Japanese chocolates

I saw these at Jasmart yesterday and had to try them. The matcha one was really strong and rich, tasted exactly like matcha with a slight bitter finish. The strawberry was great and had a very natural strawberry flavor. The photos don’t really capture the deep colors; the green should be more of a deep olive and the pink darker.

I also picked up some chestnut and marbled Pocky.

Belated superbowl dip

Mmm… dip! Anyhoo, I ended up doing a few five layer dips for the Super Bowl and they were devoured in no time. Made one for the anime club @ girlfriend’s (TK’s) campus and they also left it for dead. Figured I’d put this simple recipe up and let you give it a go. It’s basically all made from items you can find at your local grocers.

Osaka’s Quick Five Layer Dip

1 16oz can of refried beans (fat-free or even vegetarian made for the good kids)
1 can of Tostitos brand salsa con queso
green onions
black olives (sliced for best results!)
1 16oz can of your favorite variety of salsa (I used a simple medium spiced one, but I really want to do one with black bean and corn salsa with cilantro that I’ve made from scratch plenty of times before)
a blend of shredded mozzarella, cheddar, monterey jack and asadego cheese
1 8 or 16oz container of sour cream

Basically layer these items in the order that I mentioned, and garnish it with any diced green onions and olives you have left over. Makes about 2-3 quart sized containers worth, although you can do one at a time. Doubt it if one dish’ll last long though. XD Bon appetit!

By  Osaka, one of many nicknames for Thomas, an aspiring lyricist from Buffalo NY, and guy of good nature and wisecracks. He loves to cook occasionally, trying new recipes that not only taste delicious, but entertain the eyes and tease your palette. Yet another watcher of the Food Network, he usually dabbles in the kitchen of his job where he works in foodservice.

Tell them to acquire my personality for a show too! I’ll rhyme in the bistro while baking cookies or grilling tuna steaks with a spicy chutney!

snap, crackle, yums

I love rice krispy treats. They’re easy to make, sweet, and great for a quick snack. You could easily follow the directions on the side of a Rice Krispies box, but I’ve tweaked this recipe with a bit more marshmallowy goodness.

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp. butter or margarine (I prefer the butter)
• 1 16 oz. package of marshmallows (In my opinion, the mini mallows melt better and easier)
• 7 cups Rice Krispies Cereal (I’ll sometimes put 8 cups to get thicker Krispies)

Directions:

• Melt the butter in a fairly large pan on medium to low heat
• Once melted, add marshmallows
• Allow marshmallows to fully melt, stirring occassionally to prevent from sticking to bottom of pan
• Grease bottom and sides of a 13″ x 9″ baking pan
• Once marshmallows are fully melted, remove pan from heat
• Add Rice Krispies gradually to marshmallows, mixing in with marshmallows after each addition
• Pour Krispy mixture into baking pan
• Using either a plastic sandwich bag or even parchment or wax paper, flatten mixture into pan
• Once cooled, cut into squares or whatever shape you desire, and serve

Note: This recipe will yield 24 treats.

Happy baking!

-Chelle