Buckwheat Apple Cake

I overslept for an hour this morning.
Is it because of this cold weather?
Or am I exhausted this week?
I always wake up 2 hours before I leave, so I didn't have any problem, but it was a bad start...

Back to my cooking.
Apples are in season!
So on Sunday I created Buckwheat Apple Cake!
Buckwheat flour is the flour used to make buckwheat noodles (Soba noodles). Better blood sugar control and a lowered risk of diabetes are expected :)
The cake was moistened with apples and was delicious!

Recipe in Japanese is here.
I will write in English if anyone wants.

Different story.
Yesterday, I received the photos taken at the contest!
I didn't expect to receive them, so those made my day :)

Tomorrow is a national holiday in Japan.
Oh! It's Thanksgiving in the US today!
Sorry I don't have any turkey recipe...
Hope I can introduce something the next year.

Have a great holidays!!!

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Purple Sweet Potato Soup

Again, it's freezing today!
Especially in the morning, it was freezing to death!!!
(Compared to the winter in NY, it is far better though...)
But yesterday, I realized that I shouldn't wear a lot.
I wore 2 overcoats and it was too hot when I took a train.
Also, the cold let up at the time I go home.
So this morning, I tolerated the cold when I left home.

Anyway, on Sunday I created 6 new recipes.
6 is my quota, but I didn't like my photo framework overall :(
I was in bad form...

One of the recipes I created is Purple Sweet Potato Soup.
This soup is soy based and very healthy!
My boyfriend again had his wisdom teeth pulled, so I created this soup for him.
To tell the truth, I wanted him to get a flu shot before having his tooth out, since it wasn't that urgent. But he didn't listen to me...
His face got swollen excessively.
It seems like he cannot get vaccinated for a while.
See! That's why I told him.
Now the flu is going around.
I don't care if he catches the flu!!!

Ooops! I'm getting off the subject.

Recipe in Japanese is here.
I will write in English if anyone wants.
Does anyone know any site to post your own recipes?
I am looking for such page.

See you tomorrow!

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Eat Breakfast!

It's freezing today!
Compared to last week, the temperature fell rapidly!

Anyway, let me make excuses.
There are some reasons that I couldn't write my diary on Friday and yesterday.

On Friday, I can't talk about this too loud, but I participated in the cooking contest that I wrote before.
This contest was held by Asagohan (Breakfast) Executive Committee.
They recommend everyone to have a breakfast by spending morning hours wisely.
Till September, they put out a call for the breakfast menu that could be eaten at home.
There were over 1000 applications and 10 passed to the finals!
And mine was the one that passed!!! (2 photos here are the menus that passed)
Unfortunately, I couldn't win the prize but I could meet Aya Ueto (an actress) who joined this event as a special guest!
The event site became a media circus!!!

Regarding yesterday, I was very busy.
I know it is because I took a day off on Friday...
So, I didn't have time to write.

I will come back tomorrow, if I have time :)

Brief note:
I canceled the next appointment for the cooking school.
I once thought about enrolling, but changed my mind.
It is too much for now.

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My Nabe Recipes

<--CLICK HERE to view this recipe.

It's nice and warm today! I don't need a winter coat, yet. But according to the weather forecast, temperature will drop day by day...

The cold weather makes me want to eat Nabe. Nabe (or Nabemono) is a term referring to all varieties of Japanese steamboat dishes, also known as "one pot dishes".

In summer, there was a big contest held by Mizkan Group (they have some dashi products for the pot dishes) and I created some Nabe recipes to enter the contest. Unfortunately, I lost the prize but was a good chance to create them for the winter.
It was pretty hot to create them in Summer though...

One of the Nabe recipes that my boyfriend loved is "Ton (Pork) Balls Nabe". I made it like Tonjiru (pork and vegetable miso soup), one of my boyfriend's favorite food :)

Recipe in Japanese is here.
I translated it in English HERE.

Today, I am going to attend the cooking class that I mentioned last week. I will write about it tomorrow if I get a chance!

See you again :)

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My Stew Recipes

Time flies!!!
It's already Friday!

This coming Sunday, I am going to attend an awards ceremony for one of the contests I entered.
I will write about this on Monday if I can.
So for that reason, my usual artwork (cooking) on Sunday is gonna be off.

Anyway, today I posted 5 new stew recipes (which I said I lost the prize) on Japanese cooking site.
They were all good.
One I thought was creative is "Aurora Stew with Ham and Turnip".
I used canned tomato to create this color :)
The stew is creamy but it's aftertaste is light.
Turnips are juicy and well-seasoned with the tastes of consomme, vegetables and ham!

Recipe in Japanese is here.
I will write in English if anyone wants.

See you next week!!!

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Takikomi Gohan

It was chilly this morning.
I can't believe the warm weather we had yesterday!

