Lemon Ginger Yogurt

Snowville Creamery's lemon ginger dessert yogurt was extremely popular for several weeks through Fresh Fork Market, so it was unavailable unless special ordered. Perhaps a ton was ordered or many got their fill recently. To my surprise, we were able to procure a 16 oz tub without special ordering.

Lemon ginger yogurt + Ikea lilac Godta bowl

Silky in texture, the lemon ginger yogurt is subtly sweet with a subdued citrus-ginger flavor. The tang is pleasant, not jarring. I can see why this is labeled as a dessert yogurt.

If Snowville Creamery sounds familiar, perhaps you've had Jeni's ice cream? Their sweet cream is sourced through Snowville. 

- Cassaendra

Snowville Creamery
Pomeroy, OH (near Parkersburg, WV)
Available through Fresh Fork Market, Heinen's, Whole Foods, and select Giant Eagle supermarkets.

Mango Munchies

Mango chipotle jam

Monkeypod Jam mango chipotle jam from Kaua'i is fantastic feasting with a spoon to sate a sweet craving. The chunks of macerated mango with a hint of smoky heat also works well as a sandwich spread.

For a quick dinner tonight, I spread chipotle mayonnaise and mango chipotle jam on a wrap with leftover smoked chicken, cucumber sticks, diced orange and yellow tomatoes, and a pinch of fresh ground black pepper.

- Cassaendra

Happy Belly

On a corner along Detroit Avenue, Happy Dog is easy to miss. Parking is along the street and at two small lots across the street, an open lot and at another business' lot (available after business hours weekdays and all day on weekends).

Happy Dog storefront

Aside from hearing about $5 make-your-own quarter pound hot dogs, what really light a match under us to visit for lunch was finding out they had pinball machines. Funky reason, I know.

Medieval Madness is a castle siege with a cool castle in the upper left corner of the playfield. In X-Men, Magneto manipulates the pinball when it passes through the center.

X-Men and Medieval Madness pinball machines

Ordering off their menu is similar to ordering sushi, or if you're familiar with ordering at a make-your-own spot, via rectangular slip of paper with an immense number of toppings [50] to consider. Choices run from the traditional to creative: ketchup, apricot chutney, black truffle honey mustard, Yuengling sauerkraut, pimento mac and cheese, yellow mustard, chow mein, peanut butter, ...

Chorizo chili, nacho cheese, Spanish onions, sriracha, fried egg

It took us a while to decide what we didn't want on our dogs. Bug ordered chorizo chili, nacho cheese, Spanish onions, sriracha, and a fried egg with his hot dog, while I ordered chorizo chili, pimento mac and cheese, and Momocho habanero sauce.

The dogs are made by Blue Ribbon Meats, a local company that sources its meat in Ohio. Veggie dogs are sourced elsewhere.

Pimento mac and cheese with chorizo chili

Chorizo chili with pimento mac and cheese in a super soft white bun fulfilled my chili dog craving. I was pleased the macaroni had texture, a concept (pasta cooked al dente or at least with some semblance of texture) that is lost at many places. In the event the Momocho habanero sauce was flames-bursting-from-all-orifices hot, I ordered it to arrive separately. Fortunately, it was a pleasant heat.

The wieners, plump and not overly salty, were heftier than expected, which is silly since a quarter pound dog is a quarter pound dog. Toppings were appropriate so I could appreciate all the ingredients.

Tater tots with bourbon pork and beans

Tater tots and fries are $3 and offered in a similar manner to their dogs. Sauces are available for free and toppings are $1.00. I wanted to try the bourbon pork and beans on a hot dog, but didn't want to smother mine with too many toppings, so I ordered it with our tots along with ancho chile coffee barbecue and Jamaican jerk mustard mojo sauces.

Jamaican jerk mustard mojo, ancho coffee barbecue, and Momocho habanero sauces

While the ancho coffee sauce was interesting, sweet and smoky, I prefer the spicy stone ground mustard with the tots. I wonder what hot dog toppings would go well with the coffee sauce.

