kimberly ah

Sep 05 2014

gardening, homemaking, Simple Summer Suppers, what's for dinner

Summer Fresh Salsa

I’ve been on the obvious end-of-summer mission to use up our tomato crop. In the last week, I’ve eaten tomato sandwiches, BLTs, roasted tomato caprese salad, panzanella, plain ol’ caprese salad, and I’ve added tomatoes to every other meal I’ve made or eaten. And still…there are tomatoes.

Since we have so many Juliets (which are slightly larger than grape tomatoes and are not well-suited for sandwiches because of their tiny size) I decided to make salsa last weekend. I started with this recipe and made some tweaks to give it the freshest flavor possible.

Summer Fresh Salsa

24-30 Juliet tomatoes (or 6-7 Romas), chopped

2-3 Jalapeño, seeded and diced

1 red, yellow or orange pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

handful cilantro, chopped

1-2 limes, juiced

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Sea salt, to tasteChop and stir the vegetables and herbs together. Add olive oil, salt and one lime. Taste and add more lime or salt as needed. (I usually use two limes because I like things citrusy.)

This salsa is very fresh, but if you prefer something more spicy, you can add chili peppers, chili powder some of the jalapeño seeds to heat things up. Try to make it ahead of time and chill it in the fridge to allow the flavors to meld. Isn’t it a pretty salsa? I love the colors and the crunch and the garlic and the citrus…and of course the tomatoes. Those perfect garden Juliet gems really make a good salsa. I’m so thankful for our bountiful harvest!

Tagged food, garden, gardening, homemaking, summer

Sep 03 2014

1 Comment

Japan Does It Better

Japan Does It Better 19: Anti-Itch Patches

I, like most people, hate feeling itchy. In the summers, I usually carry hydrocortisone cream around with me at all times because bug bites can be annoying and distracting. The cream is a fine solution, but it’s a little messy and I always like to wash my hands after using, which isn’t always possible right away. Our friends Billy and Angela happened upon these amazing anti-itch patches when they were traveling in Japan and we picked up a pack last summer. Now, I can’t imagine a better way to treat a bug bite. Inside the box are these little medicated decals that peel off and go right over the bug bite. The patches are kind of like Band-Aids, except they are thinner and completely adhesive. The medicine almost immediately stops the itching and the decal protects the bug bite from your constant scratching. Once I put one of these on, I leave it on for a day or two. The patches stand up well to water (they stay on during showers!) and really cure any itches.

The package we bought has the Anpanman character on the patches, but there are also plain (boring) ones if characters aren’t your thing.

For a super portable and effective way to treat bug bites, Japan Does It Better!

For the rest of the JDIB posts, go here.

Tagged I *heart* Japan, Japan

Sep 02 2014

6 Comments

adventures, Forest Park, Oak Park, gardening, summer manifesto

Plot #6: Is That A Loofah In My Garden?

It isn’t that I didn’t believe the articles I read about loofah vines’ ferocious growth, it’s that I underestimated what that really meant. I’m afraid that our loofah vine is creeping into our neighbor’s plot, and could overtake the entire community garden. I think, now that summer is in full swing (finally!), I might have to go to the garden daily to reign those crazy vines in and retrain them back into our plot. But it’s totally worth it if we can actually bring the five giant loofah home. Yes, five!! I’m hoping they all make it–safely from bugs and nibbling rodents–to the stage when we can harvest them and dry them out as sponges. I’ve been using this resource as guidance. I’ve never been so excited about a gardening experiment. If all goes well, do you think it would be weird if I gave sponges to everyone for Christmas? (I guess I shouldn’t be getting ahead of myself here.) In addition to the five gallon bucket-full of tomatoes we harvested last week, I picked a few limas. I think there are probably more to be picked, but it’s hard to find them amongst the overgrown tomatoes and the loofah vines. I guess garden planning is not my strong suit. My tomato harvesting was cut a bit short the other day by this cat-sized grasshopper (small exaggeration). He was protecting a large patch of ripe tomatoes, which I left untouched because I kept picturing him leaping into my face. Thankfully the grasshopper found a new home when we went back to harvest more tomatoes yesterday. (Oh and yesterday I touched a slug…gardening is gross!!)

