Christmas in Okinawa 2009

Merry Christmas Everyone! Sorry I am late with this holiday greeting but I have been quite busy lately, finding no time to sit down and have a proper blog session.

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This year, A and I stayed in Okinawa for the holidays. It is always hard being away from my family in Canada on Christmas. We made the best of it and had a pretty good time. We also were able to have a couple of fun Skype Sessions together with my Canadian Family and that made me feel squishy and good. It was nice to see everyones faces and talk a bit.

On Christmas Day, I was at work. It was the last day of school for the students before winter holidays. As soon as the final assembly was finished and the students were leaving the school, I was suddenly overcome by an overwhelming feeling of sadness and loneliness. I decided to take the afternoon off and try to medicate my lonesome feeling with some last minute SHOPPING :) Ha! I went to JUSCO and bought a few gifts, ate some soba and then went home to meet up with A to start our Christmas together. I felt a lot better being at home with A. We opened some gifts, took a nap, then started prepping for our Christmas Nabe Party.

I was lucky enough to find a Cheese Store a few days before Christmas. A Cheese Store that sells REAL cheese!!!!!! Below is a picture of the cheese, meat, pickles appy assortment we put together. It was great!

One of the kinds of Cheese I picked up looked like a delicious flowery petal of some sorts. I cannot for the life of me remember the name of this cheese, but it was AWESOME! and FUN!!

For dinner we had a Seafood Nabe (hot pot) which is cooked right on the table and everyone scoops out food from the common pot. We had large prawns, and 3 different kinds of fish in this Nabe of love! I also bought a new table cloth for Christmas. It's a 3 green striped piece. I love it.

In attempts to make Christmas in Okinawa seem a little more festive, I had purchased some silly Christmas hats to wear! I think A makes a great little elf!

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We had 2 freinds join us in our Christmas celebrations. Mr. Chris and Avril Mung-Bean. They were extra fun that night and even took part in the silly Christmas Hat event!

Later that night, we had a proper Christmas Dance Party!!!! It was one of the best dance parties I've had in a while! Thanks! You can see this picture must have been taken mid-head banging. I don't think we were dancing to Jingle Bells in this one.

One of the best things to do in Japan during the Christmas season is to sing Karaoke! For real! It's the thing to do. I had a couple of pretty awesome Karaoke sessions with fellow co-workers. But one of the most memorable nights was with Kocho-Sensei (The Principal). We had last sung Karaoke together 4 and a half years ago when I first came to Okinawa. Shortly after, we were both transferred to different schools. We were lucky enough to be placed at the same school this past year. This was our first Karaoke reunion together! Here we are sharing a moment while singing Peter, Paul & Mary!

Merry Christmas to All! Wish you the best in the New Year!

Love, Julie

Weird Drinks In Japan......

I'm not sure if you can read what this product is labeled, so let me help you out. This is the label for an Energy Drink, it says "PLACENTA OTTOVIN 2000". Now I'm sure you are wondering WHY this ENERGY DRINK is called Placenta??!!!! WELL the truth of the matter is that there is IN FACT PLACENTA (usually from a pig or horse) in this drink! It is a new beauty/health craze that is all the rage here in Japan. WOWZERS right! Check out this link for Placenta-Pro 30,000 It is believed that by consuming Placenta material that it

"Promotes cellular metabolism; works from deep within to produce a firm, moist complexion; contains 30,000 mg of 100% undiluted horse-origin placenta. Realizes luxuriantly beautiful skin. Replenishes nourishment to physically fatigued or exhausted bodies. Having no overt aroma the fresh flavor is easy to drink."

EEEEW right???!!!! With that said, I did not purchase this said Placenta Beverage and am not planning to indulge anytime soon. WAIT .... maybe this could be a great gift to include in with the family Christmas Box sent to Canada??!!! Awesome.

I want a "Jesus Body" ......

I was at the local drug store the other night. This new drug store is incredible because it is stocked with sooooo many different (random) products. It is like the ULTIMATE Shoppers Drug Mart. In my shopping cart this is what you would have found...... N95 Virus Guard Masks, aluminum foil, athlete's foot powder spray (don't ask), ice, ice cream, beer and more!

