Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

Today on July 28th 2012, "The Dark Knight Rises" was released in Japan. I liked the story and the ending. This is a must watch movie :D

Eight years on, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham's finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.



My darling was excited to see it while I was concerned about the Colorado shooting... I totally understood that people at the theater thought the criminal was part of the show... I'm glad we were safe. whew...

Anyways, last time I saw Anne Hathaway was in The Princess Diaries! I liked the way she has a totally different personality. And yet, she was too attractive and beautiful :D

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Chicken Tikka Masala (British National Dish) Olympic Games Party Recipe - Video Recipe

This video will show you how to make Japanese Style Chicken Tikka Masala. Chicken Tikka Masala is the most popular dish in British restaurants.


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

London 2012 Olympic is coming soon, so this is the perfect dish to entertain your family and friends during the Olympic games :)



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Chicken Tikka Masala (Butter Chicken Curry)

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 35min
Number of servings: 4
Calories per serving: 287Kcal

Ingredients:
2 pieces = 31.7g (1.1oz.) House Kokumaro Curry Sauce Mix (Med Hot) *we call it "curry roux". you can choose either med hot or hot.
200g (7oz.) chicken breast
1/2 medium (100g=3.5oz.) onion
190ml salted tomato juice
100ml fresh cream
200ml water
20g (0.7oz.) butter
1 tsp. soy sauce
80g (2.8oz.) sweetened yogurt
2 tbsp. ketchup
4 servings cooked rice

Directions:
1. Slice the chicken breast into bite-size pieces and season with sweetened yogurt and ketchup. Slice the onion.
2. Heat the butter in a frying pan and saute the onions on medium until soft and lightly browned.
3. Add the seasoned chicken breast and simmer on medium, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. When the chicken starts to change color, add salted tomato juice and water, then simmer on low for about 5 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat, break up the curry roux into the pot, and mix well until completely melted. *make sure you stop the heat when you add the curry roux, otherwise it won't blend well.
5. Then put on the heat and simmer for about 3 minutes.
6. Add fresh cream and soy sauce, and let boil for a few seconds.
7. Serve curry on a hot bed of rice and sprinkle with some parsley flakes if desired. You can serve with naan bread of course!

*curry and rice is best eaten on the day it's made but if you have any leftover, store it in the fridge and finish it on the next day, but it is not recommended.
*if you have leftover curry roux, wrap in a plastic wrap and store it in the fridge and use within a week.

↓レシピ（日本語）
http://www.cooklabo.blogspot.jp/2012/07/blog-post_27.html
---------------------------------

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Fudgy Cake Pops - Video Recipe

This video will show you how to make Fudgy Cake Pops using a Nordic Ware's Baking Pan which I bought in New York (at Sur La Table).


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

The new innovative two-piece pan design allows you to bake a dozen perfectly round cakes or brownies, easy and fun to decorate! Unlike crumbled up cake pops, the cake is very soft and fluffy. The texture you get is absolutely distinctive! So I recommend this pan if you want to make perfect and delicious cake pops :D



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Fudgy Cake Pops *I modified the recipe on the Nordic Ware package.

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 20min + baking & cooling & decorating time
Number of servings: 24 cake pops

Note:
1cup = 250ml or 250cc

Ingredients:
((Fudgy Cake Pops))
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 2 bars Meiji Milk Chocolate)
1/2 cup (100g=3.5oz.) butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour (or 3/4 cup cake flour + 1 tsp. baking powder)
1/4 tsp. salt
((Decoration))
12 oz. chocolate bark coating (or 2 Meiji Milk Chocolate Bars)
Meiji Twinkle Chocolate
Meiji Sweet Pen Chocolate
Meiji Sweet Pen White Cream
sprinkles of your choice
24 lollipop sticks

Directions:
((Fudgy Cake Pops))
1. Preheat the oven to 170C (338F). Grease and flour pan.
2. In medium saucepan, over low heat, melt chocolate chips (or 2 Bars Meiji Milk Chocolate) and butter together. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and pour into medium bowl.
3. Add sugar and mix until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. Sift in flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir until blended.
5. Spoon the batter into bottom half of pan (without holes) filling each well so it mounds over the top of the pan. (Norpro 1 tbsp. scoop works perfect.)
6. Place top half of pan on top and secure with keys. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out almost clean.
7. Cool 5 minutes in pan, then remove cake pops from pan to cool completely. Trim the edges of cake pops, if needed.
((Decoration))
1. Melt chocolate bark according to package directions.
2. Dip lollipop stick into melted chocolate and insert into cake. Repeat with all cakes. Allow chocolate to cool to secure stick in place.
3. Dip cake pop in melted chocolate, spinning to let excess chocolate drip off. Decorate with sprinkles as desired. If you have a Styrofoam box, you can make them stand to set. Makes about 24 cake pops.

* I didn't have a Styrofoam box, so I coated and decorated the cake pops first (placed them on a parchment paper and set) before I insert the sticks into cakes.

