Yummy Shrimp Alfredo

I love to cook, but do I "LOVE" cooking enough that I will still enjoy it if that is my job? Probably not.

That being said, I love trying out new recipes, but it is so frustrating and discouraging if it seems like a good recipe turns out not so good. That is a waste of time and money.

There is one time I tried a casserole recipe and it was so bad that we were slowly and quietly eating. I guess we were processing in our minds if we were imagining it was bad or it was bad for real... then I had to put the fork down and told everyone to stop eating. They had this look of relief and gladly stopped eating. I think we went out to get something afterwards. That has never happened to us. That is why we refer to that as the "bad dinner incident" and laugh.

This recipe on the other hand... it. was. so YUMMY!

It was easy, tasted great, and not too pricey to make. What more can you ask for?

I knew it was going to be good when I tasted the sauce, but my family... once they had their first bite, their eyes got wide and they said, "Mmm!"

Now, that is a good sign.

It is exciting to find a good new recipe. I added it to my binder right away!

New Love ~ Pomegranate

I am recovering from the procedure I had last week and taking it easy.
In the meantime, let me introduce my new favorite food... pomegranate.


I was at the grocery store one day, and all of a sudden, I had this urge to eat pomegranate. I always have been a big fan of pomegranate juice (not to mention that I also have face wash with pomegranate in it), but I never really purchased them to eat.

Oh, how I LOVE it!!

I have been eating them on my salad, mixing them in yogurt with other fruit or eating them as is. I never get tired of them.

Do you have any good recipes for pomegranate? If you do, please share! :)

Say Hello to Bento

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that I was born and raised in Japan. When we were first married, I was a little worried about how we could combine our two different cultures. My optimistic Mr. layed back said, "Don't worry, we will just take whatever is good from either culture and make it our own."

One of the things our family loves from Japanese culture is "Bento". Bento is a single portion takeout or home-packed meal in a box, and very common in Japanese cuisine. Usually, bento consists of rice, fish or meat and other side dishes.

Normally, I pack sandwishes, fruit and a light snack for my husband's and kids' lunches. (Because it is easier and quicker!!). Every now and then, when I have time I pack a Bento. (Being a night owl, I don't like mornings.)

This morning was the rare occasion. I packed a Bento for each of them.


Inside the bento, there was...

Rice with Furikake(flavor flakes)

Hanbagu (just like meatballs, but I used ground turkey and chopped veggies with teriyaki sauce)

Tamago-yaki (Thin layers of egg rolled into a rectangular shape)

Little sausages (I made two slices from one end to the middle to make it look like flower.)

Sliced apple (looks like a bunny)

Some lettuce.

They loved it. Oh, and I will show you how we wrap our bento box (you know...just a final touch).

1. You can use any square fabric. I used napkin this time. Put the lunch box on the fabric diagnally.


2. Fold the front corner to the other side, cover the container and fold the corner under the container.


3. Bring the opposite corner over the box to the front.


4. Take both right and left corners and tie them together using a square knot.


5. You have Japanese style Bento!



A tip to make bento is to put three basic colors. Red, Green, Yellow in the container. That way it not only looks pretty, you can also get a balanced meal in one box.

Simple Is Best

I was going through my old magazines and found a recipe for citrus salad. Basically, you peel and slice a grapefruit and an orange and drizzle it with honey and then refrigerate. The picture looked so good and it was such a simple recipe, I tried it...

Well, the grapefruit was good, but the orange tasted funny. I don't think orange and honey go well together. I didn't say anything at first, hoping that my family's taste buds weren't as delicate as mine and that they would eat it up. (Hey, I don't want to waste food. It was part of an experiment!)
Right away, my hubby said "The orange taste funny." and stopped eating it. Then the others followed. Dang it!

Well, eventhough the recipe was simple, sometimes the simplest form is the best way to eat food.

Today, I simply peeled the orange and the grapefruit and placed them on a plate. They loved it.

By the way, I finished the quilt top from the Moda scrap bag tonight. When there is nice sunlight, I will take a picture and post it here.