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).

PHOTO TEMPORARILY REMOVED

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]