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Thursday, April 21, 2016

I changed my mind.

I changed my mind.  This page has become an
1. eating good foods;
2. drinking nice wine;
3. enjoying life;
4. doing nice stuff;
page. These should decrease the probability of getting a cancer and increase the density of smiles.

Okay, then.  Tonight dinner:
* Meatloaf, Salmon (with Wasabi flavored Tartar sauce) and Lots of veges


* You cannot forget this (Chardonnay)






Saturday, March 26, 2016

Link between Blogger and FB

I signed up for this:
https://ifttt.com/recipes

This allows us to connect Blogger with Facebook.  Okay, let me see if this works...

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Trying to prove something

There is a problem that I want to figure out, so long.  I am trying but it is not tractable.  This is the reason.  It looks so easy but not tractable.  I did computer simulation, which was okay.  What I am thinking seems correct, but

CANNOT PROVE!!!

I will still waste my afternoon on this.  I made pizza dough for the son.

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Son's Sport Day Event


A week ago, J school held Sport day event.  I made a big lunch box for four people.

Amazing.  It is already mid-August.  Amazing.  Need to keep a diary more often, otherwise, I would not notice, TIME is FLYING!!

Thursday, July 31, 2014

The Last Day of July

Today's to do:
1. Working on Revision 2;
2. Working on Proposal 2.
3. Re-reading Revision 1.

Proposal 1 was sent off.  So, mainly today's task is No1 and No2 above.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Many Chores

Today's to do:
1. Re^{+\infty}-reading Revision 1;
2.Working on Revision 2;
3. Finishing and Sending off Proposal 1;
4. Starting Proposal 2;
5. Getting a first version of Model 1.

Well, we will see how much I can complete the above mission.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Chicken Ham 3


Leaving the third chicken pack in the refrigerator for two days, last night we had it.  My mom liked the one with Japanese style dressing best, and Prof. liked this one best.

I used it for today's lunch.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Very Long Night

Could not sleep.  Got up at 3am and worked on one of the papers that we want to submit....

Yesterday, I did soccer balls.  Son ate all lunch.  He requested something more fun.  So, I tried, Olaf from Frozen.

Today's lunch - wish that we can finish the paper, soon!!  For me and Prof., grilled eggs, beans, snapper, vegetables and rice ball with grilled beef.


Not really well-done.  But considering that I did not have any "kit," may not be that bad??

Monday, June 23, 2014

Appendix: Chicken "Ham"


I put some chicken ham to our lunch, today.  BTW, "Go Japan!"

Chicken "Ham"


Over the weekend, I made "Chicken ham."  It may sound weird, though.  There are three methods I tried.
1.  Put one tbs of sugar and a half ts of salt on surface of chicken meat.  Leave it for a few hours;
2.  Wash it first and then put a half ts of salt and a bit of pepper.  I also added mashed peel of lemons.
3.  Cut some vegetables (Onion and Carrots) and wrap it in the chicken meat.
4.  Make it like a big candy as above, and put it on a heat-resistant glass.  I added some celery and lemon, so that it smells good.
5.  Steam it in a large pan for 30 minutes.

Then, you will get:

Carefully take it out and cut them.  Decorate them with some vegetables:


The second method is a bit more involved.
1.  One litter of water, a few pieces of ginger and four tbs of vinegar.  Put them together.  Put two pieces of chicken breast meat into the mixed ingredient and bring it to a boil.
2.  Cook it on a low heat for another 15 minutes or so.  Then, remove it from heat.  Leave it for 30 minutes or so.
3.  Mix 1 and 1/2 cups of soy sauce, 2 tbs of sugar, 1 tbs of vinegar, 1 tbs of sake (white wine is Okay), and 1 tbs of brandy.  Put the chicken meat in it.  Leave it for 6 to 8 hours.

While waiting for the meat, make sauce for it.
1. Chop onion, green onion, garlic.  Mix them.
2. Add 4 tbs of soy sauce, 1 tbs of vinegar, 1 ts of sugar, 1 ts of sesame oil.

Then, you will get:


It is very nice for lunch box.  Yes, I said, "three methods."  I am still waiting for the third method, chicken.  I have to leave it for a few days.
   

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Chick Pea Tofu

I wanted to make good Tofu.  I adopt a "chick pea method."

