doggie "popcorn chicken"

I like to make crunchy treats for the dogs. I used to like to roll out the dough and cut it into shapes... but these days I'm a bit lazy, and I'd just make the dough (in the mixer) and then break it into small pieces with my hands (without even "shaping" them into balls). I'll then line the pieces up on a baking sheet, and bake them. They'd come out looking like little popcorn chicken!



I use my basic dog biscuit recipes, with occassional variations depending on what I have in hand. This time I think these were the ingredients I used:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 cup dry milk
garlic powder (a copule teaspoons will do)
1 egg
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients in the mixer to form a dough. Break the dough into small pieces with hands. Line the dough pieces on a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. I usually leave the treats in the oven after the 30 minutes baking time (with oven OFF) to allow the pieces to dry completely (for better storage.)

These "popcorn chicken" treats are really, really crunchy.

kung fu jasper

Jasper is a kung fu kitty.

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Takeshita-Dori: artsy

There were more inside Takeshita-Dori other than crepes and fashion, of course.


Cool sculptures and singages.


Cosplay clothing and accessories.

We did see some Cosplay girls walking inside Takeshita-Dori, but we were too shy(!) to ask them for photographs.


"Organized" graffitti on the walls of a small side street.

Nice.

spring snow

I once heard the weatherman said that March was one of the wettest month in Utah, and I didn't quite think it was true.

And today it rained, and then snowed... and it's continuing doing so.


Light (but lots of it) snow on the trees in front of our house.

I guess the weatherman is probably right.

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Takeshita-Dori: Crepes!

We walked back toward the Harajuku Station after visiting Meiji Shrine. We were going to Takeshita-dori.


Looking back at Harajuku Station across street.

Takeshita-dori is said to be one of the hottest shopping street in Tokyo. A lot of "fashion trends" were developed here. While we were there we saw a lot of Cosplay, and other fashion clothing and accessory stores.


Takeshita-dori (Takeshita street).

But we were there for the crepes. Takeshita-Dori is said to be the starting place for the "Japanese-style" crepe culture, where crepes became a popular street food in Japan.

We walked around, checked out fun shops, and then saw the super popular crepe shops! They were right across from each other.


There was Marion Crepes.


And there was Angels Heart Crepes.

Which one should we go with?


Each had so many choices!

I love these faux crepe samples. They looked so real. Awesome.

You really couldn't go wrong with either of the shops. It all came down to which ingredients you want, or which crepe sample models or photos you like.


We went with Marion.

I don't quite remember which crepes we got, but I do remember we both got dessert ones... there were also savory crepe choices, but dessert-y sounded good at the time. They were really good, the the girls making crepes were really cute, too. :)

Most Japanese people don't walk and eat, so everyone was standing by the little side street between Marion and Angels Heart and enjoying the crepes with smiles.

someone REALLY likes the blue ball

Gimme, gimme, gimme the blue ball!!!

Yama loves the squeeky blue ball. He loves to chew on it, chase it, run with it, and carrying it around.


He can do this for hours if we let him!


How big can his mouth get?

Yama REALLY, REALLY, likes the blue ball.

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Meiji Shrine: a wedding

The day we went to Meiji Shrine the temperature was dropping, and the rain kept coming down, but we still saw a small wedding taking place. It looked like a fairly private wedding, where there were the bride and groom, and their close family members.


I belive this is the main Meiji Shrine.

There were a couple "side halls" by the shrine, where we saw this:


A bride wearing a traditional wedding kimono. I think the lady next to her was her mom, helping her get ready for a photo shoot.


All ready!

I wish we were able to take better photos of the beautiful bride.


The bride and groom, and families. I pulled out my camera a bit too late!

I didn't know exactly what was going on, but the wedding seemed quite, and everyone looked happy.

muenster cheese added

John made his signature garlic burgers for us again, and this time there's also Muenster cheese!



I know I say this all the time, but JOHN MAKES THE BEST BURGERS! Yum yum yum.

Maggie!

I met a new doggie friend at the caffe recently. She's a terrier mix... with a fuzzy and small head, and a broad and solid body. Her name is Maggie. She's so cute!


Maggie smiling for camera.

You can't tell in the photos, but Maggie has rounded and beautiful green eyes. So cool. And hey, I just noticed her harness has her name on it!


Maggie says, "Nooooo! I don't want to sit still for the pics!"

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Meiji Shrine: Presents to the Emperor

At Meiji Shrine we saw the many presents and offerings from people all over different regions of Japan, and overseas.


Sake.


Wine.


Bags of rice.


All sorts of vegetables.


Lots of juicy fruit.


Some of the apples and pears presented were huge! From what I know they were precious and super sweet and juicy.


This was the first time I saw konyaku plants.


