Chocolately Blueberry Banana Smoothie

Background info: Boyfriend's Dad and Step Mom got me a beautiful blender for Christmas. I've been using it to indulge with some breakfast smoothies. Totally worth the clean up.

Chocolately Blueberry Banana Smoothie

1 small banana, sliced and frozen
1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 nonfat yogurt, I used original flavor
2 scoops lean protein powder, I used chocolate fudge flavor
1/2 cup milk, I used 2%

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Makes enough for two small smoothies or one large smoothie.

In order take it easier on the blender, I sliced the banana before I froze it. I usually add ice to my smoothies, but I omitted the ice for the frozen banana. The smoothie was like a chocolate banana smoothie with a hint of berry sweetness. Yum!

-Akemi-chan

Daydreaming of February

Um... Where'd all the snow go? It's been a crazy month of weather changes. High winds, heavy fog, snow, ice storms, thunder storms, freezing rain, low as 6 degrees, high as 58. January has been a month of excitement both at home and abroad.

Sunday's fog

Tokyo has left a lingering sense of revitalization and the jet lag has bestowed an equally consuming exhaustion. Same can be said for my haircut. Tokyo inspired such a change and my inexperience with bangs with provided inspiration, creativity, happiness and confusion. I promised myself to lead a more responsible life of a regular sleep, gym and work schedule to balance out the excessive eating, napping and traveling. That was short-lived.

Playing with Puppydog... and tripod

February's schedule is beginning to fill up rapidly. In order to spend a Saturday celebrating Mardi Gras in St. Louis, I agreed to back-to-back open-to-close shifts this weekend. Also, a friend is having a birthday in St. Louis and I've never been to St. Louis for Mardi Gras, which is supposed to be a massive event in itself.

Give me my stick

In addition to these extremes, Valentine's Day is fast approaching and I plan to prepare quite the meal for Boyfriend. Originally I was thinking surf and turf, but it seemed too retro steakhouse and I wanted something a little more fancy and festive. You'll have to wait and see what the menu's like. 

Sweater: SpRay from Tokyo

Scarf: Old Navy

Jeans: Express

Boots: Naturalizer

If that wasn't enough, the next weekend I'm attempting to fly to San Francisco to visit my best friend. I don't get to see her often and I love San Francisco so I couldn't resist trying. Hopefully we'll be able to have a fun girl's weekend together. I hope I can manage all the excitements in such a short amount of time. Either way, February will be interesting. 

-Akemi-chan

Daruma Nesting Dolls

One night, Boyfriend surprised me with two Daruma nesting dolls. A Daruma doll is a traditional Japanese gift or toy meant to symbolize good luck and encouragement. When you receive a doll, it has two white eyes. The recipient makes a goal for himself, draws in one of the eyes and displays the doll in a spot where they can see it often. The missing eye is a reminder to continue to strive for the goal's completion. When the goal is achieved, the recipient will draw in the other eye.

A Matryoshka or Russian nesting doll, is a series of similarly shaped dolls that stack and fit into each other. The doll(s) that Boyfriend gave me combined the two traditions. The Daruma dolls stack into each other and each have their own set of white eyes.

Boyfriend came up with the idea for the two of us to participate in. I will make a big goal for myself and a small one, while boyfriend makes a big and small goal for me, vise versa. We each will try to achieve all four goals by the end of the year. It's kind of like a cooperative New Years resolution. Wish us luck!

-Akemi-chan

Black Rock Closing/ Sausage Pesto Pasta

One of our favorite places to eat in town, is Black Rock Pizza Company. It's a local bar that serves pizza and other typical bar fare. Unfortunately for us, the bar closed on Friday but we were lucky enough to spend one last night with our favorite bar. It's so bittersweet to have such a great time at one of your most treasured spots for the last time.

