy and definitely delicious.

What did you have for dinner?

marc de iguchido

The other day I passed by a new café, Marc de Iguchido. On Friday, I went to check them out.

Apparently they've only been open a week!

Since it was only 10:30, I tried their cocoa nib honey with seasonal jam toast and an iced coffee.

The owner was apologetic as she was still trying to find her "groove".

The toast comes with a little butter, a dollop of cream cheese, some seasonal jam (apple) and some cocoa nib honey.

The iced coffee was cold brewed...thank you!

I am definitely going to re-create this cocoa nib honey. The owner said that all she did was put some cocoa nibs into some honey for about 3 days!

So good on toast but I think this will be nice on yogurt too.

She doesn't have many items to eat on her menu, and I think her prices are a bit pricey...for the toast and iced coffee it was 820 yen (with tax).

I'm glad I tried this place and hope she'll be able to make a go of it.

I'll be back when she adds more food items.

Marc de Iguchido
3-2-3 Iguchido
Ikeda, Osaka
Phone: 090.6249.4135
Hours: 12:00-21:00 (call before going, as hours & days off not really set)

golden niagara

Japan has many variety of grapes, so many that we haven't tried all of them.

Recently the little fruit/vegetable stand that I often visit had these Golden Niagara grapes...2 bunches for 298 yen plus tax.

Since we'd never tried them, I picked some up.

They have a musty green-yellow color and the fragrance is super sweet.

But, they have TONS of seeds and the "skins" are quite bitter.

Oh well, at least we got to try these.

using up some leftovers

The other night for dinner, I wanted to use up the leftover chicken I had made.

I also had some cheese that I wanted to use up too, so I thought baking it with some veggies and a little pasta would be a good way.

I was feeling a bit lazy and didn't want to grease any pans to bake everything in, so I decided to make individual origami boxes out of parchment paper.

If you'd like to try, take a 20 cm (7.8 inches) x 30 cm (11 inches) piece of parchment and follow these directions here.

I sautéed some spinach, red bell pepper, onion and maitake in some olive oil.

I also made a béchamel sauce using this recipe and used soy milk in place of the milk.

The cheese didn't brown up as I had envisioned, but it was a delicious way to use up some leftovers and clean-up was a snap.

If you do use the parchment origami boxes to bake in, do not place them directly onto the rack, instead use a metal tray.

Enjoy!

banapple

It's been two years since I've heard about the banapple. The price has finally come down to something sane, so we finally got to try this.

It is definitely not like an apple banana, the kind we like in Hawaii, but the fragrance and taste is definitely apple.

Satoshi was happy to hear that these can be stored in the refrigerator...ahem!

I'm glad we got to try this.

check-up

Throughout the year you'll see these big vans parked in front of office buildings. I've even seen them in front of small businesses in our neighborhood.

They come to give the workers physicals.

Guess there's no way out of getting a check-up.

Do businesses where you live have something similar?

autumn corn chowder

The other day, I wanted to make corn chowder.

But, I wanted to incorporate autumn ingredients.

So, I diced up some purple onion.

Sauteed it with some bacon.

Diced up some sweet potato.

Added 3 cups of water and cooked the sweet potato until soft.

Then I turned down the heat, added a can of corn, sliced okra and cleaned maitake.

I cooked these until they were just heated through.

Then I added a cup of soy milk and some black pepper and turned off the heat not wanting to boil the soy milk.

Dinner was served.

What are you enjoying these days?

matcha tea soda

I recreated the matcha tea soda that I had in Kyoto.

Put 1 teaspoon of matcha into a bowl and add 1/2 a teaspoon of light brown sugar.

Add 2 ounces (about 60 milliliters) of hot water (not boiling) and whisk until frothy.

Add some ice to a glass and pour the matcha in.

Then fill the remainder of the glass with soda water.

NOTES: Not as green as the one I had in Kyoto but still really refreshing. I'm making these again while the daytimes are still warm.

undokai

During this time of year, many schools hold an undokai (oon-dough-kai) or sports day on the weekends.

Many games and relay races are held on campus, parents also participate in some races too.

Some children perform dances.

We don't have children so I've not experienced this first-hand.

I was shocked to see all these tents when we passed by an undokai recently.

About the middle of the photo you may be able to see the crowd, they are all holding cameras in hopes of getting a shot or video of their child running in a race or two.

Some schools are too small to hold their undokai so they often borrow the field of bigger schools.

