Invasion of the Crabs...

AND NO, neither one of us have them...silly people.

While at the fabric store, I found this super cute children's yukata fabric that had crabs on it. Not sure what attracted me to, but it really is super cute. Mike of course shook his head at me!

Well I managed to make my next project out of this fabric. I decided on placemats and what better summer placemat than one that has crabs on it. Making the placemats was actually pretty easy, it was the binding that got me.
So, binding is what goes on the edge of the placemat, and makes it look clean and completely square. This is a technique you can use and my book gave me the step by step process. I have managed to make 3 placemats....See below





The first one was a little off as the binding is not exactly even all the way around, HA! However, the next came out better and then the 3rd one even better. Making your own binding is not simple especially when you have to "stitch in the ditch" to complete the process. My stitching is not very steady, so this was quite difficult; however, by the time I got to the 3rd placemat, I was much better and going slower with he machine.

Well, no one just has 3 placemats, so I have to make more, but the fabric is no longer available. I did manage to a find the same fabric but the crabs were in different colors. RATS....oh well, unique and non-conforming are definitely keys in my sewing, so why not make the placemats the same way!

Super food dinner!

Another kitchen adventure from the cookbook, Super Natural Everyday by Heidi Swanson. If you don't know about her, check her out, as her website is amazing, www.101cookbooks.com.

My friend Jennifer lent me her copy of the cookbook while she is away and I just had to make something. As it's summer and super hot here, I figured light and delicious would be best. I opted for the "Summer Squash Soup" and the "Stuffed Tomatoes" I realize that it's an odd pairing for dinner, but whatever, I had no complaints.

The soup was veggie broth and coconut based with a bit of thai red chili paste for the kick. It was actually very good and glad I could use my farmer's market veggies in it. Here's the finished product which gets topped with some fried tofu "croutons"


Now the tomatoes, which turned out well. The tomatoes are stuffed with a mixture of herbs, some of the tomato pulp, yogurt, and couscous. I had to cut the recipe for just us, but will deifnitely make it again.

Before the baking:


After the baking...oops, I over filled them


So dinner turned out great and Mike actually liked it, which is a plus. Mike's only comment about the whole meal "there isn't any meat!" I think I'll make the tomatoes again, but use it as a side. Happy eating!

All Bets PAID, finally

Mike and I bet on the outcome of March Madness, which this year, ended up being who picked the best. As usual, I managed to pick better than Mike, HAHHAHAHA!

So if I won, Mike had to make me dinner, as I am always cooking and it's nice when someone else does it for you. Some how or other, the date to make me dinner kept getting pushed back and excuse after excuse kept coming from his. This is one of those situations where I know he did not listen to a word I said because I had mentioned numerous times after the date was pushed that he could just take me out to a nice dinner, especially since I would probably get that before him in the kitchen. DID NOT listen to me, until finally it managed to stay between his ears and in his head.

Mike finally did some research and picked an Italian restaurant with a great view. This past Monday, as it was a holiday, we went to Belvedere to have dinner. They only do course menus, which was fine with us. After the first 3 courses, Mike said it was similar to being in Italy where your main dish doesn't come until 2-3 hours later. I would not know, though I do hope to visit Italy one day.

So out of the 8 courses, this was my favorite. The 1st pasta, which was lobster with spaghetti and fresh tomatoes. YUM


Next, I just had to take a picture...this was my entree, the fish option and as an added bonus, I got the fins!


Finally, the end of the meal and this restaurant won my heart. ICE CREAM CAKE!!!!



Everything was delish and glad we went there. Now we only went to this place, because the interest on not paying up had increased over the last couple of months. Definitely glad I charged interest and it made a difference. And here's the view, overlooking Ginza from the 41st floor.


NOW, my only advice, is if you make a bet with Mike, make sure he is around to pay up though, I don't think this has happened with anyone else. Maybe it's just me, he doesn't like to pay up to because it means I WIN!!!!

WEEZER

Yay, since we got to see them in concert. Totally worth the wait!

We noticed in the English magzine that Weezer was going to be playing at one of the summer concerts here. Normally I follow them pretty closely because I wanted to get Mike tickets, but somehow missed this. Anywho, we got tickets for this summer concert, the NANO-MUGEN Fest, which was great! The website did not show the lineup for the day, so we had to go early, a little too early.

We arrived around 12:30 and saw the that Weezer was not playing until 8pm. Long day ahead of us. So we went to have a long lunch before entering the venue. We started off by checking everything out and then heading in to hear an English band. At some point, there were Japanese bands in a row, so we decided to check out the "koyoshi bar" they had. We walked in and were quite surprised...Mike described as the Asian Zen bar, with the decor and bamboo everywhere. Here's a picture

It was quite strange...after abou 15 minutes one the DJ that was just on stage came out to do a mini concert. I swear I went from the concert to the club and seriously felt like I was 18, dancing in the clubs in Juarez. These DJ's were "the Young Punx featuring Phonat" Whatever....

So after a while, we head back down to the 2nd floor and listen to some more bands. Around 6pm, we decide to grab some dinner, so we could be prepared for Weezer. We noticed no one was outside and then we figured out why. We finished somewhat quickly and then headed back to the arena in hopes of grabbing some seats for when Weezer came on. THAT was NOT going to happen as the "Asian Kung Fu Generation Band" was playing and every single Japanese person at the venue was in that arena. It was crazy and they all knew exactly when to chant or move their arms with the music. Clearly they were the favorite of the night.
So they finished and people started walking out and I was quick and grabbed us some seats. We were set and ready for Weeezer...YAY

"My Name is Jonas"


So Rivers Cuomo, jumps off the stage and heads for the crowds...I think he gave the Japanese venue people a shock since it probably wasn't in their scheduled itinerary. At one point he ran all over away from them...too funny. Here he is in the crowd singing.


