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

whoa

Friend Mayumi sent me this photo the other night...

“I'm sending you some grapes”, she said.

She said, “My friend grew Shine Muscat but they aren't super sweet”

I should’ve known when she said, “I cut the stems so I could fit more in the box”…

 

the box came the other day

when the post man delivered it, he said, "it's heavy" before putting the box in my hands...

I weighed it and it was a little over 4 kilos (8 pounds)!

I tasted some, it wasn’t super sweet like shine muscat usually is, but at least they weren’t sour/tart

I put some into the freezer, I would give some to our building’s cleaning lady but because they aren’t super sweet, I don’t think I should...

We’ll try to eat as much as we can and I’ll try making jam too

Thank you M!

shinano dolce

It had been some time since I went to Benny.

On the way, I noticed that the shop that I used to get bun nem ran & thit nuong (fried spring roll and bbq pork) from, was not there anymore...boo!

And a wagashi shop that we discovered during the pandemic had also gone out of business (back in May)...their sign said that they had been in business for 55 years!

so sad to see the neighborhood change...

While in Benny, I needed some kind of fruit for breakfast...I bought a new (to me) variety of apple called Shinano Dolce which was grown in Nagano Prefecture.

The young lady working the cash register, rang this apple up wrong, so I brought it to her attention.

Since the people working the registers do everything by sight (old skool), no scanning, she was shocked that she had mistaken the variety of apple

After checking with the produce staff, she found out that she indeed had mistakenly charged me the wrong price.

So we got things all sorted out and some money was refunded...

This wasn't crisp like the Fuji apples we enjoy, but it was still delicious.

I'm glad we got to try this.

ps Typhoon 22 (Halong) is supposedly passing to the south of Japan today, hoping there won't be any damage

shoe goo

Back in September 2024, I bought my first pair of Oofos sneakers...it lasted me the winter, though it wore out in what I thought was weird places (my other shoes in the past wore out differently)...

I bought another pair in May 2025...

Instead of throwing out my first pair, I bought Shoe Goo

I remember my dad used to fix his shoes with this and I'm glad Japan imports this.

So I fixed the heel 

and the ball area...

I think I should've bought the clear version rather than white...

I noticed that the pair I'm wearing now is also starting to wear down in the same spots

Now I’ll have two pairs to rotate between.

memory

When I was in college, I  kinda had a photographic memory.

Like whenever I took tests I could visualize my notes, and see where on the page I had written the info needed to answer the test question.

These days, I can kinda remember things I've seen, just have a hard time remembering where or when I saw it.

Like this photo.

I thought I had posted about it on the blog, and wracked my brain trying to look for it there, but it turned out that it was only on my Flickr.

Thank goodness that they haven't deleted any of my "excess" photos for their 1000 photo limit.

With City Bakery's chocolate banana pound cake, I tried toasting it and putting crunchy peanut butter on it, but this hardly had any banana flavor...boo!

Still glad I was able to find the photo I had seen in my memory so that I could finally go to sleep...

ojigi n style

Learned about Ojigi n Style from a television show.

The FIL of the owner actually makes mamegashi which translates literally to bean treats 

Not only are dried beans used but peas, nuts and peanuts too.

The original shop was called Shofukudo, a shop that was in business since 1933 

The owner then took over Shofukudo and changed the name to Ojigi n Style in 2021.

One of his latest creations is Takoyaki Nuts...instead of tako, peanuts are covered with a crunchy outside and topped with takoyaki sauce and aonori just like takoyaki

Love the packaging too!

Turcarri Kaajoo is apparently Hindi for the “highest flavor cashew”

The cashews are coated with a crunchy curry flavored coating.

Temari are balls that are covered with embroidery, they are colorful and take time to make

These are also called temari and are all sorts of colors and flavors

These use katsuo dashi, konbu dashi, usukuchi shoyu and koikuchi shoyu, they are also coated with different nori, and flavors

Fun to eat, some look like they would taste the same but each are different

Hatsusugata, literally the first appearance/shape is the original product that Shofukudo used to sell.

