Last Day

I used all my paid leaves to date. I thought quitting the job would give me more time but it was impossible. hahaha A month was pretty fast and I found I have a lot of things to do!!!

Last Friday, I went to work to see my co-workers for the last time. They gave me a flower and cookies. The flower was just the color I love :D





Great thanks!!!

I want to best use my time for my creations :)

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Kampai Omurice - Video Recipe

Quite some time ago, I made a funny omurice, if you remember! Those fingers are sausages! I drew nails and the beer foam using mayonnaise. Simple but entertaining!



Kampai (乾杯) means "cheers" in Japanese!

Omurice is a fried rice wrapped with thin omelette. Usually, the rice is chicken rice (seasoned with ketchup) but you can use any kind of flavored rice (leftover is perfect!): Chinese-style fried rice, pilaf, Paella, etc…

In my tutorial, I used Chinese-style fried rice!

It can be a great father's day menu idea or a dish to surprise your honey ;D



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Kampai Omurice

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 20min
Number of servings: 1

Ingredients:
8oz. (225g) flavored rice of your choice
1 egg
2.5 sausage
cooking oil
ketchup
mayonnaise

Directions:
1. Cut one sausage diagonally to look like your thumb. And chop the other two to look like the rest of your fingers.
2. Beat 1 or 2 eggs in a bowl. Heat cooking oil in a pan and make a thin omelette. If you don't have a rectangle omelette pan, you can make a circle thin omelette and cut it later.
3. Remove the omelette and cook sausages.
4. Cut the longer side of the omelette to make a thin strip.
5. Place the flavored rice of your choice on the plate and shape it like a mug.
6. Cover the rice with the thin omelette and make a handle with the thin strip.
7. Place the sausages to look like holding the mug.
8. Draw the fingernails and the beer foam with mayonnaise.
9. Write a message with ketchup!

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Enjoy!

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Abnormal Weather in Japan

The rainy season has started in Japan. It was 20 days earlier than last year. We see rain marks on the weekly weather forecast in Tokyo X(



And another abnormal weather we have is that the typhoon #1 passed by the Japanese continent earlier this month which was the first time in the record. Also typhoon #2 is approaching this weekend… so that means the rain on the weekend would be severe. oh boy…



How is the weather in your country?!

Today we still don't have rain yet! I'm glad it starts to rain from late in the evening because I have to go to work, which actually is going to be my very last day!

Have a good weekend!!!

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YouTube Medal?!

Yesterday, I saw a gold medal on my YouTube channel "temporarily". LoL



I hope it is not the first and last time to see it. (It always displays in Japanese and can't change the language in my account, maybe because I live in Japan, but do you see my profile in English?!)

I'm not yet pretty sure how the YouTube works. It seems like I need to upload more videos to generate more traffic, but so far, I am happy to hear that my blog buddies enjoy my videos :D

I'm glad I came up to this idea to create videos.

I want to best use my time, while young and vital. hahaha. But one happy thing other than my age is that I used a weight scale that you can measure inside of the body, and my age was 23!!! Amazing huh?!

BTW, yesterday, my darling's research report was quoted on the Yahoo article! Sorry, it's in Japanese, but I'm happy with it ;D

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Healthy Microwave Okonomiyaki - Video Recipe

This is an award winning recipe :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZRo30Ppo-o

Silicon tools are now popular in Japan. There was a contest using a microwavable silicon pot and I won a grand prize! You can substitute it with a deep microwavable deep dish or container, of course.

I hope all ingredients are available around!

Note: Depending on the heat of the microwave, cooking time may differ.



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Healthy Microwave Okonomiyaki

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 20min
Number of servings: 1

Necessary Equipment:
microwavable deep silicone pot, dish or container

Ingredients:
120g (4.2oz.) thinly sliced pork
100g (3.6oz.) shredded cabbage
2 tbsp. tenkasu (crunchy bits of deep fried flour-batter)
A
* 100g (3.6oz.) yam
* 2 tbsp. flour
* 1 egg
* 3g (0.1oz.) katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
B
* okonomiyaki sauce
* mayonnaise
* katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
* aonori (green laver)

Directions:
1. Grate the yam and mix A in a large bowl. Add shredded cabbage and tenkasu, and mix well.
2. In a microwavable deep silicone pot (dish or container), spread 1/3 of the mixture (1.) in a thin layer, then place 1/3 of thinly sliced pork on top. Repeat the steps for 2 more times.
3. Cover the pot (or cover plastic wrap) and microwave for 10 minutes at 500 watts. *Depending on the heat of the microwave, cooking time may differ.
4. When you uncover, be careful as steam and water are very hot. Top with B and serve!

