bird bar

Love the internet!

I've been searching for this recipe for forever.

(A bird bar is what I often buy from Down to Earth in Hawaii, it has lots of seeds in it)

And somehow I stumbled on the recipe on Wanda Adams' blog

which was posted back in 2011?!…who somehow found it online from a man in NYC who reprinted the recipe from Down to Earth from a very old article from HMSA's Island Scene magazine...

Makes about 40

1.5 cup turbinado sugar (raw sugar or brown sugar)

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons canola oil

2 Tablespoons unsulfured molasses

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon egg substitute + 5 Tablespoons water OR  2 egg whites, whisked until foamy

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups uncooked rolled oats

1.5 cup unbleached flour

1/3 cup uncooked millet

1/3 cup sesame seeds

1/3 cup flax seeds

1/3 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/3 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds

Lightly grease 12" x 17" jelly roll pan

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C)

Whisk sugar, oil, molasses, vanilla, egg substitute or egg white

Mix dry (flour, seeds, salt, baking powder, oats)

Combine the dry and the wet and spread evenly in pan

Bake for 18-20 minutes

Cut while warm

NOTES: Because I don't have a jelly roll pan or an oven big enough to bake a jelly roll pan in, I cut this recipe down to make only 10.

I used brown sugar. 

Didn't have molasses so I used honey instead.

wasn't sure if my oats were rolled or not.

wasn't sure if my flour is unbleached

didn't have millet so I left it out.

I only have ground flax seeds so that is what I used

Since I usually bake on my round pizza stone like thingy, I lined it with parchment and scooped out ten-tablespoon scoops

The mixture is quite sticky

My scoops were uneven so some were thin and others were not

AND because the parchment paper was a little oversized, my turntable didn't turn, so the ones at the back of the oven were a little "darker" than the ones in the front

The thicker ones are "chewy" and the thinner ones are "crispy"

The taste is similar to the Down to Earth Bird Bars, will try again and instead pour it out onto my parchment instead of portioning it out before baking

saturday

Yesterday, the weather was sunny and kind of warm...

Breakfast was at Donkey...they named the restaurant after the animal because of the way it works hard.

We pass this shop often but this was our first time trying them.

Apparently the shop has been in business for 30 years!

Bummer they allow smoking, but glad that the chain smoking man left while we were eating...

We'll be back to try their lunch menu (hopefully there won't be any smokers when we go)

Satoshi had to run an errand near our city office, so I took these photos of cherubs.

They are resting on rock stools that are nearby.

Bummer one had lots of bird poo on the stool (I tried to cut it out of the shot)...

Lunch was at a new (to us) place Marimo...a tiny shop.

Satoshi tried their gyoza and gomoku noodle...the gyoza snob didn't care for the gyoza...

I tried the yakisoba and liked it.

The noodles could have been "drier" but I loved that there was lots of veggies in it.

We'll be back to try other items on their menu.

Afterwards we walked up to the baien (ume orchard) where the flowers were 40% in bloom.

The temps have been flip flopping and are expected to go as high as 20C (68F) next week!

Have a nice week.

Donkey
7-12-10 Nishikamata
Ota, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3732.
Closed Sundays
Hours: Mondays-Fridays 8:30-20:30, Saturdays & Holidays 8:30-18:30

Marimo
5-16-8 Kugahara
Ota, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3755.3955
Hours: 11:00-15:00 (Lunch), 17:00-21:00 (Dinner)
Closed Holidays

down to earth

This trip back I was trying to support local businesses as much as possible...

One such business was Down to Earth, I would go quite often that I hope no one actually remembers me...

I found something new that I like there...their dark chocolate coconut chews...so good!

Usually when I go, I pick up a salad from their salad bar.

I think I would go two or three (sometimes more times) a week to get the salad for my dinner.

It's sold by weight...and I almost always get the same things...lettuce, kale, curried quinoa, beets, carrots, hijiki salad, avocado, sunflower seeds.

And pick up some bird bars for breakfasts.

I really want to re-create this...love all the seeds in there, so good!

