GlorifiedRice

Propel is vitamin-enhanced flavored water; the "sticks" are little packets of dry powdered mix that you can pour into your own water bottle to make your own vitamin water. The ten year-old crowd loves that sort of thing. It's possible that this is a regional market for Propel, I'm not really sure. Hydration is always a big topic around here, in fact Gatorade was formulated nearby. Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propel_Fitness_Water (By the way, is the Japan forum an ok place for me to be posting about my bentos, American as they are?) ← Ohhh, I thought they were some kind of vitamin enhanced fruit bar...

No they arent squid. This is what they look like: http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11295158/Fr...Cuttlefish.html

Majra? What are those Propel Sticks? I cannot find anything online about them at all. Are they new in your area? Perhaps they are a test market product?

I have frozen baby cuttlefish in my freezer. What can I make out of them thats Japanese?

Helen? When you eat the rice you are mildly allergic to, do you become quickly addicted to it? Do you wake up the next day feeling hung over yet want more? Anyone who is addicted to a certain food and wakes up hungover from it yet eats more without anaphylaxis is allergic. Eating a food we are mildly allergic to causes our body to secrete endorphins to mask the discomfort (Like a TENS unit does to relieve pain) when you wake up the Endorphins are gone but the discomfort and mild exhaustion and fog has returned. BUT instead of not wanting the offending food you crave it cause it will bring on an Endorphin rush again and so you eat it again and again and again, and the addiction has started... Im mildly allergic to peanuts and can go on a peanut butter binge for weeks even though it makes me feel like a truck hit me, Ill STILL gorge myself on it... I can eat a spoonful of Almond Butter and walk away... Source of my statements above: http://www.natural-health-journals.com/101...quals-addiction

I JUST made Greens today. 1/2 pound Hatfield bacon (the only smoked food/brand I can tolerate) cut up and crisped and drained added back to the pot and 6 cups chicken broth added. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook 1 hour covered. Add a whole bag of pre washed pre cut Glory brand Collards Cook covered 2 hours. Add red pepper flakes and Franks Redhot cook a lil longer. Add one can drained white cannellini beans, cook 10 minutes more and serve... My Uncles restaurant serves this.

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia...fic/6237013.stm

For anyone who lives in the Philadelphia, NJ, De, MD area AND has been to Japanese Combinis, is a Wawa Mkt the closest thing we have to a Combini? Im always curious cause the Wawa has very fresh things and healthy eats... BTW- this is a cam outside of a Lawsons, it refreshes fast. http://akashi.viplive.jp/index.cgi?livecam3 Oh BTW would the Japanese posters here like me to take pics of the inside of three popular American Convenience Stores including 7-11? Just so you can see how the originals are?

Well, to anyone in the greater Philadelphia area I was shocked to see the entire Ajinomoto frozen line at Redner's Warehouse Mkt. They have their own case!!! Its not a warehouse like Costco or BJs or Sams its just a low cost supermarket, so thats why I was shocked. I dont like Redners much, but I can get Gyudon, Karaage, Edamame Shumai and Takoyaki there now. Yay! See, their sites nothing to look at, certainly not somewhere you'd expect to find Japanese Octopus Balls! http://www.rednersmarkets.com/

A childs palate being varied is largely dependent on the mothers attitudes towards food. If food is fun and an adventure and something to look forward to, then they will naturally WANT to try everything. BUT if a mother herself has food issues or says "eeeww" to things or automatically cuts off the crusts, then the child will be picky. My son is autistic. Autistics are notoriously picky. My son eats all kinds of Japanese, Korean and Mexican things. He eats all his sandwiches with whole wheat with crusts. He loves sushi bar seaweed salad with his fishsticks. He will ask for peanut butter and coffee jelly (Amish thang) sandwiches. LOVES raw onions PLAIN. Eats sweet and hot (Hot in Philly isnt hot) peppers on his hoagies. The only thing he has issues with strangely is raw tomatoes and spicy hot stuff, but I think thats a sensation autistic thing (maybe it hurts?) and I think all this is due to me and the fact that I have a varied palate and food isnt a big deal and I make him TASTE EVERYTHING! BUT this wasnt always the case. He had food allergies young which caused me to restrict his diet to pretty much nothing for the first few years of his life. Now he outgrew that all and eats everything. Leave cookbooks lying around that he/she can read. Dont make food a big deal. Be enthusiastic about trying new things. Offer tastes of everything.

