TODAY I MET A LOVELY DOG

This is Bowie, Goldie's husky. I love him. I want one, too!!!

Look how good...

Everyone loves him!

Memories of Matsuko :)

まげて　のばして　お星さまをつかもう magete nobashite ohoshisama wo tsukamou

まげて　背のびして　お空にとどこう magete senobishite osora ni todokou

小さく　まるめて　風とお話ししよう chisaku marumete kaze to ohanashishiyou

大きく　ひろげて　お日さまをあびよう ookiku hirogete ohisamawoabiyou

みんな　さよなら minna sayonara

またあしたあおう mata ashita aou

まげて　のばして　おなかがすいたら帰ろう magete nobashite onaka ga suitara kaerou

歌を　うたって　おうちに帰ろう uta wo utatte ouchinikaerou

まげて　のばして　お星さまをつかもう magete nobashite ohoshisama wo tsukamou

まげて　背のびして　お空にとどこう magete senobishite osora ni todokou

小さく　まるめて　風とお話ししよう chisaku marumete kaze to ohanashishiyou

大きく　ひろげて　お日さまをあびよう ookiku hirogete ohisamawoabiyou

みんな　さよなら minna sayonara

またあしたあおう mata ashita aou

まげて　のばして　おなかがすいたら帰ろう magete nobashite onaka ga suitara kaerou

歌を　うたって　おうちに帰ろう uta wo utatte ouchinikaerou

I'M OFF FOR 2 WEEKS

I'll be off to Italy for 2 weeks. Unfortunately my mum isn't well and I'm going home to help and keep her company.
I'm going to bring my camera and I might be posting from Milan, if I find a bit of time.
Although this time I won't be around, I'd like to invite everyone to go down to the Truman Brewery from 20th until 23rd for the very famous and traditional annual Stussy/G5 warehouse sale. In spite of my absence, it is going to be great! (MJ you are going to need those Ugg!)

The other day I was very surprised to receive my very first postcard from Mongolia! My friend Simo is travelling from Europe to Asia by rail and thought of me while she was living with the nomads in Mongolia. Sweet. If you want to follow Simo's adventures here is the link to her travel blog http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chibisimo/2/1225834200/tpod.html

Here is Simo with a lovely puppy in Mongolia :) Cute!

She should have left Mongolia for China by now.

MORE RAIN

It is raining so badly today! I ventured out to buy some strawberry jam and I came back soaked. It is rather windy, too. I curled up on the couch with my blanket and watched "The Witches", based on Roald Dahl's novel. I've seen it many times before, but I have never noticed that the first part of the film takes place in Bergen, Norway. The opening scene shows a very picturesque street, which looks exactly like the street my friend Eirik lives on!!! Could it be the same?

I decided to bake some scones to cheer myself up. I love my heart-shaped cutter.

Baking cakes isn't my favourite, but I don't mind making scones. They are easy and fast to prepare. All you need is some strawberry conserve and clotted cream to go with them.

I received a lovely present from Japan. It was from Koko, who recently went back to Osaka. It took a while to work out what the pandas were for... After a few wrong guesses on my behalf, Tommy read the back of the packet and found out that they were... chopstick rests!!! So cute!!! Thank you very much!!!

Lately Torakiki has been acting funny. Very naughty and noisy. I suspected that something was wrong with her. Last time she was like that she had a toothache. We decided to check her mouth just in case. We discovered that she's been eating her litter! Some grains were stuck between her teeth and her gum was all swallen and sore. I really hope she hasn't eaten a lot of it. It is a special one and absorbs a large amount of liquids. I can't imagine the effect in her stomac! This is why she was drinking a lot these days. We'll have to take her to the vet. Silly cat!

SNOW!!!

This morning I got up and I couldn't believe my eyes! There was some snow outside the window. It has been really cold for the past few days and a bit of snow it is not surprising. It is a bit unusual for this time of the year though.

Someone got up early made this nice snowman :)

Here are some pictures of dinners for the cold weather. Okonomiyaki (yet again!) and my take on the classic nikujaga.

