Hassaku Ginger Sour Drink

As I wrote last week, I remade the Sour Drink again!
Finally, it was successful!
I soaked honey, hassaku (Japanese sour orange) and ginger in vinegar.
The bitter taste of hassaku is brisk and refreshing! The hot taste of ginger warms you up in the winter.
It was my boyfriend's idea to use hassaku, so I am glad that he gave me this idea.
The recipe is here.
Sorry again in Japanese, but will translate if you want.

Anyway, I gotta go now.
We have a convivial party which was canceled on 1/15.

Hope I can enjoy...
See you tomorrow.

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Hand Care Items

Yesterday, I couldn't write my diary because my home PC couldn't go online... Sometimes our LAN has a temporary problem, so this might be the reason. Hope it is fixed by this evening.

Anyway, I wish I could have a day off... my supervisor is verrry annoying. But I'm a good girl, I hardly ever take off from work!

Moaning is enough!
Today I want to write about my hand care items.
Since I cook almost everyday, my hands are brittle and cracked in winter. So this winter, from November, I started to use some hand care products!

The image on the right is Edible Hand Cream.
Since it contains edible ingredients, you can use it while you are cooking! It costs a bit but helps a lot!

The image on the left is Casabella's Water Stop Gloves. I hate to wear gloves while washing dishes but I soon got used to them. They just fit my hands!
Also, I love this kind of pink :)

Okay. I gotta go now.
See you again tomorrow.

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Crunchy Tasty Coffee Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate Ganache

Hi!
Compared to last week, it was not that busy this Monday. But badly a lot of inquires came in just before I go home...

Yesterday, I created 5 new recipes, including 3 sweet recipes for Valentines day. It was tough since my boyfriend doesn't like to eat that much of sweet stuff.

Anyway, last week I mentioned that my sister loved my brownies, so today I wrote the recipe!
Sorry in Japanese, but I will write it briefly in English.
I baked coffee chocolate brownies with walnut chunks.
Then I coated them with chocolate ganache with rum, sprinkled chocolate covered wheat puffs and decorated with white chocolate.
The crunchy taste of wheat puffs blends nicely with coffee flavor!

Oh my god, my boyfriend came back!
I gotta go now.
See you tomorrow :)

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Lucky Eho-Maki

Hi! Today it is very cold but sunny :)
But yesterday it was kind of stormy day for me. The weather was also windy but here I am talking about my life...

I first realized that the sour drink I "remade" the other day was unsuccessful :(
It's a long story, so I won't write it today, but I was shocked.
Then as usual, my supervisor was annoying!
Finally, by the time I go home, I realized that I forgot my key at home.
I ran to the real-estate office since it was just 10 past 18:00, in hope that there is someone at the office!
And that was right!
I luckily got the key and went home.
It was a tiring day.

Anyway, here I want to talk about something happy :)
February 3rd is Setsubun. It is the day before the beginning of Risshun (spring season).
On Setsubun, we cleanse away all the evil of the former year and drive away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come. This special ritual is called Mamemaki (bean scattering).
On this day, it is customary now to eat uncut maki-zushi called Eho-Maki ("lucky direction roll") while facing the yearly lucky compass direction, determined by the zodiac symbol of that year.
The lucky direction of the year 2008 is Hinoe direction.
I don't understand the meaning very well, but it is the direction of south by east (between south-southeast and south). Too complicated!!! So, if you eat Eho-Maki facing in that direction it will bring you luck. But just remember not to say "delicious" while eating. You have to eat all without speaking!

So today, I will show you my Eho-Maki that I made last year.
I named it "Lucky Eho-Maki".
I used seven lucky ingredients including lucky colors such as red and yellow: smoked salmon, corn, onion, baby leaves, avocado, mustard mayonnaise, and coarse grind black pepper.

I am now thinking what kind of Eho-Maki to make this year.

Okay, this is all for today.
Have a nice weekend!!!

