sakura walks

Wednesday was forecast for clouds and the weather dude was spot on..

I had to use some filters to "pretty" these photos up...

On a street that is near the Hankyu Minoo Station, they have replaced some of the older tree with new ones, so the cherry blossom tunnel is a bit smaller, but it was nice to see these new trees blooming.

Unfortunately, most of the trees have only started to bloom, so the "tunnel" wasn't quite ready.

On the other hand, a weeping cherry tree in front of a school was in full bloom, so pretty despite the skies.

Looking up at all the blooms.

Hope you have a nice weekend!

green tea pork belly rolls

I saw these pork belly rolls filled with used green tea on a tv show, but could not find a recipe, so I adlibbed.

Using several leaves from that huge cabbage, I wilted it in a hot non-stick pan, then set it aside.

Then I made the rolls.

With about a gram of green tea (brewed and ready to throw out), I divvied it up between 6 pieces of pork belly slices.

Put the flap of each pork roll side down onto a heated pan to seal.

Cook for several minutes then turn until all sides are cooked.

Cover with a lid and cook for several minutes so that the inside will cook too.

Not sure how long I cooked everything for, but it was fast (we use gas to cook with, so that might be why also).

Drizzle with ponzu (citrus soy sauce) before eating.

Dinner is served.

NOTES: I know, not really a recipe, sorry.

Still, I think this would be a nice pupu (appetizer) or something for bento.

I didn't season the cabbage (because Satoshi should be watching his salt), but you could definitely use salt, pepper, or your favorite dressing.

Though the television did not specify, I would try to use organic tea especially since you will be eating it.

It is a great way to use up tea that you have brewed and would normally just throw out or put into your compost.

I'm making this again.

bambucha

Bambucha (huge) Spring cabbage at the market...298 yen (plus tax).

2 or so kilos (about 4 pounds).

Thinking about all the dishes I can make with this...

sakura walks

It's that time of year again...the cherry blossoms have started blooming and I've started to get out and about more.

I'm glad I got a glimpse of this weeping cherry.

And this one.

And this one.

The temps should hit 20C (68F) over the next couple of days so it should help the blossoms bloom a bit more, BUT there is rain forecast from Thursday through the weekend, so hopefully winds won't blow everything away...

Hope to show you more...

tokuya & kenninji

Saturday, we went to Kyoto. There was an exhibit that Satoshi wanted to see at the Museum of Kyoto.

So while he did that, I walked around Sanjo.

Afterwards we met up and headed towards Gion.

While we were waiting to cross, we were standing right next to a geisha...not 5 seconds later, bazillions of foreigners across the street pointed their smartphones & cameras at us.

When the light changed, boy, could she walk really fast and boy, did we photobomb everyone's pictures...

As we walked down Hanamikoji-dori, I remembered a sweet shop that I wanted to try...Gion Tokuya.

So, we stood in line.

They have warabi mochi & kuzumochi on their menu as well as shave ice.

It was a little to cool for shave ice, so we had warabi mochi & matcha kuzumochi.

This warabi mochi is served on ice and was silky...delicious with kinako (soy bean powder) and a little kuromitsu (molasses/black honey).

But be careful..if you try to "slurp" it, the kinako will hit you first, you will choke/cough and the mochi will go projectile...trust me, I am now forever traumatized by this...thank goodness no one was sitting right next to our table to see...eep!

The matcha kuzumochi was also served on ice and delicious, but really slippery.

With my chopstick skills this was also embarrassing...lucky for that wooden spoon...

We loved the chunky sweet bean paste as well as a mound of matcha to sprinkle onto the kuzumochi.

Down the street is Kenninji, the oldest Zen Temple in Kyoto.

For 500 yen, you can walk around their property AND take pictures...most places don't allow you take photos.

The highlight of this temple, in my opinion, is the twin dragons which is on the ceiling of a separate building and is 11.4 meters (37.4 feet) by 15.7 meters (51.5 feet) (the size of 108 tatami mats, which I think is a symbol for Buddhism/Zen)

If the weather is nice you can also sit on their wooden decks and reflect.

Despite my earlier traumas...it was nice to get out and about.

Gion Tokuya
510-217 Gionmachi-Minami-gawa
Higashiyama-ku,Kyoto
Phone: 075.561.5554
Hours:12:00-18:00 but closes early if they run out.

daily stuff

The one on the left...my mom bought for me years ago...if you look at it, it is missing part of the spatula..eep!

I love this spatula, it has the right amount of flex and gets in all the crevices (plus it's from my mom).

I didn't want to throw it out until I found the exact same thing...

When I was in Hawaii in December, I tried to look for it at Longs, where (I think) she bought it from...no luck.

The other day, I finally found the same one at Tokyu Hands!

And what was cool was that they let me use some points from my point card to pay for it...whoo!

So even though I don't want to throw out the one on the left, I think it is time to.

Thanks Mom!

thank you!

It might be an April's Fool thingy but apparently we were chosen as one of the top 40 Japanese food blogs in the blogosphere...thank you!

Check out the others here.