SWEET MONAKA CREAM

Hello!
It is nice and clear today.

Last time I wrote that my boyfriend has Golden Week holidays from 4/29-5/5 though we regularly work on 30th, 1st and 2nd.
You know what!? I'm gonna take 3 days off, too!
Actually, we don't have that many plans, but we have a plan to stay the night in Yokohama!
During Golden Week holidays, people go somewhere, so it must be crowded everywhere. Also, it is pretty expensive to travel, so we planned to visit a place nearby!
We have reserved a nice hotel, and luckily, it happens to have a chef Wakiya's "Turandot" restaurant! I won a meal voucher for the restaurant in March!
Of course I reserved the restaurant!
I will write about it if I have a chance :)

Different story.
On April 22nd, very cute monaka ice cream store called "SWEET MONAKA CREAM" has opened in Shinjuku station!
Monaka is a Japanese sweet made of azuki bean filling sandwiched between two thin crisp wafers made from mochi.
Instead of azuki filling, MONAKA CREAM uses ice cream filling!
I haven't tried it yet, but I always pass through.
There are 12 different flavors: strawberry, chocolate, milk, green tea, banana, raspberry, mint chocolate, pumpkin, melon, blueberry, caramel, and purple potato.
Those wafers are made by Japanese cake confectioner, made of 100% mochi ! Those ice creams are made by Italian gelato chef, use a lot of milk!
Hope I could try out someday soon!

Okay, I might see you after the holidays!
Bye for now :)

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Dashi Marinated Tomatoes

Hello!
Still cloudy out here :(
Hope not rain.

It's Friday!
I'm kind of busy, so I will translate my easy & popular recipe.
Currently, 47 people have made this and said good! You can find their photo reports down this page.

Same as yesterday, I used Yamasa's Konbu Tsuyu (3 times concentrated Konbu kelp seaweed soup stock) for this recipe.
Read here about this product.

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Dashi Marinated Tomatoes

Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 5min + cooling time
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
200g (7oz.) cherry or grape tomatoes
1 tbsp. 3 times concentrated Yamasa's Konbu Tsuyu
katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes or shavings)

Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, then dip the tomatoes in hot water for a few seconds to soften the skin. Wait until they cool down. Then peel off the skin with your hands.
2. Place the tomatoes in a Ziploc container and pour Konbu Tsuyu over them. Toss lightly. Chill for 1 hour or longer.
3. Sprinkle katsuobushi on top and serve.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Yesterday, I started to take a hot bath and massage cellulite (lymph).
I found this is the easiest way to remove the cellulite at home.
Am I easily swayed?!
But I always think it is better than doing nothing...

Okay, see you next week :)

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Tuna Gomoku Takikomi Gohan

Hello!
Yesterday I was going to post this diary but couldn't beat the sleepiness again.
I came home late last night. I had the LPG Cellulite Treatment, which is now becoming popular in Japan. I just got a chance to have it done for free. It was better than I thought! I wish I could continue but it's pretty expensive.

The recipe I translated is my popular one!
It is flavored gohan (rice) with gomoku (5 ingredients, including tuna).
The recipe is very easy!
You just cut ingredients and cook in a rice cooker.
We call this kind of dish, "Takikomi Gohan".
It's my boyfriend's favorite!

Currently, 31 people have made this and said good!
You can find their photo reports down this page.

The point is that you use a canned tuna with its oil and that gives the rice and vegetables a rich flavor!
It is really delicious!

For the seasoning, I used Yamasa's Konbu Tsuyu (3 times concentrated Konbu kelp seaweed soup stock).
This product is very convenient!
It is mostly used for nabe, but goes good with other dishes, too!
It comes in different sizes.
Hope it is available at Japanese grocery stores overseas.
I saw it in NY (including suburban areas) though.

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Tuna Gomoku Takikomi Gohan

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 5min + rice cooking time
Number of servings: 4

Necessary Equipment:
suihanki (Japanese rice cooker)

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked Japanese rice (short-grain rice)
85g (3oz.) tuna in oil
50g (1.7oz.) carrot
10 sliced dried shitake mushrooms
100g (3.5oz.) canned takenoko (bamboo shoots)
1 fried tofu
A
* 50cc 3 times concentrated Yamasa's Konbu Tsuyu
* 1 tbsp. sake

Directions:
1. Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water until they become soft. Immerse fried tofu in hot water, press it using chopsticks (remove extra oil from the fried tofu), and drain and wrap in paper towel to remove any excess water.
2. Cut carrot, takenoko (bamboo shoots), and fried tofu into short and thin strips.
3. Wash rice, place the rice and water (to the correct water level) in a Japanese rice cooker, then add A and mix well. Put 5 ingredients (shitake mushrooms, fried tofu, tuna with its oil, carrot and takenoko)on top and close the cooker and switch it on.
4. When it's done, don't open and leave it for about 10 minutes to blend the flavor.
5. Open, mix well, and serve!

