king's hawaiian

About a month ago, I saw an ad for King's Hawaiian sweet rolls on my social media.

Apparently you can already find them at COSTCO (I’m amazed at how many COSTCO there are in Japan!)

This time, they were bringing them in to the upscale markets...

I was interested because they were selling packages with 4 rolls in it.

The other day, my neighborhood market brought them in for a Hawaii Fair...so luckily, I didn't have to venture out to the upscale market.

I must say, that these seem teeny.

I made smashburger style sliders and we had them for dinner the other night.

It got a little koge (burnt) because I toasted them a little too long.

Still, I'm glad we tried these and happy that they do have smaller sized packages in Japan (4 and 12 sized packs)

cinnamon rolls

Remember those True North almond pecan cashew clusters I told you about?

Well, there were a lot of "crumbs" at the bottom...about 1/4 cup worth, that I couldn't see throwing away.

Then over the weekend I watched, "Kamome Shokudo" a quirky Japanese foodie movie set in Finland.

The main character opens a cafe in Finland and the adventures begin.

During the film, one of the items she makes are cinnamon rolls.

With the "crumbs" of the nut clusters and some cinnamon, I used my last "expired" yeast packet and made these...

I made some glaze with powdered sugar and some water and drizzled it over.

It was my first time making cinnamon rolls, they don't look as fabulous as the ones in the movie, but straight out of the oven they were delicious with some coffee and it was a nice way to use up those "crumbs" (and that expired yeast).

UPDATE: the next day they were a bit dense, probably because it didn't rise well to begin with, but still tasty all the same.

mariebelle & scones

If you read this blog frequently, you'll know that I LOVE scones! I've tried many different recipes and I have 14 posts about scones too. But, anyway, my flax rolls were about to run out, since we've been enjoying them for breakfast, so I decided to whip up some scones yesterday afternoon.

I use this recipe when I feel the need to "whip" some scones up, but don't have much time and don't want to go through any type of frills to make them. It is fast and doesn't take many ingredients to make.

I sometimes add different things like fruit, nuts or herbs like lavender to this recipe and have been pleased with the results.

This batch of scones came out of the oven just in time for tea. In Japan, you often find "milk tea", this is tea with cream or milk in it. They also have a drink called "royal milk tea", the ceylon tea is steeped with milk then strained into a cup, there is a bit of a "skin" that forms on top of the drink, but it is rich and creamy. I thought that maybe this drink was influenced by the English, but found out that it is a Japanese creation.

With a nip in the air, I decided to try a cocoa that I bought on my visit home. I first heard about Mariebelle's cocoa on Chocolate Obsession and also heard about Mariebelle's chocolates on the Chocolate Nerd.

But, unable to get to NYC anytime soon, I decided to check out their site. They didn't give any info as to where to buy them outside of NYC, so I picked my brain and came up with Neiman Marcus. This is where I usually pick up Vosges, so I checked NM's site and sure enough they also sold Mariebelle. I made a note of this so that when I went home (to Hawaii), I would check it out.

I was pleased to find the cocoa, but a bit disappointed that they only carried it in the larger 20 oz. size because I wanted to sample it before making such a large purchase. Still, I wanted to try it, so I bought the "spicy" one--63% cacao with chipotle, cinnamon and nutmeg.

I warmed up a half cup of milk with a fourth of a cup of the cocoa and whisked it into a thick, rich drink! Talk about zing! The spices kick in as it goes down your throat, there is a little burn in your mouth that lingers, but it is still delicious! Plus, I am a sucker for the packaging and love the dark chocolate colored can with the turquoise blue design.

Hope you are keeping warm where you are!

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.