How To Make Savory Japanese Spinach Side Dish, Hourenso no Ohitashi

      Last night, I made this savory Japanese style spinach dish, hourenso no ohitashi. Hourenso (ほうれん草) means spinach in Japanese, and ohitashi (お浸し) is a Japanese side dish made of soy sauce and boiled leaf vegetable such as spinach. When my husband is on his business trip, he eats American dishes which are mostly made of meat and potatoes, and he ends up having skin troubles by eating too greasy foods. That's why I try to make Japanese vegetable dishes on the day before his leaving home. He flew to Texas for his business trip this morning. Anyway, I'm going to share the recipe with you. This ohitashi was not a traditional ohitashi. I microwaved spinach instead of boiling, and I added tuna for source of protein and additional flavor. :)

Hourenso no Ohitashi

     Ingredients (4 Servings)

1 bunch of spinach
1 can of tuna (squeeze tuna out of oil)
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of mirin
1 tablespoon of sesame oil

   

1. Cover the spinach with plastic food wrap, and microwave it for 1 minute.

2. Squeeze water out of the spinach.

3. Cut it into 1 and half inch length.

4. Mix tuna, soy sauce, mirin and sesame oil in a large bowl.

5. Toss spinach into them.

6. Enjoy!



       These are also my entries you might like.

■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!)

■My Top 15 Must Eat Foods in Japan - My Favorite Japanese Foods

■Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

■How to Make Japanese Deep Fried Chicken, Kara-Age

■How to Cook Japanese Curry

■How to Cook Miso Soup

■8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Sweets


     This is my entries related to my favorite recipes.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

      This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking

     My entries related to Japan can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Japan

New Starbucks Caramelized Honey Frappuccino

      Last weekend, my husband and I went to Starbucks since I received a free reward after collecting Starbucks 12 stars. :) We usually try new Starbucks Reserve coffee brewed with Starbucks Clover machine when we got a free reward. However, I really wanted to try their new Frappuccino, Starbucks Caramelized Honey Frappuccino, this time. It was their latest Frappuccino just released on March 22. :) They also released its latte comes in hot and cold. These are their spring seasonal drinks, so if you would like to try them, you should go to Starbucks before they were gone.

      According to Starbucks Official Website, a sweet caramel honey sauce is slow-cooked for 45 minutes, developing a unique, rich flavor. Blend that with our bold espresso roast, milk and ice and top it with whipped cream and honey sugar sprinkles, and you’ve got a taste that’ll truly take you to the land of milk and honey. 

Ingredients

Ice, Milk, Coffee Frappuccino Syrup [Sugar, Water, Salt, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid, Caramel Colour], Coffee, Whipped Cream [Cream (Cream, Milk, Mono And Diglycerides, Carrageenan), Vanilla Syrup (Sugar, Water, Natural Flavors, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid)], Caramelized Honey Sauce [Sugar, Heavy Cream, Water, Honey, Gum Acacia, Butter (Cream, Salt), Salt, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate], Caramelized Honey Topping [Cane Sugar, Natural Flavors, Fruit And Vegetable Colors (Pumpkin, Apple, Purple Carrot, Hibiscus), Salt, Honey, Baking Soda, Annatto].

Starbucks Caramelized Honey Frappuccino

      The Frappuccino was pretty good actually, and I enjoyed it a lot. It had slightly honey taste and pretty sweet but not overwhelming. Caramelized honey crumbs which looked similar to honey powder were sprinkled with on top of the whipped cream. I would like to try to make this Frappuccino at home even though I probably won't cook the sauce for 45 minutes. If I successfully make it, I will share the recipe with you through my blog and my YouTube Channel.