I've also heard that they don't allow the children to be competitive, there aren't awards for 1st, 2nd, etc, as it damages self-esteem, WT?!...where's the fun if there is no competition?!

Growing up, we had May Day, where each grade level would perform a dance for the May Day Court, usually consisting of 6th graders who were chosen to represent the King, Queen, Prince and Princesses of the Hawaiian Islands, as well as for parents and for family members that could attend that day.

Do you have undokai where you live?

sweet sour meatballs

The other day I was craving sweet sour meatballs, luckily, there was a recipe in one of the cookbooks I have.

Barbecued Meatballs makes 12 meatballs : from "Wisteria Delights"

Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef (turkey or chicken)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cups milk
3/4 cups oatmeal (uncooked)
1 tablespoon fat

Barbecue Sauce
1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
1.5 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1.5 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
2 teaspoons prepared mustard

Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs except the fat and mix well.
Shape into 12 balls.
Brown the meatballs in hot fat in skillet.
While meat browns, prepare barbecue sauce.

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and pour over meatballs.
Cover pan and cook about half an hour more.

NOTES: First off, for the meatballs, I only used diced onions and a pork-beef mixture.

I should have added the milk and oatmeal to keep the meatballs moist, they were a little tough.

I cooked the meatballs under the broiler for about 10 minutes.

Instead of using 1 cup of ketchup, I used a can of diced tomatoes.

I cut the sugar back to 2 tablespoons.

I didn't have worcestershire sauce, so I used tonkatsu sauce instead.

I also should have added the mustard and shoyu like the recipe said because this turned out to be more on the sweet side.

Still this hit the spot, one of my favorite comfort foods.

UPDATE: nowadays I make the sweet sour sauce like this:
1 can diced tomato
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
.5 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon shoyu
1 teaspoon grainy mustard

boiled peanuts

The other day while walking past a fruit stand, I noticed they had small bags of raw peanuts (175 grams, I weighed it) for only 100 yen each.

I bought a bag and turned them into boiled peanuts.

These were good, we like them half-cooked, so they have a crunch to them.

Perfect as a snack or pupu (appetizer).

kurokawa dahlia park

A good 30 minute walk from the Myokenguchi station is the Kurokawa Dahlia Park.

Since we visited the area earlier in May, we knew about the park and looked forward to seeing the dahlias during Autumn.

Also, since we knew the area didn't have places to eat, we packed a little bento (tamagoyaki (rolled omelette), pickled cabbage, peanut nishime, assorted musubi & asian pear)

The park itself isn't too large, but there were many rows of different varieties of dahlia.

The bees were happy...

some were bigger than Satoshi's face!

We made a lot of "friends"...

With admission, they also give you some seeds to try growing your own dahlias, I'm definitely going to try next Spring.

It was a beautiful Autumn day, this park is a bit out of the way for us, but it was nice bonding with nature, we'll be back next year!

Kurokawa Dahlia Park
389 Kurokawa aza-Ochiai
Kawanishi, Hyogo
Phone: 072.702.7830
Open early to mid-September until early November
Hours: 9:00-16:00
Admission: 300 yen for high school students and adults

end of an era

Our VHS player went to heaven the other night.

I was shocked because it was working perfectly a couple of days before.

Guess it's the end of an era.

We're hoping they can dub our wedding video over to DVD for us.

As for the VHS movies we have, guess we need to get rid of them, since our public library won't even accept them...sad, yeah?!

The part that was the most scary was when I unhooked the VHS player, our TV didn't have any picture...

It took me several tries and various combinations, but in the end I figured out how to get the TV picture back.

For a moment there, Satoshi and I thought that we needed to go out and buy a new TV...whew!

Anything exciting happening where you are?

whoo!

The best part of entering a contest is forgetting that you entered said contest and then the prize comes in the mail.

That's what happened when we received this by special post the other day.

I usually don't like to answer the door when the door bell rings because most times it is a salesman or religion related...boo!

But, I'm glad I answered the bell the other day because it was this nice gift to one of our favorite sushi places nearby!

Apparently, we had entered their drawing over the summer.

We'll definitely use these soon...thank you!

menu

Usually on the weekends, Satoshi and I run into the same question, "where to go for dinner"

We have several places in our rotation but instead we decided to try Menu for dinner.

This is the place I went with my friend Hiromi, for lunch last month.

We arrived at the restaurant at about 18:00 and didn't have a reservation, it was nice that they had some tables available.

We both ordered the dinner course...2980 yen each.

