back to kitchen croquette

Friday, went to pick up lunch at Kitchen Croquette.

This shop is one we discovered during the pandemic.

I got the daily bento...Cod with lemon leek sauce.

Tarekatsu (fried pork with a sweet salty shoyu based sauce)

Roast chicken (the meat was dry (probably breast meat) but the skin was crispy and had the right amount of salt)

Hijiki

Daigaku imo (sweet potato coated with a caramel sauce)

I forgot that they can switch out white rice for mixed grain rice (it costs a little more too), so I ended up with white rice...at least I asked for a smaller amount of rice and they took off 20 yen...630 yen (tax included)

I also got their milk pudding for us to try...it comes with a coffee black sugar sauce...170 yen (tax included) each.

Both the bento and pudding were delicious...the coffee black sugar sauce was a little bitter but still a little sweet and got the thumbs up from Satoshi.

The owner had been sick earlier this year, so I'm glad I was able to have their bento again.

The shop is not too close to where we live, so I'll try to walk out here whenever possible. 

this and that

We went back to Zoshiki and checked out Mizoguchi, which sells all sorts of meats and homemade foods.

We picked up their curry...2 servings only 650 yen (tax included)

Nikujaga only 300 yen (tax included) & chicken with daikon only 400 yen (tax included).

The curry was rich and had lots of tender meat in it.

Similar to Mother's Meat's curry it had enough spicy for me.

I thought this was a bargain because it was 2 servings.

We ate the nikujaga and chicken with daikon for dinner and both were simmered well ...everything was tasty and tender.

We'll be back to try other items.

Stumbled upon this homemade custard flan at Mart Iijima.

Only 128 yen (plus tax)...minus the 30 yen discount...only 105 yen!

After we ate the pudding, I poured water into the container to measure it and it is about a cup of pudding.

So ono! Rich, creamy and also not too sweet.

Satoshi and I shared this.

We'll be back to buy more.

Forgot to mention this plastic hippo that we saw at Tamagawadai Park.

The tongue and innards have their parts labeled in 3 different foreign languages.

So cool!

Figgy Piggy...love the name!

I saw this combo on one of those food truck programs many moons ago and finally got around to trying this.

The food truck's version had more "things" in it, I instead just used what I had...

Peanut butter, bacon, fig jam and cream cheese.

It was a good reason to use my hot sandwich maker.

Next time I will add more bacon and add oozy cheese instead of cream cheese.

This sign..whenever we pass by this shabu shabu restaurant I always think it is so cute.

We tried this edamame snack recently...I was leery it would be too "wasabi"-ish for me but fortunately it wasn't overpowering.

I've tried Yukimusume's in the past that were filled with strawberries, custard and whipped cream...this one had a chocolate mochi outside, chocolate whipped cream, chocolate covered banana and some yellow sponge cake...oh em gee so good!

Bought some cakes from Takano for Satoshi's birthday yesterday.

Being a fruit shop, I would've thought that most of their fruits were fresh...bummed that most of the fruit on this was canned and the piece of melon was hard...boo!

The bottom was a rolled cake (swiss roll) with lots of whipped cream and nuts...whoo!

This noriten (fried nori) is korean style with sesame oil...so good!

Birthday chirashi for Satoshi...I made some myoga amasuzuke and then mixed some of it into some cooked rice then layered some sashimi (raw fish slices) on top.

The sashimi we bought was cut inconsistent, some pieces were thick while others were really thin! 

The otoro was super buttery though!

Stumbled upon this lot that they were clearing and saw the remnants of vines, maybe ivy?! spanning the width of the building that was next to the one that was cleared.

I thought it looked so beautiful and was also kind of sad seeing it too.

So...Tokyo is still going forward with the Olympics despite what the medical people are saying...I feel that if this pandemic were some other type of disaster like an earthquake, they would cancel the Olympics in a heartbeat...

Tokyo's state of emergency is extended until June 20th and our daily cases have been hovering around 500.

There is talk that we might be able to receive our vaccinations mid-June, I am not holding my breath.

I hope you all are doing well, even if we’ve had some rainy days, we still haven't started our rainy season here in Tokyo.

Have a safe weekend.

Mizoguchi

2-27-2 Nakarokugo

Ota, Tokyo

Phone: 03.3735.2981

Hours: 10:00-20:00

messages

　Over the weekend, you may have heard there was a false alarm in Hawaii, sending panic across the State.

BFF said she didn't even get the alert on her phone...yikes!

Thank goodness it wasn't real but I'm sure it was still quite chaotic and scary.

I am not too sure what we are supposed to do here in the event that we get the "notice", but hope the government here will give us more details on what to do.

Yesterday though, I received this "message" at Starbucks on the back of my matcha pudding..."each day is a gift".

It truly is.

