My Accomplishments

Yesterday was cloudy with a chance of rain and today it is going to be cloudy throughout the day. Is it because of the weather?! I thought yesterday was Saturday and slept until the last minute in the morning!!! But thanks for my workout, I could run fast and catch my usual train! That wasn't my purpose of training though...

You know what!? I am keep on losing big contests... :(
But anyway, I will list my recent accomplishments.

On 9/20, I won the "Cheeza, goes good with alcohol award". Cheeza is Ezaki Glico's new rich cheese snacks. Cheeza comes in 2 flavors. The red one is cheddar cheese and the black one is Camembert cheese. They both contain more than 50% of real cheese so they taste really real!!! Glico asked us to create party recipes using Cheeza or their other product called Cratz. I didn't use Cratz, but I used Cheeza and submitted 3 recipes. Very surprisingly, my most simple one, "Cheeza Mini Pizza" won the prize! I just microwaved Cheeza with pizza cheese and sprinkled shichimi togarashi (seven flavor chili pepper)... No one knows what will win!

On 9/22, I won the "Lee Kum Kee prize" at oyster flavored sauce contest organized by Cookpad. Lee Kum Kee is the world renowned leader of oyster flavored sauce which is the basic ingredient for countless Chinese dishes. I stir-fried pork and shishitougarashi (Japanese green peppers) with the oyster flavored sauce, vinegar, and grated sesame seeds! Vinegar refreshes the taste and the sesame seeds are savory! Those goes great with the oyster flavored sauce! My boyfriend loved it :) My post is here.

On 9/25, my "Salty-Sweet Pork and Eggplant Rice Bowl" was published in a food magazine called Lettuce Club. I have posted 60 recipes on their website. This month, they picked up mine and introduced it on P.120. It was a very small article but I am glad that mine was selected!

Then last but not least, my fellow blogger Nazarina passed me this gorgeous award: Brillante Weblog - Premio 2008! Thank you!!! This is my first award in a foreign country :)


Okay, time to go! I need to prepare for my next challenges ;)
Have a good weekend!!!

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Kitchen Scale

Today, we have nice fall weather again.

Last Thursday, my kitchen scale broke. I accidentally dropped on the floor and the needle got damaged :( I had used this for more than 5 years so I was kind of shocked. To tell the truth, I wanted to get a new "digital one" someday, but at this moment I don't think I can throw the broken one away... By looking carefully, I can tell where it points, so I used it for a week in that way. However, it is obviously inefficient.

I guess it is time to change.

Oops. I'm getting drowsy again.
Bye for now...

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Kamameshi

Today, the high is 82F (28C) but we have nice fall weather. This morning, I enjoyed walking to the train station in a gentle breeze :)
I hope the weather stays the same for long.

Turn of the seasons can also be seen in the restaurant menus. Last weekend, my boyfriend and I had kamameshi at izakaya! Kamameshi is a traditional Japanese rice dish cooked in an iron pot with various kinds of meat, seafood, and vegetables. We had a kamameshi with ikura (salmon roe) and salmon, which are in season now!
The image is from Kamadoka.

The other day we had "Kamameshi Paella". I think that was creative!

Actually kamameshi is eaten through the year, but the best is fall!

You know what!? Kamatora is one of my favorite delivery services. They specialize in kamameshi delivery and deliver the set meal like seen in the right image, which is cool! You first enjoy eating the flavored rice, then you pour dashi broth and eat it like ochazuke!

Hmm... I'm getting hungry.

We have a good appetite in autumn. We call it "shokuyoku no aki".
I need to be careful not to eat too much!!!

Okay, see you again :)

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Green Veggie Latte

Hi! The weekend was fast as usual, but we have a holiday (Autumnal Equinox Day) today! Yay :) Some people might have taken a day off yesterday because the train was not that packed in the morning.

