Apple iPad VS Amazon Kindle

Did you see this news yesterday?! Apple has announced they will release iPad (tablet computer) in March! It is more like iPod Touch or iPhone than laptop computer (it can run all apple apps) and has an e-book reader like Amazon Kindle! It costs $830 with a function of 3G cellular and $499 without... (Image from New York Times)

My darling loves to read books on Kindle, so he was watching this news on TV with a twinkle in his eyes...

Compared to Kindle, iPad has a fragile glass screen... I'm afraid to carry it around with me. I mean... I'm afraid to hear my darling saying he wants to get one! What do you think?! It looks cool, though! Ha-ha!!!

Like I love to shop clothes and cute stuff, my darling loves to try new tools, so why don't I let him get one if he said he wants to?!

Have a good weekend :D

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Kobe Pudding Flavored Kit Kat

Do you remember me writing about Kobe Pudding?
I believe you don't. He-he!

Yesterday, my co-worker gave me a Kit Kat with Kobe Pudding flavor!!! It is a limited edition made in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of Kobe Pudding. It tasted like pudding but you won't realize it until you are told what the flavor is :P

BTW, I once found wasabi (Japanese horseradish) flavored Kit Kat at Tokyo station. Yuck, but wanna try that someday!!!

I am really busy these days. I wish I have more time... but I am writing my post! And I'm gonna attend the hula class tonight!!! They are something different, you know! jose understands me ;)

See ya :D

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OMG!

I made a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig mistake today!!!



Good luck to me... X(

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How Often Do You Eat a Cake?!

Hello! I'm falling asleep, so writing my post :P

How often do you eat a cake?

Since my darling doesn't like sweet stuff, I eat only once or less in a month. You know it is much happier when you eat it pleasantly with someone you can talk freely, so I don't eat it by myself. Anyway, I thank to him because I can avoid gaining weight from sweets!

However, at the year-end and New Year parties, I had so many chances to eat cakes!!! Like I said before, I gained a few pounds and still haven't burnt it :( The image is a cake buffet from my company year-end party. Wow! I saw a guy eating them in bites. I can't believe him not savoring them!!! My darling is the same, though... He eats cake really quick! Why don't guys take time?! So, I always cut a cake into half to save my piece when I share with him! Again, my darling doesn't like a cake... I don't understand why he makes his way into my piece...

Okay, coffee time (without a cake)!

Have a good day :D

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Yakiniku @ Gyutetsu

Hi! How is the weather at your place?!

It was cold in Tokyo this weekend, so my darling and I went out to eat yakiniku to warm up by the grill. He-he :D

We've been to a restaurant called 牛鉄 (Gyutetsu) near the station. 牛鉄 means iron cow... funny if I translate. Ha-ha! We knew the place for a long time, but it was our first time to eat there! Their grilled chicken and scallop were delicious! They were salt flavored and you dip them into fresh lemon juice :D Yummy!!!

The average budget was 2,500yen ($25) per person, but we spent 3,000yen ($30)... Did we eat a lot?!

Anyway, I wore wig bangs on this day. Little bit weird, but it is okay for a change :P

Busy Monday! Bye for now!!!

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My Accomplishments

Wow! Time flies! Before I forget, I will list my accomplishments for December.

On 12/3, my miso fried chicken won the prize at fundodai's recipe contest using their seasoning products. They nicely introduced my recipe on their site :D







On 12/4, my tea leaves baked potatoes won the highest prize at おぶぶ茶苑(obubuchaen) in Kyoto. I received many different kinds of Japanese teas as a prize! Great thanks!!!






On 12/7, my LOVE sushi won the February prize. I made it for Valentine's day ;)








On 12/7, my minced chicken simmered long yam awarded a grand prize! It was a contest using Kikkoman's soy sauce.








On 12/14, my Japanese style rolled cabbage nabe awarded the Asahi Off prize. Asahi Off is a healthy low-malt beer which reduced purines by 85% and carbohydrate by 70%!






On 12/14, my Buri Daikon (Japanese amberjack or yellowtail simmered with daikon) was introduced at Cookpad with P&G's Hi Wash Joy (dish soap).







On 12/14, my kelp steamed rice won the highest award at Asahi Food & Healthcare's diet recipe contest.




On 12/15, I received 10th photo report of my curry chicken fries.









On 12/20, my healthy yogurt soy mousse was printed on a recipe card of soy milk product called sugoidaizu.








On 12/20, I don't find the picture, but my beauty smoothie won outstanding performance award at Manbo Corporation's recipe contest. Their famous product is squid shumai. However, for my work I used their white sesame collagen pudding.

On 12/26, my pork and kimchi fried rice won the grand prize at Kyushu Asahi beer's recipe contest. I received 30,000yen ($300) travel coupons! I just took a snapshot of our quick dinner... so I didn't expect to win such a big prize! I think I was lucky!!!

On 12/31, my donut ring Christmas cake won the grand prize at Yodoran (iodine-enriched egg)'s contest. I received 20 egg coupons!






Also, I received many prizes for participation: creap recipe contest, Nagatsugawa recipe contest, nikka (whisky) recipe contest, cabbage recipe contest, kikkoman new year's food recipe contest, and Higashiharima healthy recipe contest. Plus, I won 2 dozens of Sukoyaka tea samples.

All for today!

Have a good weekend!!!

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foursquare

Today, I found an interesting site called foursquare and created an account there out of interest.

Foursquare on your phone gives you & your friends new ways of exploring your city. Earn points & unlock badges for discovering new things... Foursquare lets you leave tips (cafes, parks, museums, bars, etc... or you can add your own venue) for your friends to discover when they check-into places. You should leave tips to let people know about your favorite experiences - foods to try, drinks to order, things to do, artwork to see... really, anything you find amazing.

