cleared fridge

I did it, i did it!

the fridge is now cleared of ALL fresh vegetables. phew!

Made a BIIIIIIIIIIIG pot of curry and froze half the pot for another meal. =)

Beef red miso curry with LOTS of vegetables

yeah, another long and rainy day today.

snow expected tmr.

vegetable craze

Happy Valentines~ =)

Finally a fine half sunny day today to lift our moods a lil.

Nothing extraordinary we did, but just being able to spend the peaceful sunday today in each others company was perfect enough.

With chocolate oreo cheesecake that i made, but decided not to take a photo of it cos with the reduced amount of cream cheese plus lots of yogurt, the cake slices looked way to soft to be picture friendly =P

But we so enjoyed that indulgence of chocolate & oreos.

Lunch was

pasta ~ udo & scallop in grated carrot sauce

And dinner was me trying hard to finish as much vegetables in the fridge as possible

Iwashi burger (sardine burger that we bought)

with grated radish sauce & poached egg

grating the radish helped us finish a whole lot of radish at a go!

2 of us, almost the whole radish. whee~!

burdock and carrots & beef takikomi rice

again, i think there was vegetables more than grains of rice~

phew, almost there.

my fav vegetable buffet @ Warabe

It was a really really chilly 6deg in the day today.

plus snow. brrrrgh.

walking in such weather is a lil tiring for me cos of the achy back.

But we had a really good lunch today to reenergise!

Warabe, vegetable buffet

my favourite restaurant at Isetan Kichijoji, has to be this place cos i get to have a whole variety of japanese vegetable dishes which takes time to prepare.

There is the occasional teriyaki chicken and tofu dishes among the mainly vegetable dishes, which are also my fav, so each time i am there, all my cravings get satisfied at one go =P

we had thought this place would go too since Isetan is closing for good. But to our delight, this will stay! =)

Dinner was simple fish, rice & miso soup

grilled hokke

an oily type of fish, tastes especially good on cold nights.

potato salad wafu style

instead of ham, i added chikuwa fishcakes, bonito flakes & some ume bits, which made it so wafu, and really easy digest.

please mr. Sun, come out tmr~

My dear Belgian waffles gone

J had to pass the Shibuya train station to get to his university cos he needed to look for his prof.

To his surprise, the train station didnt smell the same.

The Belgian waffle stand that produces this very very prominent freshly baked waffles fragrance that fills the whole train station area, is GONE!

shockingly, it replaced by (and he made me guess n guess n guess) MR BEAN!!!

Yes, the soybean drink stall MR. BEAN!!!

i was in double shock when i heard.

firstly, i absolutely am crazy over those freshly baked belgian waffles that melt away your stress in the afternoon.

secondly, it seems that Singapore desserts are really seeping into japan slowly.

first, i heard about the kaya toast in town, then Mr. bean.wow

some news online that i found http://www.japanprobe.com/2010/02/01/mr-bean-in-tokyo/.

Dinner tonight

Burdock filled burger in brown stew

grilled eringi mushrooms

(that were deliciously succulent!)

the wet weather isnt letting up. i cant wait for a sunnier day. please please please let it be fine tmr, my laundry basket is getting heavier and i wanna go for a date!

slow slow rainy rest day

We had a very very slow rest day since it was raining the whole day and we couldnt really go out of the house.

Lunch was simple soba

topped with sweet enoki & yuba (beancurd skins)

Dinner was simple too

sardines & egg topped on rice

I love sardines, just that i dont exactly enjoy preparing it to be cooked cos so many pairs of eyes look back. And having some DHA once in a while is good, so the simplest way is to get the canned or vacuumed packed ones.

this is my first time buying packed sardines, and since it is really sweet shoyu simmered, J knew right away it was store =P

indeed sweet, but the eggs made it a lil milder. not bad, for quick cooking.

wolfberries & ginger simmered white cabbage

seasoned only with salt

i have this not so good habit of loving to do the laundry.

rainy days therefore put me in a blue mood.

Akita hotpot & Italian miso stew

We met up with Js uni prof for dinner last night being the last day of most of his major work in school. Retiring after this semester, but still still full of energy. And as usual, full of warmth.

