Katletki!

Today I felt like cooking so I made a not-so-traditional version of one of my favorite Russian foods, katletki. It's pretty much just like Russian style meatloaf/hamburger patties. Japanese cooking does their own style of this and they just call it hamburg. There are a lot of variations, but I try to make mine ultra healthy with spinach, mushrooms, onions, ground chicken and egg. When I made them this time around I used so much spinach I was worried they wouldn't hold together, because the mixture wasn't very uniform, but they cooked up just fine!

Here's the recipe just in case you want to see how I made them. 

3 cups fresh chopped spinach (chopped medium-fine)

1 large onion, diced very finely

2 cups finely diced button mushrooms, or baby portabellos

2 large eggs

1 kg, ~2 lbs ground chicken (you can also use turkey, beef, whatever)

3 cloves minced garlic

salt and pepper

sides:

fresh cooked pumpkin

mashed potatoes

I start out by cooking the finely diced onions for about 6 minutes and then add the mushrooms and garlic and let those cook all together for another 5 minutes or so. Add salt and pepper to taste, but add a little more salt because this mixture is going to be mixed with the other ingredients.

Then I take a large bowl and mix the chopped spinach with the eggs. When the spinach is evenly mixed with the egg, add the ground chicken. It takes a little work to mix it all together, just do your best. Then add the sauteed mushrooms/onions/garlic. Don't worry about letting it cool, just mix it all together. 

In the same pan used to cook the onions, add another light coating of olive oil and spoon in 2-3 tablespoons worth of katletka mix and make a small patty. You can fit 3-4 in a medium pan at once. Cover the patties and let them cook in the pan for about 5-8 minutes on each side. I just flip them when they look lightly browned around the edges. 

Serve with mashed potatoes and whatever cooked vegetables you like on the side (I think steamed pumpkin compliments all the flavors really well). Or you can put them on a toasted hamburger bun with avocado slices or guacamole and jalapenos and some white cheddar. The burger version is not very Russian-y, but it's still delicious!

Making homestyle food is fun because I can share my childhood dishes with Bret and take a break from Japanese cuisine :) 

I also made a chocolate/vanilla layered zebra cheesecake for my birthday which was delicious....I'm going to make another one in March for a friend's birthday, so hopefully I make it pretty enough to post pictures. The original did not turn out very neatly, but it tasted really good!

Petsitting and Other Adventures

Our friend went to Tokyo this week (jealous) and since we do doggy playdates with him and his chihuahua, Tao, all the time, he asked us to dog-sit.

It has been okay. Chihuahuas are very noisy. Bosco rarely makes a peep, so having something barking at me nonstop has been a bit of a mental drain. They also fight a lot, and very noisily. I hoped they would be more friendly and maybe even cuddle sleep together after a day or two (awwww), but no such luck.

Bosco has showed no sign of discomfort after his surgery. He ate his post-op meds without complaint and is back to his little rolly polly self. I'm happy there has been no change in his personality, but it's too bad he hasn't mellowed at all. He's still very feisty. I think I need to exercise him more but it has been freezing lately so we're only outside for 20-30 minutes at a time 4 or 5 times a day. Sounds like a lot, but it's definitely not enough for him.

To solve this problem, we ordered a little doggy backpack offline for him. It's supposed to tucker dogs out faster and give him a sense of purpose and pride to have a job to do. He'll carry his own water and stuff, and if that's not enough, we can add weights. I'm looking forward to putting it on him, it'll be sooooo cute. I can't wait to take him hiking in it!

Other than that, not a lot going on around these parts I'm afraid. I have to go to a staff meeting in a neighboring city next Monday, but other than that...I'm pretty stationary. I can't wait for it to warm up!

Oh, some good news is that we purchased our tickets to India for spring break! We haven't done much outside of work since Christmas, and we are getting a little stir crazy. It's the perfect time to go, too, because it'll still be pretty chilly here in April, so India will seem tropical to us. Some stops we're planning on are Dehli/New Dehli and the Taj Mahal and a few other places. It's only about a week, but we'll try to make the most of it! I have always wanted to go to India, and we're lucky enough to have an Indian friend in Japan who is going back at the same time, so he will be able to show us around a bit and give us a local perspective when we're there. I'm really excited!