         My entries related to coffee can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/coffee

         My Starbucks entries can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Starbucks

         This is my entries related to our Starbucks collections.
 http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Starbucks%20mugs

How To Make Wafu Hamburg Steak - Japanese Style Salisbury Steak

       I always wanted to have hamburg steak, Japanese style Salisbury steak, for long time. Finally, I cooked this wafu hamburg steak for the first time in years last weekend! As I mentioned in my previous entry, My Top 15 Must Eat Foods in Japan, a Japanese hamburg steak (ハンバーグ) is one of my favorite Japanese foods.There are many kinds of hamburg steaks such as wafu (和風) and youfu (洋風). This time, I made wafu hamburg steaks which had garlic soy sauce flavor. It was so delicious! I wish I could eat it everyday!  By the way, wafu means Japanese style in Japanese. Wa (和) means Japanese or Japan, and fu (風) means style.  For instance, wafu pasta (和風パスタ) is a Japanese style pasta dish which is usually made of Japanese ingredients such as soy sauce and nori. Wafu shokki (和風食器) is traditional Japanese porcelain wares. Anyway, I'm going to share how to make wafu hamburg steaks with you. :)

How To Make Wafu Hamburg Steak - Japanese Style Salisbury Steak

◇Ingredients (8 Servings)◇
2 oz of panko, bread crumbs
4 oz of milk
1 lb of ground beef
1 lb of ground pork
1 onion (minced)
2 eggs (beaten)
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
2 teaspoons of sugar
nip of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

■Ingredients for Wafu Sauce■
1/2 lb of Japanese radish (grated)
4 cloves of garlic (grated)
1 inch of ginger (grated)
4 tablespoons of mirin
4 tablespoons of sake
5 tablespoons of soy sauce

      

1. Mix panko and milk.

2. Put the mixture, beef, pork, onion, egg, mayonnaise, sugar and salt and pepper into a stand mixture. Mix them for 5 minutes.

3. Make 8 oval hamburg patties.

4. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute them until they're browned on the both sides.

5. Take the hamburg steaks out from a pan (Be sure to leave the meat juice in the pan).

6. For Making Wafu Sauce : Put radish, garlic and ginger into the pan with meat juice. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add mirin, sake and soy sauce and simmer for another 3 minutes.

7. Serve the hamburg steaks on plates and top with wafu sauce.

8. Enjoy!

How To Make Wafu Hamburg Steak - Japanese Style Salisbury Steak

       These are also my entries you might like.

■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!)

■My Top 15 Must Eat Foods in Japan - My Favorite Japanese Foods

■Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

■How to Make Japanese Deep Fried Chicken, Kara-Age

■How to Cook Japanese Curry

■How to Cook Miso Soup

■8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Sweets


     This is my entries related to my favorite recipes.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

      This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking

     My entries related to Japan can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Japan

Jowh Woodward - Morning Blue

       A few days ago, I uploaded this video, How to Make Coffee Granita and Espresso Granita, on my YouTube channel. I used one of Josh Woodward's songs, Morning Blue, as background music this time. Today, I looked up vocabularies which I didn't know before from the lyrics.

Music - "Morning Blue" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/MorningBlue


Lyrics

I woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed
The hazy sunrise wraps a veil around my head
I can't get motivated, the swimming thoughts are drowning in my head
And if by some coincidence I do just what they said 

And the morning blue is warning you
This avalanche is storming through
In the dawn of the morning blue
Just take me away
 
The fire of failed reason, the rain of every season
The patriotic treason, the ringing of the bells
The avalanche of sorrow, the soul afraid to borrow
There is no day tomorrow, it's all about today

 [chorus] 

Just set me free and I will be 
Afraid enough to find it 
Take my hand or take a stand 
And I would never mind it 
Sit and stare or say a prayer 
For all you left behind 
Call on me, just never be 
The last one in the line

I woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed
I should have stayed in bed and slept all day instead
There ain't no profit in this day that lies ahead
These blurry images still echo in my head 

[chorus]



Today's Vocabularies

hazy 【 héizi 】 :  adjective :  ぼんやりした、もやのかかった

treason 【 tríːzn 】 : noun : 反逆、裏切り

motivated 【 móʊṭəveɪṭɪd 】

coincidence 【 kouínsidəns 】

blurry 【 blˈɚːri 】

    This is my entries related to my favorite songs.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/songs

How To Make French Fries from Scratch (with Dashida)

      Today, my husband made French fries from scratch.   He used dashida for seasoning them. Dashida is Korean beef flavor seasoning, and it's pretty useful. Indeed, I sometimes use it for seasoning for soup, fried rice and so on. I thought that the French fries he made were restaurant grade. :)  They were hot and tasted so great! I'm going to share how he made them with you.

