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20 Nov 09
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tomato miso soup One morning, I was watching a program and they mentioned that the "trend" nabe (hot pot) this season was tomato.Awhile back it was tonyu (soy milk) and then it was curry, but this year it is tomato. The way they cooked the hot pot on the program was... |
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19 Nov 09
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t.m.i.?? Do you know what T.M.I. stands for? I didn't until a couple of years ago. It means "too much information".Well, the empty lot in front of our building has sold and started to build a house and as I walked past, I noticed that they had a porta-potty, but... |
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17 Nov 09
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dinners The weather has been quite gloomy the past couple of days. Cold and rainy, sometimes kind of blustery.Since it is getting colder, I've been trying to find ways to put veggies into our meals without having to have "cold" salads.We had vegetable soup for a... |
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16 Nov 09
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hikidemono Here is the hikidemono that Satoshi received. Since the bride grew up in Kyoto, the items were from there.A handmade chazutsu (tea container). The copper tea container is made by Japan's oldest craftsman, Kaikado which has been in business since the 8th... |
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15 Nov 09
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aosagi Our area, though considered part of a big city, is actually quite rural.We have lots of interesting birds here and there, especially near the rivers.Many ducks (which Satoshi doesn't believe can fly) and many birds that I have never seen in Hawaii.One... |
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15 Nov 09
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kekkonshiki Today, Satoshi is attending a wedding for one of his co-workers.Before even getting married, there is a formal ceremony called yuino, an engagement ceremony, Satoshi and I didn't go through this, so I didn't experience this first hand but have heard that... |
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12 Nov 09
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kotobukiya There is a tiny shop near our station called Kotobukiya, which opened last year.I have been wondering how their sweets were and finally stopped to get some.While googling around for info, I noticed that some people call these "koto-man" which apparently... |
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11 Nov 09
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vegetable hash I had some spice rub leftover, so I bought some salmon to make Ellie's "salmon with sweet and spicy rub".For the side, I shredded some zucchini and sweet potato and sliced some onions to make a veggie hash.Did you know if you google "how to make hash"... |
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10 Nov 09
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jalna's sandwich After reading Jalna's comment..."Cranberry chutney!!! Diamond Head Market and Grill here makes a ham and cheese sandwich. It's just a plain ole ham and cheese sandwich, but what makes it almost magical is the little bit of cranberry chutney that they put... |
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09 Nov 09
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so... It's been a couple of days now, I still have a little jet lag, like getting up at 5:00 am, but at least I can kinda go back to sleep until 7:00 am (my usual wake-up time).Sunday dinner was some pupus (appetizers)--including the seasoned pretzels my mom... |
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07 Nov 09
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very long day... My flight from Honolulu to Narita left a little earlier than scheduled, which was nice because we got in over 45 minutes early.There was quite a bit of turbulence though. Lunch was some grey thing they called chicken slathered with teriyaki sauce...I... |
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05 Nov 09
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odds and ends Well, it's been 4 weeks...Grandma's doing fine, we've been taking her to do her grocery shopping and to some of her "normal" appointments.On other days, I've been shuttling my parents here and there. It's not that they don't drive, but they "don't like"... |
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27 Oct 09
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hawaii remembers The other week, after bringing my Aunty Marian's car down to my Grandma's, I intended to walk home, but instead walked up to meet my mom at the swimming pool, which took about 20 minutes.With her busy schedule, she swims several times a week, when she has... |
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25 Oct 09
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furlough fridays Recently, the State of Hawaii started "Furlough Fridays", this is to "shut down" everything State-related for a day, in hopes to save on electricity, salaries, etc.My friend, Wen, recently had a furlough day, and I too had a "furlough" from my duties, so... |
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24 Oct 09
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hawaii drives My Aunty Marian drives a Prius, which I got to drive several times.The feel of this car is...well, it reminded me of a golf cart, especially the gear shift. (Sorry Aunty!)I'm sure it is great for the environment, but somehow for myself, I would want a... |
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23 Oct 09
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wow! The other day in the garden, I noticed this...doesn't it look like asparagus?It was actually the flower of the aloe plant.Boy, what rock have I been living under? I've never noticed it before.The shoot grows really tall then has these droopy flowers on... |
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21 Oct 09
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mmm Been enjoying fresh papaya every morning...so delicious!Look at this one...over 8 inches long! from a walking friend of my parents...hope it is just as delicious! |
