gooey buns

Posted on December 2, 2009 by mariko

IMG_1242_1024x682.jpg
I don’t know about you, but I am so impressed with myself for managing to put up two posts in two days! Ha! But anyway, some of my running buddies and I have developed a Thanksgiving Day tradition (we’ve done it two years in a row, so now it’s a tradition, right?). We do the Turkey Trot up at the zoo then have breakfast. Last year I made cinnamon rolls, so this year I made more cinnamon rolls! This year, though, I used a new recipe, the King Arthur Flour pumpkin cinnamon rolls.
A few changes I made: I didn’t have any “King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour” so I just used the King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour for all the flour. Also, I thought the dried cranberries and candied ginger might freak out a few people, so I used golden raisins instead. Oh, and I proofed the yeast first rather than dumping all the ingredients together. Now, the recipe says to put these into a 9″ square pan and to kind of squish them in there. The only problem is the rolls in the center were a bit too underbaked. I like my cinnamon rolls doughy and more underbaked than overbaked, but these were just gooey dough, and it was kind of gross. If I had baked them longer, though, I think the tops would have been dry. I am not sure how to solve this dilemma. Perhaps I will use a rectangular pan next time (please note: I didn’t bake the buns in the pan in the picture). Other than that, though, the rolls were quite tasy, and I think this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Posted in baking | 11 Comments

cookie time

Posted on December 1, 2009 by mariko

IMG_1221_1024x682.jpg

‘Tis the season, you know, for COOKIES. I’ve been thinking about cookies quite a bit lately, and there’s one kind of cookie I want to master: the sabl

Posted in baking | 8 Comments

Holiday Gift Guide – Office Supplies!!

Posted on November 27, 2009 by mariko

iphone 008.jpg
Happy Black Friday to you all! Now, this is going to be a loaded post, but there’s a payoff for you! The great folks over at JetPens, my favorite supplier of Japanese office supplies, presented an offer I could not refuse. If I came up with a top 10 office supply gift guide, then JetPens would provide a lucky winner a $10 gift certificate!
So, here’s my quick and dirty gift guide for office supplies. This guide is by no means complete, and you’ll also notice that not everything is from JetPens, since that would be suspicious (though not unreasonable, considering I want everything there). If you just want to figure out how to win the gift certificate, just jump to the end of this post!
Please note: all photos stolen from store web sites
MONTHLY PLANNER
polaroid planner.jpg
I love the small Japanese monthly planners, but the one issue I have with them is the week generally begins with Monday, and my brain gets confused when looking at the calendar. This cute little Polaroid planner starts the week with Sunday! They have some other cute designs, so check them out!
KEEL’S SIMPLE DIARY
simple diary.jpg
The Keel’s Simple Diary is pretty darn ingenious. It’s not your run-of-the-mill blank diary; instead, it offers fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice questions. If you know anyone who was obsessed with Mad Libs, this would make an excellent gift choice!
ORIGAMI STICKY NOTES
origami_sticky_notes.jpg
Do you know anyone who doesn’t use sticky notes? These Origami Sticky Notes will ensure that those notes don’t just end up in the recycling bin!
KAKUZAI WOOD MEMO BLOCK
blockmemomain.jpg
I totally want this. Have you ever seen a cooler memo pad? Well, have you?
KOKUYO SLANTED NOTEBOOK
kokuyo notebook.jpg
Ahhh, my people, they are so clever! These Kokuyo Design Paracuruno Slanted Page Notebooks, which come in fun colors, are designed so they can easily be rolled up and carried around from classroom to classroom or cafe to cafe or, you know, wherever!
UNI-BALL JETSTREAM SPORT BALLPOINT PEN
jetstreamsport.jpg
You’ve heard me go on and on about the Uni-Ball Jetstream Sport ballpoint pens, and I’m not going to stop. Every time I use one, I just can’t believe my good fortune at my discovery of them. The ink flows so smoothly you won’t want to stop writing. JetPens offers these in many different configurations. I think my favorite tip size is the .7mm, though I do have them in, ahem, every size.
PILOT HI-TEC-C COLETO MULTIPEN
coleto.jpg
There are a lot of multipens out there now, and there are a lot of gel ink pens. Personally, I prefer the Hi-Tec-C pens. I love the fine, fine point of these pens, and I find they really fun to write with. I know others love the Pentel Slicci and the Uni-Ball Signo. You can’t really go wrong with any of them!
NOMADIC PENCIL CASE
nomadic_case.jpg
Well, your gift recipient is going to need something for carrying around all the cool pens, right? JetPens has a great selection of pencil cases, including this Nomadic Easy Classification Pencil Case. It has compartments galore so you can practically fit an entire office in the case.
SAILOR A.S. FOUNTAIN PEN
sailor_fountainpen.jpg
Fountain pens make lovely gifts, and these Sailor A.S. Manhattaner’s NY Artists Guild Fountain Pens are cute to boot. There are several different designs.
YOU TEA SET
elsasam.jpg
And last but not least, no office would be complete without a nice cup for coffee and/or tea. This Anna Kraitz YOU porcelain cup and saucer holds 13.5 ounces, which is a perfect size.
Okay, so that’s it! And now for the contest to win a $10 gift certificate from JetPens. All you have to do is leave a comment to this post. If you want, you can share an office supply gift suggestion, but you don’t have to. You just can just comment that you want to win. No pressure, but oh, leave me a real e-mail address so I can reach you if you’re the winner. Contest will close at the end of the day on Friday, December 4, and I’ll randomly select a winner over that weekend! Happy Holidays!

