Yummy bagels

Something that is very important to me is supporting small, local businesses. Most small businesses have better products and they really care about their customers. We can ask their advice how to use something and even tell them our ideas.

Near my house is a specialist bagel cafe that opened almost 2 years ago. I've been going there all that time, and the quality is still very good. The owners are a lovely young couple who are really friendly and try to make lots of new flavors.

My favorite bagels to eat plain are the cinnamon and raisin ones. Try cutting them in half horizontally and putting them in an oven toaster :)



For sandwiches, the cafe will prepare salmon and cream cheese with salad. Yum!

At home, my most delicious sandwich so far was a bagel with dried figs. Inside I put freshly cooked sasami chicken and Camembert cheese.....

Or how about a hot ham steak and a ring of pineapple (both cooked in a non-stick fry pan) sandwiched in a wholemeal bagel? :)

To get there, going south on Nishi-odori, at the Anderson Bakery corner turn right. (Between Tsukuba Bank and the condominium.) Go west. Pass Couronne Bakery on the left. Pass Family Mart on the right. On the left you can find Matsushiro Dental Clinic, then a ramen shop (Kimura?). Then you can find a small hot dog cafe. The car park for the hot dog cafe is the same for the bagel cafe. It is across from Katsuragi Animal Clinic. And if you get to Seven Eleven, you went too far.

The cafe opens at 11am and closes when all the bagels are sold, or at 6pm. Thursdays are holidays.

If you want to give bagels as a gift, they have boxes to pack them in :)

Sesame seed and cheese bagel made
into a sandwich with smoked salmon
and cream cheese.

Double choc bagel with cream cheese

Mist or fog?

If you were up bright and early this morning, you will know that it was an unusual morning :)

Today was the first warm morning of the season, and the air contained a lot of moisture.

On my way to work, I was thinking, "Hmm, is this called fog or is it mist?" In my first lesson, my student also asked the same question. We checked the dictionary, and maybe this morning's weather should be called fog. The main reason is that it was quite thick and visibility was poor. Usually I can easily see the Mitsui Building but as you can see in the second photo, the central buildings are not visible at all!

By about 8:30am, the sun was higher and all the fog was burned off. Now it is sunny :)

During the afternoon, while teaching a class....

.... I found two mistakes using "while" and "during" ;)

Very basically, "during" is used with a noun phrase. That noun phrase shows a period of time. There is only one verb.

   Please make notes during the class.

   During the meeting, Mr. Tanaka fell asleep.

   I study English during TV commercial breaks.



"while" is used when you have two actions, so two verbs.

   I study English while watching TV.

   While I was talking to my sister on the phone, I cleaned up my    room.

   Please watch out for cars while riding your bike.


* Both "while" and "during" show an action over a period of time, not just at one moment.

* "while" mostly uses "V + ing" but not in all cases.

* Native speakers don't use "while" and "during" for every case. If the feeling of over a period of time is not important, we can change it to more simple grammar:

   Please make notes in class.

   Mr. Tanaka fell asleep at the meeting.

   I study English in TV commercial breaks. 

   I study English when I watch TV.

   When I was talking to my sister on the phone, I cleaned up my room.

   Please watch out for cars when riding your bike. 

Sakura season has started!

As you may know, I LOVE sakura flavored things!

Last Wednesday was the start of the cherry blossom seasonal flavor at Starbucks. Here is my Sakura Latte and Sakura macaroon.

Sorry the picture is not so good (I was using my mobile phone), but I think you can tell the milk is pink :)

The macaroon was okay, but I won't buy another one - it just tasted sweet, not like sakura.

Keeping your hands warm

This is my portable hand warmer :)

Actually, it is just an aluminium bottle (Boss Coffee) that I fill with hot water every morning before I leave my house. When I stop at each traffic light, I hold it in my hands to stay warm. Then when I get to work, I can hold it between my ankles to warm up my feet!

I like working in the early mornings, but in winter it is truly freezing here. If I don't use my hand warmer, by the time I get to work my fingers are numb from the cold. (I don't like to turn on my car 10 minutes early to heat it up, so inside the car is always under zero degrees.)

