Japanese-style Pizza

This is Hiroshima Okonomiyaki, Japanese-style pizza. It is so popular in Hiroshima that in the station building there is a food mall mainly for Okonomiyaki restaurants.
This is part of Monday Mellow Yellows.

Pumpkin Tart

I found this pumpkin tart in front of the cafe. It is decorated with chocolates and some nuts. Surely it's yummy.

This is part of Mellow Yellow Monday.

Sushi Time

How does it taste?  Of course, super great! It cost 980 Japanese yen (12 US dollars) with miso soup. Customer-friendly price. I found a nice sushi restaurant yesterday.

 This post is part of Our World Tuesday and Ruby Tuesday 2.

Sweet Hydrangea

Japanese cuisine emphasizes "season".  And appearance is a very important element as well as taste.
Let's take a break with a piece of "Hydrangea" and a cup of green tea. A clear jelly represents a raindrop. Taste?  Of course, very, very yummy!

Valentine's Day...Chocolate day in Japan



all made by chocolate!!

 Today is St. Valentine's Day and Japanese people celebrate this day in a unique way. Although, it may seem strange that a country with few Christians would adopt Christian customs, this date fits well with Japanese culture. Exchanging gifts is an important way for Japanese to show gratitude and to foster human relations.



at the supermarket

On St. Valentine's Day only women give chocolates to men they love and to male bosses and colleagues in the workplace as a gesture of friendship. The latter is called "giri-choco" or "obligatory chocolate."
In return,  "White Day" on March 14th is the day when men are expected to return the favor by giving gifts to women. These customs started as part of confectionery company's sales promotion gimmicks in the 1950s.
However, this custom is changing. Recently women exchange chocolates among female friends or present to themselves.



chocolate for my husband

I love to find delicious chocolates of pretty wrapping  this time of the year. The peak of chocolate in a year.

Sushi roll eating...Setsubun

What am I doing? 

 I am eating uncut sushi roll facing the lucky direction with no words.

This unique custom is rather new which started in Kansai region ( including Osaka) a few decades ago. Usually sushi roll is sold into several pieces but today all the sushi rolls are not cut as the picture below. This year's lucky direction is "north-north-west" ( they say each year has a different lucky direction and TV news announced the direction.)

To my surprise, the origin of this custom came from the speed-eating contest held in Osaka on the Setsubun day! NO meaning with the authentic tradition at first!! But people loved this event and with the help of the big ad of the convenient stores this new tradition became popular all over Japan.

I did bean-throwing as I mentioned yesterday. Go away evil  spirits and come in good spirits!!

Throw away bad things....

Japan is proud of distinct four seasons, and tomorrow (February 3rd) is Setsubun marking the last day of winter (according to the old calendar), of course it will still last cold winter days though. And according to the ancient Japanese thought, bad spirits appear in the changing time from one season to the next.

On the night of Setsubun, in order to drive away evil spirits and seeds of misfortune, as well as to pray for the family's happiness, many Japanese do bean-throwing ceremony at home.  They throw roasted soybeans all about the room, shouting “Oni wa soto!Fuku wa uchi! Meaning “Out with the goblins and in with fortune!”  Last year Annie was living and she was so happy to eat soybeans on that day.

Today I found many things about Setsubun at the shops. such as roasted soybeans and sardines. On the day tomorrow supermarkets will widen the sushi roll section and make money. I'll post a shot of sushi rolls tomorrow.

P.S.I thought I got better.....to my surprise and sorrow, I felt strong itch from midnight. I don't want to show my current miserable body. This morning I went to see the clinic and knew probably it came  from some drag. I was put on a drip and got medicine for allergy. Too bad after a short relief. Now I'm still itching intensely, even my ear being red.

Setsubun of tomorrow is the time for me to drive away bad things away from my body! I should shout "Oni wa soto!(Bad things Out!!!)"

first snow storm near my house

Pit House Cafe

old barn on the way

Today I went out for driving in the mountain with my friend M. We headed for a certain unique cafe, following the indication of the car  navigation system, but we were lost. Sometimes the navigation  system seems crazy to me. We made a detour to the cafe. The cafe is "Madama Village" located in the nothern part of Ibaraki city, Osaka.

the entrance of the cafe

Why did I say a "unique" cafe?  Because it is a round "pit dwelling" cafe made by old trees and reed. It is 12m in diameter and 11m in height with one room. On the earthen floor, there are several homemade tables and chairs. We tasted a good chestnut cake and a cup of coffee in a dusky light.  From time to time, various concerts and lectures are held here.

covered with thick reed

It was so ancient but really cool!  Fantastic time.
You can see more information and pictures here. http://madamamura.com/

diamond-like light

Precious Cup of Coffee

today's cup of coffe at my favorite cafe

Hello, lovely friends

Do you like coffee? I'm a coffee lover and I used to drink two, three, sometimes more cups of coffee every day until several weeks ago.

About two months ago, I came to feel very nauseous when I got up in the morning. I happened to have a once-a-year medical checkup and received barium exam for stomach. Luckily no problem was found. My doctor gave me some medicine to get better, but my sickness remained.

