SuzySushi

Or shave ice maybe? ← Maybe... but it doesn't travel well , and IMO it's too similar to snow cones, which are available elsewhere. There's no equivalent of haupia!

Rice will keep well without freezing. Put in sealed plastic (we use special rice tubs) and make sure to seal airtight so bugs can't get in (we run a strip of package sealing tape around the edge of the lid just to make sure). We then store the tubs under our sofa. We've used rice that I've stored for more than a year without any noticeable difference in quality.

Dried shrimp you can snack on as is, but they're very salty. Most often, they're used in cooking. (Some recipes call for dried shrimp, or you can add a few to soup or sprinkle over cooked rice or noodles.)

Okay, I'll take a stab at it... I've never heard of konjac slices, but from the photos & descriptions on the grocer's website, they look kind of like potato chips. Just eat as-is out of the bag. Konjac (konnyaku in Japanese) is a taro-like root vegetable that has very few calories. I haven't a clue how these "fiber slices" taste! The squid is also meant to be snacked on as-is. It's dry and chewy. The Japanese like to eat it with drinks/beer because the salt makes them thirsty for more drinks/beer! The nori is small rectangles of teriyaki seasoned nori. I've bought this brand before, but can't recall whether it's individual packs or all in the same jar. Eat as-is or as a companion to rice -- you can make mini sushi handrolls by picking up a bit of rice and rolling it in a nori strip. All of the snacks should be kept airtight if you don't finish them in one sitting! (The only one I wouldn't finish in one sitting is the nori.) Enjoy!

We don't have a state dessert in Hawaii, but if we did, it would surely be haupia (coconut custard).

No... if you click the link in the original post, it's a mix of soybean powder + coagulant to make plain tofu. The package looks about the same as what was around in the early 1970s, when Japanese food wasn't popular outside Japan and fresh tofu was hard to find in stores. I used it then; would never use it now!

This just in on CNN's website: Sam's Club, Costco Limit Bulk Rice Purchases Story Highlights * U.S. rice futures hit record high * No shortage of rice in United States, USA Rice Federation says * Agriculture Department: Global crop of long, medium grain rice larger than ever Link A spokesman for the USA Rice Federation says the warehouse chains may be reacting as "small restaurants and bodega-type neighborhood stores may be purchasing rice in larger quantities than they do typically to avoid higher prices."

Are there food shortages, food rationing, or runs on ingredients where you are? This topic was inspired by this topic in the Japan forum. In recent weeks, spiking food prices have led to riots in Haiti, Indonesia, and several African nations. The other day, The New York Sun reported that Costco stores in California were rationing sales of rice to one 20-pound sack per customer [most of this Asian-style rice is grown in California], and that major retailers in New York were rationing sales of cooking oil and flour. Clicky Hawaii is super-sensitive to even the slightest whiff of shortages as we're an island chain, and everyone usually rushes out to stock up on household staples. I haven't checked my local Costco this week; as of last Saturday there was plenty of rice on the shelves. But this morning, the local Wal-Mart was completely out of 20-pound bags of rice. My local supermarket still had plenty in stock, on sale yet, for $8.99. Have you noticed any food shortages, food rationing, or runs on ingredients in your neck of the woods?

IMHO, powdered tofu is a poor substitute for the real thing. It's likely that any Japanese market carrying tofu powder will also carry fresh tofu or shelf-stable tofu packaged in aseptic boxes (like juice boxes).

Here's a link to an article from an Australian newspaper. "Starving" is quite a bit overstating it. Japan, like other nations, is facing higher prices for wheat and other international commodities. The costs of food (and of producing food) are going up, and certain foods (yes, like butter) are in short supply. The article goes on to say that Japan needs to take this as a warning to become more self-sufficient in producing its foodstuffs, instead of relying so much on imported foods for its increasingly "sophisticated" diet.

I'm not big on bars, but I'd suggest you forget price for a moment and go for a beachfront sunset view. Most of the hotels along the beach have a bar fronting the beach. No place is formal.