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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It was nice and warm yesterday, but raining again today...
Hope it clears up.

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Ketchup Miso Stir-Fried Pork and Cabbage

Hello! It is pretty warm today.
Recent years, since the weather in spring is unsettled, I am missing the chance to take my winter clothes to the cleaners during the winter campaign :(
Too bad. I realized that the campaign has ended few weeks ago...

Anyway. Yesterday, I won the second prize in the "ketchup contest" organized by Kagome (manufacturer of food and beverage products based on tomatoes and other various vegetables) at Cookpad (recipe site).

Kagome has newly released the tomato ketchup called "aragoshi" in February.
Its target is mothers in their 20's and 30's who have infant stage children.

Features of the product are the below:
1. use fresh tomato puree with Kagome's original flavor
2. keep rich flavor of tomato when you use as is or cook
3. roughly strained tomato to keep fruitiness

Its bottle comes with a twist!
1. it fits in Japanese lady's hand
2. stand type bottle which is easy to use at the dining table or kitchen


Also its cap has an idea!
1. gentle wavy shape is easy to clean
2. can uncap in few rotations

In February, as part of a promotion campaign, I won a free sample of this ketchup and was asked to create a recipe to enter the contest. And that was awarded yesterday!

My recipe is below.
I combined ketchup and miso to give sweet and rich flavor!
It goes good with white rice :)

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Ketchup Miso Stir-Fried Pork and Cabbage

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 10min
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
150g (5.3oz.) thinly sliced pork
A
* 1 tsp. sake
* 1 tsp. soy sauce
* 0.5 tsp. grated garlic
300g (10.6oz.) cabbage
60g (2.2oz.) green pepper
B
* 2 tbsp. sake
* 1 tbsp. miso
* 1 tbsp. ketchup
* 1 tsp. toubanjan (Chinese red chili paste, optional)
1 tbsp. sesame oil

Directions:
1. Cut thinly sliced pork into bite-size and season with A.
2. Cut green pepper and cabbage into bite-size as well.
3. In a small bowl, mix B well.
4. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan, and saute seasoned pork.
5. When the pork starts to change color, add cabbage and green pepper and stir-fry until they began to wilt.
6. Then add 3. and cook thoroughly.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Bye for now :)

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Yogurt Pomme-Pomme

Hi there!
We have bad weather these days.
Forecast said it will be partly sunny this afternoon, but it's cloudy.

I had nothing special, but ate sushi in the weekend.
My favorite is anago (conger eel), which is similar to unagi (eel) but less rich and high in protein!

Today, I will translate my popular sweet recipe: Yogurt Pomme-Pomme. It's a high-fiber low-calorie apple cake.
I used to cook this with my mom when I was small.
It is originally from Mademoiselle Ikuko's cookbook.
It is very easy! Even kids can cook :)

Currently, 233 people have made it and said good!
You can find their photo reports down this page.

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Yogurt Pomme-Pomme

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 45min
Number of servings: 20cm (8inch) pie dish

Ingredients:
1 apple*
150g (5.2oz.) plain yogurt (unsweetened)
5.5 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. cooking oil (optional**)
2 eggs
100g (3.5oz.) flour
1 tsp. baking powder
lemon juice
butter
flour

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (392 degrees F). Butter and flour a 20cm (8inch) pie dish.
2. Slice an apple into 16 pieces, coat them with lemon juice to avoid discoloration and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar and cooking oil (optional**). Then add plain yogurt and mix until smooth.
4. Sift in flour and baking powder a small amount at a time, and mix well.
5. Pour half of the mixture in the dish, arrange sliced apples on the mixture, pour the remaining mixture over the apples.
6. Bake at 200 degrees C (392 degrees F) for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.
You can either eat at room temperature or refrigerate!

*You can substitute the apple with banana, pineapple, prune, raisin, pear, or any other high fiber fruit goes good!
**You can cook without cooking oil to cut calories!

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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See you again tomorrow :)

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Buri Daikon (Japanese amberjack or yellowtail simmered with daikon)

Hello!
It is raining and cold today.
The weather forecast says temperatures dropped :(

Crazy!

