Iron Chef I ain't

Cooking's been an interesting exercise here. I was never that great a chef to begin with; it took me until last year to work up the courage to try a recipe that didn't consist of "remove packaging, place in microwave for 5 minutes". Now that I'm in Japan, there's a whole new host of challenges. First, my apartment has no oven, no microwave, only one burner, and enough counter space to barely fit my cutting board. The rice cooker has proved indispensable, though. (As has the hot water pot, which keeps ramen in the equation. ^^) Second, shopping generally involves some preparation as I have to translate my shopping list, so I'll be able to tell soy sauce from vinegar by the label at the market instead of the taste at home. To boot, some food items I take for granted just aren't available, and I had to junk one planned recipe entirely for that reason. Finally, although the concept of a "cup" exists here, "teaspoon" and "tablespoon" do not. I didn't bring my measuring spoons with me, so when the recipe book I brought from home calls for a half teaspoon, I usually wind up winging it.