pop gourmet popcorn

I wrote about Pop! Gourmet popcorn previously here and here.

Since Valentine's is coming up, some stores brought in a new flavor, their infused chocolate caramel with sea salt.

Love this one!

The chocolate coating is infused with caramel (or is it the other way around?!) making it more like a toffee coating. And there is just the right of sea salt sprinkled on each piece.

Like I said when I posted this on Instagram..."I'm glad it was a single serving, after tasting a couple, I wasn't about to share"

I'm really glad I got to try this one.

How is your week going?

creme de caramel au beurre sale

I don't know about you, but I am easily influenced by what others blog about...like creme de caramel au beurre sale (aka salted butter caramel sauce).

If I can't find it where I am, then I'm interested in trying to make it myself.

Anyway, awhile back, Kathy travelled to France and enjoyed jars of this stuff.

I happened across bottles of this in an import shop in Osaka and bought one to try.

It wasn't the exact same brand that she had tried but it was still from Bretagne (Brittany), France, where this type of sauce is well-known.

In fact, this sauce was darker than the one she tried.

I put it in the refrig and finally opened the bottle the other night.

I was amazed because even with the sauce being kept in the refrig, the sauce is soft, spreadable.

I zapped a tablespoon of the sauce and drizzled it over vanilla ice cream.

The sauce still stayed soft even on ice cream.

It was delicious! Salty and sweet. I think the next time I'm trying this on pancakes, I should actually try making crepes...hmm.

UPDATE: this is good on pancakes, tried it yesterday at breakfast.

milk jam

In Japan, in the jams and jelly section of the markets, I've seen bottles of milk jam. Most are pretty expensive and rather large, so I've never bought them to try.

Then throughout the blogosphere, I saw many people trying their hand at making dulce de leche from condensed milk and I realized that milk jam is similar if not the same thing.

I was wandering a Japanese bookstore when I came across the "Cerfeuil's Dip & Paste" book. Cerfeuil (which means chervil in French) is a chain store around Japan which makes jams, dips and pastes. I think I saw a store in Kobe the last time I was wandering about.

As I flipped through the book they had all sorts of recipes, some using mayo, some using cream cheese, and some jams.

The section that particularly caught my eye was the "milk jam" section. The original version only used three ingredients...I bought the book.

On a recent trip to the supermarket they had some cream on sale which to me was a sign to try the milk jam recipe.

The book lists an original which they call "plain", one with earl grey and one with vanilla beans...which one should I make? I thought about it and then came up with crazy idea to use the ingredients for 1 recipe, then cut it into thirds so that I could try making them all (piggy? maybe). I figured instead of having just 1 cup of 1 flavor, I could have 1/3 cup of each.

I measured everything out as best I could, breaking a recipe into thirds is not easy.

I started with the original. The recipe didn't advise how long to cook the mixture and since I didn't know what the consistency should be like, I got a bit impatient and took it off the heat when I thought it was right, but it was still liquidy.

I then moved onto the vanilla version. This time I cooked it for about 30 minutes and waited until it got to a soft caramel consistency.

I washed out the pot then put back the original version to take it to a soft caramel consistency, which took about 5 to 10 minutes...if only I had been more patient the first time around!

Then, without washing out the pot, I moved onto the earl grey version, again cooking the mixture for about 30 minutes.

I tried a little of each for my afternoon tea. On unsalted soda crackers, it reminded me of the namacaramel (soft caramel) that I tried in Hokkaido. Each version was delicious.

It was also good on some ice cream, I nuked a little of each and poured it on top. I was surprised that most versions stayed soft on top of the cold ice cream.

Here's the original recipe with the variations:
translated from "Cerfeuil's Dip & Paste" makes about 200 grams (about 1 cup)

Original:
200 ml cream (about 1 cup)
250 ml milk (about 1.25 cup)
80 grams sugar (about 12 tablespoons or 3/4 cup)

Put mixture into a pot and cook on low, stirring with a wooden spoon for about 30 minutes until you get big bubbles, when the mixture changes color and consistency, take it off the heat and carefully pour into a bottle.

Earl Grey:
20 grams (about 3 tablespoons) earl grey tea
80 ml hot water (about 1/3 cup)

Steep tea for 5 minutes and add to the above sugar-milk mixture, follow the directions above for cooking.

