I write something on my blog to improve my English skill.
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My husband cooked really delicious steaks for dinner about weeks ago, so I asked him how to make such a perfect steaks because I saw that he was making hot water in a large pan and used a thermometer to check water temperature. I wondered why he used hot water and the thermometer to cook steaks. He told me that he found this video and tried the recipe. This video shows the best way to cook a steak. We used to find it difficult to cook a steak with very thick beef, but now we can cook perfect doneness steaks because of this video!
This video shows how to cook steaks with sous vide, which is a cooking method in which food is sealed in airtight plastic bags then placed in a hot water bath. We don't have an immersion circulator, which is usually needed for this method, but he tried this recipe with using hot water and thermometer. Sous vide method takes more time to make steaks than a traditional way, but it's really worth your time. You can make truly delicious and perfect doneness steaks!
I found that Sprouts was having on sale for aged beef for $2.99 this week! I think it's the most inexpensive price for beef. We bought some beef at our local Sprouts yesterday, and he cooked steaks with the sous vide method again tonight!
The steaks were so good and perfect! Indeed, I thought they were restaurant quality steaks. :)
If you would like to try to cook perfect steaks with sous vide method. You might want to check out this really cool kitchen device which connects to your smart phone!
Last week, I found these Heart Sugar Cookies at my local Starbucks. I thought these cookies were so cute since these had XOXO sign. :) If you have a sweet tooth, I think that they will be perfect small treats for your Valentine's Day.
Starbucks Heart Sugar Cookies
They were also selling some Valentine's Day mugs and tumblers.
I thought this ceramic double wall traveler is also so cute. This is also part of Starbucks Valentine's Day Collection and only available online now.
Last weekend, my husband and I wen to Whole Foods because beef was on sale for $6.99 per pound. It's time to have steaks for dinner. :) (By the way, their eggs are always pretty affordable and very fresh. A bunch of red kale leaves was on sale too.)
As I mentioned in my previous entry, we love Whole Foods meats because very high quality.
He cooked this steak for dinner. It was seriously good! :)
This week, I cooked chin-jao rōsu, which is Japanese Chinese cuisine, for dinner. It is a stir-fired dish consists of green bell pepper and pork. It is similar to pepper steak, a Chinese American dish. While beef is used for pepper steak, in this Japanese version of chin-jao rōsu the meat used is usually pork. I always keep some pork and gingers in my freezer, and when I find that bell peppers are on sale, I will cook chin-jao rōsu for dinner. :) It's very easy to make, and I think that most people love chin-jao rōsu! I'm going to share how to make it with you.
How to Cook Chin-Jao Rōsu
Ingredients (4 Servings)
1 lb of pork (thinly sliced)
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of sake
nip of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoons of potato starch
2 green bell pepper (thinly sliced)
1 onion (sliced)
1 bunch of green onion (cut in an inch)
1 inch of ginger (thinly sliced)
1. Marinate pork with soy sauce, sake, salt, pepper, oil and potato starch.
2. Heat oil in a pan, and stir-fry green bell pepper and onion until the onion is translucent. Then remove them from the pan.
3. Stir-fry green onion and ginger until they are aromatic.
4. Add marinated pork, and stir-fry them until pork is fully cooked.
5. Add green bell pepper and onion, and stir-fry them for 3 minutes or so.
Last night, I made this broccoli coleslaw as a side dish for dinner. This salad contained broccoli stems, carrots, corns, tuna and sunflower seeds, so it was very nutritious! Roasted sunflower seeds are my current favorite foods because it's so delicious and nutritious. It add crunchy texture in my meals. This coleslaw was very easy to make in just 5 minutes, so I'm going to share how to make it with you.
Ingredients (4 Servings)
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 teaspoon of vinegar
1 teaspoon of sugar
10 oz of shredded broccoli stem and carrot (I bought a pack of Organic Broccoli Slaw at Trader Joe's.)