Huge and colorful Chrysanthemum. HUGE.

There were stands after stands, piles after piles, of food and presents that were presented. They all seemed very fresh, so I suspected that they were changed out very frequently. Some of them have notes on them saying that they were grateful for an abundant year.

I wonder if the emperor's families eat all the food?

colored pepper stir-fry

I loved colored peppers. They are so yummy!

I usually like to stir-fry them with meats, and I add a little bit of sauce of some sort to it, but recently I've been stir-frying them with just a little bit of olive oil, and then season it with Hondashi, and Shichimi. Tasty.


Sliced pork and green peppers.

I was going to make a more colorful version of the stir-fry by using all sorts of colored pepper... but John already ate the read and orange peppers (raw) so I only had the yellow and green ones to use last night. Still really yummy.


Yay for colored peppers!

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Meiji Shrine: Torii

We arrived at Harajuku Station on the rainy morning. It was wet, but I actually enjoyed the misty air all around me.


Umbrellas outside Harajuku Station.

We decided to go to Meiji Shrine first. We followed the signs, and turned right after exiting the station.


After crossing a bridge, we saw the first torii (gate to the shrines). It was so beautiful.



We saw many Torii(s). I believe Torii is the gate to the shrines, or sacred places. I don't quite remember how many we saw at Meiji Shrine (in terms of the whole big area,) but I loved looking and admiring every one of them.


Oh look at its colors... in the rain.


A smaller one.


I was very intrigued.


"Tranquillity."

There were many torii(s) big and small at Meiji Shrine, and I was amazed by every single one of them.

afternoon tea with strawberry cheesecake

A few of us girls were talking, and we decided to have a little "afternoon tea" party at the caffe the other day.

So my friend Joanne made a strawberry cheesecake, and I provided a pot of Earl Grey. It was so much fun!


The strawberries are on the top!


Close-Up.


Our simple, and happy little afternoon tea!

We've gotta do this more often!

sweet azuki and pearl barley soup

Growing up we almost always have a pot of sweet soup in the fridge at home. My mom likes to use azuki beans in these sweet soups, with other fruit and/or grains.

I didn't particularly love these soups when I was younger. They didn't taste bad at all, but beans, grains, and fruits all together didn't always sound appetizing to me. My mom normally had to make me eat it.

Anyhow, as I grew older I started enjoying these soups more. I was actually craving a serving of azuki and Asian pearl barley soup the other day! I got a small bag of azuki beans, and a bag of Asian Pearl Barley from the Asian store and made a batch. My mom is going to be so impressed when she knows about this.



I think my mom makes this azuki and Asian pearl barley soup in a pressure cooker, but I used my slow cooker instead. Here what I did:

I soaked 1/2 cup each of the azuki beans and Asian pearl barley in water for a few hours. From what I know 2 hours would have been all right. I then placed them in the slow cooker, 6 cups of water (bean/grain:water = 1:6), and cook it on low overnight (approx. 8 hours) and it was done! I then added some white rock sugar to it to taste.*

OK here's what I know about *adding sugar to the soup:

1) NEVER add the sugar or sweetner to the soup until the beans and grains were throughly cooked (where the beans will "open up".)

2) Rock sugar is cool, but it doesn't quite sweeten the soup enough unless you put a lot of it in. I've found that I like to use rock sugar when I make soy sauce stews, but not in a sweet bean soup like this. I only put in about 1/2 cup... it didn't taste sweet at all, but since I didn't know how much I was supposed to put in to "sweeten" the soup, I gave up. Instead, I left the cooked soup as is, and then just add some sugar (or splenda) or honey in the individual serving bowl to taste. It seems to work better this way for me.

This soup can be served hot or chilled. I like my chilled and sweet. I'm also thinking it may be good with some cream as well, but I have yet to try it. The azuki beans and Asian pearl barley together are said to improve "blood flow" and circulation. Pretty neat-o.

postage

I was going to send a regular-sized letter to my mom (out of the country,) and since I haven't mailed a "real" letter for a long time, I figured I'd check the USPS web site first for its rate. It's 94 cents right now... I don't remember exactly how long it has been, but last time I mailed an international letter it cost me 80 cents.

I started working at the post office at the University when I started college. Back then a regular letter / first class mail was 32 cents, and not too long after the postage was increased to 33 cents... It seemed so long-time-ago!

Back then I was sending a lot of letters and handmade cards to my friends, too! Ahhh... it was so much fun.

I believe the international regular letter would cost 60 cents to mail at that time... and then it went up to 80 cents not too long after. (I think... it's been so long!)

With that being said, USPS is changing the mailing prices again on May 11th this year. A domestic first class letter (under 1 ounce) will be 44 cents, and an international letter (under 1 ounce) will be 98 cents. We've got to have some of the penny stamps ready!

transparency

I've noticed it's necessary to monitor who leaves me comments and messages... so in the interest of responding to real comments from real people, I'm now only allowing non-anonymous comments!