After our visit, I read about a basement with more games! There was no doubt we would return to try more tasty hot dog combinations, but our curiosity is substantially piqued.

- Cassaendra

Happy Dog
5801 Detroit Ave
Cleveland, OH 44102
Tel: (216) 651-9474

A Night in Hakata

Just another night in Hakata near the train station.

Department stores have oodles of restaurants. Train stations have a plethora of food options. The Hakata station has a couple of large department stores attached to the train station. The food options are mind boggling.

I can't wait to try Pietro (left) some time when I visit Hawaii. The udon restaurant to the right was mediocre. My father's udon was oooverdone. How does one overcook udon other than on purpose? Fortunately, I ordered ebi tendon (shrimp tempura over rice).

Basement

We ran into family and had an after dinner snack at one of the basement department store - train station restaurants. I was still full so I ordered a small bowl of mentaiko (spiced cod roe), famous throughout Japan. At the table, one can have takana, spicy shoyu-pickled mustard greens, a regional condiment, at your hearts content. With the salty roe and salty salty takana, the large mound of rice and tea were appreciated.

Mentaiko

For an after after dinner snack, we headed upstairs to one of several department stores buzzing with activity even though it was later in the evening. How could anyone ignore this dessert case at Fugetsu?

Dessert case

Chestnuts are one of my favorite Japanese dessert ingredients. How could I pass up pureed chestnuts, chopped chestnuts, and a whole chestnut (inside), in a chocolate cup?

Mont Blanc

I didn't.

- Cassaendra

Tom Yum Pretz

Tom yum Pretz

If you're a fan of Chicken in a Biskit, savory Pretz, and tom yum, you'll like Glico's tom yum Pretz "breadsticks" made in Thailand.  

Box in Thai

While it isn't like crunching on a bowl of tom yum goong nor very spicy, the salty, lime-sour, and shrimpy flavor hits the target. Blindfolded, one would easily guess the flavor.

Box in English

I didn't realize there were over 75 Pretz flavors. This doesn't even touch upon Glico's other more famous stick snack, Pocky. Intriguing flavors that were available for a limited time, in Japan, or around Asia: nozawana, basil, mapo tofu, potsticker, eel, spicy squid, larb, mentaiko, and sharks fin. Salad is my favorite flavor.

- Cassaendra

Breadsmith

We discovered Breadsmith of Lakewood last Saturday and have nearly filled their customer loyalty punchcard of 12 loaves. Their bread is baked in small batches each day. A monthly and weekly calendar denotes the schedule of available loaves. Not only do they have a large variety and great tasting bread, their service is fabulous -- cheerful, personal, knowledgeable, and warm.

Our current favorite is their Greek olive focaccia with cheese -- cheesy on top and  loaded with olives, enough to flavor it but not overwhelming. We're on our 3rd loaf.

Mini-monkey bread

The mini cinnamon monkey bread pictured above is also quite good, lasting less than half a day. We've also tried their sour dough, sun dried tomato and basil, multigrain, and zucchini walnut loaves, as well as the chocolate chip, sugar, and ginger cookies.

Ginger cookies are wonderfully soft. Each time we've visited, we've indulged in one. Sugar cookies were fine. The chocolate cookies are soft, thick, and chocolaty, but not as much my preference as the ginger.

For dinner, Bug served up grilled cheese sandwiches using slices of the sun dried tomato and basil loaf with Mayfield Road Creamery's smoked gouda and some American cheese. Lunch tomorrow will be herb roasted turkey on sour dough bread. Can't wait!

By our next purchase, we will have filled our punchcard. It was noted during our most recent visit that the free loaf would be the most expensive. That is a first for me.

