this and that

70 yen each plus tax seedless kaki 

tea season...dong ding oolong from kaldi

 

2 kinds of mint tea

muji has kinmokusei and oolong tea! super fragrant

halloween doughnuts from earlier in the month!

when your kitchen is on the 2nd floor and the only way to get your refrigerator into your house is from the lanai...

sunset earlier this month...silhouette of Mount Fuji

more of the same sunset..

dunno if your news has these stories, but there have been many bear incidents these days, especially in Tohoku and they are even in the city!

Can you believe they saw some in Morioka?! we were just there this summer!

hoping Halloween & the weekend will be a safe one for everyone...

whoa (part 3)

I told you about this grandpa's parking skills and then he got a new van. (photo 2018)

Well, he finally hit something....

Yesterday, as he was trying to park, his foot slipped and "boom" he went into the iron gate that is next to his parking space under the 2nd floor (photo 2023)

I only heard the "boom" but gathered from his motions to his wife when she came running out, that his foot must've slipped.

I'm glad he didn't take out the property wall or the water drainage thingy near the property wall.

aiyah

the tall leaves are freesia.

as you might be able to tell, they have eaten all the blood orange leaves 

not too sure where the other green one went because I only saw1 left...

hope the one alive, didn't eat the other one...

today, there are no caterpillars left…guess it left because never have any more leaves to eat

oh well, hoping the blood orange can revive over the winter

kinmokusei

If you've been reading our blog, you know that I enjoy the fragrance of kinmokusei (sweet olive) and associate it with Autumn.

This huge tree caught my eye as I passed by, so I went up to see what it was
 

Huge!

Most times kinmokusei are tiny bushes, I think this is the biggest one in our neighborhood.

butternut squash

When I found the brown rice at the market I usually don’t go to, I also found a huge butternut squash!

I say huge but it may not be as huge as the ones that are in the US.

This squash has slowly been getting popular here.

I’m happy that farmers here are growing it since I always see it on social media being used in various recipes.

I used part of it to make soup.

I also used part of it to make a butternut squash salad.

I poached some chicken brest, added dried cherries, pistachios, sunflower seeds, quinoa and baby leaf.

For the dressing, I mixed grainy mustard, balsamic vinegar and maple syrup.

If I see butternut squash at the market again, will definitely get more.

kaki no senmon

Bought some kaki (persimmon) treats from Nara.

Kaki no senmon is an online shop that specializes in everything persimmon that started in 1965.

I purchased these Kyosho no kaki (tiny dried persimmon filled with a chestnut paste)...not too sweet, love it!

We also tried their kaki no ha cha (persimmon leaf tea)...there is a slight persimmon fragrance and slight sweetness even though nothing is added.

Persimmon leaf tea apparently has lots of vitamin C, so this will help us during the upcoming winter.

One other item I purchased was their yuzu maki kaki, this was similar to something we tried in Toyama

This version is yuzu kanten that is rolled with dried persimmon.

The yuzu flavor is really light, almost non-existent

I'm glad we tried all of these.

I would definitely buy their tea and chestnut filled kaki again.

oboro towel

Been wanting to change our towels for some time now.

Finally bought these from Oboro Towel, a company from Mie that has been in business since 1908!

These are so soft!

These two (left) were smaller (33 cm x 100 cm) than US sized bath towels and smaller than Japan sized bath towels.

I then ordered two more Japan sized bath towels (60 cm x 120 cm) and two face towels (32 cm x 85 cm).

I like that they are made from cotton and made in Japan.

I want to order two more bath, but will do that at another time.

this and that

still paying for those krazy signs...

"no smoking all over the toilet"..."once the fire alarm in the toilet has functioned, a guard will rush to the site and check it out"...ha!

They are in their "green" stage...I told them if you eat all the leaves at once, no more...

we had renkon patties with oroshi daikon for dinner one night

hamburger on one side...diluted mentsuyu and added grated daikon

kinmokusei (sweet olive) are blooming...the smell of autumn to me

walked part of senzokuike...the magazine that I usually reserve at the library is now no longer available to check out, you gotta read it at the library, so I went to read it then went to Himmel, a favorite bakery of mine, afterwards.

To get to Himmel, I needed to walk part of the pond...

niccori pear...so huge!

This week was kinda krazy...especially with the weather getting so cool all of a sudden...I heard that Mount Fuji had its first snow

Hope you have a nice, safe weekend.

krazy

The price of brown rice has really gone up, plus it has been hard to find (again!)

In the past (like a year ago) I've bought a 2 kilo (5 pound) for under 1000 yen, it's now between 1950 to 2400 yen!

I think it is because many people now have their own machines to remove the outer layer from brown rice to turn it into white rice.

Anyway, I'm glad I found some at a market that I don't always go to.

And just as we were all complaining about how krazy hot it was, Mother Nature slammed us into winter!

I think the weather dude said that the high was gonna 14 C (57 F) but with the rain it felt like 10 C (50 F)

But, the temps are apparently supposed to roller coaster up and down...Mother Nature is krazy...

Hope it is stable weather where you are!

back to parla

After lunch we went toward the Palace where it started to rain, guess who never bring his umbrella?!

So Kat let him use her umbrella and waited under a covered area while he went to check out stuff for his next tour.

It was kinda muggy with the rain, and I was craving something cold

Our first choice had quite a line, so we went back to Parla for crepes and coffee instead

Satoshi chose their Crepe Tatin, baked apples, vanilla ice cream, honey & calvados. He enjoyed this with a hot coffee

I chose the Sicilian Emerald, pistachio, marscapone, griotte cherry (a type of sour cherry) and vanilla honey. This was so ono!

I love their iced coffee too.

