tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84213372012-01-24T17:20:15.745+09:00Clumsy with chopsticks but can't live without them... ** I don't post English translations of Japanese recipes without permissions from the recipe authors. But feel free to contact me about the dishes you're interested in.obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.comBlogger6801100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-25757127293963779232009-04-30T22:02:00.004+09:002009-05-05T09:46:12.434+09:00

The Last Look at Obachan's Kitchen (I took this shot with my cell phone cameraright before I left my apartment for good.)Dear Readers,I arrived at my parents' house safely this afternoon. There's a lot to tell you about the move and how I'm feeling here now, but I'm dead tired. For now, I just want to tell you that I made it alive and I still have access to the Internet.So, I'll see you soon when

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-67231923457288148562009-04-26T15:46:00.005+09:002009-04-27T12:36:54.785+09:00

Okara Quiche With BroccoliI tried out a couple of okara recipes in the beginning of this month, but I wasn't going to post about them because I didn't think many English speaking people knew okara, and also because I wasn't too happy with what I made. However, the other day I heard from someone who was looking for some okara recipes, and I thought this would be a good chance to post about my

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-16033179834259395072009-04-26T13:46:00.008+09:002009-04-28T18:56:06.897+09:00

Okara CookiesFollowing the okara quiche experiment posted above, I tried out a few "okara sweets" such as cookies and pound cakes. And there were good ones like "okara and azuki cake" and "okara and fruit pound cake" (both in Japanese). They have favorable reviews and I did like the taste of those cakes. At the first bite, I agreed with some of the reviews that said "I like the texture of okara

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-32572418013635880582009-04-18T16:52:00.005+09:002009-04-18T17:52:25.004+09:00

Cherry PieI used EXPENSIVE canned dark cherries, and maybe I shouldn't have added the juice in the can. But this filling recipe called for it and I was unusually(?) obedient today. Haha...Then when I peeked into the oven after 20 minutes or so, about half of the surface of the pie was covered with cherry juice that came out from those heart-shaped holes. It didn't look too good, to be honest. (I

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-20298096510535491652009-04-16T18:02:00.005+09:002009-04-16T19:22:17.541+09:00

Tomato and Spinach Salad with Tuna Dressing(I can't see much tuna in this photo, though)Mmmmm... I think I like this salad better than the cabbage and tuna salad I posted about before. For this one, lemon juice is the key. The original recipe is here (in Japanese).I'm feeling a little down today. I started practicing driving at a driving school yesterday because I haven't driven any cars with

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-90560557841173360892009-04-13T19:05:00.008+09:002009-04-13T20:22:51.603+09:00

"Chicago Pizza"Phew! F-I-N-A-L-L-Y it's over!I was really stressed out yesterday, being buried under empty cans, bottles and nonburnable garbage that had accumulated in my kitchen in the past years. If you heard a scream from the direction of Shikoku Island, Japan yesterday, it was me. :PToday I got up early and took recyclable and/or nonburnable garbage to the designated place. Starting at 6:30

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-12190871155335357442009-04-09T15:10:00.000+09:002009-04-10T09:00:35.643+09:00

Soft French Bread (Malt Flour Added)Well, you can't tell if this bread is better or worse compared to the one I baked before without malt flour because I didn't show you inside of the bread then, right? Only I can tell the difference, I guess. Hahaha...OK. Being as fair as possible, I say that this bread is better than the previous one. The crust tastes better and the texture is better. (Still I

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-58680210852534062982009-04-05T13:01:00.002+09:002009-04-06T13:31:33.671+09:00

Small Double-Crust Apple PieFollowing the trans-fat free margarine I posted about the other day, I finally got trans-fat free shortening, too! :D Now I have enough stuff to replace butter with and I can enjoy cooking/baking with MUCH less concern about cholesterol and trans fat! (But I'm not giving up butter completely. I think butter flavor is crucial for some sweets ...) Organic Trans Fat Free

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-26849560276026595772009-03-28T12:57:00.007+09:002009-04-01T12:57:40.885+09:00

Farewell Presents Given to Me Yesterdayプレゼント、本当に本当にありがとうございました！(^^)My last day at the language school is coming closer, and I've been saying goodbye to the students who I'm not going to see again. That is not something I truly enjoy, but it has its sweetness, too. Most of them kindly thanked me for my humble contribution there. Some of them looked shocked and said they would really miss me. And,

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-90593072676469204012009-03-28T01:15:00.002+09:002009-03-29T15:56:26.425+09:00

Homemade strawberry Jam, Apple Preserves andleftover Hassaku MarmaladeI don't know about other areas in Japan, but around here the price of strawberries is relatively low now. Or maybe the price itself is not very different but I see so many packs of strawberries on a wagon that says "for fruit juice." Yeah, those are overripe ones, almost rotten. Maybe berries are plentiful this year? Even my

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-41175025086802998402009-03-25T14:22:00.010+09:002009-03-25T23:17:24.405+09:00

Well, I'm not really sure if I'm one year wiser, and that's why you can't see that part of the text very clearly in the photo above. (How humble!) :PBut I'm happy to tell you that I have made a progress.In the past, I used this kouglof mold only a few times. My first attempt in 2005 was close to a disaster, and on the second one, still the sides of the cake didn't turn brown almost at all. I

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-70705404803710314492009-03-22T15:34:00.004+09:002009-03-22T17:30:06.063+09:00

Home-Baked French BreadIt was such a gorgeous day yesterday!The day before yesterday (Mar. 20th) was my last day at the daytime job. No more waking up at 5 am to rush to work. Yay! So yesterday, I was almost going for a bento lunch under cherry blossoms as a celebration. But after taking a few photos in the nearby park, I finally decided against it, because only a few trees were blooming there

