lanai

At first, I thought they were the pesky weeds that pop up in the soil at about this time of year....I'm glad I didn't pull them out...

because they turned out to be the Italian parsley I planted...woot!

Can't wait for it to get bigger so I can start cooking with it.

lup cheong rice

Earlier this year I made a rice dish using xiang chang (the fresh version of lup cheong, a chinese sausage), which I wrote about here.

Well, on my last trip back to Hawaii, I brought back a can of chicken stock (which is really hard to get in Japan) and some lup cheong (dried Chinese sausage).

I washed 1/2 a cup of mochi rice and 1/2 a cup of white rice.

For the liquid, I used a half cup of stock and half cup of water.

Then I threw in the last piece of xiang chang (fresh chinese sausage) I had and some pieces of lup cheong into the rice cooker.

And when it was done, I added a handful of green onions.

This tasted just as I remembered it, thanks for the recipe Mom!

boo!

Saturday before Satoshi's German class, we stopped in at Hope de Est for something sweet.

Their creation, Ghost, is a chocolate cake, topped with cream and pumpkin puree, like a Mont Blanc.

I notice that with every year that passes, Japan is getting into Halloween more and more.

The whole thing is wrapped with a thin soft mochi...cute and tasty.

Not too sweet too...with coffees, 1210 yen (about US$12.10)

While I was waiting for Satoshi to finish his class, I went up to the rooftop where they have a sitting area and many gardens.

I found this cosmos...loved the reflection in the pool behind.

Have a great week!

Hope de Est
Lucua B1
Umeda, Osaka
Phone: 06.6151.1216
Open 10:00-22:00 UPDATE: this shop is no longer at this location

window shopping

Yesterday, the weather was kinda dreary, kinda rainy.

Satoshi's German class started up again, so while I waited for him, I did some window shopping.

I saw these slippers at an interior shop.

They are actually accents for your table or a shelf...made of metal and quite sturdy.

Can you believe that one side was 6000 yen (about US$60)?! (There were bigger ones for closer to US$100 for one side)

Even though I didn't buy anything it was still fun to look.

What did you do yesterday?

lanai

About a week or two ago, I told you that a shoot of beets and one of swiss chard were coming up on the lanai.

Well, there is more to tell/show...I think these are the beets...There were more coming up, but I thinned it out because I was actually supposed to plant them 12-inches apart...eep! so much for reading the directions.

These are more like 2-inches apart...hope it doesn't affect the size of the beets.

And then in this planter...I got freesia coming up...it is amazing what was in the soil I recycled!

So, among the freesia (and those pesky yearly weeds) I have two stalks of what I think is swiss chard...whoo!

And then I thought we wouldn't have any goya this year and...wham! I found a 10 centimeter one hanging on the lanai.

Hope it gets bigger, though the weather is getting cooler.

Anyway, that's the latest from the lanai. Anything exciting happening in your garden?

dinner

Autumn is here and it means that you see lots of pumpkin and sweet potato in the markets.

Chestnuts this year are quite scarce I hear because of all the weird weather. Oh and leafy veggies are scarce too, so prices are up for these items.

So, I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner while walking in the supermarket and decided to do something with pumpkin and sweet potato.

I usually go to the market with an idea of what I want to make, but if I happen to see ingredients for something else that is on sale that day, I usually change my menu.

Anyway, I love this cookbook because it shares different recipes for you to "eat the rainbow". And another reason why I like this cookbook is because they share recipes for 1 serving.

So I had been eyeing this recipe for sometime and finally got around to trying it...Kabocha Chakin-shibori.

Kabocha is pumpkin. Chakin is a cloth used in tea ceremony. Shibori means to wring.

Usually you see chakin-shibori in sweet form so I liked the idea of this being a savory recipe.

Adapted from "Colorful Bento" makes about 6 "balls" : 1 serving about 3 "balls"
100 grams pumpkin
3/4 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

1. Wash and scrape seeds from pumpkin (make sure to leave the outer shell of pumpkin on).
2. Steam for about 20 minutes, test for tenderness.
3. Mash with potato masher.
4. Add cheese, mix well.
5. With a piece of plastic wrap, scoop about a half tablespoon of mixture, place in the middle of the wrap, bring up the sides and twist tightly.
6. Unwrap and plate, continue steps 5 & 6 until all of the mixture is used up.

NOTES: This was tasty, salty from the cheese and sweet from the pumpkin. Plus, at room temperature it is perfect for bento. I ended up with 3 small "balls" (about 1 inch round) and 2 larger ones (maybe closer to 1.5 inches round). I'd definitely make this again.

The other recipe I tried was for Satsuma imo gohan (sweet potato rice).

This recipe was easy because you literally "throw" everything into the rice cooker and let it do all the work.

Satsuma imo gohan adapted from "Elle a Table" November 2011
servings: 4

2 cups of rice, uncooked
1 tablespoon zakkoku (assorted grains)
1 small sweet potato
1 tablespoon sake (rice wine)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wash rice and set aside
Wash and cut sweet potato into bite sized pieces
Add 2 cups water
Add sake & salt
Turn on rice cooker
When the rice cooker clicks off, gently mix the rice with the sweet potato (try not to mash the potato)

NOTES: Easy and delicious, definitely a keeper.

I served these two dishes with some miso soup, easy and perfect for a chilly Autumn evening.

It's Friday, hope you have a great weekend!

things I'm liking (disliking)

While I like being able to get Illy coffee in a can, I'm not liking that this one was too sweet for my liking.

And that this one, with no sugar added, was way too bitter for my liking. Even Satoshi, who drinks his coffee black said, "whoa?! that is bitter"

I'm liking this exhibit, a huge Hermès Kelly bag in which you can go inside to see how it feels to be inside the bag.

I didn't get to check it out but it looked kinda fun, don't you think?! (by the way that is a real security dude standing next to it, looks like a mannequin, yeah?!)

The cheeseburger from Ferdinand, this had lots of different "stuff" in it...I think there was a demi-glace sauce, ketchup, relish, lettuce, mayo and cheese besides the burger.

Messy for sure, but really delicious.

Love toro-salmon. Toro is usually the term used for the fatty belly of tuna but in recent years it is used for the same area on salmon.

We recently checked out a new kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi place in Minoo and I had a plate of toro salmon among other items...yum!

My cousin once ragged on me for eating only salmon at the sushi shops, "to each his own" I say!

Gianduja chocolates from the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong from my host-sister.

She and her family recently went to Hong Kong Disneyland and this was her omiyage (souvenir) that she brought back for us.

Gianduja (hazelnut) ganache covered with white, milk and dark chocolates. I ate the dark ones and gave Satoshi the bulk of this box. (Thank you!)

Loving these Mariani honey bars...especially the sesame one, it reminded me of Chinese sesame peanut candy only a little softer and a little sweeter.

I thought I should also pass along that the package says they are "gluten & wheat free".

The caramel nougat from La Cure Gourmande was delish!

A soft caramel centered betweeen two pieces of nougat...OM!

And the bolognese udon at Tsurutontan Top Chefs in Daimaru.

The udon was over cooked and a bit too soft for my liking but I liked the idea of using udon for a Western-style dish.

Min Min's shrimp spring roll...these were stuffed with glass noodles, veggies and shrimp...so good!

What have you been enjoying?