christmas cakes

I made three  cakes which spred whipping(heavy)  cream on sponge cake , with a diameter of about 16 centimeters, on Christmas Eve. One is for my son.  The second is for my daugher and her friends.  The third is for my husband and me. My family are  very fond of  cake for sure.

Now, My voice has been hoarse since the day before yesterday , ofen does not come out, yet  I don't have a sore throat at all.  But it hinders me in my working, so  I went see a doctor yesterday morning. To my surprise, the symptom was  from  not a cold  but  drying.  The doctor said to me "You should humidify in your  living room or bed room, and shouldn't use a Electric blanket at night. 

Evryone, Please give a lot of care to humidity .
It is already the end of the year. Please take care of yourself not to catch cold.

Have a Happy New Year 2012!

How to Cook Braised Pork Belly (Butanokaakuni)

Braised Pork Belly : Butanokakuni    (serve for 10)

This is my original simple recipe of "Braised Pork belly" : ever-popular menu in our family. This is very popular with our family.  Especially my son speaks very highly of it. This food  can also last one week in the refrigerator or at a cool  room temperature,
So I always cook a lot.  However, we run out  soon:)
Just try this melt, soft ,thick and delicious this dish.

Total Time:   1.5hours

Ingredients:  

2.2kilogram or  5lb   pork side (pork belly)


9 cups of water    ( just enough to  cover the pork belly  )
2otbsp(table spoons)   or  340gram     dark soy sauce
16tbsp   or  144gram      sugar
14tbsp   or  238gram      mirin
       (if you don't have it , use 1/2cup sake instead of mirin, and add  some sugar)
1/2tsp (tea spoon) sea salt
4-6cm   or   1.5-3 inches fresh ginger root , thinly sliced
4-9 garlic cloves  by size, sliced        
a little chili powder   or   1/5tsp  toubanjyan (broad bean chili paste)
a little pepper
begeable (leak, carrot,cabbage onion, parsley and celery and so on)

3tbsp  miso (if you have)


green onion  or  leak, cut  into 5-6 cm or 2-3 inches long pieces ( added as a garnish)

how to:

(1) Brown the pork on all sides on medium heat in a frying pan.

(2)Boil water in a stock pot or a  large pot  and add  pork, ginger and garlic .

(3)Cook on medium heat for 5 or so minutes and skim the scum from broth.
    Cover it and simmer the pork for about 10 minutes

 

(4)Put  soy sauce, sugar, mirin , salt,  chili powder, pepper,
    and bege and turn down the heat to low.



(5)Cover it tightly.

(6)Simmer the pork for about 30 minutes

(7)Add miso and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, then let it cool down.



(8)Remove the pork that you want to serve , put it and broth into frying pan ,
    boil  the liquid down  until it is half  gone . 

 

(9)Serve the pork garnished with  lots of green onion  and mustard
   ( if you like).

   It's very plain sailing, isn't it?

Christmas mural decoration

Today I had  a vet  cut my pet rabbit's nails.

Pyon had been wiggling its nose with tension.

Now, I made a christmas decoration  below a few days ago.

It's really easy to make it if only you have ribbon, cotton,

some nice glittering smll stickers or  buttons,  color paper  and felt and so forth.

My dear daughter who likes to have her photo taken ＆Santa Claus

I wish you a merry and happy christmas!!!

Bling Bling Cristmas Tree

I updated our　livingroom and entrance hall with

Christmas Bling , disco ball and ornament.

We are really buoyant and excited during Christmas season.

If I had a blooming Chrismas rose this season ,

I 'd  be more joyful.(They  come out flowers in the middle of Feb here.)

Merry Christmas!  Everyone!!.......Happy Monday!

A mistake

This is  late-flowering small chrysanthemums .

Though they  are a bit subdued and sober,

the fresh white ones show other flowers to advantage, I think.

Anyway,  To  my embarrassment  ,   

 Newly  I knew that "  Duck-billed platypus"  is    a mammal .  

I have been thinking they are   a family of  bird ,

as they lay eggs and  possess  a bird- like bill. 

When I talked to my son about a duckbill  , I just discovered it. 

 knowing new thing is very delightful    at any age :-))     

Live and learn
             

Makeover!

I'm tired of straight hair. So i went to the hairdresser's , had my hair permed for the first time in two years.I got it cut ,too.

 The perm is called "the degital perm" (maybe Japlish ) in Japan .When you dry you hair with drier, it become wavy beautifully. This hairstyle is very manageable.

I want to have my hair colored soon too.

                                        

Only one Clematis flower!

A  small pink clematis (Ernest Markham) is in bloom in the cold.

Recently ,the high is about 13 degrees , and the low is 4 or so degrees

around here. It is really chilly. I do praise the teeny one for its heroic.

I've planted the seeding of violas in a pot.

 they are hardy , easy to grow , and usually profusely blooming plants 

 during winter when I have few flowers in my garden,

So I love them indeed.  I hope it grow bigger soon.