You can also use two cans if you go walking - they keep your hands warm and also act as mini-weights! Or you can put them into your bed before you sleep at night to warm up the sheets.

Another idea is to keep it inside your lunch bag to keep you boxed lunch hot.

After the water becomes cold, I give it to the indoor plants :)

WARNING: Please use gloves or a cotton cover on the bottle because the surface is HOT. And a coffee bottle is better than one containing green tea, because the neck is wider to pour in the hot water.

AED/CPR course

I spent my whole weekend in Tokyo. On Saturday I had a business English class in central Tokyo, then on Sunday I was a beginner learner :)

What did I learn? Well, I went to Shibuya Fire Station and in the morning I did a course on using an AED machine and doing CPR. Then in the afternoon, first aid for children. There were about 40 international residents from Tokyo and nearby.

AED = automated external defibrillator
自動体外式除細動器


CPR = Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation
心肺蘇生法

It was really interesting to learn CPR and I was surprised how much power we needed to practice on the adult dummy, and how fast we need to do it. There was also a child sized dummy and a baby one.

The course was taught by Japanese staff and/or in English by an American guy named Dave. (He translated the Japanese to English.) I highly recommend taking such a course and I hope to ask Dave to come to Tsukuba in the near future.

Here are some pictures I took. (After asking permission if it was okay!)

Free-range eggs

Do you eat free-range eggs? "What are they?", you might ask.

First, think about the meanings of "free". I guess you could be thinking "free = no money". But usually, that meaning of "free" wouldn't become a two part adjective.

These eggs are 100yen, but those ones are free.
The free eggs were laid today, but they are too small to sell.
I got some eggs for free.

Another meaning is "free = not". That patter is noun + free. It means that thing is not there.

fat free yogurt = yogurt with no fat in it
stress free = having no stress

But for my eggs, you should think about the meaning "free = independent/wild/not in a cage".
"range" means "walk around a large area"

In Japanese? 　放し飼いの鶏の卵

These eggs taste wonderful. I get them from the small farmer's shop near my house. From memory, I think they are 210yen for six. They taste so good that I can't eat any other eggs nowadays. Anyway, I think keeping chickens in tiny cages is horrible and cruel, so I refuse to eat regular eggs.


The picture of the chickens is from another place that sells eggs. Those ones are also nice but more expensive and the shop is a little far.

By the way, the verb for mother creatures -
birds, reptiles (snakes, lizards, turtles), frogs, insects, etc  -
giving "birth" to eggs is "lay".

lay --> laid

The butterfly laid her eggs on the leaf.
My chickens lay about 20 eggs every day.

What am I reading?

Recently I told you about the fiction books I've been reading on my Kindle, and here is the "regular paper book" I've also been reading for the past several months.

It is quite a heavy topic, and actually a heavy book!!!, so I am keeping it in my office and reading it there when I get time. I have to admit, that more and more I have been appreciating the convenience of the Kindle and wish I could get this book in a Kindle version. However, it is a slightly rare book and I had to buy it from America directly.

It was written pre-war and is about the poor nutrition of local people when they stop eating their traditional foods and begin eating a typical "Western" diet. Dr. Price never came to Japan, but I am sure exactly the same thing has happened here.

It is VERY, VERY depressing to read this book. The doctor wanted everyone to understand that processed foods are not good, and to eat natural foods - and his message is from 70 years ago. He would be so shocked if he could see what people are eating now, and how terrible modern human's health is. Many of the diseases he studied are now worse, and there are even more new sicknesses caused by poor eating.

If you are interested in health, nutrition and the changing world, please try to get this book.

Being organized in the mornings

I usually start work at 7:30 or 8am, which means I should leave my house at 7 or 7:30am.

I like starting work early but winter in Tsukuba can be really freezing - I think the average morning temperature in January was minus 3 to minus 4. (One day it was minus 6 and all the pipes in my house froze ...) Anyway, so early mornings are good to start work (and study!) bright and fresh but I don't want to wake up really, really early.