What's your favorite local business?

ya kun kaya toast & blood oranges

I recently received a bottle of Ya Kun Kaya Toast spread from T. It was our first time trying kaya toast.

It has a slight nutty flavor and isn't overly sweet.

Apparently you should eat it with some butter between two slices of bread...we'll try it this way soon.

Another thing we tried were blood oranges that were grown in Ehime...bummer that these weren't reddish, but they were firmer than the oranges we are used to and they were super sweet!

Thanks T for the kaya toast spread!

the alley

On Satoshi's last day in Hawaii, we went to The Alley for breakfast. In the past, we've gone for lunch, this was our first time trying their breakfast.

Satoshi ordered the spam with eggs (over easy) and fried rice.

I ordered their sweet bread french toast. The pieces of sweet bread were HUGE and coated with lots of cinnamon.

This comes with a bowl of cinnamon apples in place of maple syrup and I also ordered a side of crispy bacon.

Even Satoshi agreed that Japan just doesn't know about crispy bacon.

It was a jam packed 5 days for Satoshi, but I hope he enjoyed himself despite the heat and humidity.

p.s. he emailed to say that he arrived safely!

rocky's, golden pork & foodland

Since we've been hitting most of Satoshi's favorite spots, we went to Rocky's in Waipahu for breakfast one morning.

The weather has been miserably humid and this particular morning it was raining (which actually made it a little cooler). But, the rain caused traffic to be hideous paired with some schools & UH (University of Hawaii) starting.

It was nice sitting in Rocky's with pretty much the place to ourselves.

Satoshi had a loco moco, it looked quite teeny, but there were 2 hamburger patties in there!

I ordered the 2 over easy eggs, corned beef hash with hash browns...I was super disappointed when tater tots came out posing as hash browns...

Other than that, I'm glad we got to revisit this place.

Lunch was with one of Satoshi's friends. We met near his workplace then walked to Golden Pork which is in the spot of Mediterraneo, which is a couple doors down from Tacos Zarate.

This restaurant is apparently from Japan and they do tonkotsu (pork bone broth) soup, which I am not really a fan of. The soup can be quite "heavy" in terms of oil and "porky smells".

Because rain stopped, the weather went from cool to miserably humid, so I ordered their tsukemen.

I didn't quite like that the noodles (which were too thick) were served still "wet" from being cooked then rinsed and that the soup seemed "gritty".

Satoshi and his friend had their black garlic ramen (no photo), this had a thinner noodle.

The gyoza was okay with the crispy outsides, though the filling seemed to be bland.

I think having lived in Japan for so long, I have secretly and scarily turned into a "ramen snob"...gasp!

This place is pricey with bowls starting from $10.50...

It was nice to see Satoshi's friend and great to try a new place (this shop opened in March 2015), dunno that I would come all the way to Hawaii to have a bowl of ramen though.

On the up side, how nice was this mural that I saw on the way to the restaurant?!

I've seen a similar one on Kapahulu, I hope to get a picture of it soon!

The weather doesn't sound like it will be letting up, as there is another tropical depression on the radar.

It seems like I ran away from Japan's miserable weather, only to be hit with Hawaii's miserable weather.

Oh well, c'est la vie.

Dinner that night was an assortment of poke (po-kay) from Foodland and some craft beers made by Rheinlander called Shore Break.

We tried their IPA and Hefeweizen. We couldn't believe Foodland was selling them $1.49 a can! Both seemed fruity with a little bitterness.

Poke in Hawaii is always fresh and delicious, and there are so many variations, I can't wait to re-create some of these at home!

I still have a few more days before my vacation comes to an end, hope you aren't getting bored with these posts...

Golden Pork
1279 S King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone:808.888.5358

e.a.t.

Recently the fruit/vegetable stand I go to had beautiful avocados from Mexico. Usually at the big supermarkets we pay 100 yen or so for a teeny orb, but this time the fruit/veggie stand was selling 2 for 250 yen and they were at least 2 times bigger!

I got this idea from Rachel's blog, La Fuji Mama.

Take a piece of bread and toast it.

Mash up an avocado with some lemon juice.

Top it with an egg cooked to your liking.

Breakfast, lunch or dinner is served.