Not in Hawaii yet... Was it featured on an endcap, or was it in the regular spice aisle? I keep checking!

If you've had a serious allergic reaction to any food, you should get yourself tested by an allergist. Besides the skin tests for allergens, if you test negative, they can do a test where you actually eat a bit of the food you suspect you're allergic to while you're sitting in the doctor's office with someone watching you, Epi-pen at hand in case you have a bad reaction. But don't fool around with allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, or shellfish. They can prove fatal.

Pistachios. Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream. The other week, I went through an entire bag of some Indian snack mix (deep-fried vermicelli, legumes, peanuts, etc.) that was sweet-salty-and hot at the same time. Luckily, it's about an hour's drive to the Indian market!

Sounds like they left out the crucial step of browning the lamb after it was coated with spices. I have a Moroccan recipe for a lamb and apricot tagine and it's delicious.

Very interesting, this and the plastic bag sewable fabric. We already recycle plastic bags as garbage bags (our under-sink area is tall enough only for a large wastebasket, so the plastic bags from supermarkets work perfectly) and to pick up after the dog. On another message board, one mom reminded me of another use, to line snowboots (or serve as improvised ones) on wintery days. We've also used tome to protect casts & bandages during showers, but hope that won't become a regular use! Spurred on by this thread and the other, however, I picked up some of those humongous reusable shopping bags at Costco the other day. A threepack for a little over $3, and they're big enough and sturdy enough (Costco claims they'll hold 70 pounds, which I'll never get to find out as I can't carry 70 pounds) to hold club-sized packages. I also used mine the other day to transport a 13 x 9" baking pan to a potluck. For easy transport, they have both hand-handles and shoulder straps made of sturdy webbing, and I highly recommend them. It took me a couple of trips to remember, but they're now living in the trunk of the car.

I'm with you! My favorite spice is cinnamon, too. Must be the memories of my grandma's apple pies while growing up! Like you, I add it to both sweet and savory recipes (a little bit is great with beef). I also sprinkle cinnamon and Splenda on plain yogurt to top my morning cereal. It's nice sprinkled into coffee while brewing, too. And cilantro -- always fresh -- improves the taste of anything except dessert and coffee! Anyone who hates cilantro can send their excess to me!

I've been swooning with pleasure and jealousy over your holiday, delicious food photos, and descriptions. dancing bonito. That's it exactly... the word that has long eluded me for how to describe this phenomenon!

Chiming in from Hawaii, lamb is absent from most supermarket meat cases (there aren't really old-fashioned butcher shops here) except at Easter, when it's usually imported from Australia or New Zealand. I can find it at Costco or Sam's Club most of the year, also imported, but only as legs/boneless legs or occasionally $$$ racks. It's certainly declined in popularity from when I was a child in the 1950s and we ate lamb chops at least once every two weeks. They were fattier and gamier then, too. Save eGullet and a few friends, most people I speak to, both in real life and online, about lamb turn their noses up, either because they think it's too gamy, or because they picture cute fluffy baby sheep. They're generally the same people who freak out at the thought of eating rabbit.

Wonderful blog, Linda! Thank you so much! Love your wry humor and your photos of the neighborhood, which remind me of my old Jewish-Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn growing up (glad to see these stores still exist and haven't been taken over by McDonald's and Payless Shoes). And Ernie, of course, is adorable. My only experience with a parrot was a friend's bad-tempered African grey who would imitate the metallic trill of a ringing telephone to get her to come running into the room.

What a fun blog! I love the Empire State Building espresso cup. That has real character!

Not new at all. Back 25+ years ago, a Japanese friend made butter-yaki (teppanyaki with butter and soy sauce) when I was at her home for dinner. As I recall, it was beef.

Wonderful blog, and oh how sorry I am to see it end!!! But now I can catch up reading your other blog and become a faithful reader.... (And one of these days, I'll make it back to Japan. It's just a little harder with a husband and kid in tow!)

I've been enjoying your glorious photos, remembering the times we've visited Beaune. What part of the year did you visit? From the lightweight attire, it sure doesn't look like late February-early March.