レシピ（日本語）
http://www.cooklabo.blogspot.jp/2012/07/blog-post_25.html
---------------------------------

Summer 2012 in New York
http://createeathappy.blogspot.jp/2012/07/summer-2012-in-new-york.html

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Healthy Pan-Fried Minced Cutlet (Menchi Katsu) - Video Recipe

"Menchi Katsu" is minced cutlet. It is kind of croquette, made from the mixture of ground meat (beef or pork, or both) and minced cabbage, breaded and deep-fried. Certainly my darling's favorite food, but it is high in calories!!! Therefore, I came up with this idea. Instead of deep frying it, I stuffed the meat in aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch) and pan-fried it until crisp! Yummy indeed!!! My darling loves it :D


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

Now over 270 people have tried this recipe and said it was good!!!
You can find their photos and comments down in the linked page :)
http://cookpad.com/recipe/536489



---------------------------------
Healthy Pan-Fried Minced Cutlet

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 15min
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
200g (7oz.) ground beef and pork mixture
100g (3.5oz.) cabbage
50g (1.7oz.) onion
A
* 2 tbsp. panko (bread crumbs)
* 2 tsp. sesame oil
* 2 tsp. soy sauce
* salt and cracked black pepper
B
* 2 tbsp. ketchup
* 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch)
vegetables of your choice

Directions:
1. Mince cabbage and onion.
2. Mix ground beef and pork mixture, (1.), and (A) in a bowl by hand until the mixture comes together and sticky.
3. Pour boiled water over aburaage to remove the excess oil. Drain and dry with paper towels. Place the aburaage on a cutting board, and trace the aburaage with cooking chopsticks to make it easy to open. Cut a side of aburaage and gently open the pocket.
4. Stuff (2.) in (3.).
5. Heat a frying pan, place (4.), add 40ml of water. Cover the pan and steam it on medium heat until the water is almost gone (4-5min). Then open and cook until the surface is crisp and brown (3-4min).
6. Cut into bite-size pieces, pour (B) mixture over them. Serve with vegetables of your choice.

* It is better served before the aburaage softens. BUT it tastes good, anyways! hehe

↓レシピ（日本語）
http://cooklabo.blogspot.jp/2010/08/blog-post_23.html
---------------------------------

It goes great with white rice and perfect for bento box :)

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Dashi Marinated Tomatoes - Video Recipe

Very easy Japanese recipe! You must try it!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w6_mY3Pl0o

Currently, more than 60 people have made this and said good! You can find their photo reports down this linked page.
http://cookpad.com/recipe/271303



---------------------------------
Dashi Marinated Tomatoes

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

Ingredients:
200g (7oz.) cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp. concentrated dashi stock
katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) if you have

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. Drain well and wait until they cool down. Then peel off the skin with your hands.
2. Place the tomatoes in a Ziploc (or any) container and pour concentrated dashi stock over them. Toss lightly. Chill for 1 hour or longer.
3. Serve on a dish, and sprinkle with katsuobushi if you have.

↓レシピ（日本語）
http://cooklabo.blogspot.jp/2008/10/blog-post_02.html
---------------------------------

Recommended Concentrated Dashi Stock Products:

Kamada Dashi Shoyu (鎌田 だし醤油)
dashi flavored soy sauce
http://www.kamadafoods.com/

Yamaki Mentsuyu (ヤマキ めんつゆ)
two times concentrated soy sauce based dashi broth for noodles and other foods
http://www.yamaki.co.jp/mentsuyu/

Yamasa Konbu Tsuyu (ヤマサ 昆布つゆ)
3 times concentrated Konbu kelp seaweed soup stock
http://www.yamasa.com/konbutsuyu/product/index.html

Please Google and find the products. Products are available online :)

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The Amazing Spider-Man

Today my darling and I've been to the movies after so long because we were busy. My darling loves to watch movies but I really don't until I actually step into the theater and watch. hehe

So, today we watched "The Amazing Spider-Man" which was released in Japan on June 30th. The movie was very entertaining. You must watch it :) I cannot wait to watch the next one (which might be coming soon!?).

Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0948470/



I just searched and realized the former Spider-Man 3 was released in 2007, almost 5 years ago! I didn't even write about it on my blog but I feel like I watched it recently. Time flies!!!

The next fun movie we plan to watch is The Batman: The Dark Knight Rises which will be released on July 28th. Can't wait to watch it. BUT not in 3D because it caused eyestrain today... haha

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Red Velvet Cupcakes - Video Recipe

This video will show you how to make Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2rB1cVZLbs

A red velvet cake is a cake with dark red or brown red color. It is usually prepared as a layer cake topped with cream cheese icing. The reddish color is achieved by adding red food coloring.

I substituted buttermilk with vinegar and milk.