In this same crowd, as a very desperate guy who did not need to take his shirt off...River Cuomo was trying to get away from him. From the jumbo tron


And after their encore, they really did have to leave the stage...but what a great concert! Bye, see you next time.


The concert was amazing and we were so glad that we waited to see them. They played for a good 2 hours, including their encore. The set list was superb.
Mike and I were after the long day and finally made it home around 11pm.

Summer Beer Taps

In the local English magazine, Metropolis, they always publish specials about things to see, do, eat, drink... For the summer, they put together a list of on tap beer places we should check out to beat the heat. After reading through it, I decided Mike and I should try one of them because it had a great review and described the balcony as being a hot spot to view the bustling activity on the Shibuya streets, not to mention it was on the 5th floor. Plus we had already been to some of the other ones described!

So we head over to "Failte Irish Pub and Restaurant" on Saturday night for pre-dinner drinks. Well, needless to say we had a good time, but the review was absolutely FALSE when it came to describing the view.
First off, the balcony was small and only had 4 tables, so not many people could enjoy the outsdie. 2nd, the view was not so great and you could not see any bustling activity of the streets unless you stood up and looked down. However, you could see the bustling activity of the air conditioning units, as well as, any activity coming from the hotel windows.



PITIFUL REVIEW

Anywho, we still managed to enjoy ourselves and we were thankful that all the high rise buildings were blocking the sun, so it was quite pleasant.
Here's Mike enjoying his Guiness from the tap


And of course, me, sporting my summer wear, fedora, and drinking the special on tap!!!! Mike does't like my fedora, but whatever, I do!

LOVE...

Bon Appetit and am still sad that I can't get the subscription here. Well, my friend gave me a copy of the May issue or the Italy issue once she was done with it and I love her oh so much as it has so many great recipes.

Today I spent the day with my other friend, Jennifer Peacock, doing brunch and shopping and then meeting up again to go to the pool. Love her for inviting me to join her. So in between, I opened up the Bon Appetit and made the basic for this cool refreshing drink, which was perfect to drink after coming home from the pool and the heat.

Cucumber, Mint, Basil Soda is super tasty and probably would be just as good with some vodka to spice it up a bit.
Here's the infused syrup and then my glass!


Recipe courtsey of Bon Appetit
1 1/2 c Simple syrup
1/2 cucumber thinly sliced
24 fresh mint leaves
12 basil leaves
soda water

Bring syrup to a boil and add in the cucumber, mint leaves, and basil. Remove from the heat and cover for 30 minutes. Strain into a jar. Now for the drink: put some ice in the glass, add 2 tbsps. of the syrup and then fill the glass with soda. Add some mint leaves and cucumber slices for garnish. ENJOY!

there are also 3 more types of soda recipes, which I will definitely try at some point. I managed to drink 3 glasses of this stuff and am finishing my 3rd glass as I type to you. AND NO, there is no vodka in them, it's Sunday night.

New project

So I've decided to try a new project/hobby to see if I like it. Too bad I didn't take it up sooner, so I could try everything on my niece on nephews.

Sewing, and eventually quilting, are the new projects I am taking on. There is a definite gap between my generation and my mom's when it comes to using a sewing machine. Don't get me wrong, I know how to sew buttons by hand, but to use a machine is a totally new skill, not to mention learning the lingo that goes with.
You have to learn the machine, the types of stitching, the length, threading the bobbin and the actual needle. UGH, such a process.

So I bought a sewing a machine and a book to start this process. A good friend of mine is having a baby, so I thought I should try some bibs and burp bloths as they are easy to make. I did manage to make some, with the lines not so straight and some slight imperfections, but they work.

Here are the burp cloths. The one in the middle should hav ethe same pattern as the other two, but I sewed it backwards..HA I thought of ripping the seams, but NO, so she will get a backwards one.


The bibs were much more difficult as the turning didn't work out so well. The first one, was a good test run. However, these 2 turned out much better and I'll be giving these to my friend Erin tomorrow during her baby shower.


On my quest to learn about sewing and quilting some older lady friends have been great in giving me their knowledge. Plus a Japanese lady in the women's group I joined is like a master quilter and has graciously decided to give me pointers, tips, and any help that I need.

Next on my sewing table, is to attempt to make some placemats and continue to move through my learning book, one project at a time!

Happy 4th of July

Yay for holidays, even though we don't celebrate them here, BOO!

However, in honor of the day, we decided to have a 4th of July BYO Brunch here at the house. We invited 5 other couples and each one was asked to bring their favorite brunch dish to share with everyone.

We had quite a spread, as you can see from the picture. Here is what was on the menu: veggie quiche with some feta, bacon strips, potato, asapargus, pancetta hash, spinach strata, baked oatmeal, scones, garden salad, and fruit salad.


For dessert, we had a custard theme dessert and an Indian rice pudding.




Everything was so delicious and we had such a great time. And of course, what party wouldn't be complete without the booze. The bloody mary's were spicy, champagne was flowing, and the beer foaming. Ah, good times.

Even though all the food was star, the true star of our brunch, was our friend's new baby, Sophie. Here she is complete with her 4th of July outfit all ready for the fireworks!



So we had such a great time and I forgot to take pictures of everyone. Oh well. We ate, drank, were merry, and played games. Glad we invited people over and were able to celebrate the holiday in some way.

Enjoy your fireworks!