I Love NY

Hello! I'm back!

Our great time in NY passed by like a flash.
I left for NY on 6/29 and came back to Japan on 7/6.
I can't believe I've been there and now I'm back in Japan... I wish I could go back :(

When we arrived at Newark airport, there was a thunderstorm, but when we got out from the airport, it stopped! Since then till the last day, we didn't need an umbrella. Thanks for the great weather!

In NY, I saw my friends, went to jazz cafe (met a Japanese drummer in the band), traveled around New York with the Hop-on Hop-off buses and the Duck Tour (my boyfriend's request), went to movies (we saw Hancock on the day it was released!), went shopping, had delicious food, etc... I needed more time!

I think I don't have time to write them all in detail, so I will make an album soon! We took a lot of pictures, but don't expect too much. Actually, most pics were worse than I thought! I think I need a good camera, or is it because of my skill...?!

7/7 is Tanabata in Japan. We write wishes on strips of paper called "tanzaku" and hang them on bamboo. I wished to visit NY again, the next year! I didn't write on the "tanzaku" though...

Okay, I gotta go now.
I have a lot to do.
See you again ;)

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Watermelon Recipes

Hi! Weather here is unstable. We expected to have rainy days this week, so I carried my umbrella with me every day, but didn't rain! Anyway, the temperature went down, so we had bearable weather. That was good. Please don't rain on Sunday!!!

Anyway, every summer, watermelon recipe contest by the farmer in Tottori prefecture (Kurayoshi city) is organized at Cookpad. The grand prize is 100,000yen, so it is pretty competitive. I never won the highest, but luckily I'm receiving a prize every year. Flying by the seat of my pants, I was not thinking of submitting my recipe this year because I don't think I'm having a chance to receive a prize again. However, last Friday, I won free samples of watermelons. Sounds like I have to create something! And I did! On Sunday, I made 4 new watermelon recipes.

Talking about watermelon, it is very good for your health!
It helps to beat the summer heat! Sugar (fructose and glucose) of watermelon gives you a power to your tired body. Also, it purifies your body. It eliminates toxins from your body and has antioxidant properties!

I will link to some of my fun watermelon recipes!
Sorry, all are written in Japanese. Please enjoy looking at those pictures :)

- Watermelon Chocolate
- Watermelon Tiramisu
- Watermelon Cookies
- Watermelon Kabobs
- Watermelon Sushi
- Watermelon Minced Meat Rice Bowl
- Watermelon Pizza
- Watermelon Chirashizushi
- Vinegared Watermelon
- Watermelon Salad
- Watermelon Sangria
- Stir-Fried Watermelon

Okay! I'm leaving for NY in a few days, so will come back after 7/8!
Please enjoy browsing my recipes till then ;)

Oh my god! I just heard that the fuel surcharge for the plane will increase (+$140) from July again! I think we were right to leave in June!!!

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My Accomplishments

Hi! We have sun today! Yay!
The weather forecast was wrong.
It supposed to rain all week, but not...
I just hope it won't rain on Sunday, the day we leave for NY!

I won two prizes at Cookpad this week.

One is my "I Love Daddy Chocolate Cake"! I won the dad moving award! This contest was held by Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd., the Japanese confectionery and pharmaceutical company.
They asked for Father's Day recipes using their milk chocolate.
As I wrote before, I don't know about the taste, but it is sure that he liked it :)
He left for China on Sunday.

Another winning recipe is "Avocado Speed Rice Gratin".
The contest was held by Kewpie, well known for their mayonnaise! Also, they are well known for their three-minute cooking products. In February, they released "oil sauce for pasta" that can be cooked in 3 minutes. There are 5 different flavors: Soy Sauce and Pepper, Garlic and Red Pepper, Anchovy and Olive Oil, Dashi Scallion, and Italian Taste. You just cook your favorite ingredients with this sauce and dress pasta in it.
To open up the usage, they asked for the recipes using this products. I mixed "Soy Sauce and Pepper" sauce with avocado paste, pour it over the rice, sprinkled cheese on top, and baked. It is something like Japanese-style guacamole with rice! It was great :)

Okay again, I am very drowsy and tired.
See you tomorrow ;)

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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Hello! We have cloudy and rainy days since Friday!