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Ton (Pork) Balls Nabe

Hi! Today, I have a Japanese -> English translated recipe to show you!!!
It was my first time to translate my recipe but I had a request so I tried my best :)
I will add a label to this so that you can find this anytime you want! I will display the labels at the left side bar. Hope I receive more requests from now on. I want many people to try out my recipes!

This is one of the Nabe (or Nabemono) recipes that my boyfriend loved.
I wrote about this the other day.
I made it like Tonjiru (pork and vegetable miso soup), one of my boyfriend's favorite food :)

---------------------------------
Ton (Pork) Balls Nabe

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30-45min
Number of servings: 3-4

Ingredients:
300g (0.6lb.) ground pork
A
* 1 tbsp. grated ginger
* 2 tbsp. sake
* 2 tbsp. water
* 1 tbsp. black sesame
* a pinch of salt
250g (0.5lb.) daikon (Japanese radish)
125g (0.25lb.) carrot
1 gobo (Japanese burdock)
1 long green onion
4 shitake mushrooms
125g (0.25lb.) konjac
5 cups (1000cc) water
B
* 4 tbsp. red miso (regular soybean paste is OK!)
* 1 tbsp. Shinshu miso (regular soybean paste is OK!)
karashi (Japanese mustard)
shichimi togarashi (seven flavor chili pepper)

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix ground pork and A very well.
2. Wash well (shave the skin if needed) and thinly slice gobo (Japanese burdock) and soak in vinegar water to remove harshness.
3. Peel daikon (Japanese radish) and thinly slice into quarter-rounds. Peel carrot and thinly slice into half-rounds. Cut long green onion into 7cm (2.5inches) slices on the diagonal. Remove stems and cut shitake mushrooms into 4 pieces. Slice konjac and boil 2-3 minutes in order to skim the scum.
4. Boil the water in Nabe (large casserole) and roll 1. into small balls and dip into the boiling water one by one and simmer until done.
5. Skim the scum and add daikon, carrot, burdock, konjac and shitake mushrooms. Then cover and cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat.
6. Again, skim the scum. Dilute Miso in 1/2 cup soup broth and add to the soup.
7. Add long green onion and cook for about 3 minutes.
(Serve with karashi and shichimi togarashi, if you like.)

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
---------------------------------

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Rum Black Currant Dark Chocolate Brownies

Today, it is snowing!!!
It seems like to stop in the evening though.

Anyway, I don't have much time today.
I have a task to do and I am pretty excited to handle it!
Maybe I might be unable to update my diary tomorrow as well, but please forgive me.

Briefly, I will write about my Valentine's day recipe.
This is also from last year: Rum Black Currant Dark Chocolate Brownies.
I used rum soaked black currant and dark chocolate to make this.
The sour taste of black currant and the bitter taste of dark chocolate will soften the sweetness, so I recommend this for those who don't like sweet stuff (like my boyfriend).

Okay, I gotta go now.
Hope to see you again tomorrow!

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Luxury Strawberry Chocolate

Yesterday I was so busy that I couldn't write my diary...
Might be difficult to write on Monday.

Anyway, it supposed to snow yesterday, but it didn't.
I hate the havoc on the station, so it was okay. (I mean, I looked forward to it a little...)
Instead, there was a temporary blackout at Marunouchi Line...
This kind of train accident reminds me of that bad day...
But luckily, there wasn't any effect on my transportation, so I could go to work on time :)

Different story, on Saturday I went to my favorite cafe and was not that cold than I thought.
I stayed there for about 5 hours as usual.
I needed to think of chocolate recipes for Valentines day and I struggled a little.
I guess you know why --> my boyfriend doesn't like sweet stuff!!!
But I tried my best.
I came up with a few ideas and created 3 new chocolate recipes on Sunday!!!
I will show you if I have a chance :)
My mother and sisters loved my "Coffee Chocolate Brownies" so I hope I can write about this recipe at least someday.