This came with an antipasto plate (salad with poached chicken and proscuitto, marinated tako (octopus), a slice of edamame frittata, togan (winter melon simmered in orange juice), and cabbage terrine filled with smoked salmon and topped with a consommé gelée).

Soup...satoimo (taro root) soy milk potage

Pasta...Satoshi chose the komatsuna (Japanese mustard greens) pesto with potato...I thought this would be bitter but it went nicely with the potato and pasta.

I chose the house-made sausage and eggplant with almond peperoncino...the sausage had lots of herbs in it and the pasta was spicy with lots of garlic, I also liked the crunch of the almonds.

Main dish...pot roast...super tender and I liked the green risotto that came along side, lots of parmesan cheese in it.

Dessert...sweet potato roll cake with pear compote...nice with strong coffee!

With dinner we also had glasses of wine...540 yen each.

We enjoyed this meal, service was a little slow but what can you expect when they only have one chef and one waitress, the glasses of wine were adequate servings, not like some we've encountered at other places.

Since they use a lot of seasonal items, we are looking forward to coming back when the next season rolls around.

We'll be back!

foodie friday in kyoto

Got to catch up with Tamakikat last Friday.

We met up at the Tea Channel, it is a teeny tea shop.

After ordering, you can take your drink to-go or sit at their counter.

Since I arrived in Kyoto early, I ordered an Uji matcha tea soda while I waited for Tamakikat.

The guy whisked up some matcha, then added a little kibizato (light brown sugar) and then added some club soda.

Super refreshing and only a hint of sweet, I want to re-create this!

We then walked toward Kyoto Gyoen, the Imperial Palace & Park.

On the way, we stopped at Hitsuji, a tiny doughnut shop and picked up a snack.

Tamakikat had their sweet potato doughnut (filled with sweet potato paste) while I chose their earl grey filled with cream cheese.

The doughnut was light and fluffy with flecks of earl grey and filled with lots of slightly sweetened cream cheese...mmm!

We sat in the park eating and chatting while trying to figure out where to go for lunch.

At first we thought we would go for Vietnamese food, but then changed our minds and went for Korean instead.

Somushi is a quiet place, the interior is quite dark and I liked that you couldn't hear everyone's conversations.

We both had the bibimbap.

This had lots of veggies, a soft boiled egg and some minced beef.

Lunch also comes with some wakame (seaweed) soup and corn tea.

After lunch, we thought we would walk along the Kamo River.

While making our way to the river, Tamakikat showed me a chocolate shop that recently opened in her neighborhood, Bel Amer.

I've tried their chocolates before, but what caught our eye were their soft serves (take-out only).

Dark chocolate, vanilla or mixed...we both chose mixed.

Perfect for the warm autumn day that it was.

After walking along the Kamo River, we said our goodbyes.

It was a super foodie day, filled with lots of talking and walking too.

Thanks for a great day, Tamakikat!

Tea Channel
266-2 Shikibu-cho
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Phone: 075.555.8438
Closed Tuesdays
Hours: Mondays 12:00-20:00, Wednesdays to Sundays 10:00-20:00

Hitsuji
355-1 Ooicho
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Phone: 075.221.6534
Closed Mondays & Tuesdays
Hours: 11:00-19:00

Somushi
73 Ookura-cho
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Phone: 075.253.1456
Closed Wednesdays
Hours: 11:00-21:00

Bel Amer
66 Masuya-cho
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Phone: 075.221.7025
Hours: 10:00-20:00
Days off not set, call before going

peanut nishime

After trying peanut nishime in Tokoname, I wanted to re-create it.

My mom and aunties make nishime, mostly for special occasions (or whenever my Grandma wants to eat it) but I've never written down their recipe.

I've also never tried making it myself.

Apparently, adding peanuts to nishime is a southern Japan thing.

I looked online and there were many recipes to choose from.

I adapted this one a bit because the original recipe did not specify how much dashi to use.

Also, the original recipe had chicken in it and I wanted to leave it out.

I was happy that when I went to Kobe, I found raw peanuts at the halal store.

Peanut Nishime : adapted from the internet

handful of peanuts (raw)
4-inch piece of renkon, cut into 1-inch slices then cubed
1 carrot, cubed
1/2 konnyaku (devil's tongue jelly, about the size of your palm), use a spoon to make bite sized pieces
16-inch piece of gobo, cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups dashi (stock)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
3 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
3 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
1 cup water

Put all ingredients into a pot and put in 1 cup of water.
Bring to a boil.
Then put an oshibuta (drop lid) on for 10 minutes, drop heat to medium
After 10 minutes, take the oshibuta off and add the dashi, sugar, mirin, shoyu & sake
Cook on medium for 20 minutes.