Ingredients (2 Servings)

1 potato (peel and cut into sticks)
120 ml (4 fl oz) of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of dashida

1. Heat oil in a pan over high heat.

2. Deep-fry potatoes until fully cooked.

3. Serve and sprinkle with dashida.

4. Enjoy!


     This is my entries related to my favorite recipes.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

      This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking



       These are also my entries you might like.

■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!)

■Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

■How to Make Japanese Deep Fried Chicken, Kara-Age

■How to Cook Japanese Curry

■How to Cook Miso Soup

■8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Sweets

My Car Maintenance & Smog Check

    After I got my car in 2009, I made my car maintenance checklist because I should know when I'd better to get the parts replaced and the fluids exchanged. I don't want to get unnecessary part replacements, but I would like to keep my car in good condition to avoid any unexpected damages and troubles.
  
    According to my checklist, it's time to get my car's radiator fluid and break fluid exchanged. My husband told me that my car also needed the drive belt replacement. That's why we made appointment for those at Pep Boys yesterday. Soon after we did, I received the Vehicle Registration Renewal Notice from DMV that my car also needs smog check last night. I took my car to Pep Boys this morning and finished getting those done today. It cost $275.49 in total for radiator fluid replacement, break system inspection, break fluid replacement, the drive belt replacement and smog check.

How To Make Banana Bread with Panasonic Bread Maker

      As I mentioned in my previous entry, I have been tidying my home. I've been trying to get rid of my belongings which I won't use anymore. It's been a long while since I used this bread maker, Panasonic SD-RD 250, last time, so I thought that I should get rid of it. However, I still had some bread flour and yeast, so I decided to use them up before letting it go.

Panasonic SD-RD 250

      Yesterday, I made this banana bread with this bread maker. It was super good! It was fluffy and had buttery aroma. It also contained banana, raisins, sunflower seeds and walnuts. I thought it was seriously the best bread I've ever made!(Actually, the bread maker made it though.)  I just set the ingredients and pushed the button. I couldn't believe why I didn't use it for too long time.

     I still have some bread flour and yeast, so I would like to make it again soon. I probably should keep this bread maker, should I? :)   Anyway, I'm going to share the recipe with you. 

      Ingredients
250g (8oz) of bread flour
30g (1 oz) of sugar
3g (0.1 oz) of salt
30g (1 oz) of butter
2 bananas
30g (1oz) of milk
3g (0.1 oz) of yeast
2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons of walnuts
3 tablespoons of dried raisin


1. Set all ingredients in the bread maker, and push the button.

2. Enjoy!



     This is my entries related to my favorite recipe.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

      This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking

     My entries related to cleaning can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cleaning

Why Do You Love Japan?

     This month, I watched this YouTube video and thought it's very interesting. I have seen many foreign people live in Japan on YouTube and TV shows since I moved to the U.S.

"Why do you live in Japan?" 

Those are the stereotype of the answers.

I like Japan because...
   it's a beautiful country.
   I love the language.
   I love Japanese foods.
   it's very clean and safe.
   people in Japan are so polite.

      In this video, she additionally says that she felt that growing in Japan was right for her. She loves Canada, where she's from but cannot agree with the environment of drug and alcohol. She grew up in a small town in Canada until 18. Many teens went to parties, and some of them experienced those stuffs there. I sometimes heard that many parents in the U.S. are also worried about their teenage children taking drugs. She moved to Japan at age 18 and went to a Japanese high school. She finally felt right there. Students were enjoying after school activities such as sports, and they were really motivated. She and her friends hanged out at karaoke store, took purikura photos and went to cute cafes. I thought that those are somethings typical teens do in Japan. Indeed, when I was a high school student, I was very busy for study but also really enjoyed hanging out with my friends. We were really excited when we found new purikura machines and took purikura photos there. When we found a very affordable karaoke store, we enjoyed hanging out there and singing Japanese hit songs for many hours. We sometimes went to cafes and restaurants after school on Saturday and enjoyed talking and having delicious foods there. I grew up in a pretty small town in Japan, but I enjoyed my school life there. I have never met people who taking drugs in Japan. Drug problems are extremely rare in Japan.

