white not red

Thought this was interesting and wanted to share.

For Mother's Day, Satoshi mentioned that red carnations are given to moms that are still with us

And white ones are for those who are not

Coincidentally, these interesting looking white carnations were in the bouquet with the shakuyaku (Chinese peony) I had bought right before Mother's Day.

remembering

It's Mother's Day.

It's the first one without my mom.

Sometimes it is hard to believe she isn't "here".

Am thankful to all the "moms" in my life.

Love you.

happy mother's day

I am grateful to have many "moms" in my life.

Wishing all of them a "Happy Mother's Day!"

goya kinpira

Goya was on sale the other day for 98 yen!

I used half of it with a fourth of a red bell pepper and some jakko to make kinpira using this recipe (minus the nuts).

It was a little bitter, but I liked it.

I'm making this again.

p.s. can you believe we still have cold weather?! oh and I received this red carnation from the lady at the yakitori kiosk for buying something....hope your mother's day was a nice one.

ninjin shirishiri

Having Okinawan ties, I am always interested in learning more about their food culture.

On a recent television show, I learned about this dish...ninjin shirishiri (literally grated carrots). Shirishiri is the okinawan word for surisuri which means to grate.

This dish is so easy to make, of course you can doctor it up with some salt or shoyu if it is too bland for you.

some olive oil
1.5 carrots, grated
1 egg, scrambled
salt
pepper

In a heated pan, add some olive oil, then, add your carrots and toss them around.

When they are cooked to the tenderness of your liking (I like mine almost raw), add the scrambled egg and try to coat all of the carrots with it.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

NOTES: This was so easy and delicious, perfect for a bento (boxed meal). I'm making this again.

p.s. I want to wish all my "moms" out there a "Happy Mother's Day"

pudding

I'd like to wish all the mothers out there a "Happy Mother's Day". Hope you get all the pampering you deserve.

Now onto food...We recently tried Mior's pudding 250 yen (about US$2.50) each. Pudding (or "puh-lin" as the Japanese pronounce it) in Japan is more like a custard flan with liquidy caramel on the top.

This pudding came in a cute little milk bottle, with a cap. The bottle had French on it: Cette douceur détend mon espirit! Un moment de détente pour s'adonner sans complexe au plaisir de bons gateaux.

Which, with the use of my dictionary and babelfish came out to: This softness relaxes my mind! A moment of relaxation to devote without complex with pleasure of good cake.

The bottom had the liquidy caramel, then the custard and at the top was a little swoosh of whipped cream, which had flecks of vanilla in it. They also gave us narrow spoons which would fit inside the bottle.

The bottle only holds half a cup, but it was just enough to soothe a sweet tooth.

Rich, creamy and delicious.

sharing...

First off, Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

Secondly, I wanted to share with you an article that we were featured in...(thank you Leanne!) Written by Kyodo published in the Japan Times.

Saturday, May 10, 2008


Expat food bloggers in Japan find audience abroad

By LEANNE TSURUDA
LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) It's a well-known fact that Japan has a proud, long-standing food heritage. Painting a picture of the Japanese food culture for an audience overseas are a handful of expatriates who divulge their appreciation for Japanese dishes through Web logs, or blogs.

It's an Internet community of untrained cooks, amateur writers and genuinely passionate food lovers, and it has attracted the attention of readers from around the world.

Amy Nakazawa, blogger for "Blue Lotus" , writes from her home in suburban Tokyo.

Born in Canada, she came to Japan with the intention of earning money to jump-start a trip through Asia.

Within weeks of her arrival, however, Nakazawa, 34, says she fell in love with both Japan and her future husband, a Japanese national.

In her blog, Nakazawa chronicles noteworthy trips to eating establishments as well as her experiences in the kitchen, posting recipes, advice and cooking techniques as well as mouthwatering pictures of her various dishes. She sees her blog, which gets the majority of its hits from North America and Japan, as an opportunity to educate.

While sushi rolls are slowly becoming mainstream in her native Canada, she still finds people who are either intimidated by the cuisine or unable to distinguish it from other Asian foods.

