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Candy nostalgia
Glico is marketing Tic Tacs in Japan now. I hadn’t realised I’d missed them until I tasted their imitation vanilla coating. Ah, childhood memories…. When Zoupi returned from Belgium, he brought some original Belgian Frisk mints with him. They’re blue! And they have sorbitol in them, the stuff that gives Velamints their slippery texture (and…
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Square watermelon
We found the holy grail of watermelons. Of course, I didn’t have my camera… Since reading about square watermelons last summer, we’ve been keeping an eye out at all the fancy fruit mongers. Last night, we finally found one–at the supermarket down the street. It was about 30 cm on a side with rounded corners.…
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Flourless chocolate cake
I have 12 servings of an extremely rich, flourless chocolate cake sitting in my fridge. MJ will take it home with her this morning (it’s the remainder of her birthday cake) but not before I scarf down a slice along with some nice strong coffee. I’m already anticipating the sugar-caffeine rush. I’m feeling a bit…
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Healthy drinks
Flavory juices
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Soba gluttony
Gluttony isn’t so bad when it’s all based on soba. We tried a restaurant in Asagaya last night on the recommendaiton of a friend. We splurged on the 4,000 yen “all soba” course and were presented with eight courses, all involving buckwheat. Everything was astonishingly good and as each course arrived we declared it better…
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Scary shellfish ID
Yesterday’s scary shellfish is a geoduck, a giant burrowing clam. Pronounced gooey-duck, it digs three feet deep into sand and lives there for up to 150 years. Wow. The Washington State Department of Ecology has great information about geoducks, and if you’re interested in cooking one, here is a recipe. Thanks very much to Lisa…
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Scary shellfish
The Santoku supermarket near our apartment caters to gourmets and the local French population. There are five different varieties of escargot (three frozen, two fresh), and a frozen meats section that has every hard-to-find meat we’ve ever craved: turkey, quail, duck, and even American bacon. There are lots of esoteric things, too. Like this 7,000…
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Sushi
My passion for sushi waxes and wanes. Over the past four years, it’s been waning more than waxing which seems a bit odd since I live where sushi originates. There are a few places that I enjoy, even when all I get is vegetable makki and ebi. One of them is Edokko Sushi in Kanda.…
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Culinary standards
Differences in the culinary standard. We’re a long way from Rome. Classic Caesar Salad romaine lettuce anchovy croutons freshly grated paremsan egg olive oil vinegar or lemon salt & pepper Sheza- Sarada leaf lettuce corn onions croutons creamy dressing
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Lunch is a treat
Lunch is a treat. I found a great little bento shop nearby. Bento, the traditional Japanese box lunch, is one of my favorite meals. Half the box is rice; the other half is bits and dollops of vegetables, tofu, meats, fish and other dishes. The bento shop in our neighbohood has a unique feature. You…
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