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!

leftovers

The weather has gotten pretty warm during the daytime. Still, nights and early morning are cool and comfortable.

Satoshi has not been eating at home because of his business trip and a drinking party (oh man, I could rant about the after effects of that drinking party...but it would be TMI (too much info) and this is a food blog..ahem!)....

So anyway, while he was gone, I tried to use what I had in my fridge as much as possible.

On one night, I had a repeat of the summer rolls for dinner.

Then the other day, I bought some mini spring rolls with some leftover nuoc cham for lunch. (Along with a musubi and some iced earl grey tea)

In Japan, spring rolls usually have bean sprouts, some minced pork, carrots, sometimes harusame (vermicelli)...the taste and texture reminds me of what the Filipinos call lumpia.

These were freshly made at the supermarket and only 150 yen (about US$1.50) for three....mmm!

I love how most supermarkets have their own kitchens to make different foods instead of having other vendors bring them in.

Then for dinner on another night, I bought some fried squid and some harusame namasu.

Harusame namasu is vermicelli noodles, carrots, cucumber and kikurage (wood ear) marinated in a vinegar-sugar mixture...quite refreshing during the summer months.

I drained the vinegar mixture then placed the namasu on top of some lettuce, topped it with the fried squid which I heated in the oven, then drizzled on the last of the nuoc cham.

Wow! this version was awesome and I love how the flavors didn't overpower one another.

What have you been eating?

p.s. if you enjoy our blog, would you please "like" our Facebook page?! Thanks in advance.

things I'm liking (and disliking)

Some things I am liking and disliking...

Disliking...the new drink by Sekai no Kitchen...Maple and spices, sounded good...kinda tastes like chai but with a sickly sweet maple syrup flavor.

Husbands who come home from drinking at 2 a.m., make a ruckus while changing and showering, then fall asleep in a snap, snoring so loudly that their wives who had been sleeping peacefully are now rudely awakened and cannot go back to sleep...I won't name any names, you know who you are....

Quickly moving on to liking...

This bag by Elise Tran. My Aunty M had bought this bag for herself but after using it on a trip, didn't like it, so she gave it to me as an early Christmas present.

This bag holds everything I usually carry on trips...passport holder, hand towel, wallets, cell phone, organizer, train pass & foldable sun umbrella. (Thank you!)

Starbucks Milano Espresso...hints of chocolate...mmm! On the go, when I can't get a hot cup of coffee, I like this type of coffee drink instead of the canned coffees because the canned ones taste like...cans!

Plus, the canned ones have tons of sugar in them. It is cold, but at least I can get a shot of caffeine without all the sugar.

Duchy Originals Organic Orange Biscuits...this cookie is delicious with bits of candied orange peel in it.

Also they use organic wheat flour, and if I remember correctly a portion of sales goes to a charity in England.

Haagen Dazs' newest flavor, sweet potato pie...

Vanilla ice cream topped with a layer of sweet potato and walnuts. The sweet potato layer is a bit gritty/grainy, but overall a delicious combination.

Cleaning out the pantry, I found a really (really) old box of Jell-O....used it up with some canned mandarin oranges for a quick and easy dessert.

These tiny cups hold 3/4 cups of liquid, but were the perfect size for these desserts. I was able to make 4.

Kinda half liking and disliking this one...worms in the lettuce.

Disliking it because he made all the center ribs nasty looking, but liking it because if he is in there, it means this was grown without pesticides...

Diva Chocolate's Mocha Java Rub...after putting the rub on, the instructions suggest putting the protein into the refridge to meld for 30 minutes.

I cooked this on a grill pan and nearly freaked when I saw it all black, I used the tongs to scrape off the rub and realized that the steak wasn't burnt (whew!)

The meat was so tender, not sure if it was the grade of meat (black wagyu) or the spice combination in the rub or both.

This rub had some cinnamon as well as chocolate, it smells sweet when cooking but isn't when you eat it.

Disliking the fact that they are now out of business though--another business bites the dust due to the economy. (sad to see you go!)