     One of the reasons why I love Japan is that Japan has a very strict gun law. People in Japan cannot own a gun except for police officers. I think that's why Japan is one of the safest countries. This year, I watched Japanese TV news that the suspect held a hostage with a knife at a church in Japan. Police officers persuaded the suspect to release the hostage for hours and hours. Then, police with sasumata, which is a non-harming pole weapon, eventually went into the church and arrested the suspect. Actually, it was a huge news in Japan at that time. I thought that if the same thing had happened in the U.S., the suspect would have been shot by a police officer and would have been on a local news. In Japan, police solve most cases without using a deadly weapon. 

Sasumata and Shield

      I also have so many reasons why I love Japan, but now I live in the U.S. I had never imagined that I would live in U.S. until a year before I actually moved to U.S. It's been 8 years since I moved to this country. Japan and U.S. are obviously very different countries such as languages, cultures, laws and etc, but I love both countries now. I understand both languages. I think foods in Japan are much better to me, but in the U.S. I can easily afford many kinds of ingredients which I have never seen in Japan, so I can enjoy trying new recipes now. As I mentioned in my previous entry, unlike Japan, it's not easy for poor and middle class people to live in the U.S., but I enjoy finding smart ways to live here and trying new projects which I have never done in Japan. :) 

     My entries related to Japan can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Japan

       These are my entries you might like.

■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!)

■8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Sweets

■The Best Japanese Shampoo & Conditioner

■5 Best Japanese Hair Treatment / Mask Products

■Popular Japanese Facial Cleansing Products - What I Want to Buy in Japan

■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Daiso

Finished Reading the Book, Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not!

      I finally finished reading this book, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki, last night. I would like to recommend this book to anyone who lives in the U.S. :) It's pretty easy to read, and actually, I read it up faster than usually I do. I read it for 30 minutes to 1 hour a day, and it took me 5 days to finish reading it. However, I learned a lot from this book. I thought this was one of the most useful books. :) Nonetheless, this author's philosophy about job and finance is different from my belief because I believe that the one thing that more important than being rich is to find out what we love to do. I think people who have a job which they love also have fulfilling lives regardless of wealth and types of jobs. 

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not!

      I met many multimillionaires through my previous job in Japan, and I learned from them that the rich people care about an even small amount of money. They buy luxury things and services which most people can never afford, but they don't miss to get a discount even it were less than $10 worth of it. They donate a huge amount of money but don't pay for nothing. If you noticed that you dropped a penny from your pocket but didn't care about it because of a penny, you might be too loose with money. If you disrespected a small amount of money, I think you would loose more than you noticed.

      One of things I agreed with this book is about financial illiteracy. If your income increases, and you think that it's okay to spend more money for a house, a new car, and furniture and etc, you will never have money for asset. According to Kiyosaki, your own house and car are not assets, those are huge liability. Because your liability goes up, you have to work more and more to pay off your consumer loans, mortgage and etc. We should learn how we choose to spend the money we have.

    Anyway, I thought this book was worth more than I paid. :)

Rich Dad Poor Dad: 

What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not! 

Contents

Introduction Rich Dad Poor Dad

Lesson 1: The Rich Don't Work for Money

Lesson 2: Why Teach Financial Literacy?

Lesson 3: Mind Your Own Business

Lesson 4: The History of Taxes and the Power of Corporations

Lesson 5: The Rich Invent Money

Lesson 6: Work to Learn - Don't Work for Money

Overcoming Obstacles

Getting Started

Still Want More?

Final Thoughts

 
      Last week, I also ordered his second book, Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant, from Amazon. I hope I can receive it sooner than the previous book which it took me two weeks to receive.

      My entries related to books I read can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Books

How to Cook Savory Stir-fired Garlic Chicken and Avocado

      Last night, I cooked this avocado dish, stir-fried garlic chicken and avocado for dinner. It's very easy and tasted good! It had creamy avocado and savory garlic taste. Avocados are in season now, so they are fresh and inexpensive. :) I think chicken is the most affordable meat in the U.S. If you are looking for budget-friendly recipes, you should try this healthy and inexpensive meal. I'm going to share how to make it with you.

How to Cook Savory Stir-fired Garlic Chicken and Avocado

Ingredients (2 Servings)

1 lb of chicken (chopped)
nip of salt
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
3 tablespoons of potato starch
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 avocados (cut into bite sizes)
3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 teaspoon of grated wasabi (optional)
1 teaspoon of soy sauce



1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and soy sauce.