Isn't it cool?! But, lately, there are too many ways to exchange information with your friends over the Internet. I don't know whether I'm gonna keep this account or not...

Anyway, how many accounts do yo you have and how often do you check or update them?!

I have an account at here (blogger), twitter, facebook, foodbuzz, cookpad, orangepage, mixi, plus many other sites... I check and update about 5 accounts a day... Crazy, hah?!

It is very warm today. High is 65F (17C)! But tomorrow it will drop down to high F50s (10Cs). Need to be careful not to catch a cold!

Hula tonight! Bye for now :D

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Nano Care EH-SA42

Nano Care EH-SA42 is Panasonic's latest beauty appliance, which was launched last November. You can use it over the makeup while at work (at your desk) or watching TV :D

Mostly, ionic steamers require you to fill them with water, but this product keeps your surroundings moist by collecting moisture in the air! Don't you think it's cool!? Thus, if you turn on this item, you won't suffer from dry skin throughout the day.

Last Christmas, I received it from santa (my darling) and set it on my desk at work ;) I sometimes felt lazy to go to work, but now, if I think I'm going to a spa everyday, I don't mind it at all. I'm at my desk almost 8 hours a day, so I think I'm fully taking an advantage of it! For those who don't want to go to work, I recommend you to set this item on your desk. Ha-ha!!!

Anyway, talking about the result, not a drastic change, but I think it keeps my skin moisturized! Better than nothing, right?!

Let's spend our time wisely ;D

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Voice Band for the iPhone

This is such a funny application!
After watching at this video, my darling bought it at 350yen ($3.50)...

A new iPhone app that turns your voice into an instrument in real time. You sing into the iPhone, and it turns your voice into a guitar, a bass, synth, etc. The entire song in the video is created with just a voice singing into the iPhone.



Voice Band doesn't simply change your voice to sound like an instrument, it actually plays a real sampled instrument which follows your singing. Want to jam to a guitar solo with your favorite bands? Voice Band lets you play along with your iPod library, too!

This sounds cool! Maybe I can use the mic to enjoy karaoke :D
Anyway, I don't think my darling can fully use this app...
I sometimes don't understand how he spends his money. Ha-ha.

What do you think?!
Let's say you have an iPhone, do you wanna get this app?!

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Hiroshimayaki

On Saturday, we found a newly opened yummy hiroshimayaki restaurant near station. Hiroshimayaki is a Japanese pancake (similar to okonomiyaki) containing a variety of ingredients with soba. We sat at the counter, in front of the grill to warm up :D



A pile of cabbage strips were flattened in few minutes. We added scallion topping, which was really refreshing and delicious. At this restaurant you can pick udon instead of soba! Maybe we can try udon next time :D

I guess the restaurant is managed by young cooks, but they cook their very best, so everything was delicious. I hope they maintain that hard work forever!!!

I found an interesting sake called 伊根満開 (inemankai). It's a red rice sake! It was sweeter than regular sake like Chinese 紹興酒, but was not strongly scented like 紹興酒. Maybe I want to try this again, when I go back!

BTW, yesterday, I cooked and took photos of 14 new recipes.
Damn tired today!!!

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Soy Milk

How often do you drink soy milk?

I used to drink it only once in a while when I felt like drinking. But half a year ago, I won soy milk for a half year and received a box full of soy milk cartons every month, so I started to drink it almost everyday! I first didn't think of drinking and gave all cartons to my mom before they expire, but I knew soy milk is good for our health, so I started to make a soy milk smoothie every morning!!!

Soy milk is a beverage made from soybeans. It contains about the same amount of protein as cow's milk, far less saturated fat than cow's milk, and isoflavones which is good for rejuvenation (I think jose likes this!). In addition to these benefits, I knew it also lowers blood cholesterol levels. Like I wrote before, my blood cholesterol levels were rising year by year and I was kind of worried... but since I started to drink soy milk, they reduced!!! At the same time I went to the GYM, so maybe that was effective, too! Anyway, all attractive nutrients are contained in soy milk, so I'm loving it now. He-he!

My smoothie recipe is really easy. You mix 1 frozen banana + 1 small cup (100g) of flavored yogurt + 200ml of soy milk in a blender! It serves two, so I gave half to my darling ;) I sometimes add a spoonful of collagen powder to mine :D

Changing my story, I have laser hair removal appointment tonight and a hair cut appointment tomorrow... Then I need to create more than 10 new recipes this weekend! Whew... I don't know why I made such a hard schedule like this... Damn!!!

I hope I am okay...

Have a relaxing weekend ;)

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bombón de higo - rabitos royale

Last week, my darling bought a box of fig bonbons called "Rabitos Royale"!

In a thin layer of chocolate, there is a big fig stuffed with soft cognac (brandy) ganache! Mmm! Happy yummy taste :D

Don't you think it is healthier to eat a chocolate with dried fruit?!

Anyway, I gained 2 pounds after the new year's holiday!!! I think we for sure gain weight afterwards... like after a week or so!

The low today is 28.4°F (-2°C). Brrrrr.

Gonna go out for lunch with my co-worker now :D
Maybe first time in 6 months with her!!!

See ya!!!

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Damn Perfectionist...

Yesterday, I realized that I was cooking my best in the other direction. I sometimes misunderstand things when not explained clearly. Am I offbeat?!

I love to create things but I'm currently under huge pressure... I think I need to stop everything, relax, and start it over again X(

I just had a "good luck shrimp tempura udon" at Ajinomingei yesterday, but here comes this result... I hope good luck comes after the bad one!

Okay!!! I'm gonna replan everything for January this afternoon.

Jo knows... perfectionist is not easy!

Good luck to me!!!

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