... is my supervisor, as well.
I think I shouldn't be positive about him.


Last night, I couldn't beat the sleepiness again, so I will translate a recipe today :)
Buri Daikon is typical Japanese home-cooked meal!
The recipe vary from home to home, so here I will write mine.
I once introduced it here.
It is one of my popular recipes.



---------------------------------
Buri Daikon (Japanese amberjack or yellowtail simmered with daikon)

Difficulty: Medium
Time: 2hr
Number of servings: 2-3

Ingredients:
3 buri (Japanese yellowtail or amberjack) fillets
7 daikon radish cut into 2cm (0.7inch) thick round slices
1 small shoga (ginger root) sliced
salt
kome no togijiru (is a cloudy rice water that you get when you wash rice)
A
* 300cc dashi broth (using packaged dashi powder saves time)
* 100cc sake
* 50cc mirin (sweet sake)
* 50cc soy sauce
* 2 tbsp. sugar
B
* 100cc sake
* 2 tbsp. mirin (sweet sake)
* 2 tbsp. soy sauce
* 1 tbsp. sugar
C
* 1 tbsp. mirin (sweet sake)
thin strips of shoga (ginger root)
mitsuba (trefoil) leaves cut into 3-cm (1-inch-) -long pieces

Directions:
1. Cut buri into large bite-sized pieces, sprinkle salt on both sides and leave them for about 30 minutes.
2. Pour boiling water over the buri. Then wash off any remaining blood or dirt with running water. This process cleans away odors! When you use "buri no ara" (head and leftover pieces), I recommend you to wash them more neatly.
3. Use a peeler. Peel thick round slices of daikon radish and do mentori (plane off the corners) to prevent it from crumbling during long cooking.
4. Boil daikon radish with kome no togijiru (or water with a tablespoon of rice) for 15 minutes (it makes daikon clear colored and less bitter). Remove excess water with paper towel. This is called shitayude, to boil ingredients to certain firmness before cooking together with other ingredients.
5. Place A and slices of shoga (ginger root) in a pot. Bring to the boil, then add buri and cook for about 15 minutes. When you use "buri no ara", you cook 15 minutes before fillets, total of 30 minutes.
6. Add B and simmer for about 5 minutes until they blend.
7. Add daikon radish, cook on low heat for about 30 minutes till light brown.
8. Add C and boil over high heat for a few seconds to finish. Taste daikon radish and check if it's cooked all the way and absorbed the flavour of the buri and seasonings.
9. Serve with thin strips of shoga and mitsuba pieces on top.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Enjoy :)
Have a good weekend!

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Vinegar for Salad

Hello! Nice weather here today :)
Yesterday, I went to see the dentist.
Last Friday, I found a cavity by myself!
I regularly visit the dentist but it was not found because it was hidden in between teeth :(
Strangely, I had no pain in that tooth, but it was too late and the dentist had to kill the nerve.
I do brush and floss my teeth after every meal but the dentist says I am prone to tooth decay.
I guess I'm totally out of luck these days.

Anyway!

One of my vinegar recipes is now introduced at Mizkan's website!
As I wrote many times, Mizkan is famous for it's vinegar products.
In January, I won their new product sample, "refreshing apple vinegar for salad".
It has a spicy flavor of clove and cardamom, and a rich flavor of chicken and scallop.



I made Garlic Chicken Saute Salad using this product.

They also have "mild tomato vinegar for salad".
I didn't win this.
It has a spicy flavor of thyme and oregano, and a rich flavor of chicken.

They launched those vinegar products for people who want to cut calories and salt content.

This year, I see a lot of healthy food products on the market in Japan.
For example, many beer companies have started to release sugar-free beer!
I believe this is because, this year, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare proposed measures for addressing metabolic syndrome in its efforts to prevent lifestyle-related diseases. People aged 40 to 74 are required to take medical examinations to check for signs of excessive internal fat, high blood pressure and a high blood-sugar level, and to receive health guidance if necessary.
From here on, people will make healthy choices about the foods they eat, so the demand for healthy food products will increase!

Okay, this is all for today.
See you again!
Hope I can translate a recipe tomorrow :)

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Vegete

Hi! It is very sunny today!
Hope spring has come.

Yesterday, my supervisor was again very annoying.
He always comes to work late.
Also, he goes to lunch after the lunch break.
I hate him do that because no one knows where he went suddenly...
He says we can assume, but I think that makes no sense!

Anyway!

Last week, I didn't have a chance to write about my prize-winning piece so I will write about it today.

