torakris

Since my kids are all in school now trips to McDonalds have become very infrequent. About a month ago though, I discovered their new burger the macgrand. It has three varieties, the regular , one with a slice of tomato and a double: http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/sales/promotion_tmcg.html that tomato one is REALLY good! I ate it three times in 3 weeks it has been over a week since I last had one and I am getting cravings......

yakisoba and corn: http://mochi.blogs.com/happylife/images/DSCF0254.JPG

word for 12/29: いわしめんたい iwashi mentai (ee-wah-she men-tie) This one of my favorite iwashi products. These are iwashi that have been stuffed with mentaiko (spicy cod roe). http://www.nande.com/kato/iwashi.htm

a new favorite ume sukonbu these are ume (sour plum) flavored gummies with a sukonbu (vinegared kelp) coating on the outside, yum!

For those who are still leary of using raw fish try taco sushi! There is a dish that originated in Okinawa that is becoming popular all over Japan called taco rice. Basically it is taco fixings on a dish of rice and it is surprisingly good. I recently picked up a taco maki at a convenience store and it was wonderful! the one on the left

I spent most of the morning watching the footage on tv with my kids..... Death tolls over 50,000 and still rising...... http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...e_tidal_wave_26 Glad to hear many of our members are safe.

since we are asking why's.. Yesterday I was driving past a self service gas station, these are very new to Japan and have been popping up quite a bit in my area, and it was packed, there were lines out on the street! Two corners down there was a regular full service place with only two cars. The things that boggles me is that the price for gas is the same at both places!! I am sorry but I would much rather go to the full service place where they clean all my windows, check my oil and tires and even give me a wet towel to wipe down the dashboard while I am waiting...... to keep this post food related, both places had vending machines...

I currently have no corn products in my house..... I make a trip to Costco every month with my neighbors and there are a couple of them that buy the 8 pack of S&W corn (large cans, not Japanese sized), and they buy this EVERY month.... I have also seen corn on okonomiyaki: http://www.ajinomoto.co.jp/recipe/conditio...ages/701751.gif

the most recent reports are putting the death tolls at over 22,000: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/a...e_tidal_wave_16 I don't even have words for this.....

for some ideas of what NOT to put in your miso soups look here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=41017&hl=

the roll usually has the mayo and corn added before cooking. The one thing the Japnese do really well with corn is grill it with a layer of soy sauce, delicious!! http://ultrabob.typepad.com/photos/photos/tomorokoshi.jpg the grilled corn in that picture is going for 400 yen ($4) a pop! not too bad considering that in the supermarkets they go for about 200 yen ($2) a piece... and a note on names, you will notice two names for corn in Japan, the Japanese pronunciation of the English corn コーン (koon pronounced more like cone but with a long o) and toumorokoshi とうもろこし . Toumorokoshi seems to be used for corn that is still on the cob, while koon (corn) is used for the kernels, so it would be a corn salad rather than a toumorokoshi salad,

well maybe if fruit was cheaper.... gorgeous strawberries!! I just can't fathom paying 600 yen ($6) for about 12 strawberries when my kids will devour them in 10 seconds and still be hungry.....

If you order a steak or hamburger steak in most lower priced restaurants, like family restaurants you will inevitably find corn on your plate as well: http://www.saizeriya.co.jp/menu/grand/img/item_074.jpg

what about corn ramen? http://2turbo.zive.net/nudle/019_1.jpg they even have it in the instant versions http://terasan.okiraku-pc.net/food/tumami/...awari/0040.html

Japan is the largest and most consistent importer of corn in the world. The United States satisfies nearly all of Japan's demand. During fiscal year 2003, Japan imported 14.5 million metric tons (571 million bushels) of U.S. corn from here: http://www.grains.org/grains/corn.html The Japanese really do like their corn......

A couple weeks ago a friend and I went to a really nice Indian restaurant that recently opened here in Yokohama and we ordered their special lunch set, the first thing they set down in front of us was a salad of shredded cabbage and corn....

Kagome makes some great juices, focusing more heavily on vegetables juices: http://www.kagome.co.jp/products/drink/index.html their yasai seikatsu drink, a blend of 8 vegetables and 3 fruits, is my 4 year old son's favorite. You can even get it as part of the happy meal at McDonald's... http://www1.kagome.co.jp/cgi-bin/products/search.cgi?A=9030

sure lots of juices! Tropicana is probably the biggest: http://www.k-tropicana.com/products/index.html just click on any of the names to see the line-ups.

took the kids to the convenience store today and let them pick out lunch. mine is the chirashi sushi set in the upper left, Julia picked out the bacon and corn macaroni gratin (this is warmed in a microwave) and Mia chose the 3 color donburi with two kinds of chicken and eggs. Hide opted for a peanut butter sandwich at home.....

I love fanta in Japan! Today I found lychee flavor and not long ago I had one called white strawberry (second from the right)

at the store today I ran across Pocky's latest: http://www.glico.co.jp/pocky/decorer/bananu.htm banana.. yuck!

but remember this is a place where someone might spend $200 on an osechi for their dog! http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...29751&hl=osechi I personally think they are just overpriced.....

The latest: http://www.mos.co.jp/spotlight/041220/focaccia.html BBQ Focaccia grilled sausage on focaccia with wth a smokey BBQ sauce and a sour onion sauce They also have a habanero focaccia which is the same as above but with a habanero sauce, scroll down to see it. Scroll down some more and there is a corokke focaccia too...

a typical salad: http://www.marutomo.co.jp/recipe/index2/030418/sarada.jpg Japanese corn bread: http://pan.tea-nifty.com/pan/2007/01/post_ceff.html

Since Hiroyuki suggested in the Pizza threa: But, I must say that I am not yet fully satisfied. Maybe this topic deserves a thread of its own. How about the title "Uses of Corn in Japan"? Here's the thread! Why does almost every salad I get in this country have corn on it? Why is corn soup always the soup of the day? Why do people look shocked when I say I don't like corn on my pizza?