Potato chips not fried or baked, it’s dried.

I, wasn’t sure and skeptical, but it turned out to be one of best tries.

Utilizing a mechanism of the microwave, it warms food by using the moisture in the food itself. So that potato slice rapidly dried and becomes crunchy.

Prepare potatoes as many as you like to eat, slice them as thin as you can.

E.g. two potatoes takes, 600W x six to seven minutes x three times, = about 21 minutes to be served.

Two ziploc containers at last. One container for One potato x 2.

*a slicer would be useful but not necessary. I sliced with a regular kitchen knife.

And neatly place the sliced potatoes on a cooking paper, avoid overlapping.

Put the paper in the microwave.

600W x six to seven minutes.

No regret, as the result is very satisfying.

Open once, check how much potatoes have dried, do more minutes to dry completely.

You’ll see potatoes start changing the color to brown.

Take the paper out, leave it for a while.

you see how “crunchy” it is

Repeat the microwave drying as you need.

For this process there is no shortcut unless you have a huge microwave or multi microwaves.

No oil, no salt, homemade tasty crunchy potato snack is ready.

bon appetit!


Sweet potato x 1

Sliced very thin, like potatoes. Maybe because sweet potato contains less moisture? It was different from potatoes. I burned some… potatoes would better suit than sweet potato for chips.

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Oil painting

This week is another consecutive holiday.

and I’m in the middle of job-hopping.

therefore I’m using my time preparing for the next job, and doing things I’ve been wanting to do.

A painting class started in Jun, so far only doing drawing.

Several plaster castings and a bottle. It’s good to train how to draw things.

Today, I was able to attend a beginner oil painting lesson. This class is required to take by the art school, they want us to learn basic knowledge of oil painting method and tool handling.

I can tell by the smell a liquid solution is for washing brushes, or how to make a rough sketch with charcoal, scrape paint with palette knife.

those I have learned through personal experience at age of 10 or so, that’s all.

I just really want to do painting.

Anyway, there were three of us and a person who taught us oil painting histories, technique and tips.

We followed the instruction, drew a sketch, colored it and painted.

Really enjoyed the feeling.

It was three hours lesson, and we all finished the painting, of an apple. Why it’s always an apple? and left the canvases to dry.

My childhood art teacher taught me to paint all over in white to draw again on the same canvas.

I’d try that once the canvas is dried.

No desire to keep paintings, the focus is on the painting process.


Extra.

We visited Yokohama stadium on Monday, the venue was a place Olympic baseball and softball games were held.

It’s been a month, and it’s like long ago.

Memories of Tokyo 2020.

Yokozuna Terunofuji

We went out to Sumo at Ryogoku stadium again, for celebrating Yokozuna Terunofuji (照ノ富士 in kanji).

Terunofuji in life size panel

Sumo is held every other month, in Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep and Nov.

Since COVID-19, it’s been held at Ryogoku through 2020. Usually it is held in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka between Ryogoku@Tokyo.

After one year passed, Nagoya basho was reopened in Jul. unfortunately Osaka basho was not held in Osaka but in Tokyo in Mar.

It’ll be announced if Fukuoka basho is held in Fukuoka or so near future, it depends on COVID-19 situation in Oct.

Anyway, while Hakuho, a senior Yokozuna, is absent due to COVID infection report from one of sumo wrestlers within his Heya (Miyagino sumo stable), a newly became Yokozuna Terunofuji must be responsible to stand against other lower ranking wrestlers. Yokozuna is the strongest and a wall to others, a wall others must defeat.

Even being under such pressure, Terunofuji is the only one without defeat mark as of day7. the play continues for 15 days.

Today was really exciting, we watched three exceptional matches, and two matches of our favorite Takakeisho and Terunofuji, they both won.

Terunofuji and Takakeisho

With COVID-19 new normal, Sumo is held with limited visitors of 5,000 ppl. it’s only 1/3 of Ryogoku’s capacity.

We cannot eat bento or snacks in our seat, we need to go outside and eat at a bench.

No liquor sold.

Mask is mandatory.

And just like Olympic/Paralympic, we clap our hands to cheer wrestlers.

No loud voice cheers. Talking about cheers, I realized that no cheers at the same time no harassing comments.

Actually it’s really good atmosphere, as Sumo should be sacred not an entertainment.

And we have enough space for each other, because of less people.

Many stadiums that built longtime ago mostly have a very tight seating space. If it’s filled, we have to shrink ourselves, sit tight, still hard to avoid to touch upper arm or shoulder of ppl in both sides.

Therefore less ppl is comfortable..

And we can enjoy wrestlers breathing and sound of bumping each other.

Wrestlers nowadays are not able to act a fixed match which was once a serious issue in Sumo. As it’ll be obvious when without full force.

Hope Terunofuji to achieve “Kachikoahi“ (more wins than losses) today!

Another autumn has set

Since a jogging on Saturday, I noticed a scent of osmanthus at Yamashita park, along the road, from some neighbors’ backyard, and from our next door.

At the 7-11 near home.

Last autumn, one morning I realized the scent’s actually coming from a backyard over a wall between our house and the neighbor.

As osmanthus grows up fast and it becomes taller like a photo above, our backyard is not big enough for it even if we want to have.

So I feel thankful that our neighbor allows us to appreciate it over a wall.

These small pieces become fragrant.

Purely out of curiosity, I searched oamanthus fragrance on Amazon. It seems osmathus is getting popular, for this year????

Loccitane it’s just released on 8th Sep.

Louis Vuitton also has THE PERFUME

I got curious and picked one, a solid perfume THIS .

When surrounded by a peaceful scent it’s really relaxing and calming.

Edamame beans cooking 楽しい枝豆

This summer we ate much edamame beans than ever, while enjoying Tokyo 2020. All games ended, it’s officially closed. I just feel relieved.

I think 2021 was a good harvest year of edamame beans from many different producing regions.

From Gunma prefecture

Edamame bean nutritions

1 cup of edamame beans 155g

(One edamame bean contains protein approx. 0.14g)

Protein 19g, Fat 8g (unsaturated fatty acid, good fat), Carbs 14g, Vitamins, A C E and K

Lately I happened to find a new cooking method. Fry and steam edamame with a pan.

It’s recommended by YouTube, I think google search results are referenced by YouTube. Maybe vice versa.

Anyway, boiling is easy but edamame nutrition is drained into water.

And steaming by its own moisture, it’s also easy and it becomes tasty and probably good for health.

How to cook:

1. Wash well.

2. Sprinkle salt. As you like.

3. Fry in high heat for five minutes until they are partially browned.

Fresh and green
5 minutes in high heat

4. Put a lid, steam in mid to low heat for another five minutes.

A Silicone lid.
5 minutes steamed
By edamame moisture

5. Use an electric fan to cool.

Cool a bit

6. Store in the fridge, and enjoy later.

For Three

Really sweet edamame beans you’ll notice by taste. Edamame is definitely one of best snacks!

UPDATE: Missing cat. Came back home.

Thank you for following this up, seems the cat came home safe.

https://mallabandbrown.com/2021/09/04/cat-update/

He looks alike with my Chobi, and I’m glad that he is back.

My boy cat has gone missing. If you live in Stoke-on-Trent, I’m near Portmeirion pottery. He does go out but usually comes in at night, or first …

Missing cat