Leave dried ones in water for one day or so.  Take out peas from water as above.


Put the peas and water (the amount of water you put with the peas decides how tough your tofu is going to be) into a blender.  I would say, one cup of peas plus two cups of water is probably okay.  After that, separate crushed peas and water.  The water part is the one that you use for making tofu.

I used coarse clothes to separate them.  Also, we will not use the crushed peas part but probably they can be used for making salads or hummus.


Boil the water part.  In the beginning, it is very much liquid.  However, soon it becomes more "solid."  You need to continuously stir it, otherwise it would get burned.  Once it becomes solid enough that you can write a letter on it, take it out from the oven.  Cool it down a bit and put it into a container.  Leave it in a refrigerator for 30 minutes to one hour.  Then, you will get:

 
 
There are many ways to use this tofu.  I put some in miso soup or grilled them and so forth.  Depending on the amount of water, you can get more tough ones, which might be better for Chinese cuisine.

 


Friday, June 20, 2014

Restarting

 
Today's lunch.  Pesto pasta, Sausage, Grilled Salmon and some Vegetable.  Yes, I will work hard.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Pufferfish


 

Pufferfish (Fugu) can be eaten as Sashimi or hot pot (Nabe).  Pufferfish has poisonous organs and in Japan, it takes a certified chef to deal with them.  "Processed" meats are available in markets.

In the western part of Japan, pufferfish is sometimes called "Teppo" which means, rifles or guns, as the poison is very strong.






This is pufferfish skin.  It is said that it contains lots of collagen.  In Japanese, it is called "Yubiki."



By the way, this is crabs.  It is also eaten in hot pots.  This is also popular in New year days.

Monday, December 30, 2013

UNESCO - Intangible Cultural Heritage





This year, Japanese traditional style of dishes, Washoku, Kimjan from Korea as well as Mediterranean diet have been listed among intangible cultural heritage in UNESCO.

Here is the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Well, probably this is the reason why I felt like updating this blog.  I like cooking and eating, as well as having nice wine and sake.  I hope that all of my family will live happy and healthy lives, which good foods contribute to, definitely (not too much drinking, though).  Also, I want our kid to respect other cultures.  Foods, to me, are culture and I was just happy that my favourite three styles of cooking were registered as Cultural Heritage.

In 2013, we were a bit lazy and we did not make Osechi.  Instead, we got them from some restaurant. This is also becoming a new year tradition here, I think...

Beef Tataki




It has been a while… Somehow, I feel like updating this blog.

Today, I made Beef Tataki. This is something that we usually see in my family around this time of year.  It is easy. Put some salt and pepper on a block of beef. Leave it for 30 minutes or so. First, grill garlic and shallot in a pan (well, of course, you need to put some oil). Take them out. Then, grill the prepared beef quickly in the same pan but until lightly browned everywhere surface. Then put it into an iced water. Wipe it with kitchen papers and put it into a dish with sliced onion, lemon and cooked garlic.

In one hour or so, slice the beef and you can have it with soy sauce and wasabi. My special dressing is this: soy sauce, sugar, Japanese sake, a little bit of brandy, lemon juice, mashed garlic, mashed ginger and mashed onions. I usually mix them in a pan and heat it up so that all alcohol goes away. Then, cool it and put some cut-chives.  Add Tianmianjiang if you like a bit of Chinese flavour in it.

I usually cook Roast Beef if I am not in Japan, instead of Beef Tataki. My understanding is that the difference between the two is that in the case of Roast Beef, even inside of meat is "cooked" in a sense that heat reaches there. In terms of Tataki, inside is very rare. Germs (sorry to talk about it, but important) get on surface of meat, usually. So the idea is to kill them by heat, in the case of Tataki, although as I have a small child, I cook it around "rare steak." There was a big scandal in Japan about providing raw meat in a restaurant and now the regulation is very strict.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Paella & Borscht





Yes, it may have a bit international conflict but Spanish and Russian. It actually goes well, which Prof. Usagi did not agree with before he tasted it. I got a recipe of paella from Prof. Usagi's mom. The last one is Mini-Usagi's solid food, which includes rice, snapper, potato, pumpkin and Broccoli. Of course, they were mashed.

The following is the recipe for Paella that I have gotten from Janet (mam-in-law). Hope that one recipe would not violate the copyright.

