joshitsu

I found a lifesaver button on our air conditioner remote (red arrow on photo)...it is called joshitsu.

Joshitsu means dehumidifier and makes the room comfortable when the humidity is evil.

Our air conditioner in Osaka did not have this button (at least I don't think it did)

The nice thing about this button is that you can control the temperature too.

We are forecast to hit 32C (89F) with high humidity today...eep!

Hope you have a nice weekend.

cheese paste

Found this cheese paste at the supermarket recently.

Camembert cheese combined with butter to make this creamy paste.

The texture is similar to a thick fondue.

We first tried it on crackers similar to Ritz crackers but it was better on bread (toast).

I've put the other half in the freezer for us to enjoy another day.

What have you been enjoying lately?

this and that

How is everyone holding up?

We are doing fine.

The weather is wonky..days that they forecast to be rainy, turn out to be sunny...the temps are sometimes cool...

Satoshi just got word that they will have pay cuts...boo!

For his company, Japanese domestic travel is a large part of their income.

Still grateful that he still has a job and hope that domestic tourism will pick up so that their pay cuts won't last too long.

Be well everyone.

amazing

On one of my trips to the market, I noticed this building that had a grape vine, climbing up from the ground up to the 3rd story. 

So cool!

granola, oatmeal, this and that

After not being able to find oatmeal and having to buy some granola, I found a different brand of granola, this one only had a few ingredients in it, looking forward to tasting this one.

I notice that some brands of granola ingredients seem like the fruit is freeze dried?!  not really into this texture.

Hopefully this one will be different.
 

A couple of days later, I found oatmeal!

At my favorite market, I happened to go when the store opened and was able to get one of the three bags on the shelf!
 

Saturday, our first meal out was hotcakes at Civitas!

It was nice to have their hotcakes with ham, salad and fruits.

Our timing was nice because it was just before lunch time, also the shop monitored how many were seated to prevent crowding and after diners had finished, they wiped down the table and chairs with alcohol santizer.

(One thing I would do the next time we eat out would be to keep my mask on when ordering and keep it on until after we receive our food, taking the mask off just before eating only).

And then we got on the train for the first time in months and went to Okachimachi to shop at Takeya.

(While I was looking at the website of the company that makes the oatmeal I like to buy, I noticed that they also made this dark chocolate granola which I found at Takeya...they also made the granola that I bought the other week).

Looking forward to trying this one as well.

It's peach season!

This variety is called hanayome (literally flower bride)

This was a little green but very floral, the peel came off easily and was very juicy.

I found this beet at the store and it was huge!

I roasted it with this very unripe avocado...hoping both will be delicious.

The avocado turned out to be spongy after roasting, meh! but at least we didn’t waste it.

Have a good week!

the little things

Yesterday, I got my hair colored...yeah!

It was nice to be out and about, even if I had to wear a mask.

At the entrance of the department store, they ask you to use alcohol sanitizer.

At almost every shop entrance, there was alcohol sanitizer.

When coloring my hair, I had to take off my mask, but the person coloring my hair always wore a mask.

This is what my view at dinner was Wednesday night...

"Someone's" home office has taken up 3/4 of the dining room table...papers here and there...sigh

(a little late to the game, I thought to raise the computer up by using a box, so someone's neck wouldn't get stiff)

Again, I'm glad we got a bigger table so that at least I can eat "at the table" (even if it is a small corner of the table).

Also glad this work at home thing is only once a month for a week.

Have a nice weekend.

shortage

While the U.S. has been having shortages of flour and yeast during this pandemic, Japan's latest shortage is oatmeal. 

I guess because it is versatile and can be used to make granola, eaten as "oatmeal", used in cookies... 

Since we were running low on granola, and after hearing the news of the shortage, I thought I would be able to get a bag of oatmeal at my local market.

I usually make my own granola because I like to control the sweetness and what ingredients are put into it.

Nowadays, whenever I make this granola recipe, I only put in cacao nibs, nuts and seeds. 

Unfortunately, when I went to the market, the shelf was empty.  

Luckily though, I was able to find some granola.

Hopefully this shortage won't last too long.

On another note, wish me luck, I'm going to see if I can get my hair colored today...