I can do absolutely everything and be out the door in just 30 minutes each morning :) The key point is you have to be organized. I prepare everything the night before:
- all my clothes are set out, in the exact order I get dressed.
- the kettle is full of water ready to be turned on.
- the tea leaves are prepared in the pot.
- if I want to eat breakfast, it must be cooked the night before or be a banana, etc.
- my lunch is in the fridge, ready to be put in my lunch bag.
- any other items I must take to the office are in a bag ready to go.
- a bottle of water is in the entrance in case I have to get ice off the car.

You can actually do quite a lot at the same time if you are organized, for example, I turn on the kettle before going to wash my face, then go back and put the hot water over the tea to steep, then go to do my hair, then I can drink my tea while dressing.

Of course it helps that I have no children :) I really admire mothers that can get everyone ready and out the door before 8am!

How long does your morning routine take? What could you do to be more organized and stress free in the morning?

Sweet sake lees drink

Sake lees are the by-product of sake making. Sake is made from rice, and after fermentation, the liquid becomes sake and the paste that remains is called "lees". 酒粕

Most sake lees are a fine paste pressed into cakes. ("cake" means a block shape, not cake for afternoon tea!)

Tsukuba is famous for delicious rice, and also for some good quality sake. I don't drink sake, but I do like sweet sake lees drink. 甘酒

There is a very small but very good sake brewery that is run by a woman, at the foot of Mt. Tsukuba. The name is Inaba Shuzo. Their lees are not pressed at all - the sake drips out and is not squeezed. This means the lees are like a paste of rice grains, and when you make the drink, it will be more like rice porridge :)

The next different thing is that I make my amazake drink with 30% water and 70% milk! Yes, MILK amazake! I thought it would be like a hot liqueur drink similar to Irish coffee. I was right!

Most people think I'm crazy and that the drink must be disgusting, but you should try it before you make up your mind. The people I've told who have made it, said it was really nice :)  But I think it is important to have the very good quality lees like I use. The fragrance is wonderful.

Next time you go to Mt. Tsukuba, be sure to go to Inaba Shuzo. Or if you visit the shrine, some souvenir shops have it. This time I bought mine from the shop closest to the shrine on the right side, just down from the steps. The owner of the shop makes REALLY nice pickles :)  You cannot buy these sake lees downtown in the city anywhere.

Vocabulary - Quest

A few days ago when I was driving to work, I noticed a sticker on the back window of the car in front of mine.

QUEST

I have no idea why they had the sticker, or what it meant, but I began thinking about the word "quest".

"Quest" means to "seek", to "ask". Of course, you are familiar with "Dragon Quest"! This comes from the meaning in medieval romances such as King Arthur. Knights were given some adventure or task they should do, for example, go and find something. Um, to be honest, I've never played Dragon Quest, so I don't know what the player is looking for ......

By the way, "quest" is actually quite a rare word in daily English, so I think you won't need to use it.

But how about the word "question" ?
I'm sure that IS a word you use every day. Other common words are:

query
questionnaire

And what is the origin of these words? "Quest" comes from Middle English, which comes from Old French, which comes from Latin!

What am I reading? (Feb 13, 2011)

Recently I don't get much time for reading, but when I have the chance I've been reading two very different types of books, today I'll tell you about the fiction, and next time about the non-fiction.

KINDLE: Mystery books in which the character is 11 years old :)  They are quite easy and fun to read, but I think they are aimed at older readers, not just older children and teenagers.

The main character is named Flavia de Luce and she is the daughter of an aristocratic family in England in the 1950's. The books are good mysteries and are funny, sweet, and heartwarming but are also full of dry humor. There are 3 so far, with Number 3 only being released this week on Kindle. I think you can get them from Amazon Japan, too.

Please don't mind the strange titles. The author's name is Alan Bradley.

 

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Here is a super easy recipe that is delicious, healthy and time saving!

