Hiroyuki

Could you be more specific?? You make onigiri the night before you bring them to school?

Thanks for all of your photos. Anyone can now clearly see how "Kitty-geeky" you are. Seriously, the custom of excess packaging is deep-rooted in Japan. There are two type of excess packaging, pre-sale and post-sale. As for the latter, I think we are going in the right direction - simple packaging. As for the former, things are rather complicated. Many confections require individual packaging for sanitation and oxidization prevention, and like many Japanese, I opt for individually packaged confections if I'm expecting a guest, just to show courtesy to the guest. But all in all, there is one BIG problem: The Japanese are overly obsessive about sanitation!

I looked at the photos of your kitchen again, which you posted in your latest foodblog, and I wondered if you could move the microwave (and the toaster oven on top of it) somewhere else to get more preparation space. Just to console you , your kitchen is bigger than the one in my resort condo. (Not a good shot, taken not by me but by my son, probably on the day we moved to our new house) And, these are just a few of the improvements that I made to the kitchen. I guess you know the TV program called Daikaizo!! Gekiteki Before After. I liked to watch it. I was usually amazed at how small, cramped houses turned into cozy little ones with some clever ideas. But I'm sure that even if you don't rely on a "house reform" company, you can turn your kitchen into a comfortable and efficient one. I'm also sure that your problem will be solved much easier if you can get your husband (and sons) involved.

Shark fin? The texture is completely different...

Thanks for your interesting story, nuppe. (You don't necessarily have to answer just because I asked. ) And, you don't necessarily have to try hanpen. Here are some photos of hanpen: http://www.rakuten.co.jp/edo-noren/708327/708328/ Some like it, while others don't. That's all. Here are instructions on making hanpen (sorry, Japanese only) http://www.ajiwai.com/otoko/make/hanpen.htm Wikipedia entry of hanpen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanpen

I was meant to ask, "Where did you get that idea?" I LIKE kamaboko and all other surimi-based fish products, except hanpen .

Why don't you go to a river, swamp, and so on to find it? Any suggestions, Helen?

Of course, it does! Access the above and get a translator to translate it: http://www.ffortune.net/life/food/fish/kamaboko.htm One more thing: Origin of the word chikuwa Self-explanatory. Chiku (bamboo) + wa (ring, circle), 竹輪 in Kanji. The site above says that kamaboko on a wooden board was invented in the Muromachi period, and came to be called kamaboko. Kamaboko in its original form came to be called chikuwa. The steamed type (not the grilled type) seems to have come into existence in the Edo period.

Here is a photo of my cherry tomatoes, some of which were split: I posted this and another photo here.

Summer will soon be over, and I feel so sad about it. This summer, we have had incredible amounts of tsuru murasaki and cherry tomatoes almost every day and also about this amount of mulukhiya every two or three days. Closeup of cherry tomatoes, some of which were split because of the heavy rainfall the day before yesterday

I think you mean 白い恋人 http://www.shiroikoibito.ishiya.co.jp/, not 雪の恋人 http://palmyamcha.hkisl.net/archives/000218.html This blogger says that 雪の恋人 is a copy of 白い恋人 and it's made in Hong Kong. And, yes. I have had 白い恋人 many times. It's a very popular gift, and I've never bought it myself. I like 白い恋人, but I like branchure even more because it's so cheap. The package I showed in my previous post, which contains 12 branchures and 12 alforts, is only 298 yen!

I know that corn on the cob is flavorful and sweet, but canned corn is not. It just adds color and texture to the dish.

When I was struggling with my super-mini kitchen up until one year ago, I made it a point to watch the TV program section in which Kondo Noriko appeared as a "shuunou no tatsujin" ("expert on storage"?). I learned a lot about kitchen improvements from her, many of which used items available from the 100-yen shop. She now has published a number of books, including this one. If I were you, I would start disposing of all the unnecessary kitchen items first.

I don't have a problem with that aspect of BSCB at all. I like playing with sauces, and while I've gotten over those college-dining-hall encounters with tofu that left me scarred for life (or nearly so), I still prefer the texture and mouthfeel of chicken to that of tofu. And besides, if you get good ones, they are fine grilled with just a little salt or seasoned salt or rosemary. Dark meat does have more character, though. It's exactly the reverse in the US. Chicken breasts are three to four times as expensive as thighs. Oddly enough, chicken wings--the least meaty part of the bird--have gotten to the point where they are closing in on breasts in price, thanks to the popularity of Buffalo wings. ← Thanks for your comment about Baffalo wings. I didn't know anything about them! In Japan, we have tebasaki, which originated in Nagoya. Sorry for getting off-topic.

Hi, nuppe, how have you been? I googled "history of kamaboko" (in Japanese, of course), but found no interesting information other than that that you already described in your first post. Just one piece of information that may interest you: November 15 (11/15 in Japanese, which is similar to year 1115, when the feast was held) is now Kamaboko Day. (I didn't know that!)

After I read this post, I went out to check my cherry tomato plants and found there were a lot of split cherry tomatoes . This is definitely due to yesterday's heavy rainfall, but I hadn't expected that it would cause such damage to the cherry tomatoes...

I'm afraid that you're mistaken. Hellman's Mayonnaise is in fact the only decent mayonnaise available in Japan. Kewpie has the advantage that you can leave it out at room temperature and it won't go bad, but that simply proves that it's not real mayonnaise. ← I'm afraid that I'm not mistaken! I just stated my opinion, that's all. As for Kewpie mayo, I checked the package and found that it needs refrigeration once it's opened. Believe it not, it contains no coloring agents or preservatives.

You mean all three in the same dish??????? Thats's a new one on me!!!! ← jkonick: Did you actually see such a sandwich? Or, are you referring to a sandwich like natto coffee jelly sandwich? http://members.at.infoseek.co.jp/rimssecret/nattou.htm (I don't think this contains mayo, though.) SuzySuhi: I can assure you that coffee jelly-natto-mayo sandwiches look wierd to most Japanese!

This is a little off-topic, but Japanese mayo is a great improvement on the original.

I finally got around to taking photos of two of my favoriates. Alfort (sp?) and branchure (sp?) of Bourbon Package (special package containing both): Alfort (left): A combination of chocolate and whole-grain buiscuit Branchure (right): White chocolate sandwiched by langue de chat cookies They are both quite good considering the prices. I highly recommend them!

Helen: I thought that all mints were pest-free! Anyway, my mint is pest-free. TogoRad: Sorry to hear about your tomatoes. People here in my rural city often use plastic covers to keep out rain.

I like them! They are tasty and cheap! In Japan, chicken breasts are aroud 30-40 yen per 100 g, while thighs are about twice as expensive.

I've never eaten them myself, but some Japanese like them. Here is a photo of tuna's eye: http://oyamadarina.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/menu/1_1.html Appetizing? By the way, the fat in the orbit of the eye contains the most DHA of all tuna tissues.

Talking of beer, do you guys realize that an increasing number of Japanese drink more happoshu (low-malt beer) and third beer than beer in their homes?

Actually, our organic food mart does not carry pork, just beef and chicken. I must also admit, the recipe I used for the seasoning measurements was from a very gifted 14 year old from Texas. Next time around, I will try pork and a little less sugar. ← I made niku-jaga for supper tonight. Ingredients are PORK , 1 carrot, 2 large onions, and 2 potatoes. My preference: More onions than in regular recipes, about twice as many. Needless to say, like any other nimono, niku-jaga tastes much better the next day.