In March, Asahi (the 2nd largest beer brewery & soft drink company in Japan) gave out free samples of alcoholic beverage called "Vegete" and asked for recipes that goes good with it.
Vegete is low alcoholic beverage that contains 20％ each of vegetable juice and fruit juice.
It uses 21 different sorts of vegetables (such as carrot, spinach, asparagus, red bell pepper...) and 4 different sorts of fruit (such as orange, lemon...).
Asahi jointly-developed this product with Kagome (manufacturer of food and beverage products based on tomatoes and other various vegetables) combining their strengths.
Last Year, in September, they first launched tomato based alcoholic beverage, "Tomate" and was relatively successful.
Judging from it's reaction, they say that the new product "Vegete" will definitely appeal to and be a hit with health-conscious consumers!

I tried "Vegete" and was great!
It is uncarbonated and easy to drink :)
I think it will be hit with people of all ages!

So, my prize-winning recipe is "Ginger Marinated Bacon and Vegetables"!
Can you find mine at the linked page? :)
I used soy sauce and maple syrup to give a salty-sweet taste.
Also, I used a lot of grated fresh ginger to make it refreshing!
The recipe is here.
I will translate it in English if anyone wants :)

By the way, this week, I'm doing bad. Losing prizes...
I don't have time to bum out, so I'm gonna do my best!

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Moffle Maker

Hi! Again, I didn't have a chance to write my diary on Friday.
I have a lot to write and I have written a draft but I'm not ready to post it. I hope I can catch up.

Today is my sister's 18th birthday.
I bought her a Moffle Maker that makes "mochi" waffle.
This is very popular now in Japan!
Mochi is a Japanese rice cake.
You place it in the machine and cook it like you make a waffle.
You will get a crispy outside and soft & airy inside waffle shaped mochi, moffle.
You can eat it in many ways. With toppings, dipping sauce, or you can even sandwich your favorite ingredients inside. But to sandwich, you need to use thin mochi for shabu-shabu!

However, unfortunately, my sister said she doesn't like mochi...
I never knew that!!!
I thought she ate zoni soup at New Year's.

Anyway, I should better ask her from the next time, because I did the same thing at Christmas.
I gave her a toy cat but she didn't like a cat...

Okay, I need to stop!
Will come back next week!!!

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My Recipe Newsletters

Hello!
It's raining like the rainy season.
We have such a gloomy season in early summer called "tsuyu or baiu" in Japan. I hope the weather clears up by the weekend.

Anyway, on Wednesday, my recipe newsletters were introduced on the seasonal page of Mag Mag.
Mag Mag provides a newsletter delivery service, which I believe is the best in Japan. I write a newsletter on Fridays since 2004. It has been about 4 years already, but this was the first time to be featured!!!
Sorry that everything is in Japanese, but the image here is how my newsletter caption listed.
Currently, I have 871 readers.
Hope it increases.

Changing my story, yesterday I had laser hair removal done.
I searched on the Internet and was in between medical laser (such as Laser Diode) and beauty salon's IPL (Intense Pulsed Light).
Finally I decided to have IPL.
My friend goes to the salon and she said it was good, so that proved decisive :) For me, friend is more trustworthy than the Internet.
I purchased 2-year package, hoping to save time shaving...
I mean, I wanna take more time for my cooking!
Sounds crazy? Could be, but Joke! Ha-ha.

Okay, gotta go now.
See you again :)

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Tokyo Sweets: Strawberry Mochi-Feuilles

Last night, I was going to post my diary, but I couldn't beat the sleepiness :(

Yesterday, it rained hard all day long.
My trouser bottoms got wet when I arrived at my workplace.
But I had a company uniform, so that helped a lot.

Also, yesterday, I had a long long meeting, for about 3 hours, at work.
It was my supervisor's fault!
I reconfirmed that he is hopeless.

Writing about Monday, I went to see an orthopedist near the station.
To tell the truth, I still had a pain in my ankle since 3/14.
I tolerated the pain till that day but one of my co-workers recently knew she had cracked her knees by seeing a doctor, so I got scared and went to have an examination ...
Luckily, my bone was fine.
But the doctor told me that if I had sprained the ligament, it might have been serious.
I didn't know that, so I would go if I (hope not) sprained my ankle again!!!