Tagged adventures, food, forest park, garden, gardening, summer

Aug 28 2014

2 Comments

adventures, Forest Park, Oak Park, some stuff about me

Aaaaaaand, Disappointment

My Japanese class was cancelled due to low enrollment. The school called on Monday and left a voicemail on our land line (yes, we still have a land line…we are your grandparents) and I figured they were just calling to remind me about the class or to tell me which room it would be in. Yesterday afternoon I listened to the voice mail and I got the news. (Thankfully I didn’t GO to the class to get the news!) I’m so bummed. I was all excited to learn again, especially something useful for our travels next year. But, it’s not meant to be right now. And that’s okay. I’ll just commiserate with this sweet face until I feel better.

Tagged adventures, forest park, Japan

Aug 27 2014

4 Comments

adventures, Forest Park, Oak Park, some stuff about me

Back To School

My Japanese class starts tonight! I am very excited and a little bit nervous. I’m nervous mainly because I don’t know what to expect, so hopefully the nerves will go away after the first class–this is supposed to be fun after all. I promise to report back soon.

The sweet chopstick rests pictured above are a gift from my friend Mollie. She picked them up during her recent trip to Disney World. We don’t have any chopstick rests around here (nor do we have proper chopsticks!) so these were a perfect present! (Plus, she got one for Presley–how sweet is that?!)

Tagged adventures, forest park, I *heart* Japan

Aug 26 2014

6 Comments

Japan Does It Better

Japan Does It Better 18: Toiletries That Tingle

I’m a sucker for things that burn…well, technically for toiletries that cool. And Japan seems to have the market cornered when it comes to cooling your skin, eyes, lips and more with toiletries that include menthol. The menthol is invigorating!

Last summer, my love for all things cooling started with the Biore face wash and the Shiseido lip balm that refreshed my face and lips in the hot, humid Tokyo weather. When we went back in March, I was on the hunt for more of that lip balm and some other cooling products. Naoto found some cooling eye masks (which will be a future JDIB post) and I found the cooling powder sheets (featured in JDIB 15). Both provide the perfect relief on a steamy day. The powder sheets have been the best thing this week because I’ve been able to freshen up after my walk to work in the soupy humidity.

And the most interesting menthol toiletry of all is the cooling eye drops. They are crazy weird–the very second you feel the drops in your eyes, you feel a moment of regret because it burns and it’s scary, then right away that passes and it’s just cooling, invigorating relief. They really perk you up after a nap, or before an early morning coffee run.

Tingling toiletries…Japan Does It Better!!

To see all JDIB posts, go here.

Tagged I *heart* Japan, Japan, summer

Aug 22 2014

Flowers, Flooding & Failures

I had another post planned for today, but it’s as dark as a cave here and I couldn’t get a proper picture. It rained several inches around here last night. I was rudely shocked out of a good sleep at 2AM by my phone and its stupid loud weather alert. It took 2.5 episodes of Roseanne to fall back asleep, mainly because my heart had to start beating again after the surprise of the alarm.

I went outside this morning to check on the flowers–everything is completely soaked out there–and I found this teeny, tiny flower on my Cypress Vine. Isn’t it the sweetest little thing? There are supposed to be pink, white and red flowers eventually. I cannot wait!

The huge rain made my portulaca explode. I’ve decided that next year (yes, I’m already planning my flowers for next year) I will be planting more portulaca in all the colors of the rainbow.

As far as failure goes…well, have you looked at the calendar lately? Summer is almost over. I’m failing my Summer Manifesto. I still haven’t tried three new cocktails with herbs from our gardens or three new tomato recipes. I haven’t taken more walks or really rediscovered Chicago. And, while we have had a few special guests for Hasegawa Happy Hours, we haven’t had enough of them. I know the US thinks of Labor Day as the end of summer, but as long as we have tomatoes and a garden, it’s still summer to me. Before I start planning fall cocktails and soups and balcony parties, I’m determined to at least mix up a few herbal gin drinks and soak up these long days while I can.