1. Wash one punnet of cherry tomatoes. Drain.
2. Shape a piece of foil into a shallow dish.
(Or you can use an aluminium tray, baking dish or glass dish.)
3. Put the tomatoes into the dish.
4. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil over the tomatoes.
5. Season with a little black pepper.
6. Sprinkle on some herbs if you have any - thyme, oregano, rosemary.
7. Bake in a toaster oven or in the fish grill for about 5 minutes.
8. Finished!

They will be very sweet. If you want to, you can season them with salt, but I never do.

Alternative ideas:
1. Add a few pieces of Japanese negi leek. Just the green part will give a nice flavor and fragrance.
2. Roast some garlic the same way, and add it to the tomatoes.
3. Don't use the oil, but put chopped bacon on the top.

How to eat them:
1. Simply - just as a side vegetable.
2. As a topping sauce - mash them a little and put them on top of sauteed chicken.
3. As a pasta sauce - put them in a pan, mash them, and toss with pasta.
4. On toast - mash a little and eat on French bread toast. Just tomatoes or with anchovies.
5. As pizza topping.

cherry tomatoes = mini tomatoes
punnet = small container of vegetable or fruit (e.g. strawberries, cherry tomatoes)
drizzle =  垂らす
aluminium = UK English
aluminum = US English

Anyone's guess...

Have you heard the expression "It's anyone's guess!"?

It means that the speaker has no idea of the answer, and any person could make a guess. Here is an example:

A:    What will the weather be like tomorrow?
B:    It's anyone's guess!

And tomorrow this is very true ........ Just take a look at what the weather forecast says! I think the forecasters are hedging their bets.

light rain, sleet, dryish snow, fine, light rain, light rain, cloudy!!!???

Vocabulary - Pre & Post

In English there are many prefixes and suffixes. These are word "parts" that come before or after a word, or inside the word at the front or back. Japanese has many, too. Most of the English ones come from Latin.

For example:
convenient < -- >  inconvenient     便利　　不便

For the Japanese "fu" 不 we have some prefixes in English. Before you continue reading, can you think of them?
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
in, un, im  are 3. Try to think of some words which use them.

inconvenient
unhappy
impatient

Two words that I used a lot last week were "pre-war" and "post-war". I told some students that I was surprised how many buildings in Kyoto are from the post-war period, because I expected most of Kyoto architecture to be pre-war.  戦前・戦後

"pre" comes from Latin and means:
earlier, before, prior to  -  pre-war
in preparation for      -  prepare
in advance                    -  prepay
in front of                      -  precede

"post" is also Latin and means:
after, later                  -  postpone
behind                          -  postern (the back gate (of a castle, etc)

We love vegetables!

Have you ever seen cats who love vegetables? Dusty not only loves persimmon, but also most green leafy things. If you don't believe me, take a look at these photos:

You can clearly see from the photos that Dusty is in a frenzy to start munching. Kuro will eat a little (maybe just because Dusty is) but soon gets bored and walks away.  On the other hand, Dusty loves leaves and will come running when I bring vegetables home from the shop. I still don't know if he can SEE they are green, or he can SMELL them?

The only thing they don't like is pale lettuce such as iceberg lettuce. In the top photos they are eating broccoli shoots, and in the lower ones, the green part from the top of Chinese cabbage. It is impossible to leave the cabbage on the kitchen bench because he will try to eat it all day!

Last summer I did buy a pot of cat grass from the pet shop, but they played with it more than ate it.

frenzy = very excited, very active

New listening blog

The Real English website has a new listening blog which is based on Youtube videos from the BBC, etc.

I really like the BBC and I have been watching their shows since I was a small child. My favorite programs are nature, wildlife, travel, and sometimes British comedy.

Unfortunately, even using cable TV, the only show we can watch in Japan is the BBC news. So sometimes I watch documentaries on Youtube, and then I buy DVD's from England of the series I like. You can buy them from the BBC shop or from Amazon.co.uk.

Back to the topic of the new blog, you can watch parts of shows taken from Youtube and read the English dialog with Japanese translations. All the translations into Japanese have been done by R.E. so are not official.

