personal – Page 5 – Have you eaten?

food

Yakimochi: Grilled Rice Cakes

February 19, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

Tonight was one those nights that I didn’t want to slice or cut anything. Basically I didn’t want to “cook.” The fact is I am hungry, so I decided to make myself “yakimochi (grilled rice cakes)” Yaki means grilled and mochi means rice cakes, as you might have guessed it.

I used to grill mochi in a small frying pan but since I got this “yakiami” which is a simple yet essential tool made with ceramic and metal. You can grill vegetables, meat, fish, and of course food like mochi over the stove with it. I sometimes grill “onigiri (rice ball)” with this yakiami so I can add more flavor. Adding soy sauce while grilling onigiri makes you salivate quickly.

Anyway, over low-medium heat, you cook both side of mochi until it gets golden brown (I like a little burnt). There are so many ways to eat grilled rice cakes. For example, you can dip them in ponzu sauce, in shredded radish (mizore-oroshi) and soy sauce, sprinkle soy power and sugar, fry them, spread butter over…list goes on. I wanted to just have a simple and easy night so I added mochi in to my pre-made and heated bonito & kelp stock (dashi).

My simple night completed.

Uncategorized

This Book Made Me Tired: “Saraba!”

February 18, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

疲れた。上巻を読み終わった時に感じたのはそれだけ。どっと疲れた。私が本を読むのは、現実逃避したい時か、仕事とか、友達とか、家族とか、しがらみとか、やらなきゃいけない事とか、責任とか、そういうもの（特に人とかかわる事）から自分を完全に引き離して、頭も体も休息したくて、酸素の足りないフナみたいになってる時だから、こういう本は読みたくなかったなあ。大きな賞で本を読む訳ではないけれど、（その証拠に、小路幸也の本達は大好きだけど、直木賞も芥川賞ももらってない）参考にはするし、評価されるには理由があるのだから、それは読んでみたいと思って当然だとも思う。シアトルの紀伊國屋の本棚に陳列されてたのを見た時には、「これだけの文字が読めるとはなんて幸せな事だろう！」と思って、心躍ったし。

林真理子の評では、スケールが大きいという事なんだけれど、ロケーションがイランだったり、エジプトだったり、大阪だったり、東京だったり、サンフランシスコだったりするから、その描写は確かに面白い。それをスケールの大きさだというのは、賛成できないし、書いてあることのスケールはちっとも大きくない。家族がどう壊れていくかと、主人公がどう自分と落とし前をつけていくかを書いてある本だからなあ。こんな事があって、あんな事があって、こんな風に考えて、こんな結果になったっていうのを、時系列に延々350ページとちょっと。疲れて当然だ。

さて、これから下巻。全部読んでみせますとも！

personal view

Lesson Learned: from Ferris Bueller and Ginger the Chihuahua

February 16, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

Ferris Bueller is excellent. Not only is he charming, he is quite insightful.

He said “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” That is something.

It was about 50 degrees and sunny in Seattle yesterday. I was sitting on the bench right next the “black hole sun” (remember the song of Sound Garden?) in Volunteer Park, facing west to the ocean. One guy with guitar and a woman with cello played a series of music, basically they were having a free concert for people sitting in the park. Archie and Ginger, my overweight Chihuahua took a walk somewhere in the park while I sat and wrote. I am sure they enjoyed the moment as much as I enjoyed my alone time.

I think a lot. Sometimes I overthink. Actually all the time. I over-analyze things. It kills me. I think about what’s going on in the world, my parents’ health or worst of all, what other people think about me. I worry so much about it. I compare myself to others A LOT, then I make myself inferior to others. I allow myself to do that. I create thing in my head even though those thoughts are not often true. Lots of assumptions. Not trusting others. Most of all, I am not trusting myself.

I read this one article yesterday morning. It was about human thoughts and was suggesting that you “check-in” when you are creating problems in your own head, being negative or are in a dark place. Meaning, you should ask yourself if you actually have solutions for problems/issues that are percolating in your head. The article assures that you don’t have any resolutions most of the time.

While I was taking a mental break and soaking up the sun, I was thinking, “the article was right. I do not have any solutions for these problems that I am creating.” I was worrying about my work stuff that hadn’t even started yet. I dislike not being prepared, but what I was worrying about is NOT preparing. I was just creating bad scenarios that might not even happen.

What I need to do is be more like Ferris Bueller or my dog. Both Ferris and Ginger know how not to worry about the future you don’t have any control of. They just enjoy theirs “asses off”.

food

Savory & Manila: Clam Talk

February 15, 2015by have you eaten?7 Comments

At U-district farmers market, this cheerful, personable and warm hearted lady working the Hama Hama stand and I were chatting about their excellent quality of oysters. She recommended clams this week and they carried 2 kinds of clams, savory and manila. I bought both.

