8 Things You’ll Absolutely Miss About After Leaving Japan

Hey friends! My latest Savvy Tokyo article is numero uno on their popular page!!! Have YOU checked it out yet? Access HERE.

Making Great Art Is About Being More Of Who You Are

Sorry my last post was a whiny one. I’m quite good at that, whining. So much so that my primary school teacher, my Payne, told me, as I whinged my way through the wet mud on school camp, that he’d never met someone so complaining and impatient before. Though in my defence (and his) the same teacher gave me the class diligence award at the end of the year. So, I am complaining but I am persistent, too. Yes, a woman of many qualities. Alas, don’t you think I have good reason to complain? Harry seems to think so. You know, Harry from When Harry Met Sally? He takes the words straight out of my mouth when in his epic declaration of love he says: “when you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
So, I keep busy…
I bake. 
I shop.

I work.

And I work some more (watching Japanese movies for my next Savvy article).

And I reassure myself that this too shall pass. For almost one year has passed since mummy and daddy came to visit me in rural Japan where my life was so very different to what it is today.

Trying their first ramen. 
Enjoying sakura (cherry blossom) season. A
And watching their daughter imitate Mimasaka’s best sushi chef.

An Inside Look At A Spanish Supermarket

So different to both Japan and New Zealand. When travelling, I love to visit the local supermarket. It always becomes a highlight because it’s always so interesting.

Two entire rows + four row fronts (each side) just for cheese! Oh my!



This is a monkey fish. You choose your fish and the ladies (or gentlemen) prepare them for you. Of course, preprepared fish is also available.

Jose doing his thang.

Apart from this brand (which is refrigerated) the remaining milk here look like cleaning products because of the way they’re stored and packaged.


Meat, meat and more meat.

Look at the top right yellow label. 339 Euro for one leg! Now that’s some special meat.

Jose says these pigs eat acorns so even though they’re fat, they’re good fat. “Like me,” I said (hehe).
All of the tomatoes an Italian chef could wish for (also on other side).

In Japan, carrots are heavily sprayed making them big and perfect. Then, they’re individually wrapped in excess plastic. This is how fruit and vegetables should be! Ugly but delicious. 

I love these peaches! 0.98 Euro for a KG! Good or good?!


All of the legumes! Plus, olives, anchovies, pates and dried nuts and fruit (not pictured).

Look Japanese friends! “Japanese” food!

Introducing Jose to almond milk and other trendy health foods (hehe).

Best Friends Forever

“Memories and thoughts age, just as people do. But certain thoughts can never age, and certain memories can never fade.” ― Haruki Murakami

I had the most wonderful time last night. I only met Haruka and her family 2 months ago but even so, I feel I’ve known them a lifetime. To say that Haruka’s family treated me like a princess last night is an understatement. They really did so much.

They had prepared a delicious make-your-own sushi dinner featuring avocado (my favorite) and mixed rice (black and white) with ample vegetables. Everything was so healthy and presented so beautifully just for me. We drank homemade plum juice – made sugar-free after I introduced “natural” eating to Emika, H’s sister. For dessert, we had the most divine matcha (green tea) and soy-milk pudding made with kanten (a natural vegan gelatin substitute and a super  ingredient I’ll be hoping to do a Savvy article on). Again, Haruka had made the dessert this way (sugar-free and vegan) just for me.

Last but definitely not least, I was gifted two gorgeous earrings (one with my birthstone) and two bracelets all handmade by Haruka! And, Mommy Mo-chan (H’s mother) gifted me a cute red Japanese cloth for wrapping my lunch. Wow I felt like royalty. What a night. I left their home with a full stomach, a full heart and a full bag of left-overs for today’s lunch. Haruka, Emika, little Ichikia (E’s daughter and my 1st grade student), Mommy Mo-chan and Satozi (H’s father), I want you to know that I will always remember this night and that it will never fade from my heart.

PS the fourth picture is made with kanten too. It is an eggplant jelly flavorured with soy-sauce. Though I admitted to my friends it looked chotto kowai (a little scary) it was soooo yum!

Do You Know What This Is?

My second DYKWTI article is up on Savvy. Check it out. Cook it up, and share it with EVERYONE. Sorry did that seem aggressive? It was meant to.

Jiro Who? The Best Sushi In Japan

Saturdays only at Yoshinoya.