Satoshi got to check out the areas he was concerned with and we got to try a new (to us) lunch place as well as revisit a favorite sweets place.

Hopefully the tour goes smoothly.

fish

Satoshi has another tour coming up and wanted to check out the Tokyo station area.

Lunch was at Fish, an Indian curry shop that I marked the last time we were around here.

Choose your main curry from the eight that they have (7 different kinds plus 1 daily special).

2 curry combo, choose a main curry then choose between keema or mixed bean 

3 curry combo, choose a main curry then add their keema and mixed bean

Choose the amount of rice

Add toppings (prices vary depending on what you choose)

Satoshi chose their shrimp curry and added their keema. He had their regular portion of rice and didn’t add any toppings...1550 yen (tax included)

He said he enjoyed this.

Kat had their fish curry and added their mixed bean. She had their small portion of rice and didn’t add any toppings...1400 yen (tax included)

The fish was cooked perfectly, HUGE! crisp and light!

There was also a scoop of mashed potato, pickled onions and pickled daikon, half a boiled egg and a papadum (no need to add on toppings!)

My first experience with papadum wasn't too good but this version was delicious, light and crisp.

close up of the mixed bean curry...

loved the tile too!

and the lighting!

would definitely come back here...I'll be back.

Fish

Marunouchi Oazo B1F

Chiyoda, Tokyo

Hours: 11:00-21:00

Closed when Marunouchi Oazo is

this and that

we finally ate all the fresh grapes...there are still a ton in the freezer, but at least we can move onto other fruit for now...

been wanting to try this brand of yogurt.

when I first saw it online, the only way you could purchase it was to subscribe to a plan and they would send it to you.

not knowing how it tasted, I didn't want to commit to anything...I'm glad they are in the markets these days.

it is a little thicker than what we are used to but I'll get this again if I see it at the market

beni imo (purple sweet potato) ice cream from Family mart...delicious! with sweet potato paste, sweet potato ice cream and whipped cream

the temps should be going down to single digits (C) for us next week, hope it is nice weather where you are.

dean & deluca

tried their spiced mayo chicken spinach sandwich...it totally looked like egg salad but this was spiced (curry/turmeric) mayo mixed with chicken and some mashed potato...love their pickled onions and bread.

the bread has walnuts and raisins in it.
 

I thought Dean & Deluca only made muffins and quick breads, but they also make hard type of breads

we'll try their brown sugar, walnut and pecan bread for breakfast tomorrow

and their 6 grain bread with leftover soup tonight.

Our temps have dropped quite a bit, but it is still hard to figure out what to wear.

getting creative

During this time of year have been seeing grapes used in savory dishes

I recently tried using some of our shine muscat in a “sheet pan” dinner

If you've been reading our blog, you know I don't really have an oven big enough for a sheet pan to fit, so I always roast/bake on the microwave's turntable/pizza stone thingy.

I first roasted the kabocha in the oven for about 15 minutes then for the last 15 minutes, I added chicken marinated with mayo and ras el hanout spice and the grapes

In a pan, I wilted kale and red onions and added lemon dressing before serving

This was delicious and a nice way to use some of the grapes...we still have more to eat, plus more in the freezer....

marron gold

Tried a new (to me) variety of sweet potato called Marron Gold

After scrubbing it and cutting it in half 

I rubbed some olive oil on the parts that would touch the parchment paper and baked it in a 200C (400F) oven for 1 hour

This was delicious! sweet

instead of tasting like sweet potato though, this reminded me of those Chinese candied carrots

was reading about this variety, it is apparently grown in Ibusuki, Kagoshima and because they registered the name, it can only be called Marron Gold if it is grown in Ibusuki, Kagoshima, so this variety is apparently "rare" to come by.

I’m glad we tried this and will get it again if I see it at the market

aiyah

Back in July we had a butterfly...the same type we had back in September of last year.

Well, guess what I found the other day...two more caterpillars...

guess our blood orange tree is listed on their places to eat  list

the tree hasn't really recovered from last September...

and right now there aren't too many leaves left...

hoping the tree won't die...

ps we are waiting for typhoon 23 (Nakri) to pass by, 22 (Haling) did a lot of damage on Hachijojima and looks to pass there again, hoping everyone will be able to stay safe

darumaimo yaki

Came across darumaimo at the market.

It is similar to nagaimo and yamaimo, it has a higher starch content which makes it really nebaneba (sticky)
 

I cooked it like okonomiyaki except I didn't add any flour

It was really soft, but delicious

I'm glad we tried this and will buy it again if I see it at the market.

tokushima shine muscat jam (compote)

Adapted from "Mes Confitures" by Christine Ferber and online recipe by Cainz DIY

600 grams muscat grapes

100 grams sugar

1/2 of lemon juice

Rinse grapes, take off the stems and re-rinse

Cut in half and check for seeds

Add sugar

Add lemon juice

Mix everything and put into refrig overnight

Next day, put into a pot and bring to a boil

Skim off any scum

Cook about 5 minutes

Check the set

Put into jars and seal

NOTES: I ended up cooking this longer than the 5 minutes that the recipes said to.

Next time, I will either put the macerated grapes before cooking through a sieve, or the cooked grapes through a sieve so that I can get rid of the "skins"...probably the latter

I also think I should probably cut the grapes up smaller so that it will "break down" more, these kinda stayed "whole" and firm.

This isn't sweet and grape-y like the purple grape jam/jelly (because the variety is different) I know but this is still delicious.

p.s. I guess more than "jam" this was a compote (fruit sauce)...we tried this on oatmeal pancakes...my favorite way to eat pancakes these days are with greek yogurt, some kind of jam/compote, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds