Halloween - Okinawa Style

Halloween is usually a fun time for us.  We usually have several jack-o-lanterns that Marc spends hours carving. Last year we were in Bonaire for Halloween.  We attended a very cool Halloween costume party at Buddy Dive Resort where we danced the night away with our scuba diving friends.

This year, we are in Okinawa.  However, that doesn't mean that Halloween is any less of a big deal.  In fact, the Okinawans love Halloween.  Some of the local Okinawan stores have been preparing for Halloween for weeks.  There were several haunted houses running both on and off base.  A huge costume contest and street party was planned for the Chatan village shopping area known as American Village.  It's where the big ferris wheel is located.  We were down there earlier in the afternoon and already there were people wandering around in costume.  They had some of the streets blocked off and people were scurrying around everywhere trying to get everything ready for tonight.

I purchased a very nice pumpkin a couple weeks ago at the commissary.  It was very expensive.  They sell them by the pound.  Thirty-nine cents per pound doesn't sound like such a big deal until they plop the thing down on the scale.  I paid nearly eight dollars for a pumpkin.  So, we are not going to have the normal eight to ten jack-o-lanterns this year.  Poor Marc.  We decided that we should at least get one more pumpkin.  After checking the commissary we discovered they were sold out.  Oh well, we'll make due with one.

I wanted to go to the Monkey Store to check out some building materials for a shelf that I want to make for the bathroom.  Marc decided that it was well past lunch time and so we decided to go to McDonald's  It got over my fear of taking photos in there.  Below is something that I have only seen in Japan.  Marc has ordered it before.  We don't know what it is.  He said it is like a creamy crab cake with teriyaki sauce on a bun.  It's not my thing.  But, he likes it.

Today he had the teriyaki burger, which is in the picture on the far right at the top on the menu board.  He is very adventurous!  The teriyaki burger is actually a sausage patty that has lettuce and mayo and teriyaki sauce on a bun.  He said it was good.  I had the quarter pounder with cheese (no bun) and fries.  If you are wondering I don't tell them to hold the bun.  I just get rid of it when we get to the table.  I usually give it to Marc and he eats it.

Below are some other photos from around the McDonald's lobby.

So, after we finished at McD's we went into the Monkey Store.  They have these pre-made wood panel things that will work perfectly for the shelf system I want to build for my bathroom.  I say my bathroom because I have my bathroom, and Marc has his bathroom and then there is the downstairs bathroom.  Anyway, the shelf thing is another story for another day.  Possibly tomorrow, just so you don't have to wait too long.

Oh, and here is one last photo of Marc, thinking.

When we got home he started on his pumpkin.  First he cuts the top so that it is more like a lid.  Then, scoop out all the seeds.  He is very careful to save the seeds because he wants to roast and eat them.

He has loads of pumpkin tools but prefers to use my knife for certain parts of the carving process.  He is very serious about pumpkin carving and I am not allowed to help.

Okay, here is where we get really high tech and break out the battery powered pumpkin saw.

Here is the finished product.  Well, I just noticed that it doesn't have the lid on it.  Oh, and please excuse my junky table.  It seems to be the dumping ground for items that need a home.  

Okay, here is the jack-o-lantern outside in the front of the house.  Our plan was to sit out there on those "festive" chairs and hand out candy.  Unfortunately it started raining.

You would think for people who live in a gated community we would take a little more care with the Halloween decorations.  Oh well!

Despite the rain, we did have a lot of trick-or-treaters.  Lots of Okinawan kids too.  They let them come on base to trick-or-treat.  It's kind of fun because they are all nervous and they forget what they're supposed to say.

Hope you have a Happy Halloween!

Meatza

Today I went to the commissary.  They hand awesome ribeye steaks that were cut about 1 1/2 inch thick.  I had great plans for grilling them on the weber.  Marc had another idea.  He came home and said he wanted pizza!  Pizza?  What about those steaks?  Nope he wanted pizza.

Things are not easy around here.  Especially when I can't eat anything with wheat gluten.  Any normal family would pick up the phone and order a darn pizza.  Not us.  Oh no, certainly not us.  So, I'll just have to make a pizza.  I love making pizza.  I really do.  I have perfected my sauce and it is as good as any pizzeria sauce.  I generally use Chebe bread dough as my crust.  It's a great gluten free alternative and I buy it by the case.  Surely I have some Chebe bread mix.  No!  Focaccia dough mix?  None of that either.

Then I remember the Meatza!  Yes, that is what I'll do.  I ran across this idea a long time ago when I first had to start eating gluten free.  The basic idea is to take ground meat, flatten it into a large patty, bake it in the oven, pour off the "juice" then top it off like a pizza, and bake some more.  Some people use ground beef, some use a mixture of ground beef and Italian sausage, others ground beef and pork sausage.  I have a better idea.  I have not done this in a long time.  I'll use some of those Tyson brand precooked sausage patties.

