Wrong Effort

Hi! It's freezing cold today.
It's supposed to snow again in the afternoon! Brrrr...

Well, today is Hinamatsuri, but not having any bright news at all...
Have you ever continued doing something what you think is right for a long time and realized it was wrong after a few years? I just had this kind and remaining deep in the shock. (It happens to me once in a while!) I'm not gonna write about it in detail but it is about my camera setting... I have continued using it for more than 2 years... and was a bad decision!

Yes, never too late to change it from today, but 2 years (730 days) are too long to let it go :(

I found a balloon like jose for myself! Ha-ha-ha X(



Good luck to me and you all, too!!!

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Vibrating Mascara

Hi! The rainy weather finally cleared and we have sun today! As I thought, this weekend was so busy that I had a nightmare X( I might be very sensitive, ha-ha! But it is true that I can't sleep well when I am pressed!

Anyway, have you ever tried vibrating mascara?
Lancome has launched a new product called Ôscillation last month in Japan. Unfortunately, there is no positive impact of the strength of the yen. The price of this product is $52 (5,250yen) while it's original price is $34! I don't think I'm gonna get it at this price, but I am curious because many fashion magazines feature it! Also, they had a high-tech ad on the train the other day: Lancome launches mascara via electronic paper! Is it worth the ad?!

It is already March! Time flies... I can't believe 2 months have passed since the new year already! A year passes faster as I get older... I want to stay in my 20s forever!!!

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The First Snow?!

It is snowing today!
The first snow has actually fallen in January, but it was only the snow like dust, so kind of happy to see it falling this much! I hope it stops by the time I go home, though...

Anyway, March 3rd is Hinamatsuri (Japanese Doll Festival). I wrote about the event in detail last year (<--please scroll down the linked page to find the posts)! Unfortunately, I don't think I can create something for this event this year, since I have so much work to do this weekend. Oh gosh...

The image here is... can you guess what kind of sweet the snowman is? I made it last year for Christmas. The image name is the answer ;)

I hope I have finished all my work by the time I come back here next week... See ya!!!

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Ad on Foods

Hello. It is still cold and raining outside today. On such day, I prefer to go to work than stay at home! Hope it clears up by the weekend.

Due to the recession, consumers are holding the line on spending. What kind of sales strategies do you see at stores?

Last week, I saw on TV that the company called Plus Impact has launched a new service called "Ad on Foods" in December 2008. It is designed to print ads on discount stickers on foods. The sticker is called ure-seal (happy sticker). The discount amount is about 30yen (30cents) and the cost of ads are covered by advertisers. In this way, both consumers and advertisers can be happy!

I haven't seen this sticker on food yet at stores, but I hope it helps us all save money someday.

This is all for today.
Have a good one!

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White Strawberries

Hi! The high today is 50F (10C) and raining every day! It seems like the weather went back to the winter!

Few days ago, I saw white strawberries called "hatsukoi-no-kaori" (scents of the first love) on TV. It is now available at $10 per piece at department stores!
Those berries are created by Miyoshi Agritech Co. in Yamanashi prefecture. They spent more than 10 years to create white berries which are as sweet and succulent as the red ones! Despite the high prices, they are a hit with consumers and used at hotel restaurants as well! The company says they can't keep up with production!!!
Very interesting, but I don't think I'm gonna get one to try out. It is way too expensive!

Anyway, there are too many stuff that I cannot go far enough to purchase. For instance, at the gym, they sell personal trainer program ($60 per hour) for people who can't make a change by themselves. Actually, my fat is not burning at all (it went almost back to the start), so I am thinking of taking this program, but still can't decide... Also, speaking of eyelash extensions, they sell mascara that you can wear over the extensions at $30, but this is too expensive for me to have it in addition. Moreover, the massage machine I wrote the other day, I still haven't decided to get it. They all are NOT necessary, so that is why I can't decide... I know.