Leftovers....now, I rarely say that I like leftovers, but a sandwich made from leftover steak, some mayo, leftover pistachio baguette and leftover veggie sticks made a great quick lunch.

My new 27 cm (10 inch) violet T-fal pan, 1468 yen (about US$14.68). I was recently looking for a new pan and wanted something "made in Japan", but almost everything Seiyu had was "made in China".

Luckily, I found this T-fal (made in France) on sale, another good thing about this store is that if you bring your own bag they knock off 2 yen, not much, but it is something.

The skies indicating that the season is changing and Autumn is coming....love it!

Is there something you are liking or disliking?

leftovers

This post is a bit old, as old as the leftovers I used?...Anyway, I had some leftover curry furikake, so I made fried rice. I scrambled an egg, and added some green onions. When the egg was cooked, I added in some rice that had been in the refrigerator.

When the rice was warmed up, I added a dash of tonkatsu sauce (a thick sauce similar to worcestershire, used on tonkatsu (pork cutlet)). Then I added the curry furikake.

The only mistake was that I left this in the pan too long, so everything dried out. It was tasty, but dry.

Another dish I did was with leftover pasta sauce and it is called doria. I'm not too sure of the origin of this dish. Usually when you eat it, there is seafood or chicken in it, rice and lots of white sauce, not tomato sauce.

If you order this when eating out be prepared to wait, it takes some time to bake. When it comes to your table, it is bubbly and usually is so hot that I burn the roof of my mouth and tongue and can't taste anything for the rest of the meal.

The other casserole type dish they have in Japan is called gratin, this is usually made with macaroni, seafood or chicken and lots of white sauce, this also takes a while to bake and I usually burn the roof of my mouth and tongue also....

What are you having for dinner?

leftovers

I had some leftover shogayaki (pork ginger), so I made donburi (bowled dish).

I sliced cabbage and onion and heated in a pan until they wilted.

Then I added a cup of Japanese stock, 1 tablespoon shoyu (soy sauce), 1 tablespoon sake (rice wine) & 1/2 tablespoon sugar.

When everything was all bubbly, I added the leftover pork ginger to heat.

When the pork was heated through, I added two scrambled eggs.

I put some rice into a bowl, ladled the pork ginger mixture on top and topped it with some grated daikon (long white radish) and a dash of shichimi (Japanese 7-spice). I also served the donburi with some tsukemono (pickled veggies)--kyuri asazuke (lightly pickled cucumber) & rakkyo (pickled shallots).

It was a nice way to warm up plus use up all my leftovers.

leftover bi bim kook soo toppings & popcorn

Since it is nashi season, I wanted to try the bulgogi recipe I have with some grated nashi. I got the recipe when it wasn't nashi season, so I was substituting grated nashi with grated apple. The bulgogi came out really soft and tender, and a bit sweeter. Since the weather is still warm, I used the bulgogi for bi bim kook soo. But by mid-week, I was getting tired of eating it with noodles.

So, for lunch on Friday, I mixed 1 teaspoon of the bi bim kook soo dressing with mayonnaise (Best Foods, of course) and stuffed two sesame rolls with the bulgogi, shredded carrots and cucumber and put a little kim chee. It reminded me of the teriyaki burgers in Hawaii, with a little zing from the kim chee.

Then for breakfast on Saturday, we had bi bim kook soo fried rice. I heated the bulgogi up in a pan then added leftover rice. I sprinkled some water over the rice to steam it. When everything was heated, I scrambled 1 egg and poured it over. When the egg was cooked I divided the fried rice into bowl and topped with shredded carrot and cucumber and a little kim chee. Since I still had some of the dressing left over too, I drizzled a little over each mound....Ono!

While watching a baseball game on Saturday afternoon, we ate the last of my Hawaiian popcorn stash. This one was Kim Chee flavor. When I bought it, the guy at the snack shop said that this one was HOT, so when I put in the spice packet, luckily, I remembered and didn't dump the whole thing into the popcorn bag. The main spice is cayenne pepper, so only a little of the packet (about a teaspoon) was enough for Satoshi and I. We also added our own arare, since the one that comes with the package is always stale. We liked it, but agreed our favorite was Li Hing Mui.

