Edamame Rice: 枝豆ご飯

When I cook rice (sticky rice) in a rice cooker, I like putting something extra such as chopped vegetables or chicken.  This time I added edamame (frozen) and chopped carrots.  I always loved edamame as I grew in Japan, but it was new to my husband until recent (maybe last week??).  He loved edamame when he tried it for the first time I hope he’ll like this creation too!

In this mix, I put 2 cups of uncooked sticky rice, 2 cups of water, 3 carrots (chopped) and 1 1/2 cups of frozen edamame.  I set the rice cooker just like when I cook 2 cups of rice and left it until it went off.  After about 20 minutes, ta-dah~ 😉  Easy right??  I love my rice cooker, which I purchased when I first came to this country.  I still use it almost every day

Edamame is, according to PEERtrainer: “Edamame is a complete protein containing all the eseential Amino Acids.  Great source of protein, fiber, essential fatty acids, and isoflavones (found only in Soy).”

It sounds like there’re lots of good reasons to enjoy our edamame rice tonight 🙂

‘Japanese Rice Salad’ – Chirashi-zushi

I actually introduce chirashi-zushi as ‘Japanese rice salad’ to my friends 🙂  Somehow among my friends, it is better received when I call it that.
In the ‘salad’ mixture:

• green beans from our vegetable garden
• thinly sliced carrots
• lotus roots
• rice vinegar
• sweet rice wine
• soy sauce
• cooked white rice

Is it because I used dark soy sauce??  My sushi doesn’t usually turn brown like this…  But my husband tasted and approved it 😉
For my record, my chirashi-zushi usually looks like this:
It tasted good though, just like when I made the last batch

Whole Wheat Pasta

It’s rainy and windy outside.  After we did some dishes, laundries, and the other things on our list around house, we decided to make whole wheat pasta.  The recipe we used today was this one: Homemade Wheat Pasta (Without a Machine!) : Sugarlaws.  The recipe was easy to follow and the whole process took us only a little less than 30 minutes!  We couldn’t make our pasta as thin as we want it to be, but I guess it will take some practice.  It came out good though!
I made tomato sauce with lots of peppers!
My husband grilled up Italian sausages
We had “Frugal Joe’s Ordinary Beer” from Trader Joe’s to go with our whole wheat pasta meal
Mmmm, it was so delicious!!
It was a perfect day to enjoy cooking at home and we had so much fun.  I think I’ll keep it going with our supper.  I feel like making vegetable chirashi-zushi!!

Sun + Blue Sky, Finally!! + Birthday Party :)

While my husband was working on house projects, I went to the gym in the morning.  My workout today included:

• 45 minute intervals on elliptical
• 40 minute intervals on bike

Same old thing….boring, boring, boring…. 😦  But my husband uploaded some tv shows on my iPhone, so that really helped me stay on the machines!!

It’s really a beautiful today where we live 🙂  Lots of sunshine and big blue sky!!  It’s just gorgeous.

In the afternoon, we went to our good friends’ house for ‘dinner,’ which was actually a surprise birthday party for my husband 😉
A cup cake on steroid from Shipyard Galley!!  It was so dense, rich, and delicious!!
My husband was so happy and had a great time at the party 🙂  It wasn’t easy for me to keep everything secret from my husband during the past month Not only we live in the same house, we work together.  We even go to the same gym and work out together!  Every time he got a little suspicious, it  made my heart jump!!  I didn’t want to ruin it for him.  But after all, I think he was really grateful for our friends’ kindness whatever was going on before the party.

Happy birthday, honey!!

Morning Workout + Trader Joe’s Apple Yogurt

Good morning!  My husband and I took separate cars to the gym this morning, so I could stay a little longer for my cardio workout after my strength training.
My morning workout included:

• 10 minutes warm-up
• Platform Calf Raises   3×20
• Side Legs on Mat   2×20
• Leg Extensions   10# 2×14
• H.S. Calf Raises   10# 2×16
• Exercise Ball Wall Squats 2×18
• Exercise Ball Wall Plie Squats   2×18
• Stretches
• 20 Minute Intervals On Elliptical
• 30 Minute Intervals On Bike
• 5 Minutes cool-down

I felt a little pain in my lower back while I was on the bike, so I dropped the intensity and continued.  It felt fine at the end of the workout.  I’m successfully done with today’s workout at the gym, no regrets today!!