Boyfriend, me and his sister

Boyfriend's drinks in his special glasses

The girls playing bartender with our actual bartender, Christine

The ladies, since the boys were too drunk

One of my favorite pizzas from the bar is the Pesto Pizza. A thin crust concoction with pesto sauce instead of typical marinara, topped with spicy Italian sausage, and artichoke hearts. The spicy salty sausage with the herbaceous pesto make the pizza hearty and delicious. This combo inspired a pasta dish, comforting but still approachable.

Sausage Pesto Pasta

1/2 lb pasta, I used tri-colored rotini
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/4 13 oz turkey kielbasa, sliced thinly
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 roma tomato, diced
3 tbsp pre-made pesto
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tbsp Parmesan, grated
1 tbsp red pepper flake
salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and cook pasta until al dente, 5-6 minutes. In a large saute pan over medium high heat, pour 1 tbsp olive oil and add sausage. Cook sausage for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove from pan, add remaining oil and onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Saute for 5-6 minutes.

Add cooked pasta, pesto and lemon juice. If sauce is too thick, add a ladle of pasta water. Mix until pasta is evenly coated. Add tomato and cheese and red pepper flake. Mix and enjoy!

RIP Black Rock, you will be missed.

-Akemi-chan

New Hair for the New Year

When we were in Japan, I was so envious of the women there. They were so beautiful, elegant, and stylish. Their coats were perfectly tailored and lint-rolled, their clothing was polished yet adorable and their hair was always perfectly placed to frame their faces. Every girl had bangs or some sort of side-swept-in-your-face thing going on. I had to be like them, or at least try. My coats would never be fuzz free and I added some Japanese pieces of merchandise to my closet, but the biggest impact to my style would be the bangs.

I haven't had bangs since I was very young, probably in elementary school. I had one of those stereotypical blunt bangs and blunt hair, the female counterpart to the rice-bowl cut for boys.

Throwback!

The inside joke in my family is the time my Mom was reading us a picture book of Disney's The Jungle Book and my brother pointed to Mowgli (and his hair) and said my name.

The Jungle Book starring me

Anyway, it took a lot of deliberation, but I took the leap. One week after we returned from Japan, I went to a local salon for my new do.

Before: too long and too much bulk

After: new bangs with sleek layers

I'm still not sure on how to style the new haircut. I'm not used to having to pay attention to my hair, so that's the mentality I have to adjust to. For example: do I style it to go with certain looks or keep it the same? Full blown, straightened, side-swept, parted? Hmm.

Also, I feel like I need to highlight my eyes more because of this cut. I was really getting into lip colors, but now it's all about eyes. Blues, silvers, purples, greens, grays, the whole shabang! It's also very possible that I may purchase a pair of reading glasses to complete the look. You know, trying to look smart and stuff. Haha! Either way, this is my new look for 2013 and hopefully it will serve me well.

-Akemi-chan

Strawberries with Goat cheese and Balsamic Caramel

When Boyfriend  and I returned from Japan, the fridge was like a ghost town. He was nice enough to pick up some groceries from the store, without my supervision.

Usually I'm too much of a control freak to let Boyfriend go crazy at the store without a list or any kind of direction. He brought back a variety of meats, veggies, fruits, dairy and pantry items. But what to do?

I was blankly staring at the receipt of items when I was inspired by a spinach salad with goat cheese, strawberries, walnuts and a balsamic vinaigrette. It seemed like a great idea for a dessert, except for the spinach part.

Strawberries with Goat cheese and Balsamic Caramel

3-4 large strawberries, stemmed and sliced
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp slivered almonds (optional)
1 tbsp shredded coconut (optional)

In a small saute pan over medium low heat melt butter and add brown sugar. Whisk until smooth. Add balsamic vinegar and whisk until evenly incorporated. On a plate (or two individual plates) place starwberries and crumble goat cheese. After the caramel sauce has cooked for a minute or two (to desired consistency) drizzle with whisk over the strawberries and goat cheese. Add slivered almonds and shredded coconut if desired.


Initially, wanted to try something like bananas foster. I intended the strawberries to be dressed with a sauce, not a caramel. Instead serendipity graced my kitchen and I added too much sugar and the sauce turned into a caramel. It turned out chewy, sticky, just a little sweet and a little tang. How fortuitous!