NOTES: I cooked this until the peanuts were half-cooked because I like that "crunch". Cook longer if you want the veggies and peanuts to be tender.

At first I used 4 cups of dashi but ended up with way too much "soup", so I would cut it back to 2 cups.

I have a little more peanuts and "soup" left, so I will definitely make this again (soon)!

Hope you have a nice weekend, we have a 3-day weekend here.

cubi di legno

Yesterday, Hiromi and I walked to Cubi di Legno, a new Italian restaurant near the Makiochi station.

They have counter seating as well as several tables.

I like how the place is brightened up with all the windows.

We both ordered the pasta lunch...1300 yen (tax included).

Lunch started off with a salad...this one had some kaki (persimmon) and roast chicken...loved this with their vinaigrette.

They also serve you house-made grissini and a cubed bread...fancy!

Hiromi chose their chicken pasta while I chose their sanma (pacific saury).

The pasta is also made in-house.

Everything is lightly seasoned, so good!

Lunch ended with coffee or espresso...Hiromi chose an iced coffee while I went with an espresso.

I wouldn't mind coming back here for dinner...I'll be back!

Cubi di Legno
1-2-7 Hyakurakuso #102
Minoo, Osaka
Phone: 072.734.8989
Closed Mondays
Lunch: 11:30-14:00, Dinner: 17:30-21:00

taste test

This past summer, I received two different beef jerky chips.

One from Mich, which is made by Chyler's and sold at Side Street Inn (on the left).

And one from Jalna's cousin, V, which is made by Paradise Jerky (on the right).

Chyler's was crisp but "softer" than Paradise Jerky.

Flavor-wise both were good!

I won't say which was better than the other because they were both delicious and good in their own way.

Thanks for letting us try these Mich & V!

this and that

Sorry it has been quiet here.

For a couple of days now, I have been trying to view a blu-ray DVD that my friend gave me. At first, I thought I could use the public library's player...nope they only allow you to view DVDs that are at the library, you cannot bring in your own...boo!

Then, I rented a player from Tsutaya, a CD/DVD shop...after getting the player set up, I still couldn't view it!

I called the maker of the player as well as Tsutaya....turns out the disc was bad...something about it not being finalized...have spoken to my friend and she said I could watch the shows at her house...whoo!

Fast forward to today, I had an appointment to fix my crown (this has also been ongoing). Today was putting the crown on...took all of 10 minutes and I have to go back next week for cleaning...boy, do these dentists like to drag stuff out!

While sitting in the waiting room, I noticed their flower arrangements...kind of harvest-y, autumn-y, foodie.

After my appointment, I walked over to Nakanoshima Park.

The rubber duck is back.

Mona received the giveaway box, so now I can show you what was inside...a Uni-Qlo Star Wars T-shirt (this won an award or something), Kabuki Face Masks, a Hello Kitty Moleskine notebook, a musubi holder, green tea, Japanese-y post-its, colorful furikake, oil blotting paper, masking tapes, and some candies and cookies (not shown).

Another 3-day weekend coming up, hope your week is going well.

foodie friday in kobe

Satoshi's went on a trip for work, so I have a couple of days to myself.

Thursday, it rained all day, so I stayed indoors, reading and just chilling out.

Yesterday, it was sunny, so I headed out to Kobe.

In the morning it was chilly, so I was wearing a long sleeve cotton shirt and a trench coat but by the time I reached Kobe it was blazing! I ended up carrying my coat around.

I had envisioned buying some baked goods at Ça Marche, but apparently they are closed this whole week...boo!

Bummed, I went a couple of doors down to Kitano Grocers to check out their spices. I picked up some seedless tamarind and fenugreek seed.

The lady at the check-out was surprised with my purchases and said, "most Japanese don't buy these items".

I mentioned to her that they were used in a curry recipe book I have, so I wanted to try the recipes with them.

She was very happy to hear this.

Then I went down the street to Kobe Halal to see what other spices they had. I picked up some curry leaves and raw peanuts (not shown).

Everything was super reasonably priced...love these shops!

Since it was nearing eleven-ish, I headed down the hill to L'Ami for lunch.

This tiny shop only has a "U" shaped counter with about 15 seats.

When I got there half the seats were already filled, and everyone seated were female.

I ordered the beef stew omelette...864 yen (tax included).

