Roast Chicken withe crispy skin

Best roast chicken ever!
1tbs salt in total
1ts baking powder
1 lemon and 1/2 of Moroccan lemon
1tbs butter
4lb whole chicken
dry brine with salt and BP in the refrigerator for overnight or more.
Start with 450F and down to 350F later. Around 1hour and 15min.
Crispy and not too greasy nor salty.
Happy Holidays!

Fushimi inari in Kyoto

It has been a while since I went to Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto. The whole Fushimi mountain is a sacred area. I feel very nice in this mountain, climbing all the stairs to the top. My friend told me one of the reason why she could not take living in Tokyo was the fact that there are no mountains. It sounds like an odd reason, but I understand the feeling. I miss Japanese mountains.

Day trip to Awaji island

Take a JR train from Osaka to Akashi, where the "Uonotana" fish market is, we enjoyed tasting samples, watching fresh fish and shopping for dried fish.
Then take a fast commuter ferry to Awaji island. It was seriously fast.

Tasting Sake at Sennenichi sake distillery.
You can actually see the process of making sake between Dec-Mar.

Huge traditional barrels are the same ones used for making soy source.
It is a pity that realistically no one can make these barrels now.
Went home with the top ranked sake "Daiginjo".
It is beautiful!

Welcome lion

I found this Scandinavian stone lion at my favorite store at the flea market.
His cheeks are funny and made me smile.
I realized I have many animals around my room, a rabbit, a rhino, a bird, a monkey, a hippo...

Greek-roasted eggplant dip

Greek Mezedes are like Spanish tapas.
I did not know that people in Greece did not eat much meat until pretty recently, like the '50s.

Smash the roasted eggplant and mix with olive oil, wine vinegar and garlic...a quick and good snack.

Soul food healthy fusion

I love ribs. I love soul food. But it's heavy.
So I made pan-fried chicken breast with sweet barbecue sauce. For sides, I prepared collard green stewed with smoked turkey neck, mashed potato and sprouted bean salad.

I still enjoyed the feeling and flavor of soul food, but with a much lighter finish.

Morozoff fall/winter catalogue 2009

My little blue plate is now on Morozoff catalogue fall/winter 2009.

bird broach

A tiny bird broach.
I should make bigger ones and hung them on the wall.

painting dining table

It's a time to say good bye to our round white dining table.
I have been looking for nice dining table for a long time.
We are not ready yet for having the best quality piece and taking care of it for the rest of our lives.
But we can always make something our style with a little work. And I hate to add to the garbage.

Anyway, I got an unfinished wooden dining table from a French couple who was moving out of their apartment (and New York?).
We jumped into a cab with the table.
No packing material waste. Great.
I painted it with whitewash.
The photos show the table before and after.

furnish green is a "furniture shelter" in NYC, rescuing, fixing and selling furniture.

Summer is ending

It's almost September.

On the way home from jogging, I saw a lady walking while cuddling a huge cat.

"He made me to go for walk"

tandori chicken

It is sad when I eat dry, over-spiced orange-colored tandori chicken at Indian restaurants.
My friend cooks beautiful juicy tandori chicken, pork, shrimp and fish.
I wanted to cook such juicy tandori chicken at my home too.
I rubbed chili powder and lemon juice all over the chicken leg and thigh and let it sit.
Marinate the chicken in a yogurt mixture for a couple of hours.
I used all this marinate sauce to make masala.
I should make pork masala this week.

Indian onion pickles

I had Indian food for the first time when I was a high school student.
I was so impressed and the next day, I asked the restaurant to hire me.
Since then, the family who owned the restaurant and I have been very good friends.
I used to cut tons of onions (and suffered many tears) at the restaurant to serve these pickles.
The secret of the color is paprika powder.

After you enjoy the spicy curry and the onion, chai with a lot of milk or even just plain yogurt refreshes your mouth.