- Cassaendra

Breadsmith of Lakewood
18101 Detroit Ave
Lakewood, OH 44107
Tel: (216) 529-8443

Discoveries

We ducked in from the rain into an office building a few steps from Kumamoto Castle. Packed into a small elevator, we zipped up to Uotami, an izakaya chain. It was the first of several visits to izakaya during this trip, more times than I had in my lifetime previous.

Stepping out of the elevator into the restaurant, one is transported from concrete, traffic, and bright lights to warmth, wood, tatami, paper, and soft glowing lamps. Shoes are removed in one area and taken to a room with three walls of square-foot wooden lockers.

Shoe key

The characters on the key slide into a slot in a matching labeled door, which is pretty nifty since you don't have to remember the exact location of the locker, except when you pick a locker with a blank key like my uncle accidentally did. The characters had been rubbed clean. Fortunately, we remembered the general area so it took two tries before he was able to retrieve his shoes.

While I'm not a big fan of random sashimi, I don't mind salmon and shrimp, especially amaebi. When abalone was part of the order, I was excited to try this delicacy. Similar to scallops with a faint fishy flavor and crunchy, but more chewy and sweeter; it was a little tougher than I expected. The mollusks are located at the bottom, 6 o'clock, in the photograph below.

Sashimi

The next platter that arrived was basashi, a local delicacy in Kumamoto of thinly sliced raw horse meat.   It was similar to raw beef (tried in Hida over 15 years ago), but tougher. With the shiso (perilla leaf) as a wrap and dipped in shoyu, basashi tasted like shiso dipped in shoyu. For me, shiso provides a sharpness to a dish but can overwhelm.

Basashi

Next up was chicken yakitori - cartilage, skin, heart, thigh, and I think liver. There are specific names for different types of skewered meat. I once asked what yakitori is called when the skewered meat is not chicken (tori) and was informed that it has become a generic term for skewered meats, so it is acceptable to call skewered beef, beef yakitori.

Yakitori

Their gyoza was perfectly fried, crunchy, chewy, and not too garlicky. No complaints! What was memorable about this serving of gyoza from the hundreds of plates of gyoza I have had in my lifetime was the sauce.

Gyoza

The dipping sauce was not just the standard shoyu, rice vinegar, and rayu. The dab of green is yuzukosho, a citrusy peppery paste made from yuzu, chile peppers, and salt then fermented, a specialty of Kyushu. I fell in love with this paste and imaged the possibilities -- in potato salad, with grilled fish, in fried rice or noodles, ramen, ...so many dishes! It didn't take more than 2 seconds after I found a tube of yuzukosho, to purchase it. Why the delay? Question posed: How many?

Gyoza sauce with yuzukosho

Shared between 5 adults, this meal was a fantastic deal. It left me sated; cost less than $100 total; and broadened my palate by allowing me to try a number of new foods with little risk.

- Cassaendra

Uotami
1-22 Kamitori-cho
Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto 860-0845
Kyushu
Japan
Tel: 096-324-2288

Marmalade Symphony

During a recent trip to Ikea, we picked up a jar of sylt fläder and apelsin (orange and elderflower) marmalade. Wafer thin slivers of orange in every bite creates a bright and faintly bitter contrast to the sweet, intensely orange jelly.

Marmalade swoon

This bottled bliss has been versatile with curried Brussels sprouts, spicy bison sausage sticks, mixed in salsa over salmon, muesli and almond milk, taquitos, crackers, oatmeal, straight from the jar...

Ikea better have their shelves stocked next time we head there!

- Cassaendra

Aero

Walking in to Gaelic Imports in Parma, I squealed when I noticed three Aero chocolate boxes after reading about them in Mrs. L's blog -- mint, orange, and original -- and quickly grabbed an orange bar.

Aero orange choco 

The photograph is missing a green bar because mint was sold out. *pout*

When I see a bubbly center within chocolate covered anything, I think of crisped rice. Imagine my disappointment when I bit into the bar to discover a cake-like texture.

Aero is aerated milk chocolate. Hello. I love orange-chocolate, so no complaints with the prominent orange flavor and would buy it again, but at $1.50, the price is a touch steep for me.