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Enjoy!

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Olympus E-500 5th Anniversary

Today is the 5th Anniversary of my "Olympus E-500" (single-lens reflex) :D



5 years ago, my favorite camera Canon IXY DIGITAL L broke, so I decided to get the Olympus SLR with ZUIKO DIGITAL 35mm F3.5 Macro. Since I couldn't live without a camera, I remember I ran to an electronics retail store during lunch time (while at work) to get it. LoL So far I love it :) But I heard it's life-span is about 6 years... so I'm afraid of it's end X(

Anyways, I have been taking billions of pictures of my foods using it.

I appreciate it :D

Can you live without a camera?! hehe

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California Roll - Video Recipe

New video is up!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQZEf3NCCo4

I used to work as a waitress at a Japanese restaurant in the U.S. and learned how to make California Roll, looking at the chefs ;) hehe



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California Roll

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 60min (includes rice cooking time)
Number of servings: 4 rolls (24 pieces)

Necessary Equipment:
suihanki (Japanese rice cooker)
makisu (bamboo sushi-roll mat)

Ingredients:
1.5 cups uncooked Japanese rice (short-grain rice)
A
* 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
* 2 tsp. sugar
* 2/3 tsp. salt
1 avocado
12 imitation crab sticks
2 nori sheets
toasted sesame seeds
soy sauce
wasabi (Japanese Horseradish Paste) if desired
pickled Ginger if desired

Directions:
1. Cook rice and place in a bowl. Add A while the rice is hot and slice through rice using rice paddle to separate the grains.
2. Peel avocados and cut it into 8 strips.
3. Cover a bamboo sushi-roll mat with plastic wrap. Cut nori sheet in half and place it on the bamboo sushi-roll mat, shiny side down.
4. Spread 1/4 of sushi rice (1.) on the nori sheet using your finger tips, little bit moistened with water. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the sushi rice and turn it over so that the nori sheet facing you.
5. Place avocado and imitation crab sticks lengthwise on the nori sheet. (cut them if too long.)
6. Roll the bamboo mat forward, hold the line of ingredients firmly with your fingers, stop and leave about 1/3 inch of sushi rice, make sure all the ingredients are pressed in, roll it completely, gently press the mat around the roll to shape it (do not squeeze).
7. With a moistened knife (bread knife cuts well!) cut the roll into 6 pieces (re-wet as needed. don't push but pull to cut!).
8. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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The bread knife, I mentioned in the recipe, is the Miracle Blade which I purchased at eBay 5 years ago. I saw it on TV and wanted to get one! On TV, it could even cut a rock!!! haha

BTW, I just found the comments that I lost after the blogger maintenance were back! So my replies are not in order… but I'm glad I didn't lose any data.

Take care ;)

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Onigiri - Video Recipe

New video is up :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFyfPvo97XQ

Rice ball is called "Onigiri" in Japanese. Mostly it's shape is triangle and you can either mix ingredients into rice or fill your favorite ingredient in the rice ball, or both!

There are many furikake (rice seasoning) products at Asian grocery stores, so try out and see how you like it done :D



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Onigiri

Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 3min
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
160g (5.7oz.) cooked white Japanese rice
furikake of your choice

Directions:
1. Put steamed rice in a bowl.
2. Mix furikake of your choice. (See the direction on it's package.)
3. Wet your hands in water so that the rice won't stick.
4. Place the seasoned rice on your hand.
5. Form the rice into a triangle by pressing lightly with your palms.

When you use filling…
1. Put steamed rice in a bowl.
2. Wet your hands in water so that the rice won't stick.
3. Place the rice on your hand.
4. Make a hole in the center of the rice and place the filling.
5. Form the rice into a triangle by pressing lightly with your palms.

*You can wrap your onigiri with a strip or a sheet of nori seaweed if you want.
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Have a nice weekend ;)

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One of my Daily Routines

After we moved, I made up some routines to clean my house in order not to get lazy… I gave up cleaning my old home and I learned a lot! I'm glad it was a rent. haha

Anyways, I use Quickle Wiper to clean the floor. It's a dust-collecting mop which you can attach disposable duster (either dry or wet).