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-51669508616789647272009-03-17T14:12:00.009+09:002009-03-18T08:45:38.596+09:00

"Addictive" Tuna and Cabbage Salad?Another recipe from a Japanese recipe site. It really appealed to my curiosity because the combination of the seasoning ingredients looked strange and too simple to me but so many reviews there were almost worshipping it. Yes, it's just honey, soy sauce and raa-yu (hot sesame oil or chili oil) that are used to season this salad. All you need to do is to heat

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-20496661438088409492009-03-15T16:18:00.013+09:002009-03-18T11:17:37.294+09:00

Whole Wheat Biscuits with Trans-Fat Free Margarineand Maple Syrup/ Strawberry JamGoing through my previous posts, it was 2003 when I first heard (read) about trans fat. Since then I had been looking for trans-fat free vegetable oil products, especially margarine, because that's what I wanted to have on my breakfast toast almost every day, and substitute butter with when baking. Unfortunately,

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-44091239229575075432009-03-10T22:48:00.002+09:002009-03-10T21:59:48.302+09:00

Hassaku MarmaladeOne of the students of the language school I work for gave me a few hassaku oranges the other day. Now, I hate to say this but I'm not too crazy about hassaku. It's not easy to peel it like tangerine, and the white part can be quite bitter. Unless the fruit is very ripe and sweet, the bitterness from the pulp can really ruin the overall taste, and I often get disappointed.So,

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-29744278138147275482009-03-08T13:39:00.001+09:002009-03-08T13:39:31.978+09:00

Mizuna, bloomingI didn't know what mizuna flowers look like, because my mizuna didn't survive the winter last year. I wonder if these leaves are too strong or too bitter to eat now...I enjoyed mizuna in various hotpot dishes and stir-fries several times last winter. It's such a shame that I was too lazy to post about them. Haha... :PBlueberry (Sunshine Blue)I'm taking my sunshine blue with me to

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-42833181161477830502009-03-06T22:29:00.003+09:002009-03-06T22:47:40.048+09:00

A new owner of my small donabe has been chosen! :DThank you for your interest and sorry to those who emailed me but did not get this donabe. I felt so happy to hear from you.I might do something like this again before I move out this apartment, so stay tuned! ;)

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-43660174680606783902009-02-28T19:23:00.006+09:002009-02-28T20:05:56.829+09:00

I tried out Mora's wine cream sauce recipe and used it on my savory waffles today. (Yeah, my waffle maker has been abused lately, hasn't it?) On the waffles, I put some slices of lemon-herb chicken with sauteed zucchini and mushrooms, then poured the sauce over them. I guess I made the sauce a little too thick.Honestly, the sauce was great with the chicken and vegetables. But I just thought...

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-10707315312471072952009-02-26T10:23:00.013+09:002009-02-26T15:55:07.437+09:00

Moffles with Matcha Ice Cream and Azuki An (Sweetened Azuki Bean Paste)Mentaiko (Spicy Pollock Roe) and Shiso(Green Perilla) MofflesJust a couple more experimental batches to follow my previous moffle post. To make these two types of moffles, I used thin mochi (rice cakes) and VERY thin ones.Thin rice cakes (back) and Very Thin rice cakes (front)The dessert moffle in the first photo was made by

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-73832726576575834472009-02-23T21:09:00.006+09:002009-02-24T09:33:36.694+09:00

French Baguettes (My Second Try)My second time making French Baguettes based on this recipe. My twist this time was some black sesame seeds sprinkled on top.The bread tasted much better than the last time, because I had enough time to leaven the dough. But I couldn't slash the top deep enough and I was not satisfied with the way the bread looked. OK. Deeper slashing next time. ;)(I ate half of

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-5985943176995750202009-02-15T11:25:00.021+09:002009-02-19T16:20:51.296+09:00

Soy Milk MayonnaiseMaybe some of you have heard of macrobiotic diet or macrobiotics? It's becoming more and more popular here in Japan. I don't know much about it at the moment, and probably would not go too deeply into it in the future, either. But macrobiotics seems to suggest many healthier substitution ideas, which I welcome very, very much. Recently I have been doing a net search on such

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-90775931781954462532009-02-14T13:13:00.025+09:002009-02-15T08:04:34.409+09:00

From Obachan to You All on Feb. 14, 2009Often photos can say much more than words ever will.And what these photos are saying to you on this Valentine's Day is...... that obachan failed to bake heart-shaped chocolate cupcakes and made a heart with ribbon instead.LOLYeah, right. Those paper cups did not look firm enough at the store, but I was optimistic. Unfortunately the optimism didn't pay off,

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-79323908680816595572009-02-12T23:20:00.013+09:002009-02-15T00:07:59.697+09:00

Daikon & Hakusai Gyoza (a recipe from "Lettuce Club" )Another recipe from the Jan. 25, 2009 issue of Lettuce Club. It's a low-cal dish that uses thinly sliced daikon radish as gyoza (potstickers) skin and more minced hakusai (Chinese cabbage) than ground meat for the filling. Good recipe for those who can slice daikon in 3 mm thick disks or who have a vegetable slicer like this one.I loved this

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-4742391183196158132009-02-10T15:48:00.010+09:002009-02-12T15:52:50.750+09:00

Pickled Cherry TomatoesSome of you might remember what I wrote about my experience with cucumber pickles before. It was a little -- well, VERY -- disappointing experience. Actually it was almost traumatic, considering the amount of time I spent on the conversion. (It was an American recipe I found on the net.) Since then, I had avoided thinking about pickling again, until I saw a real tempting

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-6793144823023729502009-02-04T10:46:00.007+09:002009-02-04T23:31:52.379+09:00