1 can of corn
1 can of tuna
2 tablespoons of roasted sunflower seeds.
1. Mix mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar in a bowl thoroughly.
2. Add broccoli, carrot, corn and tuna in it. Stir them thoroughly.
Last Sunday, I uploaded this video, How to Brew Coffee with Bodum Pour Over Coffee Maker. This time, I used Perfect, one of Josh Woodward's songs, as background music. Today, I looked up some vocabularies I didn't know before from the lyrics.
Yesterday, I finally uploaded this video, How to Brew Coffee with Bodum Pour Over Coffee Maker. Brewing coffee with this coffee maker is not as simple as French press coffee maker, but I like coffee brewed with this one because it tastes the best seriously. :) If you love coffee black, you should try Bodum Pour Over Coffee Maker. You can also enjoy natural coffee oil. :)
I would like to make more DIY coffee videos. Indeed, I have many lists which are what I would like to make videos about next. I wish I could have more time to film and edit videos. Hopefully, I will upload videos every 2 to 3 weeks this year.
Tonight, my husband cooked Japanese chicken and egg bowl, which is called oyakodon in Japanese. Oyakodon is one of my favorite Japanese foods. :) He used powder broth made for Japanese bowl, Higashimaru Chotto Donburi. You can make oyakodon very easily with using the Japanese powder broth. You can probably find the powder broth at any Japanese supermarkets in Japan and U.S. I'm going to share how to make oyakodon with you.
Oyakodon
Ingredients (2 servings)
1/2 pound of chicken (chopped)
1 onion (sliced)
1 pack of Higashimaru Chotto Donburi
200 ml of water
2 eggs (beaten)
2 servings of steamed rice
3 tablespoons of green onion (sliced)
1. Put chicken, onion, Chotto Donburi and water into a pan. Bring to a boil.
2. When chicken and onion is cooked, turn off the heat. Add beaten egg and cover the lid for a few minutes.
3. Serve steamed rice in a blow.
4. Serve them onto rice. Garnish with green onion.
Today, my husband and I went to Whole Foods to try Allegro espresso drink because their 12 oz cup of espresso drinks was on sale for 99 cents!
Allegro Coffee Bar at Whole Foods
Because we can make most espresso drinks at home such as cappuccino, macchiato and latte, it was pretty hard to choose. We finally decided to try their Dark Chocolate Mocha.
Allegro Coffee Bar at Whole Foods
This Dark Chocolate Mocha was not too sweet and had decent bitter dark chocolate tastes. :) I liked it! :)
Allegro Coffee Dark Chocolate Mocha at Whole Foods
I have uploaded DIY related to coffee videos both in English and Japanese periodically since
last year. I uploaded this video, How to Brew Bulletproof Coffee, last May.
Japanese Version
Bulletproof Coffee is the invention of Dave Asprey, who is a founder of Bulletproof Executive. It's the lowest toxin and highest performance coffee. This coffee is made of organic coffee, grass-fed butter and coconut oil. Using butter and oil for coffee was pretty new in Japan back then. I wondered how it tastes and made this video. After several months, some Japanese articles regarding to Bulletproof Coffee started coming up in Japan occasionally. Soon after I found those articles on Yahoo Japan, a number of views of this video increased because nobody made Bulletproof Coffee DIY video in Japanese back then. In the U.S., all ingredients for Bulletproof Coffee are easy to obtain at most supermarkets. However, when I uploaded this video, it's very hard to find grass-fed butter and coconut oil in Japan. Some coconut oil was only found on online shopping sites, but grass-fed butter was almost impossible to find in Japan. That's why when I uploaded it, I thought most people in Japan wouldn't be interested in this video. However, now I can find many different products of grass-fed butter on Amazon Japan! (All products of grass-fed butter in Japan are still incredibly expensive though. Indeed, those are 7 times more expensive than ones sold in U.S.!) Many people who reviewed on those grass-fed butter wrote that they bought grass-fed butter for making Bulletproof Coffee. I found that books written by Dave Asprey in Japanese was also getting popular. I didn't expect that people in Japan would be so interested in Bulletproof Coffee! I was also surprised that some people reviewed that this coffee actually worked to reduce their weight!