Paella a la Valenciana (for 8-10)

6 cups very strong chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon saffron (this seems like quite a bit, but it is important that you use the expensive threads from autumn crocus--not imitation red powdered)
1 small onion peeled
2 small chickens, about 2 1/2# each (I use boned chicken breasts and boned thighs because it is easier to cut them up, and easier to make sure they get done, but probably some loss of flavor)
Coarse salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 # chorizo sausage (important for the overall flavor)
1 large pork chop, boned and diced
1/4 # piece of cured ham, diced (Serrano, or Proscuito)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pimientos,homemade or imported, diced (Pimenton de la Vera dulce I've not used this before, but now have some
1 # small or medium shrimp, shelled (I devein, if I can)
2 live lobsters, split and divided into tail secions and claws, or four lobster tails, split lengthwise o 8 king crab slaws; or 8 jumbo shrimp, in their shells (I've never used any of these, but generally have used large shrimp instead of small or medium above, and shelled and deveined)
3 cups short-grain rice (i.e., from Valencia, or arborio from Italy, or pearl from Calif)
5 T. chopped Parsley
2 bay leaves crumbled
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 T. lemon joice
1/4 fresh or frozen peas
18 clam, smallest available, at room temperature, scrubbed
18 small mussels, scrubbed
Lemon wedges for garish
Chapped parsley for garnish.

Heat the broth with the saffron and the whole onion. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove the onion and measure the broth--you need 5 1/2 cups.

Cut the chickens into small serving pieces. Dry the pieces well and sprinkle with salt.

In a metal paella pan (or large skillet, heat the oil. Add the chicken pieces and fry over high heat until golden. Remove to a warm platter. (I have always done the chorizo first to get its seasoning into the chicken)

Add the chorizo, pork, and ham and stir fry about 10 minutes.

Add the chopped onion, scallions, garlic and pimientos, and saute until the onion is wilted.

Add the shrimp, and crab or lobster,and saute about 3 minutes, until they barely turn pink. (Maybe less) Remove shell fish to platter with chicken.

Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat it well with the oil. Sprinkle on the 5 T. parsley and the bay leaves.

Stir in the chicken broth, boiling hot, the wine, lemon juice, and peas.
Salt to taste. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, and stirring
occasionally, over medium-high heat about 10 minutes. (I would not add the frozen peas until just before going in the oven)

Bury the shrimp and chicken in the rice. Add the clams and mussels, pushing them into the rice, with the edge that will open facing up.

Decorate the paella with the lobster pieces, or some large shrimp, then bake at 325° uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit on top of the stove, lightly covered with foil for about 10 minutes.

To serve, decorate with lemon wedges and chopped parsley.

Some people put cut green beans in.

I generally add strips or squares of red and green, and maybe yellow or orange pepper as the rice is cooking.

I also usually add 1 can, drained and rinsed garbanzo beans (chick peas) (about 2/3 cup uncooked, if you want to soak over night, and cook yourself), as it goes in the oven.

One of my paella pans is too large to go in the oven, so all the cooking must be on the stove top, or an outdoor grill. Getting the rice done then is tricky, and I will tend to add the broth more like a risotto, in separate additions, and then cover the pan with foil for part of the time, and rarely add clams and mussels, because they are unlikely to open before the rice has burned to the pan.

I've got a new recipe here that I want to try that goes pretty much like this, but has no seafood, just 1/4 # beef tenderloin and 1/4# chicken breast for 1 1/2 cups short grain rice, and 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, each cut in small pieces, red and green pepper.

Bon Appetite.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Snapper




Today, we had snapper in Frency Style. We also had chicken in Teriyaki.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Dinner menu



Last night, we had a dinner with our friends. The pics here are leftovers. The top is Harusame salad. The second is chicken soup with rice. The last is pork in chinese style.

Flounder & Ma-Pou Tofu


Well, the pic does not really look good. The flounder dish was one of my favorites. Prof. Usagi does not like mapou tofu. He basically does not like Tofu but he liked this one.

Monday, January 8, 2007

Carpaccio & Fettucini



Today, in a fish market I was told that they had Sashimi quality Tuna. So, I made the salad with it. You may call Tuna Carpaccio with oriental dressing. The second one is, as you know, Fettucini with sea foods in Tomato sauce.