Sunday, March 30, 2014

March 30th Lunch

March 30th,

It's so windy today, I thought I would blow away when I went out.

I hope it doesn't blow all the cherry blossoms away. 

They all just started blooming.

Anyway lunch:






Ginger Chicken with Onion




Avocado Toast


Thursday, March 27, 2014

March 27th Lunch

March 27th,

I don't know if it's the bad weather, but I've had a horrible headache all day.

Very unpleasant.

Anyway, lunch:

The other day I bought tuna; the ara of the tuna.

Ara (or アラ) is the left over parts of the fish after all the main parts have been cut away and usually you cook it rather than eat it raw.  You can eat it raw if you are careful in the preparation and what part you use.

It can also have a more fishy smell/taste than other parts.  So I first boiled mine in a mixture of water and cooking sake before I cooked it nice and slowly in soy sauce and ginger.  Marinating or first boiling/steaming it in sake will help to get rid of the fishyness.

I also perfected the poached egg!  Finally!!





Beautiful, no?  I knew it would just take me practice.

I used it and the tuna to make today's lunch.




I call it my AraAra-don.

It was yummy~.




Poached eggs are golden gooey globs of yummy.


Saturday, March 22, 2014

March 22nd Lunch

March 22nd,

Was window shopping today and they were playing that well-known song from "Frozen".

First, they played the original English version then the Japanese version.

Never watched the Disney movies in Japanese so have never heard the Japanese versions of the song.

I don't like watching dubbed movies.

Today's lunch:


Curried Codfish Soup

Thursday, March 20, 2014

March 21st Lunch

March 21st,

It's finally turning into spring weather.

So lunch:


Caprese Style Toast and Basil Codfish with Carrots.

March 19th Lunch

Sorry, it's been a while.

Went with my Aunt to the airport, then my Mom.

Anyway lunch from the 19th.





Roast beef sandwich with cottage cheese and cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocado chips with yogurt dip.




Yumm... I love roast beef!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

March 14th Lunch

March 14th,

Mom's over for lunch and I tried a new dish!


Chicken Banh Mi, Avocado Chips with Yogurt Dip, and a Simple Salad.

Banh Mi sandwich is a Vietnamese sandwich usually served in a baguette and usually includes things like cilantro, fish sauce, and pickled carrots.

The original Banh Mi recipe also uses hot sauce, but because I cannot eat spicy foods I used oyster sauce instead of hot sauce + fish sauce.  A very good decision if I do say so myself.

It was so yummy and my mom loved it too!

It's a success!

Must add it to the recipe list.

March 13th Lunch

March 13th,

It's getting warmer, nice spring weather.

But!! Today is not pleasant weather, it's a storm outside... don't wanna walk outside...ugh.

Anyhoo~...

Tried making Greek for the first time.

I made Greek style burgers with tzakziki sauce!


But I used chicken instead of lamb and cottage cheese instead of feta cheese.

It was DELICIOUS!!


Tuesday, March 11, 2014

March 12th Lunch

March 12th,

Today, lightly roasted bonito was on sale.

In Japanese it's called かつおのたたき (Katsuo no Tataki) and as I said it's lightly roasted on the outside and raw on the inside.  Usually you add a dab of pureed ginger on top when you eat it.  It's got a bit of a stronger (fishy) taste compared to maguro (tuna) so fair warning before you try it.


For lunch the tataki was accompanied by miso soup with tofu, broccoli, and rice.



March 11th Lunch

March 11th

Had pleasant lunch out in Shibuya with Mom today.

Ate at the restaurant d47 食堂(syokudo) at Hikarie shopping center at Shibuya station.

It was a Japanese hipster restaurant with the waitresses all dressed like hipsters.

I had the 北海道定食 焼き糠さんま (Hokkaido Teishyoku Yaki Nuka Sanma)

Hokkaido themed teishyoku (lunch platter) with Grilled Bran Pacific Saury.

Grilled Pacific Saury is a very common dish in Japan, very yummy.

Along with the fish was potato dumplings which were super chewy like mochi balls (Yum!!), miso soup, and rice.






Along with it, I had some fancy apple juice.  "Wonder Apple" apple juice.

Made with Aomori prefecture apples; Aomori prefecture is famous for its apples! 


March 11th Breakfast

March 11th,

Posting a breakfast today.

Cheesey Eggies in a Basket!  Mmmm.... yummy~

March 10th Lunch

March 10th,

Tried at the poached egg again.

I think I did better than last time, I got the process now, it's just getting down the technique.

I think it's just practice, practice, practice.





My version of Eggs Benedict.

With slices of fish sausage and a simple salad on the side.

Friday, March 7, 2014

March 7th A Yummy Snack

I thought it was a nice day today.

Was running an errand, then all of a sudden as soon as I start heading home it starts to snow... it was sort of half snow, half rain... not pleasant..

So, the snack I made.

Oven Toasted Cheesy Chikuwa with Ketchup Mayo Dip






Stuffed chikuwa with melty cheese and just stuck it in the toaster oven for 5 minutes.

Next time I make this I'll try stuffing it with cucumber along with cheese.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

March 6th Lunch

March 6th,

It's nice today, hopefully it will keep getting warmer.

Lunch!!






Broccoli and Chikuwa Oyster Sauce Pasta


Chikuwa is a Japanese ingredient made out of fish paste and in the shape of a giant short straw.

I used a silicon steamer to cook the onions and broccoli and boil the pasta.  It was super easy and made the cleanup process very easy.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

March 5th Lunch

March 5th,


So cold... so very, very cold....

Anyway~....

Lunch!!






 Bow Tie Pasta with Chicken Meat Sauce and Tomato






English Garlic Cheese Bread



Monday, March 3, 2014

March 4th Lunch

March 4th,

Today, Mom is visiting from the States!

Unfortunately, she didn't make it in time for lunch.








Chicken Sauce Cheese Open Sandwich with Avocado & Mackerel Burger Salad







A dish from Yamanashi-ken, Japan; Seidanotamaji.

Potatoes cooked in sweet miso sauce.



Saturday, March 1, 2014

March 1st Lunch

March 1st,

It was such nice weather yesterday, perfect spring weather and today it's gotten cold again.

Any who~....

Lunch!!



Salad with mackerel burger bits and fish sausage






And with it I tried a new recipe.

It's a delicacy from Yamanashi, Japan.

Seidanotamaji

It's small potatoes cooked slowly in miso and sugar.  It's very YUMM!