To find the blog, please go to the top page of Real English, and go down to the bottom right hand corner.

We love persimmons!

Persimmons are a fruit that many Westerners might not have eaten. I was 20 years old before I first saw one, and then that was because my friend's Italian born parents grew a tree in their garden in South Australia. (Actually, immigrants introduced many, many new foods to Australia.)

Anyway, then I came to Japan and found persimmons are a common autumn fruit. Fresh ones are nice, but I LOVE dried ones!

For some very weird reason, Dusty LOVES fresh ones. Now they are out of season, but in autumn when I brought them home and put them on the counter, he would run and jump up on the counter immediately. (Very naughty, but it is impossible to stop him from doing it.) I guess he can smell them? Twice he actually picked one up in his mouth and ran away with it, before I could get it back. It was so funny, a cat with an orange fruit in his mouth, that was as big as his head. I'm not sure if he would actually eat it because both times I took it off of him before he could start to bite into it. And he is not at all interested in dried persimmon.

A really nice news article ...

You should go to the Daily Yomiuri Online newspaper and read the article below. It is really nice :)

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110206003523.htm

article = story

"article" is often used for a short piece of information we can find in the newspaper. "news" is a non-countable noun, so we need to use a counting word such as:

a news article
a news story
a piece of news
an item of news

Cooking brussel sprouts

Do you like brussel sprouts? I really hated them when I was a child, but now I know that was for 2 reasons:
1. They were not fresh, and
2. my mother overcooked them :(

You may call these "baby cabbages" in Japanese but they aren't cabbages. Please do a search for "brussel sprout plant" on Google and see what the plant looks like. It is certainly not a baby cabbage :)  But actually, it is one of the cabbage family, so it is related to things like broccoli and even rapeseed  -  菜の花.

Brussel sprouts grow along a stem so they look a little like a bunch of grapes. Please try to eat recently picked ones because the older they get, the more bitter they become. Fresh ones are quite sweet! And DO NOT overcook them! They will become really bitter and horrible. My mother cooks them in the typical English/Australian way of boiling them for a loooooong time in water. They become bitter and all the vitamins are lost.

So how do I cook them? It is really easy. The easiest way is to wash them, drain them and cover them with damp paper towel (kitchen towel) and cook them for a few minutes in the microwave oven. This is also a good method for cooking broccoli. It keeps all the vitamins and doesn't make them bitter. Another way is below:

1. Wash the sprouts. Don't drain or dry them.
2. Put them in a non-stick pan. ***
3. Put a lid on the pan. This will help them steam.
4. Steam them for about 3 minutes, rolling them around a few times by shaking the pan. Don't open the lid or the heat and steam will escape. Most of the water will be gone.
5. Take off the lid and cook for another minute until all the water is gone.
6. While you are cooking them, chop one clove of garlic.
7. Put about 1 teaspoon of virgin olive oil in the pan with the sprouts.** Shake them around.
8. Add the garlic. Cook for about 1 minute until the garlic is golden.* Garlic will burn easily so be careful.
9. Finished!

*** I'm using my new, non-toxic pan :)
** You can use 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil plus 1/2 teaspoon of butter. This will give a richer taste.
* The total cooking time from start to finish is 5 minutes. Please don't cook them more.

If you think this dish is too "green" or if you want a stronger taste, add chopped bacon to the pan and don't use any oil or butter.

Today's Grammar Point

Try to find the mistake in this conversation, then go down the page to check.

A:     I've never been to Okinawa.
B:     Me too.
A:     Do you want to go there?
B:     Yes, but I want to go in summer.
A:     Me too.

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
NOTE {but not the mistake}: In natural English it is not necessary to say "there".
"Do you want to go?" is OK.     So we can use:

"Do you want to?" - maybe this is a little too easy and casual but native speakers do say it.
"Do you want to go?" - natural
"Do you want to go there?" - natural
"Do you want to go to Okinawa?" - unnatural, please don't repeat the same noun so soon

Anyway, could you find the mistake in the conversation?

A:     I've never been to Okinawa.

