scrubbies

My grandma used to make the best scrubbies (for washing dishes).

I still have a couple in my "stash".

The other day, we came across someone selling scrubbies made of the same material but in a different form.

These are stiff because they put starch on it.

After use though it should get softer (the salesman said so).

I know they will never be better than the ones my grandma made but hope they will at least get the job done.

Miss you Grandma!

p.s. have a nice weekend!

bead stitch & crochet

Yesterday was my beads class. Here are a couple of projects that I finished.

This cute little doll can be worn as a brooch or pendant. I crocheted the skirt and assembled the arms, legs and head.

This other project was made with a herringbone stitch--kind of a "W" shaped stitch.

At the ends of the lariat, I attached venetian beads and swarovski crystals.

Enjoy the weekend!

autumn, here I come...

With leftover yarn, I decided to make a scarf. I tried to last year, but didn't have much crocheting technique then. This year's scarf came out way better.

I think I'm ready for autumn...

getting ready for fall

Not to jinx myself again, but it is getting cooler especially in the early morning and evening.

Since Satoshi had to work today, I had some time on my hands. I did a couple loads of laundry and made myself this brooch. I crocheted the outer "petals" with some mohair yarn that I bought last year at the 100yen ($1) store and added beads to the top part of the pin--then sandwiched the flower in between of the shower pin.

I think I'm ready for fall!

Have a nice week!

crochet & other stuff

Today was my crochet class. These are my last projects. Starting in two weeks, I'll begin a bead stitch class. Bead stitch has been popular in the U.S. for some time now and is only starting to pick up in Japan. This frilly necklace was the last project needed in order to receive a certificate which allows you to teach bead crochet.

This other project was made by fusing all the loose silver wire that gets leftover after making projects (you can't throw anything away when using sterling silver wire!) to make a long wire. Then, with a perfectly good wire and semi-precious beads and pearls, crocheting the two together to make this necklace.

The retro look is coming back in style here. A company in Kyoto called Pagong makes these cute tank tops, camisoles and aloha shirts with traditional yuzen prints. Yuzen is a style of dyeing for kimono--the traditional Japanese dress.


At a department store, they were having a Hokkaido Gourmet Fair. This is when the department store brings in vendors from Hokkaido to sell their wares--mostly food items. Since Hokkaido is often known for their seafood, Satoshi was drawn to this bento. Look at all that seafood! Not bad for $16, huh?

Recently, the Candied Quince sent me her recipe for Lavender Pound Cake. I finally got all the ingredients together and tried it this morning...can I just say, that I really need MORE counterspace and a really BIG mixer (like a KitchenAid, maybe?)

Plus, I should have cut the recipe in half (I had originally envisioned baking them in muffin cups, but at the last moment put the batter into my one and only loaf pan--since I don't own a bundt/tube pan)...The aroma while baking was heavenly!

We had a couple slices for breakfast and it was great! (Thanks for sharing, Tania!)

Lavender Pound Cake
Adapted from:
The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor by Jerry Traunfeld

2 tbsp lavender buds, fresh or dried
2 ½ cups sugar, preferably superfine
1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks)
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp fine salt
5 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
¾ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350F. Heavily butter a 10-inch tube pan, coat it with flour, and knock out the excess. Whirl the lavender and ¼ cup of the sugar in a spice grinder, mini food processor, or blender until very finely ground.

Put the butter, the remaining 2 ¼ cups sugar, the lavender sugar, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Turn to medium high and beat for 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat another minute. It will be fluffy and nearly white. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the batter well before adding another. Alternately add the flour and sour cream (1/3 of the flour, ½ the sour cream, another 1/3 of the flour, the rest of the sour cream, and finally the remaining flour), beating each addition into the batter completely before you add the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times during the whole process.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan as evenly as you can and gently whack the pan on the counter a couple of times to expel air pockets. Bake the cake for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes, or until it is golden brown and springs back when pressed, and a wooden skewer emerges dry after being inserted into the center. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for about 15 minutes, then turn it out onto the rack. Once it’s completely cool, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. It will be best the second day and still moist after about 4 days.

Makes 16 to 20 slices.

Enjoy!
Hang in there, one more day until the weekend!

aloha

Are there things you do before you go on a trip? I go through a little "process of events" before going on a trip or back to Hawaii.

One, is that I clean the house. Everyday clutter is cleared, the kitchen and bathroom is cleaned and all the fresh foods used to leave the refrigerator empty. The first time I did this on a trip back to Hawaii freaked Satoshi when he came home that night from work. He said it made him a bit sad to realize that I wasn't coming home for awhile.