Vanilla:
1/2 vanilla pod

Split the pod lengthwise and scrape out 1/2 a vanilla pod with the back of your knife and add to the above sugar-milk mixture, follow the directions above for cooking.

NOTES: If you can measure your ingredients using metric, the recipe will be closer to the original than with the converted measurements in parentheses. I used skim milk, 35% fat cream and light brown sugar (because I don't buy white). If you can find a bottle with a wide mouth it will make it easier to pour the hot mixture in without burning yourself. The only problem I had with this recipe was figuring out how long to cook it and keeping myself from eating the whole thing out of the jar. I can't wait to let Satoshi try this.

Enjoy!

hanabatake bokujo nama caramel

Okay, so let's take a semi-break from chocolate and fly on over to Hokkaido.

The Hanabatake Bokujo's (literally flower field ranch) nama caramel (soft caramel) are the latest craze in Hokkaido (well, actually all over Japan). Whenever this company is featured at various department stores in Japan, they sell out in a snap.

These candies are made by hand, even wrapped by hand, and are really soft but they do not stick to your teeth when you bite into them.

Friday, before meeting up with our tour, Satoshi and I had arrived in Sapporo early. Since it was too early for lunch, I "convinced" Satoshi that we should have some dessert.

The place was pretty busy but we got a table at the Hanabatake Bokujo Cafe rather quickly and ordered their caramel set. This came with a slice of caramel rolled cake, caramel souffle (like a whipped cheesecake), a piece of caramel, a piece of strawberry caramel, caramel sauce to spread on two crackers or to put into your coffee, a piece of caramel coated with white chocolate, and your choice of drink. 1470 yen (about US$14.70). (Actually we were lucky because the set originally only consists of the rolled cake or souffle not both. The only reason we were able to get both in our set was due to a special for the Sapporo Ice Festival.)

I ordered one set with coffee and another coffee for Satoshi. Satoshi said he didn't want any dessert but ate his half very willingly. The cake was quite dry, the souffle was really light. I liked the strawberry flavored caramel as there were bits of strawberry in it. We both agreed that putting the caramel sauce into your coffee was a no-no and that spreading it onto the cracker was really delicious.

I can see why the Japanese are crazy for these, they are good, not too buttery or too sweet, I'm glad we were able to try them. As we left the cafe, the line to get in was around the corner and also on the 2nd floor (where they have a little shop), another line had massively formed to buy the caramels (we were both glad we weren't in either of the lines) (see the picture above, the guy wearing the cowboy hat is a store clerk who is indicating the end of the line. These people were waiting to be able to go into the shop for the 11:00 delivery of caramels).

p.s. Today is a national holiday here (National Foundation Day) so Satoshi has the day off.

"reading"

I've been "reading" this Japanese book on tea time in Europe. The author visited several European countries over 10 years and talks about her observations as well as the different tableware and food items for each of the countries that she visited. The thing I love about this book is that the photos are beautifully taken and there isn't too much narrative....why?

One thing when I "read" Japanese books is that I usually need to look up kanji (Chinese characters) that I'm not familiar with (and that is usually a LOT). I usually take out my kanji dictionary, a Japanese-English dictionary and I also write down the kanji that I don't know into a notebook. (I have had this kanji dictionary as well as the Japanese-English dictionary since college.) If I don't have a lot to look up, I usually write the kanji and meaning in the margin of the book.

By writing down the kanji in a notebook, as I am "reading", I can look back at the words I have looked up and it usually helps me "read" the rest of the book a little more easily. As you can tell, since it takes so much effort, I don't usually "read" a lot of Japanese books.

So, I was reading the chapter on Holland and the author talked about warming caramel waffles (stroopwafel) on top of her mug. (Man, I wish I knew about this when Satoshi and I were visiting Amsterdam in 2000). Of course after reading about it, I needed to try it for myself.

Since I was near my favorite gourmet supermarket on Tuesday, I picked up some stroopwafels as well as two new teas.

Pukka had a black spiced chai tea & BOH had an earl grey with tangerine. (Pukka also has a herbal chai and a green chai, the green chai uses green tea.) I usually make my chai with black tea and fresh spices, but was interested in seeing how a teabag type would taste.

I immediately brewed a cup of coffee when I got home, and put the first waffle on top. I don't think I waited long enough because the caramel didn't get gooey.

