Pasta Pomodoro with Home-Made Basil

My mom gave my darling a planter of basil for his belated birthday gift. I don't know why she gave him the basil, but my darling liked it :)



Today, he picked some leaves, so I cooked pasta pomodoro with basil for lunch!



Yummy :P

We once tried to grow tomatoes and other veggies in our garden of old home but they were all eaten by locusts, so I'm not that positive about growing something but at least we can keep this pot in home, I hope we have no problem!

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Buso Marathon and RAKERU Lunch

This morning, my darling and I completed 10km (6 miles) Buso Marathon! At the end, we received a certificate, which is cool :D



Maybe we can try a half marathon (20km) someday!

For lunch, we had omurice at RAKERU. suki told me their omurice is good and was true in Japan, too! I ordered very refreshing omurice with grated radish on top and my darling ordered omurice with demi sauce! Both were rich in taste and not at all fatty because they use healthy egg called Yodoran (Hikari brand of iodine-enriched eggs) which I always use for my cooking and contests :D



My darling is having a nap, so I am blogging. hehe

See ya!

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Juicy Tender Simmered Eggplant - Video Recipe

New video is up now :D



I thank to all my friends who watched my videos. I know it is hard and takes time to generate traffic but I want to focus more on the content as usual like I write my blog posts! Anyways, it is a day-long project to complete one simple video recipe, so I wish I could get used to it soon!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3ZcVgJtU1Q

BTW, starting from tomorrow till 5/8, we are having Golden Week holiday (GW) in Japan. It's a large consecutive holiday containing public holidays.

Tomorrow my darling and I are going to participate in a 10km (6 miles) marathon!

And yes! I already have a list of places where we (I) want to go during the holiday :D
- Royal Wing Lunch Cruise - My mom gave me free tickets! It's been a while to go Yokohama.
- Shibuya 109 - I haven't been there for ages X(
- Rise Shopping Center - Newly opened huge mall in Futakotamagwa!
- Daiso or Can Do - I gotta make sure if I can get what I want at a dollar before I spend too much. LoL
- Grandberry Mall - It's an outlet!
and so on…

I'll be posting my updates when I get a chance ;)

Have a nice day!!!

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Char-Grilled Anago

I think some of you now know that I'm crazy about Anago (conger eel)!



My grandpa used to catch tons of Anago and char-grilled them for us. I remember I ate more than ten of them at once! mmm yummy!!!

But things had changed and just before my grandpa passed away, people were banned to catch Anago. (It's pretty expensive to buy at stores...)

Anyways, char-grilled ones are the best! Unlike eel, Anago is not at all greasy! So, I love it!

I just received them as a gift! I think it is the perfect gift for me. hehe

What is your favorite food!?

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Incipio MacBook Shell Case Review

So far, I am very satisfied with my Incipio MacBook Pro 15in Feather Ultralight Hard Shell Case!





It really keeps my spirits up while working :)

And yes! Even I am spending more time on my video creation, I will keep up my blog because I just found that my blog has been accessed by over 100 thousand people (up to the present)!

Talk to you later!!!

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How to Cook Steamed White Rice (Gohan) - Video Recipe

Last night, I completed the first video showing you How to Cook Steamed White Rice (Gohan)!



If I stick to the quality, I can recreate it forever, so I just uploaded whatever I made... so bear with the quality...



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How to Cook Steamed White Rice (Gohan)

Difficulty: Super Easy
Time: approx. 30min
Number of servings: 4 (2 cups of rice)

Necessary Equipment:
suihanki (Japanese rice cooker)

Ingredients:
2 cups Japanese-style rice
water

Directions:
1. Measure the Rice:
Measure the rice with a measuring cup and put it into the cooking pot. Most of the time the measuring cup comes with your rice cooker!
2. Rinse the Rice:
With cold water, wash the rice. As for 2 cups, wash 4 or 5 times. Water does not have to be clear but somewhat clean.
3. Add Water:
Add water to the appropriate level indicated in the pot. If you have time, let the rice soak in the water at least 30 minutes.
4. Start the Cooker:
Place the pot into the rice cooker. Cover it, and press the button to start.
5. Steam:
When it's done, do not open and let it steam for about 15 minutes.
6. Toss:
Using a rice paddle, toss the rice lightly.
7. Serve:
You can keep the rice warmed until you unplug the rice cooker so serve when other dishes are ready.
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The next video will be a dish that goes good with white rice!

I hope I can post it soon :)

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Home Renovation - Pro Pics

I finally uploaded our renovation pictures taken by a professional photographer on facebook!!!



Actually the photographer took the pics on the day of the huge quake (3/11). omg...

*Renovation Updates*
- Completed
- 7th Week
- 6th Week
- 5th Week
- 4th Week
- 2nd and 3rd Week
- 1st Week
- The Start Date

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Introduction to my Channel

Some of you may already know that I am going to leave my job on May 31st. I have been working at a trading company for 7 years but after the huge quake in Miyagi, I thought it's end of Japan (and I think many people did thought in the same way...) So, I simply thought I want to use my time to share Japanese cooking which is the most thing I can do for myself and for my country at this moment. I believe Japanese dishes are amazingly healthy and delicious and people have to try out at home! And maybe your interest in Japan (consuming Japanese products?!) would help restore Japan after many many years!

So, for a few years, I shared my ideas of Japanese home-cooked meals through my blog but now I decided to share them through my Create Eat Happy :) channel @ YouTube, which I think is more interesting and easier to understand.