Anyway, on that day, my boyfriend bought me "strawberry mochi-feuilles" for a souvenir.
He got them at Shinjuku station after his business trip to Saitama prefecture.
It was neither a special day nor special trip. I guess he bought it because it is my favorite color: pink!
Mochi is a Japanese rice cake.
It was sanded with strawberry confiture (jam) on and in between almond sponge cake.
Very interesting and new taste! I never thought of this idea :)
Thank to my boyfriend!

Okay, all for today :)
I think I have a delay in my diary, but will keep it up!!!

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Mediterranean Curry

Sakura season has ended.
It is passing fast year by year...

On Saturday, my boyfriend told me that he has Golden Week holidays from 4/29-5/5! Regularly, we work on 30th, 1st and 2nd. How lucky he is!!!

You know what?!
I am sometimes, or always easily annoyed by little things.
I didn't used to be like this, but recently I am not satisfied with many things around me.
So... My boyfriend told me to appreciate everything.
He says I will be happy then.
Right... He is always a happy person!
I wish I could think in his way.
And I am trying to... but looking at reality at work...everybody lacks power, very slow and... I can't take it!!!

When I was a student, I didn't like to do my homework.
But now, I think that was an easy task!
Now I am seriously thinking what I want to do in my life.
I am addicted to cooking, but I believe that is not everything.
Maybe this is why I get depressed sometimes...

Anyway!

On 4/4, I made curry and rice for my boyfriend's 33rd birthday.
As I wrote before, curry and rice is one of my boyfriend's favorite dishes!
I used his favorite vegetable: shishitougarashi (Japanese peppers)!
It has little hot taste but not like chili peppers!
It is more like green peppers.

In Japan, we use "curry roux" to make curry and rice.
It is something different from those served in Thailand or India.
Less spicy and rich in taste.

There are many different kinds of curry roux in Japan.
This time, I used one I got from S&B for a free sample.
The product is called Mediterranean Curry.
It's by French chef called Daniel Martin.
It's sales points are Mediterranean ingredients, such as rich Italian tomatoes and Spanish olives, that complement the spicy taste of curry.
It went great with shishitogarashi!!!

The recipe in Japanese is here.
I have standard curry and rice recipe, too :)

Okay, see you tomorrow again!

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Yummy Yakiniku

Tonight, I went out and ate Yakiniku with my boyfriend.
Yakiniku commonly refers to a Japanese style of cooking bite-sized meat (usually beef and offal) and vegetables on gridirons or griddles over flame of wood charcoals carbonized by dry distillation (sumibi) or gas/electric grill. It is usually seasoned with tare (soy sauce base sauce) or salt.

We went to a restaurant called Yakiniku Road close to the train station. We knew there, but we have never been there since it looks very classic.
But today, I realized that I shouldn't judge by how it looks.
It was great!
To tell the truth, I don't like Yakiniku, but it was something different!!!
I've never had this kind of Yakiniku before.
Lastly, for "shime (the very last food usually rice or noodles)", we had Korean style cold noodle. In Japan, we have Korean style food (such as kimchi, nameul, bibimbap and others) at Yakiniku restaurant. I don't know why, but it is common.
It was perfect :)

You know what!? I will write more about restaurant food in Japan on this blog, too!
Since there are many other delicious foods that I don't cook at home!
I have one more recent favorite food that I haven't written.
Will write someday next week.
Also, I will write about the dinner I cooked on my boyfriend's birthday.
It is curry and rice, one of his favorites.

Good night.

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CNET Networks / ZDNet Japan

Hello!
I am writing again today, because I don't think I can write tomorrow.
Somehow, I don't get a chance to write my diary on Fridays and Mondays.

Good news.
On 4/1, my "Western Style Green Pepper, Carrot, and Egg Kinpira" was introduced at CNET Networks / ZDNet Japan!
There is a rabbit (?) character called Ziddy and she features a cafeteria at a company once in few weeks. This time, she visited Cookpad. They don't have a cafeteria but they have a kitchen, so they cooked their lunch for the feature, and mine was cooked :)
Here is the article and mine is this.

You know what?!
I run 2 websites at work, and wanted ZDNet to feature those.
I wouldn't have thought of my recipe (hobby) to be featured there first.

Tomorrow is my boyfriend's 33rd birthday!
I always give him a tie, so wondering what to give...
Hmm. Pajamas might be good because he always wears the same ones and I don't have a chance to wash, ha-ha.
Tonight, he is going to eat out with his business partner, so gonna get something!!!
Also, gonna get a cake for tomorrow morning, since it is not good for his health to eat sweets after dinner:)

@23:00

I got him this cake!
Don't you think it pretty with sakura prints?
Also, I got him pajamas :)

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