Sorry to Be Absent

Work on the Catering Kitchen and the new wine bar continue. Here is the logo. Going for 1925-35 art deco Japan.

Life's Been Strange

 

My life has been a bit odd in recent months, downright strange actually- so this fits right in.

I mean, I like Coke (probably more than I should) And I like Green Tea. But I never in a million years would have put the two together. Yet there I was, innocently looking for beverages and junk food in my local Tokyo Convenience store. AND... Green Tea Coke! And it is icky no-calorie coke too.

Well- it is not as disgusting as it sounds, mostly because all you can taste is the diet-zero-calorie chemicals. But this is not a combo that sounds or tastes good. So if you said ewww at my lovely photo, you were spot on.

I suspect this will be as popular as the coffee coke, which means not popular at all.

This is not "Coke and a Smile" territory.
oh well.

Huit; Wonderful Little Joint in My Neighborhood

One of my favorite neighborhood spots is a little french place called Huit. I love their 3 cheese plate, and the great pate' (above) it's a great homemade place- warm decor, fresh baked bread, and the staff knows us know so we get a good table and great service. YUM.

They have some great 1000 yen lunch sets too- with bread and tasty iced-tea.

This is a wonderful place to have a simple dinner, or to relax in the afternoon- with my e-mobile wi-fi device I can even hang out there and work on my laptop. It is quite cozy. The owners have also eshewed fancy interior design and done a real DIY deal on the place. Handmade wooden shelving, and mix and match tables and chairs add tons of charm. AND it is right along the river on a shady back corner, trees, and flowers... very lovely.

Hanami Picnic

A view of our cheese, crackers, salami and wine under the cherry trees. We had a little impromptu picnic. Quite nice. The streets around my place are still jam packed with cherry blossom viewers. We probably have about a week left- before the trees go all green and leafy and the blossoms are done for another year.

This year was extraordinary so far, weather wise. Fairly mild, very sunny, not too windy. Ideal for a long extended blossom season. I am off on Friday and hopeful that it will stay nice and I will get another good day to people and blossom watch.

(yes, those are my crocs- and no I don't care that they are not popular any more- they are still comfortable.)

My Neighborhood is Gorgeous Right Now

Spring is really something here in Japan. The cherry blossoms are out in full bloom and since I live in a major blossom viewing area-- I get to really enjoy the blooming-beauty every day.

Probably about 1 week left- before it goes all green.
The pics above are a collage made of 3 days viewing photos.
Click picture to see larger version.

A Taco Moment in Austin

(from sxsw interactive in mid March)

The sun was finally out and meeting what I had expected on the trip. The first four days had been shockingly wet and cold for Austin, but on day 5-- clear skies, bright sun, greens, blues and vibrant colors leaping to life.

We sat down under a newly planted stick-tree that cast just enough shade to make sunglasses unnecessary. The white Styrofoam boxes spread out in front of us contained our "soft-taco lunch sets" and crispy homemade tortilla chips with too small thimble sized plastic cups of green and red salsa. At last, it felt like Texas.

We ate and chatted about all the inspiring seminars we had attended and we watched the youngish technorati walking by talking animatedly about this or that new gadget or concept. The buzz in the air was almost visible- as the twitterers tweeted- and the iphone'rs messaged each other and used their 3G Google maps to locate the best parties that would be packed and loud that night.

It was my first "South by Southwest" Interactive Convention- a mix of old school laid back creativity and high speed overdrive technology. Add sunshine, and Texas tacos and enjoy

Local Joints

I am not done looking back at the wonderful xmas trip 2008... but here's a post about more recent food. Last night we went to one of our favorite little joints in Nakameguro. It is a little, and I mean little, place. about 15 seats, some on a counter right infront of the chef. French country style. Simple food perfectly prepared.

The chef-owner loves what he does and it shows.

Last night was a cold Jan. evening here in the big city. And the two dishes we shared above were a perfect remedy. On the left-- pork and lentils, on the right steak frite. I have decided that I am still not ready to share the location or details of this local place. Keeping it a secret for me and the mr. right now. It is nice to have a little place that hardly anyone knows about.

@ The Kampa in Prague

click pic for lg view.

More musings from our holiday-trip 2008. On 12/19 we spent the day at the Kampa Art Museum in Prague. It was truly amazing. Great collection of modern Czech art -- well displayed in two connected and interesting buildings. The rooms and layout lent themselves wonderfully to a rambling, slow and thoughtful day of art. Wonderful paints, sculptures, outdoor pieces, and even a roof-top installation. Highly recommended. The Kampa sits on Kampa Island just off the Charles bridge and next to the little quater.