After finishing my cup of coffee and the waffle, I surfed around on the net then had dinner. Then for dessert, I brewed a cup of chai using the Pukka tea, while I was waiting for the tea to steep, I placed my other waffle on top.

The waffle got so soft, it almost fell into the cup! The chai was delicious, though I think I should have steeped it for longer.

I've read some blogs that Starbucks has a caramel waffle, I will have to check if ours does.

p.s. I also tried the BOH earl grey, it was very citrusy and fragrant and delicious with a splash of milk.

odds & ends

It is the last day of November, so let me clear out some photos.

It is soup season. My vegetable soup is always with whatever veggies are in my refrig or whatever I find at the market. I add a can of diced tomatoes and the seasonings are usually a consomme cube, several shakes of Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, sometimes a dash or two of Tabasco. For this version, I put in some kabocha (pumpkin), sweet potato, shimeji (type of mushroom), carrot, eggplant and onion. I also added some leftover rice...it was a nice way to warm-up for dinner.

I am addicted to these. On a recent trip to the 100 yen store, I found these Tohato Caramel corn in a chocolate spice version...the original version is pretty addicting, so this version takes it up to another level.

The sweet-salty caramel puffed corn is coated in chocolate then dusted with black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, clove & all-spice....the scary part is that they are only 100 yen (about US$1) a bag and I can eat the whole bag in one sitting.

On Foodbuzz, I've had this recipe for taco seasoning bookmarked and finally got the spices together. It is a nice blend and it went nicely in my taco rice, beats the package taco mix.

Recently I bought eggs....check these out...they have expiry date stickers on each egg...talk about wasting trees. You may also be able to see a piece of paper in the background, they also have the expiry date on them.

We're heading to the last month of the year....so fast, yeah??

henri le roux

Remember I went to the Salon du Chocolat, last month? Well, while I was there, I found Henri Le Roux's counter in the basement of the Shinjuku Isetan Department store (the same store that the event was held at) .

His C.B.S. (Caramel au Beurre Sale) is his most famous item. I had heard of them from my host-brother's wife, she is also a foodie and had given me a package of these which didn't last a day!

In the showcase, he also had other caramels, so I bought an assortment. There was Tartin (apple), Chocolat (chocolate), Framboise (raspberry), Orange & Gingembre (Orange & Ginger), as well as C.B.S. I like the original (C.B.S.) the best.

Today is Valentine's Day in Japan, the day when women give men chocolates, which I think is totally wrong, the giving should be both ways. Women shouldn't have to wait for their gift to be reciprocated (or not) a month later on White Day (March 14).

keeping warm

What are you drinking on those cold, nippy mornings, afternoons and evenings?

I find that I am drinking all kinds of warm beverages during the day. I say warm because I cannot drink them when they are hot. In Japanese, they call this nekojita (cat's tongue). I'm not sure why but maybe it is because a cat cannot gulp down milk and can only lap at the milk?

Tea has become something of an obsession with me. Before moving to Japan, I had never drank so much tea. Now, I think I drink it 3 times a day!

Tea Palace's Organic Lavender Grey is a nice blend of Earl Grey with lavender and some citrus bits. Brewed it is very aromatic. I love it with some sugar and some milk.

Kusmi Tea is delicious. I tried their Caramel and Chocolate Spice. Both are good straight and mellows with a splash of milk in it.

Hediard's Melange is a mixture of bergamot, citrus and black tea. When you open the can a sweet aroma wafts from the can. Although this was a nice tea, I was a bit disappointed that the sweet aroma doesn't stay with the tea after it is brewed.

I also brew some herbal teas and green teas too depending on what mood I'm in.

Cocoa has become a great evening cup with me, a warm mixture of milk and chocolate. Some are too sweet though, like the Les Confitures a l'ancienne and Monbana cocoas.

Bittersweet's cocoa is really delicious, they actually grind up chocolate for their cocoa, it has a nice balance and isn't too sweet.

Mariebelle's Spicy Aztec cocoa has a kick, it is good, but I still have a hard time getting everything to melt.

And then there is always coffee. Cafe Lola's arabica is delicious and dark roasted. It makes a nice foundation for a cappucino.

Ooh and there are times we have chai too.