AUTUMN FLAVOURS

I love seasonal products. When I was living in Italy I could enjoy all sort of fresh products almost for free and I never really found it really special. Living in England made me realise how lucky I was to have access to my granny huge vegetable and fruit garden or to the woods near my town. Here in London I don't have a garden, therefore if I want to cook I have to buy everything I need. Everything is very expensive and what I used to consider "normal" is now some kind of a treat.
In the past few years my lifestyle has changed for the worse. Always very busy with work and other commitments and not much time to do the things I enjoy. As a result I am often stressed and frustrated.
Lately I have made an effort to come home from work in the and make sure I cook something nice and healthy. No take-aways and fast food. Not only this is good for my health, but it also means that I am not letting stuff go off in the fridge. Although some evening I am really tired and don't fancy cooking much, afterwards I feel much better about myself. I save a lot of money and I don't waste food.
The other day Yasuko-san, my Japanese teacher, told me that you should always finish your rice and don't leave a single grain. In fact, it is an old tradition to believe that there are 7 gods in each grain of rice and waisting even only one would offend them. In Japanese, the seven gods of luck are called Shichi Fukujin, which means "seven happiness beings".
Whether you believe in this or not, I think this is the right attitude to have towards food.
We take it for granted and we don't see it as a beautiful gift that nature has to offer. Children don't even know the names of fruit and vegetables, leave it alone eating or cooking them. A good meal brings people together to share something special and should be part of family life. I believe that it would improve the dialogue much more than fish fingers and boiled peas in front of the television. Anyway, I could go on forever.
This week Tommy brought me a lot of vegetables from Riverford Organic Vegetables. She orders almost every week and I get what she has in eccess. This time there were leeks, corn, apples, celery, carrots, kabocha, peppers, broccoli, sweet potatoes and pears. So nice!
At weekends I have more free time and I relax preparing more time consuming recipes.
Yesterday I made a variation of the traditional apple pie. I used wholemeal flour and left the sliced apples "marinating" with sugar, lemon juice and zest and cinnamon, before spooning them in the pie.


Chicken with ginger, mushrooms and leeks. A very tasty stew with a Japanese flavour.


A week-day dinner. Miso-marinated salmon, pak-choi, natto, miso soup, rice and the pickles I bought in Kamakura. Delicious! Pity I don't have any left...

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Sunday afternoon at Highgate cemetery. I haven't been there in a while. It used to be my favourite wandering spot. It was a bit crowded today, but it still has its charm.

This is a cute bench. Must be in memory of a child.

View from Suicide bridge...

Dinner! Ikura-don, steamed pak-choi and char-siu buns.

MORE COOKING!

Here is a recipe of my invention... Steamed salmon with ginger, garlic, green chillies and soy sauce. Served on a bed of... mushy broccoli!!! I boiled the broccoli until tender with some chunks of ginger. Then I mashed them with olive oil, more garlic, ginger and chillies. I used one of those vertical blenders for soups. The consistency is that of mushy peas, but the taste is very intersting with a kick from the chillies. I also added some blanched cherry tomatoes to give the dish a bit of colour.

Today, after my Japanese lesson, I went to the Japan Centre and China Town to buy some groceries. I bought all the ingredients for gyoza. I've never made gyoza from scratch on my own before. I've learnt a couple of weeks ago at Koko and Aya's house. Tonight I've used Koko's recipe. They came out really nice. Gyoza and beer for dinner... so tasty!

RAINY WEEKEND

It has been raining heavily all day... I took advantage of the bad weather to do all the laundry, tidy up all my clothes and clean my messy wardrobe. I still have a bit to go, but it is much better than before.

I 've decided to use up everything in my freezer. First of all because I hate wasting food and also because once the frezer is empty I will be able to switch it off and get rid of the block ice that has formed lately.

Saturday night dinner: unagi-don. I still have a couple of frozen eels in my freezer :)

I bought this cyclamen plant today. Kingyo seems to like it :)

COLD!

The weather has turned cold. It's time for coats, scarves and fluffy boots again... I must say it is a bit sad, as for the second year in a row, we haven't had much of a summer. It is especially bad for me becuase I haven't had any summer holidays this year... sigh! It is back to grey a little too soon.
My birthday has passed quite uneventfully, since it took longer than expected to get rid of my cold. No party, no nothing. I still got nice presents though, which is always nice :)

This cold weather is ideal for Hainanese Chicken Rice. I've been meaning to prepare it for ages and finally I got my inspiration. It came out really well! I'm making it again for sure. Here is a picture of my efforts:

My weird cravings for real mille feuille has finally been satisfied. This one from Patisserie Valerie was very good and tasted exactly like the one I used to eat when I was small. It was such a massive slice! Although it was super yummy, I must admit that I struggled to finish it. It was a meal on its own!!!

I've finally started taking Japanese lessons! Every Saturday morning from 10 to 12. My level is very basic at the moment, but I hope to get better soon. I must revise and learn how to read and write properly... it is hard work, but I'm enjoying it a lot. Ganbarimasu!

SICK DAY :(

I'm ill! Oh no! I got a cold and I didn't go into work.
What to do? A lot of ginger, lemon and manuka honey... a good book... Kafka would do... a toilet paper roll... yes, always handy with a leaky nose... and thank God for the Followil Family (Caleb in particular... he's so cute). I've been listening to Kings of Leon all day. Look forward to their new album.
I hope to get better in time for my birthday on Sunday. I hate being ill.

IT HAS BEEN AGES...

Here are some shots from my very English weekend. From food to heritage. Finally we also had some decent weather. Dinner at S&M in Spitafields, on the footsteps of Jack the Ripper, and day trip to Hampton Court.

I love mushy peas :)

Bread & Butter Pudding with cream is my favourite! I find Apple Crumble with custard a bit too sweet...

Hampton Court...

Pork pies in the Tudor kitchen!!!