Summer 2012 in New York
http://createeathappy.blogspot.jp/2012/07/summer-2012-in-new-york.html

---------------------------------
Red Velvet Cupcakes

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min + baking & cooling time
Number of servings: 9

Note:
1cup = 250ml or 250cc

Ingredients:
((Red Velvet Cupcakes))
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (100g = 3.5oz.) unsalted butter *room temperature
1 egg *room temperature
A
* 1 cup cake flour
* 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
* 1/2 tsp. baking soda
* 1/2 tsp. baking powder
* 1/2 tbsp. red food coloring
* a pinch of salt
B
* 1/2 cup milk *room temperature
* 1/2 tbsp. vinegar
* a few drops of vanilla extract
((Cream Cheese Frosting))
1/4 cup (50g = 1.7oz.) unsalted butter *room temperature
1/2 cup (100g = 3.5oz.) cream cheese *room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
a few drops of vanilla extract

Directions:
((Red Velvet Cupcakes))
1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Sift A together. Mix B together.
2. In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add beaten egg little by little and mix well.
3. Add half of A and B, and mix well. Add the rest of A and B, and mix until smooth.
4. Line muffin pan with cupcake papers. Spoon the mixture into the cups up to 80% full. Bake at 180C (350F) for 20-25 minutes.
5. Place the cakes on the wire rack to cool.
((Cream Cheese Frosting))
1. Beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract together until smooth.
2. Sift in powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
3. Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, cool in the fridge, and pipe it onto the cupcakes. Of course, you can top with whipped cream!

I substituted buttermilk with milk and vinegar.

レシピ（日本語）
http://www.cooklabo.blogspot.jp/2012/07/blog-post.html
---------------------------------

What is Cake Flour?
http://createeathappy.blogspot.jp/2012/05/what-is-cake-flour.html

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Summer 2012 in New York

Time flies when we're having fun!!! Again, we've been to NY for 6 days this year. We didn't do anything special but walked around the city and tried many different kinds of foods from around the world. Surprisingly, the city is changing every year so we find new shops and restaurants every time we visit!!! That is why we never get bored visiting NY and we LOVE NY :)

Day 1 (7/1):

It was our first time to use Haneda airport because Narita was too expensive this year. However, if you use Haneda, the departure time to NY is 6AM, therefore you must sleep overnight at the airport (or find a hotel near the airport) to check in at 4AM, which is pretty tiring… Instead, you can arrive in NY early in the morning (6AM). As soon as we arrived in the city, we had brunch at Prune (there was a 45min line but worth the wait!). Then we walked around SoHo. My favorite shop there is Sur La Table! For dinner, we've been to our place of memories (Rink Bar and Cafe) where we first dated together :)

Day2 (7/2):

We shopped around Union Square in the morning and had brunch at Gustorganics. Then we bought many shoes at DSW. Sometimes we can't find any shoes we like, but this year they had a good selection of shoes. We walked around Little Italy to find Zeppole, but we couldn't find it… China town was too crowded to walk, so we headed back to uptown. We had a great Brazilian food at Casa Restaurant for dinner.

Day 3 (7/3):

Pret A Manger is one of my favorite cafe to have a breakfast. I feel very healthy eating their food. At noon, we met my friends from college. Then shopped around 5th Avenue (very standard but fun). However it was high 90s and the heat made us so tired that we don't remember how many times we went back to the hotel to have a nap for the first few days. LOL For dinner, we went to Mercadito Grove. Their tacos were authentic!!!

Day 4 (7/4):

We had American breakfast at Peels. Then we walked down Upper West Side from 96th :) There are many interesting shops there, so we love to walk there. Shops closed early on the Independence Day, so we had early dinner at Thailand Cafe. We walked back (40 blocks) to our hotel. We used to do that after dinner when we lived in NY. hehe It was very hot outside, so we decided to see the fireworks on TV. How lazy. But our purpose of this trip is to spend a relaxing time, so that was a great idea!

Day 5 (7/5):

We had brunch at Cafe Select. They serve Swiss foods. We tried Polenta with eggs. Very interesting (actually I once received a request for this recipe). Then we walked around Williamsburg. Nothing special but hot. haha For snack, we shared a famous lobster roll (30 bucks) at Mary's Fish Camp. It was really good. While writing this, I just remembered that I forgot to buy a can of lobster during the stay. dumb… We had dinner at Market Table. Very cozy and relaxing restaurant! I wrote a message on their notebook. I hope you can find mine. hehe

Day 6 (7/6):

Of course, we went to The Pond of Central Park where my darling proposed me 3 years ago :) We bought sandwiches and had a breakfast outside. Then we had a walk in the Central Park. There were many expensive shops on Madison Avenue. Nothing was affordable but we had a coffee break at Nespresso. In the evening, my darling said he wants to drink Apple Cider at Union Square. I don't know why he said that in the last minute, but luckily it was available! whew… We had our last dinner at Smorgas Chef Restaurant (Scandinavian Restaurant). Their famous meatballs were great!!!

Day 7 (7/7):

Our flight was in the evening, so We had brunch at Hudson clearwater and walked around the city before we left at 3PM. The flight time was at 7PM, so we had a good sleep on the plane.

Sorry for my lousy typing…
I wrote mostly about the restaurants we tried, because I know eating delicious food is the most important thing, and it makes you happy during the stay. I think our selection of restaurants was EXCELLENT!!! I will link to their websites, so I hope you find them informative.

Of course, more random pictures are on my Instagram♥

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