My Accomplishments

It was sunny yesterday and cloudy today!
We have very hot (high 80's) and humid weather these few days.
Better than rain though.

Today, I will list my recent accomplishments!
Actually, I was writing these yesterday, but couldn't finish up because this humid weather made me extremely tired and drowsy! (Am I always drowsy?! Ha-ha!)

On 5/30, my recipe using kamaboko (steamed pureed fish loaves) won the bronze prize! I made chili-style stir-fried kamaboko, sausage, and vegetables. The contest was organized by a kamaboko shop in Fukuoka called Sekiya. They have been in business since 1882 of the Meiji Era. As a prize, I received assortment of their kamaboko products! The package arrived day before yesterday!
I am looking forward to trying them out :)

On 6/10, I won the crispy salad award at Kraft's Parmesan cheese contest organized by cookpad. I sprinkled the cheese on top of the aburaage (deep fried tofu) and toasted until golden and crisp! Also, I toasted bacon strips until crisp. Then crushed them and placed on top of a spinach salad. Kind of Italian, but tastes good with Japanese-style dressing :)

Then on the same day, 6/10, I won the idea recipe award at Asahi Kasei's Cookper contest by cookpad. Asahi Kasei Corporation provides innovative solutions based in chemistry and materials science to a diverse range of markets including fibers, chemicals, consumer products, housing, construction, electronics, and health care. They have a product called Cookper (cooking + paper = Cookper), which is kind of parchment paper but less glossy. You wrap seasoned ingredients of your choice in the Cookper and microwave until done, just like you use Ziploc's microwaveable containers! If you open from the center, you can use the Cookper as a dish to serve :) I think parchment paper can be a substitute!
I translated the procedures (image on the right). Anyway, Asahi Kasei asked for easy microwave recipes using Cookper and my Chinese-style steamed beef and mushrooms won the prize!

Conversely, I won't write them in detail but I lost a few other big contests...
I will do my best the next!

This is not about a contest, but on Monday, I saw Harrison Ford on a popular TV variety show called SMAPXSMAP! He was invited as a guest of Bistro SMAP! (SMAP is a very popular Japanese idol group and they cook dishes for the guest by request at Bistro SMAP.) Harrison Ford loved steamed sea-bream rice ;)
One of the members asked him the key to his success, and he said "to do things in your way". He is so cool!
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is coming out on June 21st in Japan!!!
I like Indiana Jones series, so I can't miss this!

This is totally different story but I just knew that Kousuke Kitajima (breaststroke swimmer) lives above our office!!!
We are in the same building! Wow!!!

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Survival Food Recipe Contest @ Tokyo International Fire and Safety Exhibition 2008

In April, Tokyo Fire Department has asked for the survival food recipes (using canned and bottled products, dried foodstuff, emergency food supplies, familiar vegetables, etc...) that makes disaster victims in difficult circumstances happy. Luckily, my recipe passed the initial screening! So on June 7th, I attended the finals which was held at Tokyo International Fire and Safety Exhibition 2008.

There were six finalists. We cooked our recipe on stage in front of the audience and the press. The time limit was 30 minutes.
The winner was a man who cooked paella using Japanese traditional dried foodstuff (such as sakuraebi (Sergia lucens)) and canned tomato. The biggest reason he won was the usage of dried foodstuff, which keeps well and rich in nutrients! Also, his recipe was home-style dish, so that was highly evaluated!

One of the judges was Hiroko Sakamoto (a cooking teacher), who has actually been in the disaster of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.
She said, it took for about a week until food supplies arrived in general household. Until then, she needed to survive by eating foodstuff at home. Under such circumstances, most people didn't want to eat emergency food supplies but regular home-cooked meal. Therefore, she recommended people to stock up on their favorite canned food, retort series, or whatever that makes you happy. Also, she said it is important to stock up on water and drink to stay hydrated.
Her actual experiences were informative!

Anyway, rest of us all received outstanding performance awards!

Moreover, at this exhibition, there was a booth that lectures on CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and how to use AED (automated external defibrillator)! I remember that I read about these in a text book when I was a high school student, but it was something I've never done before.
I think we learned a lot on this day!

Last but not least, June 7th was the 5th anniversary since my boyfriend and I had met. After the contest, we went to a nice Vietnamese restaurant in Yebisu. We were pretty tired, but the jazz music they had playing was relaxing. We talked about the day we met and had a good time :)



Okay, this is all for today.
The rainy season came back!
We had a rain and thunder this evening :(

Somehow, I got very bad stiff shoulders today...
Good night!

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Balsamic Marinated Avocado and Tomato

Hello!
The sky is starting to clear up! The rainy season is going to have a break for few days :)
As I wrote before, I am going to attend the finals of the survival food contest tomorrow! I hope it will be nice and sunny. I will write about the contest next week if I get a chance.


Today, I will translate my easy recipe using balsamic vinegar.
My photo doesn't look good, but tastes great!
I took this picture 3 years ago. How time flies!

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Balsamic Marinated Avocado and Tomato

Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: 5min or less
Number of servings: 2

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1 tomato
1.5 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. powdered cheese

Directions:
1. Cut avocado and tomato in cubes. (If you want to serve in the avocado shells, cut avocado in half (lengthwise), gently scoop out as large as possible, and cut.)
2. Place the avocado and tomato in a bowl or dish, add balsamic vinegar, and toss lightly.
3. Spoon the mixture into the avocado shells, sprinkle powdered cheese on top, and serve.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Yesterday, I went to the spa again. I had the third (last) free facial treatment. This time, I had a powerful vitamin therapy, which involves the use of ultrasonic wave. They say it facilitates penetration of vitamins A, C, E and beta-carotene 100 times more into the skin (compared to the first treatment). Hope it did... Anyway, I had a good chance to learn about beauty salon treatments!

I want to try to keep up my sense of beauty.
I believe this idea is important to keep one's youth!

Okay, see you next week!
Enjoy your weekend :)

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