"A lot of people who've seen my blog are amazed that I can cook Japanese food," she said, adding, "I get a lot of input from comments, and when blogging about a new food I tend to do a lot of research to make sure my post is accurate."

Kat Nishida, who writes "Our Adventures in Japan", is a thirtysomething Japanese-American from Honolulu. She has lived in Osaka for the past six years and started writing about Japanese food as a way to get closer to her roots.

Since starting the blog in 2005, her site has attracted people from places as far afield as Dubai and Iceland.

She says she gets anywhere from 200 to 300 hits daily and sees her blog as a tool for presenting Japanese culture to other people.

"I have the opportunity to share my experiences, both good and bad, in the kitchen as well as my experiences while traveling around Japan," she explained. "This blog has given me the opportunity to look deeper into how the food is prepared, research any folklore or special meanings that the dish may have and pass it on to my readers."

The blogs tend to spark dialogue between readers and writers from countries all over the world.

Nishida said she has met with fellow food bloggers in Osaka, given advice to readers interested in traveling through Japan and even exchanged care packages with people from abroad.

Certainly not a new phenomenon, blogging has quite an established community in cyberspace. Both "Our Adventures in Japan" and "Blue Lotus" have links to dozens of other food-related sites by expats in Japan and even Japanese bloggers writing in English.

Food as both a basic necessity and a luxury can be a connecting force between cultures. As Nishida observes, "A lot of communication happens while sharing a meal." Using the Net to "share a meal," these expats have found a way to bring some of the most delicious aspects of Japan to light.

Hope you have a great week!

take the time to...

Have you ever really wanted something? like a book that was out of print? What did you do?

For a little over a year, I was looking for a book for Satoshi. The book had to do with...no, not food...but, baseball!

Sometime last year, the book, "Tama wa tenten uchukan" by Akasegawa Shun, was featured on a television show and from that point on, I was determined to get it for Satoshi. I looked on the internet to see if bookstores in our area carried it, called around, but no one seemed to have it. I tried the used bookstores since the book had last been republished in 1995, it was over 10 years ago. We even tried our local library and they had the book on file, but didn't know if it was still in circulation...sigh...Hawaii also has the same used bookstore, so I've even looked there!!

And then last week...it happened...Satoshi and I went to the used bookstore to sell some of our old books. While they calculated the amount they would give us for our books, they told us to browse (this is of course, to get you to buy...). My usual pattern when we browse a used bookstore is to check all the usual areas for the book...(nope, he has that one, has that one...THIS IS THE ONE!! and there are two copies and it is in the 100yen area!!) I wanted to shout out to Satoshi, but the store has a kind of library atmosphere, so I walked over and showed him the book....he was so happy! We were happier because Satoshi had a 50yen-off coupon...55yen for it...it really pays to take the time to look!

Speaking of taking the time to look, while on one of my recent "roaming the aisles" trips, I found the New Tree Chocolate. I read about this chocolate on the Mighty Foods blog. New Tree Chocolates are from Belgium. I found some at a gourmet store here. I bought the flavor called Sexy. Intriguing name, yeah? This 73% dark chocolate with ginger in it. Will let you know how it is when I taste it.

Also while roaming the aisles, I found these interesting chocolates.

Cemoi's Fair Trade Organic Chocolates with orange and with quinoa in it.

A Russian chocolate which I couldn't read anything but the Japanese seal on the back of it and the 99% cacao on the front, I don't think it will be sweet, in fact I think it will be REALLY bitter, but wanted to try it anyway. (After some searching, I found out that this chocolate is made by Vernost Kachestvu.)

And to get into the spirit of this year's FIFA World Cup (soccer), I think Germany is hosting the event, Ritter Sport, a German chocolate maker, has come up with these cute chocolates with pictures of the soccer fans from around the world. Although, I think these are all milk chocolates (and crossing my fingers that none are white chocolates), I still wanted to try them. There is Espresso Crunch, Sunny Crisp and Golden Peanut.

Well, Satoshi is working today, so I'm just cleaning up and getting ready for our new shelving which will come tomorrow :)

Happy Mother's Day!!