So, the first thing to do is make the sauce.  I use a 6 ounce can of tomato paste and then add about 3 ounces of water to that. Mix it up in a bowl, until it's smooth.  You do not want it to be to watery.  Then I add about 1 teaspoon of oregano, basil, marjoram, garlic salt and then a couple cloves of crushed garlic.  Mix all of that together and let it hang out.  It needs about 30 minutes to really develop a great flavor.

So, while the sauce is hanging out developing that awesome pizza sauce flavor select the veggies you like and chop them up.  I like red onion, green peppers, black olives, and mushrooms.  I like to slice the veggies up pretty small because the sausage patties are only about 3 - 4 inches in diameter.  Normally I would use fresh mushrooms.  but, they are like $4.00 for a 4 ounce package here.  So, I just use the canned variety.

I bought these pepperoni at the deli counter a week or so ago.  They've been in the freezer waiting for me to do something with them.  They are a little different tasting than the Hormel pepperoni that I used to buy.  These kind of have a smoky peppery taste.  I really like them.

Okay, so I took 8 of those precooked frozen sausage patties that I was telling you about.  I cooked them over low heat to render off some of the fat.  Then, I put them on my Pampered Chef large bar pan.  I have had this pan for about 8 years.  I don't know what I'd do with out it.

Next I gave my sauce another stir and then put a little less than a tablespoon on each patty.  You want enough to cover it without it dripping off the sides.

Next I sprinkled on some mozzarella cheese.

Then piled on the toppings then another light sprinkling of cheese.

I baked these in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15-16 minutes.  I want that light sprinkling of cheese to be a little browned.

I used the pizza cutter to cut each meatza into fourths.  I like mine with some Parmesan cheese and crushed red peppers.  I think these would be great party appetizers.  I can just see them with little tooth picks in them.  You know, the kind with the little frilly end.

Random stuff from a random day!

Yesterday we decided that we needed to go out and search for some aquarium accessories.  I have always kept an aquarium. I had a very nice 60 gallon aquarium in the study of our OKC home.  I loved that aquarium and the fish that lived in it.  Most of those fish were born there.  We had mollys, platys, black neons, blue neons, cory catfish, zebra danios and probably some others that I can't think of.  All in all we had close to 100 fish.  When we came to Okinawa the fish went to live with my sister in her 55 gallon aquarium.

I told Marc that I would not be without my aquarium.  He suggested that I should look into getting an acrylic aquarium since he felt like it would make the trip across the Pacific a little easier.  So, I shopped around and found a 30 gallon acrylic tank with a custom made filtration system.  He was right, it made the trip across the Pacfic just fine.

We have it set up in the living room downstairs.  I just discovered that I do not have a photo of it.  So, let me run downstairs and get one....be right back!

Okay,  I'm back  Now here is a picture of the aquarium.

 

Notice we do not have any fish yet.  but, the aquarium is full of water and it's decorated.  We noticed that there have been some strange white globs collecting on the filter.  Not sure what that is.  I've never seen anything like it.  So, we decided that we really need to step up the filtration and add some floss to the system.

So, we decided to head out to Pet Box.  On the way we saw this giant crab.  I see this all the time.  I thought you might like to see it too.  It's outside of a restaurant which I have never tried.  Maybe one day...

Down just a little bit from the giant crab is this Korean BBQ place.  I have not eaten here either.  I'm not sure if you'll be able to see it, but look at the license plate on the red van.  See the Y on it.  All of the American's have Y on the license plate.  I've never understood this.  I don't know what the Y stands for.  Marc claims that it stands for Yankee.  But, really I'm not sure.  I do know, however, that segregation is not dead!

Okay, moving on....
We arrived at Petbox.  Unlike most Okinawan business, Petbox has a very large parking lot.

Petbox has pets and accessories for dogs, cats, and et cetera pets.   Et Cetera pets?!?  Should I be offended?  Sometimes Japanese thoughts do not translate to the American language.  

So we went in and there were a few people looking at the over priced puppies.  They have a thing for bulldogs and also dachshunds.  There was a kitten in there that they wanted 50,000 Yen for.  That's about $500!  And to think there are stray cats hanging out at the sea wall!

I always feel funny about taking photographs inside of stores.  I had Marc take this photo of this litter box.  This is the craziest kitty potty I have ever seen.  I wonder what my cats would think of it.  I'm not willing to waste $30 to find out.  

So, when we finished at Petbox we decided that McDonalds would be good.  We don't do this very often.  Again, I'm kind of funny about taking photos in restaurants.  So, no McD's photos up close.  I had the double cheese burger, sans the bread, and fries.

Here is another cheesy photo of the ferris wheel.  It was really a nice night.  About 73 degrees with a little breeze.