Black Sesame Seed Cookies with Green TeaThe fact that I'm posting this at this time of the day means that I'm not at work this morning. Yep, I only need to work at night today, and as you can probably figure out from these photos, it's a nice, sunny day. I finished doing my laundry and now I'm going to spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon posting this and responding to the comments

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-60620135557496211642009-01-28T09:45:00.009+09:002009-01-28T13:58:31.248+09:00

Whole Wheat Waffles with Beer AddedYep, I tried Mora's advice of adding some beer to the waffle batter. Unfortunately I didn't have enough beer to substitute half of the liquid with it -- because I bought only one can yesterday and drank most of it with the meal last night :P -- but the small amount I used today did make a difference. I didn't smell much of the beer while baking, but it made

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-34446852962673934632009-01-28T08:45:00.009+09:002009-02-11T17:40:45.066+09:00

Moffles made with mochi (rice cakes)from an outdoor event in my hometownGosh I really want to thank the person who invented this stuff! Moffle is a word made by combining mochi (rice cakes) and waffle, and what it is is rice cakes baked in a waffle maker. I had herad a lot about it, and been curious about it. Now today, after making the waffles in the above post, I decided to go for this moffle

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-85135093018132821602009-01-24T20:36:00.007+09:002009-02-14T20:26:06.065+09:00

Photo from summer, 2007 Hey, I'm at my parents' house now, testing the Internet connection with the data card! Good news! The connection is slower than ADSL but faster than ISDN, and seems pretty stable in this countryside where there's no railroad, no construction works and no tall buildings. :DSo far I've tried browsing some websites with many photos, downloading Java (for checking the

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-45340652752225408082009-01-22T22:51:00.008+09:002009-01-23T17:53:24.899+09:00

Hakusai (Chinese Cabbage) Soup Inspired by a cooking magazine, "Lettuce Club"I seldom buy cooking magazines, because they are rather expensive but usually all I want is just one (or two at the most) recipe(s) per magazine. But when I visited my parents' house the other day, I got to the train station too early in the morning and I needed something to kill time. So I chose this latest issue (Jan.

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-18779752560628920882009-01-18T08:41:00.013+09:002009-01-18T17:49:40.131+09:00

Obachan's First Homemade Waffles!(with homemade strawberry jam)Too bad it's raining today and I couldn't get lovely morning sunshine for this waffle photo. But it was real fun to make waffles! Yeah, I just bought what they call "Belgian waffle maker" here the other day and used it for the first time this morning. See? I have started preparing for my move already. I'm doing as much online shopping

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-2339786374552960152009-01-12T09:23:00.021+09:002009-01-12T15:24:17.463+09:00

As many of you probably know, I didn't have a chance to visit my parents on New Year's day this year, because I had to work. To make up for that, and also to help mom with the first tea ceremony meeting of the year (and possibly help dad a little with picking oranges) I stayed at my parents' house for two days.For the tea ceremony event, looks like mom tried to do more than she could handle, as

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-73196304248960557142009-01-06T12:11:00.015+09:002009-01-07T17:50:01.156+09:00

Now you know that I have a new oven in my kitchen!! Well, more precisely, it's an oven-cum microwave. The new one arrived the day before yesterday, and this morning I did my first baking with the newcomer. Yay! I feel -- I'm finally back!!Of course this equipment is nothing fancy. Actually it was the smallest and cheapest one I could find on the net. JPY9,760 (USD105 ), shipping fee included, for

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-73173977517580233362009-01-02T15:39:00.010+09:002009-01-06T12:11:35.016+09:00

To Welcome the God of New Year...So, I worked hard from 7:30 am today, cooking and getting things ready for my one-day-late New Year celrebration with traditional Japanese feast called osechi and zoni. I was hoping to finish everything around lunchtime, but it was past 2 pm when the food and decorations were ready. Then I spent some time shooting photos of my creations, as usual. Now I'm finally

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-89877737492488610032009-01-02T08:06:00.007+09:002009-01-04T17:36:18.872+09:00

Jan. 1st, 2009, 5:40 am @ the nearest shrineAs I had mentioned, I had to work on January 1st, 2009. But I didn't want to start the day just like any other day -- I needed something special to celebrate the start of the new year! So I woke up 10 minutes earlier than usual, and, on my way to work, went to the nearest shrine to wish a good luck for the new year. This is the paper fortune I got then,

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-56167564953306674482008-12-26T20:29:00.034+09:002009-02-20T11:03:20.972+09:00

Obachan's Christmas Wreath 2008 (With Cookies)I wish you had a wonderful Christmas time. :)It's Dec. 27th today and I'm adding some photos to this belated Christmas post @ an Internet Cafe, AGAIN. (No, not the one I posted about the other day.) Looks like Heaven thought that I haven't suffered enough in 2008 -- My ADSL connection got upset a couple of days ago, and went dead right after I posted

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-35268229290034324442008-12-22T13:53:00.007+09:002008-12-23T11:40:35.277+09:00

Guess what. Heaven told me, "No baking for this Christmas."My oven-cum microwave just broke. The baking fairy inside of me got pissed and just left. How can this happen to a foodblogger? A couple of days before Christmas!!What did I do to deserve all these?If there hadn't been that door lock incident, I might have rushed to a discount store to get a new (least expensive) oven-cum microwave. But..