So I thought and thought what I should do to solve my problem.  Then I decided to change my eating habit for my health. It is very simple.
That is:  Eat food by eight o'clock at night and stop eating later except tea or water.
              Have only ONE cup of coffee a day.
        
Surprisingly my condition improved and now I'm in good shape. Now I can enjoy a cup of coffee more than before. Strange feeling.

My conclusion: I guess I ate and drank too much.  I ate and drank much more than my body needed. Plus my body is aging, including internal organs.
Anyway, I love coffee!!

January...Live-in-Harmony Month

 Rice cake made at home on the New Year's Eve

睦月

In old Japanese language, January was called "睦月 mutsuki". The letter  睦 means "get along with each other" or "live in harmony". 月 means "month". In Japan, family members get together to celebrate the new year, that's why January is called 睦月.

This is a picture of the special rice cakes for celebration we made at home by using rice cake making machine on the New Year's Eve. Today January 11th is the day for cutting it into pieces to be eaten. But I was too busy to complete the mission. Tomorrow is the day for that.

By the way, have you ever eaten rice cake?  We often grill it and dip into sweet sauce of soy sauce and sugar. It's very, very yummy. I want all of you to taste it!

Rice Porridge with Seven Spring Herbs

Seven Spring Herbs

Japan is proud of various customs based on seasonal changes, but today some of these customs are disappearing. So this year, I want to try to experience these traditional customs as much as possible in my daily lives.

at the supermarket

Today, January 7th is the festival of eating rice porridge with seven edible spring herbs.(As the Japanese calendar was changed from the ancient lunar-based calendar into the Gregorio calendar in 1873, there exists a gap of the days. Old January 7th is today's end of February. Ancient people could find spring herbs. But today, thanks to modern technology, we can get spring herbs at the supermarket.)

 This long-standing Japanese custom is believed to remove evil from the body and bring longevity and health. Since there is little green at this time of the year, the young green herbs bring color to the table and eating them suits the spirit of the New Year. And it is also a stomach-friendly meal after overeating New Year's festivities.

Seven Spring Herbs are water dropwort (seri), shepherd's purse (nazuna), cudweed( gogyo), chickweed(hakobera), nipplewort(hotokenoza), turnip (suzuna) and radish (suzushiro).

Generally this rice porridge is eaten for today's breakfast , but I forgot to get this set yesterday, so I'll make it for supper.  It'll make a  good diet for the stomach.

Nabe- Japanese-style Hot Pot Dish

Today is January 4th.  Most Japanese companies start business from today, but schools start on 10th.
It was very cold and we had a little snow here today. Generally we have one or two snowy days in a year in Osaka. On such a cold day, we have "Nabe" dish for dinner. We had "yosenabe" for dinner which is one of my favorite hot pots.

Nabe is the most popular and social Japanese food to eat during the winter. It's a hot pot full of all sorts of fish, meat and vegetables. It's served with a heater underneath it so that it bubbles and cooks at the table while you keep serving yourself and adding to the pot.

I'm sure Nabe is an ideal dish. Why??
The reasons are
 #1 Easy and simple: Preparation is very simple. Get various vegetables, tofu, meat, seafood as much as you like. Cut them and just boil them in a pot. You can eat them dipped in your favorite sauce, such as soy sauce with citrus juice or sesame sauce. Tasty!
#2 Delicious and Nutritious: After eating boiled ingredients, you can put boiled rice and eggs to make special porridge. Or you can put noodles. Both are really tasty and nutritious.
#3 Sense of Closeness: The last point is the most important. We strengthen our sense of unity through eating from the same pot.
Tasty, easy cooking and make unification. It's a perfect Japanese cuisine!

My Osechi!

These are today's shots.
This red three-tiered container is used only for this season to serve the Osechi dish. I bought it when I got married 28 years ago.

This is my Osechi.  In the top box, I put boiled shrimp and grilled yellow tail fish. In the second box, pink and white fish paste, sweet fried egg, cooked black beans, small fish, and kelp. And the bottom one includes various vegetables. And another container has vinegared dish of white radish, carrot and mackerel. They are all regarded as auspicious food in Japan.

Tomorrow we're going to have a New Year party. My two sisters' families will come to my house, so in total twelve people will join the party. They are looking forward to meet Rintaro.

Rintaro on his mother's back

A Happy New Year to you and your family!

Cook & Taste

Today's morning. Went to the grocery store and the supermarket to get something missing. There were already many people who came to buy for the preparation of the New Year.

decoration for the front door

Then, I felt I need a break to make a strategy for the Osechi Preparation. Osechi is a special dish for the New Year. And for me, to make Osechi special feast is a challenge once a year, so  I thought I should make a plan to do at first, including a coffee break, of course.