On Friday, I couldn't write my diary because I went out to have a drink with my co-workers. Actually, it was my first time hanging out with them. Most of them get married, so we couldn't go out until now.
I had a plan on the next day, so I was going to leave after the main party, but since we had a stimulating conversation without our bosses, I stayed until the last party at Karaoke! You know what?! I love Karaoke! I love to sing :) When I realized, it was after 2AM and I missed the last train... But luckily, my co-worker's son gave me a ride home.

The next day, on Saturday, I did what I had planned! I went to my favorite cafe and made cooking plans for Sunday. My boyfriend came home in the morning, so he dozed off for quite a while.
Then we went shopping at a department store and had a dinner at Kaiten-zushi! Kaiten-zushi is a sushi restaurant where the plates with the sushi are placed on a rotating conveyor belt that winds through the restaurant and moves past every table and counter seat.

After the dinner, we saw long-awaited movie: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which just came out on the 21st in Japan! I will just say, it is well worth seeing!!! He is so cool!

Okay, I gotta stop now. I am drowsy...




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Crushed Cucumber Salad Marinated in Sesame Vinegar

Yesterday, I couldn't write my diary again :(
I was searching about Google Webmaster Tools (since it is a little job-related) and when I realized, it was already 0:00!
Time flies! I had other stuff to do, but I couldn't even start!

Weather here is cloudy and the forecast shows rainy days for about a week from tomorrow evening! Rainy season came back...
I went out to eat lunch again with my co-worker to enjoy this fine weather. I had a healthy set lunch menu of avocado natto rice bowl. It comes with salad, soup, dessert, and vegetable smoothie. The smoothie was really great!

Today, I will translate my refreshing cucumber salad! It is very easy. It is also my popular recipe at Cookpad! 48 people have photo reported it to me and said good at this point :)
I used Japanese cucumber. It looks like the picture on the right. You can also use English cucumber or mini cucumber. Those are close to it!

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Crushed Cucumber Salad Marinated in Sesame Vinegar

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

Ingredients:
1 Japanese cucumber
sesame vinegar
* 1 tbsp. vinegar
* 1 tsp. 3 times concentrated Yamasa's Konbu Tsuyu or soy sauce
* 1 tsp. sugar
* 1 tbsp. sesame seeds
* a pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Cut cucumber into 1-inch chunks. Place the plastic wrap over the chunks and beat them using a rolling pin.
2. Place the cucumber in a bowl, add sesame vinegar, and toss lightly.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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This morning, my boyfriend came back at 4am! He said he had a lot of work to do. I am glad I could leave the office on time. This is one of the reasons I cannot change my job even though I have a beef.

Okay, see you again :)
Hope I can stay up to finish my stuff tonight!!!


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My Accomplishments

It is cloudy today. The temperature is not that high but very humid! I hate taking a crowded train on a humid day like this!!! I always listen to my iPod to be in my own world.

My supervisor is quite an eccentric person. He was concentrating on his stuff, so he ignored about the planned meeting... I know he didn't forget about it. He just didn't mention. He is a person who cares less about the others :(

Anyway, the below are the results of my recent work.

On June 12th, my pink colored sushi won the jury's special award at a photo contest that asked for sakura (pink) colored photos that make people happy. I rolled anago (conger eel) and nanohana (field mustard) with sushi rice colored pink with sakura denbu (which is pink colored & seasoned shredded codfish). It is kind of complicated but it was organized by LENA JAPON at edita community's monitor plaza. Now the contests are everywhere in a wide variety of subjects on the web, used as a promotional tool!