The other thing is that I send my bags to the airport in advance. Whenever I go back to Hawaii, there is a bag pick-up service that I like to use. Before finding this service, I struggled many a time with my 30-inch suitcase, rolled it down the street, balanced it on the escalators, lugged it off and on the trains, just to get to the airport. Not to mention, I would have to try to get it down the 3 flights of stairs of our apartment building (with no hand railings...)--all without breaking my neck.

Nowadays, Satoshi usually calls for me about a week in advance and books a day for them to pick up the bags, this is decided depending on your flights. You can choose whether you want them to come in the morning between 10 and 1 or in the afternoon between 2 and 6 or later in the evening between 7 and 9. I usually choose the morning pick-up time because I usually have things to do in the afternoons. (Sometimes they come early, at about 10 or 11, and sometimes they come AT 1.) Usually if you book a round-trip--for them to bring the bags back to your home after you return, the rate is a bit cheaper. I can now go to the airport with just my carry-on and not have to stress about my suitcase. This service is definitely worth every "penny"!

Changing the subject, yesterday was the last session for my beads crochet class. We made a cute little crocheted purse with little fresh water pearls that hangs from a long chain necklace. It wasn't too hard to make and we all finished early, and prepped for our next project which will be done at the next class. After class, a group of us went to have tea.

The next session starts in 2 weeks, but I'll miss the first two lessons, so I'll have to play catch-up when I get back.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some foodie experiences from Hawaii, if not, see you all in about 6 weeks!!

Aloha!*

*"Aloha" is a greeting that we say in Hawaii which is very versatile. It can mean "Hi", "Bye", "Welcome!", "See ya". You can hear this phrase a lot in the touristy areas such as Waikiki. In Japanese, it is the equivalent to that of "Doomo".

crochet

Today was my bead crochet class. We made a 3-layer dome ring. It took the whole 2 hours! I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. (Sorry the photo is a bit dark and green...)

This weekend we're off to Okinawa. It is my mother-in-law's 77th birthday. She's wanted to go to Okinawa not only to see the sights, but also to take a photo in the traditional costume.

In Japan, the 77th birthday is called kiju. The chinese characters for kiju means "joyous year", in the early days for someone to live to the age of 77 was definitely fortunate. There are other interesting meanings for different years.

One is at 60 years, it is called kanreki. It is thought to be the second birth of the person. The calendar was based on the chinese characters and the lunar system and was organized on a 60-year cycle, so it is thought that life returns to its starting point at the 60th year. At the 60th celebration, the guest of honor wears a red vest and red cap. These symbolize the clothes worn by babies and the return to his/her birth.

80 years is called sanju, 88 is called beiju, 90 is called sotsuju and 99 is called hakuju.

Beiju is written with the character for rice. Rice was respected by everyone not only as a staple but also a symbol of their livelihood and happiness. A fundamental part of Japanese society, rice also symbolizes purity and goodness. The 88th birthday is celebrated as a very happy and joyous occasion.

Have a nice weekend!!

crochet

My lesson cancelled today. So, I had some time on my hands.

This is what I did...I crocheted a pendant. It was an extra project that I had purchased from my teacher. It kind of reminds me of the opening of a decorated Easter egg, don't you think?

After finishing the pendant, I decided to go grocery shopping to buy some ingredients for dinner (making okonomiyaki), on the way home, I bought this for snack. The sign said orange roll. Thinking it was rolled sponge cake with orange jam and cream...I was wrong. It was a baked bread (like a sweet roll) with orange jam and rolled with cream! It was still good despite my disappointment!

Satoshi comes home tomorrow night (yeah!!) I wonder what kinds of "omiyage" (souvenirs) he's bringing home for me (although I did give him my "wish list"...) :p

Hope you're enjoying your weekend.

crochet

Today was bead crochet class.

We made a necklace in which you "nejiru"--to twist the wire to make branch-like parts.

I didn't like this project very much mainly because I couldn't get the hang of twisting the wire to the right size...

Practice, practice, practice...

crochet

Today was my crochet class. We made this frilly necklace with pearls and sterling silver wire.



These necklaces made with purple stones and pink stones were extra projects.
And this pendant was also an extra project.

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow the other week on Groundhog Day, so there is 6 more weeks of winter...yeah?! (Better bundle up!)

My friend Midori sent this cute felt tulip and little fairy-like girl...will send this bit of sunshine your way....
Enjoy!

tsukiai & crochet

What a long day today was...I had my bead crochet class.
We made this napkin holder.