NOTES: so simple but so delicious! I mashed my avocado with some lemon juice and a little balsamic vinaigrette. I also added a little ground black pepper. I topped my toast with an over-easy egg. And the bread I used was a walnut raisin. I have to admit I added a little too much lemon juice, so it was puckery, but for breakfast, it really woke me up!

What have you been eating?

soup days

We've been having soup in the mornings...sometimes I make us some oatmeal but most days it has been soup.

I try to make the soup the night before so that all I have to do is heat it up.

Too bad Satoshi isn't a morning person, too bad he doesn't get up when I say the food is ready, winter time is worse because he just doesn't want to get out of bed. By the time he comes to the table, most of the food is either lukewarm or cold...sigh.

Hope you are doing well.

the nook

It had been awhile since our last foodie adventure, but I was lucky that blog friend, Deb of Kahakai Kitchen had some time to meet up.

We chose The Nook which recently opened in Puck's Alley.

The place is teeny.

Kinda loud with everyone crammed in there eating and chatting.

But, the food was good.

Deb went with their pork belly benedict--poached eggs, crispy pork belly, English muffin, hollandaise. This also came with some potatoes and toast!

Talk about carbs...

She let me try part of the pork belly and it was really crispy and with the gravy, it was delicious!

I went with the malasada breakfast sandwich (pictured above).

The malasada "bun" holds a house-made pork sausage and an over easy egg.

Look at that ooze!

Sweet and savory, perfect balance.

Deb tried their iced tea of the day and I went with their house-made lilikoi soda.

We were kinda of scared of their metal straws though...

It was fun trying a new place and catching up with her.

There are other items on their menu that I wouldn't mind trying, I'll be back!

Oh and Deb was so sweet to share with me some teas and a Trader Joes chocolate bar! I can't wait to try them. (Thank you!)

Thanks for another great foodie adventure, Deb! I hope you enjoyed our adventure too.

The Nook
Puck's Alley
1035 University Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.942.2222
Open Tuesday-Sunday 7:00-15:00

eat this

I saw this done on an episode of "Avec Eric" and have been wanting to try it.

He made a batch of ratatouille and then he added an egg to it and threw it under the broiler.

We had this for breakfast yesterday.

It was rainy and a bit dreary, so this was nice comfort food.

I should've toasted the bread "sticks"...this was still a fun way to eat ratatouille.

downstairs coffee

Located in the Mercedez Benz store is Downstairs Coffee, a cafe.

I recently had their Brunch Set...800 yen.

This came with a salad topped croque monsieur toast (toast with cheese, tomatoes and mizuna), honey granola toast (toast is topped with honey and lots of cinnamon granola) and vanilla yogurt with frozen fruits on it.

Of the choices for drinks, I chose their Americano.

At 9-something in the morning, to have strobey lights and loud music going, isn't the most peaceful, but I really enjoyed this plate...well, minus the frozen fruits...

I'll be back.

Downstairs Coffee
Grand Front Osaka North Building 1F
Phone: 06.6359.1780
Hours: 9:00-22:00
Open when Grand Front Osaka is

breakfast

Breakfast in our household is usually really simple.

We start off with some papaya and then have some kind of carb (like toast).

Today's was apple cinnamon bread from Larry's Bakery.

Their bread is really good. Soft with lots of apple and cinnamon.

Good toasted with a slather of butter or just as is.

Sometimes I also have some plain yogurt with some fruit.

The cups of yogurt here are a little bigger than the ones we get in Japan, so I usually eat half and save the other half for another day.

The blueberries were HUGE the size of marbles! I've never seen blueberries this big in Japan.

To drink, some coffee or green tea.

What are you having for breakfast?

Larry's Bakery (UPDATE:2018 no longer in business)
4369 Lawehana Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.422.0059
Hours: M-F 6:00-13:00
S 6:00-12:00
Closed Sundays & Holidays

ideas

Got this idea from Pinterest, but I ran into a couple of problems...

My bell pepper was too small and my eggs too big...

I flipped them over to make the eggs, over easy.

Still this was good with a toasted bagel.

Another idea I got from Pinterest, was for oatmeal.