These days, I have brewed coffee with Bodum Pour Over Coffee Maker every morning. This coffee maker has the permanent stainless steel mesh filter, which allows oils in the coffee beans to come through, so you can enjoy pure and rich coffee taste. Compared to French Press, brewing coffee with this coffee maker is not very simple. It's very important to know that how much hot water you pour at a time. If you pour excessive hot water, the coffee will taste like water. It's because water easily come through stainless mesh filter compared to paper filter. However, once you brew coffee the right way, you can enjoy an excellent cup of coffee with natural coffee oil. :) I'm going to share with you how to brew coffee with it.
How to Brew Coffee with Bodum Pour Over Coffee Maker
I uploaded this video, How to Brew Coffee with Bodum Pour Over Coffee Maker. :)
1. Grind coffee beans. Ideal grounds are medium coarse. Use ration of 7g (1 rounded tbs) of coffee beans to 125 ml (4oz) of hot water. I usually use 40g of coffee beans for 700 ml of coffee.
2. Set the stainless mesh cone filter.
3. Fill the cone with fresh grounds.
4. Pour hot water, only enough to saturate the grounds initially. Then, wait for 30 seconds.
5. Slowly pour hot water in circular motion over the grounds. The water level should be just slightly above the grounds. Be sure not to pour too much hot water. Repeat this step several times.
6. Remove the filter.
7. Insert the lid. (I don't usually use the lid though.)
Today, I listened to Jump, one of Madonna's songs. This song was also used as background music in my all-time favorite movie, The Devil Wears Prada. I didn't know that the promotion video of this song was shot in Japan!
Lyrics There's only so much you can learn in one place The more that I wait, the more time that I waste I haven't got much time to waste It's time to make my way I'm not afraid of what I'll face But I'm afraid to stay I'm going down my road and I can make it alone I'll work and I'll fight till I find a place of my own [Chorus] Are you ready to jump Get ready to jump Don't ever look back oh baby Yes, I'm ready to jump Just take my hand get ready to jump We learned out lesson from the start My sisters and me The only thing you can depend on Is your family Life's gonna drop you down like the limbs from a tree It sways and it swings and it bends until it makes you see [Chorus] Are you ready? There's only so much you can learn in one place The more that you wait The more time that you waste I'll work and I'll fight till I find a place of my own It sways and it swings and it bends until you make it your own I can make it alone [repeat] (my sisters and me) [Chorus X2]
I have read online local news on a daily basis since last year. I used to believe that I was living in one of the safest cities in the U.S. However, now I think that I need to be always careful because it's not as safe as Japan. According to local news, shooting, stabbing, burglary, robbery, hit-and-run accidents and etc happen in the county where I live right now. If any of these happens in Japan, it will be considered as a huge crime and broadcasted nationally (not locally). Since I didn't usually watch local TV, I didn't know what happened in this county. Specifically, I was surprised that gun related crimes happen almost every week. Shooting sometimes happens at malls, national parks and even on highways! Because people here are able to get guns much easier than Japan (People in Japan are not allowed to own a gun except for police officers), a number of crimes is much higher than Japan. If nobody owns any deadly weapon, they don't have to threaten people with using guns to get money or take away someones' lives. Even if they are not trying to kill anybody, they will break into someone's house or store and take money with showing a gun easily. I am also surprised at a number of crimes related to burglary here. It also sometimes happens in my city, which is always ranked one of the safest cities in the U.S. I know it's a very controversial issue, and some people believe that the U.S. needs to protect the right to own a gun for defending. However, I don't think so. I think that people should never own a gun. Never!