Today, I will translate my favorite veggie latte. I think it is just the same as the one served at the cafe near my workplace ;)

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Green Veggie Latte

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

Necessary Equipment:
blender / mixer

Ingredients:
25g (1oz.) spinach
25g (1oz.) soft cabbage leaf
150g (5.2oz.) fresh banana
200cc milk
ice cubes

Directions:
1. Boil spinach quickly, soak in cold water, squeeze and cut into an inch long pieces.
2. Cut banana and cabbage coarsely.
3. Place 1 & 2 & milk in a blender / mixer and process until smooth.
4. Pour into a glass with ice cubes, serve as soon as possible.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
I originally made it with Komatsuna. It is kind of Japanese spinach which contains less oxalic acid than spinach.
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Actually, I was going to post this last night! I was asleep in front of the PC again :( Am I tired or what?! I was thinking of getting up early this morning but I forgot to set the alarm so I couldn't... I just woke up because it was 8:30 and I was late for the garbage collection!!!

It will be high 85F (29C) today!
I definitely need to wear summer clothes!

I gotta go now! See you again!!!

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My Vitamins, Supplements and Herbal Products

Too bad... according to the news, typhoon #13 is expected to reach eastern Japan (Tokyo) tonight :( Hopefully it passes away by noon but not sure at this point. I think we have rain every Saturday!!!

Anyway, do you take vitamins, supplements and/or herbal products every day?

Yes, I do! I take Multivitamins, Calcium, Bilberry, Echinacea (when turn of the year), and Turmeric Extract (when drinking alcohol at night) in the morning with breakfast. I force my boyfriend to take them, too! At night, I take Vitamin C, Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin E (sometimes), and CoQ10 (30mg sometimes).
Thanks to them, we seldom catch a cold!!!

Every summer I purchase those in NY when they are buy one get one free! Mostly Nature Made products, but if cheap, similar products like pharmacy brands are okay! In Japan, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Group distributes Nature Made products but they are unbelievably expensive! I think this is because we Japanese don't have a custom to take them like Americans. I remember when I first went to Seattle for a homestay (when I was a high school student) my host mother gave me a tablet with breakfast but I hid it in my pocket because I thought it was a drug or something harmful... Few years later, when vitamins got popular in Japan, I realized that the tablet was a vitamin! But still, it is not a part of everyday life to take those, so the market price is twice as high as that of U.S.

Changing my story, today I had body composition done at gym. In 4 weeks, I lost 2 pounds of fat and gained 4 pounds of muscle. I know I am doing slow but I will keep going there one hour a day to change little by little, like I gained fat little by little! Ha-ha!!!

Okay, I gotta see my orthodontist tomorrow morning, so need to go to bed! Hope typhoon passes away by the time I leave home.

Good night ;)

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My Accomplishments

Yesterday was nice and sunny but the rain is expected Today through Sunday because of the autumn rain front and typhoon #13. This typhoon suppose not to approach Kyushu area, but it changed it's direction and predicted to pass the east coast of Japan (Tokyo area) soon :( We have a holiday (Autumnal Equinox Day) on Tuesday the 23rd, so hope not rain till then...

It's been a while so I will list my accomplishments today.

On 9/4, my "Healthy Chicken Bowl" recipe was published in a magazine called Sutekina Okusan (Nice Wife). They featured economical recipe ideas in a saddle-stitched brochure of October issue and mine was introduced on P.37!

On 9/15, I won the vegetable sommelier prize at the recipe contest (organized by Cookpad) using Pokka's vegetable potage (powder soup) products. Their vegetable potage products are additive-free. They separate flavors by the color of vegetables, which is cool! The image below (on the right) is their product line.



This time, I used White Vegetable Potage which includes the total of 20 different kinds of vegetables such as cabbage, daikon radish, and onion! I made "Chinese Style Creamy Stir-Fried Vegetables" by adding the potage. My boyfriend loved it, because it was deliciously thickened with the potage and harusame (bean-starch vermicelli)!

Needless to say, I lost the others... But I really can't believe because some of them were perfect! I will show you someday if I feel like it.

You know what!? Yesterday, I had a call from haircolor product company (because I sent them an inquiry) and they told me that the color is permanent :( I was so shocked that I don't really like this dark brown... My boyfriend says he likes it, but he's just saying, I guess... I have long hair, so that means I need to wait for more than 2 years to regrow!!! Hope it washes out a little...
Well... I called my hair salon and they told me that they can decolor it, so there is still hope... (it damages hair though...) Life is not easy!

Snap out of it! See you again!