I've Seen Things...

So, I went to the vet today for the little Bos to get fixed... it's kind of a blur now.

First off, we couldn't feed him after 8 pm yesterday, which was tough. He's a very food oriented dog, and is always fed at the same times daily, and did not seem to understand nor appreciate the fact that he was not fed before his morning walk. His frustration led to him being antsy and a little aggressive, but then he succumbed to sleeping with his sad face on. We even took him to our Japanese lesson at the community center, where he slept in a chair looking miserable.

After class and dropping Bret off at the train station I went into the clinic  where about 5 vet assistant ladies took poor Bosco and started prepping him for surgery. I had to be there the whole time, and the room had huge windows so it was one of those "should I watch out of concern?" or "don't look, you don't want to see" situations. The beginning went smoothly enough, but it was so sad to see him belly-up on the table with a little oxygen mask over his face.

Anyway, I'm sitting there in horror and keep having to fill out forms and given info about antibiotics he has to take after the surgery, and someone I know walks in. I'd hung out with her before about 3 months ago but totally forgot (context is *huge* when it comes to memory sometimes). We say hi and talk a little, and then she brings in her own ADORABLE 8 week old shiba. So cute. We got Bosco at 4 months, so seeing a little baby one was awesome. I got her number so we could have a little Shiba playdate and so that I can hopefully redeem myself for not remembering her. I got some dirty looks for talking to her in the wait area from some of the nurses (I told them I didn't speak Japanese...which I don't...but I was talking with the lady in half and half and the veterinary staff looked scandalized).

After chatting with the lady for a bit, Bosco comes to. The operating room's door was open and adjacent to the waiting area, and he just starts screaming and yowling (youtube shiba scream if you want to know). It was terrible. There was nothing I could do so I just kept playing with the little shiba in the waiting room. I was trying to pet him in a reassuring way, since he hadn't seen the vet yet and I didn't want him to get a negative impression already. "Don't worry little buddy, this isn't happening to you for another 4 months..."

Bosco calmed down after 15 minutes and some sleep medicine, but was still a little frantic. He'd be woozy and wobbly, them freak out for a second, then nod to sleep, but wake up screeching....

While he was calming down, on the next table over, a lady gives her pet pigeon to the vet. I have no idea what kind of pigeon inspection this was, but all of a sudden, blood comes streaming down onto the exam table, and everyone in the vet clinic --aside from the vet-- is just looking on in shock (especially the owner of the pigeon). The pigeon itself didn't look too distraught. It didn't move for a bit, but then bobbed it's neck around. It sat comfortably upside down in the vets hand. So bizarre. Why would you take your pigeon to the vet? Why would it start hemorrhaging blood? Was something lodged? Was the pigeon stabbed? So many questions, number one being, why would you have a pet pigeon? A short while later the pigeon was put back in his carrying box (looked like a lunch box) and his owner took him home. No idea what happened.

Then one of the veterinary nurses comes over with a concerned look and holding a large white piece of cloth. She beckons and opens up the cloth to reveal what they had just extracted from Bosco. Oh what a delight. Just in case I thought this was all for naught, they show me the evidence!

After bringing Bosco home, he zoned out on his bed for a while. He'd wake up occasionally and make loud whines. I feel so terrible. When he woke up I fed him a bunch of fancy dog treats I bought today to make up for the horrors he's been subjected. He ate them, but without any of the happiness or vigor he usually exhibits when scarfing down his food. Then he whined loudly by the door to tell me he had to go to the toilet (he's COMPLETELY house trained now, how awesome is that? He learned in two weeks!) and now he's sleeping again, after sitting down, whining, sitting down in a different spot, whining, sitting down in my lap, whining, and finally sitting on the floor near the heater and still sighing and whining now and then.

It's been a strange day, but I hope he heals up fast so he can play with other dogs and run around again soon.