2. Add potato starch and mix them thoroughly.

3. Heat oil in a pan over high heat. Saute garlic and chicken until golden brown.

4. Add avocados and stir-fry them for 1 minute.

5. Add mayonnaise, wasabi and soy sauce. Stir-fry them for 3 minutes.

6. Serve and enjoy!

Savory Stir-fired Garlic Chicken and Avocado

    This is my entries related to my favorite recipes.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

      This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking



       These are also my entries you might like.

■How to Make Avocado Sashimi

■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!)

■Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

■How to Make Japanese Deep Fried Chicken, Kara-Age

■How to Cook Japanese Curry

■How to Cook Miso Soup

■8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Sweets

How to Make Sparkling Margarita

      A while ago, my husband bought a set of four bottles of Skinnygirl Margarita Original Skinny Mini because it was on clearance item at our local supermarket. It's margarita made of tequila and some flavor. However, he didn't really like it and has left three bottles in our panty since then. As we have been tidying our home, I thought that we should get rid of those or drink them up.

     Yesterday, we got Welch's Essence, sparkling orange pineapple juice, and decided to blend the margarita with it.

      It turned out be really great! I don't usually drink alcohol but really enjoyed having a glass of sparkling margarita. :) I'm going to share with you how we made it.

How to Make Sparkling Margarita

Ingredients (1 Serving)

1 fl oz of margarita
3 fl oz of sparkling juice


1. Blend all ingredients.

2. Enjoy!

Sparkling Margarita

     This is my entries related to my favorite recipe.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

      This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking

Deep-Fried Oysters, Kakifurai

     A week ago, my husband and I bought frozen oysters at a Korean supermarket. I made oyster soup with them last week. Tonight, he cooked deep-fried oysters, which are called kakifurai in Japanese. These were crunchy and creamy. We really loved them. We sometimes made kakifurai in winter when we lived in Japan. Oysters are in season in winter. :)  I'm going to share with you how he made it.

Deep-Fried Oysters, Kakifurai

Ingredients (2 Servings)

16 oysters
2 tablespoons of flour
1 egg (beaten)
4 tablespoons of bread crumbs (panko)
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
2 tablespoons of tonkatsu sauce

     

1. Lightly coat oysters with flour.

2. Dip them into beaten egg.

3. Coat them with bread crumbs.

4. Heat oil in a deep pan over high heat. Deep-fry them.

5. Enjoy! Put mayonnaise and tonkatsu sauce according to your taste. :)



     This is my entries related to my favorite recipe.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

      This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking

       These are also my entries you might like.

■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!)

■Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

■How to Make Japanese Deep Fried Chicken, Kara-Age

■How to Cook Japanese Curry

■How to Cook Miso Soup

■8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Sweets

Seal's Happy Smile!

      A week ago, I took this picture of a seal at La Jolla Cove in San Diego. Because I had Canon PowerShot SX50, I was able to take the picture with a 50x optical zoom. My husband really liked this adorable seal's smile and uses it as a wallpaper for his smartphone now. :) The seal looks very happy, doesn't she?

        My entries related to La Jolla can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/La%20Jolla%20Beach

 

How to Make Mabo Nasu

     This week, I cooked mabo nasu, stir-fired eggplant with ground pork and doubanjiang. Nasu means eggplant in Japanese. When I was in Japan, I loved mabo tofu and mabo nasu. It was very easy and tasted good! I'm going to share with you how to make it. I hope you can make it. :)

Mabo Nasu

Ingredients (4 servings)

1 inch of ginger
1/2 bulb of garlic
1/2 pound of pork
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of toubanjiang
3 eggplants (cut into bite sizes)
1 cup of water
1 teaspoon of potato starch (mixed with 3 tablespoons of water)
1/2 cup of green onions (finely chopped)


1. Put ginger and garlic into a food processor. Grind them. Then, add pork into it. Grind them.

2. Heat sesame oil into a pan over high heat. Stir-fry ground ginger, garlic and pork.

3. When pork is fully cooked, add toubanjiang.

4. Add eggplants and stir-fry them for 3 minutes.

5. Add water and cover the lid.

6. When eggplants are fully cooked, add potato starch mixed with water into a pan, and stir them thoroughly.

7. Serve and top with green onions.

8. Enjoy!



     This is my entries related to my favorite recipe.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

      This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking

       These are also my entries you might like.