Along with the chocolate bar, we snagged a meat pastie and beef pie. It was all right, as far as beef, peas, and potatoes baked in puff pastries go. They reminded me that I haven't had curry pan and piroshki in years.

- Cassaendra

Povitica

Walnut povitica

We recently saw a Strawberry Hill display of poppy seed, apple cinnamon, walnut, and chocolate chip cream cheese povitica at Costco. Povitica is traditionally a spiced sweet eastern European pastry roll. I first became familiar with nut rolls several years ago when someone from work brought in a poppy seed roll.

Tasting a morsel of each at the sampling station, the apple cinnamon and poppy seed povitica were delicious, as expected. I was sold on the spiced, honey walnut pastry with its moist, dense center and thin flaked crust. It reminded me a lot of baklava, but not as bitter (from the nuts) nor as sweet.

- Cassaendra

Snacks

To lose 25 lb, hopefully permanently, a nutritionist has suggested a 6-meal 900 cal/day diet to jumpstart the weight loss. The diet is an increase in protein and number of meals from my current routine.

Roasted tomatoes, asparagus, chevre, habenero cheese 

Each day's allotment includes 11 units of protein, 3+ units of non-starchy vegetables, 1/2 unit of starch, 1/2 unit of fruit, and 1 unit of dairy spread out across 3 main meals and 3 snacks. An example of 1 unit of protein is 1 ounce of chicken or lean red meat; 1 unit of fruit is 4 ounces, 1 unit of dairy is 1 cup of fat-free milk or 1/2 cup of yogurt.

A jar of Clark Pope Catering plump roasted tomatoes was recently included in one of our bags from our CSA (Fresh Fork Market). Packed with fig vinegar, thyme, oregano, basil, and lemon, they are a subtly sweet and summery addition to a salad or to pick out of the jar as a snack.

Of course, daily rigorous exercise is part of the weight loss plan. I haven't gotten to that part yet.

- Cassaendra

PBJ

~PBJ~

Lately, I've had a serious Goober craving. The women at A Cookie and a Cupcake come to the rescue with a PBJ cupcake! Grape jelly, too!  

The remaining special cupcakes were Mexican hot chocolate (moist, spicy with lovely orange filling); vegan (dense, but not a brick - great for buttercream haters); and vegetarian.

- Cassaendra

A Cookie and a Cupcake
2173 Professor Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
Tel: (216) 344-9433

Sweet Mimosa

Mimosa

Today's cupcake of the day at A Cookie and a Cupcake is mimosa. The frosting was a boozy citrus, which mimosa lovers will enjoy. I loved the orange cream filling and vanilla cake combination.

With such fun flavors, how am I going to lose weight? :)

- Cassaendra

A Cookie and a Cupcake
2173 Professor Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
Tel: (216) 344-9433

Superbowl Cupcake?

Buffalo wings with ranch dressing and chips are a couple of dishes I think of when I think of Superbowl grub, aside from pizza, potato salad, beer, and Tums.

The women at A Cookie and a Cupcake thought up a Superbowl themed savory-sweet cupcake that actually works even though I prefer ranch over bleu cheese. Corn chips with spiced barbecue buttercream are tasty in a french fries in your shake or sundae sort of way.

- Cassaendra

A Cookie and a Cupcake
2173 Professor Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
Tel: (216) 344-9433

Suizenji Park

Suizenji Kouen in Kumamoto was constructed in 1636 by the Hosokawa family with Mt Fuji as its centerpiece. Walking through the park, one can take numerous scenic photographs with many combinations of trees, water, teahouse, statues, shrubs, and rock formations.

A view 

I took over 50 pictures at this park, but this rather plain shot is my favorite. Being right in the middle of an urban area, much of the view is marred by tall concrete buildings, satellite towers, and balloons. Statues of Hosokawa stand near an area that was used for noh performances.