However, my boyfriend bought me the juke tower for my Christmas present that he hasn't get me yet! Yay! But I just thought I should have asked him to buy something necessary... like L'OCCITANE products...
Anyway, it gonna arrive today, so I am looking forward to it ;)

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Sukiyaki

Hello. It is raining today. The forecast said this gloomy weather will last till next week. Too bad...

Yesterday, I cooked sukiyaki using the beef I won. It was really delicious!!!

Anyway, I have a very bad fortune today. This morning, my braces broke, I forgot my cell, the train delayed for 15 min, I heared that my cake I sent for the submission was hard when it arrived, and I lost the yodoran contest, which I really wanted to win. I somehow felt I'm gonna lose, because there is a certain rule that the same person won't win in a row... but kind of shocking if you make an effort, you know!!!

Hope the rest of my day ends peacefully :(

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Sukiyaki

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 3-4

Ingredients:
400g (0.8lb.) thinly sliced beef
1 yaki-dofu (grilled tofu)
8 musubi shirataki (bundles of translucent konnyaku noodles)
6 shitake mushroom
2-3 long green onion
1 nama-fu (fu is made from wheat gluten which absorbs the broth)
200g (0.4lb.) shungiku (garland chrysanthemum)
beef fat (or cooking oil)
1 cup (200cc) warishita (commercially available sukiyaki sauce)
fresh raw eggs if desired

Quick recipe for "warishita": 1/3cup sake, 1/3cup mirin, 1/2 cup soysauce, 3tbsp sugar, 1/2cup dashi broth.

Directions:
1. Cut yaki-dofu into bite sized pieces. Boil musubi shirataki 2-3 minutes in order to skim the scum. Remove stems and cut shitake mushrooms into half. Cut long green onion into 7cm (2.5inches) slices on the diagonal. Cut nama-fu into bite sized pieces. Cut shungiku into half.

2. Melt beef fat in Nabe (large casserole) and move around to oil the entire base. Cook few slices of long green onion, add beef, cover and steam until half-cooked. Then remove the beef and set aside.

3. Add vegetables and "warishita", and simmer until half-tender. Then put back the beef and simmer until everything is done.



If desired, serve with beaten fresh raw eggs.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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We dip sukiyaki into beaten fresh raw eggs to eat!
I don't like raw eggs, though...

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Awarding Ceremony: Dishes for Niigata Rice

Hello! It is raining and cold today. I'm glad it didn't rain yesterday!!!

Yesterday, I attended an awarding ceremony. It was about the contest that asked for recipes which goes good with white rice of Niigata prefecture (rice is the principal product in Niigata).

As a special guest, Maron-san (famous food stylist) was invited to the ceremony, and he gave us some feedback! He was a friendly person like we see on TV! There were 255 entries, so I am glad that mine got a place! I took many pictures with him for a keepsake ;)

This time, we didn't have to cook, but chefs at the restaurant cooked our award winning recipes to try out. Mine is "Yam and Tomato Scrambled Egg" and received the yummy award!

Moreover, what surprised me was that I met the same lady for the 3rd time at this ceremony. Whenever I see her, I always feel like seeing my old friend! She is really a nice person. Also, I saw a lady who I met 3 years ago at the cheese contest. Isn't this amazing?

Then last but not least, my high school classmate was working at the reception desk! It was after more than 10 years to see her!!!
I think I was very right to take a day off from work yesterday :)

The prize for this award was $300 worth of sukiyaki beef! I don't cook sukiyaki at home, but I will this weekend when it arrived! Should be delicious ;)

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Stir-Fried Komatsuna and Crab Meat

Hi! Thanks for your concern! My cold is getting better after taking the cold medicine behind-the-counter :) It works when I don't expect that much, you know!

For lunch, I again had the $10 Fugu Chiri Nabe! The menu ends in February, so I was lucky to go there again!

Anyway, do you know komatsuna? It is called "Japanese mustard spinach" in the US supermarkets. I have a really easy & delicious recipe for you!