■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!)

■Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

■How to Make Japanese Deep Fried Chicken, Kara-Age

■How to Cook Japanese Curry

■How to Cook Miso Soup

■8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Sweets

Seafood Mushroom?

       Last weekend, I found this mushroom at a Korean supermarket. It read, "Seafood Mushroom" and "シーフードキノコ" in Japanese. I have never seen seafood mushroom in Japan, so I decided to try this new mushroom for my first time. After coming back home, I searched about seafood mushroom in Japanese, but there was no information on Internet somehow. I also searched about it in English but only found a few information from some Chinese companies selling some kinds of mushrooms.

Seafood Mushroom

           Seafood mushroom looked like the bigger version of enoki mushroom. 

       I didn't have any idea how to cook it, so my husband cooked stir-fried seafood mushroom with spinach and bacon. It was pretty good. The seafood mushroom tasted like shimeji mushroom. :)

     This is my entries related to my favorite recipe.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

      This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking

       These are also my entries you might like.

■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!)

■Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

■How to Make Japanese Deep Fried Chicken, Kara-Age

■How to Cook Japanese Curry

■How to Cook Miso Soup

■8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Sweets

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not!

       About two weeks ago, I ordered this book, Rich Dad Poor Dad written by Robert T. Kiyosaki, from Amazon. Finally, I received it yesterday. :)

      The reason why I wanted to read this book was that I was interested in financial management from an American financial expert's perspective. It's because I often think that the way of think about money is very different between Japanese and American. I believe that living in Japan is much easier and secure because people are protected by Japanese governments. Medical fee is very affordable in Japan because governments pay 70% of medical fee in most of cases. I never felt that I wouldn't afford medical expense when I lived in Japan. Although governments are run by taxes which people must pay. That's why I felt that all people in Japan are equal. In fact, it is very safe to live everywhere in Japan.

      On the other hand, people in the U.S. always need to take responsibility for anything. Medical fee is super expensive, so we'd better to buy expensive insurances. There are more poor people and richer people in the U.S. than Japan. Richer people live in safer areas with great schools, but poor people live in pretty high crime areas. Obviously, living in U.S. is very hard for the poor and middle class people.

Rich Dad Poor Dad

       Last night, I started reading this book and have already learned a lot about money from it. Actually, I loved this book!

      The book says that the poor dad thought that the rich should pay more in taxes to take care of those less fortunate, but the rich dad says, "Taxes punish those who produce and reward those who don't produce." I used to think that rich people are paying more taxes.

       The poor dad says, "Our home is our largest investment and our greatest asset." The rich dad says, "My house is a liability, and if your house is your largest investment, you're in trouble." I often heard that owning your own house is the greatest investment in the U.S.       

Rich Dad Poor Dad

      At the very end of this book, I found the Donald J. Trump's photo which is for the advertisement of the book, Why We Want You to Be Rich. He looks very young in this photo.

      My entries related to books I read can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Books

Seal and Sea Lion Pupping Season in La Jolla

        As I mentioned in my previous entries, my husband and I went to San Diego and took a walk around La Jolla Cove. Because it's seal and sea lion pupping season, we were able to see some adorable pups there! I took pictures with my camera, Canon PowerShot SX50, which allows to take pictures with a 50x optical zoom. :)

       As you can see the photo above, so many seals were lying on beach.

Seals

Seals

Seal

Seal

Seal

Seal

Seals

Seal

      There were some groups of California sea lions resting on the rocky shore.

California Sea Lions

California Sea Lions

California Sea Lions

     At the La Jolla Cove, there were some mother sea lions with some small pups on the beach.

California Sea Lions

      I thought the biggest sea lion in this group was male. A male sea lion is usually larger than female and has a thicker neck.

California Sea Lions

California Sea Lions

California Sea Lions

California Sea Lions

      They were walking on all four legs on the beach.

California Sea Lions

California Sea Lions

California Sea Lion

California Sea Lions

       My entries related to La Jolla can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/La%20Jolla%20Beach