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19 Oct 09
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eww! The day I had to fly from Japan to Hawaii, I peeled this grapefruit for part of our breakfast.I should have figured out something was fishy when I chopped off the top and there was a teeny hole next to the stem....eww!If I had known this guy was in there... |
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15 Oct 09
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pinch hitting My Grandma recently had some work done on her leg. She's fine but needs to be watched since she doesn't quite have her balance back.My Aunty Merle went on a trip, so in order to fulfill her duties as a daughter, I am the pinch hitting... |
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15 Oct 09
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the pin I have been wanting to get a shot of someone with these huge pins in their hair.You may recognize them as the pins your hairstylist uses to pin up your hair for cutting, perming.People in Japan (especially the younger generation), wear these pins (as... |
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14 Oct 09
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eco sight seeing If you want to see Kyoto without using public transportation, you may want to rent a bicycle.Tamakikat and I saw these bicycles parked near Heian Shrine. They are from Kyoto Eco Trip. The prices on their site seemed pretty reasonable, plus there is a... |
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12 Oct 09
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no to free Recently, a lot of beer companies have been coming out with these alcohol free versions. I guess with the rise in drunk driving here, these companies still want to make some money on the people who are the designated drivers.Tamakikat, first told me... |
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11 Oct 09
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blingy saturday Saturday we met our family friend, David, he is here with a group and had some free time to get together.The first place we went to was Shinsekai, I've posted about this area before and we took him up Tsutenkaku, a large tower in lower Osaka where you can... |
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10 Oct 09
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autumn = chocolate Autumn in Japan means time to eat chocolate (well, to me anyway). Everywhere you go, you'll see pastries, cakes and other goodies made with chocolate because the weather is cooling down.Here are some goodies I have been having lately...Mister Donut's rich... |
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08 Oct 09
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chocolate lilikoi curd muffins Wednesday night, the wind was howling as the typhoon passed overhead. Kinda exciting yet scary. I was worried that Satoshi would have to stay in Osaka to manage his tour's flights, but he was able to come home. Dripping wet, but safely. The... |
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05 Oct 09
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funny foodie sunday Sunday was unusually hot but a very nice day. Lunch was at Abientot. We've gone here for breakfast, and I've been wanting to taste their lunch menu.I was surprised to see the place was doing steady business (on a Sunday), luckily we were able to get a... |
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04 Oct 09
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If you feed them... minoo2008 (51)Originally uploaded by katnhwiStarting next April, the city of Minoo will impose a fine of 10,000 yen (about US$100) for feeding the monkeys in Minoo Park.Apparently with these feedings, their body rhythms have changed and have increased the... |
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03 Oct 09
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7 blue things Do you have 7 blue things around your home? That was the topic on Rowena's blog recently.I actually had more ...here are 7...Daiso (100 yen shop) stapler curtainsCasio calculatordishes (actually lots of blue/white dishes)cafe cup (Italian)Sony... |
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02 Oct 09
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bento In Japan, you can find lots of okazu or sozai (prepared foods) at the supermarkets and department stores.Most times bento (boxed foods) have lots of deep fried items because they supposedly last longer.You can also find simmered items called nimono.... |
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02 Oct 09
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find a penny... You will almost never find money on the ground here.If you do, it will probably be 1 yen (about US$.01) or 1 yen that someone has glued to the ground as a prank (yup, I found that one! and tried to pick it up, almost broke a nail while trying to...)Today,... |
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30 Sep 09
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sweet potato hummus While the weather is trying to figure out whether it is Autumn or Summer, the markets are saying that it is Autumn.Sweet potatoes are in season here. I love steaming them. The satsuma imo (sweet potato) turns a bright yellow.In July, while I was in... |
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29 Sep 09
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italia When I first came to Japan, I realized that they pronounced names of countries different from the US. For example, in the US we say "Italy" but here they say "Italia". Germany is "Doitsu" meaning Deutsch.Takes some getting used to but definitely good to... |
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27 Sep 09
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happy 4th birthday! Today is the 4th birthday of this blog...I cannot believe how fast time flies.I cherish the friendships made through this blog. The vast amounts of information learned and shared from blog to blog.Drooling over photos on other blogs, inspires me to take... |
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27 Sep 09