Last weekend, I bought Sprouts never frozen chicken breast. My husband and I love their never frozen chicken. It tastes always very delicious. It's soft and very fresh. I cooked an easy fried chicken with it. Just season chicken with salt and pepper. Then, coat it with potato starch. Fry the chicken with just a little oil until both sides turn golden brown. Finally, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy! :)
Today, my husband and I went to Newport Pier to take a walk and enjoy ocean breeze. It had been almost a year since we went there last time.
Newport Pier
Newport Pier
Newport Beach
This time, we decided to walk barefoot on the sand at the beach. It was a pretty cold day, but touching sand with my bare feet was very relaxing, and I really enjoyed walking there.
Newport Beach
We also enjoyed watching the sunset over the sea. The beautiful sunset glow reflected off the water at the beach. :)))
It's been over a month since these orchids were brought to our home. The orchids also had some flower buds which have fallen off eventually, but flowers are still as beautiful as a month ago. I wonder how long orchids bloom last.
All flowers are perfectly fresh and beautiful! :)))
Today, I watched ER and found this catchy song, I'm A Poached Egg Without Toast. I found that this song was also used in Kiss Me, Stupid, an American comedy film in 1964.
Lyrics
I'm a poached cake without a piece of toast Yorkshire pudding without a beef to roast I'm a haunted house that hasn't got a ghost When I'm without you I'm a mousetrap without a piece of cheese I'm Vienna without the Viennese I'm Da Vinci without the Mona Lisa I'm skies without blue When you don't hang around on my kangaroo without a hop When will you show me that as Romeo you're not a flop I'm Western without a hitching ghost I'm a network without a coast-to-coast Just a poached egg without a piece of toast Each time I'm without you I am Venice without a gondolier Or Milwaukee without a glass of beer Could be Switzerland without a mountaineer When I'm without you A Columbus without Queen Isabel Neiman Marcus without a pin to sell Mr. Hilton with only one hotel I'm What can I do? Each time you wander hindering a yonder don't know where I'm at I only know I'm lonely if so I'm here to tell you that I'm a girlfriend without pantyhose Any egghead who had me diagnose Has a poached egg without a piece of toast? Each time I'm without you I'm a poached egg
Last night, I cooked chikuzenni, simmered vegetables with chicken. Chickenni is a local dish of Southern Japan, where is my home town. If you would like to cook it, you can check my previous entries.
As I mentioned in my previous entry, my all-time favorite movie is The Devil Wears Prada. I've recently found that some of background songs of this movie are songs of Madonna. I know that Madonna is one of the most well known American singers in the world, but I didn't know this song, Vogue, was sung by Madonna!
Lyrics
Strike a pose Strike a pose Vogue, vogue, vogue Vogue, vogue, vogue Look around everywhere you turn is heartache It's everywhere that you go (look around) You try everything you can to escape The pain of life that you know (life that you know) When all else fails and you long to be Something better than you are today I know a place where you can get away It's called a dance floor, and here's what it's for, so [Chorus:] Come on, vogue Let your body move to the music (move to the music) Hey, hey, hey Come on, vogue Let your body go with the flow (go with the flow) You know you can do it All you need is your own imagination So use it that's what it's for (that's what it's for) Go inside, for your finest inspiration Your dreams will open the door (open up the door) It makes no difference if you're black or white If you're a boy or a girl If the music's pumping it will give you new life You're a superstar, yes, that's what you are, you know it [chorus, substituting "groove" for "move"] Beauty's where you find it Not just where you bump and grind it Soul is in the musical That's where I feel so beautiful Magical, life's a ball So get up on the dance floor [chorus] Vogue, (Vogue) Beauty's where you find it (move to the music) Vogue, (Vogue) Beauty's where you find it (go with the flow) Greta Garbo, and Monroe Deitrich and DiMaggio Marlon Brando, Jimmy Dean On the cover of a magazine Grace Kelly; Harlow, Jean Picture of a beauty queen Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire Ginger Rodgers, dance on air They had style, they had grace Rita Hayworth gave good face Lauren, Katherine, Lana too Bette Davis, we love you Ladies with an attitude Fellows that were in the mood Don't just stand there, let's get to it Strike a pose, there's nothing to it Vogue, vogue Oooh, you've got to Let your body move to the music Oooh, you've got to just Let your body go with the flow Oooh, you've got to Vogue