Thanks you. :)

a sense of entitlement?

Sometimes we get happy messages from happy people who come to the shop, and we love and appreciate it! It has also happened more than once, sad to say, when someone complains about me, or John, or our shop in general, via email, or through a more public place such as myspace.

These few people complains about how rude we are (and I'll explain why,) and how much they wished our business would fail.

There have been occasions when a person comes into the shop, finds a table, sets down his backpack, pulls out his water bottle, plugging in his laptop, and starts surfing online, or typing his term paper.

We wait by the register for him to come and order, and the person does not even look up from his screen.

We ask what we can make for him, and he says, "Oh, I'm OK. Don't need anything right now."

Then we'd say things like, "Hey, if you're staying, we'll need you to make a purchase."

He may stand up and get something, but other times he'd reply, "There are other coffee shops you know. I just don't want anything. You are asking me to leave?"

We say, "Yes, we'll need you to order if you'd like to say."

The person gets angry and leaves.

Really? Coming to a coffee shop, not purchasing anything, to just using the laptop (or reading the magazines, or going to the bathroom, or hanging out,) and thinking it's OK?

After he leaves, he finds our email or myspace page and sends messages to tell us how rude and bad we are, how much we suck, and how much he wishes that the shop fails.

It doesn't make sense. We're a small local business that's making a living by offering great products, and SELLING them. People don't go into a restaurant, a bakery, or a bar, to just sit down, relax, and not make an order, or go watch a movie in the theater without paying... why do they think it's OK to do it at a little coffee shop?

When a person stays without buying anything, but uses our space, electricity, and heater or a/c, he is ripping us off, and he is also ripping off all of our customers. He is a coffee shop leech!

We enjoy making the perfect cup for those who appreciate it and supports us. We love having friends, families, and customers in the shop, where we share coffee and tea ideas and talk over a serious brew. When a person doesn't respect us or our family and friends, he will get thrown out.

tofu knots and chicken

I may have said this too many times, but I love my slow cooker! It's so convenient to use, and the food (almost) always comes out perfect.

Sometimes I use different spices and ingredients to flavor the food I'm cooking, and other times I use ready-made sauces just because it's super easy to do.

I made some "tofu knots" with chicken thighs in my slow cooker the other day with Lee Kum Kee's Korean Barbeque Sauce. They are so delicious!

"Tofu knots" are made of tofu skin, and tied into knots. They usually come in dry form, and you just have to soak it in water for a couple minutes before using them.



I place 6-8 chicken thighs and soaked tofu knots in the slow cooker, pour in about 1/2 cup of the Korean Barbeque Sauce, 1/4 cup sesame oil, 2 chopped green onions, and enough water to cover most of the food ingredients. That's it! Cook the food on high for about 4 hours and the chicken and tofu knots are ready to go on rice. I also use the cooked sauce for noodles. Yumminess.

I *heart* slow cookers.

garlic burgers

I think John makes the best garlic burgers ever.


They seem simple, yet very flavorful and delicious. Super yumminess!

the cat that wears a boot

Jasper went to the vet a couple weeks ago for his teeth. He had a bandage on, which he hated, and we removed it a few days later... and underneath was just his skinny little leg! I think the vet had to shave part of his leg for the IVs.

Jasper was a lot happier after we removed the bandage... but until today the hair has not completely grown back.

It looks like Jasper is wearing a boot on his front left leg!



The boot looks tiny, and sometimes Jasper's leg looks funny, too.


Jasper's naked leg looks so small!

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Ikebukuro: Kohmen Ramen

There were many wonderful ramen shops in Ikebukuro, and we tried to go to a few of them while in Tokyo.

On our way to Mutekiya Ramen the first night we were in Tokyo, we saw Kohmen, where I had read about it being a top ramen shop as well.

The shop was fairly close to our hotel, so when we were wanting ramen again, off we went.


Kohmen, Ikebukuro.

It was raining and a bit chilly that day, but who cares, we were going to have hot and yummy ramen.


People eating ramen at the counter.

The space was long and skinny, where we had to stand and wait behind the customers eating at the counter. No big deal. A lot of ramen shops were actually designed this way for efficiency, where the chefs could cook the ramen, and serve it to the customers across the counter right away. Plus if there's anyone waiting in line, those who are eating tend to not take too long to finish their noodles and soup, hence you get people in and out of the store quicker.

It actually didn't take too long before we were seated. My constant stares at the eating customers worked.


Now what should I get?


The Kohmen chefs.

I belive the guy on the left was the head chef. He was in charge of the soup stock and finishing "plating" before handing it to the customers. He was also helping the other guys with their stations and checking the noodles.


