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是非、こちらをご覧になってくださいませ。

Camera Test for EOS REBEL XT

I'm planning to buy a new digital camera so I tested Canon EOS today.

The top pic is EOS digital REBEL XT. Manual setting ISO800, No flash.
The pic below is power shotA540. Auto setting, Macro, No flash. How's difference?

Creme Caramel

It's a popular dessert which I made for customers last week end. That's very strange because some people called "Creme Caramel" but some people called "Custard", also some people called "Flan" but these three are same things.

We call "Pudding" in Japan and the most popular dessert for everybody from baby to adult. It's just simple ingredients and method which makes a delicious custard. The main ingredients are eggs, milk and sugar. Just egg and 1/2 amount of sugar mix together and add warm milk with 1/2 amount of sugar. Stir and strain once or twice then pour into ramekins and bake with steam. Some people use steamer on the stove but some people use the oven with Bain Marie(water bath)covered with a piece of aluminum foil. Ether one is OK but I recommend to use steamer for home and oven for commercial, just easy way to use steamer for home bakers because NO worry for moving the pan with hot water so.

Today's my Creme Caramel tastes pretty good but too rich for me because I used half cream + half milk and egg yolks+whole eggs. Since long time, my Creme Caramel is always used regular milk(Don't use fat free or less fat!) and whole eggs not yolks. I learned a delicious Creme Caramel when I worked for the pastry shop in Japan but I totally forgot that recipe.... Well, I will definitely try again with regular milk and whole eggs to make "Japanese Creme Caramel".

Oh, I just remember about "Pudding a la Mode" which is also popular pudding dessert in Japan since when I was a child. Just decorated with whipped cream and topped with melon, tangerine and pineapple pieces on the pudding.

Baby Shower Cake

Since I saw this cute idea for baby shower's cake from someone's picture on the net, I really wanted to make for someone. Finally a chance came to me! I got an order from our client lady who was planning for her daughter's baby shower. Her pregnancy daughter is expecting twin babies who are boy and girl. I can't imagine to have twin babies... sounds like little bit scary to me. But actually my grandma is one of twin so I'm sure I have a gene for getting twins...

Talking about my cakes, the party was 12 people so I used three 9" and one 6" cake molds to bake vanilla sponge cakes. I knew that's too much for only 12 people but I wanted make cake prettier so I just did it. (Actually I cut into small wheals, handle and cover so I really needed that much sponge cakes...extra pieces were gone to staff's stomaches!)


She requested me lemon flavor and raspberry so I filled with lite lemon mousse and fresh raspberries. Coated with lemon icing and piped cute pink and blue like flowers image for baby boy and girl. Oh yes, I set up cakes like stroller. It was a big hit! People around me liked my cake. Specially a banquet manager liked this cake so much and she asked me a possibilities to sell more cakes like this in near future. Sounds very interesting to me but I can't because I have too much work now and I don't want to have less time to make these creations. (It takes time more than I thought...)


Later on, I met a lady who is a member of our club and she told me my cake was so good and so pretty. Nice to hear anything like that! I think I got some clients for my future business.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

I've just finished Mother's Day brunch for 460 people last Sunday. I wasn't expected that much banquets I have in my work and need to make lots and lots of desserts for them. I heard from April to June are most busiest season for the country club. The weather makes people come to play golf or do all kind of events. Of course wedding season is in June! Fortunately, I don't need to make the wedding cakes so that makes little bit my stress off. But still I have parties and upcoming events every day.

Well, a great season has the great vegetables and fruits! Here rhubarb is one of my favorite unique vegetable. I never had and cooked before so my first time to cook Rhubarb was compote at the cooking school in London. Actually I didn't like it because too much fibers and tastes so sour. I thought my teacher gave me wrong recipe? Who knows! Well, I knew that rhubarb and strawberry are great combinations since I moved to California. Here is the best combinations spring dessert "Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp" which I made for regular dinning service in weekend for few weeks.


At the beginning, I didn't cook rhubarb before I put into oven with crumble so it was bit uncooked in the center and I found it out later(actually I gave my boss and his wife was complained about it!). Yes, rhubarb needs more time for cooking than strawberries. So I cooked rhubarb, sugar and lemon juice for about 10min on the stove then transfer to ramekins and mix with strawberries and put crumble on the top. I think that makes them cook faster and cook all way through so less time and no worry about uncooked rhubarb pieces. Much better crisp I made than before!
I adapted crisp topping recipe from my favorite Claudia Freming's dessert book "The Last Course". I arranged sugar amount and spice but this is my favorite crisp topping always.

Artichoke

Spring has come! One of my spring favorite is artichokes. I didn't know and never seen artichokes when I was in Japan. I saw them first time 5 years ago when I moved in California.
I had no idea to cook this unique vegetable and my husband told me how to do.
The artichoke has lots of thorns just like cat nails and has hard leaves just like shells. You can only eat the bottom (small part) of leaf (see the picture below) and heart (see the second picture below)in the center.

How to cook? You just need to cook it with lemon or vinegar water until bamboo skewer thought into center of artichoke.
Dip with lemon butter and eat the bottom of leaves. After eat leaves, take off the center of hair like and trim around of heart then you can use it for risotto, pasta, salad and anything you want. It's a sweet flower like flavor and texture is just like chestnuts.

I knew the artichokes and cream are great combinations. So I made Fettuccine Alfredo with artichoke hearts, shrimps, lemon zest and "Yuzuton" which is citrus x red pepper paste originally from southern part of Japan. It was so delicious!!!

Clematis & Hydrangea

I don't know since when but my favorite flowers are always clematis and hydrangea. I used to love rose or different flowers just like other girls but now I love those flowers more than any flowers. I bought this clematis last year from TJ's and enjoyed beautiful flowers blooming so much and here they came back again! I'm so lucky because I didn't take care of them much.... oh, something different this year's clematis. Their colors are little bit light and flowers are small but still beautiful as last year.

About my hydrangea, it came to my house a year ago from my friend Angel who used be my co-worker and a very best friend of me. After few months, the blanches lost leaves and looked like sick but they came back this year again with beautiful leaves and many little buds. What an amazing thing! See little flowers are waiting for blooming? I heard an unique Hydrangea nature from Angle. The color of flower could be changed with different soil. For example, you feed acid into your soil if you want to your flower to be pink, then you need to feed alkaline for blue or purple flowers. I didn't try last year so I will try this year for seeing what's gonna happened.

My mom loved clematis and I sent her many clematis pots since when I was young so she always reminds me when she saws those flowers.
This clematis is not climbing one (I didn't know about it when I got this...) so I want to have a climbing clematis in near future but I need to find a space for putting.....