Familiar shape?

Thu, 30 October 2008

I know i have talked about these mushrooms before. But anyway, these are a taste of autumn here in Japan. They are called "Matsutake" and the most expensive mushrooms because they are very scarce and only available in Autumn. I guess being raised in a family that values traditions and seasons curses me. Because I feel like I'd be missing something if I hadn't had these before winter comes!!! Oh well. Anyway, I bought these 4 mushrooms today at the department store and they were 16,000 Yen = US$162.42 = 123.93 Euros (yes, Japanese Yen is stronger against those currencies due to crazy financial situation). I know it's ridiculous and if you buy less aromatic Matsutake, the cost is reasonable but a good quality is always a key. I do understand many of you are very familiar with the shape of these mushrooms. But please don't get too excited by looking at these at grocery store. These should be cooked in soup or grilled over charcoal. Since my guy came home early tonight, I fixed these and other traditional autumn Japanese dishes for dinner. Surprisingly, none of us mentioned or joked about these mushrooms' shapes. I like real ones. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos after cooking as I was very lazy and tired today. When I was single and felt tired, I didn't cook but I almost do it everyday now. I totally believe cooking is worth it when someone who can appreciate it is present :) Anyway, I hope you are having a great autumn if where you are has one :) Happy Autumn!

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It's a hot spot :)

Thu, 16 October 2008

This is my Sunday and I will have to go back to work tomorrow. Oh well. Anyway, I did usual stuff today. laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping and I thought I'd show you my grocery shopping. :) Anyway, I wish you a wonderful weeeknd!

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Late Spring/Early Summer lunch.

Tue, 8 May 2007

since I am not working, I guess I happen to cook by myself more often than ever. This is very reasonable for sure. But sometimes, I enjoy gorgeous lunch outside with friends or family :-).... Anyway....you have a gorgeous day!!!!

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Peach Festival. :-)

Mon, 5 March 2007

For those who sent me e-mail to see how I was doing, aren't you sweet? If there was a way to deliver kisses over the Internet, I would :-) Thank you! It's been crazy weeks as I had to go to Boston for 24 hours. Just 24 freaking hours!!! Anyway, things should be less crazy as I will quit my work soon. Yay. You have a good week!

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Soup on the very first day of spring :-)

Mon, 5 February 2007

It was the first day of Spring here in Japan yesterday. Yes, according to the calendar, it's Spring! I guess we won't see snow this winter here in Tokyo. But I am very much looking forward to spring as I can see this

After quitting my work, I really really have to train myself to be a good husband. I'd love to be a fantabulous husband. Or am I too dreaming? This was awesome! have a fantabulous week!!

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I am lousy but do it anyway.

Fri, 22 September 2006

I know it's after midnight but I made it as a Friday post. Anyway, IIt's been awhile since I did this category "To be a good husband". I'd love to be a great husband but then there are things to do. I wish there was a "how to be a great husband" preparatory school or something... Even if I might end up living alone forever, I'd like to have other options available. You have a super fantabulous weekend!

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Long way to go

Mon, 7 November 2005

Correction: Thanks, Paul. I obviously can't spell "scarf". (T_T)I've been busy as usual. I sold my soul to the corporate devil long time ago. I finished delivering bad news to people who have to go by the end of this year. I tried to make it as less shocking as possible but it's bad news however you say it. I shouldn't have but I suggested them to call some of the job agencies I know of..... Anyway, let's just hope I won't get stabbed out of nowhere... Better yet, it's really not great to stay at this company anymore as there will be tons of work with less staff. On a different note, I had been wanting this gray nice skirf Scarf as the winter is on its way. But I couldn't find it anywhere. A nice cable stiched gray skirf Scarf with lamb wool. I haven't knitted for a very long time. The last time I knitted was like when I was 22 years old. 8 years ago (did I just say that?) I know I've been busy and I think I am stupid to make this decision but since I really want that skirf, I decided to knit myself. I wouldn't come up with this idea unless I started blogging this year. As some of blog friends knit brilliantly. Why not give it a try? I think this is so wrong as I can barely afford my time. I went to this handicrafts shop to pick up 5 balls of wool. (4000 yen!!! = U.S. $ 34.26 = 28.39 Euros!!!) Darn, it'd better be a damn nice skirf Scarf. Well, if I can do this, I can be a better husband. :-) At this point, I have no intention to be in a realtionship. um.. there is no legitimate reason to say so but I feel it's a nice skill to have. Alrighty, tonight, I will just knit 10 rows. Wish me luck on having this done by the end of this year! Happy Monday!

