The Japanese Kitchen

I've been having so much fun with a Japanese cookbook I found at my library. It's called The Japanese Kitchen and it's written by Kimiko Barber. We love Japanese food because it's not only tasty, but very healthy too, with its emphasis on seasonal fruits and vegetables, soy, rice, seafood, green tea, etc. My local grocery store has some of the ingredients we need, but I found a Japanese grocery store in BC that will ship anywhere in Canada. Ever since the box arrived filled with such interesting ingredients as wasabi, mirin, miso paste, soba noodles, etc., we've been trying to transform our kitchen into a Japanese kitchen on a regular basis! Here are some of the dishes we've tried, with most of the recipes coming from the book.



Crabmeat, chile, and lime sushi




Inari zushi (Stuffed tofu sushi)





Gyoza dumplings with cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, and ground beef





Hirama no tsutusmi-yakii (Parcels of sole)





Spinach with bonito flakes





Maccha (green tea) ice cream with adzuki bean paste




Shiratama manju (Sweet dumplings with adzuki bean paste)

What about you? What are your favorite Japanese foods?

A weekend in Chicago!

A couple weeks ago, I flew to Chicago for a long weekend, by myself! It was strange to be apart from Eric and the kids, but great fun to meet up with my mother-in-law and my sisters-in-law. We stayed at the Drake Hotel in Chicago and enjoyed a girls' weekend in celebration of my mother-in-law's birthday!



We went to a French cooking demonstration at the Merchandise Mart. We could see what the chef was doing by looking at the overhead mirrors, and could follow along with the recipe sheets we were given.



First course was cheese souffle and salad




Next was steak au poivre with cognac sauce, pommes de terre puree, and haricots verts. Dessert was profiteroles with chocolate sauce!



A view of Michigan Avenue from our hotel room




Being playful in Bloomingdale's




All of us at High Tea at the Drake


Scones, little sandwiches, desserts, and tea!




With a harpist. From left to right, Krista, Esther, Erin, harpist, Jani, and Stacey.



Our last morning together--breakfast at the Grand Luxe Cafe.

What a blessing to be together! It was rejuvenating and relaxing. And I was all the more glad to see Eric and the kids when I stepped off the plane in Regina. It's always good to go away, but good to be home as well.