It is a quiet part of town during the winter. Probably quite a bit busier in the heat of summer. There is a park just in front and we saw lots of families and dog walkers getting some exercise even in the chill.

I especially enjoyed discovering the works of František Kupka

His abstract work was ground breaking. This famous image (click to view) was the cornerstone of the Kampa collection.

The complex had great outdoor spaces as well. One wall in the Kampa courtyard pictured above says "If a nations culture survives, so too does the nation." After touring the collection we picked up a Prague Street Art book in the museum shop, and wandered out for a sit down in a nice cafe.

perfect.

Views of Prague

click for bigger image

Our 2008 annual holiday trip started out in Prague. This was my second visit to the city and the first time we took Mom there. What a wonderful time. We were staying in the "Little Quarter" the Mala Strana, and it is a lovely neighborhood. Our hotel was 5 mins from the Charles Bridge, and on a quite side street. Very nice. It was near to the Kampa Modern Art museum which we thoroughly explored. (more on that later.) And it was in a nice mixed neighborhood/ tourist and residential.

We spent a good deal of time on the first day (before mom arrived) exploring, walking around and even went to a local shopping center to get a converter for the wall sockets. I think going to a local mall or grocery store is always an interesting way to get off the tourist track and get a sense of regular folks.

On day one, we had the gorgeous plum tart included in the collage above.

The old city of Prague is completely gorgeous, every corner, ever side street hides old homes, lovely views, and cobbled streets.

We ate breakfast on day 2 in a strange little corner spot. I had local bread, cheese and tea. Mom arrived that evening and we started seeing the sites.

More collage comments clockwise from top left--

A view under the Charles bridge, swans, and a water wheel

Local street side fruit shop chock full of tasty fruit for the holidays

Previously mentioned plum tart

A view of the Charles Bridge towers on the Mala Strana side, near the Kafka museum
(which I did not get to visit this time)

A gorgeous design above a door in the Mala Strana, this one is famous and called the BLUE FOX. there are many such door decorations throughout the city-- hearkening back to a time when addresses were not street numbers but descriptions.

We walked walked walked. Prague is a great city for walking, all the major sites downtown are pretty close together, and for the more distant or uphill spots like Prague castle, the trolley cars do the job. I am eager to return to this lovely city again, so much to see and do. Next year we are considering a return to Germany and Vienna, so Prague may wait till 2010. Depending on what life holds in store for us.

Another Budapest Memory

This was a lovely bottle of Hungarian wine. Pinot Noir from 2005. It was chosen to go with a luscious dinner at Gundel. My hubby and I managed to take of this bottle and some glorious dessert wine (which is sure to get it's own post later.)

This had classic pinot characteristics. A little less fruity perhaps than some of the Oregon and Sonoma pinots, but nice structure and it went perfectly with his duck and my goose liver. It was chosen for us by the Sommelier- a wonderfully on target, and professional fellow.

Some tasting notes; (from their site)

Thummerer Tekenőháti Pinot Noir 2005

Deep coloured red with the typical spice notes of the variety. Elegant at the same time full-bodies, it was aged in second-generation oak barriques.

The duck dish was-- Pink-roasted Duck Breast with Golden Tokaji Raisin, Apple and mashed Potato and my dish was the famous Grilled Slices of Goose Liver on Rösti Pedestal with baked Apple and Wild Cherry-Tea Sauce

Gundel, by the way, is the most famous restaurant in Budapest. more on that later.

Czech's Can Cook Some Pretty Great Duck

I expect to be reliving and writing about my 2008 Christmas holiday trip over the next few weeks as the fancy (glass) strikes me. There was so much fun and food related frivolity it will take some time to get my reflections up on the blog.

The trip this year went like this-- Prague-Vienna-Budapest. So we started out in the lovely city of the Charles Bridge, The Astronomical Clock, and delicious duck. Roasted, grilled, confit(ed), braised, in soup, with dumplings, the Czechs know how to make duck.

On the first night, jetlagged and exhausted, we checked into our gorgeous little hotel, the Alchemist Residence Nosticova in the Little Quarter-- and at the recommendation of the girl at the desk we found ourselves in THE BLUE DUCK, (U Modre Kachnicky) a little old fashioned place around the corner.

I had traditional potato soup, and then the Roasted duck glazed with honey and apple brandy, served with raisins, apples and potato kisses. All shown in the picture above along with a little blue duck in the window sill next to our table.