Boyfriend even said I should make this into some kind of caramel chew and it would be a great snack. Sounds delicious but I won't go that far, can you imagine the mess?!

This would also be fantastic over ice cream instead of cheese. Or even with yogurt and granola. Enjoy!

-Akemi-chan

Tokyo Day 5: Imperial Palace, Ginza & Flying back to Illinois

Boyfriend and I had no plans for our last day in Tokyo. We could have played some pachinko, or woke up early to visit Tsukiji fish market, or check out the new Tokyo Sky Tree, but we decided to keep it simple and visit the Imperial Palace. 

We checked out of our hotel and dropped our luggage at the front desk and took the train to the business district. Once we stepped off the train, I knew I was in trouble. I wore my suede, heeled, pointy boots and they were just starting to shovel the roads. The vast area we were walking through was covered in frozen snow. Eek! Squishy socks were inevitable. Though my feet were both soaking and hurting, it was a beautiful sunny day in snow-covered Tokyo. 

Swan lake... and little babies

After about 20 minutes of walking through snow, we made it to the Nijubashi bridges and discovered that tours of the palace were closed due to the weather. It was a little disappointing, but I was so tired from walking in the snow, I was a little relieved. 

Little snowman

Near the edge of the park we found a beautiful statue of Kusunoki Masashige. Meant to symbolize the ideal of samurai loyalty to the Emperor. The statue seems like it's alive thanks the the movement and grace of the horse and the detail in the armor.

While walking through the district we found La Boutique by Joel Robuchon. I have had some experience with critically acclaimed chefs. Been to Wolfgang Puck's Spago and Bobby Flay's Mesa in Las Vegas and I've been to Alan Wong's in Honolulu. I've had even less experience with French food. So if Boyfriend wants a little mid-morning snack at the "chef of the century's" patisserie, I'm all for it. Even if he just slapped his name on the crepe and bakery chain, it was still worth a try.

The garden outside the restaurant

Our coffees, apple pastry and berry pastry

The little pastries were the perfect pick me up after trekking through the snow in heels. After our treats we walked a few blocks to Ginza to do a little last minute shopping. One of my favorite parts of shopping in Japan is the sock stores. I know it sounds silly, but since you take off your shoes inside, so you want your feet to look nice outside of your shoes. Not to mention Japanese girls wear a lot of skirts, so it's only natural to have a store stocked with tights and socks. I probably spent around 40 bucks in that store, so cute.

After we went through a few department stores and shops, we headed back to the train station and found people making a sculpture out of snow. It was amazing.

While waiting at the airport we had our last meal in Japan. We shared a mixed Katsu plate for two. It included shrimp, potato, pork and cheese. 

Miso soup with little clams

Ikebana at airport

Ikebana close up

We were lucky enough to get First class going back as well.I was surprised to find out that the flight back to Chicago was a lot shorter than the flight there, like 2.5 hours shorter. Either way, here's what we ate.

Beef with mustard sauce amuse bouche

Shrimp and scallops on avocado mouse and salsa

Creamy mushroom soup

Boyfriend's beef with red wine sauce and potatoes

My chicken with mushroom risotto 

Fruit salad with mango sorbet

After our meal, we decided to get some shut eye. Since the flight was shorter we wanted to take advantage of the sleeping arrangements.

The sleep kit with Mickey and Minnie

My new Hello Kitty eye mask. Thanks Boyfriend!

We woke up about an hour before landing, just enough time to reorganize and slip back into regular clothes. Since we were in O'Hare, I had to pay a visit to my favorite Argo Tea.

Fruit and yogurt parfait, my Valentea Passion and Boyfriend's Iced Chai

We got back to Champaign around 7:30 at night and we were so happy to sleep in our own bed again. It was a fantastic trip and I'm so grateful and happy we go to do it. Thank you to Boyfriend and his work to give us this amazing opportunity. I can't wait to go back someday.

-Akemi-chan