My Accomplishments

Hello! It is sunny today! Hope it lasts.

Today, I will list my recent accomplishments.

In March, I wrote that I passed to the finals and create drink recipes using camu camu juice concentrate for a Peruvian restaurant called "Miraflores".
I won the grand prize!!!
The prize winning recipe is CAMU CAMU BEER, which is very easy!
You put 1tbsp of camu camu juice concentrate in a glass, pour 175cc of beer, and garnish it with mint leaves.
The sour taste of camu camu matches the beer perfectly; very refreshing!
It is going to be served at the restaurant in the near future.

Then again, I won the special award at the Yodoran (iodine-enriched egg) recipe competition by Nosan Corporation.
This time they asked for the recipe using their brand-new mayonnaise and Yodoran.
I think this is my fourth time to win this contest. Once I won the top prize, but the rest were the specials though.
I made kabobs using boiled eggs and chicken fillet with 'cod ovum-mayonnaise mixture' and aonori on top.
It is rich in flavor but not greasy because I used the chicken fillet!

Then yesterday, I won a special prize at Suntory's contest using their tennensui (Southern Alps natural mineral water). The contest was held at Cookpad (recipe site).
They asked for rice bowl recipes that use their water to cook rice and toppings. The rice bowl I made is not that special. I just cooked what I had in my refrigerator: ground meat, enoki, and natto with miso and vinegar seasonings.

Last but not least, I advanced to the finals of the survival food contest which I mentioned before! The finals will be held at Tokyo Big Sight on June 7th! I hope I can enjoy.

You know what?! I am unlucky with money!
Very funny, but I am losing all the money related prizes.
Of course, money isn't everything though.

Speaking of money, yesterday morning, I calculated my expenses because the receipt papers bulged my wallet and wanted to throw them away.
It's been a month since I last calculated, so the figures didn't add up.
5,060yen was missing!!!
I couldn't remember what I bought in a snap, so it couldn't get out of my mind for a whole day...
Anyway, I finally remembered in the evening! I added 5,000yen that I borrowed from my boyfriend. When I returned, I just subtracted the same amount, which made my expenditure plus minus zero!
But not sure about 60yen, hmm...

Sorry for the details...
Better not borrow or lend money!

I'm drowsy now.
Good night.

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Tonkatsu - Pork Cutlet

It was a rainy weekend.
It cleared up today, but it gonna rain again from Thursday :(

On Saturday, my boyfriend and I went to a famous Tonkatsu restaurant called "Katsukura" near the station. Tonkatsu is a popular (home-style) dish in Japan. It is a deep-fried breaded pork cutlet about two centimeters (0.7 inch) thick and sliced into bite-sized pieces, served with tonkatsu sauce (a type of thick Japanese Worcestershire sauce) and shredded cabbage on the side.
Katsukura's main branch is in Kyoto. They are picky about their foodstuff. They use hearth-baked crispy bread crumbs that seal in the flavor of pork. Their cabbage is fresh from the farm. For their dressing, they only use yuzu (citrus ichangensis) from Kitoumura in Tokushima prefecture. The oil they use to fry is trans fatty acid free, which is healthy. They certainly ensure the safe pork for the cutlet. Tonkatsu sauce they use is made with red wine, apple and natsumeyashi (Chinese date), that give a mild and rich taste.
For tonkatsu, either a pork fillet or pork loin cut may be used. My boyfriend loves pork loin, so he ate a 170g (6oz) portion of it. They also have takiawase (simmered seasonal vegetables)! This is my favorite, so I had it instead of eating cutlet :) To tell the truth, I am not that crazy about tonkatsu, but they have what we each like, so we go there once in a while!

On Sunday, I created 5 new recipes as usual.
I don't mention it in my diary every time, but I get this done every week.

Now it is almost 0AM!
Again, running out of time!
I gotta stop now.
Will write tomorrow :)
Good night!!!

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No Yeast Easy Pizza Dough

It is sunny again!
I can't believe it's gonna rain this weekend!

Today, I want to write about my garden spot.
Almost 3 years ago, I tried to grow celosia flower plants, but they were all eaten by locusts. Then I grew shiso (perilla) using edible insect killer spray, but it didn't work and eaten by them again.
I gave up growing leafy ones and tried to grow grape tomatoes and habaneros (my boyfriend's choice) from seedlings. It took about 3 months to grow up but was finally successful!

Those tomatoes were the most delicious of all!
I used them for our pizza!

Talking about pizza, I have a super easy thin pizza dough recipe :)
No yeast used, so you can save time to let it rise!!!



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No Yeast Easy Pizza Dough

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: makes 25cm (10inch) pizza dough

Ingredients:
150g (5.2oz.) bread flour (hard flour or strong flour)
a pinch of salt
a pinch of sugar
2 tsp. olive oil
1/3 cup (65cc) warm water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees C (482 degrees F).
2. In a large bowl, place strong flour, a pinch of salt and sugar, and olive oil.
3. Add warm water slowly and gently mix with fingertips.
4. Press into a ball with your hands, wrap in plastic wrap, leave it still for 10 minutes.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into a 25cm (10inch) circle.
6. Punch some holes in the dough with a fork to let the air escape while the pizza is in the oven.
7. Bake at 250 degrees C (482 degrees F) until dough is lightly browned.
8. Put on your toppings of choice and bake it for 15 minutes or until done.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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I enjoyed a lot but was better buy than grow. My garden was so small that I finished these tomatoes in a few days. I hope to have a big garden someday.

Yesterday, I went to the spa again. I had free LPG Cellulite Treatment for the second time, this time with thermotherapy. They use something called "W block heat therapy" to warm internal organs and control the automatic nerve system. Your fat softens and starts to lose weight. When used in combination, LPG works effective and dramatically reduces cellulite. Of course, you won't see a result in one shot. They suggest you to continue for more than 20 times... which is inconceivable! So, this was my last free trial (out of 3) since the W block heat therapy counts one.
I would rather continue taking a hot bath and massage cellulite (lymph) everyday.

Sorry about my spa stuff!

Again, I am posting this on Saturday morning.
I guess I can't stay awake on Friday night.

Okay, see you next week.
Have a sunny weekend :)

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