It was a bit more formal than we had requested from our receptionist, but It was well prepared. The place was pretty old school, down to the casio tunes fella playing old Frank Sinatra tunes and medleys from musicals over in the corner. But it was a delicious first night. They have many different duck dishes on the menu and I imagine they are all good.

Fancy glass review-- (wow haven't done one of these in a long time)

FANCY GLASS RATINGS (on a scale of 1-5)

Decor 4 FGs Very nice, elegant if a little crowded with antiques, still a nice atmosphere.





Food menu 4 FG




Wine Menu --Big Book, but not much help with the deciding-- 3 FG




Service, Friendly, Professional, a bit old fashioned. 3 1/2 FG





Overall impression one of old world elegance, a bit stuffy, a bit over done, but tasty and friendly.
4FGs

The Bread Woman

This is the "Bread Woman" another little moment from our holiday visit to the central market in Budapest. We rounded a corner and saw a line of serious local shoppers that was at least 20-30 people long. They seemed to be waiting anxiously so we explored ahead to see what folks were lining up for.

Bread.

Big, huge, round, fresh loaves. Sold whole or quartered as shown here. Obviously of limited quantitiy so there was a certain tension in the line as it was clear that when the bread ran out that was that.

The yeasty smell was fantastic. And the whole scenario lasted about 15 minutes, but you could tell it was a frequent ritual performed in this bustling city market.

Budapest Central Market

Central Market Budapest- click for large view.

It is no surprise that I love food markets. This gorgeous shot above is from the Budapest Central Market. We spent the last morning of our trip browsing the stalls, eating tasty treats and thinking about food culture. The basement floor is a pungent area of fresh fish dealers, and the famous pickles (the major form of vegetables in a Hungarian meal) Pickles and all sorts of pickled vegetables and saur kraut.

The main floor pictured above is all fruits, breads, paprika, meat stalls, and a few sweets shots. Plus LOTS of goose liver sellers. Hungary is the 2nd largest producer in the world of Goose Liver just behind France. It is practically a national obsession.

There were also a few great cheese shops and wine stores.

The catwalk type 2nd floor is all handicrafts, a few standing bars and lunch stalls, lots of handmade lace and quite a few tourist stalls with postcards and knick-knacks.

The building itself is gorgeous and HUGE. One thing to watch out for is the little old ladies doing their shopping, if you are in their way you will be manhandled and pushed around a bit. It was almost a part of the charm of the place though one lady got me pretty good with an elbow. I'll be ready for her next time.

There were treasures for the eyes and taste buds in every direction. This will definitely be a place I will visit again when I make it back there.

My purchases included-
a few bottles of deadly UNICUM as gifts
Delicious honey cookies coated with vanilla and cinnamon (ridiculously cheap!)
Some Hungarian paprika for a few chef friends
and a great Goulash (Gulyas) lunch with potatoes and fresh bread.

Good memories to treasure.

I wish me a yummy Christmas and a tasty New Year!

Our new family tradition, 3 years running, is to spend the Christmas holiday season in Europe, particularly in very Christmassy countries like Austria, Germany, and this year we also went to the Czech Republic and Hungary.

On Christmas day we were in Vienna, and we had Christmas Brunch in our hotel, the classic HOTEL SACHER WEIN. This shot is the dessert part of the brunch buffet. It was amazing!!! what a great meal. I was full for two days, just started to get my appetite back today in fact.

There were so many tasty treats on the buffet and the desserts were truly divine. I wanted to try everything but it was not possible-- especially after the roast duck, suckling pig, goose liver pate tart, salads, sausages, breads and so much more.

What a wonderful meal.

Evening View of the Prague Christmas Market

First full, awake and wonderful day of my Christmas trip 2008. This is the walking street headed into the main Old Town square in Prague. Ahead is the wonderful Christmas market filled with yummy foods, hot mulled wine, Christmas ornaments and souvenir bits and bobs. Had a wonderful day walking, seeing, looking and doing. We spent the morning at the KAMPA mondern art museum, the afternoon at the Museum of Decorative Arts, and the evening at the Christmas market. Everyone is tired tired tired. But happy.

Sushi American Style in Japan

This is one of my new favorites~! Fujimamas Firecracker Roll.
Very tasty. Many types of sushi rolls, well known in the USA are viturally unheard of in Japan. California rolls, spider rolls, and many more. This Firecracker roll has tuna, shirmp tempura, cucumber and a spicy mayo. A meal all on it's own. The mix of tastes and textures is quite something. Also fun to share. We've been making this one since the spring of this year. Totally terrific.