Then on June 14th, my tortilla sushi recipe (sushi rice gives a rich taste!) won a prize at MUJI's contest using their food products. They have some flour products that can easily make pancakes, pizza dough, tortillas etc.. Also, they have many varieties of sauce products such as salsa, cheese, anchovy olive etc... They asked people to combine both and create new recipes.


Then on June 16th, my recipe and other user's recipe using heinz's demiglace sauce and white sauce products were published to the Cookpad's site! They have a project asking their users to try those selected recipes to win prizes. It is an interesting promotional strategy.
I made a gravy sauce using the demiglace sauce and put it in the heart shaped mashed potatoes.

I thought I won't be able to write my diary, but I could!
Gotta go now! Good night.


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I Love Daddy Chocolate Cake

It was sunny and cool this weekend. The temperature was about high 25C (77F) and we had a tender wind :) Also, today, we had a nice weather! It was cool at night and was great to have a walk! I like this kind of weather. I hope it lasts long... (The weatherman announced that it is going to rain from Thursday)

Anyway, another big earthquake (magnitude of 7.2) hit in Iwate prefecture on Saturday morning. It shook Tokyo a little, but I didn't think that it was this big!
Last time, I said I've received a high-grade bousaizukin but I kept forgetting it at home. However, today I finally brought it with me to my workplace!

Talking about Saturday, Tokyo metro's new train line called "Fukutoshin Line" opened!
Wow! It was already on Wikipedia! As it describes, Fukutoshin Line connects three of Tokyo's secondary city centers: Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Shibuya. I hardly ever go to Ikebukuro and I live close to both Shinjuku and Shibuya, so I didn't even know about it until I see it on TV this morning. There should have been many people taking the new line on the weekend. I hate the crowd, so I'm glad that I stayed local!

Writing about my cooking, I baked a chocolate cake for my dad. On Friday, I called my mom and she said he is back in Tokyo on the Father's Day! I thought he is still in China (he resides there for his work) so I didn't have a surprise for him. My mom told me that he might want to eat a cake, so I made it. Actually, I don't know about the taste but I heard he was happy :)

I have a lot to write but have to stop now. Today, I had a haircut and kind of tired. Time to go to bed!!!
Hope I can come back tomorrow, but I have a meeting to survive, and pretty sure that I am going to be exhausted...
Okay, see you later ;)


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Pepsi Blue Hawaii

Yesterday, I couldn't wake up on time. Maybe due to the rainy weather... But today, we have clear and sunny skies, so I could! Ha-ha :)
I think my sleepiness is affected by the weather! As you see, I couldn't post my diary last night...

Day before yesterday, I tried a beverage called "Pepsi Blue Hawaii". It just went on sale on June 10th for a limited time. It comes in blue soda, reflecting the image of tropical ocean. It's pineapple & lemon flavor leaves a refreshing aftertaste!
One of my coworkers likes to try out such a weird product. Why I say weird is because Suntory (Pepsi's distributor in Japan) has sold many other funny Pepsi drinks: "Pepsi Ice Cucumber (2007/6/12)", "Pepsi Carnival (2006/7/25), "Pepsi Gold (2006/11/7)", "Pepsi Red (2006/6/6)", etc...
They say they want people to enjoy drinking Pepsi and become users. Just as they wished, we buzzed-about it!

Yes! I love hot stuff!!!
Last weekend, I went to Shibuya (popular shopping and eating district) to get summer clothes!
My favorite shopping mall is SHIBUYA 109. I used to shop there often, but these days I don't (because I spend more time at home cooking), so it took about 3 hours in the shopping mall to update myself!
Because I pondered over, the pierced earrings I liked were all sold out when I went back to get them :( Thus, I ordered all the way from Nagoya! Sounds crazy, but I really wanted them. And on Wednesday, I got them! Yay!!!

Don't you think this cool? I made a magazine cover with my picture :) Someday, for real, I want to produce a recipe book!

Anyway, I found many blog widgets that I want to add in my blog! I hope I can add them nicely!

Okay, see you next week!


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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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