B:     Me too. --> Me neither.  /  I haven't either. 

A:     Do you want to go there?

B:     Yes, but I want to go in summer.

A:     Me too. 

"Me too" is for two positive verbs (simple verbs with no ..n't)
A:    I like dogs.
B:    Me too.  /  I like dogs, too.

A:    I can ski.
B:    Me too.

"neither / .... n't either" is for negative verbs (verb + n't)
A:    I don't like dogs.
B:    Me neither.    /    I don't either.    /    I don't like dogs either.

A:    I can't ski.
B:    Me neither.   /      I can't either.

Amazon Kindle

In October 2009 I was so excited because Amazon USA finally sold their Kindle E-book reader to customers worldwide. I had been wanting a Kindle for soooooooo long but it was not available in Japan. Luckily, I look at the Amazon page so often that I could find the news just one day after it appeared. I immediately pre-ordered a Kindle and it was in the first shipment that arrived in Japan.

Many people don't like the idea of an electronic book reader because they say paper books are best. Well, I have been an avid reader since I was a very small child and Kindle is WONDERFUL! Of course I still love paper books and I collect hardcover books by some authors, and also paperbacks of some series. But that is also a problem because I honestly have no more room to store books at my house or my office. I am the type of person who keeps their books and doesn't re-sell them or pass them onto other people :)

If I won the lottery, I would build a house with one room as a private library. That has been a dream of mine since I was a child. Actually, I used to think being a librarian would be a good job, but you have to WORK which means I couldn't read all day! Unfortunately I haven't won the lottery yet, so I shouldn't buy more and more "real" books.

So that's why I was interested in the Kindle. Not only is is great for storing many books, it also has many useful features such as "search". But would it be good for reading? The only answer was to buy one and find out for myself!

The answer is a resounding YES!!! It is much better than I could have ever expected. I love the Kindle just as much as I love books. Often it is much better than books! How do I know? Well, I've bought 70 books for the Kindle in the past 14 months and read them all. And in that time I've read about 40 paperback or hardcover books as well. In almost all cases, the Kindle is much easier and more convenient. (I only bought most of the books in paper because they weren't available on the Kindle - rare, textbooks, unpublished in e-format, etc.)

Now 5 people I know have bought a Kindle since I recommended it, and they all like it too :)

You should watch the official Kindle video on the bottom of the Kindle page at Amazon.com. Look for the picture of a woman reading while sitting in a beach-chair. That is the video that introduces the Kindle.

The most recent Kindle is third generation. That means it is the 3rd model. I have a second generation model, but it is fine. If you do buy a Kindle to use in Japan. You must buy the one that costs $189. The cheaper one cannot access the mobile phone network in Japan. Right now you cannot read Japanese books, but I think if you wait another 6 months or a year, it will be possible - maybe 4th generation?

One of the best things about Kindle is that it is NOT a computer and doesn't have a back-light. The Amazon website shows a woman reading in bright sunlight on a beach. I tried it on Miyako Island and it's true - bright sunlight is perfectly OK :)

Sitting nicely!

News Topic - Kirishima Volcano

This week a main news topic is the volcano erupting in the Kirishima Mountains on the border of Kagoshima and Miyazaki.

Here are some important words you should know. At first, try to understand in English. Next, try to think of the Japanese words. Finally, check your dictionary.

volcano - a mountain that has lava, etc under it. (e.g. Kirishima, Sakura-jima)
active volcano - a volcano that is not sleeping, e.g. Sakura-jima
dormant volcano - a volcano that is sleeping but not dead, e.g. Mt. Fuji
extinct volcano - a volcano that is dead, e.g. Mt Kaimon (in Kagoshima)

lava - the red, liquid rock under a volcano
lava dome - a big dome of lava that is growing under a volcano
ash - the grey/brown/black powder that comes out of a volcano.
erupt - the volcano explodes or something comes out suddenly

evacuate - people move to a safe place
evacuation center - a safe place people can stay, e.g. a school, community center

A souvenir

Here is my souvenir for Dusty and Kuro. This year is the Year of the Rabbit, so I bought a small rabbit for them from a shop leading up to Kiyomizu Temple. The shop had many lovely items and the store owner was a very polite and kind elderly man. I think he would be surprised to know I bought the rabbit for my cats ....