Anyway, last year, I made "Luxury Strawberry Chocolate".
I baked chocolate cookies and glued strawberries on top of each with rum ganache.
Then I garnished them with heart shaped chocolates, which are also glued with rum ganache.
It wasn't that sweet, so my boyfriend ate it without hesitation.
Sorry in Japanese, but the recipe is here.
I will write in English if anyone wants.

Okay!
This is all for today.

Bye for now!

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Beef and Onion Ethnic Salad

To tell the truth, I have very little work to do this afternoon...
Maybe because it's Friday!
I wanna go home.

Anyway, every Saturday I have a lunch with my boyfriend at my favorite cafe near home, but I am thinking of switching to another cafe this weekend since it is very cold there.
Usually I stay there for about 5 hours to study and talk with my boyfriend but I don't think I can tolerate the cold...

Anyway, last Saturday I received a prize from @nifty (a company that operate Internet communication service).
They organized a cooking contest last year that asked for recipes which goes good with either white or red wine.
I created "Beef and Onion Ethnic Salad" for white wine.
I marinated boiled sliced beef and sliced onion & green pepper with lemon based hand made soy sauce dressing. Instead of adding nam pla (the fish sauce of Thailand), I sprinkled Ikura (salmon roe), which also has the taste of fish sauce.

Don't you think this is a good idea?
Try it out :)

Doing nothing is kind of tired.
It doesn't suit me...

I gotta find out something to do.

See you next week!!!

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High-Fiber Low-Calorie Bread

It is very cold in the morning almost everyday.
Yesterday, I prepared for the sour drink I mentioned yesterday.
I'm looking forward to trying it out next week.

Anyway, my boyfriend is busy attending new year's party every night so I can't put spirit into cooking.
So as yesterday, tonight he has another party to attend.
Hope I cook tonight, since I just made sour drink last night and didn't cook anything...

Different story.
Today, I tried out an interesting bread for lunch.
High-Fiber Low-Calorie Bread!
It just went on sale day before yesterday (1/15/2008).
This bread I posted here is a tuna bread.
It contains only 164kcal but has 4g of fiber!
Isn't it amazing!?

Current product lineup is here.

This bread project is organized by 5 Japanese companies, including Uny Co., Ltd. (a company that operates a chain of supermarkets in Japan) and Itochu Corporation (a Japanese general trading concern).
They named the project "Body Smile Project" and trying to offer healthy food products to the market by studying from the basic cooking ingredient.
Nowadays, people are getting more health conscious, so they focused on that issue by providing the products and services that satisfy their needs.

I hope I am translating the news correctly.
Anyway, I am looking forward to their next health project!

This is all for today.
Stay warm and take care!

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Apple Grey Vinegar Tea

Monday was a holiday and yesterday I was busy, so I couldn't keep my diary...
Yesterday, my supervisor caught a stomach flu and we canceled our convivial party. I don't like to hang out with my supervisor since he is not good at managing his business and I am sick of it, so to tell the truth I was relieved.
I don't want to waste time moaning about my supervisor, so I'm gonna stop.

On Sunday, I created 5 new recipes as usual.
One of them was a drink recipe using apple vinegar.
I received some vinegar products from Mizkan as free samples and I needed to submit "a sour drink recipe" as a task.
I added the apple vinegar and honey to the Twinings Earl Grey Tea.
I came up with this idea since I like Twinings Lady Grey Tea which has refreshing flavours of orange, lemon and bergamot.
My idea was good and I liked what I made, but I realized that I misunderstood the definition of "sour drink" after I submitted my work.
Sour drink is a drink made by soaking fruits and sugar in vinegar for more than a week. The flavor of the fruit will be added to the vinegar after a period of time. When ready, you dilute it with water (or soda or anything you like) and drink.
The vinegar contains nutritional elements that are effective in relieving fatigue. Also it reduces blood cholesterol levels and there are many other good things for your health.
Anyway, I will try again and soak something by next week :)

This is all for today!
Write again tomorrow, hopefully!!!

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Strawberry Daifuku

Too bad...
My sinuses are aching.
Did I catch a cold?
I hope not...