Update: I figured in his weakened condition I could let him out in the yard off leash for a bit so he could do his business since he was great when I let him out midday. WRONG. Sleeping all day made him really restless and he was doing the Shiba 500 nonstop around the yard and thought that I was "playing" when I tried to catch him to bring him in. I had a friend coming over and Bosco would not calm down, running all over the yard at night in the rain while I'm trying to coax him over. I ended up letting him hang out while I went inside to talk to my guest, and he stayed out there for more than an hour. I left two doors open for him, the garage and the front, because I know he can't jump the 1.5 ft raised entrance (in Japanese it's called a genkan, it separates the "outside" part of your house from the "inside" which is strictly no-shoes and in this case no-Bosco). While I was busy making tea and thinking he was outside, this delinquent jumped the genkan and was running all over the house. I did not anticipate that he would be this energetic post-surgery. I mean seriously, he's breaking his jump height records? Is this normal behavior?  I really hope he doesn't mess up his stitches...ugh. It's terrible because the two things he loves best are running and eating, and we have to restrict his movement and his food quantities for the next 3-10 days. I do not see this going well. Thank goodness I work in my city this week so I can have lots of time with him during the day. When I work in other cities I have to catch the train pretty early so it cuts down his outside time.

Bosco the Boss Man

 Sleeping

 First day, bringing him home in a box

Sometime during the first week.


Meet Bosco the shiba! We have been wanting a pup for a long time (especially me) and we finally got one. Shibas are really smart, but also a lot of work. We take him outside about 6 times a day minimum for potty training, and are also trying to socialize him A LOT when he's young. He's 3.5 months old, and we got him at 3 months. We are really happy about the new addition, and hope he takes to his training well. After two weeks he knows sit (100% if you have food) come (50 % of the time) and heel (er....let's say 50% on this one too, Bret has better luck than I do). I think he knows his name too, but if he's in the Shiba zone and distracted, there's not much you can do. I want to buy a clicker and try that out since he responds really well to claps and snaps. If he's meeting a new person, he gets really excited and sometimes a little nippy, but clapping works well to distract him and get him settled down. Bret's taking him to puppy school next week, so hopefully that is good too!

Ramen

There are many different types of ramen, so I thought I would share some information about the different types there are and which ones Bret and I like. It consists of flour noodles and broth with various toppings. Cup noodle ramen is popular in Japan (especially among bachelors), but whenever you go to a ramen shop it is always made with fresh noodles. These noodles are typically made in-house, so they are usually fresh and much much much more delicious than their rehydrated and styrofoamed counterparts (ps, they still use Styrofoam in Washington? tsk tsk, I thought the Seattle ban would catch on). Additionally, I have to plug Saijo's spring water for contributing to the clear, fresh taste of noodles made in my own beautiful town.

Anyways, there are five different versions that I see most commonly. There are also regional specialty ramens, such as in Tokyo where they use stronger flavors and a greater number of toppings. But I'll just write about the five basic types here.

Sesame Ramen

Why save the best for last when you can save the best for first? This is the kind that Bret usually gets. It has a pretty thick broth made with sesame, miso and soy and a chicken/beef/pork stock base. It sometimes comes with finely ground beef that they put on top and gets all mixed in with the soup. It's pretty delicious. They also put sprouts, alfalfa greens, seaweed, bamboo shoots, and a half of a soft-boiled egg on top for decoration and deliciousness. Sometimes they marinate the eggs too, but I don't care about them so much. When I eat this kind of ramen I like to go to the shop that gives you unlimited kimchi to eat along with it. It is sooooo good. FYI, the dictionary on googlechrome does not recognize to word kimchi. For shame!

