things I'm liking

Some things I'm liking...

These fruit juices by Shine & Shine, a Hong Kong company.

I'd been noticing people on Instagram posting pics about this juice and found some at Family Mart (convenience store).

The grapefruit was 100% fruit juice, very pulpy. And the berry is a mixture of strawberry & blueberry, but only 65% because I'm guessing that they dilute it with water.

A bit pricey at 398 yen a bottle, but nice to know they sell these types of juices at the convenience store.

Figs.

It's fig season, and we've been enjoying them at breakfast.

On toast with cream cheese and a little honey.

In yogurt.

We've also had some with bleu cheese and coppa (ham).

Leftovers...

Growing up I didn't appreciate leftovers.

Probably because we ate them for more than one or two meals.

Now that I need to do the cooking though, I get it!

We had pork togan (wintermelon) the other night.

More togan than pork, but enough for two meals.

It isn't that cool to be cooking or eating soupy things though, but I am appreciating leftovers.

The other week I made ratatouille and topped them with some spicy sardines.

The first time we ate this with whole wheat couscous.

The second night just as is.

Do you like leftovers?

What are you enjoying these days?

It's the start of September already, too fast!

zak = pom

Before leaving for Hawaii, I noticed these juice bottles at Seijo Ishii.

They said "ZAK".

I thought, weird, why would you name a juice ZAK and then I remembered that pomagranate is "zakuro" in Japanese.

Then it all made sense.

"ZAK" is "POM".

We recently tried the mixed version, pomagranate + blueberry with breakfast...yum!

random eats (drinks)

Some things I've been eating (and drinking) since I returned to Japan...Drinks...this Tropicana boxed juice.

Last year, I tried a similar item. It had mango, pineapple, grapefruit & papaya, which I wrote about here.

This year the blend is pineapple, lychee, apple, grapefruit, lemon...I like that the lychee flavor is really prominent.

The other day Satoshi had a dentist appointment so while I waited for him, I had this...a Chocopresso at St. Marc Cafe...370 yen (about US$3.70)

Espresso topped with steamed chocolate milk and a dollop of whipped cream, this was good but I wish this place had wi-fi, I could see myself spending more time here.

A strawberry smoothie made by a popular young woman's magazine, "Hanako" and Ohayo, a beverage company.

This was good, lots of strawberry bits in there and not too sweet.

Eats...For dinner, we've been having some spicy foods. The daytime is still rather hot, but surprisingly (and I'll probably jinx myself by saying this) the nights are rather cool and comfortable.

The other night we had goma-iridofu (soy bean curd with sesame seeds) topped with okra (splash of shoyu), and veggies (eringi, corn, red bell pepper, eggplant) with a miso butter sauce.

The original recipe calls for minced pork, but whenever I want to cook it without meat, I just saute the veggies in a little oil then used the measurements for the sauce.

You can find the original recipe here.

Another spicy dish was curry. I usually don't use the roux that comes in a box because most have lard or shortening in them.

I found half a box in my pantry so I wanted to use it up.

This one was really spicy! Made by House Foods, it is called Spicy Blend and the spice level is 5, which is the hottest...talk about mouth on fire.

This photo is of the curry when we had it as leftovers, I put it over spaghetti noodles...mouth still on fire.

Corn from Hokkaido...so sweet.

Butterfinger Snackerz...whenever I go to Hawaii, I always pick up different candies, stuff I can't get in Japan.

This was good, little butterfinger pillows. Nice and crispy.

I also tried Island Princess' Choco Mochi, a chocolate covered arare made in Hawaii...these were bloomed because of the heat but still just as good.

Not only do I bring back candy but snacks too... Island Princess' Royal Crunch...caramel corn, chocolate covered caramel corn and mac nuts...sweet but yummy!

Island Princess' Mochi-Pop...caramel corn with arare (rice crackers)...sweet salty delish!

Lunch at Chabuton because Satoshi just watched the movie "Tampopo" for the first time and needed to soothe a craving for ramen.

It was quite hot this day, so I ordered their Wafu hiyashi torisoba which didn't look like the picture on their menu but tasted oh so good.

Chicken steamed tender, cold noodles, cucumber, sliced radish, grated daikon and myoga (a type of ginger) with a shoyu-based sauce.

Dinner at Chaina...seafood and chingensai (bok choy) sauteed in XO sauce (a spicy seafood sauce)...800 yen (about US$8)

This neighborhood place always serves food that is good, only thing is that the chef cooks alone, so the food does take some time.

Satoshi's at work today, what have you been eating?!

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?

nuchi gusui part 2

After coming back from our vacation, I was kind of eager to get back into the kitchen to use the produce we got from Mirai Ginoza. Mirai Ginoza is a roadside farmer's market (there are actually a lot of these roadside markets here and there, each showcasing fruits and veggies from their area). Farmers from the area bring their veggies and fruits to sell. The prices were so reasonable, I wished I could shop here everyday!

Dragonfruit was going for about 200 yen each (about US$2), mangoes depended on the size, one was 900 yen (about US$9..okay that wasn't too reasonable...but the aroma was so sweet)!

Okra were longer than my fingers and were 100 yen a package (about US$1). The okra we get on mainland Japan are stubby and cost a little more, plus there are only 10 in a package, the one in Okinawa looked to have more.

Kabocha pumpkins were going for 300 yen a piece (about US$3), I've never seen a whole pumpkin in our markets.

Togan (winter melon) for about 300 yen a piece (about US$3)...for the whole thing! you'll never see this price in the markets on mainland Japan, especially for togan this big and fresh.

After oohing and aahing at everything that they had to sell, I bought some beni-imo (purple sweet potato), 2 for 200 yen (about US$2...not as reasonable as the roadside for 300 yen, but carryable on the flight home) and a pack with 22 shiquasa (I counted), a lime found in Okinawa, for 157 yen (about US$1.57)

With 10 shiquasa, I was able to squeeze 1/4 cup of juice and diluted that with water and added some blueberry honey to make a shiquasa drink for breakfast. (did this two times for two breakfasts, very refreshing.)

Also with some shiquasa (2 to be exact), I used it to make some fig jam (post on that a little later).

With the beni-imo (purple sweet potato), I steamed it. We ate part of it as is and it was really sweet. With the rest, I made a creamy dill dressing and we had beni-imo salad. 1 tablespoon mayo (Best Foods if possible), 2 tablespoons plain yogurt, several dashes of dill...delicious.

With the rest of the King's sweetbread that we got from Nate, I made some french toast for a breakfast and a bread pudding for another breakfast...delicious (thanks again, Nate!)

Did you know that Ginoza has a sister city in Italy? Thought that was pretty cool.

This little guy said it all "watashi wa shiawase" (I'm happy).