OMG Kris I totally can feel your pain about the crash! Can you start it in safe mode? DO NOT throw the old one out! FIRST take the hard drive out and save it and see if a friend will let you install it on a spare computer and see if it works... Or install it on your new one. I hate it when people have computer problems and I cant help...

OMG! KFC Ramadan Special? OMG, Ive got to tell my political chat friends. My Muslim friends will find that hilarious...

The Sweet Corn Bubble Tea was my favorite, the Taro and Purple Oreo second and Tied, the chocolate was okay and the peanut butter cup and avocado was yukky

Cyen? Santa, the Tree, Yule Logs, Misteltoe, Wreaths, Carolling, etc are not Christian symbols, they are Pagan (a very old religion in its own right) During the crusades the Christians stormed thru Europe killing and converting Pagans to Christianity... But they let them keep their old holiday symbols and customs, which Christians took as their own.... {There is wide acceptance of the belief that Pope Julius I was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans, who remained a majority at that time, to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit easier, knowing that their feasts/Customs would not be taken away from them."}

I know it isnt a Japanese invention but I felt I should mention that I bought some new flavors of Bubble Tea powder... 1. Purple Oreo 2 Taro Tea Latte 3 Avocado 4 Chocomotion 5 Peanut Butter Cup AND 6 SWEET CORN Im gonna make Dixie Cup testers of all the flavors tomorrow and I shall report back... (my 12 yr old son is my victim lol) Did I tell you just how boring American food is seeming to me lately? HA! AVOCADO BUBBLE TEA???!!! WOW!

So Folks? What are you all doing this Christmas in Japan?

Hiroyuki? I just have bought the Ajinomoto frozen Gyodon... I havent made it home made yet. (The Ajinomoto Chicken Teriyaki had very little meat and was too greasy)

So what is the verdict on Japanese candy containing Gelatin? Is it safe? Ive read a few things that scared me... Or is this no longer applicable?

This is a fun idea: http://homepage3.nifty.com/salon/eat_list.html

Yoo Hoo! Kristin! Look what I found at my local Wawa (Convenience Store in the northeast) http://i16.tinypic.com/4drkjvd.jpg BTW Kristin, 20/20 did a story on Costco shoppers tonight. The way you and your friends buy and split everything up is the only way to save money at the Warehouse Clubs... Just thought you'd like to know...

Hey everybody? I ordered those hard boiled egg molds from the site on eBay and were told they were sent out on November 1st by SAL. What is SAL and Kristin? When you send stuff to your family in Ohio, how long does it take? Ive emailed her 2 times and no response, which is surprising since they have excellent feedback...

Cool beans! I had Mabodofu, daikon and seaweed salad and a Matcha Milk for dinner (Just felt like sharing)

What are the current flavors of Hi Chew? I have Mango, Green Apple and "Milk"/Yogurt...

Are those Japanese ingredients? I know that they make a "mochi" from a type of millet... When I was growing up we had puffed millet cereal. It was good.

Okay, my mom is a prize winning cook (and I grew up around the restaurant biz) I dont think Im that great of a "cook", but I grew up having to "think up" recipe ideas all the time for the myriad of contests my mom would enter. The last idea I gave her netted her a trip to NYC... Here are a few ideas for Japanese ingredients in other cuisines recipes that I thought up: Japanese "Polenta" -- Make polenta with ground Japanese rice (easy to make if you have a Vita-Mix) or Cream of Rice cereal instead of cornmeal, flavor it with Miso or sesame oil and Shiitake . Serve surrounded by chunks of Teriyaki Chicken. Breakfast mush-- Same thing, but pour the mixture into a loaf pan and refrigerate and slice, fry slices in a sesame/canola oil mix and serve with grilled mackeral and miso soup for breakfast... "Split" Edamame soup- puree cooked Edamame with cream and onions and top with Katsuo Bushi in place of smokey ham... These and more swim around my head...