Father's Day 2011

Wakaba and Haruka baked a cake to make their Dad happy on Father's Day~ their Dad went to Tokyo that day and the first thing that the kids did was to bake their Dad's favorite chocolate cake~with my help lol. Kids in the neighborhood was calling them out to play but they want to finish first baking before playing with them. Lucky Daddy, he is loved so much by his children!

Fast Food Bento

There are times that I don't want to cook during lunchtime coz I am usually alone at home and local take-out bento meal is an option and bento is of course, yummy and affordable. Each bento meal comes with a rice, salad, pickles, meat or fish in a well designed disposable package.

Yakitori Don Bento

Nori Bento

Yokubari (value set ) Bento

Tonkatsu Bento

Gyu Kalbi ( Beef Kalbi ) Bento

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Summer Treat

Every summer time, I love to treat out the kids in our neighborhood ( they're friends of my kids, with the consent of their parents of course ) and last year's summer, we went out to a community swimming pool near our apartment where the kids had a blast! I'm still thinking of where to treat the kids this summer and the pool is not an option anymore coz we're still dealing with the radiation mess here and most of the outdoor pools are now closed. Even at their school, they suspend outdoor swimming classes which makes my Wakaba sad coz she was looking forward to go for it together with her friends. I guess most children here in Fukushima will not be able to swim outdoor this summer.

We can't even go to Spa Resort Hawaiians like we did some time ago coz the indoor pool has been closed due to the earthquake that hits Japan. Oh dear, where to go?

A Community pool near our place
At Spa Resort Hawaiians

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Harapeko Aomushi

I guess some of you recognized The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, it is called Harapeko Aomushi here in Japan and the books are quite famous among japanese children including to my Wakaba and Haruka. They watched the story at youtube ( of course in japanese) and they love to talk about foods and or count the foods that the hungry caterpillar ate lol! Last month, I bought a Harapeko Aomushi Memory Game for us to play at home and to help them exercise their minds. My kids loves the game and it passes the time quickly.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Memory Game



Kids are like caterpillars, they will eventually grow up and when it's time to let them go, we have to let them fly and be grateful with their time with us ^_^

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Late Bloomer

Haven't I told you that I have dream? I haven't finished school and yes, I sometimes regret of not finishing school and was not able to receive a diploma. Life has been cruel to my family that finishing school was not the main anymore and when I was looking for a job, I usually get frustrated because companies wanted applicants with a degree required which I don't have and usually land to a job with a low salary. Nope, not that I'm complaining but having a good job with high paying salary is best advantage, right?

Finishing with a degree is my dream and online degrees could make it all now possible coz it would fit my schedule. Tending to my kids and husband while studying online degree programs in business on my own time, on my own pace is not a bad idea! I would be the happiest to complete a degree as an advantage.

Going back to school is a challege and http://studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/collegefinder/advanced_find.asp helps me to get off a great start ^_^

Hello Kitty Onigiri Case

Every Monday is Haruka's onigiri ( rice ball ) day and the kids at school will only have just one onigiri during lunch time. It is because that the school wanted to let the kids think that there are people who has eaten less for the day and they let the kids at school experience their sufferings. Every Monday the kids at school offer money as a donation to give to the poor.



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Strawberry Mousse Cake For Wakaba

Made this Strawberry Mousse Cake during Wakaba's 8th Birthday last week and since the party was a yakiniku party, I decided to go for a refreshing dessert which I made earlier before the party starts. I was worried coz I thought there will be no more room for dessert for them but Wakaba says she wants her birthday cake as soon we came home from the yakiniku restaurant ^_^

Well, anywho I wanna share the recipe to all of you coz it's really easy to make and the how-to's step by step. Enjoy!

Strawberry Mousse Cake: ( 18 cm cake round pan )

Ingredients:

18 cm sponge cake, sliced

your favorite strawberry/raspberry sauce or jam
Fresh strawberries- 30 g, cut in dices

For the mousse:

Fresh Strawberries - 200 g
Gelatin - 10 g
Water - 50 g
Sugar - 70 g
Whipping cream, cold - 160 g

Directions:

1: Soften the gelatin with water, stir until the gelatin is dissolved

2: Whip cream until thick but not stiff, set aside
3: Puree strawberries by a food processor or mixer
4: Put the pureed strawberries on a bowl and add sugar then mix
5: Heat the dissoved gelatin for seconds at the oven range and stir while it's still hot then pour it to the strawberry mixture and mix
6: Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry and gelatin mixture
7: Cover the bottom of the cake round pan with a plastic wrap and secure with rubber band around it then prepare your 18 cm sponge cake like of the photo above ( you'll only need the half of the sponge cake, please cut your sponge cake smaller than the size of the cake round pan ).

8: Pour the half mixture unto the sponge then add some diced strawberry then cover with the other half of the mixture. Chill in the refrigarator for 2 to 3 hours
9: Option: Spread in your favorite strawberry/raspberry sauce and then chill for another hour
10: Transfer Strawberry Mousse Cake to service plate then release the cake/unmold the cake with the help of a hot towel to soften the mousse. Decorate with fresh strawberries.
Sharing with you my daughter Wakaba's birthday cake ^_^

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