Magnolia Bakery マグノリアベーカリー

Aren’t they SO pretty?

YES. It is Magnolia Bakery. The bakery is featured on Sex and the City. So girls know this place for sure.

My friend and I each got two different cupcakes. They are SO pretty. Look! How gorgeous they look. I think I am still excited. They have a beautiful selection, we needed to think seriously which cakes we should try. Because they all. looked. delicious!!!

We are trying to find a reason to go back to the store.

Lady Grey Tea

These days I drink more tea. And I happen to find very delicious tea!

It’s called Lady Grey Tea. First of all, I like the name. It is lighter flavors of Earl Grey. Black tea and oil of bergamot combo, well, it’s truly addictive. The smell is softer, taste lighter than earl grey. Very comforting drink, indeed!

To enjoy the smell, I like to drink this straight. Or add a bit of honey.

アメリカ最南端の島で迎える朝

アメリカ最南端の島、キーウエストで見つけたとっておきの朝食がこちらです

アメリカ人がリタイア後住みたい場所として常に選ばれ殿堂入りするキーウエストは≪老人と海≫で知られる20世紀を代表する作家アーネスト・へミングウェイが老後を過ごした場所として知られる島です

キーウエストからは、マイアミよりもキューバに距離が近いという、アメリカ最南端の島で、どれくらいキューバが近いかと言うとお天気がいいとキューバが見えるくらい！

ゆったりと時間が過ぎていく、島のどこにいても潮風の香りが感じられ、どこへいっても島の人々が穏やかにが暖かく迎えてくれる島です

そんなキーウエストのカフェ≪Ernest's cafe～アーネストのカフェ≫は、へミングウェイが毎朝のように訪れていたということで知られています

朝食はおうちで食べているような手作り感たっぷりで、雰囲気、食器、全てがあまりにチャーミングで幸福感で心がいっぱいになってしまいました

ここでのエッグスベネディクト、そしてトーストに目玉焼きはとにかく最高！
そんな島でのんびり過ごし迎える2日目の朝には、日頃の忙しい仕事の煩わしさや、何かひっかかかっていたことが全て洗いながされてしまいました、これこそバカンスなのかな・・

そんな魅力たっぷりの至福の島、キーウエストです

マンハッタンでお洒落にブレックファースト

マンハッタンの高級住宅街　アッパーウエスト

ニューヨーカー気分を味わうには抜群の、映画やコマーシャルでよくつかわれるカフェです

そう、メグライアンがトムハンクスと共演し、全米大ヒットをおさめた≪you got mail≫の舞台となったのがこの≪cafe lalo≫です

毎日時間によって違う客層が出入りするところもおもしろいところ

平日の朝は子どもを送ったあとお茶をするママたちや、仕事のミーティングに使われている光景をみかけます

週末の夜となるとディスコのような音楽がかかり、お酒を楽しむ若者や、仕事帰りのひとたちで賑わってます

写真のモッツァレラとエッグプランとのサンドイッチはわたしの大好きなお気に入りメニューの１つです

ロサンゼルス 朝陽を浴びながらの朝食

わたしの大好きなカフェの１つがこの<Urth Cafe>

雰囲気、ロケーション、料理、そしてそして最高のビスコッティ♡と無敵なカフェです

米HBOで放送中(日本ではFOXライフ)Entourage ～アントラージュ～、そしてThe L Word(Lの世界)でおなじみのカフェということもあり、海外ドラマファンのお友達は何人もLAに行った時には必ずこのカフェに足を運ぶと言う・・・ファンが多いカフェです

朝食のメニューはあまりに豊富でなっかなか決められないくらい！

お腹ぺこぺこな朝から、前日遅くまで遊んだから疲れ気味かも・・なんて日に軽く食べられるようなメニューなどなど、豊富豊富。

フルーツの盛り合わせにヨーグルトがついてくるセット、オーガニックシリアル、、卵料理、サンドイッチ、そしてパンケーキにワッフル、、なんでもあります

平日はテイクアウトも多い、週末は朝のオープン時からわいわい大賑わいなカフェです　
おすすめです♪

====== Restaurant Info===========
Urth Caffé – West Hollywood Located at 8565 Melrose Avenue,(310) 659-0628 ,
between Robertson and La Cienega, in the design district of Los Angeles.