Then, I started to cook at last.
First make fish- base soup. Then mise en place, cut, cut, cut various vegetables and other auspicious and typical for the New Year's Day, simmer, simmer, simmer for each ingredient, not all together at once. I cooked each ingredient tasting how the seasoning was. COOK and TASTE repeatedly. Finally I became almost full and got lost with the taste. Anyway, I've made it half now.  After a little break, I 'll start cooking again.

cherry-blossom-shaped carrot

Tomorrow, the New Year's Eve, I'll pull out a three-storied special container for Osechi and put the feast into it with special care.(I try to do).  I'll post it later.

How do you plan to ring in the New Year? I'm going to hold a home party like every year. We'll drink a lot and have wild time. Hope you all have a nice time.

red berry at the kitchen window

Winter Solstice

Yuzu Japanese citrus

The Winter Solstice falls on December 22nd this year.It is marked by the shortest day and the longest night of the year.

In ancient times, people had difficulty finding enough food in cold winter because most plants died and many animals hibernated. And with shorter days, they could not fully enjoy the blessing of the sun, causing them to worry about their well-being. As a result, they began to perform rituals to encourage prosperity, which is the origin of the modern Midwinter traditions.

pumpkin cooked with soysauce, sugar and sake

At this time, many Japanese people take yuzu bath in an effort to stay healthy during the cold winter. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus rich in refreshing aroma. We put some yuzu in the bathtub and soak in hot water filled with rich aroma. I'd like to add one more thing. We have pumpkin dish on this day because it has vitamin A and carotene to protect against cold and cerebral problem. This is the Japanese custom on the Winter Solstice.

I'll bring this cooked pumpkin to the Cristmas party today.

Christmas Decorations

These are Christmas decorations I found today. Although most Japanese are not Christians ( only 1 % ), we love Christmas.  We hear Christmas songs in the shopping streets and see many Christmas decorations here and there.

 As for my mother who goes to the local nursery care center once a week for day service, she's also looking forward to the Christmas party held in there on Christmas Eve.

In Japan the most popular Christmas food today is not turkey (We have no turkey in the shop),but Kentucky Fried Chicken. And the unique custom is eating Christmas cake decorated gorgeously with Santa Claus. Gifts are given to children. Happy time for many people, especially for kids.

I'll go to my friend's home for Christmas party tomorrow. We'll enjoy Christmas dinner (probably special hotpot) and exchange presents each other.

Soon after Christmas, Japanese change the mood to prepare for the New Year. The busiest time of the year.

Instant Ramen Museum

Do you like instant noodles? Today I visited "Instant Ramen Museum" in Ikeda, next to my hometown.  On August 25, 1958, Momofuku Ando invented the world's first instant noodle product, "Chicken Ramen" in a small shack in the backyard of his house in Ikeda. He is the founder of Nissin Foods.

This is "Instant Noodles Tunnel."  Various types of the major Nissin products are displayed in a large volume.

 I am standing next to the giant Cup Noodle. Many elementary students came here as a school excursion to experience "My Cup Noodle Factory" where visitors can create their original, only "Cup Noodle" in the world. They can design the cup freely, choose the soup flavor, and add the ingredients they prefer. It is 300 yen.
There is also a tasting room where they can buy, make and eat various instant noodles.

According to the information, Mr. Ando loved his Chicken Ramen so much as to keep eating each day until a few days before he died. Such a ramen freak!

Visit my brand-new website.

Otori Danjiri Festival

Autumn festival has been held to express gratitude for the good harvest for a long time. Otori Danjiri
Festival is held in Sakai city, Osaka for a long time.
Danjiri means a float.Ten floats are pulled by people, mainly men, wearing the same happi coats. Each float is decorated with elaborate sculptures of historical war battle scenes and samurai.

In the precinct of Otori Shrine, a large number of stands make the festival more attractive.
I bought a shrimp-flavored cracker topped with sweet sauce and sunny-side up. The number of the egg is decided by picking a stick, on which some color is painted. I picked a yellow one. It means "one egg". It is a kind of lottery. One egg, two eggs or three. You can get a luck even when you buy something here.

Young girls look so cute with their hair in a fancy braid.

Both pulling people and onlookers look excited and enjoy the festival.

Season of Fruits

 Comfort. I took off all the bamboo curtains protecting against sunlight. Now I enjoy sunlight. Staying outside is comfortable this time of the season.
Autumn is good for many things. In Japan, there are various sayings about autumn... season for reading, season for sports, season for appetite (this means everything in this season tastes good!)
 The grocery stores are lined with a variety of fruits, such as grapes, Japanese pears, chestnuts, tangerines. My favorite one is persimmon.



 These are  photos I took in the country side called Nose. I found a persimmon tree heavy with fruit. I picked and ate some. Yummy!

Autumnal Equinox Day (Higan)

Today is the middle day of autumnal equinox week and a national holiday in Japan.

In the equinoctial weeks, they say spirits of ancestors return to this world. So special Buddhist services are held at the temples and people pay a visit to their ancestor's grave to offer flowers, incense and rice dumpling covered with bean jam called Ohagi.

There is a common Japanese saying "Summer heat or winter cold doesn't last after the equinox."
I hope real autumn finally arrived.