couple of feet

It is amazing what you can see within a couple of feet.

Saw this Mini on a Used Car lot.

This one was on the same lot but closer to the entrance.

As we walked past the Used Car lot, this red Mini caught my eye, hidden in another parking lot.

And as I turned around, this Citroen 2CV was parked across the street.

Amazing catch all within a couple of feet.

imbibing

At the Foodie Staff Party, we always have lots and LOTS of alcohol.

Every year depending on who comes, depends on what will be consumed. Most times it is hard to predict.

One year it was lots and LOTS of beer.

This year it was wine.

We had bought a case of beer and some chu-hai (which is actually short for shochu highball, a drink made with juice and shochu (like vodka except it is made with sweet potatoes or barley) and Satoshi's co-workers brought many bottles of wine. (Thank you!)

First off, we started the party toasting with Santero's Pinot Rose, which I've tried in the past and written about here.

You should know that in Japan, maybe this is just in Osaka, but before any party ever starts, they toast and toast with beer.

Even if you don't want to drink beer, you have to toast with beer.

Anyway, I don't believe in this "ritual" and told Satoshi we are toasting with this sparkling wine instead and so that is what we did.

After drinking this sparkling wine, we opened Caliterra's Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon. I don't know much about wine, but this was nice and full-bodied.

So were the others that we tried...Chakalaka Spice Route, a South African wine. The wine was good and I like saying "Chakalaka".

Badet & Clement's Cuvee Prestige Blanc was a type of chardonnay (I think) it was nice chilled, light and easy to drink.

Hardy's Shiraz was kind of spicy.

Some people were drinking high-balls which they mixed Chivas and soda water.

I stuck to only wine, though most people went back and forth and mixed their drinks.

Major hangover today but I am pretty sure everyone had a nice time.

I found out from Satoshi at the last minute that there were not enough people for the party next week, so those who could come came this week, luckily for me I only had to cook for this one party!

Ooh, and the cilantro I got from Nate is growing! Will keep you posted on this.

Today is a National holiday, it is Keiro no hi (Grandparents Day), I wish I was able to spend the day with my Grandma, but am glad I was able to spend two months visiting with her while I was in Hawaii.

foodie staff party

Satoshi's staff party entailed 7 co-workers, some new some not. Apparently we won't have to do this again next week.

We got together a little after noon and had...

Layered Taco Dip made with Ellie Krieger's Black Bean Dip

Ellie Kriger's Grilled Thai Beef Salad

Kim Chee Potato Salad

Spicy Poke

Shrimp Chips

And for dessert Cocoa Berry Mochi...which was inspired by something I had while in Hawaii at the Peace Cafe, only thing is that this version isn't vegan.

The recipe I got from my mom is made in a 9"x13" pan, which will NOT fit in my teeny oven, so I cut this recipe in half.

For this mochi recipe I needed 1/2 a can of evaporated milk and 1/2 a can of coconut milk...and when I went to Seijo Ishii, I was pleasantly pleased to find 1/2 sized cans.

In Japanese evaporated milk is called "eba milk" which is a shortened term. They don't have a "v" pronounciation so it pronounced with a "b".

Anyway, here is the recipe if you'd like to try it.

Cocoa Berry Mochi adapted from Koganji "Simply Delicious"
2 cups mochiko (rice flour)
2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1 can (12 ounce) evaporated milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 can (12 ounce) coconut milk
1 cup total of dried fruits, walnuts & chocolate chips

Mix everything well. In a greased 9"x13" pan, bake at 350F (180C) for 45 minutes.
Cool completely then cut into desired serving size.

It seems that everyone enjoyed themselves and ate everything.

I hope everyone had a nice time...I enjoyed having everyone over, now to clean up.

on a walk (or two)

Since we're having our get together today, I probably won't be near the computer at all, so I thought I'd post somethings I've seen on my walks.

Our community bus. I think it is new. We've never used the community bus system because they don't run very often, I think once an hour or something like that.

