Sunday Shoujo: Miracle Train

Miracle Train
Anime Year: 2009

Miracle Train is not an anime for the anime-novice. It's out there. It's definitely out there. But at the same time it is pretty awesome. And even informative!

The premise is simple: it's a reverse-harem type where the men are different Tokyo train stations.  Yep.  I think the whole anime may just be a giant fan-girl commercial for the Oedo train line, but hey, that's advertising done right in my opinion.

The station-men help troubled women that magically end up on their magical train. What nice guys! They also provide background on the areas they represent, which is probably the highlight of the whole show. Oh, and also the train dog, Tokugawa!

Throughout most of the show (it's a short one - only 13 episodes), there isn't too much of a plot.  There's light humor and happy endings.  They throw in a bit more drama in the last few episodes though, dealing with the magic of the train itself, so it's worth watching to the end!

Mysterious naked man!

Other Shoujo Series:
Lovely Complex
Kaicho wa Maid-sama
Itazura na Kiss
Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge
Toradora!
Vampire Knight

Slow Cook Jook

Jook (or congee or rice porridge) is possibly my number one comfort food.  It's a staple at my parents home and my grandparents home, and I don't think it's possible for me to turn down a bowl (or two or three).

Normally we toss old leftover rice into a pot on the stove and cook it for a few hours along with a turkey leg, but Sak had been wanting to try it in the slow cooker, and I gotta say, I don't think I've had creamier jook in my entire life.

Put two cups of jasmine rice (real cups, not rice cooker cups), in the slow cooker and fill it near full with water. (Shown in the picture is 1.5 cups of rice, which was a little more watery than when we did it with 2 cups.) I've heard a 1 cup rice to 10 cups water is the approximate ratio you should use for slow cooking, though it's also dependent on personal preference.

Additionally, I threw in a couple pieces of leftover bacon for flavor, but that's totally optional.

pretty nasty looking at this stage..

I let it cook on low for a workday, about 10-11 hours.  When we got home, dinner awaited!

A bit watery, but that's okay.

Now the fun part of jook is making it your own with toppings!  You could do it Penga-Sis style, by adding nothing but a ton of soy sauce,or you could try my favorite - green onion, grated fresh ginger, thousand year old egg and soy sauce!

Thousand year old egg kind of tastes like deviled egg in jello. Haha! The yolk is creamy, and the egg white is gelatinous.  You can find them in packs of four or six in Asian markets, labeled preserved duck eggs. So tasty!

Have you had jook before? What's your favorite toppings?

Origami New Year's Dragon

Since we made some 2011 origami bunnies last year, I thought we'd try it again since it's now the year of the dragon!

We used these instructions, which were a little difficult but I could sort of do it (Sak had to help me with the mouth part).

We made eight of them on my favorite mon patterned origami paper, and I stuck them on some washi paper and framed them!

I think maybe I'll make this a tradition, and change out the frame each year with new origami?

They kind of look like bird-snakes, but that's sort of what a dragon is anyway, right?

Eventually I'd like to make this wall in our dining room a gallery picture wall, but as you can see it's not happening all too quickly.

Anyone year of the dragon?