The owner of Ojigi n Style continues to make these and hasn't changed the way it is made or the flavor

I'm glad we got to try all of these, all except the cashews remind me of iso peanuts, which I grew up eating in Hawaii.

If I see these the next time I’m in Osaka, I’ll definitely pick some up

this and that

"someone" finally realized that using a sun umbrella is not only for women...got him this one from Hands (used to be Tokyu Hands) since they were kinda on sale
 

huge fuji apples

reconnected with onipan their baguette sandwich filled with ham and cheese was tasty though I kinda burnt the top in the fish grill when I tried to heat it up...

unfortunately their cinnamon roll had way too much cinnamon in it and was so bitter!

"mcgyver"-ed our vacuum handle which was already pre-mcgyvered and broke

So I taped on one of these handles

I know I should just get a new vacuum but I recently just bought new vacuum bags for it so I want to use that up before getting a new vacuum

Bob Bagels' pumpkin hummus (half)...670 yen (tax included)

Cacao kokuto (black sugar) pink pepper bagel, kale salad (wilted kale dressed with vinaigrette), steamed pumpkin mixed into hummus, topped with pumpkin seeds and za'atar...love!

Sounds like a lot going on but everything balances each other out.

I think the kale salad makes things a bit "wet" and soggy though.

still would get this one again.

So humid sometimes cool, sometimes hot...still kinda wearing slippers...some days not

Hopefully it will get cooler soon...

inari eggplant

Saw this on IG and had to try

Inari Eggplant seen on IG : suntory japan & tanoshoku megumi, serves 2

2 small eggplant, peeled then  cut in half

2 aburaage, cut in half

hot water

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon powdered dashi

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon shoyu

After peeling eggplant, wrap in plastic wrap and nuke for 1 minute

With hot water pour over aburaage to take off some of the oil

Open the aburaage pocket and put in one half of the eggplant in

Put the filled aburaage in a shallow pan/pot

Add the powdered dashi, water and sugar

Bring up to a boil, turn down the heat to low, use drop lid, cook for 5 minutes

After 5 minutes, add mirin and shoyu

Cook for another 5 minutes

NOTES: The first time I tried this, the aburaage wouldn’t open up, so I couldn’t put the eggplant in (photo of 1st try)

Also I think the person who created this recipe used way smaller sized eggplant (or had larger aburaage) because half could not fit in one pocket

(The eggplant that I bought was small about 4 inches long)

Instead of powdered dashi and water, I just used 1 cup of cold brew dashi*

*(put 1 dashi packet (tea bag like thingy) into 4 cups of water and "cold brew" overnight in fridge)

I had not noticed using a drop lid when I scribbled this down, but used it the second time

Both times, I ended up cooking this longer because the eggplant was still firm, even after heating in the microwave

Taste wise it is like the aburaage in kitsune udon or inarizushi

Even though this didn’t come out exactly as the video on IG, I like the idea and would make this again.

shinbashi & akasaka

Satoshi wanted to check out some things for another upcoming tour so we headed to Shinbashi

While he does his checking, I usually hang out somewhere

One thing I did while I was waiting for him was watch the Shinkansen pass by....short video here.

After he checked what he needed to, we headed to Akasaka.

Again, while he checked things, I waited for him.

When he was done, we went to get some lunch at Authentic. 

It was my second time here, and first time for Satoshi.

The owner cooks everything to order so it does take time and on this day, he had just seated 9 people, so we would need to wait quite awhile if we wanted to eat there...

At least there were seats at the counter, so while we waited, Satoshi organized his notes...FYI do not sit at the counter unless you want to smell like you just cooked hamburgers…ha!

Satoshi had their egg burger with bacon...1290 yen plus 220 yen (plus tax)

And he also had a cup of coffee...400 yen (plus tax)

Satoshi said he enjoyed his burger

I had the chili cheese burger with oolong tea 1550 yen plus 440 yen (plus tax)

Loved this, the chili could have been a little spicier but was still delicious.

The chili was different because there were potatoes and olives in it

I started off eating it from the paper wrapper, but it got too messy so I switched to knife and fork

The fries were better on this day.

After lunch, we went back to Shinbashi for Satoshi to check out more things

A lot of times what he is checking is the train station, where to get off, where things are located, so that he can guide his clients smoothly.

