so...

So, if you are following us on Instagram, you know that we were headed for Akita Prefecture yesterday morning...

We were all onboard and waiting for the plane to back away from its spot.

After a good 10 minutes though, the captain came on and announced that our flight was cancelled due to major snow in Akita...

So we all deplaned and stood in line for refunds, rebookings, etc.

Since we used miles for our flight we weren't sure they would give us back our miles.

Fortunately, in the end, they did credit our mileage back.

We were bummed and on the way home decided to drown our sorrows in some matcha tiramisu and coffee.

I was also bummed because my spic and span kitchen now had to go into action...

Dinner was kim chee gyoza.

Although our travel plans were hampered it really was better that we were safe than sorry.

past couple of days

Hope you and yours have/had a very Merry Christmas.

We celebrated on Saturday and Sunday since Satoshi had to work today (it isn't a holiday here).

Saturday, after we did some o-soji (cleaning for the new year), we went out for dinner at Hillman.

Apparently this restaurant is from Singapore.

The reason I bookmarked this restaurant was because of their paper chicken which looked so good.

We tried their cilantro salad...super refreshing.

Paper chicken...succulent and tender pieces of chicken cooked in parchment.

Chili crab...super hard to eat (ask for spoons!) but so delicious.

The crab legs had lots of meat to them.

Mantou...steamed or fried slightly sweet pieces of dough...good with chili crab.

I liked the steamed version while Satoshi preferred the fried.

Mabo Tofu...the spices hit afterwards...pow!

All of these items came off of their half size menu and was the perfect portion size for us.

We also were there during their happy hour so our drinks (a sangria and 3 beers) were only 190 yen each.

Our meal came out to 4770 yen (tax included)...we'll be back.

Christmas Eve Day lunch was at Afternoon Tea.

I ordered the roast chicken and it was really delicious especially with all these roasted veggies.

Satoshi had their beef stew.

It was a nice and delicious lunch.

We bought some cakes from Rocket.

Satoshi had their mont blanc while I had their Marquise Chocolat.

Christmas Eve Dinner was an assortment of things...avocado maguro, chicken, smoked mackerel dip and crackers, nuts, porter cheese, cheese cookies, salad and we opened the bottle of Miraval.

We enjoyed the Miraval, it isn't too sweet nor too dry.

And the porter cheese was delicious too, especially if you enjoy porters.

Satoshi will be off in a couple of days, so I have some posts lined up.

Happy Holidays!

Hillman
1-7-30 Sonezakishinchi
Kita-ku, Osaka
Phone: 06.6346.5511
Dinner only weekdays: 17:00-24:00
Saturdays & Sundays 11:30-15:00 (lunch) 17:00-24:00 (dinner)

learn something new

How do you usually cut your apples?

In Japan, they usually peel the apples then take out the seeds.

I usually cut apples in wedges and then cut a "V" shape to take out the seeds like this.

The other day though, they were talking on tv about limiting the amount of waste when you eat an apple.

They said you should not peel it and then cut it into rounds.

Then you would eat your way towards the core.

So I tried it this morning.

Since Satoshi and I usually share half an apple with our breakfast, after cutting the apple in half, I then halved it again and sliced it.

Then with a knife, I went and made tiny "v" cuts to take out the seeds.

Learned something new and I think it does cut down the amount I used to throw out.

p.s. today is Toji or the Winter Solstice, and supposedly we will only have a short amount of sunlight.

To ward off colds and the chill, they have yuzu buro (baths with floating citron) and eat pumpkin.

Apparently on this day you should eat foods that begin with the character "to" (toe).

We call pumpkin "kabocha" (kah-bo-cha), but older generations call it "tonasu" (toe-nah-sue).

Also adding citrus peels to your baths are supposed to keep you warmer than just soaking in the hot water.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

daily stuff

I know these days must be krazy trying to get things done for the holidays, so I wanted to share with you something that happened to me yesterday...hopefully it will make you laugh or smile.

I was trying to open a can of baked beans to heat up for dinner.

It had one of those pull tab tops.

I lifted up the tab and the tab snapped off!

I took out my can opener and tried to open the can, but the can was a little dented so the can opener couldn't go all the way around.

Thinking that I had opened most of the can, I stuck a spoon in to lift up the lid.

The lid was definitely not cut all the way around because the lid lifted up a bit then sprung back down, shooting sauce up into the air.

I tried the can opener again and then the spoon, but there was more lid springing and more shooting of sauce into the air...

Finally, I got the lid to open by rocking it gingerly back and forth until the metal wore out and broke.

Whew! thought we might not be able to have this for dinner...

Did I make you smile/laugh? Hope so.

yum

Merchandise at the convenience stores change at lightning speeds.

What you had one week may not be there the next.

7-eleven recently teamed up with Haagen-Dazs and came out with a waffle cone ice cream.

Apparently it is the first for Haagen-Dazs to come out with this for a convenience store.

Macadamia nut ice cream, waffle cone and topped with hard shell caramel.

I liked that the cone was super crisp.

A little too sweet but I'm glad I tried this.

Even though the weather continues to be fahreezing, there is always space for some ice cream.

smoked saba toasts

Was watching a Nigel Slater show and he talked about smoked mackerel toasts.

Smoked mackerel, cream, cheese and chives...mixed together and then baked onto bread slices.

I adapted this and served them on toast and then on crackers.

1 can smoked mackerel
1/4 red onion, diced
mayo
pepper
cheese

When putting this on toast, I put the cheese on just before toasting.

When we ate this on crackers, I didn't put the cheese.

NOTES: I think mixing the smoked mackerel with cream cheese and onions then nixing the mayo would be delicious too.

Kind of similar to smoked salmon dips.

The can of smoked mackerel is a brand from Shizuoka, I love the packaging.

The fish is caught in the area and packed in olive oil.

Will make this again soon!

saba soup

Recently on "Matsuko no Shiranai Sekai" they had an assortment of canned saba (mackerel).

During the show, they had a recipe for saba soup.

Of course, I had to try it because it is fahreezing these days...

Adapted from "Matsuko no Shiranai Sekai" : about 4 servings

1 can mackerel (packed in water) about 140 grams, drained
3 cups water
1 teaspoon shoyu
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1/4 onion, diced
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 package of maitake, shredded by hand
a small handful of kikurage (cloud ear fungus), reconstituted then chopped slightly
1/2 bunch of chinese chives, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 clove garlic, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Put the onion and red bell pepper into the pot and bring to a boil
Turn down to a simmer then add the fish, breaking it up
Add the maitake, chives and garlic
Then add the shoyu & oyster sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

NOTES: The show didn't really give much direction or amounts, so I am just listing up what I put into my soup.

I didn't add any salt so the taste was on the light side.

We've had this with rice and also with baguette.

I like how this soup is super easy to put together.

Definitely making this again.