Cookings and wanderings. (料理や放浪。)

Well, maybe more the former than the latter, but "cookings with maybe just a touch of wandering" really just doesn't have the same ring to it, you know?

Oh, also, I have learned to change my computer from English to Japanese with the mere pressing of two keys. Had I been a bit more forward thinking, I probably could have done this ages ago, but I suppose that until I was working with a Japanese computer everyday, the thought didn't really occur to me.

Needless to say it is a lot more convenient this way.

Though still not as convenient as a Japanese computer itself.

....and yet I will give my own American machine a pass here, because as much as I have gotten used to the Japanese keyboard, I am still more proficient with the American one I learned to type on.

Japanese just doesn't use as much punctuation as English does, don't ya know.

Anyway, enough chit-chat; let's get straight down to business.

...whatever it is that passes for business on this scatter-brained blog, anyway.

Yes, it's omuraisu again, but this time... I had a revelation.

Instead of attempt to put the rice inside the omelet while it's still cooking in the pan (an effort in futility, at least if you consider cleanliness and not spilling your hard-earned food everywhere as you go to be a measure of success), I decided to just cook th omelet, leave it flat,put the rice on the plate and then cover it all with the omelet that way. Voila, ease and a fairly equal distribution of egg in every bite! Certainly a win-win, in my book.

...mmm, omuraisu.

Though I admit that the lighting in this shot isn't good enough to give you that YELLOW of beautiful, fresh egg. Aaah, eggs. And to think I used to be, at best, ambivalent towards them! Such a beautiful little multi-tasking packet of goodness...

And goodness knows we love multitasking.

Moving on.

Yes, it's my pasta dish.

... but. Uh.

Oh. I already wrote about not putting in anchovies, huh?

Um. Well. I'll probably do that again tonight, and then not overpower it all with lemon so as to get a better reading on the actual success of the dish.

So there. That's an update for you.

Ah, this.

This is the beautiful salad that I have become addicted to from the Max Value across the street. It is heavenly.

Basically, you have a bunch of rare, rare roast beef (if you find the right salad; sometimes I have to search, but damnit it's worth it) on top of a bed of lettuce, some carrots, red onion and daikon. I take out the red onion. Because bleh.

But also, you get ponzu for dressing.

Oh, ponzu.

Look, I even found an English-language bottle for all you non-Japanese speakers.

Because if you have never had the beauty that is ponzu....

Oh, my goodness.

I usually use it as a salad dressing, but it works great on, I imagine, just about anything. Tataki (tuna sounds particularly tasty), food in any sort of nabe (ok, maybe not curry), yakiniku, ice cream...

...I admit I have not tried that last one.

... I feel the English description sells it a bit short though. This stuff is flavorful. There's nothing "flavored" about it.

But you'll just have to take my word for it. And then buy some.

Aaand finally, that gosh-darn 洋服の青山 (Aoyama's Western Clothing). I was unsure how long that red light would last, so I took a picture with my cell phone first, just to make sure the thing was recorded properly.

Ah, nostalgia.

And with that, dear friends, I leave you for a day off of shopping, cooking, and possibly translating... if the curse of the internet does not capture me first.

This is Edo, signing off and wishing that she had organized her closets better a few months ago. Ahem.