And this necklace was a project that I wasn't finished with by the end of our last class.

Last night and tonight, Satoshi had "tsukiai" parties with co-workers. "Tsukiai" means association, and they do this by going drinking. Last night's "tsukiai" was a farewell party for some co-workers and tonight's "tsukiai" was a welcome party for new co-workers...why they couldn't put the two together is a bit odd to me. Ask Satoshi and he'll tell you that "tsukiai" is the MOST IMPORTANT LAW of being a company worker (salary-man as they are called here)...yeah, yeah...go drinking, but be able to wake up in the morning and don't fall asleep in the "furo" (bath)!

Anyway, since he didn't need dinner last night, I decided to make myself something simple, baked rotini with pesto cream sauce. It came out pretty good and I put together a salad to go with it.


After my class today, I popped into the Hanshin Department store. If you've ever gone shopping in a Japanese Department store, you'll know that in the basement they have their prepared foods and grocery section (for you aisle roamers out there this is the place to roam!). I went to check out the prepared area for a bento or something for dinner. I went to one of my favorite vendors, Mamehachiro. I like this vendor because they use a lot of beans in their dishes. I bought a seafood kakiage donburi. Kakiage is a kind of tempura. Tempura is usually shrimp or vegetables that are separately battered lightly and then fried crispy. Kakiage are different ingredients mixed together such as shredded carrots, sliced onions, green beans, corn which are lightly battered together then fried. Donburi means bowl. It was very filling.

I also bought myself dessert, ohagi. Ohagi is mochi rice that hasn't been pounded into mochi (rice cakes) yet, then is covered with "an" sweet red bean paste. This ohagi had a strawberry in it (sorry the picture is a bit blurred). It was very good and not too sweet.

I didn't have time to take a nap so I'm kind of hanging a bit...

a foodie kind of weekend (sort of...)

On Saturday, Satoshi had to go to work, so I met my friend, Aya for lunch. 

The weather was awful, raining cats and dogs.

I was early, so I went into the Daimaru Department store to check out their sweets floor. 

They recently renovated it and brought in a lot of new shops. 

Two of the newer shops were Babbi from Italy and Debailleul from Belgium. 

This is what I bought: Babbi's Viennesi, which is a cremini (soft chocolate) wafer dipped in dark chocolate. Debailleul's orangette (orange peel dipped in dark chocolate), citronette (citron peel dipped in milk chocolate) and pamplemousse (grapefruit peel dipped in dark chocolate and then covered with powdered sugar).

Nearby Daimaru Shinsaibashi, there is a Western-style restaurant called Nishimoto. 

This restaurant has been in business since 1934. 

They have a bento (boxed lunch) called Tokubetsu (special) Youshoku (Western-style dishes) bento (boxed lunch). 

You can choose how many bento (dan) layers you want and the foods that go into the bento box. 

We chose the 2-layer bento that had 3 items in it. 

There was a hamburger patty with demi-glace sauce on it, 2 deep fried shrimps and an omelette, there was also some pasta and some potatoes, plus rice and consomme soup! 

Boy, were we full after that but it didn't stop us from having dessert! (he he he)

While having lunch, we talked about the bread shop that I wrote about the other day, Painduce. 

I told her that I wanted to go to buy some bread for our breakfast tomorrow and she said that it was a good thing that I wanted to go, because she needed to buy some bread too. 

So, we walked (in the rain) from Shinsaibashi to Hommachi (they are rather nearby each other, but we still got quite wet!). 

We got to the shop (it is rather small) and there were several people in there shopping. 

This is what I bought: from top in clockwise order--2 cranberry-walnut rolls with chocolate chips and orange peel in it, renkon (lotus root) pan (a cheese roll with chopped up lotus root in it) and a chocolate noisette (chocolate hazelnut danish with orange peel and cranberries in it). (All were great!)

From Hommachi we went to an area called Kitahama (again rather nearby) to a cafe called Gokan. 

Gokan means "5 senses" in Japanese.

This cafe is located in a historical building, so the interior is very old and the lighting is very antique looking. 

We both had the Gokan cake set. I chose a Kinomi (nuts) chocolate cake. 

The cake is made from Belgium and French chocolate. 

There are three kinds of mousse layered on top of the cake. 

And then it is topped with different kinds of nuts. 

There was also some yuzu (citron) sorbet which was a sort of kuchinaoshi (palate cleanser) and a piece of koocha (black tea) chiffon cake with raspberry and cream sauce. 

I also ordered the chef's choice of flavored tea, and was given caramel flavored black tea. 

