Fat Burning Coke?!

My co-worker likes new junk stuff!
On 6/8, he bought us newly-released green tea-flavoured Coca-Cola, which is coke with catechin. We sampled it together :)

As you may know, catechin is a special component of tea leaf that have been shown to stimulate fat metabolism and help the body burn fat more efficiently!

Coca Cola (Japan) Co. spokesman Katsuya Sato said "This coke leaves a slight green tea aftertaste and is mainly targeted at health-conscious women in their 20s and 30s. We wanted to cater to people who are looking for something that tastes good but is also good for health and beauty." [The Canadian Press]

Of course, it's calorie-free!
I liked the idea, but it didn't taste like green tea at all... If I love coke, I might get it again, but I'm not a coke addict, so this might be the first time and the last time...

In late June, shiso(Japanese basil)-flavoured Pepsi will be sold against it! Yes. I will try it out, if my co-worker gets it for us! I know he will definitely! Ha-ha ;)

Eat healthy!!!

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Gym Workout and Hula Report

I go to gym for about an hour almost every day after work since I became a member last year. Everyday, I do more than 20 minutes of aerobic exercise (mainly using step machine) and do muscle training every alternate day to get optimal results within a limited amount of time.

After 4 months, I gained muscle (gained weight) but my fat didn't burn at all, so I was kind of shocked. However, after another 4 months, I lost 2kg (4.4lbs) for sure! I gained 3kg (6.6lbs) of muscle and lost 4kg (8.8lbs) of fat, which is an ideal result. By the way, to build lean muscle tissue, I take MUSASHI K'UN (image on the left) immediately after exercise. I started to take this recently and realized it helps a lot! By the way, I don't follow a restrictive diet because I want to eat whatever I want to! Maybe this is why I am getting this result this slow... Now, I need to train my core muscles, which is my weakest part. Plus, I have lot other tasks, but I think I can do it at my own pace :)

My hula class is going to end this month. The class is held every Thursday night, but I practice once a day at home. Practice makes perfect! Now I can dance one song ;) I think I will take this class again the next term!

Yesterday, I found a pair of cute rain boots at the local shoe store. It was raining hard this morning, so I readily wore it. How amazing!!! You can walk in a puddle ;) Ha-ha!!!

Oops. The rain stopped and we have a clear sky now in the afternoon... Don't I look funny wearing rain boots?!

Never mind! See you!!!

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Jessie Steele: Bib Josephine - Sweethearts Apron

On Sunday, while I was window-shopping in Ginza with my boyfriend, I found this cute apron (Jessie Steele: Bib Josephine - Sweethearts Apron) at a department store. The lady at the store said Jessie Steele aprons have been featured on Desperate Housewives. Also, Brown & Pink Polka Dot Apron was worn by a Japanese fashion model. How attractive!!! However, the price was 6300yen (almost $63), so I didn't get it on that day. When I got home, I searched online and found it was sold at 3600yen (almost $36), including shipping fee! I will definitely get it at this price!!! But not now... I'll first ask my boyfriend to get it for me. Ha-ha ;)

It is cloudy here today. The rainy season has begun X)
I think I'd better get rain boots beforehand, before the apron!

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Nobuyuki Tsujii: Cliburn Competition 2009 Winner

Yesterday, I saw on the news that the blind Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii shared first prize with Chinese pianist Zhang Haochen at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition on 6/7.


I'm not a pianist, so I can't comment on his talent, but I think his work touches the hearts of people. I always think that the true artist has the sense to convey a message and create some kind of impression on people. How amazing. His performance was impressive. Too beautiful for words.

I learned a lot from him!

I found his video at YouTube! I hope the page is accessible...
Also, I found one when he was 12 years old, playing Chopin! Amazing!

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6th Anniversary!

June 7th was the 6th anniversary since my boyfriend and I had met. Being blessed with fine weather, we had a really good time!

Early in the afternoon, I had a plan to go to an audition (for a talk show), so I went to hair salon to have my hair set. Then in the evening, I made plans with my boyfriend to have dinner.

He took me to the restaurant called "The Restaurant Sky" in Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza.

The Restaurant Sky is an Italian restaurant offering cuisine created with fresh, seasonal organic vegetables. The restaurant is located on the 16th floor. We had a prix fixe dinner while enjoying the fantastic night view of Tokyo.

There are 7 appetizers, 5 pastas and 6 main dishes in which we may choose our 3 favorite dishes to compose our dinner. For a big eater, you may choose all 3 dishes from main dishes, which is cool! We selected 6 different dishes to share ;)

I will list what we had (from left to right, top to bottom):
- Mushroom Soup
- Homemade Bread
- Choice 1: Prawn & Avocado / Shrimp, avocado, asparagus and salsa verde
- Choice 2: Tuna Mille-Feuille / Tuna, eggplant and saffron mayonnaise
- Special Vegetable Plate
- Choice 3: "Hinai" Chicken / Roasted chicken stuffed with spring vegetables risotto, pommery mustard sauce
- Choice 4: Today's Pasta / Chicken cheese cream penne
- Choice 5: Today's Main Dish / Anago (conger eel) meuniere
- Choice 6: Lamb / Roasted lamb, chick peas and lentils soup

For dessert, my boyfriend ordered me a special dessert plate and gave me a rose :) I thought we cannot complete the dessert since we were full, but surprisingly, those sweets weren't that sweet, so we could eat them all at once!

I was worried about the bill, so I threw a quick look at it and found it wasn't that expensive! I asked my boyfriend why and he said he used a coupon! He is cool ;) I don't want him to spend way too much ;)

That's all for yesterday!

Fresh LOVE forever :)

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Does the Voice Age?!

This is something interesting.

Sometimes, I feel I'm old when I bubble over or talk with young people and realize my tone of voice is low... Haven't you ever experienced this?