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the day after The party started at 13:00 and didn't finish until 18:30...I think the party went well. The dishes I served didn't come out as well as I would have liked.Oh, I forgot to include one more item on the menu...I also served Fragrant Tuna & Chickpeas... |
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25 Sep 09
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foodie staff party First off, I want to thank everyone who left a message cheering me up over the crappy "no aloha" days I had.I took some of your advice and got into the kitchen. It did help take my mind off of things.Plus, it is that time again, when we invite Satoshi's... |
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24 Sep 09
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no aloha days Sometimes daily episodes make me homesick. I like to call them "no aloha" episodes.Whenever I run into "no aloha" episodes here, it makes me crave "the little stuffs" of home...the smiles from people you don't know, gestures of courtesy like holding the... |
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22 Sep 09
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hele katsu musubi The other day, I needed some rice for some leftovers I planned to have for lunch, so I stopped into Lawson (a convenience store), to pick up a musubi (rice ball).What I found was a sale of their musubi...I picked up this musubi...hele katsu (pork filet... |
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21 Sep 09
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uji Sunday we spent the morning at church for their Autumn service. It was basically the same service as the one during Obon except this time they had chairs for everyone to sit on.After the service, Satoshi, my MIL and I went to Uji. It is about 40 minutes... |
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17 Sep 09
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lemon chocolate nib muffins Sorry for so many muffins this week, I had some butter that I wanted to use up.Anyway, before we went to Palau, I also had some lemons that needed using, since I knew I wouldn't get around to using them before we left, I zested, squeezed and froze... |
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16 Sep 09
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tandoori chicken and couscous The weather has been getting cooler. Some days are beautiful and sunny while others are kind of gloomy and rainy.I think Autumn is almost here. At the market, they have started bringing in the chestnuts and pears.Not sure why I was craving tandoori... |
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15 Sep 09
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chocolate zucchini nib muffins I saw this recipe on La Fuji Mama and had to try it...well, I used her idea but turned it into muffins instead of cake.I thought, instead of making a whole cake, making 6 muffins would be somewhat "figure friendly".So, I went to a basic muffin recipe that... |
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14 Sep 09
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100% vrai I'm in love with these little cookies...I recently came across these at Sony Plaza, they are 100% vrai, which means 100% pure in French.If you look at the back of the box, they only use "real" ingredients, no additives nor preservatives.Michel et Augustin... |
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13 Sep 09
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roasted stuffed peppers The other night I wanted to make something easy for dinner. I had looked online for a roasted stuffed bell pepper recipe, but most were kinda time consuming (roasting the peppers then stuffing them, then putting them back under the broiler).So instead, I... |
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11 Sep 09
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ahi poke sliders on mini buns Last Sunday, I tried the recipe for "Ahi Poke Sliders on Mini Buns" which was featured in "Edible Hawaiian Islands Summer 2009".I had to make my ahi poke from scratch because it doesn't exist here.I followed this recipe, which I always use to make poke.... |
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10 Sep 09
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palau relaxing One thing we did on Palau was get a massage at the Mandara Spa.The Mandara Spa is a worldwide chain and Palau has two, each located on the grounds of two different hotel properties.Check out their website for a spa nearest you. (I also found out that... |
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06 Sep 09
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palau sights Sharing some of the sights on Palau...One place we visited was the Palau Aquarium a.k.a. Palau International Coral Reef Center. This aquarium is tiny but houses many interesting exhibits.It was interesting to learn about mangrove--trees that grow in salt... |
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05 Sep 09
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palau eats Our first full day (8/30) was spent touring Babeldaob (the largest island in Palau), we came back to the hotel in the afternoon and talked about where we should go for dinner.Satoshi had talked to someone at a Japanese tour desk and found several options... |
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04 Sep 09
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palau culture "Alii!", this is the greeting for "Welcome", "Hello" in Palau, kind of like "Aloha" in Hawaiian.Palau, also known as Belau (in Palau language) is located near the Philippines. The Spanish, German and then the Japanese occupied this area at various times... |
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03 Sep 09
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nagoya-guam-yap-palau If you remember in my last post, we had to fly from Nagoya due to an overbooking by the airlines. They also upgraded us to business from Nagoya to Guam.In order to arrive at Nagoya by 9:30, we had to leave our house before 7 a.m.The weather was overcast... |
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03 Sep 09
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we're back... We're back...it was a great week, lots of rest and relaxation. The weather was so-so...gotta sort through the photos and figure out what I want to write about...hope to post soon! |
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