As I turned down aisle number 25, something caught my eye. A red package advertising JESUS BODY!!!!!!! That's right folks, you can now buy a box of Jesus Body at the Drug Store in Japan! Here is the best part.....what exactly IS in that box of Jesus Body?????????????

Jesus Body is a weight loss product.....................................

Moving on. This is the COMPLETED application package for Canadian Immigration. A box stuffed to the max with forms, documents, pictures, plane tickets, cards, letters, bills, receipts etc. It has been quite a while since A and I started working on this. So it is pretty amazing to see it all organized, finished and ready to go.

I wrapped it up and sent it to CIC-Mississauga via Japan EMS on November 30/2009. Now we sit back and wait to hear back from them. The expected timeline for Japan applications is anywhere from 4 months - 10 months. Very exciting.

[Application Ready to go to Canada]

Some final randomness for this post.....

Last night, A was washing dishes when all of a sudden SOMETHING dropped into the sink from above. Eeek a bit surprising BUT it turned out to be this cute baby Gecko. A saved the little dude and was able to take a pic of him because he was a little bit stunned and unsure as to what exactly was happening. The little gecko was put outside and hopefully all is well for the little guy, as winter is approaching.

Beaujolais Season!

Apparently these folks are enjoying the new Beaujolais Wine Season at an Open Air Wine Spa in Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan by bathing in a wine filled bath!!!!! It looks awesome! Take a look at the link! My only concern was that there were children that seemed to be imbibing the Beaujolais!!!!! Hmmmmm.

Sakaemachi Market Festival and The Rappin Oba's

I had heard about this summer festival that happened the last Saturday of every month (up until the last Saturday of October) where apparently these Okinawan Oba's (Grannies) who work in the market, would get up on stage and bust out a small but deliciously tasty hip hop number or two. The word was going around that these Oba's could rap and rhyme like no other and that is was definitely worth checkin out. It ended up being on All Hallows Eve, from 5-9pm. So I went down to Naha to check out the festival. It was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is a short video showing a small bit of the awesomeness. Enjoy.

Eggs Benny - The Lighter Side

Today was one of the many many holiday Mondays that occur in Japan. I used the free time to catch up on some sleep and write an on-line final exam for my ESL Fundamentals Class. Before I got down to business on the exam, I decided I needed a little fuel for my endeavor.

I was lucky enough to have gone on base yesterday, I had bought some delicious Western Treats. English Muffins, Cheese, Shaved Deli Turkey Meat and more! So I made a light version of Eggs Benedict.

Recently, I have been perfecting my ability to poach eggs...I love soft poached eggs....I don't even like eggs very much....but a perfectly soft poached egg IS AWESOME! Boil a pot of water, add a good splash of vinegar (I have been using Sushi Rice Vinegar because it is more mild and does not affect the taste of the egg as much). Crack the egg and slowly pour it into the water (drop egg in as close to the water as possible). The vinegar will keep the egg together in the water. Leave it to come together a bit and then slowly push the egg together and up off the bottom of the pot. Cook until the yolk is at desired level of cooked. I lift the egg out of the water with a slotted spoon and shake a bit to ensure the yolk is still runny but the white is fully cooked.

Cut an English Muffin in half, added a sliver of butter and toast until crispy. Put a few slices of shaved deli turkey meat and a few slices of sharp cheddar cheese on the toasted English Muffin. Put the egg on top and ENJOY! This is a nice and light breakfast because nothing is fried, it's fairly low in fat (besides the cheese) and only has one egg (lower in cholesterol). It would be nice to add some sliced veggies, fresh fruit, and/or some low fat cottage cheese on the side.

[Eggs Benny - The Lighter Side]

I had a healthy brunch, wrote my final exam and felt quite positive about it and decided to reward myself with a little treat. 'A' always buys snackies and sweets/chocolate. I try to avoid eating them and usually do a pretty good job because I am not a sugar addict. I found 'A's' recent sugar fix and gave it a try. These delicious Hokkaido Cheese Chocolate's. Cheese flavoured chocolate! They are wonderful. I have eaten entirely too many and have consumed more calories from these cheese chocolates than my breakfast alone!!! Yatta!