Posted in office supplies | 95 Comments

M.I.A.

Posted on November 22, 2009 by mariko


Mascara guard, originally uploaded by super eggplant.

Hi. I have been missing for a bit. I guess I got a little too smug about not getting sick while everyone around me fell like dominoes, cuz then I got the crud. It’s been just over a week now, and each day I feel better, but I still have gooey stuff in my sinuses and a lingering cough. Thank goodness for the codeine-laced cough syrup. That stuff puts me into a deep, peaceful sleep, and often I dream of crystal blue, clear waters and sun.

And now for something completely different, I got myself a mascara guard. I have resisted mascara for decades. I felt like it made no difference if I wore it, plus it felt weird and made my lashes bash into my glasses. In the past year, though, I discovered the Japanese fiber mascaras, like Fiberwig and Opera MyLash, and miracle of miracles, I can wear those with no discomfort! I also got a battery operated eyelash curler that works (the manual ones always pinch my eyelids). So, more days than not, I now sport mascara (it’s part of my new “daily makeup”routine, ha ha). The only problem is, I have sparse and stubby eyelashes (dang Asian genes), which, coupled with my general lack of hand coordination, makes applying mascara a bit dangerous. I always think I am going to poke myself in the eye with the wand or just smear the mascara all over my eyelid. Well, this mascara guard should protect against such mishaps! I haven’t tried it yet, but I will today. I will let you know if it’s worth the $4 I paid at Uwajimaya.

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

a sequins of event

Posted on November 9, 2009 by mariko

iphone 190.jpg
Let’s just start at the beginning, shall we? I saw a sequined skirt at some store and thought, hey, that’s kind of cute, so I decided to make one. I got the fabric, Peter took one look at it and asked, “Have you lost your mind?” I told him I was going to make a skirt, and then he asked, “Where are you going to wear it? 82nd Avenue?” (82nd Avenue, for those of you not from Portland, is where the, ahem, working girls patrol). Then he declared, “I am NOT going ANYWHERE with you wearing that.” There were also some comments about Halloween costumes.
iphone 194.jpg
But, like a bird drawn to shiny things, I was not to be deterred! It was actually a fun experiment, and I learned many things. First, sequined fabric is kind of a pain to sew. That is probably not a big surprise. I basically just sewed a tube and added lining and a ribbing waistband. For the one seam, I cut away all the sequins so I wouldn’t have to sew over any. This gave me a nice edge to sew, but dang if it didn’t pucker. I ripped and retried, but there was still a bit of a pucker. I decided to let it go, hoping the shimmers would just make people dizzy, plus let’s be real, who’s looking at my butt, anyway.
For the waistband, I ordered some heavy nylon ribbing. I knew the sequins were going to be heavy, so I wanted a nice, thick ribbing. Unfortunately, the ribbing I got was very stretchy and not really hefty enough, and I was afraid the skirt was going to fall off. I ended up pinning it to my shirt so it wouldn’t slide down! If you decide to make one, be sure to get VERY heavy duty ribbing. For the hem, I didn’t want to deal with anything complicated, so I tried to make sure sequins were out of the way then just did a rolled edge on my serger. And voila!
The whole thing cost me about $20 to make. I wore it to a wedding and initially felt a little ridiculous, but the more people drank, the more compliments I got, and that worked for me.

Posted in sewing | 24 Comments

smock it to me

Posted on November 2, 2009 by mariko

IMG_1200_512x768.jpg
I know, it’s a miracle, I actually sewed something! I could have posted this a few days ago, but I was concerned that it might get mistaken for a Halloween costume. This poor tunic endured all sorts of insults prior to its completion! Peter saw me working on it, and mind you, there was A LOT of fabric, quite billowy and such, so he asked me, “Are you going to paint in that? It looks like a painter’s smock.” The next day he commented that it would be a nice nightgown. Then, a friend was over, and she asked if it was my sister-wife uniform.
Well, the tunic is done now, and I have to say I really like it. I used nani iro double gauze from my stash, and dang I love that double gauze! It is so warm and soft and cozy.
IMG_1106_1024x682.jpg
The pattern is from this Korean craft book, and yup, it’s that tunic on the cover. (You can read more about this book and how to order it at this post.) I don’t read any Korean, so I just had to study the diagrams and hope for the best. I made a size medium, since that is what I used before, but I think I should have opted for small in this particular pattern. Like I said, it was VERY FULL AND FLOWY, like Omar the tentmaker flowy.
So that I would not blow up and away like a silver weather balloon, I stitched in three rows of elastic in the back as demonstrated by my clever friend angry chicken. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with the results of that trick! The top part uses elastic thread in the bobbin for that shirred look, and the neckline has elastic threaded into it with a button closure (that was kind of a hassle). I just used a rolled-edge hem because I am lazy, but I also like the look of it. This called for fancier cuffs on the sleeves, but hey, I am lazy as well as impatient.
Hope everyone had a nice Halloween! We didn’t get very many trick-or-treaters, so now I have a boatload of full-size candy bars calling to me from the other room. It’s very dangerous.