The place we had dinner featured Akita hotpot for its winter hoptot special.

=) n coincidentally prof was raised in Akita!

Yeah, as usual his hairstyle doesnt change

Akita hotpot with the famous Akita rice rolls and hinai chicken

Japan has a few different birds that look like chicken and taste like chicken, but being rare birds, they are grown under very good care, and taste really a level up from the usual chicken meat.

And before meeting up with the guys from dinner, i was walking around on my own in town, and during lunch time while i was fussing over what to eat, look what i found!!!

PAIN buffet?!

Then pausing to figure out japanese engrish, i realised, yeah the word パンpan (read as PUN)　is adapted from the french word for bread pain which is also read as PUN.

But buffet is english isnt it? so put the french word pain and the english word buffet, you either think in english and read it literally as pain buffet think in engrish and figure it means bread buffet =P

a lot of japanese words are adapted from foreign languages, which makes the japanese very open to fusing other culture/words/habits into their own. basically, in other words, washi–ing everything and anything around the world is possible. which is one of the aspects of japanese culture that i really admire and adore. and speaking of which, washism is about washi–ing too =)

Dinner tonight, Italian washified

instead of bread, in the washi world, rice =)

Tomato miso beef & potatoes stew with lots of shimeji mushrooms

We have a public holiday tmr! whee~

ume flowers

The flowers of the ume (sour plum tree) are starting to bloom, and when i saw the pink & white flowers sold at the farmers mart, another old lady was admiring them too, and both of us smiled at each other, hmm... spring is indeed dancing in soon~

THEN i remember the pretty tiny blooming ones we saw at the mountain top at Yamanashi (in the photo i pasted on top), and how i should look forward to this spring!

The whole day was spent spreading friction on the carpet, so dinner had to be simple cos i wasnt hungry.

udon topped with natto miso meat sauce

okara konnyaku cutlets

mock meat is not common at the usual supermarts here, usually at health stores or macrobiotic speciality marts. so when i spotted the okara konnyaku (konnyaku filled with soy pulp), i wanted to try them! i deep fried them (in my oven again) as suggested by the website of this company, and it was not bad. a break from oily real cutlets.

greens tossed in creamy grated sesame paste

i seem to have a roaring appetite for carbohydrates these days.

BUT my stomach seems be rather squeezed too, so after getting my boost of energy and feeling satisfied, i feel VERY penguin like. hmm, it is tough to balance eating less but the crave to eat more.

oyster sauce in my pasta! @@

It was sunny again today!!!

Highest temperature was 10deg (at last), but after the below 10 week it was nice.

Lunch today was

simple porridge with grilled fried beancurd skins, blanched greens topped with crunchy anchovies, and nameko (sweet simmered enoki)

i made extra sweet shiitake & kanpyo when i made sushi on wednesday.

In the sushi, it tasted perfect, but when i had a taste of it without the sushi rice. wow! it was so salty & sweet! it went well with plain porridge.

stuffed with kimchi & natto

Dinner tonight was inspired by TV again.

i wanted to try this pasta sauce recipe that was done on tv this evening just when i was starting to prepare dinner.

tomato cream meat suace pasta with lots of white cabbage, shimeji mushrooms & mixed beans

For the first time, i added oyster sauce into the meat sauce! this combination of tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, and oyster sauce as introduced, was surprisingly good!

my usual way of deepening the flavour of the tomato sauce is some worcestershire, but plus the oyster sauce, another grade up. thumbs up!

daikon salad with heart shaped poached eggs

the weather so so so affects my mood i think.

and i find myself getting stressed by the upcoming week which seems pretty gloomy from tuesday onwards =(

A trip to Necomachi (Cat street)

The last time we went to the cat gallery at Necomachi (Cat Street) in Shitamachi, an old town area in Tokyo, it was probably around this time of the year too in year 2009.

Its a small lil cottage like home with different artists displaying their cat art works.

This year, again, a different series, but as usual i feel so happy admiring those pieces.