I think it is actually a key ring because it had a small strap and a bell, but now it is a toy :)

I told you Kuro was jet black, and it is very hard to take a nice picture of him! You can see his very big, fluffy feet well, but sorry you can't see his face.

Mount Fuji in the sunset

A nice picture of Mt. Fuji taken from inside the shinkansen, as another train speeds past in the opposite direction.

Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto

On Sunday I went to Kiyomizu Temple in the morning. I chose it because I wanted to go somewhere that existed in the Heian Period, and that Sei Shonagon had visited. Kiyomizu Temple was founded in 798, but the present temple building was built in 1633.

I love reading "The Pillow Book" and I have several versions: one rare book from 1920, another translated in the 1980s and now a newer electronic book. If I had magic, or a time machine!, I would go back and visit Shonagon. She sometimes went to Kiyomizu for a Buddhist retreat. I know everything has changed, but I guess the mountain view is still similar ....

Anyway, it was SO SO SO busy! I cannot imagine what it must be like in spring or autumn in the peak seasons. It was difficult to take a picture that didn't have many people in it, so please forgive the poor photos.

Curious in Kyoto

Hello from Kyoto!

I left Tsukuba at lunchtime and caught the bullet train at 3pm. Today was only my 4th time to take the "shinkansen" or "bullet train". (It was called a bullet train because the original shape was like a bullet!)




It was very comfortable because I took a superior "green seat" which are very spacious and I had no-one sitting next to me. Most passengers in that carriage were businessmen. It was very reasonable because I used a package of train and hotel, so the superior seat was less than half price. I was going to try and sleep, but I didn't because I was happy to look at the scenery outside of the window. I could find Mount Fuji hiding behind a cloud, and a very snowy area just after Nagoya.

Now I am in a small hotel in Sanjo in Kyoto and I am using my mini-sized computer. It is very difficult to type on and the screen is small. The hotel is quite nice and better than a regular "business hotel". At Kyoto Station I went to Isetan department store and bought some simple side dishes for dinner. Plus two Japanese sweets :)

I've found some curious things about Kyoto:

1. I heard that in the Kansai region people stand on the RIGHT side of the escalators and let people pass on the left. That was true in the main station area, but in the department store and going to the subway, people stood on the LEFT, same as in Kanto!??? Now I'm confused :(

2. Most shop clerks are lovely! They are VERY polite and very carefully give you back your change after you  pay. It is nice :)

3. Some Kyoto people do speak with rising intonation - just like I saw on TV. So the end of sentences rises. I thought it sounds good, but not all people do that. I wonder why? Maybe it means some people were born and raised here, and others came from somewhere else ....

4. Kyoto Station is very big and confusing. There are English signs but the station building and how to get to the subway is maybe worse than Tokyo. And I was a bit surprised that people push into the subway carriages quickly. Most Tokyo people wait for the other passengers to get out first. Maybe people are in a hurry because it is Friday night?

Anyway, I am very tired and I think I will go to bed early. I have a big meeting tomorrow so I should be wide awake for that!

Goodnight.

Vocabulary - Dry vs. Air

Here are some verbs you can use when talking about housework!

dry = something that is wet becomes dry

I hung out my laundry to dry.

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air = you put something outside to make it fresh. It is already dry, but maybe it is smelly :)
Or maybe it is just a little damp, from humidity.

I put my futon out to air. 
I picked up my suit from the dry cleaner, but it smelled of chemicals so I am airing it outside today.


Basically, if it is wet and you want it to be dry, then use "dry".
If you want the sun and wind to touch it to make it fresh, then use "air".

乾かす= dry;         風に当てて=air

By the way .... 洗濯
American English = do the laundry
British English = do the washing

Nigella Lawson's cooking

Do you like cooking? Would you like some very easy cooking ideas? Then you should visit Nigella Lawson's website.