Everything was so good. 

And the cafe had a really nice atmosphere (plus they don't allow smoking!! yeah!!)

While chatting over dessert, Aya had given me some things that her mother had bought for me while travelling in England.

Some Walker shortbread, Fortnum & Mason Earl Grey tea, a deck of card and a pocket mirror. They were such nice things. (Thank you!!)

After our foodie afternoon, I went to Umeda to wait for Satoshi to finish work so we could have some dinner. 

He called me at about 5 to say that there had been a bus accident in Cairns and some of his customers were hurt. 

He didn't know how long it would take to get things settled. 

So, I went to have some coffee while I waited for his phone call. 

It turned out that a tour bus was driving in the rain and when it tried to stop the bus fell sideways into a pasture. 

2 people were in serious condition, so it would take longer than he expected. 

I bought myself some dinner and made my way home. 

I also came down with a rather nasty migraine, so I went to sleep right away. 

Satoshi came home at about 1.

It's our 6th anniversary today, but Satoshi had to handle some of the arrangements for family members to go to Cairns, so he had to go into work. :( Kind of a crazy weekend, but accidents do happen...we have to be thankful that at least no one died in the accident.

Whew...this is a long post...one more thing: 

Here's a project that I finished in my beads crochet class. 

It's a brooch.

Have a great week everyone!!

Nishimoto
2-2-1 Shinsaibashisuji
Phone: 06-6211-3991
Lunch time: 11:30-15:00
Dinner time: 17:30-21:00
Closed on Mondays.

Gokan
2-1-1 Imahashi, Arai Building
Phone:06-4706-5160
Open 10:00-20:00

snow!!

Today we had a slight blizzard, it actually started from last night. The weather had forecasted the high as being 5C(41F) and the low -2C(28.4F), yes you read correctly, -2C!!

When we woke up this morning, the apartment that can be seen from our lanai had a good amount of snow on the top of its roof.

Unfortunately, today was garbage day, so I had to go down to put our garbage into the area for pick-up. It was white all over and still snowing at a pretty steady pace.

When Satoshi left for work at about 8:30am, the area outside of our door had started to accumulate some snow.

Today was also my last crochet class of the year. Although the class starts at 1:00pm, I decided to go to Umeda early for lunch.

Since it was still snowing, I got dressed and headed out at about 10:00am. I was surprised because there was about an inch (2.54 cm) of snow outside of our door area. And the steps were nicely covered. I SLOWLY made my way down the steps (we have no hand rails!!) and to the station.

There was a lot of traffic on the bigger roads and some cars didn't have chains on their tires. The train was running a little behind schedule due to the snow too.

While I was excited to see so much snow, I was also a bit scared because there was so much snow.

They say that this weather may continue through the weekend....I guess we'll have a "white christmas" this year...

This is a project that I finished today, it is clip-on earrings and a ring. I have another project to finish but that will be done "next year".

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

finally!!

Okay, I've figured out what I was doing wrong...actually, the idea came to me the other day when Satoshi and I were having lunch in a soba (buckwheat) shop, called Irifune. This shop has been in business since the year 30 of the Meiji Period (1897).

The owner, invites elementary and intermediate students to learn how to make soba and to work in his shop for a day. It is a good way for the students to get "hands-on" learning experience and it also gives them a good chance to explore different occupations (I've seen some students helping in the supermarkets too.)

Anyway, the owner was explaining to the student that when they make soba, it usually takes a cup and a half of water. But, because of the weather, humidity in the air, etc., you don't always use up the cup and a half, you have to just feel the dough and decide whether you need more water or not.

When I overheard this, a lightbulb came on...when I make my scones, if the consistency of the dough is okay, I don't have to use up all the milk...so, I decided to try out the advice...they came out great!! I got the round shape from these cookie cutters I got at the 100 yen shop. They have a little bit of flour on top because I over-floured the board...but they came out fluffy and great.

This was an extra project for bead crochet. I apparently did something wrong and the bottom of the necklace came out frilly...oh, well, now it is an original.... :)

Have a nice weekend!!

ogurasanso, palet d'or & crochet

On Tuesday, it was Ladies Day at the Meifu Cine Pipia (a movie theatre at Meifujinja station). There was a Japanese movie that I was interested in seeing, "Haru no Yuki". I went to the first show at 10:30am, what I didn't realize was that the movie was close to 3 hours long...sigh. It was a love story type movie with a not-so-good ending, but it was still a good movie.

What I've come to notice in Japan is that there are a lot of people with weird habits, some talk to themselves, some have weird twitches, but while waiting in the lobby of the theatre, there was one lady who had a sniffing habit.

