Thanks to Jessica Goodfellow of Axis of Abraxis and Ashley of Surviving in Japan for featuring my kabocha purée recipe on their sites!
Around the Web
- Philip N. Cohen. “Yo, how big is that yogurt bucket?” Family Inequality. 28 Sept. 2012.
Philip Cohen on container size, relative portions, and how much we eat: “There are three possible ways to judge your self-served serving size. You can go by the tub (‘I filled it half way’), you can go by the person next to you (‘sheesh!’), or you can look at the cartoon penguins on the wall.”
- Melinda Joe. “Hunting for Tokyo’s real bagel heads.” The Japan Times. 12 Oct. 2012.
Where to get bagels in Tokyo. I think I need to do one of these for Kanazawa.
- Rebecca Milner. “As the mercury drops, comfort food means pie, pie, pie.” “A Taste of Home” column. The Japan Times. 19 Oct. 2012.
On a similar note, where to get pie in Tokyo.
- “Random dining, anyone?” A Tuscan Foodie in America. 10 Sept. 2012.
Tuscan Foodie writes about linguistic mishaps when US restaurants try to use “Italian” words. (This is very similar to English menus in Japan.) If you aren’t reading this blog, you should be!
Currently Cooking: Recipes
I’ve been using this for all sorts of recipe experiments: baked oatmeal, muffins, soups, lattes, etc. For example:
- “Pumpkin and Black Bean Burritos”. Closet Cooking.
I used my kabocha purée and flour tortillas recipes to make this with some black beans (kuro ingen mame, 黒インゲン豆–not black soy beans!) from Yamaya and cilantro from the gourmet store.
- “Pumpkin-Ginger-Chocolate Chip Muffins.” Daily Nibbles.
These are divine. I used applesauce in mine and cut down the sugar to 1/2 cup. The kabocha purée is perfect for this recipe.
Food Almanac
I’ve been trying to try all kabocha/pumpkin goodies I can find, including the kabocha daifuku pictured above. This month, I went back to the US for a wedding, so I got to try pumpkin spice seasonal foods here, too: Pumpking Imperial Pumpkin Ale (Southern Tier Brewing), Ram Restaurant and Brewery Pumpkin Beer, vegan pumpkin-chai cupcakes from Angel Food Bakery, pumpkin English muffins, pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks (I maintain mine is better–theirs is so sugary!)… Pumpking seems to be everyone’s favorite pumpkin beer, and I have to agree. It’s got a great balance of flavors, particularly the pumpkin. Even Beer Advocate recommends it!
What’s your favorite kabocha/pumpkin-flavored treat this fall?
I'll Make It Myself! 
Ahhh, so many things.
1. I was reading Surviving in Japan and saw they featured you! Congrats!! That blog has been a daily read over here.
2. LOVE the idea of cutting down the sugar in the muffins with applesauce. Actually, I am starting to like the less sweet Japanese treats. I had some omiyage at work the other day that was divine. Mochi with chocolate?
3. I am making those kabocha and black bean burritos soon! Hopefully, this week.
Excellent! I might publish my alterations of that recipe (with a link to yours, of course) when I get back from vacation. I love the fresh ginger in them. The kabocha those burritos are excellent, too. :D Enjoy, and thanks for the comment!