I mostly cook Japanese foods in a style using popular Japanese food products which most Japanese homemakers use. So, I hope you enjoy!

BTW, I'm new to speaking English online and editing how to videos using iMovie, so please bear with me until I improve!

I hope I can post my first tutorial as soon as I can!



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See you!!!

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Wrong Belief

To tell the truth, I don't like Japanese (as a subject). I remember my parents used to worry about my Japanese language when I came back to Japan at 5th grade of elementary school because we used to live overseas (in Jordan) for 6 years.

Back then, everyone focused on my Japanese and that made me really sick of reading books and writing Kanji, and strangely I still think the same way. LoL

Majority opinion gives the wrong belief?!

Also, many people said I am not good at sports, so I still feel in that way, too.

Do you have anything that you are not good at just because others said so?

Vice versa, I like cooking because my darling really enjoys eating my dishes. hehe

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PACCO Dining Set

On Saturday, our new dining set (PACCO) has arrived!



I am new to the mac world, so it took me so long to edit these pictures...





Yesterday I shoot a video of our home but again taking me long to edit it with iMovie.

Hopefully, I'll upload it on my YouTube channel soon.

Bye for now ;)

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Gulliver's Travels

Gulliver's Travels just came out on Friday (2011/4/15) in Japan.



Travel writer Lemuel Gulliver (Jack Black) takes an assignment in Bermuda, but ends up on the island of Lilliput, where he towers over its tiny citizens.

So, on Saturday, my darling and I went to the movies after so long! The story was comical but somewhat romantic. I kind of agree that people can feel motivated by other people's attention. It was funny that Gulliver actually changed Lilliput while he couldn't change anything as a mail clerk.

Did you see the movie already?!
How was your weekend?!

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Belief

Many people lost hope after the quake because of losing their family, friends, homes,  jobs, money, and everyday things we take for granted.

Under such circumstance of nothing, one of the things that give hope for their future is belief that things will work out.

I totally understand that because even people in Tokyo are having hard time paving the way for the future...

I am officially leaving on 5/31 but today is the last day to commute to work. I have a positive belief in my decision!!!

Have a good weekend :D

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SPAM Comments from Your Smart Kitchen...

Your Smart Kitchen writes skillful comments on my blog. I first didn't realize they were SPAM because their comments were somewhat related to my posts. But one thing that made me stop and think was they always post with a different name with the same link to their website.

Also, I sometimes get auto-related SPAM comments on my BMW post. LoL

Do you get any SPAM comments that relates to your posts?! What do you do against them?!

I now simply delete them... but seriously replied to it once. haha

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My Mom's Juicy Tender Simmered Eggplant

This is very simple but my favorite dish that my mom cooks ;)

It's a sweet soy sauce flavor (kind of teriyaki flavor) that goes perfect with white rice.

Perfect for your bento okazu (side dish), too!!!



Video Recipe Available :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3ZcVgJtU1Q

---------------------------------
My Mom's Juicy Tender Simmered Eggplant

Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 20min
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
360g (0.8lb.) eggplant
1.5 tbsp. mirin (sweet sake)
1.5 tbsp. sugar
1/3 tsp. hon-dashi (packaged dashi powder)
2 tbsp. soy sauce
sesame oil
1.5 tbsp. ground white sesame seeds

Directions:
1. Chop eggplant into chunks and soak them in water to remove the oxalic acid and drain.




2. Heat sesame oil in a pan and stir-fry eggplant. Add mirin, sugar and hon-dashi, and cook for 3 minutes.




3. Season with soy sauce (adjust to suit your taste if needed) and simmer until the liquid is almost gone and tender. Mix in ground white sesame seeds and serve.



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

Yummy Yummy!!!

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Karaoke Addiction

I've become addicted to karaoke when I was a high school student. I couldn't afford to go there that often at that time but I remember I went there after finals with my friends for more than 3 hours!



My darling unfortunately doesn't like to go karaoke so now I go there once in a great while. Maybe twice a year or less. (My darling sings if I hand over a microphone, though...)

Anyways, yesterday I saw on TV that "your tastes may change for your loved one". I guess my Karaoke addiction reduced after I met my darling! LoL

Did any of your taste change for your loved one?!

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Mayo Curry Stir-Fried Diced Potatoes and Sausages

My darling loves curry flavor and so does the most Japanese kids ;) Mayonnaise makes the dish mild and rich! Potatoes and sausages in my fridge perfectly matched this flavor and became heavenly delicious!!!

This recipe was published in a food magazine called Lettuce Club (3/25/2011 issue).

---------------------------------
Mayo Curry Stir-Fried Diced Potatoes and Sausages

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 10min
Number of servings: 1-2

Ingredients:
100g (3.6oz.) sausage
100g (3.6oz.) potato
60g (2.4oz.) onion
40g (1.5oz.) carrot
1/2 clove garlic
A
* 1/2 tsp. curry powder
* 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
* salt and cracked black pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
parsley flakes

Directions:
1. Finely chop garlic. Dice sausage and onion. Dice potato and carrot and microwave on medium (500W) for 3 minutes (makes root vegetables stir-fry faster).
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry chopped garlic till fragrant. Add sausage and onion and stir-fry on medium until onion softens. Add potato and carrot (1.) and cook over high heat until golden brown.
3. Quickly season with A, spoon onto serving plate, and sprinkle with parsley flakes.

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

Enjoy!!!

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