The omelette is fluffy with lots of sliced onions in it. The beef in the stew was so tender. The demi glace sauce was a little sweet.

Lunch also came with a small salad, miso soup, rice, some tsukemono (pickles) and a slice of orange.

The food comes out pretty quick and the turnover quite fast.

There are some items that Satoshi would like on the menu, we'll be back!

After such a big lunch, I wanted to walk around a bit, so I went in search of Coffee Stand Frank.

It was about 10 minutes away from L'Ami.

This is also a tiny shop, where you stand at the counter and drink your coffee.

Not knowing what it was, I ordered an iced shakerato...330 yen.

Turns out it is a espresso, that is shaken like a martini.

Apparently it is supposed to be shaken with some simple syrup, but when the barista asked if I wanted it sweetened, I told him I didn't.

Different but good! I'll be back.

Fun Foodie Friday...enjoy your weekend!

L'Ami
3-4-3 Sannomiya-machi
Chuo-ku, Kobe
Phone: 078.327.7225
Closed Mondays
Lunch: 11:00-14:45, Dinner: 17:00-21:30

Coffee Stand Frank (UPDATE: 2016 they moved and are now called Coffee Labo Frank)
3-1-11 Sakaemachi-dori
Chuo-ku, Kobe
Phone: n/a
Mondays-Fridays: 7:00-20:00, Saturdays: 10:00-20:00, Sundays & Holidays: 10:00-19:00

things I'm liking (kinda disliking)

It's been awhile since I did a "things I'm liking" post so here goes....Starbucks Fruit Crush Tea.

I had entered to win a free sample of their new Fruit Crush Tea which starts October 1st on their menu...and they sent me an e-ticket to try it before it went on their menu! whoo!

The base of this drink is an English Breakfast tea. There is a sweet (almost sickly) syrup and dried fruit bits.

Kind of reminded me of the sweet-tart flavor of hibiscus tea, but sweeter.

I think if they cut back on the amount of syrup, this would be nice.

I'm glad I got to try this.

Have you tried the Brownie Batter Oreos?

The aroma when you open the package smells just like brownies.

The cookie doesn't match the sweetness of the cream though.

Oh well, at least I got to try this one too.

During this time of year there are different grapes that are in season.

One is the pione (pee-oh-nay) (in the photo on the right). They are rather large orbs and this particular variety is seedless. Super sweet like grape candy. The skins of these grapes are tough and quite bitter, so we usually peel them while eating them.

The one on the left was new to me, it's called shine muscat. The skins of the grape are soft enough to be eaten. These were seedless also and a different sweetness than the pione.

I'm glad the fruit stand that I shop at had both of these on sale, it was nice trying them.

Love Quinn Popcorn.

I had seen this at a couple of food shops here in Japan...but guess what?!

They were selling it for 3 times the price that it is sold for in the U.S.

Actually for some reason, I had thought they weren't US made but European.

When I was in Hawaii, I found out they were being sold at Target (my fave place to shop!)

For a box they cost about $5 with two packets in it.

I guess that would be considered pricey, but, I thought it was worth it because they don't use all the "junk" ingredients that most microwave popcorns use.

Also, a good thing about this popcorn is that you can "nuke" it, or if you don't have a microwave oven, you can pop this on the stove!

So far, we've tried the Butter & Salt flavor...which was nice.

I also bought Vermont Maple & Salt and Parmesan & Rosemary...which we'll be working through this winter.

What have you been enjoying lately?

garam masala pork and apples

I don't know about you but I don't like soggy apples.

Whenever I run into one, I always try to bake with them.

Yesterday, gave me the perfect chance to try this recipe I copied from "Family Circle".

Garam Masala Pork and Apples : Serves 4
Ingredients
3 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 sliced Honeycrisp apples
1 sliced red onion
1 can (15oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 teaspoons garam masala
4 bone-in pork chops (8oz each)

Directions
Combine canola oil, salt, pepper, ground ginger, and cumin. In prepared sheet pan, combine apples, onion and garbanzo beans.
Toss with 2 tbsp of the oil mixture.
Combine garam masala with remaining oil mixture and brush over pork chops.
Arrange chops over vegetables and roast at 450F (230C) for 18 minutes. Broil 2 minutes.

NOTES: I didn't have Honeycrisp apples, and used the soggy one that I did have. I also couldn't get bone-in pork chops and just used what I could find.

I would cover this with foil while roasting, since the onions were still on the raw side, then take the foil off to put everything under the broiler.

Flavorwise, I liked this...I'll try this again.