At first I thought she had a runny nose or something, but she kept sniffing every few seconds, "sniff sniff" "sniff sniff"...it got to be quite irritating, so I move away from her. When it came time to be seated for the movie, I waited for my number to be called and hurriedly entered the theatre so that I could find a seat FAR away from her...she unfortunately sat at the end of my row...during the quiet parts of the film you could hear her, "sniff sniff"....ugh...

After the movie, I walked towards Nakayama and went to my favorite arare (rice cracker) shop, Nagaokakyo Ogurasanso. Previously, when Satoshi and I went to the movies, I came upon the store when we were walking to have lunch at an Italian restaurant, Fraulein.

This time, I bought my favorite--chocolate covered kakinotane(a spicy rice cracker in the shape of a persimmon seed (kaki)). Ogurasanso uses the highest quality Belgian chocolate from OCG Cacao, called Chocolate Couverture which means chocolate covering. This chocolate has more cocoa butter than regular chocolate and is good for coating things like truffles...if only they would use dark chocolate only. :)

Nagaokakyo Ogurasanso-Takarazuka store
12-1 Meifuhigashinomachi
Takarazuka, Hyogo
Phone: 0797-83-0030

Today was my bead crochet class. I had to catch-up since I missed the last lesson. This was the project that I finished today. A very gaudy bracelet...I have some other "homework" to do before the next lesson, so that I can catch-up with the others.

Since I was in Umeda for my beads lesson, I stopped at a favorite chocolate shop, Chocolatier Palet d' Or. They are celebrating their 1st anniversary with a chocolate called Marl Chocolate. It is 100% Cacao mass with a hint of sweetness from different types of honey.

They had 5 dark types and 5 milk types. I wanted to buy the 5 dark types, but ended up only getting 3 dark types and 1 milk type. The dark types: Rouge (raspberry puree with berry honey), Citron(lemon paste with French lemon honey) and Orange (orange filling and Spanish orange honey). The milk type: Provence (Assorted South France floral honey)...can't wait to try them. :)

Chocolatier Palet d'Or
Herbis Plaza ENT 4F
Phone: 06.6341.8081

With a holiday in the middle of the week the week seems to have flown by. Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving and have a great weekend.

crochet, wagashi, gokkun

<---This was the first project for my intermediate crochet class. A 2-row necklace.

This other project was an extra project. I was talking with another student and we were thinking of changing classes after this one is over because it is just too expensive.

For one thing, we are using sterling silver wire so you can't make a mistake...Plus, the teacher changed the way we pay for our lessons, so every time you go, you don't really know how much you'll owe her...just a bit too stressful!!

Wagashi or Japanese confections usually consists of azuki(red) bean paste and mochi (rice cake). Nowadays, there are wagashi makers that blend Western ideas with their Japanese confections.

One of those makers is Satsukian. Their original store was in Miyanokawara, Takatsuki; what I didn't realize was that it was near our company housing! (I think they have since closed this store and moved closer to Ibaraki). I went to a store in Minoo. My friend told me about this shop, they are known for their cafe au lait daifuku. (authentic daifuku is a very soft mochi (rice cake) with azuki bean paste inside) But, this version is a bit different, it has coffee flavored cream in the center and a little azuki bean paste, the outside of the mochi is covered with cocoa powder. Yummy!! I also bought kurikanoko, this is chestnut (kuri) with azuki beans and a mochi center.....also, very good!

I love this drink, it is very refreshing, it's called Gokkunumajimura, but most people call it Gokkun for short. Umajimura is a town in Kochi prefecture where yuzu (citron) is grown. Gokkun is made with yuzu and hachimitsu (honey). A very simple drink. I love this in the summer time, a gourmet supermarket was having a sale, I decided to pick up a few.

crochet & scones

On Thursday, I started my Intermediate bead crochet class. My teacher says I'm getting better at some of my stitches. This was a ring & necklace that were extra projects.

Today is Sunday, but Satoshi had to work. You know, I really get confused with the days when he has to work on the weekends...Anyway, I decided to try my hand at making Cranberry-Orange scones. I got the recipe off a website called Joy of Baking.

I was wondering why the scones spread so much (although they tasted really good!!), if anyone can give me some advice I'd really appreciate it!!

final project - beginners crochet

This was our final project for our beginners crochet class (a spring colored necklace). The necklace uses aquamarine chips, fresh water pearls, swarovski crystals and a semi-precious stone in the middle.

In about two weeks, I will start the intermediate crochet class.