busy busy

Like I said, last Saturday was beautiful weather, the sun was blazing and the humidity was thick.

The Mandolin club of Satoshi's university, Meiji University, was having a concert. Since it was our first time listening to the mandolin, we decided to check it out. (They apparently have a concert every year.)

Seeing the stage reminded me of my days in intermediate and high school, playing in the concert band.

Hours of practice...getting all dressed up in fancy dresses to perform in front of friends and family, giving graduating seniors flowers.

This particular concert ran two hours and the club played Japanese songs in the first half then American songs in the second half.

We had a nice time and then were treated to a delicious sushi dinner with several older alumni of Satoshi's university baseball team. (Thank you!)

Sorry no photos, but I will tell you about a char broiled unagi (eel) that topped some sushi rice. I am not a fan of unagi but this was really tender and delicious! Talk about melt in your mouth!

And as I said in my post before, Sunday was rainy...still, we had our weekly pupu (appetizer) party style dinner.

I re-did the p.i.t.a. = shrimp walnut recipe...using the cornstarch coating method sans the szechuan pepper from the szechuan salt and pepper shrimp recipe and the maple glazed walnut recipe from Ellie Krieger.

I followed the mayonnaise sauce from the original recipe. It came out tasting good and without all the stress.

We also had some Paulaner Original Munchner Hell, 500 ml, 4.9% alcohol, 498 yen (about US$4.98). According to Satoshi, Hell means light whereas Dunkel means dark.

This beer was easy to drink and had a little kick to it.

Have a great week!

ferdinand

Last Sunday was rainy, really rainy...but we still decided to brave the weather and go to Ferdinand for breakfast.

Previously, I had gone and tried their french toast. This time around was Satoshi's first time for breakfast, he and I both chose pizza toast.

Pizza toast is Japanese name for a slice of bread slathered with pizza sauce then topped with stuff...in this case, sausage and onions and lots of cheese. I've also seen pizza toast at other Japanese cafes that only have thinly sliced bell pepper and onion on them.

All entrees during breakfast come with potato salad, a little ham and some cole slaw...pizza toast was 560 yen (about US$5.60)

Drinks were separate, so Satoshi chose a cup of coffee...400 yen (about US$4) and I chose a cafe au lait 480 yen (about US$4.80).

While this place is a little more expensive than Hiro, I like the fact that I can enjoy my food sans cigarette smoke.

abientot

Awhile back, we checked out Abientot for breakfast, but their service started at 9:00 am...since then, they've changed it to 7:30 am and lunch is served at 11:00 am.

Last Saturday was a beautiful sunny day. We took the train to Makiochi then walked to the cafe.

Satoshi didn't want to try their set meals and opted for 2 sandwiches and coffee 873 yen (about US$8.73) instead.

I chose their tartine set 600 yen (about US$6), this came with a salad, yogurt, the veggie tartine and a drink (I chose iced coffee).

The portions were just right for me and the tartine was delicious, like a veggie pizza. A slice of baguette topped with pesto and anchovy paste then topped with veggies and cheese.

I wouldn't mind trying their other choices for breakfast. Hope we can go back soon.

UPDATE: as of 2/2012, they do not longer have breakfast or lunch service, instead you can purchase various breads and eat in their dining area.

damasareta

Usually I buy "brand name" veggies...corn, potatoes from Hokkaido, red bell peppers from Kochi prefecture, onions from Awaji Island, fuji apples from Aomori.

I usually stay clear of onions from Hyogo (too much bite) and soy beans from Osaka (no flavor).

So, when I saw these corn from Nagano prefecture, I was kinda leery.

The corn was only 78 yen (about US$.78) an ear, thinking I could steam it and halve it between Satoshi, I bought one for dinner...wrong.

The nice side was the side exposed...but after peeling it...my fears were confirmed...I was damasareta (fooled/tricked/psyched).

I looked at the unexposed side and saw this...a whole section all dried up! (from the tip to almost half way of the ear!)

To take it back to the store would have been the right thing to do, but to go back out into the heat and humidity was a pain.

So, I ad-libbed on one of my favorite summer recipes...this one.