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No Wrinkles

Sat, 1 October 2005

I got back home at 10 in the morning (!!!) because of too many assignments I had to deal with at work. yeah, I know it's crazy but that's alright. I am doing this by my choice and this doesn't last forever. Anyway, I took a nap and went shopping for groceries. Then, I bought a nice clothes iron because the old one gave up on me awhile ago. The new one is cordless. It's supposed to be very good according to the sales guy. The thing is that I seriously hate ironing anything. I am not good at doing the ironing. Really. So I used to go to this dry cleaning place and let them do my clothes instead. However, I decided to be more budget concious since I spent too much money on the vacation. The cordless part would make me feel easier than it should be.... I hope... I hope there is a class for Ironinng 101 or something. Is there? 'd better be good at this. I mean it would be so kewl if I could iron my work shirts quickly and brilliantly with just a smile. However, if I do it now, it takes me more than 30 minutes to get things done with this stressful wrinkles on my face..... I need to be better at it to be a good husband.... I am sure it will take awhile..... Wish me luck! Have a briilliant weekend, guys!

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It won't make you cry.

Wed, 24 August 2005

I am pretty sure this has become common already. But why not give it a shot here for today's post? Even though I don't like cooking (Yeah, it's my cliche), I make dressing for salads. My favorite dressing I usually make is Wasabi Dressing. When you think of Wasabi, you might think it might be too spicy and make you cry. Well, if it dissolves in some liquid, the spiciness gets softer and the taste of it turns out to be very refreshing. If you use a fresh real Wasabi, that would be perfect though it's way too expensive to get them so I use a tubed wasabi. I bet this can be purchased at the supermarket in the Asian Food section. You could use those Wasabis you could get from Sushi place. But a tubed one is better. Here's my recipe. This is for 4 persons. I usually make more and pour it into a bottle though.

Wasabi	a half tablespoon	Olive or Salad Oil	1 and a half tablespoons
Wine vinegar	1 and a half tablespoons	Soy Sauce	a half tablespoon
Salt	a pinch/very little

Well, as I am lazy, I don't really measure things except for this. It doesn't have to be precise at all so you can have more wasabi if you want. Mix these up! If you don't like it too sour or if you want it as an Italian style, you can use lemon juice or grapefruit juice as a substitute for vinegar. This dressing can be a great dip for fried chicken. It will make fried stuff less oily. When you are at the supermarket next time, please consider Wasabi and give it a try. But I wouldn't recommend it if you hate it. Wasabi is proved to reduce the risk of blood clots. Not bad, is it? Anyway, I really want to be a good husband but making great dressing would help? I doubt it.... Happy Wasabi Time!!!

Posted by Shigeki at 08:31 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)

To make it happier

Thu, 11 August 2005

As I said before, I was told I wouldn't be a great husband material according to some friends. It's true. I seriously "hate" laundry. I would kill myself for cleaning. I detest cooking. In my defence, being a great chef doesn't mean he is a great husband. However, it's nice to be good at it. I don't cook myself at all because I usually have dinner/lunch outside. The only time I cook is when I host home parties in my apartment. But it only happens once a month or every other month. I happened to think why I hate cooking so much? It takes time. My hands get messy. It's not fun at all. It occurred to me if I made it more interesting, I "might" like doing it. Since I like drawing, I thought I was going to consider it drawing. I got up early this morning so I killed my time with this. This is my lunch for today. The yellow stuff is scrambled eggs. The brown stuff is chicken flakes which I made from scratch. The white face part is a sunny side up egg. A mane part is a sausage. So is the tail. Oh, in case you didn't notice, I tried to make it a lion. These are all laid out over steamed rice. I thought this lunchbox was little too childish. I guess it may be spooky to have this "cute" lunch for almost a 30 year old guy. But then it was fun. I didn't feel any pain like I usually do for cooking. Because this one doesn't have veggies, I had to buy a V8 like drink. If I had a husband to fix lunch for, it would be more fantastic but I am still practicing. It will take awhile. Happy lunch, everybody!

Posted by Shigeki at 08:54 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)

To be a good husband.

Tue, 2 August 2005

First of all, I added a link to Bjørn from Norway. It's interesting to peep at the country I have never been to. And I so fell in love with Andreas for 5 mins. Nice post, Bjørn

This is the photo of one of the favorite shirts for this year. I created another category. I barely use a dryer to dry my laundry. I like them dried naturally. I was told by several people that I wouldn't be a great husband at all. I hope that's not true. One of the reasons why they said that is that I hate folding clothes. It's so irritating and I even hate ironing clothes!! That's the worst part of housekeeping for me. Well, the worst part could be cooking, actually. Since I hate folding/ironing clothes, it was such a relief when I watched this for the first time. They usually show you some tips on the TV show. As the tips on the show are so unique and uncommon, they call them "hidden techniques". I was very impressed at how quickly they could fold their clothes!! It takes some time to master this but you can fold t-shirts or shirts within seconds neatly like a Banana Republic guy. I brought this up previously but I thought I was going to describe how to fold it by translating their website. I created the file. Click the photo. I hope it's useful for you guys! I know the translation is crappy but please bear with me. Come to think of it after finishing creating the file, I don't see any problem with an ordinary way....I guess it's not worth trying after all. Well, it doesn't hurt anyone so here it is. My goal is to become a great husband. One down. Millions to go. If I can ride a bike, I can become a great husband. Damn it. Happy housekeeping!

Posted by Shigeki at 11:59 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)