John got their Original Ramen.

The Original Ramen has soy sauce-based stock, while their "developed" ramen has a pork-bone based soup stock. I got the "developed" kind... but somehow the photo didn't turn out.


The plate of yummy "toppings" that came with the ramen.

You could order the ramen by itself, which had basic char-shu (grilled pork), seasoned bamboo shoots, and other vegetables, but if you ordered a "set," then you'd also get a plate full of "toppings" that go with the ramen soup.

The chefs were pretty serious, but when John and I smiled at them and said the ramen was oishii (yummy), they smiled back and thanked us and said bunch of other words that we didn't understand.

Ahhh I want ramen!

christmas ham bone

I was putting away groceries in the fridge and saw that we still had the ham bone from Christmas! We had wrapped it tight after we cut off all the pieces of ham, and thought we'd give it to the doggies some time soon... but we (almost) totally forgot about it!

John carefully examined the bone to make sure nothing went bad, and then seperated it with his sharp sandoku knife. Half for Nuki, and the other half for Yama. They loved it!


Hmm... bones.

Thank goodness the smoked bone was still good after more than 2 months... the doggies didn't have funny tummy after eating it.

coffee chiffon cake

My friend Joanne made me a chiffon cake using our coffee. She said the flavor of the cake turned out so well because of the quality of the coffee. *blush* I think she's just talented.



The cake was so moist and delicious. I'm tempted to make one myself, too, but I'm not quite good as a baker, so we'll see.


She also used some ganache on the cake... a thin layer of it, and it was yummy.


Plus I get to take semi art-sy pictures of it.


Hmm... soft and delicious coffee chiffon cake.

Thanks Joanne!

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Tokyo Tower

We walked in the fairly quite streets toward Tokyo Tower. The people and cars of Tokyo were still all around, but for some reason the area seemed a lot quieter than anywhere else in Tokyo.

We saw the tiny little tip of Tokyo Tower got bigger and broader as we got closer. (dah!) We saw a large wooden gate with giant metal doors, and walked upward on the path next to it. There were a lot of trees and little shrines along the way. Very peaceful.

And then I saw this:



Tokyo Tower was so graceful and pretty at night. I just couldn't get my eyes off it.

I couldn't quite capture the beauty of the tower, but I still tried to take pictures of it with different camera settings. I also took a lot of "mental pictures!"


Tokyo Tower with a reddish tint.


Tokyo Tower with a purple-y tint.

You can go up the tower to the Observatory and see the Tokyo night view, but we didn't go. It was super romantic at the bottom of the tower already!


The two levels of observatories.

Note to myself and all who's visiting Tokyo Tower: bring a good camera!

cactus candy

My friend Dana brought me a box of cactus candy a while ago, but I never tried it. I'm not very adventurous as far as fruit and vegetable goes... since cactus, being a plant, is sort of like a kind of vegetable to me, I didn't really want to try it, even though I love candies.

But I love the box. It's so cute.



Yesterday I gave the box of cactus candy to EC. She was excited and opened it up right away. She tried one and said it was pretty good, and that I should give it a try, so I took a piece.


Ooooo they were red!

I carefully took a bite. It had a slight lemon taste to it up front, and then a fruity flavor came along. Its texture was like that of a gum drop... but slightly different.

I actually didn't mind it at all.

Now I can tell people I've tried cactus candy!

[Tokyo Fall 2008] on the way to Tokyo Tower

We really wanted to take the full advantage of our East JR day pass, so after dinner at Shinjuku we hopped back on the train and arrived at Hamamatsucho.


We saw this cool guy on the train. I believe his pants read "Japan Sport Science University." Awesome.

It was a bit later so the train was not too crowded. Nice.


The north gate.

Hamamatsucho was the closest JR station (that I knew of) to the Tokyo Tower. We took the north exit at the station.

We could see the tip of Tokyo Tower when we stepped out of the station... and we knew which way to go.

It was later at night, but there were still shops open, and people walking around in the area. We saw interesting little things.


"World's wish for traffic safety."


A small yakitori place.

I really liked the signs on the shop:


Totally made sense.

As we got closer and closer to Tokyo Tower, my heart, for some reason, started pounding faster and faster.

strawberry smoothie

I've been enjoying strawberry smoothies at home quite a bit: frozen strawberries, strawberry yogurt, ice cubes, and some smoothie powder (I think you can substitute this with dry milk) together in the blender. I'd sometimes add some whipping cream to the mixture, too. Yumminess. Hmmm... strawberry smoothies.


and I like serving (myself) my stawberry smoothies in the strawberry yogurt container.

I also love drinking it with a fat straw (normally for bubble teas)!


It's so good even Yama wants some.