Have you ever tried Japanese facial lotions before? Japanese facial lotions are called kesho-sui(化粧水) in Japanese. The texture of Japanese facial lotions is usually just like water. (It's not creamy at all.) You might think that Japanese facial lotions are more like toner. While toner is usually swiped on your skin with facial cotton, you can apply Japanese facial lotion with hands or cotton, and just gently pat into your skin until absorbed. Japanese facial lotion is used to hydrate skin, and then you are supposed to use milky or creamy lotion, which is called nyueki(乳液) in Japanese, in order to keep moisture in your skin from evaporating. When I moved to the U.S. from Japan, I was surprised that women apply creamy lotion right after washing their face. I believe that most women in Japan apply Japanese facial lotion (kesho-sui) before applying creamy lotion (nyueki).
Today, I'm going to share top 5 most popular Japanese facial lotion, kesho-sui, with you. All of them I listed below can be purchased at drugstores in Japan. If you are planing on traveling Japan, you should check them out there. :)
Sekkisei is a skincare brand of Kose, which is one of biggest cosmetic companies in Japan. Kose first started selling Sekkisei products in 1985, and since then, its lotion has been one of the most popular skin care products in Japan. Indeed, it was selected the best skin care lotion awards by many Japanese beauty magazines and cosmetic review sites. This lotion brightens and moisturize your skin. Although Sekkisei is pretty high-end brand, you can find ones at any drugstores in Japan.
Hada Labo is a skincare brand of Rohto, which is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Japan. Rohto was established in 1949 and started selling Hada Labo products in 2004. Hada Labo skincare products contain hyaluronic acid, which retains moisture in your skin. When they started selling Hada Labo at drugstores in Japan, I had never heard about hyaluronic acid. Moreover, I used to think that Rohto was a manufacturer of commercial medicine such as eye drops. (By the way, Rohto Lycee is pretty popular eye drop for women in Japan.) That's why it was pretty surprising that they started introducing beauty products to the market. However, their skincare products became very popular and was selected the second best skin care lotion award by @cosme. I used to purchase Hada Labo Light Lotion when I lived in Japan. :)
Hatomugi Skin Conditioner is very inexpensive lotion. Yet, this lotion is loved by so many Japanese people. Because of its low price, you can use a plenty of it at a time. Many Japanese women suggest to use it for facial mask. You can put it in facial cotton or facial mask sheet, and leave it on your face for 3 to 10 minutes. You can watch this video, how to use Hatomugi Skin Conditioner as a facial mask.
According to Nameraka Honpo, this Tonyu Isoflavone Lotion has been sold every 5 seconds in Japan, and one in three Japanese women in 20s has used this lotion. In addition, 80,000,000 bottles of this lotion have been sold in Japan since 2004. It contains Isoflavone which improves women's skins.
Senka is a skincare brand of Shiseido. This Shiseido Senka White Beauty Lotion from Serum is pretty popular in Japan and was selected the best skincare product award in 2011 by @cosme. It is inexpensive but brightens your skin well. By the way, I love their cleansing, Shisedo Senka Perfect Whip.
I have tried so many Japanese lotions before, and now my favorite one is Muji Toning Water. (Yes, its name is toning water but is sold as kesho-sui.) Muji lotion is also affordable in Japan and hydrates my skin well. I didn't list it above because Muji skincare products cannot be found at drugstores in Japan. If you love to try Muji lotion, you can find it at Muji branches and FamilyMart convenience stores in Japan. :)
