First Dinner

I couldn't really remember what I cooked the first time for my bf, until I came across this picture. I cooked vermicelli with clams with tomato sauce and basil with chicken Parmesan. It's a really simple dinner to cook and it's even better served with a light salad and some wine. Luckily my bf brought the wine :) And just a tip for you guys cooking to impress your bf or your gf, if you feel like you messed up the cooking or it doesn't taste as good as you wanted, serve them wine before dinner, everything tastes better with a bit of booze lol.

初めて彼氏に作ったご飯は何だったか全然覚えてないんですが、写真を整理していたら見つけました～ｗ　普通にアサリのトマトパスタとチキンパルメザンを作りました。手の込んだ料理に見えるんですが、意外と簡単にできるので良い感じｗ　ワインとサラダもあれば完璧！　初めて恋人とかに料理を作る時って結構緊張しませんか？僕は美味しく作れなかった時のため絶対に彼氏を作ってる間にほろよい状態にさせますｗ　ちょっと酔ってたらごまかしが効くんですよねｗ

sigh, brings back memories...

Here's the recipe for the Chicken Parmesan. Normally, people use plain bread crumbs, but I always use garlic or herbed croutons and grind them myself. 

Ingredients 4 servings

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 large eggs

3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan

1/2 cup ground croutons

1 tablespoon mixed herbs

2 chicken breasts, butterflied

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, homemade or storebought

4 ounces Buffalo mozzarella, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. In another bowl, combine Parmesan, ground croutons and mixed herbs. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Dip chicken in egg, then in Parmesan mixture; place in skillet and cook until golden brown.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Then top with chicken, remaining sauce, and finally mozzarella. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Left - Plum Daifuku / Right Chocolate Daifuku

For dessert, we had Daifuku. Daifuku literally means "great luck". It is a Japanese confection consisting of a small round mochi (glutinous rice cake) stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly anko, sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans. The ones we had came from a shop called Rakuemon. It was a chocolate Daifuku and Plum Daifuku. Perfectly delish :)

Posting an oldie I found in my draft lol

This was like from 2 years ago lol

Sorry for not updating... I know I've gone MIA for a while. Anyways, a quick update with two of my arrangements I was taught from my designer. The first is a mixed arrangement in a sphere vase using chicken wire. The second, a parallel decorative arrangement. This looks very weird and it's not a common parallel arrangement, but I had to learn this unique, odd arrangement to attain a Dutch Floral Design Diploma. 


Although the first chartreuse shade arrangement was quite difficult to arrange, I hate arranging in sphere shaped vases, I LOVE the flowers and the color schemes. I feel that chartreuse themed arrangements tend to be very modern looking, but this is a perfect combination of classical and modern. I LOVE THESE KIND OF STYLES. This is very reminiscent of the Parisian floral arrangements. 

You have NO idea how difficult this was to arrange following the rules. All the stems are to touch the bottom of the vase, there should be no foliage touching the water, the water is to be crystal clear, the flowers are to be arranged following the Biedemeier style and all this is to be arranged through an unstably placed chicken wire at the opening of the vase... And you are to arrange this in less than 30min... This picture was taken after my second try....

Don't even comment on this... I had no f-ing idea what I was doing withi this. This is really me first time tackling a modern flower arrangement... The teachers told me I did a good job, but I totally feel like I need loads of practice. I'm SOOOOOOOO sad that I had to cut the rose SOOOO short!!! The Dutch are f-ed up, they cut the most expensive rose right down to the bloom, but force the gerbera daisies to be cut tall!!! OUTRAGEOUS! lol*

Dreaming of Wedgwood

What attracts people to Wedgwood? It is the allure of the quality of the pieces that strikes the nerve of desire and admiration whenever anyone is presented with one. With refined lines and majestic patterns, Wedgwood pieces are timeless, elevating the style of even the everyday dinner table to admirable heights. 

Founded in London in 1774 by Josiah Wedgwood, a young potter who had been working in the Soho district of the capital city since the 1750s, the brand was an almost immediate success with England's upper classes. English royalty coveted the handmade and hand-painted pieces just as much as royalty from across the European continent, including the royals of Russia and France. That the name has survived over two centuries speaks to the enduring quality and beauty of the craftsmanship. 

Below are some beautiful examples of Wedgwood from a books called "At Home With Wedgwood.

My favorite type of Wedgwood is Jasperware. Jasperware's hard, unglazed appearance took its name from its resemblance to the semi-precious stone, jasper, both in texture and color. This was obtained by adding carbonate and sulphate of barium to a semi-porcelain clay and then using a metal oxide for the desired color. Blue is the most common, but there are six others that are prized by collectors: pale green, grey, pink, lilac, yellow, and black. Against this colored background, a raised white decoration produced a cameo effect, as seen in the tea-cup and saucer example above.