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Stir-Fried Komatsuna and Crab Meat

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

Ingredients:
200g (0.4lb.) komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach)
40g (1.4oz.) imitation crab sticks
cracked salt and pepper
2 tsp. sesame oil

Directions:
1. Cut komatsuna into bite-size and separate the stalks and leaves. Thinly tear up imitation crab sticks.
2. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan, and fry the komatsuna stalks until slightly softened.
3. Add the komatsuna leaves and the strips of imitation crab sticks in the pan and stir fry until leaves are wilted.
4. Season with cracked salt and pepper and serve.

You can substitute komatsuna with spinach. But you need to precook (boil) spinach to remove oxalic acid. Komatsuna contains less oxalic acid than spinach, so you can stir-fry without precooking.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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I had my eyelash extensions done again this evening! I just thought it costs almost the same as juke tower... Never mind!!!

I am going to take off from work and attend an awarding ceremony tomorrow! I hope it is something worth to attend...

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juke tower

Winter season came back again! The temp suddenly went down to 46F (8C). I see some cherry blossoms partly bloomed by mistake!

Anyway, besides Masseur Wellness (I'm still thinking), I want a water resistant MP3 player "juke tower" for my bathroom. It is battery powered and you can set your own USB memory stick containing your favorite music and play! What is good about it is that it is small enough to fit right in with shampoo bottles :) It is available in white, pink, red, and black. Don't you think it's cool? The price is about $100.

There are too many stuff I want!
Hmm... I need to think think and think... and sometimes I don't buy :(
I wish I could have enough money to get what I want when I want!

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Kaiten-zushi

How was your Valentine's day?

Me? Nothing special!
I went to the gym with my boyfriend and had sushi with him for dinner. Not going there for a while, the sushi restaurant has changed it's interior to kaiten-zushi (conveyor belt sushi)! I never pick a dish on the conveyor belt (because some are not fresh), but it is more entertaining having it at a sushi restaurant :) Their fish was huge, so we had a very satisfying meal. We ate and drank whatever we want and the total was about $50 (5,000yen)! Maybe cheaper than eating out at Izakaya (a type of Japanese drinking establishment)!

So, our Valentine's day was a happy ordinary day ;)

Anyway, I think I caught a cold. I have a sore throat :( Too bad since I wore a mask and gargled to protect against colds evey day! Hope it won't get worse...

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My Accomplishments

Believe it or not, the high today is 69F (21C) and was 62F (17C) yesterday because of the south wind! I hope it won't rain...

Today, I will list my accomplishments as usual.

In the beginning of February, two of my miso recipes appeared in the miso recipe book published by Megami's Recipes site. The site is currently closed (as I wrote before) but they sometimes do an activity. Some people have more than two recipes published in the book! To tell the truth, I didn't expect the book to turn out this nice, so I just submitted two recipes... I regret not making a full effort!

On 2/6, my steamed rice using "leftover beans" from Mamemaki (bean scattering) was introduced on Orangepage's website. The site was newly opened on 2/3 and I am keeping a diary there to see how it works. I am not sure whether to continue to post or not.




On 2/9, my Fruit Layered Pound Cake won a message award at the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Contest organized by Cookpad. I mixed strawberry and banana paste in the cake, too.





On 2/11, I again won the Outstanding Performance Award at Asahi Food & Healthcare's diet recipe contest. I submitted my "Microwave Cooked Juicy Chicken Balls".



On 2/11, my "LOVE Message Chocolate Chunk Muffins" was introduced as the 2nd place in the newsletter published by cookpad.com. On that week, the theme was "Valentine's day recipe, different than usual". Thanks for selecting my recipe!




Then again, I recently won some interesting samples: turmeric pills for drinkers, Mary's chocolate for Valentine's day, hyaluronan acid and collagen pills for beautiful skin.

Today, I am busy, so I gotta go now!
Have a happy Valentine's day ;)

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