kefta and couscous

I love the internet. I love blogging. I love how I can get so much information from a machine that hooks me up to the world and to people, some that I have met and most that I haven't. My world of food has opened up so much since I have started blogging. I am also grateful that I don't have to work 9 to 5, this gives me a lot of time to experiment in the kitchen as well as explore outside the kitchen (Thanks Satoshi!). The other day, I read Mamatouille's post. If you haven't checked out her blog, you should, she has a lot of great ideas for saving time and money, especially if you have little ones to feed. Mamatouille got the kefta recipe from Kayotic Kitchen(link no longer works). I bookmarked it and debated as to what I should pair this dish with. I flipped through Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave" (hope you aren't getting tired of this book) and found a recipe for "Herbed Couscous Timbale with Dried Fruit and Nuts"....perfect! and the only ingredients I needed to buy were ground beef and a lemon for the kefta. I subbed most of the ingredients for the couscous, for one, I didn't have fresh basil, so I threw some dried into the stock. For the stock, I used a bouillon cube. Also, the recipe called for red bell pepper but I used both green and red. I didn't have pine nuts nor dried currants, so I used mac nuts and dried cranberries. The only ingredient I didn't sub was the dried apricots and couscous (though the original calls for couscous that is preferably whole wheat). For the kefta I followed the recipe as best I could, I didn't have a whole chili pepper, so I used the dried sliced chili that I had and I didn't add the salt. The reason I chose this couscous recipe was because it used the zest of the lemon, and the kefta used the juice of the lemon. While poaching the kefta in the sauce, I scooped out as much oil that came out as possible. I made this on a weekday but wouldn't recommend this for working moms/dads, it does take some time to put together. I guess if you made this ahead then you could reheat it for a weekday. The lemon flavor and moroccan spices are delicious together. Today is the First Day of Spring and the Vernal Equinox also known as Shunbun no hi, which means that it is a holiday here. Hope you have a great weekend!

diego's

One thing that I like to eat when I come home is Mexican food. In Japan, you can find some eateries, but they are not cheap and there aren't that many of them.

I noticed Diego's Taco Shop a couple of trips back but never got around to going to try them.

Today since my dad and I had to find our own lunch, I suggested we go and check them out.

We ordered the chicken torta, which is a kind of sandwich. A 6" cuban bread (kind of like a poor boy roll) is spread with refried beans, tomato, shredded lettuce, sour cream, cilantro, cheese and shredded chicken. The bottom of the sandwich was a bit soggy, but it tasted like a burrito filling on bread. I think the next time I go there, I'll try their burritos or crispy rolled tacos.

Today is the first day of spring. In Japan it is called Shunbun no hi and it is a National holiday. Just thought I'd show you some orchids that started to bloom around my parent's home. (Actually, I think these plants overheard my mom say that she was going to throw them out and bloomed in order to be spared!)

Diego's Taco Shop
719 Kamehameha Hwy.
Pearl City
Phone: 808.456-7578
Closed Sundays

UPDATE: as of 3/2012, this place has closed

shunbun no hi

Yesterday was a National holiday, Shunbun no hi (Vernal Equinox Day) or the First day of Spring. It was also higan, the day when people visit their family graves to pray for their ancestors and departed loved ones.

Satoshi had the day off, so we went to have breakfast at our favorite cafe. Then for the next 4 hours he was in front of the television watching the World Baseball Classic championship game between Japan & Cuba. Japan won the game 10-6, but Cuba gave it their all to keep the game close.

While Satoshi watched the game, I went to have my hair done. On a previous post I wrote about the troubles of getting my hair cut. Well, getting it colored is much easier! Mainly because all you have to say is, "same like the last time!" :) After getting it done, I went back home and the game was still in progress.

Finally, after a total of 4 hours, the game was over. Usually during the week I am cooped up at home, so I wanted to go out somewhere. We went to Takarazuka. It is about 20 minutes from our station. Our first stop was a cafe called Afternoon Tea. I had some scones with Earl Grey tea and Satoshi had a huge salad! This is one of the only places I know that you can order a entree sized salad. Near the Takarazuka station, they also have a housing park. A housing park is a park which has model homes built so that you can walk inside and choose what type of house you want/fixtures, etc. We didn't go into any of these houses (for fear of temptation of REALLY wanting to buy one), but we did ooh and aah from the outside.

After walking around a bit, we decided to have dinner at the Takarazuka Washington Hotel. I had the "Australian" beef with Kyoto veggies and tofu (soy bead curd). With the on going problem of BSE (mad cow disease), Japan is always emphasizing where their meats come from. (Although there was an incident about 2 years ago, where the Japan markets were switching labels in order to get reimbursements from the governments...sigh...) The food was really tasty and I really liked all the vegetables on top of the steak!

The weather is definitely warming up. Hopefully I'll be able to see some cherry blossoms.

Have a great week!