Urth Caffé - Beverly HillsLocated at 267 S. Beverly Drive, (310) 205-9311 ,between Wilshire and Olympic, in the heart of world famous Beverly Hills. 

Hamburger Steak

We had an amazing Hamburger Steak the other day. This dish, as we call it “Hambagu”, is one of the very popular dishes for Japanese. We often make Hambagu at home, we also enjoy at Yoshoku restaurants. It’s a steak made from ground meat(half pork and half beef) and other ingredients such as bread crumbs, eggs etc. This dish is usually served with rice.

We have countless versions, Teriyaki, Demi-glace, Cheese etc. They are all good! but at this place, I tried Avocado and Tomato with Wasabi-Soy sauce. Depends on the sauce and toppings you choose, this dish completely changes their taste. This is one of the things I love about hambagu. 

Champagne Night!

I’ve been drinking a lot of Champagne lately. I am a true addict. The pop, the perfect tiny bubbles, slender & vertical champagne flute, well, all these things lift my spirits.

I know you know wine contains polyphenols and antioxidants, and so as Champagne! I love in a way that champagne is a great source of Polyphenols and antioxidants!! I took that an excuse to treat myself to Champagne quite often.

Plus, True champagne can only come from the Champagne region of France. Very special, indeed. Their chalky soil and drains moisture makes them to produces champagne grapes.  Sounds very beautiful, isn’t it? Just one to remember: moderation is the key. 

Cakes!

The other day, I had such a delicious tea time with mom.

Look at these delicious cake and tart!!!!! Aren't they pretty?

These desserts always, truly lift our spirits :)

The dough is very crusty and are always filled with delicious fruits. I love this dough and fruits combo.

Peaches and mangoes are at their absolute peak right now. So their absolute seasonal recommendations are these delicious mango and peach tart. They always use fresh seasonal ingredients, so we can enjoy different cakes whenever we go.

I promise you will love this shop like as much as we do!

Spanish Night

The other night, Joa took me to a wonderful birthday dinner! We went to a Spanish restaurant in Ginza. It was quite nice night and the last couple of days, no matter how hard I tried, I could not just not stop thinking about that night.

We chatted, we laughed, we ate as always. That was such an amazing night as always. We had wines and sherry. As you can imagine, lots of Spanish bubbles, wines and sherry. I come home around 11pm and passed out on the comfy couch.

Everything we tried was delicious. Spanish dishes are beautiful! Very blight and fresh! I love everything about Spanish cuisines. Perfectly well presented dishes are all tasty. They use the authentic very nice olive oil which we enjoyed so much. Thank you Joa, you are the best.

Best Chai ever!!!

I am super excited to share this with you. I’ve been drinking chai A LOT lately! 

Dave sent me this amazing Chai for my birthday. This is out of this world. I love the smell, taste, lightness, basically everything about this tea. Seriously!!!

Sipping this tea removes all your woes! I promise.

Including cinnamon, ginger and cloves, these spices comfort your body. This is THE BEST! I immediately called Dave how great this tea is and then I called my mom… I can talk about this tea endlessly!!! This truly comfort your soul. The best part? The cinnamon mixture is just right, so we don’t need to add sugar. 

I love drinking this tea as straight. Simply straight, without adding anything.  At the same time, I also love drinking adding steamed milk and a bit of honey for night. 

Pumpkin Bacon

Pumpkin & Bacon

Serves 4, Total time 20mins

4 slices of bacon, sliced thinly

2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and slice thinly

Half Japanese pumpkin(kabocha), about 2 pound – Peeled, seeded, and cut into thin slices

1 pinch of kosher salt and black pepper

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 pinch of sesame

1.      Put oil in a pan, garlic, and bacon

2.      Cook bacon over medium heat until half-crisp, probably takes 5minutes

3.      Add pumpkin, stirring occasionally about 5 minutes.

4.      Add salt and pepper, soy sauce. Cook until the pumpkin gets tender.

5.      Top with sesame

I cook this this whenever I am tired. First of all, it is tasty and I love the way they are versatile. Extremely high in fiber, including nutrients like potassium, magnesium, Vitamin C and E.  Pumpkin soup, pumpkin salad, pumpkin bread, well, I may be fall in love with this versatile ingredients!