New menus

Already one month has passed this year.

I have quite well started realising the resolutions that I had written in the last blog.

①Yoga
Once a week, I started going to yoga class nearby my place.

I have not been too crazy of it to practice at home though...

I chose a unique yoga class with the mixed style of yoga, pilate and stretching, using weights. 

Once I tried beginners yoga class, where I could relax but get nothing more than that...

Then the following week, I tried the yoga with pump (using weights) organised with the same teacher.

This is not an easy class. But I like doing exercise and challenging my physical capacity.

So it was the one for me :)

I enjoy the muscle pain next day of the weekly class...

However, unfortunately, I have not succeeded to make 'friends' from the class...

②Kitchen garden

They have been growing up very well!

Can you see some little sprouts on the photo?

After a few weeks, they have grown up till this stage.

Everyday, I take photos of them and feel happy of their development like your own kids growing up :)

③Job hunting

Hmmm, no fruit yet...Finally I could go to the interview stage for a couple of organisations.

But because of my insufficient preparation and knowledge about the interview system and common questions, I could not express myself concisely but well at each interview...

Well, now I know better how an interview works and I 'finally' started reading a book about job interview (I should have done from the beginning) so if I get another one, I will do better for sure!

In such frustrating or difficult time, my pleasure is to eat! (Well, this has been and will be always my ultimate pleasure!)

This month, we got three new recipes in our family menu.

1. Tajine

Yes, it is the Tajine that Ben and I enjoyed so much in Morocco. We have bought a proper tajine pot without coating in a local market in Marrakesh.

So we tried to recreate the local taste at home.

As the pot is not coated, it risks of getting cracks very easily.

To avoid that, the pot preparation took long time...

First, you soak the pot in water for 30-60 minutes.

After drying them, you cover it whole with olive oil then put it in the oven for 2 hours with very low heat.

After cooling it down, you again cover the inside of the pot with olive oil then finally it is ready to use for cooking.

Additionally, you cook ingredients for Tajine in a flying pan then cook them in the pot for about 2 hours in the oven.

When it was ready, we were really tired of the whole process.

But the very tender lamb meat with various spice taste and melting veggies made us forget the long preparation time and gave us the desire to make it again!

We enjoyed it in the very orthodox way with couscous :)

2. Fish pie

Well, if you are British, this is a very common pub or home dish.

But for non-British, it is a very new thing, including me.

I have tasted it a couple of times in pubs and I loved it.

The other day, at a supermarket, I found a bag of "fish pie mix" on sale.

So I said to myself why not to try to make it at home!?

Why I said it is a quite new for non-British?

This is because although it has the name of "pie", it does not use pie sheet!

Every time I ordered it at a pub, I realised later that oh yes, this dish is not covered with pastry that I love! but with mushed potato!

For Japanese, I describe it as seafood or fish gratin with mushed potato on top.

For other nationalities, I have no idea if you have any similar dish. Well, at least for certain Europeans, I assume that the dish gratin is quite common...so this might help you to get some ideas of this dish.

Sorry, but I took only the shots form the top so you cannot see the layers of white cream sauce and mushies.

I love well cooked fish with the creamy white sauce and soft mush.

It is a very heavy dish but I do not think the calories are that high because I do not use any cream but only flour and milk with a little oil and butter.

3.　Taco rice

This is a specialty of my husband.

We love Mexican food and often make it, including Taco and Enchilada at home.

But these dishes reminded him of an extended dish, called Taco rice that he had in Japan.

So he decided to make it by himself.

Taco Rice is a dish created in Okinawa (the far south island of Japan), using rice instead of tortilla.

He made it with Taco(s) spice mix and soya mince, instead of beef mince to make it healthier.

The recipe is very simple but so good.

We were so hungry that I forgot to take a photo of the beautifully presented ball of Taco rice...

Sorry, maybe next time! 

New year resolutions

Happy new year 2012, everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful new year's eve and new year holidays with lots of nice food, drinks and smiles.

Mine was very quiet like the one with my parents in Japan, but without watching TV, especially the music show on the national channel.

We were just at home and heard of fireworks outside.

In fact, we planned to go to the centre of the town to join the party atmosphere of other people but it was very windy and raining.

Although it was not cold, Ben was exhausted by working on his assignment whole day and the tiredness took over me, too...

Last year very early morning of 2nd January, I remember...

I had to, well Ben took me to the emergency hospital because of my very very bad stomachache.

Contrary to that, this new year's quiet holiday was not bad ;)

Do not worry, please. It was just because I had been eating too well (very rich or sweet) and drinking around that time (from Christmas in Paris and NY in Oxford).

Anyway, people often make their resolutions at the beginning of the year.

Personally, I do not do such things so much but this year, a little bit in a passive way, I did some...

1. Make friends in Brighton!

Since last August, I basically live in Brighton (I know this is an excuse) but I was stuck in the house for my dissertation then I traveled a lot.

So to be honest, I do not have any friends on my own, apart from Ben's friends!

At the same time, I am not brave or open enough to ask people on the street "Can you become my friend?" like Burkinabés (people from Burkina) do so :D

I have wanted to start yoga for keep myself in good shape physically and mentally. Luckily, Ben got me a yoga mat as one of Christmas presents.

So I decided to start making friends from Yoga class.

Last week, for the first yoga class, there was only one another girl in the class...

I was too shy to talk to her a lot.

Oh well, from the next week, I will try harder and also there will be more people hopefully!

2. Kitchen gardening

I have been regenerating salad onion that I buy at a supermarket with roots. (They regrow about 3-4 times after cutting and using for cooking)

Such my attitude gave Ben an idea!

As the second surprise gift, he gave me Herb kitchen garden.

He repeatedly asked me "when are you going to start the garden?"

So today, finally I did.

The herbs are basil, chives, coriander and parsley.

I can't wait to see them growing up♪

This much is the ultimate goal of my garden.

We live on the second floor without balcony or garden. But this mini-garden can be made inside the house as well as outside (from March).

Very handy!

This encourages me to cook more, too :)

3. Find a work

I should put this as the first or prior resolution probably...

In the current difficult economic situation, it is not at all easy to find a job in my interests with my preference of the geographical places and of the tasks.

Certain friends tell me that the life is very long (well, particularly for Japanese about 80 years...), I should take time to think what I really want to do and decide.

But how long?

How can I know what exactly I want to do???

I am not someone who can just stay at home all the time and do only housework as housewife...

So I feel sometimes or often I want to find a job of whatever the conditions are.

However, the compromise can be made only at a certain limit.

So until this spring, I will still stick to the area of my interests and preference for job hunting.

If nothing comes out by then, I have to make another move, maybe look for volunteering work to develop further my capacities and/or find a job of whatever I can get...

The pass of my near future is so unclear yet.

But I will not give up and step forward with positive thinking (in Japanese, we often say "let's walk by looking up") !!!