I just searched the internet and found that our voice also age!!!

Atrophy of vocal muscles causes aging!
To keep your voice young, we need to talk a lot with different people, using the voice properly by avoiding apneic voice production. Which means we need to excersize our vocal cords like we exercise our body! Also, stretching around the neck will prevent the atrophy of vocal muscles.

I knew that we can excercise muscles of facial expression to keep our face young, but not the voice!!!

We're expecting rain here until Sunday morning... I hope it really clears up by then, since we are going out for a dinner to celebrate our anniversary. I will write about it later ;)

See you next week!!!

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What is Your Ecological Footprint?

The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the earth's ecosystems.

My ecological footprint was 3.8.
If everyone in the world lived like me, we would need 2.3 planets to support global consumption! How scary...

What is Your Ecological Footprint?
The site is for UK citizens, but try out!
It is interesting to test to find out what choices make the biggest differences.

Anyway, there are many ecological movements around us these days.
This morning, I saw kids interviewed on the television and I was impressed to know they have knowledge of environmental issues!

What I do everyday is I bring my bag to shop at supermarkets. (I don't use plastic bags.)
I carry a bottle of water, using the same plastic bottle, everyday instead of getting a new one.
I try to reduce my garbage...

Hmm... What else...

What do you do to reduce your ecological footprint?!

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Caffeine Efficacy

Oh boy! I'm so sleepy to work!!!

How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?

I limit to one cup a day, without sugar or cream.
Why? Because perhaps it might not work (to wake up) if I get used to consume too much caffeine!!!
Also, I heard high intake of caffeine will make your skin dull and cause pimples :(

Anyway, I am always troubled by sudden sleep at around 3PM, a few hours after lunch! Damn it!!!

I just had a cup of coffee, so now I am okay, though ;)

Stay awake!!!

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Daikon

Today, I received a happy comment that my blog visitor has tried my Buri Daikon (Japanese amberjack or yellowtail simmered with daikon) and it came out pretty tasty :)

I am glad to know that my translation wasn't bad. Plus, I am happy to know my recipes are of help!!!

Speaking of daikon, I never knew it tastes bitter even if you par boil it with kome no togijiru (a cloudy rice water that you get when you wash rice). I searched online about it and found that the sharp taste of daikon (when raw) brings out the bitter taste when you boil. How interesting! So if you get wholly sharp daikon, it comes out very bitter X( Maybe I was just lucky that I haven't bought the sharp ones! Choose heavy daikon, which means juicy and sweet!

By the way, daikon is in season from autumn to winter, so there is less chance to get very sharp ones at that time ;) As you may know, the middle part of daikon root is soft and sweet, so it is well-suited to simmer, like Buri Daikon. The top part is much sweeter, so it is good for salad! The very bottom is sharp, so you might want to use for grated radish.

That's all for today.

It is brilliantly sunny outside! How nice!!!
I don't have a plan to go out, though...

See ya ;)

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Happy Drinking :)

I was slightly drunk yesterday, while cooking.
I don't drink every day nor do I drink in the kitchen, but I had to use the apricot wine (Shinluchu) for my recipe, so I had to taste it. The wine was fruity and refreshing! It was more delicious than I expected.

After a while, I was slightly drunk, and surprisingly, I was in good form! I had many deadlines due May 31st, but I could finish them within a time frame!!! My work came out pretty good, too.

Don't you think sometimes you get the idea for your art while drinking?!

I don't want to depend on drinking, so I don't recommend it, though...

Anyway, it is already June! Time flies!!!
I hope there is no rain this week...

Bye for now :)

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My Accomplishments

May is almost over. Can you believe it has been already half year since the New Year!?

Anyway, bad things also come in series. Few of my recipes nominated for promotional goods fell through :(

Shake it off!!!

I will list the rest of my accomplishments this month.

On 5/6, my "Ratatouille Hand Rolls" was introduced as an idea recipe in the newsletter published by cookpad.com. Every Wednesday, based on a certain theme, some recipes are featured there. Thanks for selecting my recipe!





On 5/17, I won the Kurotaro award at the recipe contest organized by a black beans company called Tanba no Kurotaro. I used sweet black beans to make salty sweet "Chinese Style Simmered Chicken with Vegetables".





On 5/18, I won the prize for participation at Silargan's rice contest. Silargan is a German cookware company known for hard glass-ceramic coated cookware. I made Baked Deep-Fried Bean Curd Onigiri.





On 5/20, my "Stir-Fried Asparagus and Colorful Vegetables" was chosen to sold at a deli called Maido in Kanagawa prefecture. I am going to receive 3% of the sales, which is not a big pay but better than nothing ;)

On 5/24, two of my miso recipes received awards at a miso recipe contest held at Onogawa hot spring in Yamagata prefecture. We've just been to Yamagata few weeks ago, so it was interesting to know the contest was held at the same prefecture! The image on the left is Miso Tomato Beef Stew. I wasn't able to attend the contest, but I found a blog that posts pictures of the event.

On 5/24, my fish sausage recipe became a recipe card! I won the grand prize at Resala Fish Sausage contest last November, so that's why I got such a chance ;) I hope it is available at stores.

I don't have any image, but on 5/24, I won outstanding performance award at flavored derma contest. But actually, I don't like this food that much... Then on the same day, I won Fujiya award at orangepage (recipe site of a cookbook publishing company).

As usual, I won some sample products, too. Rose tea, dried baby sardines, green juice, hot salsa, vinegar, laxative product, placenta product, and curry roux. It is sometimes nice to get things for free by entering giveaways.

We're expecting rain here until Saturday night... Too bad. Tonight I have a plan to go out with my co-worker... I hope the rain stops by evening!

Happy Friday!!!

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