Posted in sewing | 21 Comments

All hail Halloween

Posted on October 29, 2009 by mariko


All hail Halloween, originally uploaded by super eggplant.

It probably goes without saying that I love candy and that Halloween has always been my favorite holiday (but I guess it’s not REALLY a holiday). I unboxed and prepped the Halloween candies this evening, so we are ready! There are 90 full-size candies, so after 90 kids (or maybe fewer, since some of the candies might need to be “tested” before the actual holiday), that’s it! Lights out!

I remember roaming the streets of NW Portland with a pillowcase. It was always such a thrill to feel the thunk of the candy hitting the bottom of the sack. I remember one house gave out pennies, which I actually thought was rather cool (how naive was I!). Once home, my brother and I would compare our bounties and arrange the candies by category: chocolate, hard candies, icky ones. I think my favorites were M&Ms and Hershey’s bars, but I don’t really remember. Kids nowadays seem to go for the sour or gummi candies. What were your favorites?

Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments

mug of champions

Posted on October 28, 2009 by mariko

gorge.jpg
Photo stolen from Gorge Marathon site

I don’t talk about running a whole lot, but it’s one of the things I like to do. I’ve been running for more than 20 years now, so let’s just say I have passed my peak. I hope to keep running until I am old and senile. I have never been competitive, and I am certainly not a competitive runner, but every once in a while, if a race is small enough, I can score a little something in an age group award.
I just ran the Columbia Gorge Half Marathon in Hood River, OR, and dang, it was totally GORGE-ous. The course snaked up and down the old highway that runs parallel to the Columbia River. The fall colors were in full force, and we even got to run through a tunnel at one point. Fortunately, it didn’t rain, but it was pretty cold! There was a full marathon and a half marathon.
People haven’t discovered this great event yet, so the fields were relatively small, small enough that I won a giant mug for winning my age division! My friend Fran and her friend Frank also won their age divisions! The mug is huge and, as you can see, handmade. Hood River is known for the outdoors and windsurfing and hippies, so the mug, you know, reprezents, or whatever.
It was a really fun and friendly event, and a good time was had by all, including Christina, who is quite a badass, and whom I hope will continue to join us on our weekend runs.
Okay, I should have a finished object up soon, and Peter has already had some choice comments about it. Consider yourself forewarned.

Posted in General | 8 Comments

All hail the ancient Greek goddess of memory

Posted on October 16, 2009 by mariko

IMG_1191_1024x682.jpg
You know, I have to avoid JetPens because that place is dangerous for me. I have drawerfuls of Japanese pens, but if I go to the JetPens site? Oh, there are more I must have! So, I have to limit my visits. This plan was working okay, but then that Pen Addict had to ruin it all for me by blogging about the new Mnemosyne “Today’s Act” notebooks.
IMG_1192_1024x682.jpg
You see, Peter is a list maker. He makes lists then crosses off the tasks (lately he has started making little boxes in which to put checkmarks). He puts things like “eat lunch” and “shower” to ensure he will have things to cross off and thus feel successful. So when I saw these Mnemosyne notebooks with the baby-butt-smooth Japanese paper and the perfect little squares for checkmarks and all, well, you know I could not resist.
So I’m sure there are some anal, I mean, organized people out there who might like such notebooks. The “Today’s Act” notebooks, which are not pictured here, can be found here (and you can get them in multipacks!). The “To-Do” notebook, which is featured in the photos (it’s longish like a reporter’s notebook, which I find very endearing), is here. Oh, and I guess a pen fell into my shopping cart, too. It’s the Sailor Ink Bar Disposable Fountain Pen in blue black. I know, disposable is bad, but I’ve been wanting one of these pens ever since, yes, that darn Pen Addict reviewed them. Besides, it makes me feel kind of reckless and wild to purchase a disposable fountain pen.

Posted in office supplies | 14 Comments

chicken nanban

Posted on October 12, 2009 by mariko

IMG_1163_1024x682.jpg
I suppose if I had any self-respect I would have put the chicken on a cute plate instead of leaving it in the microwavable glass container, but hey, I’m keeping it real.
My friend Yumi visited from Japan this summer, and she made a big feast for a bunch of us. There were all kinds of tasty morsels, but I kept coming back to this chicken nanban. So delicious! I was so anxious to eat it again that I found a recipe online somewhere and made it. It was pretty labor intensive but yummy. Yumi then sent me her recipe, which is much easier to prepare. I think in the end I might go for a hybrid of the two. Oh, and for you non-chicken eaters, you can use the recipe with tofu or eggplant or whatever.
Read on for BOTH the recipes, plus commentary …

Continue reading →

Posted in cooking | 7 Comments