Today is Keiro no hi, Grandparent's Day. It is a National holiday, many offices and businesses are closed. I'm taking some time out to think about my grandparents--remembering them and appreciating all that they have done to give me a better life.

Have a nice week.

leftovers

You ever have a craving for something and then when you go to eat it, the place is either closed or not in business? That is what happened to me for lunch today. I was so bummed that I wandered around for an hour or so aimlessly, trying to figure out what I should eat. (sad, yeah?)

Changing the subject, after I posted yesterday, Nate emailed me to say that my mom's recipe was similar to Big Way Burger's spareribs--a local eatery in Hawaii. I then googled them and found this article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, a local newspaper.

The article mentioned serving the ribs with kim chee and rice...luckily, I had some kim chee in my refrig...dinner is served!

leftovers? quesadilla!

After making naan tacos, I had some black bean dip, ground beef, cheese and salsa leftover. So, I made quesadillas.

I've never made them before and just kind of winged it. I put the bean dip onto a tortilla with some ground beef, cheese and lettuce then put another tortilla on top.

Since everything was straight out of the refridge, I put the whole thing into a 150C oven for 10 minutes and then under the grill for 5 minutes. I cut the quesadilla into 4 pieces and ate it with salsa on top.

Fast, easy, yum!

leftovers

Today is Friday, which means, time to clean out the refrig...as much as possible anyway.

Tonight's dinner, leftover garlic mochiko chicken--donburi(bowl) style.

All I did was slice up some cabbage and carrots, heat it up in a frying pan, add the chicken (cut up into smaller pieces), add a scrambled egg and topped with green onions.

Fast, simple...delicious!

Enjoy the weekend!

lunch, taco rice

Okay, I tried the caramelized pudding. It was rich & creamy and the caramel sauce on top gave it sweetness. Luckily, I paired it with coffee. :)

Today, for breakfast we had taco rice. For those of you not familiar with the dish, it is somewhat of a "meibutsu" (famous item) of Okinawa.

Influenced by the American military based soldiers there, you can find tacos and taco rice on the mainland of Okinawa. Some of the smaller outer islands have taco rice but it is rare, and everyone's recipe is definitely different (Note: but they don't use okonomiyaki sauce in place of salsa!!)

Rice replaces the taco shells or tortillas, the rest of the "gu" (toppings) are similar to tacos. (I buy taco seasoning mix packets everytime I go home to Hawaii. That way, I can make taco rice and Satoshi's favorite layered bean dip--which is a hit at some parties we have gone to.)

I season ground pork (I don't use much beef since BSE in Japan) and chopped onions with a tablespoon of the seasoning. Then I shred lettuce and put that on top of the rice, followed by the meat mixture, SALSA and then some shredded cheese (usually mozzarella since there isn't much cheddar around here).

You may be asking yourself, why are they eating taco rice for breakfast? Since Satoshi works until the wee hours, I usually don't feed him rice or too much carbs at night. When he comes home, he usually has a salad and maybe some soup. So, I try to give him "dinner" for breakfast.

For lunch, I usually buy something, but today, I was feeling kind of bored with my choices...usually I go to different "panya" (bread/bake shops), but most of the baked goods are the same as the next shop and all usually use bacon, sausages or some other artery clogging ingredients.

When I'm not buying my lunch from there, I usually go to the "sozai" shop. "Sozai" are prepared foods, the shop I usually go to sells their food by weight, which is good, because you can buy the amount you need...my last choice is usually some other kind of "fast food"...but none of these were appealing to me today, so I decided to "make" lunch (scary!!)...I made omelette with green onion (I think they may call it "negi yaki") and topped it with some okonomiyaki sauce and bonito flakes, o-kayu (soft rice gruel) topped with leftover naruto kintoki (maybe too much potato and not much o-kayu??) and some black sesame seeds (kuro goma). I also took out some tsukemono (pickles)--rakkyo (pickled onions) and ume (pickled plum). I washed everything down with some Mamaki tea.

Have a nice weekend!!