45ml gin
15ml sake rice wine
1 green olive
ice

PREPARATION
Put gin, sake, and ice into a mixing glass. Stir well. Pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a green olive.
Makes 1 serving.

45 ml Sake Rice Wine
15 ml Lime Juice
Some Ice

PREPARATION
Put a couple of ice in a glass. Pour sake and lime juice into the glass. Stir well.
Makes 1 serving.

Sencha is one of the most popular green tea in Japan. It is raised in the sun. Shincha indicates sencha green tea which is harvested in the early season. Gyokuro is the most superior green tea which has sweet flavor. It is raised in the shade. Macha is green tea powder, which is made from green tea leaves raised in the shade. The tea leaves are steamed, dried, and grounded into powder. Houjicha is made by roasting green tea leaves. It contains little caffein or tannin. Genmaicha is blended tea of green tea leaves and popped rice.

Bancha is low grade green tea which is made from tea leaves picked in late summer.

To brew green tea, using a Japanese teapot called kyusu is the best. Basically put green tea leaves in the pot and pour some hot water. Then, cover the lid and wait for a while before serving green tea into individual tea cups called yunomi which has no handles. When serving green tea, make sure not to leave any tea in the tea pot. You may brew green tea a few times from the same tea leaves.

To brew tasty green tea, water temperature is important. Change the temperature depending on the kind of green tea you are drinking. Cool boiling water in a tea pot or tea cups before pouring over tea leaves.

When brewing sencha green tea, use 160F degree hot water and brew about one minute in a tea pot. To brew gyokuro green tea, use 110F degree hot water and brew about two minutes. To brew hojicha, genmaicha, and bancha, use boiling water and brew just 15-20 seconds.

To drink macha green tea, shift 1 tsp of maccha green tea powder in a large tea cup and add 1/4 cup of 160F degree hot water in it, then stir quickly with a bamboo tea whisk.

Pouring hot sencha green tea over some ice in a cup makes iced green tea. Enjoy green tea!

Source: About.com

SUGGESTED FILLINGS
Cucumber, cut into thin strips
4 ounces smoked salmon
2 ounces salmon roe
8 medium prawns
Omelet Strip, recipe follows

OMELET STRIP
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 pinch salt
Oil

DIRECTIONS
Toast the nori sheets by holding directly over a medium low flame and passing it back and forth quickly till slightly crispy.

Place a nori sheet on a bamboo rolling mat about 1/2 inch from end of mat facing you.

Spread a small amount of wasabi paste over the nori. Wet hands and spread rice on the nori in a layer about 1/2 inch thick leaving a 1/2 inch border at the near and far end.

Make a long indentation along the centre of the rice and lay some filling in the trench.

Roll the mat tightly away from you making sure that the mat stays on top of the roll and doesn’t get rolled into it.

Cut the roll crosswise with a sharp damp knife and serve with soy sauce, pickled ginger and a small amount of wasabi paste on the side.

Omelet Strip:
Mix 1 egg,1/2 teaspoon. sugar,a pinch of salt lightly with a fork. Oil a frying pan, heat and add egg mixture. Tilt to spread the egg thinly and cook till set. Remove to a plate and let set. Roll up and cut into 1/4 inch wide strips.

Making fresh homemade pasta provides an opportunity to create many different flavors of pasta. A variety of flours, such as wheat flour, buckwheat flour, rice flour, soy flour, and oat flour can be used to provide different flavors. Also, other flavoring agents can be used, such as herbs and spices, corn meal, cheese, fruits, chilies, spinach, tomatoes, beets, and carrots. The different flavoring agents will also affect the color of the pasta and its texture.

1 pound Italian sausage
1 clove garlic, minced
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained
2 small zucchini, cubed
2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.
Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.

1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese(sliced) and grated parmesan

DIRECTIONS

In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon salt
7 cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and let proof.
Stir in 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Beat in the salt and then add enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Knead until as soft and smooth as a bambino’s behind. Turn in a greased bowl, cover, and let double in size. (I put it in the oven with the light on - perfect rising temperature.)
Once doubled, punch down and divide into three. Place back in the bowl, cover, and let rise.
Once doubled again, punch down and form into three fat “footballs.” Grease heavy cookie sheets and sprinkle with corn meal. Place the bread on the sheets, cover with a towel, and let rise.
Once risen, mist with water and place in a preheated 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) oven. Mist loaves with water and turn occasionally while they bake. Bread is done when golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

	Nigiri Small rice balls with fish, etc. on top. There are countless varieties of nigirizushi, some of the most common ones being tuna, shrimp, eel, squid, octopus and fried egg.
	Gunkan Small cups made of sushi rice and dried seaweed filled with seafood, etc. There are countless varieties of gunkanzushi, some of the most common ones being sea urchin and various kinds of fish eggs.
	Norimaki Sushi rice and seafood, etc. rolled in dried seaweed sheets. There are countless varieties of sushi rolls differing in ingredients and thickness. Sushi rolls prepared “inside out” are very popular outside of Japan, but rarely found in Japan.
	Temaki Temakizushi (literally: hand rolls) are cones made of nori seaweed and filled with sushi rice, seafood and vegetables.
	Oshizushi Oshizushi is pressed sushi, in which the fish is pressed onto the sushi rice in a wooden box. The picture shows trout oshizushi in form of a popular ekiben (train station lunch box).
	Inari Inarizushi is a simple and inexpensive type of sushi, in which sushi rice is filled into aburaage (deep fried tofu) bags.
	Chirashi Chirashizushi is a dish in which seafood, mushroom and vegetables are spread over sushi rice.

Source: Japan Guide

1 28oz. Can Chopped Tomatoes

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Onion

3 Cloves Garlic, Peeled & Minced

4 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Fresh Basil

Salt & Pepper

Meatballs:

1 Pound Beef Ground Meat

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3/4 Cup Finely Chopped Onions

3/4 Cup Pine Nuts

1 Cup Mushrooms, Finely Chopped (Button Or Baby Bella)

3 Garlic Cloves, Peeled & Minced

1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley, Finely Chopped

2/3 Cup Fresh Breadcrumbs

1 Cup Ricotta Cheese

1 Large Egg

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest, Minced

Heat the oil in a large shallow saucepan, and add onions. Cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for
another minute. Add the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer while you prepare the meat.

In a frying pan, heat the remaining olive oil. Add the onion, mushrooms, and pine nuts and cook until the pine nuts begin to turn brown. Add the garlic, stir well, and remove from heat. Combine the remaining ingredients with the onion mixture and mix until well blended.

Form the meatballs into 6 separate patties, and brown in the frying pan used to cook the onion mixture until the meatballs are browned on both sides, turning carefully as needed. Gently place the meatballs into the saucepan holding the sauce and cover. Continue to cook the meatballs in the simmering sauce for 25 minutes more. Remove the meatballs and serve hot with a little sauce, using the remaining sauce to top your choice of pasta.