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-52721120622693117562008-12-19T07:39:00.017+09:002009-01-07T18:02:43.309+09:00

"Western" breakfast at an Internet CafeThis photo was taken at 7:02 am this morning. Why did I go to the Internet cafe that early? Well, tell you the truth, I didn't "go" there early this morning. I'm still at the net cafe and I've been here since 11 pm last night. Right. I didn't sleep at home but slept here. See the pink blanket they let me use? The reclining chair was very comfortable --

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-40027923930760415062008-12-11T13:47:00.008+09:002009-02-20T11:04:20.192+09:00

Light Christmas Cake 2008Oh, why can't photos capture the aroma and let viewers enjoy it? See this cake? It has just come out of the oven, and I really, really wish you could smell it. IT'S HEAVENLY! I don't know about the taste yet, but this cake does smell much better than any other fruitcakes I have baked before.This year, I used this light fruitcake recipe. Oh, of course I didn't make this

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-87805129572803824972008-12-08T13:38:00.006+09:002008-12-08T14:56:22.593+09:00

Broccoli Chicken CasseroleI didn't have to work in the morning today (Thank Goodness!!) and I was going to sleep in this morning. But the stupid alarm clock woke me up early -- well, no, I'm the stupid one who forgot to set it off last night -- and I spent good 30 minutes in bed thinking about what I need to do today. Then I realized that it is the second Monday of the month today, which means it

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-30217734725176579252008-11-30T19:46:00.013+09:002008-12-02T15:27:44.207+09:00

White Stew with SalmonToday was a nice, productive Sunday. After doing dishes and laundry, I went to nearby park and Kochi castle to take some photos. (They'll be posted on my another blog soon.) It was the perfect timing and the maple leaves were breathtakingly gorgeous. Oh, the real ones were much more beautiful than my photos. I wish I could take you there!It was a warm, sunny day but it

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-42908708756339467422008-11-30T19:11:00.000+09:002008-12-30T19:41:36.869+09:00

"Kogarashi (Cold Winter Wind)" by ShingetsuWhen I saw this wagashi at the shop for the first time, there was no name tag placed in front of it. That was so unusual that I couldn't help asking the lady there why. She laughed and said that the name wasn't decided yet.A few days later, I went to the same wagashi shop again and found the name for this wagashi; It was named "kogarashi." Yeah, this

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-82800208596210032892008-11-27T08:48:00.005+09:002008-11-27T12:47:01.906+09:00

Yes. Christmas fruitcake, again.OK. The problem solved. The Internet is back. Yay!!FYI, the problem was not the modem itself. It was more like the balance of the speed of downloading and uploading, as far as I can understand. The system I'm using is called ADSL, one of the broadband services. And it seems like that when the above mentioned balance is no good, the connection becomes unstable or

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-8420831644629875122008-11-24T17:50:00.014+09:002008-12-11T14:45:45.101+09:00

Obachan's Thanksgiving Dinner 2008OK. I just added the photos! :D I did make and have nice Thanksgiving dinner last Sunday night, despite the fact that I had to work from 6:30 am to 3 or 4 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. The problem is that I cannot have access to the Internet from my laptop at the moment... The modem seems to have a problem. I first posted this entry from a PC at a "Manga and

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-85676400988185693342008-11-18T19:46:00.002+09:002008-11-20T17:24:18.003+09:00

Kimchi UdonUnbelievable! Just about a week ago, we had a summer-like sunny day. Then today, I was almost frozen to death on my way back from work at night. I HAD to have a warm, spicy soup dish, and this is what I had for dinner to bring me back to life. Gosh, it's already late November... Time to start thinking about Christmas fruitcake! :DCategories: Asian-inspired

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-88640283435347587182008-11-08T10:58:00.010+09:002008-11-08T17:14:34.891+09:00

Store-bought Summer Roll Salad from "Sunny Mart"It's my complete day off today after six consecutive days with both daytime and night-time jobs back to back (well, mostly). You can imagine how lazy I'm determined to be all day today. Oh, I deserve it. Definitely.I bought this for my lunch. This healthy dish will accompany "spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino" which I'm going to make myself. And I

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-73429371215106855632008-10-31T13:01:00.014+09:002008-11-08T09:06:19.054+09:00

Obachan's Halloween Cookies 2008Anyone worried about me not posting much lately? You thought that I lost interest in cooking and/or baking? Oh, don't you ever worry about that.As I wrote before, for Halloween of 2008, I was determined to make cut-out cookies using cute Halloween cookie cutters. And I wanted two colors -- pumpkin yellow and chocolate. So I made the pumpkin cookie dough using the

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-60591848432757984882008-10-29T15:06:00.008+09:002008-10-30T05:15:28.994+09:00

My Sunshine Blue is going to survive! :DIt's kinda hard to believe that I used to post garden report monthly. I guess I'm getting older and lazier. :PAnyway, as you see, about one third of my blueberry plant looks dead. It was the crazy summer heat that caused this trouble. But the lower part seems OK, so I think this baby is going to survive and give me a handful of berries next year. (I

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-33861438327700409172008-10-21T15:11:00.006+09:002008-10-21T16:01:59.330+09:00

Kabocha Pumpkin & Cookie CuttersMaybe some of you readers remember that I was trying out a pumpkin cookie recipe in mid October last year to prepare for a Halloween party ? Yep, it's time again. Like I did last year, I'm going to -- well, at least hoping to be able to -- bake some pumpkin cookies for the party at the language school I work for. This year, I'm going to use the same recipe but

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-35078696629068596242008-10-12T13:51:00.005+09:002008-10-12T14:30:00.961+09:00

Store-bought Mont BlancMont Blanc is my absolute favorite, but I have never tried making one myself.See inside?This one consisted of sponge(?) cake at the bottom and layers of whipping cream and chocolate sponge cake, covered with chestnut cream and topped with whipping cream, a piece of bitter chocolate and a chervil leaf. Another fluffy, not-too-sweet dessert which disappeared VERY quickly.;)

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-32054823219989825762008-10-02T23:11:00.026+09:002008-10-04T05:15:03.913+09:00