This grey Jasperware is equally lovely. I adore any Jasperware.
An array of Creamware plates and small tureens shows the versatility of this popular creamy colour, one of Wedgwood's most successful. With the invention of transfer printing (using an engraved plate to create a design) in the mid-eighteenth century, pieces could be decorated with some degree of standardization and speed. Extremely delicate borders with elaborate designs still had to be hand-painted.

Stephen Drucker, who was the editor of Martha Stewart Living between May 1997 and April 2001, is a collector of Wedgwood's black basalt portrait busts. Shown above is a basalt wine ewer, an exquisite example of Wedgwood's excellent craftsmanship, illustrating the neoclassical ideal of refined ornament, one of my favorites. On Stephen's wall (shown behind the bust) is a collection of 500 reproduction plaster casts that he amassed online. Perfect framing against black linen cloth makes them come alive.Wedgwood collector James Huniford mixes pieces to achieve a modern table setting. A handmade Swedish bowl (not Wedgwood) sits atop two examples from his collection; on the bottom is vintage drabware from the 1950s in its characteristic khaki tone; sitting atop that one is a more modern example in a charming cauliflower pattern.A weekend breakfast for houseguests is an occasion to break out this set of Summery Sky Wedgwood. Its unadorned frames were made in post-war England, when the nation was just emerging from self-imposed rationing and economic restraints. The clarity of the shiny blue glaze reflects the new optimism of the period.This Craneware example is from Christine Maly's personal collection. The formula for making such a dish involves a bisque made from coloured marl (clay) and is one of the most difficult to create. Josiah Wedgwood and his son (Josiah II) experimented for nearly twenty years to perfect it at the end of the Eighteenth Century. These plates, shown above, embossed with leaves in the characteristic straw colour, are late Victorian. Many drabware motifs, such as bamboo or woven reeds, are derived from nature.Martha Stewart first began designing for Wedgwood in the late 1990s. Martha Stewart Wedgwood was sold via her catalog and e-commerce website, Martha by Mail. Examples of Drabware, Whiteware and Creamware were among her most popular offerings. In 2005, Martha and Wedgwood greatly expanded their relationship to include a growing array of designs and styles (including glassware) with distribution through Macy's Department Stores. The example above is a white cereal bowl with silver ribbon trim.Martha's most popular Wedgwood collection is called Flourish. It is bone china with a charming but not overly-precious filigree design in platinum. Against the robin-egg blue, the pattern creates a whimsical elegance.

Martha's second most popular pattern is called Garland in Moss. Also bone china, this collection features a classical and formal design with trim in gold.

There are two volumes that any collector of Wedgwood must have. The first is called "Wedgwood - The New Illustrated Dictionary." A large, hardcover book, it is the 'bible' for all Wedgwood collectors, filled with information and pictoral examples. Its last printing was in 2007 and it is sadly out of print, but it can be found at online auction sites, such as eBay. The second, called "At Home With Wedgwood," is a smaller volume but includes the more modern designers of Wedgwood patterns, including Vera Wang, Martha Stewart and Barbara Barry, as well as the more historical and collectible collections of the past. It is still currently available.

Drowning in Adele

I know i said that I would come back to the blog, but I haven't been... But I seriously will be coming back now! I just broke up with my bf, so I have been feeling like shit and drowning myself with Adele. There are so many great memories with my bf. I loved cooking for him, so I will load pics and post the recipes on the blog from now on. when I cook, I don't look at recipes, so I'll try and be precise as possible. In a way,hopefully this will be a way to let go of my bf and have closure. 

結構前にブログを再開すると言いながら全然アップできてませんでした・・・　苦笑　でもまぢで再開しま～す！　つい最近、彼氏と別れて、アデルを聞きながら泣きまくってましたｗ　彼とはとてもいい思い出がたくさんあったな。今、思い出すと心が痛むけど・・・　彼にご飯を作って、一緒に食べるのは大好きだったんで、作ってきた料理のレシピ、写真などをアップしていきますｗ　今後はそれ以外にも色々とアップしていきたいと思います！

Love you Adele!

This is actually a bouquet I gave my bf for Valentine's Day. I really wanted to make a lush romantic bouquet, not romantic design-wise, but i wanted to focus on scent. I used the most fragrant flowers, two kinds of Yves roses, sweet peas, freesias and eucalyptus  AMAZING fragrance and I think it looks rather beautiful :)　これはバレンタインデーに彼氏に作ったブーケです！！大好きなイヴピアジェ、イヴクレールのバラ、ラナンキュラス、トルコキキョウと香りの良いスイトピーとフリージアを彼氏のために使いました！