I tried the peanut butter and jelly version...my peanut butter is the natural type so it isn't sweet and the jelly I used was my favorite, guava, the combo was kinda funky...I think I may stick to my original way, just adding dried fruits.

whiz it

If I remember correctly, my first attempt at smoothies was pre-immersion blender, and I think the texture was a bit more "chunky" then because I was using a food processor.

Fast forward to yesterday...Satoshi was on a business trip, so it was just me, myself and I for breakfast.

4 strawberries (about a handful), 1 small banana (12 centimeters, about 4 inches), 1/4 teaspoon ground flax seed and 1/2 a cup of milk.

Whiz it...this one was definitely smoother.

I think my favorite combo for smoothies is strawberry and banana.

Actually I've never really tried any other combo...I should be brave and experiment more.

I also had 1/2 a slice of toast with chocolate peanut butter spread and some black tea.

What did you have for breakfast?

fried rice

I recently bought a packet of Muji's fried rice taco. It is taco rice and fried rice all in one dish.

You need to add your own rice and toppings.

The sauce contains a little ground beef, olives, beans and the taste kind of reminded me of chili.

Unlike fried rice which uses cold (old) rice, this version uses hot (fresh) rice. You first heat some oil in the pan and put your rice in, coating it with the oil. Then add the sauce and try to coat everything well.

Dish it up and add some toppings.

I put some iceberg lettuce, mini tomatoes, cheese, a dollop of salsa & some crushed tortilla chips.

This was good and though the packet says it is for 2 servings, I added more rice and got 3 nice servings from it.

I would get this again for a quick throw together meal.

With the xiang chang I got the other day, I used some of it in some fried rice yesterday for breakfast.

I used some cold rice, chopped onion, char siu, xiang chang, a scrambled egg, some oyster sauce, rice, green onions and black pepper.

It was good and I'm glad the xiang chang tasted like what I thought it would, a little sweet, a little salty.

Next time I make this, I'm added a runny over-easy egg.

sunny side up

When I was learning Japanese, I learned that the name for sunny-side up egg is "medama-yaki". 

So, I was thrown off when I was asked at a restaurant, "katamen" or "ryomen". 

Katamen means one side and ryomen means both sides.

The waitress spoke quite quickly and even Satoshi didn't understand what she was asking. 

Finally, we asked her to repeat what she said...and I chose "katamen" = sunny-side up. 

I gotta say that that piece of bacon was the hardest piece I've ever eaten, ever.

hawaii remembers

What kinds of things did you have for breakfast growing up?

We were lucky because on weekends Mom used to make all sorts of things for my brother and I.

One dish in particular was her peanut butter french toast.

Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (Jelly preferably guava.)

Dip into milk and egg mixture as you normally would french toast and cook with butter.

The version we had recently was different from "small kid times" (childhood) because my mom doesn't buy Love's white bread anymore, only whole wheat bread.

Another nostalgic breakfast is portuguese sausage, eggs and rice.

The spiciness and texture of portuguese sausage is something that cannot be found in Japan, though some chorizo can come quite close.

The egg has to be sunny side up or over easy...anything that will ooze over the plate, picking up some of the "juices" from the sausage, and soaking into the rice.

(Don't forget some ketchup on the eggs.)

Nowadays though, mom "fries" the sausage in the oven without having to stand by the stove (gets out a lot of oil too).

Looking back on the foods we eat nowadays, they have changed considerably from when we were growing up, but the tastes and memories have not.

"breakfast"

During the week, Satoshi usually comes home from work really late.

Like 23:00 or 24:00 (sometimes even later and it isn't because he is out drinking with clients or friends, like most "salarymen" (business men) are).

To feed him a "regular sized" meal at that late hour would be asking for trouble.

Most nights I feed him veggies or soup. Or if it is really late, like after midnight, just a glass of milk.

Kinda sad, since I know he is starving, but unless he comes home earlier, I don't want to risk him getting indigestion or other illnesses from eating so late.

Plus, feeding him a regular meal at that late hour, he wouldn't be hungry the next morning.

So most mornings, I feed him "dinner".

This could be loco moco with a side of chili.