Be kind to one another.

matcha pudding

Starbucks recently came out with a matcha pudding...kind of like their custard pudding, but with a matcha sauce at the bottom and matcha mixed into the pudding itself.

I liked how this wasn't too sweet.

The maple covered nuts were nice too (pictured on the side).

The weather has been flip-flopping between warm and cool, making it hard to figure out how to dress...

hope your week is going well.

recently

These puddings at Starbucks came out during Christmas (or maybe it was a little before that)...

I heard the Starbucks in Korea has had this on their menu for awhile now.

Anyway, it was hard to come by because of social media...

Last Saturday, we finally were able to try it and shared the chocolate version. (There is also a custard version.)

The chocolate version has a rich chocolate sauce at the bottom, making it even richer.

I like the cute packaging.

At 320 yen (plus tax) it isn't cheap though.

If we come across the custard version we may give it a try.

Have you tried anything fun lately?

bocca

Whenever they have Hokkaido fairs in Osaka, I try to see if they carry Bocca's products because we love their yogurt drinks...super thick and not too sweet.

Recently though, we tried their puddings.

The white pudding comes with a caramel sauce.

Pop the balloon to release the pudding and then drizzle on the sauce.

I screamed a little when I popped the balloon.

The pudding was thick, rich and creamy.

The crème brûlée version was nice too with crushed caramel bits to sprinkle on top.

I'm glad we got to try these, if I see them in the markets, I'll be sure to get more.

hamburg

We're back from a little trip, but until I can get things sorted out, I hope this post will tide you over.

The last time we had sweets from Hamburg was Christmas.

On a recent trip to Daimaru in Umeda, I noticed these and asked Satoshi to pick some up on his way home...Pudding a la mode...420 yen (about US$4.20) each.

While the colorful fruit jumps out at you, it was actually the ceramic cups that they were in that caught my eye.

All the fruit on top was perfectly ripe and delicious with a light layer of gelatin to hold everything in place.

When you make your way to the bottom of the cup, there is the caramel....mmm, one more, please!

How cute are these? Perfect for a cup of Sakura Vert (a blend of green tea and sakura leaves) by Lupicia.

I forget when I learned of this tea, but to me, it truly represents Spring and the cherry blossoms.

UPDATE: Hamburg is no longer in Daimaru Umeda.

thanksgiving

Today is Friday, which means that "Thanksgiving" was yesterday and it wasn't a holiday here.

In fact, most of Japan is already decorated for Christmas. I think it happened right after Halloween.

When I used to work in Hawaii, I used to have Thanksgiving Day off but would have to go to work on Black Friday. Sadly, I didn't know it was called Black Friday until recently. (I know I lived under a rock until the Internet...)

Sometimes my family would go to the Big Island for the Thanksgiving weekend and I wouldn't be able to join them because I had to work the next day.

I guess in a way, this was preparing me for my life here in Japan. Since I didn't go with them, I would get some take-out curry and that would be my Thanksgiving dinner.

I've never seen turkey in the markets here, not even the processed kind. I think you can order it online, but with a teeny, tiny oven, who would be able to fit one in?

Plus, there is only Satoshi and I. Since it isn't a holiday, he has to go to work, which means I will probably eat dinner alone, unless I wait until 10 or 11 at night...

So, this year, I decided to roast some chicken breasts and veggies (zucchini and eringi mushroom) simply with EVOO, salt and pepper, mash some potatoes with buttermilk, herbs (tarragon, rosemary and sage) and some butter and make this dessert.

The recipe was from an early Christmas present to myself, "So Easy" by Ellie Krieger. There are some recipes that caught my eye, I hope to try them soon.

I adapted the recipe and this is what I did...

Pumpkin Rice Pudding
adapted from "So Easy" by Ellie Krieger
serves 8 : 1/2 cup servings

1.5 cups cooked rice
1.5 cups skim milk
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
20 grinds fresh cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375F (190C)
In a pot heat up the milk, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg & salt.
Add the cooked rice.
Divide between 4-(7 ounce/200 ml) ramekins.
Cover with foil.
Bake for 45 minutes, take off the foil for the last 10 minutes.
Serve warm.

NOTES: I made my pumpkin puree from scratch. I had some leftover pumpkin on the verge of getting moldy, cut it up and steamed it for 20 minutes. While it was still hot I scraped away the outer shell of the pumpkin. Then mashed it with a fork.

The cooked rice I had was also leftover and it was a mixture of kodaimai and white rice. Kodaimai is the purple/black rice that I bought when we went to Lake Kawaguchi.

The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup honey, but I thought that would make this a bit too sweet, plus the pumpkin I was using was a Japanese ebisu kabocha, which is pretty sweet on its own.

Also, the original recipe calls for whipped cream as a garnish, but instead of going out to buy a carton of whipping cream, I just left it out.