Actually, I prop it up against the wall like this so that I can use it anytime when I find a dust on the floor… but the problem is it falls over once in a while and make marks on the floor X(

So, I wrapped a pink towel!



Now it is safe to fall over! And the pink makes me happier to clean the house :D



But my darling says I am doing too much… but what if I gave up cleaning?! Better than doing nothing, you know!!!

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Afternoon Tea Failed X'(

On the weekend, my darling and I've been to Futakotamagawa (again) to have the three-tiered afternoon tea of my dream!

However I erroneously assumed that the Afternoon Tea TEAROOM has the three-tiered menu… just because it's name is afternoon tea… so we ended up eating seasonal cakes. sobs X'(



Seasonal Shortcake (shortcake with yogurt mousse and citrus jelly)



Seasonal Cheesecake (rare and baked cheesecake with ginger sauce)



Since we went back to Futakotamagawa, I finally bought the flower bag that I was thinking whether to get it or not… because it wasn't on sale I couldn't make an immediate decision. haha



Then we shopped at Tokyu Foodshow where many famous delicious delis (and sweets shops) gather together selling foods to go :D Here are the list of the shops there.

We found something called Singapore rice :D



We shopped at 5 delis and I served them all on one plate "for each" so that we don't fight over food! LoL



Do you separate plates for each?! hehe

Till next time ;)

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Whole Fruit Jelly

My darling and I sometimes try out whole fruit jelly. This kind is pretty pricey (costs about $4 each) so we always get one and share in case if it tasted awful. So far we tried apple and orange and both were delicious!!!

Apple Red Wine Jelly produced in Nagano prefecture.





Orange Jelly produced by Miyata Fruit.





Yummy!!!

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Onion Potato Miso Soup - Video Recipe

Another video recipe is up!

I asked my darling what kind of miso soup he wants to eat and he said "onion potato", and yes, my mom cooks this miso soup, too! I think these are pretty popular Japanese miso soup ingredients. I added bacon which gives rich and delicious flavor!!! Please try out :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVJmpyTZOU8



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Onion Potato Miso Soup

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 20min
Number of servings: 4

Ingredients:
200g (7oz.) potato
100g (3.5oz.) onion
2 bacon strip
3g (0.1oz.) dried wakame seaweed
4 cups (800cc) water
1 tsp. dashi powder
3 tbsp. miso

Directions:
1. Slice potato in half or quarter-rounds. Slice the onion. Cut bacon into thin strips.
2. In Nabe (large casserole), put the water, 1/2 tsp. dashi powder, sliced potato and onion, and bring to boil.
3. Skim the scum (foam), then cover and cook for about 7 minutes on low heat until potato is done.
4. Add bacon, dilute miso in 1/2 cup soup broth and add to the soup, and then add another 1/2 tsp. dashi powder to give a dashi flavor.
5. Add dried wakame seaweed and cook for about 3 minutes.
6. Serve immediately and enjoy!
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Enjoy :D

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Confidence

What does Confidence mean to you?!
Where do you get your confidence from?!

Confidence is important in anything you do… when talking with people (even with friends), when at work (presentation, etc…), and for me, when cooking, too!

I started to live by myself when I was 18, so I now don't really depend on my parents. However, speaking of confidence, I am pretty wimpy. I worry a lot about trivial things and dwell on the past X(

But 7 years ago, after I met my darling, I changed. I still have those wimpy feelings but I don't care that much like before. My darling always listens me and say "you can do whatever you want" like a God. haha That's why I could easily quit my job. And I have groundless confidence in doing my stuff… Why I say groundless is because me in the past might think in that way. haha

I always nag my darling but I really thank him for being with me :D

My mom gave me a planter of Euphorbia milii. It signifies self-dependence. I know. I somewhat try not to depend on my darling. But let me depend on him while I'm with him. hehe



My mom gave me this a day before mother's day and was a flower for mother's day (actually with a card) which was pretty funny. Silly my mom. haha

Anyways, I'm glad to find the Blogger back now... it was quite a long down!!! Unfortunately some of the comments were gone X( I have copies in my e-mail, so I will reply to those comments when I get a chance. I hope the Blogger won't have a problem again...

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