Loco moco is one of Satoshi's favorites from Hawaii.

I cheat with package gravy but he is still happy with it.

Now that spring onions are in season, sauteed, they go nicely with the loco moco.

One morning was taco rice. A favorite of ours from Okinawa.

I think he likes the combination of chips and salsa, but I like it because it tastes "mexican".

Sometimes I serve him mentaiko (spicy pollack roe) or fish. Paired with rice and some tsukemono (pickled veggies).

Sometimes natto (fermented soy beans).

I try to feed him rice rather than bread because that is what he grew up on.

I also try to give him fresh fruit and some yogurt. I know it doesn't match with Japanese foods, but it is probably the only meal for him to get some fruit and calcium in.

Keeping late hours during the week, I try to squeeze in as many zzs as I can and usually wake up a half hour before Satoshi's alarm goes off.

This usually means I only have half an hour to prepare breakfast, though it usually takes him longer to pull himself out of bed. (He is definitely not a morning person! And who could blame him with his inconsistent sleeping habits.)

Because of the limited time in the morning, I usually cook what I will serve him the day before, then heat it up for his breakfast, especially if it is something complicated or takes some time to prepare.

In the morning, I also make a musubi for him to take with him to work which he usually eats at about 19:00 or 20:00 to tide him over until he comes home for "dinner".

Before we met, Satoshi's breakfast was a cup of coffee. Now that we are married, and he eats "breakfast", he says he can't live without it.

By the way, my breakfast is usually oatmeal, toast or granola, fruit & yogurt and my dinner is usually what Satoshi had for "breakfast".

I think I've asked you before, but what do you eat in the morning?

ellie's energy bars

Yesterday, the 3 year memorial service for FIL went smoothly, but I am pooped.

Here is something I've had in my drafts.

I tried Ellie Krieger's Energy Bar recipe from "The Foods You Crave".

If you don't have the book, you can find the recipe here.

I didn't have all of the ingredients, so I kind of ad-libbed here and there.

Still, it was easy to put together, though after baking it, it still smelled and tasted a bit "eggy".

I was looking at other energy bar recipes and I think the next time I try this, I will use egg whites instead of the whole egg.

things I'm liking (for breakfast)

What are you enjoying for breakfast?

I hope you do eat breakfast, did you know that until Satoshi and I started dating, he didn't?!

Now, he says, "he can't live without it" (breakfast).

Anyway, it has been awhile for a "things I'm liking post", so I thought I'd share with you some things that I'm liking for breakfast.

I first heard about Pon juice from Martin's blog.

This is one of the first "local" orange/citrus juices that is a juice made from 100% mikan (tangerine)grown in Japan.

Most others add grape juice or other fruits to come up with the 100%, leaving you with only a smidge of orange in there.

On the container they are called "pom" but the katakana reads "pon".

It is a little pricey, but worth every "penny", especially since they don't use a lot of preservatives or colorings. I think the label only lists 2 ingredients, the mikan juice and a preservative.

We'll be drinking this often.

It is strawberry season here.

The other day, while I was at the market, these caught my eye.

Hinoshizuku are grown in Kumamoto and are really sweet.

I debated whether to get them because they were quite expensive, 599 yen (about US$5.99) a container, but I'm glad I did. In the container there were 2 layers, total about 35 or so berries.

They are sweet and delicious, perfect for our mornings.

Nisshoku's quick oats. On their site it says that they are the first company to bring oatmeal and cereal to Japan in 1929.

Everything grown in Hokkaido and don't you just love the can?

I bought the quick oats at Seijo Ishii but noticed on their site that they have a rolled oats, which I'm interested in trying. I hope I can find them somewhere.

In the meantime, I have Bob's Red Mill Thick Oats in the container, which I brought back from one of my trips to Hawaii.

I recently found these kiwi, I've mostly seen the ones from New Zealand but these from Shikoku (Ehime) caught my eye...198 yen (about US$1.98) for 5.

They were a little tart and a bit on the unripened side but were great with plain yogurt and homemade granola made with pecans, pistachios and dried cherries.

Is there something you are enjoying for breakfast?