The Versitile Cheesecake

 

Cheesecake is a personal favorite of mine. It is also totally customizable and flexible. Got a favorite flavor? You can take a basic baked cheese cake recipe and with small adjustments you can change it up at any time. We've made Macha, Mocha, Pumpkin, Margarita, Blueberry, and the most recent-- Raspberry pictured above.

Here's a good basic starter recipe

Baked Cheesecake recipe

for the Biscuit crust
250 g (8 oz) plain sweet biscuits
90 g (3 oz) melted butter
1 tablespoon ground almonds (optional)


for the filling
250 g (8 oz) cottage cheese
500 g (1 lb) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cream
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind
whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg for serving

for the Biscuit crust
1. Crush biscuits and combine with melted butter and ground almonds if used.
2. Spread over base and sides of a greased 20 cm (8 inch) spring-form tin. Press firmly and chill.

for the Filling
1. Press cottage cheese through a sieve into a bowl.
2. Add cream cheese, sugar and cream and beat together thoroughly.
3. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla essence and lemon rind, beat well.
4. Pour mixture into prepared biscuit case
5. cook in an oven 180-190°C (350-375°F) for 45 minutes.
6. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake inside oven to cool.
7. Then chill for at least 2 hours.
8. Top with whipped cream and nutmeg before serving (optional)

This site has a ton of variations.

Cirque Culinare

 

Well, it has been an age since I wrote here. The election, work, and life conspired and something had to give. Sadly it was my non-political writing like my dear little fancy glass blog. But Here I Am. And it is nice to come back home.

Just after the election season... which I was heavily involved in, we planned a grand celebration. The new Tokyo Penisula hotel was hosting a 5 day food extravaganza, and on the last night, a Petrus and Dominus wine dinner. We went. It was amazing.

Great wines, wonderful full, expert service. It was truly lovely.
There was little I would have changed, and for me, that is saying something!

I will post up more about this great dinner in the next couple of days. But I just wanted to come over here tonight, dive in and get started again!

yum.

Birthday At Beacon

Last night was my honey's Birthday! We both had to work during the day but for dinner we chose to celebrate at Beacon in Tokyo. The restaurant was opened by a chef-friend of mine a few years ago, and I've been meaning to go over there for ages. This seemed like a good time.

I made a reservation for two and told them it was a birthday dinner. They promised to prepare a birthday plate for dessert, candle and message included.

I know the owners, and some staff so it was fun to be at place where people know us. And they treated us really well.

The interior is chic but warm. Nice colors, great lighting. comfortable seating. Lots of dark wood and sophisticated touches.

For dinner we decided, having just gotten back from Texas- to order seafood instead of steaks.
We shared an amazing appetizer to start off the night.

Goat cheese strudel with fresh tomato sauce
The puff pastry wrapper was light and crunchy, the tomatoes both sweet and salty, and some delicious piping hot goat cheese. Totally YUM.

Hubby had Pancetta wrapped pan-roasted scallops with seasonal vegetables. He said quite tasty, I forgot to ask for a bite as I was focused on my own dish; Local swordfish steak with lemon risotto. I found the tastes and textures to be very well balanced. My swordfish was a bit salty. But the sweet corn and zucchini I had on the side was so tasty.

For the birthday dessert we shared the Peach crumble with vanilla ice cream.

And throughout the meal we truly enjoyed a terrific bottle of Flowers, Sonoma Coast, California 2006.

OMG Cobbler

So, we are at a big convention in Austin, Tx. Last night found us eating out a local sustainable amazing bbq joint called Lamberts. In addition to fantastically well prepared bbq, side dishes and their famous spicy deviled eggs-- the above was an additional gold star part of the meal.

That glorious dessert above is a PEACH-BLACKBERRY Cobbler, served warm with Honey vanilla ice cream. Words fail me.

Everything tastes better with BBQ Sauce

A bit of what I have been up to (see above). This collage is from our BBQ for Unity about a week and a 1/2 ago. A whole bunch of Democrats Abroad in Japan got together to eat some very tasty BBQ and talk politics. It was really a fun time. It was great seeing some new folks and getting back in touch with people I had not seen for a while. Lots of young dems were there which was really great. We have had a hard time reaching out across younger demographics, but seems to be changing.

Miki and Kathleen my two gals working on growing a Young Dems group, brought their friend Lili to help volunteer at the door/check in etc. So I had lots of help which was great.

Special thanks to the Mehta's for letting us celebrate in their snazzy garden space.