I hope to explore more warm drinks with the winter months coming up. What are you drinking to keep warm?

p.s. Zorra has uploaded the Round-up for World Bread Day. Last year there were 113 entries, this year it went up to 183! There are lots of delicious entries from around the world, if you have some time, check them out!

it's autumn, right?

The days surely don't feel like autumn, I'm talking low 80's (26C) during the daytime. Oh well, I shouldn't grumble, at least there is no humidity.

Since there isn't much happening in my kitchen, I thought I'd share with you some new things I came upon.

Haagen Dazs came out with 2 limited edition flavors--Bitter Caramel and Noisette Chocolat. The Bitter caramel was smooth and creamy, not sure why they called it bitter because it wasn't. The other flavor was Noisette Chocolat, a hazelnut ice cream swirled with dark chocolate ice cream. Both were delicious.

In the beer department, Kirin came out with a stout. It wasn't smokey in taste, but it was very dark and easy to drink.

And to round everything out, there was Koshu grapes. These were a let down--not sweet at all. Plus the skins were tough and bitter and there were tons of seeds.

Oh, well, 3 out of 4 isn't so bad. Hope your week is going well.

foodie monday

Today I met my host-mom in Kobe for lunch, it is about a 45-minute train ride from our place. Last year, when I had lunch with her, she had mentioned about going to lunch at the Kobe Kitano Hotel. But with all the busyness throughout the year, we were only able to get together today.

The hotel has two restaurants, one fine dining restaurant and a cafe, igrek--where we had lunch. The hotel also advertises the "best breakfast in the world", I've heard that they serve fine quality breakfast items here. We ordered the weekly lunch.

It started off with an appetizer of proscuitto that is aged for 22 months, a small caprese salad and watercress.

Next was the daily soup--a pumpkin potage. This was really sweet and creamy.

Our main dish was fried tai (sea bream) with a kabu (turnip) puree (the white sauce) and the kabu leaves puree (the green sauce)--the fish was tender and the sauce, creamy.

For dessert, I chose an orange layered mousse with chocolate bottom. They also served it with a raspberry puree and grapefruit sorbet.

Everything was delicious and we enjoyed chatting while we ate.

My host brother's wife, who is also quite a foodie, gave us these delicious butter caramels made by Henri Le Roux. They will be having a Salon du Chocolat in Tokyo soon and this is one of the chocolatiers that will be there. This caramel is very good, a nice mix of sea salt, butter, and walnuts--addicting!

My host mom gave us these fluffy cakes called "squared egg" made by Fouquet's, a Kobe patisserie. A fluffy sponge cake sandwiches creamy vanilla custard--yum!

The year has only begun but we've had a lot of foodie adventures so far...

Kobe Kitano Hotel
3-3-20 Yamamoto Avenue, Chuo area, Kobe city
Phone: 078-271-3711

chocolatey kind of christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Did Santa bring you everything you wished for? I hope so!

I recently found this cocoa made by Monbana, a French chocolatier, whose dark chocolate I tried awhile back. There were two types of cocoa at the shop where I found these--a caramel and a cinnamon. On Monbana's website, they also note a gingerbread cocoa which sounded interesting along with other flavors.

On Saturday for breakfast, I mixed two packets of the caramel one with 2 cups of milk and also added one cup of brewed coffee. It is a 33% cacao with sugar, vanillin. With the coffee added to it, it is a nice balance. I think without the coffee it would be a little too sweet.

It also went well with our stollen.

Recently, I tried a chocolate by Perugina. It is made in Italy from their Nero line--a 48% cacao with chili peppers in it. The chocolate starts off sweet and creamy and then the chilies give you "a wake-up call" as the chocolate disappears on your tongue...delicious!

Our breakfast this morning was lavender scones, yogurt with yuzu (citron) jam and the cinnamon cocoa. The lavender scones were easy to make. I used the simple scone recipe (here) and added a pinch of culinary lavender which I ran a knife through. The cinnamon cocoa didn't dissolve as nicely as the caramel one, but it still tasted great. These lavender scones reminded me of the mix that I bought from Ali'i Kula Lavender earlier this year--this is also where I bought the culinary lavender from.

In Japan, often when you cut open an apple it will look like this. Don't worry it isn't rotten, in fact it will probably be the sweetest apple you will ever taste. These transparent areas are the natural sugars. I once heard that farmers inject their fruit with the sugars, but I now think that they are cultivated this way.

Hope you are enjoying the day!