Chicken Curry @Masala in Ya-Shii Park, Yasu cho, Kochi, Japan No, it's not that chicken curry is included in my list of "things that heal me." This curry was a total whim. The main purpose of the afternoon was to try out the two things that are on the list: 1) listening to the sound of the waves and 2) lying on the grass (in the shade) and looking up the blue sky. Sounds good? But there aren't

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-2132012034733649082008-09-30T12:13:00.010+09:002008-10-19T21:06:52.865+09:00

"Hagi (Japanese Bush Clover) in Autumn" by NishigawayaWhen we see these tiny, pinkish purple flowers at the end of summer, we realize that the sunshine is somewhat milder in the daytime and crickets are already rehearsing for their autumn concert.This wagashi is what is called joyo manju. Manju is sort of like thin-skinned steamed bun with sweetened bean paste filling inside. And what is special

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-61367068013157784082008-09-27T20:20:00.021+09:002008-10-03T18:00:01.975+09:00

Home-baked French Bread, Ratatouille and Apple PreserveI have to admit that my work has been pretty stressful. But I also have to admit that I'm better off now -- compared to how I was a year ago... in September 2006. Now I have days off more irregularly but more frequently, and still I'm making more money. And I got used to getting up early. No more insomnia! So I'm not complaining.Nevertheless,

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-7413827259065398552008-09-22T18:09:00.020+09:002008-09-25T23:21:33.400+09:00

Gold-lined Sea Bream Carpaccio, Japanese-styleSome anglers say that you can expect a better catch after a typhoon passed. The reason is that when the ocean is rough during the storm, some offshore fish evacuate into ports/bays, and they may stay there for a couple of days. Also, because the rough waves stir up plankton and stimulate the fish's appetite, they will be more active and more likely to

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-12279333434882935892008-09-21T15:28:00.008+09:002008-09-22T18:09:19.684+09:00

Sweet Potato and Apple Cake Just wanted to enjoy the heavenly aromatic harmony of sweet potato, apple, Cinnamon and butter on a Sunday afternoon.I was planning to go fishing this weekend, but the typhoon (Sinlaku) blew my plan. So, instead, I baked this cake, cut it into sticks like this, and enjoyed it as I painted a watercolor and later read a couple of (comic) books. Ah, domestic fun! :PThere

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-79395522734013336112008-09-14T18:54:00.013+09:002008-09-16T22:37:25.924+09:00

Tsukimi Dango (Dumplings offered to the moon)If I'm not mistaken, the full moon tonight is supposed to be the "harvest moon," the most beautiful moon of the year. And we have a traditional custom to celebrate the night -- to admire the beauty of the nature and be grateful for the harvest. Dumplings and susuki (Japanese pampas grass) are the "must haves" for the celebration. ;)Every year, my

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-91391964786785502322008-09-10T08:47:00.007+09:002008-09-10T09:49:52.487+09:00

Buttermilk (Substitute) PancakesActually what was used for these pancakes was buttermilk substitute which I made by mixing milk and vinegar, because I can't buy real buttermilk around here. But maybe these are closer to real "buttermilk pancakes" than the ones I usually make with powdered skim milk.Today I don't have to work in the morning, and I wanted to enjoy a lazy morning with a good

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-38581077566716661412008-09-07T13:59:00.012+09:002008-09-12T17:32:49.786+09:00

Homemade PizzaGee, I'm totally, completely stuffed! No more food, please...Yep, this was my very first time making pizza crust from scratch. This weekend I had both Saturday and Sunday off (which was almost like a miracle), and I wanted to make something tasty and photogenic but not too difficult or time-consuming to make. It was hard to pick one; I couldn't decide whether I should go for

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-25627368205693276942008-09-05T11:55:00.024+09:002008-09-10T09:38:25.461+09:00

Kasumi Aji (Young Bluefin Trevally) SashimiAs a beginner angler, I have several short-term goals, and "catching a fish that is good for sashimi (sliced raw fish)" was one of them. When you say a fish is good for sashimi, it means that the fish is fresh, decent size and tastes good with not-too-many tiny bones and with no disturbing smell/fishiness. Oh, wait! Let me take back the remark about the

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-54738637214277722742008-08-31T14:07:00.003+09:002008-09-01T15:33:03.248+09:00

Asagao (Morning Glory) by NishigawayaI chose the same theme two years ago. Yes, the same plate, the same background photo but a different wagashi and different presentation.First I thought that those incisions of this morning glory were made by wringing the nerikiri dough with something like cheesecloth. But how did they wring the top of the dough, making a well in the center at the same time?

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-61164178349068387762008-08-28T11:24:00.012+09:002008-09-01T15:37:03.048+09:00

Savory Onion Zucchini Bread with Nutritional YeastBaking zucchini bread (at least once) has been one of my summer rituals for years. And ever since a nice reader mentioned it in her (his?) comment, I had been thinking about using buttermilk for this quick bread. Of course I cannot buy real buttermilk at regular supermarkets around here, but I can try a substitute idea of mixing vinegar with milk

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-40187756186479436752008-08-17T17:34:00.011+09:002008-09-13T19:11:38.320+09:00

Mom's Fig Jam (2008 Version)I was at my parents' house from Friday night till this afternoon and I just came back to my place.Maybe some of you remember that I posted about my mom's fig jam last year? (Actually it was my younger sister who made the jam last year.) Well, the same old thing again this year. More than enough Plenty of figs, mom's shiso (perilla) drink and fresh sashimi were waiting

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-38721131436978963552008-08-12T07:37:00.016+09:002008-09-13T19:13:04.793+09:00