Our adorable pet rabbit "Pyon"

Pyon is very timid and shy girl.

She doesn't  really come  out of  the cage,

even though we have take care her  preciously for three or so years ,

however, she adores getting  us  to stroke gently in cage.

Her perfectly round eyes are so cute!!

How tiny!! 

 Our lovely bunny!(When she had just become  a member of our family.)

Pyon's adorable gesture

Pyon doesn't like hug very much.

I wish  that i held her in my armes and  stroked her on my lap.ope

I hope Pyon will hop over to greeting me as I come back home.

Leaf - Peeping in my garden

A colorful rust-red color of Blueberry leaves is outstanding in my small garden.
I do also enjoy the sweet fruit, not to mentioning a fall foliage,  every year .
However, to my sorrow, i didn't have plenty of  berry in  this summer....probably because of neglect of watering :-C

 Enkianthus perulatus , Doudantutuji , is not brighter than usual.

A Nandin (Nanten) with heavy with fruit (seeds??)



I feel golden leaves of Hyacinth orchid  elegant.

An Elegant Rose

Isn't  this rose beautiful ?

I do love  a pale pinkish orange color and a sweet smell of the bloom.

The  lovely roses bloom two times per year (in spring and fall).

The way  the rose is open fully

Two Santas are just enjoying  my roses.

Autumn is the best season for Music

The KOTO recital

We enjoyed the KOTO concert at the last weekend.

My  loved daughter performed two children's  songs "Yuuyakekoyake""Momiji" on the koto.

It is  only 5 months since she started to practice the instrument , Although  She was able to play it beautifully without some mistakes.....You  made it!!

My favorite and old mobile phone

Here is my cellular phone, putting some straps with the characters in " ONEPIECE" and such,  My daughter gave them to me.
 these straps are  very popular with the kids whom I  have the care of.
They often  say to me  " I want these straps. Give them to me. Please.！Mrs...."

I want to use it affectinately until it gets out of order, however, I'm  very interested in  a smart phone:)

My favorite CAMERIA!!

Isn't this fower fabulous!  It really  lools lile a  rose , right?
 In fact, It is Otome cameria , an evergreen  tree with lots of flowers in autumn in Japan.
this elegant flower is so strong in the heat  and the cold, so It is  very easy to grow.

The whole of tree

The growth is so slow, so The pruning of tree is easy.

this is "Seioubo  Camelia" , an early cameria.

The dignified flower is start flowering in my garden in early October, the earliest time of our camelias.

I am a lover of cameria.

Terrific!!

Today was a fine autumn day.

My son's soccer game was held at this playground here.

Guess what! .....they have won the victory. GOOD  job!

The central  player is my son who is center back today.

at parking lot near playground

It is mid-autumn  now.

Enkianthus perulatus : Doudantutuji ,are very beautiful.

So,In spite of me, quickly

I  did enjoy not only the soccer game but also red leaf.

It was really fantastic day today.

Fitghting with "scale insect"

Look at the below photo.  happening serious matter. :-(

The harmful insects have been brerding in large numbers on my beloved  Kumquat : Kinkan.

Although it is time-comsuming work , I've persevered in work which scrape the scale insects ( its botanical name is Coccoidea) , rubiiroukaigaramusi ,off by my hand or the toothbrush for non-chemical ones

 the scale insects is noxious in my garden, while  they say some of them are using as coloring matter. I was  pretty surprised! 8-(

The mums are in full bloom.

Meet  the spray mums: maifuusha. I love the patals using two-colours of the mum so much. It 's around two years since I started to cultivate them.

I increaced flowers by multiplication of plant by  separating two roots.

I'm very glad that these mums  never fail to come out in this season.

Seeding!

 

I've  sowed spinaches ,rape blossoms,and  edible chrysansemum in the planter and ground.  Spinaches like alkalinaty soil, so first  I limed  to adjust pH.
Last,  coverd earth with the nets for protection　against some birds .
Perfect!

We was good exercise!

Today was not a perfect day for hike. It was cloudy,but We had wonderful time.

As scheduled,I and my daughter climbed to Mt.Takao,  about 50 km from Tokyo , to see the autumn leaves. Unfortunately,they haven't turned into red yet, but that view was beautiful  and majestic.

 First We climbed by taking a lift to halfway
 up to moutain,  to the top along  route 2.

 On the way the top,  visited The Yakuouin

 Temple  and  stopped by  some souvenir shop.

The temple, believed to have been built in 744 by Gyoki   Bosatsu under decree from Emperor Shomu, is dedicated to the Medicine Bhudda, Yakushi Nyorai.

 The Top was crowded with lots of                
 climbers ,were alive with mountaineers.
 　　　　　　　
 Today is November 3, national　holiday,so

 I think it is quite natural.

"Mitufukudanngo";the dumpling with sauce of walnut and

soybean paste,  is filling and great.

They say the age of this tree here is about 500 years old.









”Zoutyouten" one of the four deva.