It was BEAUTIFUL today. It was around 50 degrees and sunny. Yes, SUNNY in Seattle. I am happy that I was able to have a relaxing Sunday. So, what I need is an easy but delicious meal on this relaxed early Sunday evening.

Combination of savory and manila clams, about 2lb.

Half of mayor lemon, peeled and sliced

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Olive oil

Pinch of sea salt

Little bit of white wine

I put the above in my favorite Staub cast iron pot and put a lid on and left alone for about 10 min over medium low heat.

Sliced baguette (from Tall Grass Bakery) toasted in a Turk iron frying pan to accompany that.

There, all I need is to sit down and enjoy this simple and relaxed dish with Archie. I even have a cherry pie from Janeli’s Alki Pie Company in the oven right now.

I can’t ask for a better Sunday night than this. I hope you all had a wonderful Sunday.

life

春が来た: Spring in February – Perfect Saturday

February 14, 2015February 14, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

First this. Nice morning cuddle

Then this. Necessity.

Then farmers market. Nice apples at Tiny’s Organics.

Having a nice weekend. I hope you all have a wonderful one too.
Happy Spring.

life

FOB (fresh off the boat) Seattle: Love Letter to Seattle

February 13, 2015February 14, 2015by have you eaten?3 Comments

There were so many clouds to see through the window of the plane. The plane was about to land but I remember it was gray and wet. I thought it was the most beautiful place on the planet however.

February 13^th, 15 years ago I moved to Seattle from Tokyo. I love Japan and I am proud to be Japanese but I have never felt I belonged there. I have been wanting to get out of there since I was 5 years old. When I studied 1 year in college as an exchange student, I fell in love with this City. Ocean, lakes, mountains, trees…I even didn’t mind rain at all. I loved everything about Seattle. I tend to use my guts to decide something significant. So moving to Seattle was the easiest decision I have ever made actually. All I had to do was to follow my heart.

Here I am, 15 years later still in Seattle (I took a detour in Atlanta for a couple of years). Where is the best place to celebrate for this crazy life for 10 years and merry-go-round life for 5 years? There are millions of wonderful restaurants in Seattle but there is only one place I want to go with Archie for this kind of celebration, of course Emily’s place, The Corson Building. Archie, a couple of friends and I went there last night and their theme was “Winter Vegetable Dinner.” Her vegetables gave me so much more than just vegetables. She took “just vegetables” to next level while she uses spices I can’t really identify and made them taste so much more than just vegetables, but you can still identify each vegetable she uses. She is just like a magician. I do not know how she does it every time.

My love for Seattle will never go away. I am happy to call this city my “home” and I want to thank everyone who loves me and are always there for me. I have just a few and I hope you know who I am talking about.

life

Superhero: The Awesome Man

February 12, 2015February 12, 2015by have you eaten?Leave a Comment

Have you seen him before? He is quite cute and powerful. He is a super hero who can make me cheerful instantly. Just like snapping fingers.

I hadn’t eaten my lunch for a while at work only because I didn’t have enough time. Everyone, I mean EVERYONE is moving 100 miles per hour because of the major re-org. It feels quite unsettling.

Around noon yesterday, I got a call from reception saying that I have a guest. I was not expecting any visitors yesterday so I wondered who it could be but I headed to reception area anyways. Then there was Awesome Man! With cape, masks and everything…no, not really. Instead, he had a tiny bouquet of flowers in this cute glass vase, salad and canele from London Plane in Pioneer Square, Seattle (one of Emily Dann’s restaurant. http://www.thelondonplaneseattle.com/london-plane As soon as I received those from him, he quickly kissed me (yes, he kisses) a good-bye and left.

I barely had time to thank you, Awesome Man. Your gift brightened my day and lunch satisfied my stomach and soul.

If you see him somewhere, please thank him for me.

Uncategorized

Fake Smile?: Nah, Just a Happy Dance

February 11, 2015February 11, 2015by have you eaten?1 Comment

I admit that I can be an ass sometimes. I just can’t pretend to be happy for him or her when I don’t mean it (except, at business occasions, I can pretend no problem. I am getting paid for that after all).

“Oh, you look fabulous!”

“I am happy for you!”

“How exciting!”

“It’s wonderful to see you!”