We were looking at the routes and figure if we need to get somewhere and have some time to get there, it would be a good means of transportation as it only costs 200 yen (about US$2). (The city bus runs more frequently and the fare is determined by the distance travelled, the more distance travelled the higher the fare.)

A cute Mazda Porter. I've seen this truck from the train and finally went to take a picture of it.

This cat was so sleepy...didn't even budge when we went to snap its photo.

It is a 3-day weekend here, hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Will give you all the details on our get together tomorrow!

art coffee

This was an interesting "instant" coffee filter by Art Coffee that we got from MIL.

It actually reminded me of a spider.

I also liked it because it could fit over a wide mouthed mug. A lot of these "instant" types can only fit over tiny coffee cups.

The coffee wasn't the greatest though, it had a sort of medicinal taste to it...blah!

It is Friday here, for the next two Saturdays we're having some of Satoshi's co-workers over for lunch/dinner, so I'm probably spending all of Friday cleaning and getting ready.

I'm kind of still mulling over the menu, will let you know how it goes.

good & bad

Let's start with the good...

Ippudo in Ikeda brought back my favorite ramen, the Karakamen, a spicy tonkotsu broth topped with miso flavored ground beef and cashew nuts.

The bad part is when I reached to get a shot of my ramen, the camera literally flew out of my hands and part of it went *plop* into my ramen!

I was in shock for a few seconds before fishing it out.

Luckily, it wasn't the battery or memory card part of the camera that fell in, unluckily though it was the lens and lens cover...which is why my photo has a nice fuzzy texture to it.

After I got home, I wiped the camera down several times, hopefully it will be okay.

The weather has been flip-flopping between humid and cool.

Since I'm not much into standing by the stove these days, I threw together a wheatberry salad for dinner.

The good thing about this salad is that to cook the wheatberry and grain mixture, I threw everything into the rice cooker, which I totally loved because I didn't have to stand by the stove.

Recently, we had Jever Pilsner, a German brew.

Very bitter but really nice with all the nibbles and noshes we've been eating.

More good things than bad equals not so bad, hope your week is going well.

foodie tuesday in kyoto

Met up with Tamakikat in Kyoto. She had travelled to Europe as well as mainland America over the summer, so there was lots to talk about.

We walked around the grounds of the Kyoto Imperial Garden. The grounds are very large, with smaller gardens here and there.

The saltzberry as the Japanese call it (or crape myrtle) is in full bloom now. I've mostly seen it in bright pink but also have seen white and light pink blooms too.

It was my first time but I was glad I got to see the grounds.

Lunch was at Honke-Owariya, a soba shop that has been in business since 1465. Even though she lives in Kyoto, Tamakikat had been wanted to try this place. I was amazed at how many people could be seated in their tiny shop.

I ordered the sobazushi, sushi made with noodles instead of rice. I have had sobazushi in Hawaii but never in Japan.

This was simple. Delicious with lots of flavor from the wasabi that was in it.

After lunch, we were craving something sweet and decided to check out a donut shop just a few doors down from Owariya called Nicotto & Mam.

This shop is tiny with only a few seats and had about 9 different donuts to choose from.

We decided to get 3 each and split them to try.

Cinnamon, Peanut & Matcha Milk...cinnamon and peanut stood out in this group.

The donuts have a nice texture and the glaze is just right.

Matcha just didn't have enough "matcha" flavor though.

Black & White, Plain & Mocha...black & white and plain stood out in this group.

All in all the weather was overcast, though we did get caught in a passing shower, it was a good day and nice catch-up.

Honke-Owariya
Kurumaya-cho Nijo Sagaru
Nakagyo, Kyoto
Phone: 075.231.3446

Doughnut Cafe Nicotto & Mam
Kurumaya-cho Oshikoji Agaru
Nakagyo, Kyoto
Phone: 075.223.3630
Closed Sundays

p.s. while at the gardens, I spotted this cat inside of a stone lantern...shhh! don't wake it.