I write something on my blog to improve my English skill.
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I read local newspaper on a daily basis. This month, it read many juvenile grate white sharks has been spotted around many beaches in Orange county. They were juvenile, but the largest was estimated at 10 feet-in-length. Last Monday, two beaches in Dana Point were closed because a 10-feet shark has been seen. Last weekend, my husband and I went to Newport Beach Pier and hoped to see great white sharks.
Needless to say, we didn't see any sharks from the pier that day. ;) If you go to Dana Point for whale watching tour, you can perhaps find great white sharks during the tour.
Many people were fishing and caught mackerels at the pier.
We also went to our favorite donuts store, Seaside Bakery, which is located near Newport Beach Pier.
We got a lot of fresh donuts holes. They were only $1.50! :)
Seaside Bakery 2108 W Oceanfront Newport Beach, CA 92663
Yesterday, my husband made BBQ sandwiches with using Kirkland Signature Einstein Bros Bagels, sliced onions and pork. I don't know how he made BBQ sauce but these sandwiches were so good! I've eaten foods he cooked since we were teenagers, and his cooking skill has been improving year after year. I think he cooks better than I do especially sandwiches and Japanese noodles. You can check out my previous entries related to what my husband cooked. :)
Many years ago, my Taiwanese friend asked me if I eat fish and miso soup every morning because she watched Japanese TV shows and Japanese serial drama which showed Japanese people eat those for breakfast. Yes, some traditional Japanese hotels, which called ryokan (旅館) in Japanese, serve traditional Japanese style breakfast including miso soup and broiled fish. However, in real life, Japanese people don't eat fish as often as she thought. Although some people in Japan eat miso soup every morning. When I was a child, my family had miso soup almost everyday, but we only ate fish several times a month. Actually, now I usually eat bread for breakfast, but sometimes I feel like eating something traditional Japanese style breakfast once in a while. That's why I had fresh white rice with these for breakfast yesterday (but no fish and miso soup this time). I'm going to share what I had for breakfast yesterday with you.
The soup was instant matsutake soup, which my mother-in-law sent to me from Japan. By the way, matsutake is Japanese mushrooms which grow under trees of Japanese pine.
Instant Matsutake Soup
I just added hot water into it.
It was so delicious and had excellent matsutake aroma! :) It had sliced matsutake and mitsuba leaves.
Matsutake Soup
I also had simmered zenmai which I cooked last Saturday. Zenmai is a Japanese flowering fern, which is edible wild vegetable and eaten in some Asian countries including Japan. You can check out my previous entry, How to Cook Simmered Zenmai, Japanese Flowering Fern.
My mother-in-law sent takanazuke, Japanese mustard leaf pickles, to me. Yesterday, I cooked takanazuke. I really love takanazuke because it was perfect with fresh steamed white rice. :) You can check out my yesterday's entry, How to Prepare Takanazuke, Japanese Mustard Leaf Pickles.
It was light breakfast. It was one serving of white rice with just one cup of soup, a side dish, a small amount of pickles and green tea. It's just perfect enough for breakfast.
As I mentioned in my previous entry, Packages From My Mother-In-Law - They Are From Japan!, my mother-in-law sent takanazuke (たかな漬, 高菜漬) to my husband and me from Japan. Takanazuke is Japanese mustard leaf pickles and is perfect with steamed white rice. In Fukuoka, where is my hometown, takanazuke is famous local pickles and also popular tonkotsu ramen topping. When I was a child, my grandmother used to make takanazuke from scratch. Even though I don't know how to pickle takana leaves, I can purchase takanazuke at supermarkets. I didn't learn how to prepare takanazuke from her, but I saw how she was doing it while I was a child. :) Today, I'm going to share how to prepare takanazuke with you.
Tonight, I cooked chikuzenni and simmered zenmai (ゼンマイの煮物), which is one of my favorite Japanese side dishes. Zenmai is Japanese flowering fern, which is edible wild vegetable and eaten in some Asian countries including Japan. You can find boiled zenmai at Japanese and Korean supermarkets. By the way, I bought it for about $3 at Korean supermarket. Anyway, today, I'm going to share how to cook simmered zenmai with you.
Ingredients
1 lb of boiled zenmai (cut them into 1 to 2 inches length)
1/2 cups of carrot (cut them into strips)
1 pack of konnyaku noodles (cut them into 1 to 2 inches length)
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of sake
6 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 dried red pepper (cut them finely)
1 tablespoon of oil
Boiled Zenmai (Cut them into 1 to 2 inches length.)
Konnyaku Noodles (Cut them into 1 to 2 inches length.)
Carrots (Cut them into strips.)
Dried Red Pepper (Cut them finely.)
1. Heat the oil and dried red pepper in a pan over high heat.
2. Add zennmai, konnyaku noodles and carrots. Stir-fry them for 5 minutes.
3. Add sugar and stir thoroughly.
4. Add sake and soy sauce. Simmer it until until water evaporates.
My husband and I have been collecting Starbucks You Are Here Collection Mugs which are only released locally. When he was on his business trip last week, he purchased this Starbucks You Are Here Collection Twin Cities Mug at Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was his first time to visit Minnesota, and I've never visited there. According to Wikipedia, Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a major metropolitan area built around the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in east central Minnesota. The area is commonly known as the Twin Cities after its two largest cities, Minneapolis, the city with the largest population in the state, and Saint Paul, the state capital. Anyway, I'm going to share this Starbucks Twin Cities mug with you.
As I mentioned in my previous entry, Packages From My Mother-In-Law - They Are From Japan!,
my mother-in-law sent some beautiful flower photos to me from Japan. Three years
ago, she took me to roadside station Koibotaru, which is located in
Fukuoka, where is my hometown. I was amazed at how beautiful flowers there are.
She told me, "I didn't know how much you love flowers!" I always enjoy seeing beautiful flowers, wild plants and animals.
Because she knows I really love flowers, she took these photos for me
and added them to the package. She uses her smart phone and digital camera, but she has never used a PC. I think that she didn't know how to
send these pictures, which were taken with her digital Camera, to me
through email. In old days, I also didn't know how to do this. I
traveled a lot and took numerous photos in Japan. I had photos developed
at stores and kept them in photo album cases. Indeed, my husband and I have a ton of photos in a closet in my parents-in-law's house in Japan. Next time, we visit their house, we will bring those photos to the U.S., and I want to share those photos through my blog. That's why I was looking for information on how to turn old photos into digital ones. I finally found that Google created an excellent App, Google PhotoScan! When my mother-in-law sent these photos I immediately thought that I should download the App! I was finally able to get her flower photos digital! It was quick and very easy! If you are looking for a photo scanner, you should try this App!
