A few weeks back I was invited to a BBQ at a friends house. Beforehand I felt like I should bring a dish. I ended up settling on an American one. Something I haven't had in a while. Macaroni salad. I found the ingredients at the store, of course at a much more expensive price. I was able to turn out a rad dish of macaroni salad for around ¥500. If I were to make it just for myself, I could live off of it for a few days. Something I am considering.
Then a day or two pasted. A friend gave me a bunch of potatoes. What does this mean? Potato salad. I turned out another killer dish. Between the period of potato salad and macaroni salad, I made another gnarly dish. An American Classic, Macaroni and cheese. That hit the spot. Its been so long since I've had it.
Since arriving in Japan, its difficult to get your hands on any food that is remotely American. The Japanese must not see a point in an oven so many western dishes like casserole, pizza, lasagna, or even cupcakes are hard to come by. If you find a place that sells one. The price is going to be high and the portion size is far too small. Which is upsetting. Since most Western dishes are very generous.
All of this has put me into a mode of various dishes I want to cook. Some hot, some cold. Tex/Mex is always on the list. I'm going to figure out how I will do Taquitos. If I can't purchase tortillas then I will make them myself. Its not hard, just time consuming. A nice bean dip wouldn't be hard, just time consuming. Actually, when I think of it, all of these dishes are time consuming. Back home its easy. The main difference between Japan and America is space and being limited to one burner. I have no counter. NONE! This is why a simple dish like macaroni salad took so long. Having the two burners, one to hard boil the eggs and the other to cook the noodles would be glorious.
I want to make cupcakes but I'm not completely sure on how this will be accomplished. I have a toaster oven so it might be difficult. However, I will give it a try. I'm an American. We planted a flag on the moon, I'm sure I can bake cupcakes in my toaster oven.
By avoiding said American dishes, the Japanese do seem to have a bit of a healthier diet. Asian fare is usually lighter and fresher than our cuisine. If you really miss the food so much, I'm sure there's non-bake variations you can try. At least, I know you can do so with macaroni and cheese. Good luck on your travels!
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