Nigella is a British woman who has become one of the world's most famous cooks. I think one reason she is popular is because she makes food we can all make at home. She LOVES to take shortcuts. For example, she buys baby leaf salad mix in a bag from the supermarket and puts it in a salad bowl with homemade dressing. She just drops it in a salad bowl without washing it, so I really hope that it is "pre-washed"! She also often uses kitchen scissors instead of a knife. You should try it - I've used kitchen scissors for many years, especially for herbs because you can cut them directly over a pot. This means all the flavor from the herb oils goes into the cooking, not onto the cutting board. And of course, you don't need to wash the cutting board if you don't use it :)

By the way, I have never cooked any of Nigella's recipes myself because they are often unhealthy with much butter and sugar. But you should check her recipes and just use her ideas. If you watch her videos, you can get lots of ideas for taking shortcuts while cooking even 'gorgeous' dishes. There is a really good chicken pie video on Youtube. (Search for Nigella Lawson Chicken Pie)

She chats a lot while she is cooking, but don't worry if you don't understand what she is saying. Mostly it is not at all important for the recipe.

Here is one example of a very quick desert. (She calls it "pudding". In England, "pudding" can mean "dessert" or it can mean "pudding" - e.g. chocolate pudding.)

Recipe on her website:

150g mini marshmallows
50g soft butter
250g good dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces
60ml hot water from a recently boiled kettle
1 x 284ml tub double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


To see how she makes it, please watch this video:

For a bigger size, go to this page on Youtube.

Be careful about cup and spoon sizes in recipes from different countries. On Nigella's website, go to the recipe page and click on:

EQUIVALENTS AND CONVERSIONS

A new fry pan/skillet

Recently I bought a new fry pan. I know that is not very exciting, but a good fry pan is important for cooking well without too much oil. And less oil is healthy, right? But I have to tell you something important before you get too interested ... I IMPORTED the fry pan from the USA! Crazy? Maybe, but here are my reasons:

I've been looking for a good fry pan for YEARS! About 7 years to be precise. I want something that is easy to cook with, so I tried many kinds of non-stick pans. Even the expensive ones were not so good after just 1 year or so. The non-stick coating slowly wears off. The second to last pan I bought was an expensive one from America that I bought from a local kitchenware shop. It was expensive and the box said the coating would last for many years. Well, it lasted for 1 :( In the end it was no different to the next pan, a cheap one from a local home-center store.

The other reason I am worried about pans is that actually I don't want to use Teflon coated ones. There is some research that says the coating is toxic and very bad for our health. I don't know if that is true or not, but I don't want to take any risks. Anyway, if the coating comes off little by little, where does it go? I surely don't want to eat it!

So then I bought a stainless steel pan like chefs use in a restaurant. It is nice if you cook food on a high heat with much oil, but honestly it is difficult to use in daily life. If you are not careful, the food sticks very quickly :(

Then one day I was looking around on Amazon.com and the site was promoting kitchenware. I had some free time so clicked on the pictures just to see what kind of things are popular in the USA. After a few minutes of browsing, one brand of cookware caught my eye. It is a brand more famous for food processors, so I was curious about the pans.

Take a look at this site and you can see a selection of pans and also watch a video.

Before you decide you want one too, I have to tell you that you CANNOT buy them in Japan. Cusinart Japan doesn't sell this particular type of pan with ECO "hard anodized" coating. So why did I want THIS pan, and not one I can buy domestically? It's because the ECO pans are totally non-toxic even at high temperatures.

The pan itself was on sale for less than 5,000yen but shipping from the USA to Japan cost that much again. Was it worth it? YES! Great to cook with and the handle doesn't get hot at all - just like the video said. I highly recommend it. Now I just have to wait and see how many years I can use it :)

Oh, and by the way,

fry pan         is British English
skillet           is American English

so the Amazon.com webpage says "skillet".

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*** This blog entry contains many idioms or daily phrases. Please check the underlined parts in a dictionary. If you can't find the meaning, send a comment and I will help you.