[Hokkaido Cheese Chocolate]

Spaghetti and Meatballs (and wine)

I am practicing how to take more BEAUTIFUL pictures of food. This one turned out really well I think. AND it tasted as good, if not better, than it looks!

I never had Spaghetti and Meatballs when I was a child. Thinking back on it, if my parents had made Spaghetti and Meatballs I probably would have screamed and cried, threw a fit because it wasn't "normal" Spaghetti, not eaten any dinner, and subsequently my parental units would have avoided making Spaghetti and Meatballs ever again. Correct me if I am wrong.

Now that I am a little bit older, with MUCH MORE refined tastes <::> INDEEED! I am able to appreciate the simple complexities of that which is the meatball. I want to give you a recipe of some sorts, but as I am writing this foody type blog-a-rino I am realizing that I don't really use measurements in my recipes. I use ingredients and my eyes and hands..... so perhaps this food blog will be totally useless to many... and I apologize. Here are the ingredients I used in my delicious meatball-i-o's:

beef, chopped parsley, finely grated garlic, finely grated onion, garlic powder, bread crumbs (panko), worchestershire sauce, salt & peppa, parmesan cheese, italian spices

squish everything together, make little baby meatballs, fry them up, cool and drain them on some paper towel before putting them into the tomato sauce.

with the tomato sauce, I would recommend that anything works, just be sure to put a good splash of red wine, parmesan cheese, garlic, and oregano in there.

There ya have it, Spaghetti and Meatballs, a classic, a favourite, and so easy too! Make your kids like it!

Recommended music to listen to while cooking this dish: Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

It's Nabe Time!

Last week, the weather cooled down to a chilly 20 degrees celsius. And boy was that a shock to the body after sitting at 30 degrees morning, noon, and night for the past 4 months. It was rainy, windy, and down right COLD :) ...

The only thing I could think about doing to warm myself up was to fire up the NABE!!!! YAY! The first nabe of the year. Nabe is basically a hot pot filled with meat, veggies, tofu, and delicious broth. It is popular to cook this dish on the dining table, therefore heating up the room and adding a cozy eating environment!

When the Nabe is ready to eat, I like to scoop the deliciousness into a small bowl with grated Daikon and Ponzu (a light citrusy soy-type sauce).

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Getting the Nabe going. Adding veggies and meat into a Kimchee Broth!!!! Yeah!

[Bubba being the Nabe Bugyo!]

Hooray for Nabe! Although, I must tell you all that after only a few chilly days, the weather did a complete 180 degrees BACK to summer. I currently have my AIR CONDITIONER on RIGHT NOW!!!!! Okinawa is sitting back up at a toasty 28 degrees in November. Thank Goodness?!

Azuki Pepsi

Pepsi comes out with some crazy flavours here in Japan. The last I saw was a bright green Shiso Pepsi ... it tasted awful. Yesterday, A and I picked up this bright pink Azuki Pepsi! Sugoi!!!!!! Azuki is a kind of bean or legume that is popular in Japan. Usually it is eaten sweetened and in a paste found in many desserts. We have not yet tried this unusual beverage, but we can only imagine that it is going to be totally, deliciously, yucky! Who knows though, maybe it will be my new fav at the local Family Mart or Lawsons!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese & Coffee Icing

I made these tasty treats for the Teacher's Lounge this Halloween. But they most definitely could be made for the upcoming American Thanksgiving, Christmas, or for anything really! They were pretty easy and quite tasty...although I felt that they were a bit too buttery/greasy. So maybe cut out some of the butter. I used this recipe for Pumpkin Cupcakes from Martha Stewart...hmmm not sure how I feel about her, but I don't judge when it comes to cooking!

The icing was fun. I used a regular cream cheese icing recipe and divided it in half. One half was the regular falvour, while the other half had a bunch of instant coffee dissolved in with melted butter. I made a cute little design on the tops which were supposed to look like spider webs?!

Anymeew, I took them to work and they were devoured before lunch. Must be a good sign!

Cheers,

Kitty

Halloween 2009

Halloween - Part I

At school all this past week I have been doing fun Halloween Murder Mystery Lessons with my students. I was lucky enough to get on one of the American Military Bases the weekend before, so I bought approx. 800 pieces of (cheap) 'American Candy' - (Skittles and Starburst), one for each student, and a big orange pumpkin (Japan does not really have the orange variety in great surplus).