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Six Unremarkable Things About Moi!

On Saturday night, I changed my hair color. Somehow, I used the haircolor for "white hair" and my hair turned out to be very dark (brown)! That wasn't the color I wanted!!! On the package, the color sample was very bright (greenish color) but now I realized that the color was based on the "white hair"! I need to pay more attention when I get something new...

Well... back to my topic! My blog friend jo tagged me for this meme, so I will list mine here:

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Six Unremarkable Things About Moi!

1. I seldom watch TV on weekday nights. After work, I go gym, cook dinner (take pictures), take a hot bath, use Internet, and go to bed. I just don't have time to watch it! I watch news in the morning though.

2. I take good news (or fortune-telling) negatively, so that it won't turn out to be worse. I just don’t want to get carried away.

3. I like to eat lunch at my desk at work. I don't really get full eating chatting with my co-workers...

4. I don't work over-time!

5. Like a child, I thrive on praise!

6. I love my boyfriend but sometimes want to be alone...

7. Like jo, I like sevens! I believe in lucky numbers, so I will do an extra one, too!
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I won't be tagging anyone but feel free to pick this up if you run out of topic to post ;)

You know, again, I slept before I complete the post... I hope I can keep my diary!

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Jyugoya: The Harvest Moon

Today, after the gym, I saw a round full moon in the sky! But there were too many clouds and it went behind the clouds once in a while :( And what is more, now it's raining cats and dogs!!!

9/14 (this year) is the night called "Jyugoya" or "Chushu-no-Meigetsu". It is the night with a beautiful full moon! In a fairy tale, it's the day Kaguya-Hime (Princess Kaguya) left for the moon.

On this day, we view the moon. This moon viewing is called "Tsukimi". We offer "Tsukimi Dango" (small round dumplings like mochi), sake, and seasonal fruits with "Susuki" (Japanese pampas grass) decoration. Some people read poems under the moon.
The image is from Wikimedia.


Long ago, when I was small, I cerebrated the day with my grandparents, but now I don't really do anything. However, one year, I made Dango! But with pumpkin with dashi sauce! Because my boyfriend doesn't like sweet stuff...

Today, my boyfriend went home (Shiga Prefecture) to see his mom. He told me over the phone that she still can't speak well but doing fine. Hope she gets well soon.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna have a haircut for the first time in about 3 months, so tonight, I'm gonna change my hair color. Maybe darker a little because it's autumn ;)

Okay, bye for now!

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Miso Cheese Simmered Eggplant Witch

Hello! It rained yesterday and the high was 78F (26C). It was little cool outside, but going up to 86F (30C) from today for about a week again. High temp low humidity is bearable, you know!

Today, as I said before, I will translate my eggplant recipe. I'm ahead of the season but it's a great Halloween recipe idea ;)



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Miso Cheese Simmered Eggplant Witch

Difficulty: Medium
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 4

Ingredients:
4 eggplants (5-6 inches long)
50g (1.8oz.) cream cheese
A
* 1 tbsp. miso (preferably red miso)
* 1 tbsp. mirin (sweet sake)
* 1 tbsp. sugar
* 1 tbsp. sake
200cc dashi broth (using packaged dashi powder saves time)
4 star-shaped thick carrot slices

Directions:
1. Cut cream cheese into small pieces.
2. Make "Chasen Nasu" and soak in water to remove the oxalic acid. The procedure for "Chasen Nasu" is HERE.
3. Microwave cream cheese on Medium 500 W (50-60%) for about 30 seconds until softened. Then add A and mix well.
4. Heat 3. in a pan and add dashi broth little by little. Keep stirring once every few times until dissolved.
5. Add Chasen Nasu and carrot slices, then cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Keep flipping eggplants once every few minutes until done and sauce thickens.
6. Pour the sauce on a dish, twist and press the eggplant by hand to form the witch shape.
5. Attach carrot slices with a toothpick (like a magic stick) and stick it on to the eggplant witch.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Actually, I was going to post this last night, but again I dozed off...
Monday is a holiday: Respect-for-the-Aged Day! On Wednesday, my boyfriend was busy and we couldn't go out for a dinner. Hope we could this weekend.

Have a good weekend :)

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