I absolutely love cooking, and even more so during the cold autumn and winter seasons. My favorite cuisine to cook has always been Italian, especially pasta and risotto dishes. It’s sometimes a little difficult to get the specific ingredients here in Japan (arborio rice for risotto in particular!), and my tiny Tokyo kitchen tends to make more complicated dishes more or less impossible. Luckily, my favorite comfort food is super easy to cook, even here. It requires just one pan, and the ingredients are always in stock and reasonably priced at any Japanese supermarket. I highly recommend this recipe to anyone looking for a delicious, healthy and simple recipe to cook and enjoy after a hard day at work. It is a mild, zesty and oily pasta dish that would strongly appeal to most Japanese tastes in my opinion.
This dish was originally created by one of my favorite chefs, Anna Jones. She is known for her cost-effective vegetarian and vegan recipes that are still rich with flavor. The recipe below makes enough for 3-4 servings and works wonderfully as a packed lunch the following day.
You will need
400g spaghetti or linguini pasta (I prefer linguini if the supermarket has it!)
400g cherry tomatoes (any small tomatoes are fine, but make sure they are fresh)
2 lemons (we will be using just the zest of the lemon – so the outside, yellow portion of its peel)
2 tablespoons of salt (sea salt, preferably)
400g spinach or kale (personally, I prefer spinach)
100ml olive oil (this may seem like a lot, but it’s essential for the rich flavor and texture)
1 litre water
Physical fitness should be an important part of everyone’s life. There are many forms of exercise and finding the right exercise program to fit your goals and time schedule can sometimes be challenging. Just doing something is the first step.
Many people begin a workout program but push themselves too hard and lose motivation quickly. A simple rule to follow is to do your best and forget the rest. Listen to your body. If you want to start jogging regularly, start by walking then gradually increase. The same goes for all other types of fitness. Start slow and build your strength, endurance and overall confidence.
Do some form of workout 2 – 3 days a week. Begin with the end in mind by understanding what your ultimate goals are. Do you want to lose weight, firm up those muscles or maybe try your hand at a half marathon. Find what best fits your goal and make a plan. The most difficult thing is just getting started but with a goal and a plan to get there you will find motivation that much easier.
When I was in elementary school in the US, we only learned how to speak English. In junior high school, however, I had my first opportunity to learn about other languages. First, in my second year of junior high school, I actually learned a little bit about Japanese during my social studies class. It was only a few words such as “konnichiwa” and “arigatou”, but it was very interesting!
Then, in my third year of junior high school, we had a special class for learning other languages. In this class, we would learn three different languages: French, German, and Spanish. We only learned one language at a time, though. After a month or two of one language, we would change to the next one. It was very short, but again, very interesting. I enjoyed learning French the most, because we got to choose French-style names to use during the class.
25223761 – love info-text graphics
Finally, in high school, we had to choose one language, and keep learning it until the end of high school. In my first year I didn’t choose one, but the choices were again Spanish, German, and French. These languages also each had their own club. Some of my friends joined the Spanish club and German club.
In my second year of high school, I decided to start learning Spanish. Just like Japan, sometimes the language teacher is not a native speaker. My first Spanish teacher was like this. But my new Spanish teacher was a native speaker, however, which was much better.
In my third and fourth years of Spanish learning, I never had another native speaking teacher, but my teachers all had lived in a Spanish speaking country before. This was a major good point for me, since I could trust their education. There was a lot of speaking practice in these classes, and we didn’t just try to remember a list of vocabulary words. I think this was also a big good point. I never joined any language clubs, but even now I still remember a little bit of Spanish, which I can use to speak to Spanish-speaking people in Japan!
For many, maple syrup is associated solely with Canada. After all, the maple leaf is found on their flag, so why wouldn’t it be? What a lot of people may not realize is that maple syrup is also common in the U.S., especially in upstate New York where I`m from. Also, the maple tree is New York’s official state tree.
Every spring there’s a maple festival in my hometown and for me this marks the true beginning of the spring season. This annual event is held in the first week of April, and people from all over New York state drive to my hometown to enjoy locally made maple treats. These include maple sugar candies and lollipops, along with freshly cooked maple syrup. There’s a small building in town called the Sugar Shack where you can watch tree sap being cooked and turned into the syrup that we all love. The whole town comes to life during this season and it’s always been a fun way for me to celebrate spring.
What’s your favorite way to enjoy spring? Is there a special event that represents the season for you?