Yakitori (Skewered Teriyaki Chicken) StandOr maybe I should call it "outdoor festival junk food?"It's time for our crazy outdoor dance festival again, and I've been taking photos like all other crazy photographers. Why crazy? Oh, think about being a spectator of outdoor dance performances from around 12:30 to 21:30, either standing or sitting on the sidewalk and occasionally walking from one

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-10342761115554045782008-08-04T14:22:00.004+09:002008-08-08T14:36:20.168+09:00

Blueberry Ice Cream Parfait - Obachan's version -It was amazing how fast the ice cream melted in my room... Anyway, for the record -- I got 32 berries from my small blueberry plant (sunshine blue) this year, and they turned into this yummy purple ice cream. The white swirl is store-bought vanilla ice cream which was really sweet. I'm glad that I didn't use too much of it for this dessert.One

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-26162358464763614552008-07-31T18:46:00.001+09:002008-09-01T14:56:10.734+09:00

Floating Leaves by NishigawayaIt is no surprise that cool stream is a popular wagashi motif in hot and humid Japanese summer. Especially for the tea ceremony in olden days when there was no air conditioner, wagashi confectioners must have done their best to bring in a touch of coolness with their wagashi which usually accompanies hot (or at least warm) green tea. And the summer motif has been

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-42908925506837112922008-07-29T14:56:00.007+09:002008-07-29T15:36:35.909+09:00

Nectarine Cobbler -- believe it or not...No, it's not suntan or cocoa powder added to the batter. What I actually did was that I ran out of flour the other day but forgot to buy some, so for this cobbler I used the whole wheat flour I managed to find in my kitchen.Don't you think this looks terribly brown and gooey? But it tasted better than it looks, and even quite nice with ice cream on top.

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-69985527405358991202008-07-25T13:41:00.006+09:002008-07-25T21:02:58.337+09:00

Prototype #1It wasn't my day off yesterday, but I went for the experiment. Yes, I tried out a blueberry ice cream recipe. I got the basic idea from the recipe Kat gave me, and combined it with another recipe(Japanese) which I found on the net. The latter was actually a "blueberry cream cheese ice cream" recipe, and I was so curious about how cream cheese would work.The result: It was good. But

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-73152725708955705092008-07-22T15:23:00.011+09:002008-07-23T23:36:06.169+09:00

Guess what. My tempura photo from my kaiseki post (2006 Autumn) is now used in a splash screen of a free software. Check this out!To me this was a kind of flattering experience. According to this guy -- a Man in the TERRA as he calls himself-- he had been wanting to use a tempura photo for the software he made recently. He did some net search, found my tempura photo and liked it. Maybe fate

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-80547385235768059292008-07-20T13:53:00.027+09:002008-09-05T14:22:48.287+09:00

Kisu (Sillago) TempuraHahaha... Come on. I’m over 40 y.o., not a teenager. You didn't think that I had my true “first kiss” today, did you? Nope. It’s a fish called “kisu (sillago or smelt-whiting?)” and the name is pronounced the same as “kiss” in Japanese (with a little different accent). What I did today was that I made tempura with the very first kisu I caught in my life! :DKisu is not

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-9157469983686138752008-07-17T14:39:00.006+09:002008-08-08T14:36:00.465+09:00

Ginger Pineapple Sorbet adapted from Sam Choy's SamplerI tried out the ice cream recipe that Kat kindly shared in her comment to my blueberry post. Yeah, like she said, it was more like ice cream than sorbet. I loved it! :D (But if the ginger flavor was stronger than this, I would have preferred more sorbet-like texture.)So, the next step is adapting this recipe for my blueberries. Mmmm... it'll

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-23450301371686266512008-07-09T13:53:00.007+09:002008-07-09T15:02:18.237+09:00

Yes. Nothing is impossible. I thought that, living in this rural place, I would never be able to get nutritional yeast. But thanks to Carolie who sent me two jars of it -- as well as many other goodies --, now I'm enjoying the afternoon munching on homemade popcorn sprinkled with generous amount of nutritional yeast (and salt, of course ;))Yeah, this does taste like cheese. Yum!Ah... Homemade

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-15460368711269014722008-07-06T17:34:00.005+09:002008-07-13T11:55:22.123+09:00

My blueberriesYes, the fertilizer worked. The number of berries is not so impressive this year, but the size of each berry is! I hope the fertilizer improved the taste, too.So what should I make with twenty to thirty big, ripe and sweet blueberries? Blueberry tart again, maybe?Sad news. My chervil was looking great in May, but now it's gone -- the heat and plant louses killed it. I'm glad that

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-18799447156759297002008-06-29T15:51:00.007+09:002008-06-29T16:38:48.774+09:00

Store-bought Mango Mousse CakeNo, I didn't make this cake. (Again!) That's why it looks so nice. :PI came back from work around 3 pm, and felt like a relaxing tea time at home. My choice was this light, fluffy mousse cake with a chervil leaf from my balcony garden on top ...... and this refreshing iced tea with a mint leaf from my balcony garden.Though not raining, it is depressingly cloudy

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-36365084868068076672008-06-27T14:03:00.017+09:002008-09-05T14:24:06.829+09:00

Tanezaki Beach, near Urado bridgeToday I didn't have to work in the morning, so I was there (see above photo) all morning. Sorry the photo is not very good... it was taken with my cell phone camera. As you can see, the weather was pretty good, considering that this area is still in the rainy season.And sorry! I forgot to blur this photo to hide the fish eyes. Hope you don't get put off too much.

