☆ Recipe2: Pumpkin Soup for Halloween

Do you like Pumpkin? Here is a very easy Pumpkin Soup recipe for Halloween.

Buy a whole pumpkin
Cut it up in small pieces and cut the skin off it
Place it in a large saucepan with plenty of water covering it
Slowly boil it and as it is cooking cut up a large onion
Place the sliced onion in with the pumpkin
Cook the ingredients together for 1 hour or more, but slowly

Alternative ingredients to add:
You can also add a teaspoon of curry powder for more flavor
Sometimes adding 1 or 2 potatoes can make it thicker and tastier too

Once the pumpkin and onion is cooked, leave it to cool
Blend the soup to make it smooth (you will need to have a large blender for this)

When you serve the pumpkin soup in a bowl you may also decorate it on top with some cream or some fresh green vegetables, such as a sprinkle of very thinly chopped green pepper or a few herbs

Cook some sliced french bread stick under the grill and melt cheese on top of it

Serve the Pumpkin Soup in a white, Italian bowl (this always looks more outstanding and beautiful)

Now enjoy it with the sliced french bread and have a happy Halloween!

☆ Blue Monday & T.G.I.F

A short while ago I wrote about "hump day" - Wednesday.
Now I want to tell you about two more "days" that we use in English.

"Blue Monday" is used because Monday is the first day of the school/ Work week, and it's always the most difficult.
The opposite is T.G.I.F "Thank God It's Friday."
Everyone is happy because Friday is the last school/ work week day, and the weekend is coming soon.

So, be a little sad on "Blue Monday," happy for "Hump day" Wednesday because half the week is over, and feel great because it's Friday.

☆ Hump Day

"Good morning, how are you? I'm great. Today is 'hump' day."
What is "hump" day?

In the work week there are five days. Monday and Tuesday may be difficult because they are at the beginning of the week. Wednesday is the middle of the week, the "hump" day because after Wednesday then comes Thursday and Friday, which are usually easier because they are closer to the Weekend. So Wednesday is the "hump" day between the beginning and the ending of the week.

Have a good week, and enjoy "hump" day
More on days of the week on another blog!

☆ Recipe1: Egg and Bacon Pie

This is a traditional English recipe which is very handy and tasty to make. Please try it!

2 eggs
4 rashes (strips) of Bacon
1 cup of plain flour
5 small cubes of soft butter
2 teaspoons of water

Small sized cooking tray
1 blunt knife
Medium sized cooking bowl
Rolling pin

Pastry base:
Sift the 1 cup of plain flour into a medium sized cooking bowl. Then put 2 cubes of butter in the flour and begin to rub the butter together with the flour until it is well rubbed in. Add 2 more cubes of butter and do the same method. Then add a very small teaspoon of water to the mixture, and stir with a knife (not a spoon). Once the flour has been stirred with the water, add another small teaspoon of water and stir all the ingredients again.

Place the pastry base on a smooth bench and begin to roll it with a rolling pin. Roll it until it is very thin.
Take a small tray and put it on top of the pastry, then cut the shape out with a blunt knife. Place the pastry in the tray.

How to make the pie:
Cut the bacon pieces into small strips. Place the bacon on top of the pastry base. Then crack 2 eggs and mix them together, then pour over the bacon strips. Once the eggs are all over the bacon strips, sprinkle cheese on top of the pie and some pepper.

Oven temperature:
Cook in the oven at the temperature of 250 deg. for at least 20 minutes or more.

*You can eat this pie either cold or hot. You can also cook vegetables to be eaten as a separate dish with it. It's a good pie to make for a party, a special lunch or just for yourself!

☆ Garbage

Ever wondered where the garbage is disposed of in other countries? It's a little different in Australia compared with Japan.

　　　　　　　
Australia has huge garbage bins, named 'Wheelie Bins' where people store their garbage in. Then, once a week the garbage collector picks it up in a very large truck we nickname 'garbo truck'. But instead of burning the garbage as is done in Japan, it is taken to a place called the 'tip'. The tip is like an Australian icon, it is famous for Sunday afternoon visits, where families used to take their garbage and the father of the family would take a look around and sometimes take some free things he found at the tip.

These days, it is illegal to take things from the tip, but the poems and the songs still exist in Australia. I doubt very much if Japanese people feel so fondly about the garbage days of the past, but it is fascinating from a foreigners point of view to learn the customs and the history of garbage disposals in other countries, such as Japan.