The kids seemed to enjoy the Halloween festivities and they all tried really hard (to get candy). On the Friday before Halloween a few teachers dressed up with me and we had a good time being scary and funny and Halloweeny. All of the teachers that were dressed up went on a little "Halloween Parade" around the school together just before lunch was about to start. It was great to see the teachers so involved and the kids so excited!

I dressed up as a Japanese Construction Worker/Hai Dozo Man. It was awesome! Although some teachers did not really get it and were not really able to accept that it could be considered a real "costume".

[The Principal of the School - Forget the Eye Patch lets have a Face Patch]

I carved the pumpkin at school after lunch. I made "Jack" the jack-o-lantern. I thought it was cute!

Halloween - Part II

Halloween night I headed off on a solo adventure to a conjoined party at "Rehab" and "Sakura G". A had to work that evening and the next morning, so I was on my own, monkeying around.

[Saya made her entire costume!!!!!]

[Dexter]

[Laura Croft, Starbucks, Monkey]

[At Sakura G - Space Man]

[Sakura G is a perfect place for a Halloween Event]

Typhooon

The forecasted path for the most recent Typhoon......Typhoon season has been abundant with wind and rain but lacking in full frontal TYPHOOOOOOONS! This new one is just teasing us by running back and forth in front (behind) us. You go Typhoon.... You GO!

KAJIMAYA

Today was A's Grandmother's Kajimaya Celebration! This year, she turns 97 years old!!!!! In Okinawa, when you turn 97 there is a big ol' celebration held in your honor. It is common during this celebration for the honoree to ride around their neighbourhood in an open car holding colourful pinwheels. It is believed that when a person turns 97 they once again, begin to have the heart of a child. Therefore, the Pinwheel is a symbol of the regaining of one's childhood. A's grandmother is currently in a Nursing Home and not well enough to be riding around in an open car, plus the rain this weekend has been incredible as another Typhoon is approaching Okinawa. So here is a picture of me rocking out with a pinwheel! Keeping it real and Genki.

In this pic, yes, I am wearing a hoodie. It's not actually cold though I just have the A/C on sucking the humidity out of my apato. Yes, I am using a fancy "Photo Book" background...the clouds in Okinawa have been dark and wet for the past 2 weeks.....

Check out this website about Celebrations and old age http://www.okinawateacompany.com/html/t-wisdom.php

I keep wanting to add random bits of info to this post. I watched this documentary on the National Film Board of Canada's website about a Canadian woman who is 105. It was very cute. Check it out if you want. This website is cool because you can watch all kinds of Canadian Films free of charge! http://nfb.ca/film/sunday_at_105/

Neighbourhood Changes

There is always construction going on in Haebaru. Very slowly mind you, but still, there is a lot on the go....it just never gets finished. The most recent and interesting development is that they demolished the apartment building adjacent to mine. This lead to a few weeks of limited parking, lots of dust, and some noisy weekends. Here is the process.....as seen from my balcony.

Island Pork Tenderloin

I love pork tenderloin. The meat is always tender and low in fat, therefore quite healthy. Usually it is quite expensive to buy, so what I like to do is stock up on it when it is on sale. I found 2 big tenderloins for only about 700 yen (about 7 dollars).

I usually marinade the meat in a red wine/rosemary/garlic type sauce, or soy/garlic. I wanted to step out of the box so I gave this recipe for Island Pork Tenderloin from Epicurious a try. It was shockingly DELICIOUS! The pictures do not do it any justice :( but believe me when I say that it ROCKED!

I did not make the salad as instructed in the recipe. I bought a pre-made goya salad from Max-Valu and it was great. As well, I changed the dressing a bit by using fresh shiquasa and orange juice, and a bit of sugar to keep it from being overly sour.

I paired the meal up with some Sour Cream and Carrot Mashed Potatoes. Boiled potatoes and carrots mashed up with butter, sour cream, freshly diced parsley, and salt & pepper.

The Goya Salad with "Curry" dressing" Nice and light and refreshing.

The pork tenderloin with the glaze.