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-30820201876280921282008-06-25T10:42:00.004+09:002008-06-25T11:01:37.790+09:00

Yogurt Banana MuffinsWhen I make a "healthier" version of muffins, using yogurt and vegetable oil instead of butter, I always add a pinch of salt even if the recipe does not call for it. Well, not always... because this time I didn't. I totally forgot about it.It was a big mistake...:(Categories: Sweets

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-5539710884085994482008-06-22T19:27:00.005+09:002008-06-25T10:41:59.702+09:00

Chinese Takeout (With Special Discount around 6:30 pm)I've been really bad this weekend. I didn't cook, clean or do the dishes. The only chore I did was doing the laundry, just because I got soaked wet in the rain on Saturday evening. :PWhat was I up to this weekend, neglecting the housework? Well, I worked Saturday morning and was just lazy for the rest of the day. Today I slept in, and spent

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-85408895448336473362008-06-14T21:49:00.007+09:002008-09-05T14:24:34.022+09:00

Breaded and Deep-fried SardinesI went fishing today and caught 16 sardines. Yes, I love fishing, though I haven't been fishing for YEARS... since childhood. My dad used to fish a lot and he took me with him several times when I was an elementary school kid, and that was about all my fishing career. But I had been secretly dreaming about buying my own fishing rod and going fishing whenever I feel

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-42590071353751903102008-06-11T14:06:00.005+09:002008-06-11T14:45:59.878+09:00

Japanese Cheesecake with Cloudberry Jam from FinlandThank you sooooooooo much, dear readers, for letting me know how well cloudberry jam goes with cheesecake. I know -- only one person actually mentioned it, but I'm sure there were many, MANY others who were nodding enthusiastically in front of the display. I'm sure there were, because the combination is THIS GOOD! YUM!Oh, this cheesecake? No, I

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-51407000268731106262008-06-02T11:38:00.010+09:002008-06-03T09:55:31.384+09:00

Jams from Finland :)I don’t know how many times I have repeated this on my blog, but blogging has truly broadened my horizons. Not only it has increased my culinary knowledge, but it gave me chances to taste some foods that I can never buy in this rural city in Japan, even by ordering online. This time it was these jams. I got these jams several weeks ago from someone in Finland who I came to

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-20749549631938962492008-05-31T23:56:00.002+09:002008-06-07T04:32:36.557+09:00

"Iris" by NishigawayaMaybe some of you have heard of Japanese old custom of taking a herbal bath called "shobu-yu" on the 5th of May? It was part of several traditional customs to celebrate Boy's Day (which is now "Children's Day" to be more politically correct). And the herb thrown into bathtub for this custom is called shobu. It seems that shobu is usually translated as "iris," but to be

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-79140076594637674862008-05-25T17:17:00.007+09:002008-05-25T19:07:26.062+09:00

BasilChervil Sweet MarjoramBlueberriesToday was not a good day for photo shooting. It was so cloudy and humid most of the day. But the green of my herbs looked really refreshing to my tired eyes when I came back from work today, and I couldn't help taking some shots. :)Categories: Garden

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-2237747867634977922008-05-15T15:08:00.007+09:002008-06-18T09:10:27.494+09:00

Seared Tuna with Soy-Butter SauceThis is an idea which I stole from a Japanese magazine a while ago. (I forgot if it was "Orange Page" or "ESSE.") And IIRC, this was an idea by a Japanese chef named Kentaro. He is a well-known chef in Japan (partly because his mom is a popular chef) and he has written many cook books. There are some Japanese people who do not care for his recipes very much,

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-10886451037458995172008-05-08T09:16:00.005+09:002008-05-08T09:33:42.418+09:00

Whole Wheat BreadThis is a very good recipe from Allrecipes. Even I was able to bake something like this. :)The recipe does deserve five stars, I think.

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-9880047907587138682008-04-30T21:51:00.000+09:002008-05-03T22:37:43.879+09:00

"Butterfly" by NishigawayaThis wagashi reminded me of a white butterfly flying over a carpet of yellow nanohana (field musterd?) flowers. A charming sight which I really love to see every spring.I'm not sure what these pink stripes are supposed to be, but without them this wagashi would look rather boring, IMHO.Nanohana (field mustard) on the riverbank near my placeIn a way, this looks like a

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-64297307700751828112008-04-28T08:05:00.011+09:002008-04-28T14:43:48.057+09:00

Potato Sausage Cheese MuffinsMy Monday morning brunch. (On other days I have to eat breakfast very early -- and in a hurry -- to go to work before 7 AM, so recently Mondays are the only days that I can take time to enjoy brunch.) The recipe is here (in Japanese). *Woops, sorry! I forgot to mention that I replaced bacon in the original recipe with sausage.Diced potatoes were microwaved and then

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-36543205929295307552008-04-21T23:55:00.005+09:002008-04-28T11:46:35.772+09:00

My hometown used to be a small fishing village, which merged into a city decades ago. When I was a kid, I played on the beach (actually more like a rocky seashore) every day, and at spring tide, the entire family spent a whole day picking shell fish and sea weeds there. When my grandma was young, according to dad, she would go to the local fishing port every morning to buy fresh fish, and serve

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-61412461770870639202008-04-19T20:52:00.005+09:002008-09-13T05:08:53.107+09:00

Yes, I tried draining yogurt again. This time I used a little more expensive brand which tastes richer and less sour. Though the drained yogurt still did not taste as good as cream cheese, it was much better than the last time. I mixed it with grated garlic and mentaiko and made a dip. It was pretty nice on Ritz crackers; I enjoyed them with a couple of glasses of very, very affordable wine.Then

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-91254496438896998872008-04-12T12:09:00.001+09:002008-04-12T21:45:19.777+09:00

Strawberry Tarts (which turned out rather disappointing...)Here's another one which looks pretty nice in these photos but didn't taste so great. The biggest mistake was the tart shell. I used my oil crust recipe, but for some reason that I still cannot understand, I thought that the baking time was 10 minutes instead of 15 minutes. And I didn't bother to check my recipe. It was an easy mistake to