We were not allowed photos inside, but heres a peek of what the entrance is like.

the seat at the door

the sign outside the gate

and after a long walk, we headed for this soba place called 鷹匠 takojou that we read about online, and found this in the restaurant!

i LOVE his expression!

the bell for calling the waitress

this soba restuarant has absolutely no link to that cat gallery, but it seems this area has many cat lovers!

chilled soba with a hot oyster broth

really chewy inaka soba

The lady boss asked if i was comfortable sitting on the floor mat, and brought a tiny stool for me.

=) herself, 9 months pregnant!!!

gosh, really inspiring to see her working hard without complaints. squating (to serve at tables) and getting up repeatedly, working with swift!

and then, what i was looking forward to...

Taiyaki near the Nezu metro

traditionally made (single baking)

cant wait to bite into this freshly made piece!

hmm... good, but nowhere fantastic.

as expected from the single bake, really crispy skin. but not as thin as the one we had at Azabu juban. The bean paste? sweet style, not too cloying, not bad, but not impressive enough.

my top of the list? still the one at Azubu Juban, with skin so thin you can see the bean paste. And the bean paste had a tad bit of saltiness in it which i like (n J doesnt), but we both agree, Azabu is still top.

Being a SERIOUSLY chilly day with cold winds, i so wanted to have kimchi hotpot for dinner.

Fish & tofu with lots of greens

finished with rice and egg and cheese. kimchi cheese risotto =) perfect for a cold night.

ukaru snack = to pass an exam snack

It was cold today, but the sun was out the whole day, which really upped my mood a whole lot (yeah, plus it is a friday~ TGIF!).

being a cold cold week, my achy achy back is just getting achier n achier n achier.

funnier thing, only in the right side, so i am trying hard not to walk like a duck. i wish there was yoga class everyday.

in the beginning, i never thought going for class would be interesting since i can do my stretches with my guidebook. But ever since i met this loving teacher who really takes time to check on everyone, i really get stretched out really well.

and with class, i sleep like a tired duck every night. double thumbs up.

cant wait to for the next class!

I felt like having stew tonight.

chicken & shitake shoyu based potato stew

Broccolli & smooth beancurd skins salad with creamy ume sauce

burdock simmered in red miso & black sesame paste

vanilla caramel pudding

homemade for the first time

And with the exam season around, i couldnt resist getting one of those limited edition snacks from the supermart.

the usual snack name is curl (karu)

but in this exam version, it is ucurl (ukaru), and ukaru means to pass the exam

In Japan, you can have the same snack all year round but in so many different packaging.

and at times, limited edition flavours come out too, according to the flowers/fruit/vegetable in season.

so perhaps in winter, u get pumpkin version, in sakura season, you get sakura flower flavoured version, etc.

In exam season, the names of the snacks are played around with. and of course, u get TO PASS packaging with all the snacks. I first read about kit kat (kitto katsu) which means definite win in the english newspapers outside of Japan, but after moving here, there really is so much more than just kit kat! and as for kit kat, the post office has a special edition, where the box itself has a stamp, and u just write the address on, and send it to anyone sitting for an entrance exam. how cute is that?!

ahh... the power of competition in the snack industry here is just amazing!

Schnitzel & cranberry sauce

Went for yoga class today!~

recharged & warmed up the otherwise super chilly day.

The yoga teacher, gave a piece a advice that really made me realise... ahh... how many sacrifices a mother has to make to bring a child into this world.

she said, while you still have both hands to work with, be thankful.

have u ever wondered, where does baby go when u have to use the do your chores, visit the loo, cook, etc.

one arm has to be devoted to the lil one right?

hmm... i never thought of that.

then she said, and after awhile, you will realise what is unconditional love.

some food for thought =)

and to be thankful for the 2 months plus of working with both hands! =)

Dinner tonight was western

with oven baked fries to munch on

Pork cutlet with cranberry sauce

with tofu non mayo coleslaw & sauteed mushrooms by the side

we go this cranberry sauce from Kawaguchiko (Yamnashi) where fruits are abundant each harvest. My first thought was, i wanna have turkey! Like how the English & Americans have it.

then J suggested we try it with pork cutlet cos he had this dish in Austria once.

Schnitzel & cranberry sauce. Sounds good! so i decided to try this on a day when i am usually very hungry.

okra & tomato egg consomme soup

brrggh the air is getting really cold!