After I got home, my husband kindly prepared my breakfast 🙂  He’s on a roll this week!!  He prepared a blood orange, slices of an apple, Trader Joe’s Organic Apple Yogurt, and a nice cup of coffee.
It was so creamy, fruity, and delicious!

The weather is supposed to be a little bit tricky today…..snow & rain 😦  I’ll be working and studying and doing some house projects.  I guess it’s a good day to be productive inside of the house.

Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful Supper

I didn’t go back to the gym today….even though I felt better with my lower back…  I thought of going back there for cardio workouts, but I didn’t…  I probably should have 😦

Anyway, after work and study, my husband offered that he would cook tonight’s supper for us!  He decided to try this recipe: Tomato Pork Loin Chops.  He didn’t quite stick with the recipe exactly, since we didn’t have all the ingredients.  In stead of using tomato sauce, he used Progresso Vegetable Classics Hearty Tomato Soup + left-over chunky vegetable pasta sauce from the other night.  We also spiced the pork up with Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning.  There are sea salt, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, coriander, onion, garlic, paprika, and chilli pepper in the blend.

The container has a grinder and works pretty good!  It added zing! to our meal, just like it claims that it would 🙂

My husband followed the rest of the recipe including using worcestershire sauce (except he didn’t use any measurement).  I did my part: microwaving the Hannaford’s Steam-in-Bag Harvest Vegetable Mix!!

After about 30 minutes, the supper was served!!
It looked great and tasted wonderful as well!!  My husband cooked some angel hair pasta, sprinkled a little bit of bread crumbs & parmesan cheese.  Pork came out so tender and the tomato sauce was a great match!!  Sweet & tangy & a little kick from Everyday Seasoning….it tasted devine 🙂  I thanked my husband very much for this sweet treat.  It was a wonderful supper.

Okay, so we talked about strategies for my tomorrow workout.  We’ll go to the gym together, but take separate cars.  My husband will work out for 60 minutes and go home for his work, I will stay there for another 30 minutes for cardio workouts.  This way, I will have no excuse not to get any cardio workout tomorrow!  No backing out!!

Yuzu Miso on Tofu

For lunch, I had Yuzu Miso on Tofu, Chinese left-over from last night and sticky rice.  I received some yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit) from my friend, Yuko, in Japan.  Since they are very unusual and difficult to find here, I decided to make “yuzu miso” – Japanese popular condiment, so I can enjoy it for a long time.  I cooked some yuzu peels (chopped) & juice in the boiling water with sugar, miso, and soy sauce.  Cool it down at room temperature and store it in the refrigerator up to 3 months (or maybe more??).  I like to put yuzu miso on top of a piece of  cold  tofu, which I just got from Chinese grocery store the other day.  It gives tofu a tangy, yet sweet miso flavor.  It goes great with grilled chiken, some steamed vegetables (such as broccoli & cauliflowers).
I know it doesn’t look too attractive in this photo, but it tastes really, really good 🙂  It tastes like ‘home’ to me.

The very same book that I borrowed from my yoga instructor, which I ordered last Wednesday, finally came!  I have to read & study the book some more whenever I can by Friday.  I’m attending workshops this weekend to learn more about fitness.  I made the decision a couple of months ago, but now I’m a little nervous about being there, as much as I’m excited about it.  What if all the attendees were so much more advanced??  Would I feel like I’m out of place??  After all, I’m only a beginner in this field.

Oh well.  They know my level.  I was still able to registrar for the workshops.  I’m going to be there with my mind open to learn and hoping that I can get tools to apply logic to my workouts.  Then, maybe, to others.  But first to my husband’s 🙂

Back to work!

Morning Workout + Post Workout Snack

My morning workout included:

• 10 minute warm-up
• Bicep Hammer Curls + Curls   10# 3×12
• Tri’s Overhead   10# 3×16
• Chest Press (slight angle)   10# 3×12
• Back Rows   12# 3×16
• Shoulders – Side & Front Raises   #5-8 3×16
• Ab Crunches  on a LF machine & ball  3×16
• 5 minute stretches

* use a straight chair for the lower back support.

I’m repeating the same upper body exercise with a straight chair (except I added the ab crunches today).  I want to do this to take care of my lower back.  I tend to get stressed out easily and rush to go back to regular routines or increase the intensity, but I realized that that’s not gonna help my lower back.  Patience, patience, patience.