Potato Lady

One of the women I was traveling with bought sweet potato mochi for everyone. The lightly sweetened golf ball sized sweet potato puree wrapped with mochi were made minutes before, so they were warm, a little sticky on the outside and perfectly smooth and firm on the inside. Perfect with green tea, which I didn't have.

Mochi

At a brisk pace, Suizenji Park takes around 30 minutes to walk the paved perimeter, but I left wanting to spend hours here to enjoy its beauty; however, our next step was a tour of beautiful Kumamoto Castle. The park is a 15 minute tram ride from the castle (30 min tram ride from Kumamoto train station) and is a must-see when coming to Kumamoto. Don't forget to bring a cup of hot green tea.

- Cassaendra

Suizenji Kouen
Kumamoto
Japan

Choco Shiso

Two girls are walking towards each other along a busy sidewalk. One is hungrily munching on a musubi (Japanese rice ball) with ume and shiso and responding to a text. The other finally peels away a stubbornly wrapped bar of chocolate sprinkled with lava salt and is just about to take a bite. Their lives come to a crash when they turn a corner.

Foodie #1: You got ume all over my chocolate!
Foodie #2: You got chocolate on my shiso!

Ume shiso chocolates

When I think of ume and shiso, what immediately comes to mind? Hot tea poured over a bowl of shiny white rice and a pink schmear of jaw clenching sour and mouth watering salty pickled plums (ume). Fresh shiso (intensely herbal in a minty-citrus-licorice sort of way) is exquisite with sashimi dipped in shoyu or in hiyayakko, chilled tofu drizzled with shoyu and sprinkled with katsuobushi - wispy thin shavings of smoked tuna. Better yet, shiso quickly simmered in shoyu, as in Korean cuisine, served with ume, rice, and tea.

Even though I've tried garlic roasted grape ice cream and enjoyed chocolate dipped potato chips, never would I have imagined Big Island Candies' creation of silky ume-shiso filled chocolates. They kept in check the intense sourness of ume and sharpness of shiso, presenting a well-crafted piquant chocolate confection.

And they lived happily ever after. The end.

- Cassaendra

Nog!

Nog 'n ginger

I can't get enough of the egg nog cupcakes at a Cookie and a Cupcake -- moist and noggy, nogtastic, nogerrific! The gingerbread cake is spicy and not overly sweet. Just right!

How sad these tasty temptations, just a few things I look forward to this time of year, won't be available for much longer.

- Cassaendra

A Cookie and a Cupcake
2173 Professor Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
Tel: (216) 344-9433

Karatsu Kunchi

Karatsu Kunchi (Karatsu Festival) is held the first weekend in November each year for the past 400 years. Massive wooden floats (hikiyama), lacquered with layers of washi weighing 2-5 tons, are paraded down the streets of Karatsu in wooden carts with wooden wheels 2-3 feet in diameter. Additionally, there may be 6-10 people who ride on a float, playing fifes or taiko (drums).

The display of helmets, palanquins, and figures from history and folklore are pulled by 50+ people consisting of mostly men, then boys, and an occasional girl. At certain points along the parade route, the wooden wheels roar down the street amidst the cadence chants, "En-ya! En-ya!." It's an incredible visual and auditory experience mixed with the gustatory and olfactory beckoning of festival treats everywhere.

The float of Shuten douji (oni leader) biting Minamoto Yorimitsu's kabuto (helmet) is derived from a legend where Minamoto and a group of men were dispatched by the emperor to kill Shuten douji for kidnapping daughters of noble families and eating people. The men were given gifts from the gods - special sake, cord, and a helmet.

Shuten douji and Minamoto no Raiko

When Shuten douji was incapacitated from the sake, he was bound with the cord, then decapitated. As the oni's head flew up, it landed upon Minamoto's magical helmet trying unsuccessfully to bite his head.

Kinjishi means golden dragon.