Cauliflower Rice Sushi

21st century health-freaks are coming up with a whole lot of crazy things and I love it. A while back I made cauliflower base pizza (recipe here), of course it didn’t taste like bread bread but it was still yum and nice to try something different. Last week I made cauliflower rice sushi. They definitely still taste like sushi – I guess because of the combination of pickled ginger, soy sauce and seaweed. I really recommend you try it, it’s such a healthy alternative to white rice sushi. Basically, you make regular sushi but you just use cauliflower rice instead. This is a really basic #norecipe for that:

1 medium cauliflower
1 tbsp rice vinegar

First remove the cauliflower’s stem and leaves then using a knife, chop into small pieces.

Place chopped cauliflower in a food processor or blender (I used a blender, it was not easy but it was not impossible either) and blitz until crumbed.

Place crumbed cauliflower in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with kitchen wrap and microwave for 6 minutes at 500W.

Once cooked, add the rice vinegar, mix with a spoon and let cool slightly before beginning to sushi.

My tips: use a spoon or your hands to press cooked cauliflower in order to remove some of its moisture. Also, try to roll your sushi as tight as possible (without breaking it).

Hope that makes sense?

Feel free to ask questions!

Happy scoffing/experimenting.

Brown Rice Sushi For Lucy

For me actually but that title rhymes. And my friend Lucy requested this.

I’m no sushi expert. Believe it or not, living in Japan doesn’t automatically make you one. Though I will say, here, sushi means raw fish on a little thingy of rice with a layer of wasabi in between only. Not this. This is maki sushi, I believe.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups uncooked short-grain brown rice
2 cups water
1 tbsp rice vinegar
pinch sea salt
nori (seaweed) sheets
your favorite fillings cut in strips (I used raw salmon, orange capsicum, lettuce and avocado)
a rolling mat

Rinse and drain rice, place into a saucepan and pour in water.

Let soak for as long as possible but if you don’t have the time, 30min is fine.

Cook rice over medium heat until done? Sorry not sure how else to put it..follow packet instructions? Or taste some to check.. you may need to top up the water once or twice (about 35 min).

Let rice cool until warm then mix in the vinegar and salt. Rice should be slightly sticky now.

To roll the sushi, lay a sheet of nori, rough side up, on your rolling mat. With wet fingers (I find its also useful to have a damp towel nearby), firmly pat a thick, even layer of brown rice over the nori, leaving  top edge about 1/2-inch deep uncovered with rice.

Assemble your fillings in a line along the bottom edge of the sheet.

Now we’re ready to roll (both literally and figuratively) so fold the bottom edge of the sheet up, enclosing the vegetables, and roll roll roll your mat? If you didn’t F up, you should have a thick cylinder thing by now.

Here I gently wrap the mat around the roll and squeeze it not-so-gently one more time – for good luck’s sake.

This recipe should make 3 rolls. Cut each roll into 6 pieces for serving.

To make a California roll, that’s the one with the rice on the outside, do what I did and watch this video.

Or look at someone else’s blog who has step by step pictures and accurate cooking instructions. Sigh, I can’t even today.

Date ball recipe here. Tiny cherry tomatoes from my neighbor’s backyard. Gifted, not stolen. Maybe.

An Inside Look At Japanese Sushi

According to my adorable Japanese friend (who am I kidding they’re all adorable – the Japanese not my friends), modern sushi trains are taking over traditional sushi restaurants at rapid speed and this is making Japanese folk unhappy. Luckily, living in rural Ohara (or unluckily: bugs, snakes etc) there are still a few super traditional sushi joints left around me. These often include a male head chef (old and wise) with 1 or 2 female helpers (also old and wise). The sushi is prepared fresh, with much care and patience and of course, tastes amazing. As in, melt-in-your-mouth-gimme-more-gimme-gimme-more amazing.

In saying that, my experience of a Japanese sushi trains has also been imposing. Like really awesome and delish. Oh and exciting! Who doesn’t like moving sushi? And, they come equipped with a hot-water tap to make unlimited green tea (yes such glory is a thing!), sort of like the refillable soft drinks at Burger King. Do they still do that actually? Or have things changed since I was a teen? Keep drinking and you may counteract the sushi food baby (please refer to this for skinny effects of green tea). Lastly, some of these sushi trains are really really cheap!


Japanese sushi-trains are pretty crazy cool. Bacon sushi? Sausage roll? Conveniently cut pineapple? And all made fresh to order via touch screen? Now, we’re JAPAN talking!

How to sushi train:
1.Abort diet
2.Commence Leaning Tower Of Plates construction.

Day 10: Kyoto Travel

So far, day ten has been my favourite! Scroll through the pictures and you won’t have to ask why. From top to bottom: some serious squat and snap action at Fushimi Inari-taisha (that famous place in Japan with all them red gates), soba lunch, Nijo-jo Castle and last but never ever ever least, sushi at the best ever sushi restaurant where yours truly had a go at making sushi, too!