After our morning workout, my husband and I went to grocery stores to pick up a few things.  As soon as we got home, we prepared some post workout snack.  We had some peanut butter & fluff sandwich before workout, so we just needed a little snack.  My husband had an orange and I had a blood orange.
They were so sweet and juicy!  I also had Activia Light Strawberry.
We enjoyed a cup of coffee as well 🙂  It’s sunny, beautiful morning outside!  What a great treat to start off the week.  Here we go, off to work!

Reading Day + Vita Coco

It’s not as sunny as yesterday, but today was an another beautiful day!  Too bad that I had to stay inside to read a book….  I borrowed this book from my yoga instructor and I promised I would return it to her tomorrow.  I have to read & study it as much as I can!  I spent all day reading the book, while my husband was getting lots of house projects done.  Our “Baby” the cat kept me company at my desk 🙂
I enjoyed Vita Coco with Tangerine during my break.
Delicious!

Speaking of Vita Coco, “Good Morning America” had a story this morning about coconut water products including Vita Coco: Cracking the Coconut Water Craze.

It’s a little after 8pm now and I finally finished the book….my brain cannot process any more information today, it’s full.  I’ll go to bed early and try to get good night sleep for tomorrow.

Morning Workout + Shopping Day

Our gym opens at 8 am on Saturday.  My husband and I decided to hit it first thing in the morning to start our weekend in a right direction!  My husband doesn’t usually go to the gym on Saturday, but he said, “well, I didn’t go yesterday because of my work, so I will go today.”  I was so proud of him.  He’s been very busy with his work and house project, yet he has been dedicated with his health goals.  I hope I can keep up with him!

My morning workout included:

• 20 minute elliptical intervals
• 20 minute stair machine intervals
• 20 minute bike intervals

I got pretty sweaty after these nice interval workouts and I felt pretty good!
When we got home from workout, we made coffee in our travel mugs for our ride to Boston!  Our first destinations were Micro Center and Trader Joe’s in Cambridge.  I used to live in this area for my school & work and also met with my husband 🙂  So we still often come back this area for shopping + dining.  Micro Center is my techy husband’s favorite place and Trader Joe’s is our paradise!!

They have such unique products to suffice almost everyone’s taste buds!!  I used to walk here from my school or my old apartment in Jamaica Plain to seek for new products 🙂
After fun, fun shopping at Micro Center and Trader Joe’s, we drove along Charles River & Mass Ave.

Our next stop was Super 88.  I had the biggest craving for tofu!!  When we arrived at the store, we saw “lion dance” was taking place for a part of Chinese New Year celebration.
What a HUGE drum!!  It sounded really good.
After we enjoyed the lion dance, we quickly walked throughout the store and grabbed everything we need.
Our third destination was IKEA.

We wanted to find some blinds for our windows, but we couldn’t find what we like 😦  But my husband found something for his sweet tooth 🙂
Pasta!?

No, they’re candies!

My husband claims that IKEA is the only place he can find 4 color Swedish Fish.  I don’t know if it’s true….

Oh, we also had some snacks/lunch at IKEA.
They tasted okay 🙂  Great cost performance (all that for a little over $4).

After we left IKEA, my husband wanted to pick up some lumber at a hardware store and that was our last stop before we finally got home.  Boy, we felt like we had an another round of workout by doing this all these errands!!

Our cat “Baby” wanted to go out for a walk when we got home 🙂  She must have felt the warm sun today, even when she was inside of the house.  It was just such a beautiful day today!!  There were some snow on the ground, but Baby was so eager to explore the “hint of spring.”

She was so excited and her tail was all the way up 🙂

After Baby’s short walk, my husband and I got to review our groceries.  Here are stuff from Trader Joe’s:
I had to put these “Blood Oranges” in my basket at Trader Joe’s.  My sister-in-law in Japan served me Blood Orange Juice before and I remember the color being darker red & the flavor being so sweet, yet tangy.  I liked it very much.
We had to taste one of them 🙂  The juice truly look like blood, but don’t be afraid!  The fruit tasted sweet & sooo juicy, like navel orange.  Mmmm, so good!!

Here are stuff from Super 88:
Mmmm, tofu….
I was intrigued by this and I couldn’t pass it up.  “Green Tea Soy Milk” from Kikkoman.  Being a Japanese, I always new that Kikkoman is famous for making soy sauce, but not soy milk.  Never mind the green tea flavor…, I have never seen any soy milk product in Japan that’s made by Kikkoman.  I need to try this.

What a great day we had!!  The weather was just splendid and we had such a productive day.  The beautiful sun kept us going, going, and going.  It was such a great treat today during snowy winter and I don’t know who to thank 🙂