Tagged garden, gardening, homemaking, summer

Aug 21 2014

5 Comments

some stuff about me

Aunt Connie

When my phone rang a little after six on Thursday morning, I knew it was bad. When I saw my mom’s phone number on the screen, I silently prayed it was just a pocket dial or something. Crazy thinking because my mom still has a flip phone, and therefore never pocket dials anyone. But when your phone rings that early (or really late), you know it’s never good news.

She told me that my Aunt Connie–her little sister–had died in a motorcycle accident overnight. Over the weekend Naoto and I went down to Central Illinois for her memorial service. It was a heavy, heartbreaking weekend.

Maybe it was because she lived (what could be considered by most) a difficult life, but Aunt Connie squeezed every bit of love and enjoyment out of her sixty-one years. She was widowed very young–with a toddler daughter and a son on the way–when her husband was killed in a car accident. And ten years ago this month, her son passed away.

Somehow, she was strong, enthusiastic and had a wonderful sense of humor. She loved her daughter and grandchildren mightily, she loved her husband Stan fiercely and she took advantage of every opportunity to have an adventure, to make someone smile or just to enjoy being together. She always greeted us with a huge smile and a punch on the arm. (Sometimes she left a bruise…it was her enthusiasm-for-life mark.) She was loud and had the heartiest laugh. (I’m loud, too, so I totally appreciated this about her.) And she was that person at a family gathering that you wanted to be sitting next to because you were guaranteed a snarky comment and a good belly laugh.

Her spirit was truly one of the best parts of our family. I can only hope that we all can live life the way Aunt Connie did–fearlessly, joyfully and with a big punch on the arm.

The picture above is from my wedding, Aunt Connie dancing with my niece Kaitlyn.

Tagged memories

Aug 19 2014

5 Comments

adventures, gardening

Mom’s Arbor

For Mother’s Day this year, my dad built my mom a fantastic Asian-inspired arbor to frame the steps to their backyard. He finished it in July and Naoto and I got a chance to see it in person over the weekend. When we were growing up, our yard was pretty plain, mostly grass and a giant vegetable garden. Now that my parents are semi-retired, they spend a lot of time gardening and collecting a variety of perennial flowers and greenery. The arbor adds a little architectural touch to their otherwise free-flowing garden. They found the design for the arbor in a thrifted old woodworking book that is full of projects for yards and patios. It’s amazing the gems you can find in seemingly outdated books! Not that we would ever want to make Presley jealous, but we kind of fell in love with my parents’ neighborhood cat, Fred. Fred isn’t really his name. My dad just calls him that. He originally belonged to my parents’ neighbor but now just kind of divides his time among the houses on their block. He was super laid back, fell in love with Naoto and charmed us into petting him every time we went outside. If we didn’t think Presley would eat him, we might have brought him home with us! But as my dad said…”Fred wouldn’t stand a chance around Presley.”

Aug 14 2014

3 Comments

Forest Park, Oak Park, in my library, In My Neighborhood

In My Neighborhood: Little Free Library

I’ve been reading about Little Free Libraries popping up in cities all across the country. It’s an intriguing idea–build a tiny library, fill it with a few books and let people give and take on the honor system. It’s so community-driven and idealist…two things I love.

Imagine my surprise when Little Free Library recently popped up in front of a tiny house in my own neighborhood!

This house is only a block north of me, and one that I walk by almost every day on my way to get a coffee or go to work. It’s in a neighborhood of both houses and apartments a couple of blocks away from the train station. If you ask me, it’s a perfect neighborhood for something like this. People can pick up and drop off books on their way to their morning trains. Hopefully some of the neighborhood kids can find some titles in there eventually. The little library house is surrounded by solar-operated twinkle lights, but I haven’t seen it all lit up at night yet. I don’t see any titles inside that I want to borrow yet (I am a huge user of our public library), but I have a few good classics on my shelf that I’m going to drop off later this week. Do you have a Little Free Library in your neighborhood? There’s a giant list of them here and a map here.

Speaking of reading…I’m going to go outside now and finish my book for book group this weekend. We’re reading Two Years Before the Mast. What an adventure!

Tagged books, forest park