Surprisingly, Japan is rather litter free, although there are not half as many garbage bins on the streets, as there are in Australia. So, next time you see the local garbage disposal truck, think of the differences between Australia and Japan - the size factor, the place where the garbage will be taken and disposed of, and also think of how the two countries view their garbage differently! It really is very interesting.

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↑このクラスはまだ未定ですが人数が集まり次第成立いたします。

ー料金ー
デイタイム週１回コース（５０分/回）　　　月10,000円
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＊日本文化コースはスペシャルコースですので、グループレッスンと料金は異なります。
また、全１２回なので途中参加という形になります。
全１２回（５０分/回）36,000円

☆ Happy Halloween!

I think most people in Japan think that Halloween is only for children. It's a day when little boys and girls get dressed up as Superman or Harry Potter or Cinderella and go trick or treating around the neighborhood. But, in America, Halloween is also very popular with adults, especially university students. Every year on October 31st there are many Halloween parties at companies or on university campuses. Imagine walking into your office on Halloween morning and seeing a co-worker dressed up as Michael Jackson! Your boss dressed up as George W. Bush! Oh, no!

If you had a Halloween party at your office or your school, what costume would you wear? Would you be Prime Minister Koizumi or a member of Morning Musume? Would you wear a yukata, carry a guitar, and be Hata Youku? Or maybe wear a pair of glasses, blow-dry your hair and be Yon-sama? If you have any good costume ideas, please send us your comments. Have a Happy Halloween!

"Dress Up"= This phrase is used when we put on a costume, but also when we wear fancy clothes or very nice clothes. For example, "I got dressed up for Richard's wedding" or "My wife and I got dressed up for our anniversary dinner."
"Trick or treat"=An activity on Halloween day where kids go from house to house to get candy.

☆ Sight Words ②　Look (at)

The differences between to see, to look and to watch

We use look to talk about concentrating, paying attention, trying to see what is there. You can see something without wanting to, but you can only look at something deliberately.

For example:
I looked at the photo but I didn't see anyone I knew.

When look has an object it is followed by a preposition.
Look at me! or I was looking for a new CD.

There are many two part verbs and idioms that use look.

1. To Look Up: to locate information in a directory, dictionary, book, etc.
I often look up information on the internet before I travel.

2. To Look Out For: to be careful or cautious.
Be sure to look out for deer on the highway when you are driving at night.

3. To Look Over: to examine, to inspect closely.
Always look over your notes before a test.

4. To Look Into: to investigate, to examine carefully.
I am looking into taking some new courses at University.

5. To Look Up To: to admire, to respect greatly.
The person I look up to the most is my mother.

6. To Look Out On: to face, to overlook.
The cabin looks out on a beautiful green lake.

☆ Exciting Week in Japanese Sports.

It was an exciting week in Japanese sports. First, in sumo wrestling, Asashoryu beat Kotooshu to win the Emperor's Cup. Only one more win and he will break Taiho's 40-year-old record. Amazing!

Then, in baseball, the Hanshin Tigers beat the Yomiuri Giants to win the Central League Championship. I am not a big sumo or Japanese baseball fan, but I was still excited to see who would win. I was rooting for both Asashoryu and the Tigers so I was very happy with the results.

When we talk about sports and games we use the words “Beat” “Win” or “Lose.” Sometimes it's a little confusing for students. Here are a few examples to help clarify things.

■BEAT: “The Mariners BEAT the Yankees in extra innings," "Bob Sapp BEAT Akebono," or "My wife BEAT me in arm wrestling."
■WIN: “The Tigers WON the game last night,” “I think Bob Sapp will WIN the fight ,” or “My wife always WINS our arm wrestling matches.”
■LOSE or LOSE TO: “The Yankees LOST the game,” “Akebono LOST TO Bob Sapp,” or “I LOST the arm wrestling match TO my wife.”
I hope this helps. And remember: GO HANSHIN! GO ASASHORYU!

●Big Fan=Like very much. "I'm a big music fan." "I'm a big Mariners fan."
●Break...record=Surpass existing record. "Carl Lewis broke the world record in the 100 meter."
●Rooting for=Support. "I'm rooting for the Hanshin Tigers." "I'm rooting for Japan in the World Cup."
●Extra Innings=When a baseball game goes over nine innings.