Stonefield

One of my favourite bands at the moment is an all girl group from the Macedon Rangers in country Victoria called Stonefield. Stonefield feature four sisters aged from 12 to 20 and play rock influenced by artists from the late 60s to early 70s. The girls grew up on a diet of Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix.

They have won various awards including the recent TRIPLE J Unearthed competition and have been selected to play Glastonbury (youngest Australian band ever to play) and the Great Escape festivals in the UK. In Australia Stonefield will be playing the St Kilda Festival on Sunday, February 13th.

Stonefield recently released their debut EP called Through the Clover, which channels Zappa, Zeppelin and 70s soul. It is must listen. Check out the video below.

Picture of the Week Nijo Castle, Kyoto, Japan

Nijo Castle is one of the famous sights of Kyoto. The Castle was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns.

The castle area has several gardens and groves of cherry and ume trees.

This picture is of the Ninomaru garden which has a large pond with three islands and features numerous carefully placed stones and topiary pine trees.

The Secrets Of Speaking Japanese Fluently

Texas Burger

The Texas Burger is one of the new McDonald`s Big America series hamburgers in Japan. It costs 400yen and looks and tastes better than most regular burgers. The Texas burger is the first one in the series and contains mustard relish, barbecue sauce, bacon, cheese and fried onions. Available as a limited edition and created to entice consumers to McDonalds.

The next burger in the series is the New Yorker with bacon, lettuce, tomato, Monterey Jack cheese and a grainy mustard.

The third burger released is the California burger with bacon, lettuce, tomato, spicy cheese and a sauce made from California red wine.

The last burger in the line is the Hawaii burger with no pineapple, which came as a big shock to me. The Hawaii burger comes with bacon, lettuce, American cheese, special gravy and a fried egg.

Let me know what you think of these burgers?

The Secrets Of Speaking Japanese Fluently

Made in Japan

There is a new made in Japan vending machine that has created a lot of buzz. Japan is well known for its vending machines that sell all kinds of different products, but now they are going high-tech. The new vending machine uses facial recognition technology to recommend drinks based on the customer`s age and gender. Suggested products may also change depending on the temperature and time of day. This new technology has lead to sales tripling as a result.


Learn how to make your own Green Tea At Home and save $$$$

Healthy Japanese Food

There are lots of great healthy Japanese food you can add to your grocery bag when shopping. The following items are some of the healthiest and best.

Seaweed
This superfood is extremely nutritious as its rich in protein, omega-3 fats, zinc, iron, selenium and iodine. Seaweed also contains potent health promoting compounds. Seaweed helps strengthen the immune system, and has anti-cancerous and anti-ageing properties.

How to use Seaweed in your Cooking
I usually add small strips to my soups, salads and stir-fries. My little boy also loves eating nori rolls with rice and tuna.

Read more on Seaweed

Miso
Miso is made from fermented soybean paste and contains beneficial bacteria helpful for improving digestion and strengthening the immune system. Miso is a rich source of protein, fibre and B vitamins.

How to use Miso in your Cooking
I usually use a spoonful of miso to add flavor to my soups, stir-fries and sauces.

Read more on Japanese Miso

Natto
Natto is a fermented soybean made from boiled soybeans and active bacteria. It has many health benefits including reducing high blood pressure and dissolving harmful blood clots.



Read more on Natto

Tofu
Tofu or bean curd is made from soy milk and has its origins in China. Tofu has little flavor on its own, so it can be used either in savory or sweet dishes. Tofu is low in calories with little fat. It is high in iron, calcium, magnesium and protein.

Green Tea
Green Tea is a powerful antioxidant with many health benefits. It contains a compound called EGCG, which is a substance with 25 to 100 times the antioxidant power of vitamins C and E.



Read more on Green Tea

Most Popular Blog Posts for January 2011

January 2011 was another big month for Japan Australia Blog. We seem to be saying that every month but again we have had a lot of new visitors and welcome people to keep enjoy the posts.


The following were the most popular blog posts for January 2011

Japan`s Traditional Kimono

Japanese Bento Boxes

Green Tea

Easy Japanese Cooking Recipe - Tonkatsu (Deep Fried Pork Cutlet)

How to Learn Japanese

Japanese Sushi

Working in Japan

Travel to Japan

Easy to Cook Japanese Recipe Ten-don (Tempura on Rice)

This month`s Easy to Cook Japanese Recipe is Ten-don (Tempura on Rice)

This is a great version of the other popular don-dishes like Gyu-don and Oyako-don

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 6 tempura king prawns or tempura of your choice

Sauce
• 2/3 cup dashi
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp caster sugar

• 2 bowls of warmed cooked rice

Method

1. Prepare tempura. See Recipe How to Make Japanese Tempura
2. Combine all the ingredients for sauce in a saucepan and bring to the boil over a high heat.
3. Turn down heat to a simmer and gently simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Place the warm rice in each bowl, and top with tempura followed by the sauce.

Easy To Follow Steps To Create Over 108 Top Japanese Recipes!