Miso Ramen

This ramen also has a pretty thick broth and is more or less similar to the sesame ramen, but is less thick and velvety in texture; just a lighter soup. Usually regular miso soup (like you can get at teriyaki or sushi restaurants) has a lot of separation, i.e. the watery part separates from the cloudy miso part, but that usually doesn't happen too much with the miso ramen--probably because of all the noodles and additional ingredients. Miso ramen is great for when the shop you're in doesn't have sesame ramen. It is still rich and filling but less flavorful in my humble opinion. I do have to add that there are many kinds of miso-- white, red, brown, etc so it's difficult to generalize. Every shop also has their own recipe, so sometimes it's really good but sometimes it's so-so. But still, miso ramen is usually pretty delicious and a full meal on it's own. Toppings include sprouts, baby greens, softboiled egg, a hunk of pork, seaweed,bamboo shoots, and the white swirly thing you see in the above picture is fish paste colored and molded, then sliced. I am not a fan of the fish paste per say, it's more just for decoration and I usually don't eat it. You can buy cooked pasted fish in various molds at the store. They make it in the form of pokemon characters and hello kitty sometimes. It's a staple for decorating bento boxes and kids lunches.

Tonkotsu Ramen

Many people will gasp in horror after reading this, but I do not like Tonkotsu ramen. It is on the heavy side of the ramen broths and very rich and creamy. This is due not to the healthier thickening qualities of miso or sesame, but from the boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen over high heat over a long period of time. The resulting product can be anywhere from a very strong smelling pork broth to straight up gravy. Would I like to drink gravy from an enormous bowl? No thank you. But if you like pork flavor, which many people do, it can be good. It is also topped with a rectangle of seaweed (see pic on the right hand side, the dark green thing) as well as sprouts, a slice of slow cooked pork, thinly sliced scallions and a couple of slices of bamboo shoot. 

Soy Ramen

Soy Ramen is one of the simplest ramens. The broth is made from chicken, beef or pork stock and colored/flavored with a little soy sauce. Soy sauce comes in many grades and flavors, so they use a lighter complimentary kind for soup, not your standard black kikkoman variety. There is a whole isle dedicated to soy sauce in most supermarkets here, and I can't tell what they say, but I know there are many, many kinds. Soy ramen comes with the standard flour noodles, some sprouts, scallions, bamboo and a rectangle of seaweed. Add a slice or two of pork on top and you're good to go. This kind of ramen does well when eaten with more flavorful things like gyoza or fried rice, but you can also add some spices or grind sesame seeds on top to make it taste better. Not my first choice, but it's pretty good. 

Shio Ramen

Shio means salt, so this is literally just salt broth ramen. Yum, right? No but it has the basic chicken, beef or pork stock and salt. You can also buy a stock paste that comes in a big red can with some kanji on it to make this simple soup. Top it with whatever garnish you like and that's about it. I usually get this type of ramen when I go to my favorite fried rice destination. This shop gives you a delicious mound of fried rice and a small cup of shio ramen to wash it down with. The small cup doesn't have noodles or anything, so it's light and nice to accompany the greasy fried rice or gyoza that I'm usually scarfing down.

That's about all there is to ramen! Bret and I had never really eaten it in the US, so it was a novelty when we moved here. I definitely miss the stronger flavors of Tokyo style ramen, and usually don't eat regular old noodle and broth ramen, but it is nice on cold days sometimes. Thanks for reading! I've been wanting to make this post for years and finally did!

All the pictures came from Wikipedia, sorry for the laziness. Maybe one day I will make another post but with real pictures of my local cuisine. It looks pretty much the same in my city's ramen shops as it does in the pictures above.


PS. When I first starting teaching in Shikoku, I asked one of my male adult students to describe how to make ramen in English for a homework assignment. They next week, he came in with two grocery bags full of ingredients and about 50 pages of translated descriptions or cooking methods.To clarify, he was a beginner student and this was by no means an easy assignment for him, as he doesn't usually cook and probably had to do a bit of research. After he was done thoroughly explaining everything, he gifted me all of the ingredients so I could make ramen at home. It was so kind and unnecessary and I will never forget it! 

Kids are so cute. This reminds me of all the times little kids come to the train station to see the trains with cartoon print wraps on them, or just to see any train. A lot of times they wave as the train pulls away. Sometimes when the train goes through the countryside and farmland you see little kids with their parents watching the trains and waving too. I'm gonna wave back from now on. So adorable.