Yesterday we had a convivial party after work. We had a dinner at an Italian restaurant. The dinner was great and we had a good time than I expected. But I think I caught a cold there...

Anyway, we are eating good things everyday!
Today, my colleague bought us Strawberry Daifuku, which is a rice cake stuffed with strawberry and bean jam.
Daifuku is usually sweet but with strawberry it is refreshing and I love it in this way!

I once made this at home using green powdered tea.
I will link to my recipe, here.

Okay, see you next week!
Hope won't snow this weekend.

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Fish Sausage

Hello!
It is not that cold today but it gonna snow this weekend!!!
I hate the cold weather but want to see the snow :)

Anyway, today I want to write about Fish Sausage.
Recently I won the free trial of it.
It was offered by a Japanese company called Nissui.

Last year, they developed their package not using aluminum clip.
This might be the reason why they gave out free trials!
Their Fish Sausage is made of minced white fish using no eggs.
It contains 300ml of calcium / 85g.

Last night I made a rice bowl dish using this Fish Sausage.
I crumbled it using my fingertips and fried in the pan with a little seasoning of grated ginger, sake, soy sauce and sugar.
It goes good with white rice!!!
I arranged it with scrambled eggs and green beans to make it colorful and happy :)
My boyfriend loved it!!!

Sorry in Japanese but I have a recipe here.

This is all for today.
Will write tomorrow.

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Stir-Fried Chinese Cabbage

Hello.
Today is little bit cloudy, but not so cold. Which is good.

As I announced yesterday, my Chinese cabbage recipe is introduced at Megami's Recipes site!
The point of this recipe is that I used salt to tender the Chinese cabbage before cooking. You can save heating time and enjoy the crunchy texture. I fried the Chinese cabbage with bacon and eggs, which make the dish tasty with less flavoring.

Tomorrow we have a New Year's party after work.
I don't feel like going though...

I am getting drowsy!
Bye for now.

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Dashi Curry Nabe

Hi! I am so tired that I don't have much time to write today.
But yes! I cooked the porridge (nanakusagayu) last night!
The herbs were on sale after work, since we eat this porridge in the morning of January 7th. I forgot to mention it yesterday.

Anyway, another thing I forgot is to write about the nabe I tried the other day.
I cooked it on the day I planned. However, it wasn't that good than I thought. I used the vegetables and the meat as instructed on the package though...

But last week, I tried Nagatanien's curry nabe.
It was great!!!
I loved the flavor of the bonito dashi broth.
The recipe is in Japanese but here is it.

Different story.
Today, I was trying my best to leave the office on time.
But some people were arguing about the new system of overtime application.
It seems like they want to overwork...
I hate this kind of Japanese work style...

Okay, I gotta go.
Tomorrow, my Chinese cabbage recipe will be introduced at Megami's Recipes site!
I received an e-mail announcement yesterday.
Be sure to check it out :)
http://www.cooking-megami.com/

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Rice Porridge with Seven Herbs

Happy New Year 2008!!!
Today is the first day of work this year.
It was a long holiday but I still need more days off!!!
This morning, surprisingly I could get up!
During the holidays, I was keeping late hours so I was afraid of getting up early.
I need to be careful tomorrow morning as well.

This new year's holidays, I cooked new year's food (Osechi) as usual :)
I posted my Osechi here.
Also, I created 10 new recipes during the holidays.
I will show you some if I get a chance!

Anyway, today (1/7) is Jinjitsu.
It is also known as Nanakusa no sekku, "the feast of seven herbs", from the custom of eating rice porridge with seven herbs (nanakusagayu) to ensure good health for the coming year.
The image up here is the nanakusagayu I made last year.
The porridge is good for digestion after eating and drinking too much during New Year parties.
Also, those herbs used are rich in fiber and minerals, which may help improve digestion and blood circulation.
I am going to cook it tonight :)
(I have a recipe! But in Japanese, sorry... )

Hope this year brings everyone happiness and good health!
I believe there is nothing more valuable than good health!!!

Stay warm and see you again tomorrow.

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