Nukazuke-Japanese pickles in rice bran paste

One of my friends left me his rice bran paste, since he will be gone for 3 months, travelling to present his art work at museums.
The paste is beautiful!
I am enjoying observing how it changes it's flavor and the bacteria's activity.

Nukazuke-Japanese pickles in salted rice bran paste.
Add 15 % salted water into rice bran to make a paste.
Add dried chili, seaweed, or even beer to flavor it.
Add veggie bits to ferment the bran by lactic acid bacteria.
Once the bran is ready, you can add veggies like daikon, turnips, carrots, cucumbers, cabbages and more.
You have to mix it everyday to add some air in it.

Rice bowl for my dad

I made this for my dad.
Generally, my dad does not react in the way that we expect when we give him nice gifts. Boo.
But my mom told me that he sometimes looks at the cards I send him that he keeps in his drawer.

I sent this bowl in a big package to my mom.
I hope he likes it.

white striped bowl

I did this glazing before and am trying it again.
hmm....
I want to serve warm stew or something with a wooden spoon.
I should use this in the winter.

Chicken cacciatore

I knew I was getting sick.
I couldn't stop coughing.
I bought a whole chicken and made a lot of soup.
What should I do with all this chicken meat?
Chicken cacciatore is not great food when you are sick, but I made it anyway.
I had it the next day when I got a little appetite.

When you are getting better, you feel like you can do anything again. You can eat anything again.
It's kind of a nice feeling.

my coffee cup

I got this cup&saucer for coffee time.
A mug does not work for me.
Melita vintage, only $4.00!
I started using a french press which makes pretty good coffee.

sewing place mats

I used all of my beads, so now I need something else to do at home.
I used Thai silk that I got at a museum sale and made place mats.
Unexpectedly, it was fun to hand sew them.
I thought I wouldn't like sewing, but it turned out to be a delightful time.

pompom in my vase

A snow white vase.
I like pompom flowers, they have a lovely color.
It is challenging for me to imagine the vase form.

pink mugs

Slightly "squished" form mugs.
I have been working on a mug project recently.
I think mugs are an item that shows a person's character.

Vegas wedding

Congratulations Z&C!

Vegas-nature

cow boys, horseback riding and steak.

soft shell crab Thai curry

I did not cook soft shell crab curry last season, so I am making it this year.

The popular recipe seems to be stir-fried style curry with egg in it - I will go on my own way.

Dessert was UIRO, a famous sticky rice sweet from Nagoya.
There are similar sweets in other Asian countries and it is good after this spicy Asian food.

sardine pasta

I made a set of plates for serving main dishes - dia.25cm.

These plates have some depth, so they hold some sauce or soup.

Recently I have been more interested in making middle-sized dishes.

Big dishes looks nice at restaurants, but they are kind of a hassle to deal with at home.

This is a quick lunch with oil-marinated sardines that I made the other day.

roasted branzino

I roasted branzino and served it vinaigrette-style.
My casual Italian food?

Grandma Fannie's Mandelbrod recipe

I love Mandelbrod.
It's like a cross between bread and cookies, like biscotti but softer.

I like the kind of sweets where you can really taste the flour.

This recipe contains less oil and sugar than the original, I think.
I added dried cranberries and apricots too.
I will try almond and orange peel next time.

New green glaze on white clay

The beautiful green in Central Park made me feel like mixing a fresh green glaze.
It is rainy today.
It will rain all week.
Spring rain.

Cauliflower soup on a new bowl

I made tons of cauliflower soup.

I am testing my new glaze and form.
This is my style.

For catalogue

My bowl was used for a photo shoot for the catalog of a Japanese sweet company Morozzof.
They are working on their new branding project.

It was interesting to talk to the stylist about the photo shoot and her huge dish collection.

I am very happy that my pieces are all over the places and in action.

Sake steamed mussels

I love mussels. Steam with Japanese sake and a lot of vegetables.
Don't forget chili and saffron.

pink chocolate small bowls

Dia.16cm.

A set of little bowls.