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-33656430724055500562008-04-07T12:31:00.012+09:002008-04-09T15:26:09.184+09:00

Whey BiscuitsIt was more than three years ago and on Jason's site (actually in one of the comments) when I first read about the idea of draining yogurt to come up with a cream-cheese like stuff. Since then, the idea had been on my list of "things to try out someday in the near future."Then draining yogurt has become popular among young Japanese bakers in the past couple of years, like many other

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-82196563428761775442008-03-31T15:56:00.006+09:002008-04-08T21:58:28.426+09:00

Odairi-sama and Ohina-sama (Male and Female dolls representing the Emperor and Empress)by NishigawayaJapanese doll festival held on March 3rd is called Hina-matsuri. Hina dolls are traditional ornamental dolls used for this festival only. For more details about Japanese doll festival, see this site.The hina dolls are supposed to be taken down and put back in the boxes as soon as the festival is

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-53675209493206182422008-03-30T19:37:00.011+09:002008-03-31T09:46:16.280+09:00

Blueberry (Sunshine Blue)MitsubaSunshine Blue again....................................... Spring has come. ..........................................;)Categories: Garden

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-8496783096887108672008-03-25T05:40:00.018+09:002008-04-07T23:09:49.903+09:00

My Homemade Birthday CakePink has never been my favorite color. When I took photos of my birthday cakes with flowers in previous years, I never used pink flowers. However, I do love the delicate pinkish white of cherry blossoms. I can never fully explain how much I love to see that color in spring -- the season when everything looks fresh and alive.Usually cherry trees start blooming in late

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-26887984172901523192008-03-21T15:34:00.009+09:002008-03-21T21:10:19.981+09:00

Sea Bream CarpaccioI think this carpaccio looks pretty healthy and maybe tasty, too? But the truth is that it didn't taste as good as it looked. My mistake was using a buntan for this dish. Yes, the citrus fruit from my dad's garden. As I wrote in my previous post, buntan looks like grapefruit but its flesh is firmer and dryier tnan that of grapefruit, so when we (my family members) eat it, we

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-24723342768124898762008-03-17T14:50:00.009+09:002008-04-28T11:46:21.592+09:00

Here in this southern city in Japan, spring comes rather suddenly. It seems like yesterday when I posted about my “high-tech” underwear, but now-- in the past couple of days -- it has been as warm as late April. Yep, NO MORE HIGH-TECH UNDERWEAR! :DIt’s been a little more than a month since I started working at this supermarket, and I guess I’m gradually getting used to the work there. Yep, the “

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-90839857693938361372008-03-13T16:05:00.004+09:002008-03-13T16:19:28.024+09:00

Tofu QuichesIt was more than a year ago when I read about this creative tofu quiches on Fatfree Vegan Kitchen, and I finally tried it out the other day.Unfortunately I couldn't get nutritional yeast over here. (Actually I had absolutely no idea what it was. I was almost going to use regular active dry yeast, and I'm really glad that I didn't.) So I used good amount of shredded cheese, thus my

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-20654450581664086862008-03-06T05:56:00.022+09:002008-03-11T05:48:56.972+09:00

Tsukimi Udon (Udon noodles with an egg on top)If you like Japanese food, or have made Japanese dishes yourself, you probably know or at least heard of dashi broth. The word dashi usually means unseasoned stock made by boiling things like kelp, bonito flakes, dried baby fish or mushrooms. Sometimes it can mean seasoned broth for noodle dishes, as in the title of this post, but maybe the word tsuyu

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-29569955338055260222008-02-29T22:09:00.007+09:002008-03-12T20:49:32.897+09:00

Shitamoe -- Grass Sprouts (under the snow) by ShingetsuShitamoe is a popular wagashi motif for early spring. The word shita means "under" or "underneath" and moe, "sprouting" or "shooting out." In the photo above, you see the green between the brown and white parts? It is symbolic of sprouts coming out from the dark, winter soil underneath the snow. Japanese people have loved the liveliness of

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-25886491653957694122008-02-29T00:02:00.007+09:002008-03-21T18:31:14.431+09:00

Pound Cake with Candied Buntan Citrus PeelsEver since I started working at the supermarket, I have been craving sweets, especially cakes. After my work from dawn to lunchtime, I come back to my apartment and see bright afternoon sunshine coming through the lace curtain. Yes, it's my favorite time of the day.Soon it became my everyday routine to enjoy, after quick lunch, home-made sweets with hot

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-42840149407392299122008-02-26T15:09:00.015+09:002008-04-28T11:46:02.422+09:00

Yes, I’ve survived another week at my new workplace, a small supermarket, and yesterday was the first payday. Of course the pay was very small because I started working there in the middle of this month, but it made me so happy. If I don't get fired for some reason, from next month on I’ll be able to pay all the bills, buy groceries and still have a little money left in my bank account. Yeah,

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-41492689535926661102008-02-22T15:53:00.003+09:002008-02-22T18:42:51.499+09:00

SPAM Chao Fan (Fried Rice)My lunch today. SPAM, egg, onion, green onion and rice. Can't go wrong. ;)Categories: Asian-inspired

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8421337.post-44147583865409620542008-02-18T15:17:00.013+09:002008-02-19T06:06:32.698+09:00

Cinnamon RollsToday was my first day off at the new daytime job, and I was determined to bake something to celebrate my survival. Yes, survival. You know, I have never been an early bird (except for the times when I had to get up early for certain reasons), so getting up at 5:50 am every morning for 6 days in a row -- in the middle of winter -- was certainly a challenge for me.I forgot to set the

obachanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18146311760014752971noreply@blogger.com10