This was good. Since it wasn't too sweet, I would probably eat this for breakfast.

So, this Thanksgiving wasn't spent with family. There wasn't turkey or Mom's pumpkin pie. The chicken skin came out crispy and the chicken very moist. Instead of gravy, I put a dollop of Mom's cranberry chutney.

Even though I had dinner alone, I am thankful for my family and friends, our health, that Satoshi still has a job and that we always have (more than) enough to eat.

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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.

simple, but good

The weather has been quite cold over the past couple of days. I wanted to make a warm treat, but something not too sweet...

Rice pudding.

Last Halloween, I tried making Pierre Herme's version of it. And while going through the blogs that I read daily, I have also been seeing posts about rice pudding, especially here.

For our dessert last night, I decided to make a "new" version and top it with the chocaviar that I just bought.

I used part of Cream Puffs' recipe, but I didn't put the second addition of butter or sugar. I also added a little cinnamon, cardamom and allspice at the end. Topping it with the chocaviar was a good idea, the bitterness from the chocolate brought the sweetness down. Plus, stirring it into the warm pudding, the chocolatey aroma mixed with the spices and it was heavenly!

Very simple, but oh so good! I think the next time, I want to add some nuts and dried fruits.


Hope you have a great week!

ho ho ho....bah humbug...sigh

It is Christmas Eve. Satoshi had to work. He also has to work tomorrow, Christmas Day.... Christmas, what is that? I grew up celebrating Christmas with my family, having dinner with family and friends, but in Japan it is different.

Christmas is for couples. Restaurants have expensive romantic dinners for two. Last year, we went out for a nice French dinner. The price of cake also goes up. Can you imagine paying $40 for an 8-inch round cake? I can't, so I usually make some kind of dessert instead of buying.

Here is a picture of our tree.

In Japan, they don't sell freshly cut ones, so for our first Christmas I bought one in a pot. That one died after 3 years, so this is the one we've had for the past 2 Christmases.

Anyway, because of a flight delay or something, Satoshi called to say he would be late, so dinner was my usual "table for one"--I guess I should be thankful that he called early enough for me to eat at a decent time.

I started off with some olives and cheese...one of the cheeses was interesting with bits of almonds. It really went well with the Yalumba 2004 Shiraz Viognier--a dry red with hints of cinnamon and spices.

A filet and baby leaf lettuce with bistro-style vinaigrette, a recipe I saw on Bean and Plum Discover the World (this blog no longer exists) and mashed turnips with olive oil, salt and pepper.

And for dessert a little cup of chocolate pudding infused with Republic of Tea's Green Earl Greyer (a green tea with bergamot oil) tea--I actually intended to make truffles, but the ganache was too soft, so now it is a pudding... strawberries and a slice of cheese cake by Marutoya, from my host-sister, Tomoko, she is a foodie too and loves to order food items from different places around Japan. The cheese cake reminded me of New York style cheese cake with a nice cookie crust.

I guess while I'm feeling sorry for myself, I'll have another glass of wine while I wait for Satoshi to come home.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

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!!

sweets

Satoshi has to work this weekend, so it's just another 2 days at home for me. I happened to be wandering in 7-eleven and found something new...a group of ANA (All Nippon Airways) Cabin Attendants, called ANA Latte, came up with an idea to gather the world's most popular desserts. ANA's brand, "Sora sweets" or "Sky sweets" are usually only available for purchase at certain airports, but they decided to market these 3 desserts in convenience stores around Japan. They have Caramelized Pudding (like Creme Brulee), Melt in your mouth To-fa (an Asian dessert, like Tofu (soy bean curd)), and a Rich Chocolate Pudding (this is the one I bought)...think I'll save this on for awhile...

This is a cake I bought while shopping at the supermarket (It came with 2 pieces) made by Melodian. It's a pudding bombe. Usually, bombes are frozen desserts made with layers of ice cream or sherbet. This one was made with vanilla sponge cake, custard pudding, caramel sponge cake and caramel pudding...It was actually really light and fluffy.

more sweet treats

Last month, Satoshi went to Cairns for his company trip. This is one of his "omiyage" (souvenirs) that he brought back for me. DFS(Duty Free Shoppers)Earl Grey shortbread cookies.

The box is really cute!

Also, last month when we went to Kobe, we bought some cookies and friands(like pound cake) from Chocolat Republic. They had some pretty interesting cookie flavors, green tea (the green round one), black pepper (the yellow round one) and wheat germ chocolate chip. They were actually very good, even the black pepper one!!

The Kobe Chef Club is a company that makes desserts that you can find at most convenience stores and supermarkets. Their desserts reflect the rich style of Kobe.

Winter Truffle came out last year and is back again this year...I, of course, bought the dark chocolate one. It is basically a pudding that has the thick, rich consistency of ganache (the filling that are found in truffles).