Seasonal Beverage

Introducing the highly anticipated フライドチキン Beer from Sapporo!!!! That's right folks ... every Fall this super awesome beer appears on Family Mart shelves for a limited time.

フライドチキン = Fu-ra-i-do-chi-ki-n = Fried Chicken !!!!!! Thats right ladies and gentlemen...Fried Chicken Beer! Now to be fair, this beer does not taste like Fried Chicken, I think it is just some sort of advertisement...but for real!? AWESOME!

Slow Cooked Chicken Soup/Stew

I love slow cookers and slow cooking. They are INGENIOUS !

I had boiled some chicken drumsticks to make "chicken wings" the other day and I had the leftover chicken stock. I hate throwing it away, it seems like such a waste. So I took a quick peak in my tiny freezer and somewhat bare cupboards in search of a few items that I could easily throw into the slow cooker. I ended up creating a somewhat simple Tomato Chicken Soup Base with minced Onions, Celery, Carrot, Parsley, Garlic ... corn, a can of tomato sauce, white wine, and S&P. I put two frozen chicken thighs (with skin) on top and put it in the fridge until the next morning.

When I turned the slow cooker on low at about 8:15 am, I threw in some chopped fresh basil and gave it a little stir. I returned home at 4:30 pm and gave it a taste .. it was not very good .. it tasted like carrot water .. eeew. So I had to make some adjustments. A was not to be home from work until 9 pm, so I had some time to fix it. I took the chicken out, removed the skin, shred it with 2 forks, and put it back in the slow cooker. I added some Thyme, Tarragon, Spicy Chili Garlic Sauce (quite a bit), and a few boiled and chopped potatoes.

By 9 pm it had turned into a MASTERPIECE! For realz. I put dollop of Sour Cream and chopped fresh parsley on top and away we went. I would recommend experimenting with slow cookers! So fun and so easy!

Tune in Tokyo - Part 4 - The Final Episode

The 3rd day of our Tokyo Adventure was filled with all kinds of exciting things. Very early in the morning we went to the hospital to have a Health Check done for A by a Canadian Government recognized practitioner. It went smoothly, despite how early it was and how tricky the train transfers were. After some EXPENSIVE, but good breakfast, and a nap...we headed off for the Canadian Embassy. It was a beautiful day!

[View from the Embassy]

[Tokyo Tower from the Embassy]

[Innukshuk - Canadian Embassy]

The signing of our Common-Law agreement went really well! It was much easier than I expected it to be. Which is good. They signed it without any questions or demands for any of the documents that I carefully prepared. It was very exciting and liberating. I am so lucky to be from a country that is so accepting of all kinds of people, cultures, and relationships!

[Happy Signing Day]

After the Embassy, we walked around a bit and found a lovely park beside the embassy and a neat shrine near the train station. Here are a few pictures from the shrine. I have no idea what the name of it is.

Our last evening in Tokyo was spent with A's Cousin, Shoko. Shoko's husband has a restaurant in Ikebukuro. The first floor is a Sushi Bar run by her husbands father. While the upstairs is his Italian Restaurant. Quite an interesting and delicious mix of flavours. We sat downstairs first and ate some fabulously fresh Sashimi and Sushi.

[Restaurant Entrance]

Shoko's husbands father was a very charming man....and magical too! He has the ability to use Energies to Heal. He took some time to do some work on A's back. A suffers from chronic back pain. Barely touching A's back he was able to relieve most of the pain!

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[Sashimi]

[Sushi]

[Ika]

[Anago in Yuzu Sauce - Rare Salt Water Eel]

[Lightly Toasted Fatty Tuna - YUMMM]

After we ate, and spent some time upstairs in the Italian Restaurant, we headed over to Shoko's place for some wine and cheese. I had brought a bottle of wine from Leonie's Wedding (2 years ago) back to Okinawa from Canada and from Okinawa to Tokyo. The three of us enjoyed drinking such a special bottle of wine.

We had a good time chillin and visiting with Shoko and her cat Ikura. The cat was adorable and attention seeking :) My kind of cat!

[Julie, Shoko, Ikura]

We headed back to Okinawa the next day. It was an easy trip home. We were lucky enough to catch a ride from the airport from Mr. Madole. Good to be back in Oki~

[Okinawa Ocean]