“Your baby is so cute! (babies scare the crap out of me. And they look like monkeys most of the time except for Mira) Too many exclamation points, really. When I have to say these things that I don’t mean, I get tense and have to think really carefully before saying it. Most of the time, those words come out fake-ish. However, when I genuinely mean it, my words do not come out right away. My body starts doing some weird moves and I start stomping around with my ear-to-ear smile. Or when situations don’t allow for me to do this weird stuff, I usually do that in my head.

I don’t react too well when I sense that people are trying to fish for compliments. I do the opposite, I just don’t react as those people want me to. I could look quite cold. So, I got curious as to how many people I am doing my weird happy dance for gladly this morning. Except for my family, I have 10. I am happy to know that I can do my dance for these 10 people.

I can be an ass sometimes, but at least I am a happy-ass when doing my dance for them.

personal view

Powerful Message without Being Loud: All the Way from Tokyo

February 10, 2015February 10, 2015by have you eaten?2 Comments

Since the middle of January, our company has been in an odd place and I have been feeling unsettled. It’s quite tiring, both physically and mentally (maybe more so mentally). By the time I come home every night, all I can think about is my bed. Warm blanket and comfortable pillow, my dog and a book. Recently, I notice I barely can read more than 5 pages because I fall asleep so fast. Archie has to take my glasses and turn the light off for me almost every night.

Last night I came home dog-tired after learning my dear friend and co-worker was going to be released from his team soon. Like any other corporation, layoffs are happening. I work for a large corporation and all they do is cut people off every now and then so they can increase their stock price, which makes investors happy. I get how it works. At the human level however, I can’t agree with how they handled it. It is just inhumane. Yes, I understand this needs to happen but he is beyond my co-worker, he is my friend.

I was emotionally drained but I made it home. Then I saw this box sitting on my dining table. It was a package from my friend who lives in Japan. She and I have known each other for about 30 years. We haven’t been able to see each other at all for this last 15 years or so but we connected through Instagram (or Facebook, can’t remember…either way it was one of these social media stuff). She is positive, kind, supportive and beautiful. My favorite characteristic of her is her thoughtfulness. This package is full of her thoughtfulness. She remembered what I mentioned long time ago and she took time to go get them and send them to me. She is a mother of two and I know she does not have lots of time on her hand but she did it for me anyways.

As soon as I open the box, I was able to feel that. I felt like the package arrived just in time to tell me not to get discouraged by the distracting things happening around me. It felt like as if she was telling me “Cheer up. It’s going to be OK” with a lovely smile on her face. I choked up. I wanted to share this with my friend who would have to leave the team soon so he could hear her simple yet strong message.

So, today I shared this wonderfully and lusciously prepared short bread (no dairy and with simple ingredients) which my friend in Tokyo sent to me with my dear co-worker. I do hope he got her message. I hope at least he got to enjoy the moment he bit into the shortbread and brought a smile to him. Even one second.

She probably does not have any idea what’s going on in Seattle but I can tell you, my friend, you brought us something very special and hopeful. I will never forget that.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

coffee

Meet Riley: Starbucks Flat White Expert

February 7, 2015February 7, 2015by have you eaten?3 Comments

Archie is a beer snob. He also is a coffee snob. Other than those 2 departments, he is not snob. Before we became friends, I was already a coffee snob. Starbucks coffee, really? It’s a chain just like McDonald, right? That was our attitude before I actually started working for this company. I have to admit espresso drinks are not my favorite. Well, usually.

I have been working here a little over a year and I haven’t gotten tired of coming in to the smell of coffee yet. It makes me happy every friggin’ morning. Like I wrote before, coffee fixes everything.

Flat White; creamy micro-form steamed milk poured over two ristretto shots of espresso (Casi Cielo beans). Ristretto shot is a smaller, more concentrated serving of espresso. This drink has more intense espresso flavor. Yes, if you are a Starbucks hater, I highly recommend to give it a try. I hear it a lot, that Starbucks espresso drinks are too milky and they only taste milk. I hear this all the time from Archie.

Riley is shy, lovely, cute and an experienced barista at Starbucks store on the 8^th floor. When she called my name when my flat white was ready, she was smiling ear to ear and said, “Mimi, look! I made a heart (latte art for flat white is usually a white dot) for you. Happy early Valentines’ day” I was actually able to hear excitement and pride in her voice. It was nice, such an amazing moment to share with Riley on Friday morning about 6:30am, on the 8^th floor of Starbucks office building. So, I snapped this photo right at the counter. She got so excited when I told her that I was going to write about her in my blog soon.

My coffee snobbish attitude is slowly diminishing due to this kind of moment. Also Archie had one the other day and he even said, “hmm, it is not bad at all.” That is huge. Just one short flat white might make your day and you might have a really nice surprise.

If Riley can make you one, even better.