Okinawan Cuisine

Hello!
It is again rainy in Japan :(
Now I have a collection of "the same" transparent umbrellas at home!
In Japan, we can buy an umbrella at a convenience store whenever you want. It is about 5 bucks, so I, actually my boyfriend, gets one whenever we need...

Anyway, every Saturday, my boyfriend and I go out and eat dinner.
This weekend, we went out to eat Okinawan cuisine near home :)

Okinawan Cuisine is the cuisine of the Japanese island of Okinawa. Because of the difference in culture, climate, vegetables and other ingredients between Okinawa and mainland Japan, the Okinawan cuisine is very different from the Japanese cuisine.

We had a goya salad. I guess for the first time this year! Goya is a dark-green and bumpy bitter melon or bitter gourd. Usually cheaply-available in summer in the Tokyo area.
Also, we had an organic vegetable chanpuru. It was great!!! Chanpuru means something mixed. It is an Okinawan stir fry dish, generally containing vegetables, tofu, and some kind of meat or fish. This chanpuru contained SPAM meat, which is my boyfriend's favorite.
In addition, we had a chicken appetizer, gyoza (steamed dumplings) and stone pot taco rice. Taco rice is a very common meal in Okinawa, and is often served as school lunch. It consists of taco-flavoured ground beef served on a bed of rice and lettuce. The taco rice we had was cooked in a stone pot, which was cool!

I think we go to this restaurant at least 3 times a year because they have nice Okinawan taste and style!
Oops, I have never been to Okinawa.
I wish I could go there someday to make sure we are enjoying the real stuff!

Okay, I gotta stop now.
Somehow this weather makes me dizzy!
I think I have a headache :(

Oh my god! It's raining cats and dogs!!!

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Recipe Cards

I think it is hot today!
It was like winter a few days ago though.
I still can't get rid of the cold :(
Hope I could get over this soon!!!

Recently, I realized that the nearby supermarkets stopped offering recipe cards with pictures. Now they are all text and no pictures. In Japan, most supermarkets offer such cards to promote new products and seasonal stuff. I thought they were useful. Hope it is not a strategy for cost-saving! Some of the recipes are printed on the product packages or the accompanying tags with pictures, but recipe cards were something different. They add a great deal of enjoyment for our shopping!!!
Hope they put back pictures someday...

Today, I won 2 bags (about 10kg/22lb) of specially-cultivated rice!
They use less chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
We eat rice everyday, so I'm glad to win those.
I submitted my recipes to apply.
Winners were selected in a drawing, so I was lucky.

I posted this diary for Friday, but actually, it is Saturday morning.
Last night, I felt very drowsy while writing, so went to bed at will.

Okay, see you again!
Have a good weekend :)

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Yakitori Dishes

We finally got some sunshine :)
The sky is blue and I feel happy!
The weather is good for outing!!!

I went out to eat lunch with my co-worker.
I had a lunch menu: gohan (white rice), yakizakana (broiled fish), tsukemono (Japanese pickles), and misoshiru (miso soup).
It is a typical Japanese menu, but I enjoyed a lot!
It is sometimes good to eat out for a change.

Speaking of outing, last year, on April 26th, I went on TV and cooked dishes using yakitori (Japanese type of skewered grilled chicken).
I was on a variety show called "Hanamaru Market", which is a TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc.)-affiliated program. It starts from 8:30 in the morning till 9:54, Mon-Fri. Kumiko Okae and Hirohide Yakumaru host the show.
It is a popular morning talk show and they features many useful and entertaining information to make our life happy :)
Yakitori is usually sold at a special price during outing season, so I was asked to think attractive recipes using it.

The below are the dishes I made:
- Nagaimo Yam Cheese Steamed Yakitori
- Indian Style Piccata of Yakitori
- Yakitori and Crushed Cucumber Salad
They all are very easy!

I thank to Cookpad (recipe site) because they gave me this precious opportunity.

Okay, I gotta go.
I'm in good humor today.
I hope it lasts... but guess not! I know that well! Ha-ha!
See you again tomorrow.

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