Here is a vending machine.  These things are everywhere.  I mean it.  If you find yourself in the middle of a sugar cane field, there will be a vending machine.  Don't believe me.  Well, come on over here and I'll show you!

Here is another vending machine that has ice cream which I'm sure is wonderful.  We didn't sample any.  Maybe another time.  I'll be sure and let you know.

I thought you might like to see the orchids.  These are inside the Monkey Store.  For those of you that don't know what the monkey store is, they do not sell monkeys.  The name of the store is actually Make Man Store.  Their sign has a cartoon monkey riding a dolphin.  The sign is in Japanese but it has that monkey and dolphin, so nearly every American knows it as the Monkey Store.

So, we walked all around and took some food to the stray cats.  I know, I'm a sucker and you know what.  I'm going out there to see them again tonight!  We found this dragon thing and Marc was nice enough to stand there so I could take his photo.  See in his right hand, he has coffee from that vending machine.  That giant bottle in his left hand is water.  He brought that from home because he claims he is dehydrated.

Okay, this last photo is a warning about jellyfish.  There is another sign about not swimming in the area.  I think this is their way of keeping the tourists from Tokyo out of the deep water.  As my friend, Amy, pointed out, "check out those swimming trunks!"

Okinawa Graffiti

Today I decided to take a walk along the water's edge at the Sunabe Seawall. The surf was up and all the surfer boys were out there. So, there were no parking spaces to be found. Since I wasn't in the mood to have my vehicle towed off I decided to go elsewhere. I ended up at Araha Beach in Chatan Town.

Araha beach has plenty of sand and a swimming area. They even have a playground as well as basketball courts that are always in use. My favorite part about Araha Beach is that they have a great walk way. It stretches all the way over to that point where the windmill is at in the photo above. Actually, I think the walkway goes around the point and over to where the sea wall begins.

In addition to the walkway there are numerous picnic tables and lots of trees, although they are trees that do not offer a lot in the way of shade.

So, as I walked along to my left was the Ocean and to my right was the park and the trees and these crazy apartment buildings. I remember my friend, Bryan, used to call describe them as buildings turned inside out. They are covered with tile on the outside.

There is also this interesting little hamburger place called Seaside Jet City Burgers. The smell wafting from this place begs me to come back with Marc and see if it tastes as well as it smells.

These trees to the left are Ryukyu Pines. They are found on Okinawa and it is told that they have evolved to the tropical environment by growing jointed needles. The jointed needles help them to survive the typhoon force winds that can occur here. They are very soft to the touch too.

After I walked across the foot bridge that spans the canal I noticed that there was a lot of "art work" on the wall below the sidewalk. They have made stairs in the breaks of the wall so that fishermen, and apparently artists, can get to the water's edge. I'm sure each of these images have some sort of meaning. They are quite amazing and there is no lack for attention to detail. This first one makes me think of the New Zealand Maori tribal people. I'm not sure why, but it does.

This one is like good and bad yen and yang, or something. The colors and the detail are amazing!

Here is a shot down the wall. One image blends into the next and they don't seem to cover up each others work. I wonder when they do this? You can see the foot bridge in the upper right hand portion of the photo.

This next one is sort of controversial. I started to not post it. But, then I thought, "well, what the heck. The artist is trying to send some sort of message....about disrespect?"

I'm not sure what this next one means. But, I was captured by the green monster thing. I mean not physically captured. But, well, you know what I mean.

Okay, another view down the wall.

All I can say about this one is it must be the heart of the wall. And, the heart is apparently on fire. Or do you think that maybe they are depicting burning love? I'm not sure.

There are a lot of cats hanging around down here. I can only hope that this artist was trying to honor the cats with his art.

I have no idea what this next one is about. But isn't it cool?

I was intrigued by this dragon. The paint and detail are amazing. He is really kind of glittery in the sunlight. Amazing!

I almost missed this one because of the tree and the fact that I was really having to look carefully for each step I took. This guy seems to be eating words. I don't think I have enough of the entire image in my photo to even tell what it is. I'll have to go back out there and see if I can figure it out.

I'm not sure, but I think this next one is trying to depict some sort of alien abduction.

This one at the top of the steps is really quite amazing. Lots of detail.

I think that Yuki the rabbit went to Heaven on August 10, 2009. Poor Yuki, it really kind of makes me feel sad.

I honestly don't know what to think of this one. Aliens again, chains, hooded sweatshirts? Maybe you have an idea of what it is?

Here is another photo of the image at the top of the stairs.

And, then this poor poor kitty. He looks like he is about 8 weeks old. He is traditional Okinawan kitty with the short bent tail. I'm trying to convince Marc that this poor guy needs help. He seems to have a cold in his eyes. Which means that he needs to go to the vet.