Kinjishi

Shichihomaru represents takarabune, the treasure boat of the 7 gods of fortune (shichifukujin)  -- Bishamonten, Benzaiten, Daikokuten, Ebisu, Fukurokuju, Hotei, and Juroujin. At the front of the ship, not easily seen below, is a dragon.

Outside of Japan, those who play video games are probably familiar with Bishamonten, god of warriors, in Onimusha. Hotei's statue is popular - people rub his belly for good luck.

Shichihomaru

Shachi is a killer whale with a tiger's head. They are often seen on the rooftops of samurai homes, castles, and gates as protection from fire by spitting water to extinguish the flame.

Shachi

Aojishi is green lion.

Aojishi

Uesugi Kenshin's helmet and mask are paraded as he was a great warlord during the Sengoku period. He is known for being a keen military tactician and administrator and a follower of Bishamonten, the Buddhist god of war.

Uesugi Kenshin kabuto and mempo

Uesugi Kenshin's rival was Takeda Shingen, represented by his helmet and mask.

Takeda Shingen kabuto and mempo

Tai, sea bream, symbolizes good fortune and is often seen during celebratory occasions like weddings. One of the 7 gods of fortune, Ebisu, is often pictured with tai. Its pectoral (side) fins are movable. As the float is pushed up and down and the fins flap, it gives the appearance of swimming.

Tai

He was a slippery fellow to photograph. My father really wanted a picture of this float. As we roved around the parade route, we would catch a glimpse of it racing before us between buildings. We ran after it several times, each time it would slip around a corner until we finally caught him.

Festivals bring vendors. There were vendors of all sorts -- fishing, shooting games, cutesy trinkets, scary shows, fortunes, festival gifts, grilled foods of all types, takoyaki, desserts, candies, ...it was quite intense.

Cute bear vendor

The scent of grilled and deep fried foods was unbearable. We only have two stomachs, so little space and time, so many choices. We happened upon two women quietly working within their tent and ordered beef yakitori, which was a bit tough but tasty. Grilled meat. How could it not be tasty?

Beef yakitori

[Chicken] yakitori was tender. Of course, it was salty...and oh, so good. My father also bought fried chicken pieces called kara-age. It is similar to popcorn chicken.

Yakitori

I also bought a whole grilled squid slathered in a salty sweet brown sauce. It looked and smelled so delicious, but was a bit difficult to eat without napkins. Ah well, I licked my fingers clean. Sauce was probably smeared all over my mouth.

Chocolate bananas

I was tempted to buy one of these happy looking bananas. I probably should have, since it was the first time I had ever seen these. Who knows if I'll ever see them again.

- Cassaendra

Karatsu Kunchi
1st weekend in November
Karatsu, Saga Prefecture
Kyushu

Whiskey and Cookies

Cupcakes.

Strawberry cupcake

Cupcakes at a Cookie and a Cupcake are always a treat - from their cupcakes available daily to their special cupcakes available for 1-2 days. I've been thinking about my favorite daily flavors. Strawberry and apple come to mind immediately.

Whiskey maple bacon and cookie dough cupcakes

Whiskey maple bacon and cookie dough cupcakes were specials of the day. Cookie dough was delicious, but the whiskey maple bacon was superb with its salty bacon and a large scoop of sweet whiskey maple buttercream. It's no wonder this is one of their best selling cupcakes! 

- Cassaendra

A Cookie and a Cupcake
2173 Professor Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
Tel: (216) 344-9433

Goat Banana Oreo Carrot

Goat cheese and fig, banana, Oreo, and carrot cupcakes

The special cupcakes of the day at a Cookie and a Cupcake were Oreo and goat cheese and fig. Second to their date pudding cupcake, the goat cheese and fig is one of my favorites. Goat cheese (chevre), not feta, works marvelously as a cupcake topping with its slightly sour and satiny texture. Slightly sweetened, I would eat mounds of this. Moist figs top off an already delicious cake.

- Cassaendra

A Cookie and a Cupcake
2173 Professor Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
Tel: (216) 344-9433