Today, I went out to eat lunch with my co-workers.
I ate Wild Vegetable Soba :)
Usually, I eat at my desk using Internet, so it's fun sometimes.

Back to my cooking.
Yesterday, I cooked Takikomi(boiled) Gohan(rice) using 5 black-colored ingredients.
Takikomi Gohan is flavored rice with vegetables and(or) meat cooked in a rice cooker.
We usually cook this in consideration of color balance.
However, yesterday I unified the color :)

- Black Pork (which is a local specialty in Kagoshima prefecture)
- Sliced Tangle (kind of seaweed)
- Forbidden Rice (please see Wikipedia)
- Black Sesame
- Dried Shitake Mushroom

For the seasoning, I used Sake, Black Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce and Sea Salt.
I didn't use that much to season since the Dashi Broth of Sliced Tangle is enough to flavor the rice!

My boyfriend loves Takikomi Gohan, so he ate more than usual :)
Also many kids love this!

Takikomi Gohan is very healthy with a lot of different kinds of vegetables and(or) meat.
This time I used Black Sesame Oil to enrich the taste, but you can cook without it to lower the fat.
Also, you can try this in many different styles, using garlic to taste like Italian or whatever!!!
But just be careful when you adjust seasoning.
You don't want strong-tasting.

Recipe in Japanese is here.
I will write in English if anyone wants.

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Edible Flowers

My boyfriend(TJ) changed his jobs.
Today is his first day at work!
I hope he is doing fine :)

Different story, I won the Angel Junior prize at Megami's Recipe site. Yay!
The prizewinning recipe is "Tomato Tuna Piccata Sandwich" which I introduced here the other day!
I will try my best for the next theme again!

Today, I posted my "Flower Bread Roll Sandwich" at lettuceclub.net (the website of famous cooking magazine).
I used jelly and whipped cream for filling and decorated with Edible flowers.
Edible flowers are not only cute but also have good nutrition.
Some have a lot of Vitamin C!

Recipe in Japanese is here.
I will write in English in detail if anyone wants.

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Sushi Roll

When I was a college student in NY, I had a part-time job at Japanese restaurant.
I was a waitress so I didn't actually make Sushi, but I watched many chefs learning how to make it.
At that time, I never thought about cooking but now I thank to that experience.
This knowledge helps me a lot when I make Sushi at home.
Especially the roll, I love it and I love the way Americans roll: seaweed inside!

Anyway, tomorrow is Halloween!
Why don't you add Sushi roll for your party menu!
I'm just saying, but I think Sushi roll is easy & gorgeous selection for any occasion :)

The picture is California roll.

Recipe in Japanese is here.
I will write in English if anyone wants.

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My Most Popular Recipe

Hello!

Time flies.
It has been already a week since I started this diary.
Surprisingly I am keeping a diary every day :)

Anyway, today, I would like to introduce my most popular recipe, "Sauteed Pork with Salt Sauce".
The recipe is simple.
You saute onion and pork seasoned with sake, salt, garlic, ginger and add sesame oil and black pepper last. Serve over shredded cabbage.
At this moment, 395 people have photo reported and said they liked it.

Recipe and the photo report in Japanese is here.
I will write in English in detail if anyone wants.

It's Friday!
I can't wait to go home!!! (now at work)
Will come back next week :)

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Juicy Parmesan Cheese Omelette

My boyfriend likes juicy food.
In other words, he likes food that doesn't remain in his mouth for long...
He's not that old (32) though.

Anyway, one day I cooked a juicy omelette for him.
I layered thin slices of eggplant in the omelette.
For seasoning, I used Parmesan Cheese to make it rich.

Recently, I won the second prize at Parmesan Cheese competition!
Thanks for my boyfriend :)

By the way, this competition was organized by Cookpad "No.1 recipe search/posting site in Japan".
They have many competitions weekly, so I am enjoying and trying to create new recipes all the time.

Recipe in Japanese is here.
I will write in English if anyone wants.

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I Love Japanese Pumpkin!

Yes! I came back to write my diary.

This morning, before I left for work, I took a picture of my pumpkin dish which I made last night. Since it was little dark in the morning I am not satisfied with the exposure, but it is better than the room light...

Anyway I love Japanese pumpkin!
Japanese pumpkin has slight sweetness and it is not soggy. I mushed the pumpkin and cooked non-sweet Yokan (which is usually sweet) using soy milk and agar to mold. I ate it with Wasabi and soy sauce like Sashimi. It was delicious :)
Will write recipe in English if anyone wants to know.
Recipe in Japanese is here.

I usually cook for my boyfriend TJ.
He doesn't like sweet stuff so almost all of my recipes are not so sweet, which might be good for health though.

Different story but I don't like my work. I mean my boss. He lacks management skill and always hassles me.

Today is Friday. I can't wait for the weekend!!!
Will write on Monday again.

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