I added eggplant, okra, and some tofu in place of the green beans and minced pork. I also excluded the garlic since I was too lazy to defrost some.

Had I known about the corn earlier, instead of finding out just before cooking, I would have had some time to drain the tofu of its water.

So, the dish came out a little more soupy than usual, but it was still spicy and still tasted great over rice.

Will I buy corn from Nagano prefecture again? Probably not.

things I am liking (and disliking)...

This post is kind of a copycat of Deb's post, things she's liking this week, except I'm adding a spin on mine with a disliking portion.

First off, the things I'm liking....

Big Island Candies' lemon shortbread. I received these from my Aunty M, lemon shortbread with lemon bits in it, some covered in white chocolate, some in dark, some plain.

Not really a fan of white chocolate, I was surprised that the lemon shortbread actually matched the white chocolate more than the dark. (Thank you Aunty!)

With this awful humidity, I'm also liking cold drinks...Blueberry Bliss tea from Teavana. I received this from Deb when I met her. This tea is refreshing and delicious! I love the mixture of blueberry, rooibos and rosehip. (Thank you Deb!)

Last summer I read of a great way to make iced tea without having to heat up the water on the stove. Just pour 1 liter of water into a jug and add 3 tea scoops (about 3 tablespoons) of tea. Put the jug into your refrigerator overnight. Of course, if you want to make your tea stronger, add more tea leaves.

And iced coffee...when I make espresso or brew some coffee, I try to make extra to chill for the following day.

When drinking it, I add some milk to my coffee and then add more ice...mmm. If you use sweetener, you may want to make a simple syrup to put in the chilled coffee or put sugar into the coffee/espresso while it is hot. I drink my coffee black so I don't put any sweeteners in.

I am liking eating from the rainbow. Dinners have been mostly veggie type. For this particular meal I had eringi with kim chee, carrot salad, couscous pesto salad, 2 bean salad and fig with gorgonzola honey and pecan.

It was my first time making fresh figs with gorgonzola, a drizzle of honey and some pecans...mmm!

So, what is the part that I am disliking? After making the fabulous dinner mentioned above, Satoshi calling me last minute to say that he will be eating out...too bad, more for me!

What are you liking/disliking?

thinking outside the box

Awhile back, I posted about thinking outside the box...here.

I know during the summer here, people lose sleep because it is so hot but this was kinda ridiculous...the other day at the convenience store I ran into a doozy of a cashier.

I set my purchases on the counter then said, "shirushi onegaishimasu" (seal/sticker please) meaning that I just wanted her to put a seal/sticker on my purchases and I wouldn't need a bag.

She then turns around to the huge selection of cigarettes behind her and attempts to find a brand of cigarettes called "shirushi"....

Seeing this, I then say in Japanese, "no, I just want a sticker on my purchases." She says, "oh, shirushi (seal/sticker)"....like I was pronouncing it wrong or something...sigh...

Hope she isn't like this everyday...did I make you smile? hope so.

apple gorgonzola salad

During my trip to Hawaii, we went to Buca di Beppo for lunch, courtesy of my brother's gift cards to my parents (Thanks Keoki!).

One of the things we ordered was the Apple Gorgonzola Salad...this salad was delicious..tart granny smith apples, salty gorgonzola & sweet walnuts top some romaine with a puckery vinaigrette.

Curious to see if there was a recipe online, I surfed around and came upon this one.

The other night, I adapted it and came up with a delicious salad for dinner.

NOTES: For the candied walnuts, I used Ellie Krieger's "Maple Glazed Walnuts" recipe, but instead of caramelizing them in a heated pan, I baked them in the oven (so I wouldn't have to stand by the stove).

Also, for the vinaigrette, I omitted the dry mustard (because I didn't have any) and garlic (I was lazy to defrost some). I also used white wine vinegar which the recipe recommended using and cut back the amount of oil.

Since the market I shopped at only had one kind of apple (Jonah Gold), I used this in the salad.

I also added some sliced carrots and tomatoes. Also, there wasn't any romaine, so I used green leaf.

The salad was close to what I remembered...I'm making this again.