It was quite a long day but he got to check all the areas he was concerned with.

caraway

Have had Caraway on my "to try list" for some time now

They have been in business since 1974 and serve different curries and hashed beef (hayashi rice) if curry isn't your thing.

The lines are always krazy long but we went at about 16:00-ish and only had to wait about 20 minutes or so for a table.

Love the retro interior

There are 4 types of condiments...chutney, takuan, another type of tsukemono and fukujinzuke

Satoshi chose their beef curry and their regular portion of rice (550 grams!) 930 yen (tax included)

Kat chose their chicken curry and their small portion of rice (300 grams!) 800 yen (tax included)

Both meals came with a small salad

First off, their portions are huge! especially the rice and their prices are super reasonable

300 grams of rice for me is about 3 servings!

Their curry is super flavorful and has a slow burn.

I tried some of Satoshi's and it was super beefy!

I also gave some of my curry to Satoshi since he had so much rice.

The vinaigrette on the salad was super puckery and help change things up.

Since the other pickles looked like tsukemono that I’ve seen/tried before, I only tried the chutney, which I think was mango chutney.

I overheard a person who I think was a regular customer and she ordered the child's portion...will definitely do that next time.

Another thing I thought was cool was they sell their curry frozen so you can eat their curry at home (and without having to stand in line), would definitely want to try this too.

I'm glad we got to try this, would like to try their other curries too.

We'll be back.

Caraway

2-12-20 Komachi

Kamakura, Kanagawa

Closed Mondays

Hours: 11:30-19:30

*cash only

chikaramochiya

Chikaramochiya has been in business since 1690!

Their most well known item is the Gongoro Chikaramochi

Oblong shaped mochi is topped with oblong sweet bean paste

I read something online that if you purchase this, it needs to be eaten that day.

Unfortunately they do not sell this version individually or in small amounts.

We instead tried their Gyuhi Chikaramochi...120 yen each

This version has gyuhi (soft mochi) wrapped with sweet bean paste

This is bite sized and perfect for trying.

I'm glad we tried this and would get this version again.

Several things in this area of Kamakura that I had been wanting to see...

Gokurakuji station...which has been used in many J-dramas

Gokurakuji...very peaceful temple

And Goryo Shrine...there is a train crossing right in front, so you can see the train up close...short video here.

We were surprised to learn that Goryo Shrine is right around the corner from Hasedera!

Chikaramochiya

18-18 Sakanoshita

Kamakura, Kanagawa

Closed Wednesdays

Hours: 9:00-18:00

*cash only

idobata

Been wanting to try Idobata’s pour over coffee for some time now

In his family's garage, this grandpa works out of a teeny truck and makes delicious cups of coffee

Choose your coffee

Choose hot or iced

Prepare to wait 

It was nice to sit and talk story with him while he made our cups of coffee

He is super knowledgable about coffee

Satoshi had their Costa Rica served hot...500 yen (tax included)

Kat chose his iced Kenya…600 yen (tax included) so smooth!

Will come back next time I am here

Idobata

2-14-13 Hase

Kamakura, Kanagawa

Closed Thursdays

Hours: 9:00-17:00

*cash only

shamoji

Saturday Satoshi wanted to go to Kamakura to check out some things for an upcoming tour

I don’t remember paying admission (pre-pandemic) to see the Great Buddha (maybe I forgot) but apparently now they charge admission

I waited outside while Satoshi checked out the things he needed to

We then went down to Hasedera, again I waited outside while he went to check out the things he needed to

Lunch was at Shamoji which I had bookmarked

It is a small restaurant serving teishoku (set) style meals

Satoshi chose the 3 local fish sashimi teishoku 2100 yen (tax included)

He said he enjoyed this

Kat chose the fried aji teishoku 1500 yen (tax included)

loved the citrus dressing on the salad under the fish

and the hijiki was delicious too

I’m glad we got to try this place and would come back again

Shamoji

1-15-2 Hase

Kamakura, Kanagawa

Closed Tuesdays

Hours: 11:30-15:00 (lunch), 17:00-21:00 (dinner)