torakris

great blog hillvalley! please post the pictures!!

Sunday dinner: a handful of pistachios and some water, the kids had Mac and cheese we had a huge buffet lunch and wasn't really hungry......

word for 1/12 成人の日 seijin no hi (say-jean-noh-hee) Today is a national holiday in Japan called seijin no hi, this is the day that honors all of the people who turned 20 during the year (the "year" runs April to April). The age of 20 is considered adulthood in Japan and the youths are now able to smoke, drink and vote. Cities sponsor huge ceremonies and parents dish out incredible amounts of money fort eh "traditional" kimonos worn on the day. The average price on the girls outfit can run $5,000 to $10,000. A little bit more info (with pictures) http://japan.chez.tiscali.fr/Th-Index/E-Th-Seijinnohi.htm

They really use them in EVERYTHING! The most common sausage type in Japan are similar to what you see in American markets labeled cocktail sausages. here are some pictures (there are a couple of pages!) http://gourmet.yahoo.co.jp/bin/rsearch?p=%...%BB%A1%BC%A5%B8

No they don't play a part in traditional cuisine but they are a very big part of modern Japanese home cooking. I would estimate that over 85% of my neighbors have sausages in their refrigerators at this very moment. and they use them in many creative ways. Some Japanese companies are now making excellent sausages, Kamakura Ham for example is quite famous for their sausages and hams. http://www.kamakura-ham.co.jp/

I have to admit when I read this I wasn't sure what Irwin was talking about, fish sausages are very popular here, usually as snacks for kids but I thought they tasted horrible. They are usually sold at room temperature and have an incredibly long shelf life that is scares me to think of what they may contain. They are normally just referred to as sakana soseji (fish sausage) and I don't remember ever seeing one that specifically mentioned tuna so I did some searching and sure enough they are still available. here is one http://www002.upp.so-net.ne.jp/gyonikukan/...o/tanemono.html the tuna one is second from the bottom.

In the Nathan's Famous thread http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=34814 wesza said: I always was impressed with the many varieties of Sausages available that were actually made in Japan. They even had a excellent Hot Dog that was made from Tuna that was comparable to a Hebrew National Frank that was used as the model at the Japanese owned Factory located in Taiwan. It was amazing how similar in taste and texture they tasted to compared to the real thing. Wonder if they are still available. Irwin

This is one of my sore points. I hate to eat the same dish twice (unless it is really incerdible) so I find myself turning to recipes for ideas, sometimes following them and sometimes not. Because I rarely cook the same thing and I jump around the world in the cuisines that I cook I feel I don't have the basics (techniques, etc) for anything down yet. Because I don't have these basics down I keep turning to recipes to get the techniques and then find myself in a vicious circle. After 10 years of cooking I find I am still using recipes half of the time and I would like to get down to about 1/4, though I would still browse fro ideas. Another problem for me is that I am on a very tight food budget for 5 people, so I am scared to experiment because if I mess it up we could have nothing for dinner, calling out for pizza is not an option for us. So I feel I need to make everything work...... I have to admit I have improved over the last couple years, even just a couple years ago I was cooking about 85% from recipes often using up to 5 in just one night. My fallback cuisines are Italian and Japanese and these are what I turn to when I need a quick dinner made from what is in the refrigerator. I still can't even make a a meatloaf with out a recipe though......

Saturday Dinner: pork and garlic-onion sausages braised with sauerkraut potatoes and onions roasted with duck fat (I wated to cook these a little longer to get them more crunchy but the kids were starving ) garbanzo beans and carrots with a blue cheesse dressing (leftover from 2 nights ago) Russian black bread (homemade ) with lots of onion and caraway

Hey it is 10 in Yokohama too! Well that is 10 C (not F), so actually it is 50F and I thought it was cold...........

word for 1/11 シークヮーサー shiikwaasaa (shee-koo-wah-sah) This is the tiny citrus fruit from Okinawa, often written either shiquasa or shikwasa in English. Okinawan foods have been riding on a "boom" in mainland Japan recently and the shiquasa is showing up in supermarkets fresh as well as in candy and drink forms. A friend of mine (originally from Okinawa) grows shiquasa in her yard and often gives me some, they have more of a sour orange taste than any of the other Japanese sour citrus, it is a very unique flavor though. shiquasa: http://www.okinawa-bibi.net/tokuysu/shikwasa/

I am sort of wondering if they are counting on his popularity to help sell the hot dogs. Hot dogs aren't huge sellers here and are normally erserved for kids , a quick snack, or breakfast , they have been a staple of the McDonald's breakfast menu for some time now. Not too long ago they were offering them all day long, but that didn't seem to do well and they are back to only at breakfast again. A couple weeks ago I took the family to Odaiba and I had seen on the internet that one of the coffe shop style places had hot dogs and I told my 3 year old, who loves hotdogs, that I would get one for him. Well we get to the shop and they are no longer on the menu so we are wandering around a bit and I see this bright red neon sign in the shape of what I took to be a hotdog, I got excited and grabbed my son and with my two young daughjters trailing I start running to the shop, shouting to my husband " I found some, I found some". I get to the store and stop dead in my tracks, it wasn't a hot dog stand, it was a condom shop........... I had a hard time explaining that one to the kids.....

When my husband and I lived in Kihei we could live on the homemade versions of loco moco for days on end when money was tight... I still throw it together sometimes, but since canned gravy is not sold in Japan I make a version with teriyaki sauce and a slice of canned pineapple, it is a little "lighter" anyway. Loco moco is becoming popular in Japan and I have seen a bunch of "Hawaiin" restaurants popping up that are serving it.

December 18 saw the opening of the first Nathan's Famous shop in Japan. Now decent hotdogs are no farther than Harajuku. http://nathans.co.jp/top.html

Mayhaw man that sushi looks delicious!!

a picture of the regular honmirin (left) and the 3 year stuff (right)

must be such a disappointment after last night's gorgeous dinner.

This place looks like a good source for a nice mirin (Japan made and fermented over one year) in the US, and organic to boot: http://www.qualitynaturalfoods.com/recipes2.html this links to a nice article about mirin, then look at their product list under vinegars/mirin, the mirin they sell Mikawa mirin is a very reputable maker here in Japan.

found this on making mirin: http://www.geocities.co.jp/Foodpia/1751/mirin.html It uses the "sticky" rice (mochi rice) rather than brown though..... EDIT the same site has directions for making kouji as well as places in the US to order it: http://www.geocities.co.jp/Foodpia/1751/koji.html

I was going to post in this thread today (before gautum asked his question!) because yesterday I splurged on a nice bottle of 3 year old mirin and the difference is incredible! The color is almost a dark amber compared to a pale gold of regular hon-mirin and it really tastes so good it is almost drinkable. The ingredients list mochi rice, rice kouji and shouchu. I don't know too much about the process of making mirin but I will see what I can find out.

in a different thread v.gautum asked: Would you know of a way to homebrew a liter or three of mirin from brown rice? My very limited reading suugests that the rice is steamed and cultured with a specific koji, then grain alcohol is added somewhere in the process, and there is a fermentation which engenders the sweetness characteristic of mirin. Sake seems to be made of polished rice, with no additions of spirits. Hiroko shimbo wrote of some artisanal manufacturers of mirin, but one would suspect that their products are confined to Japan? Thanks much. gautam.

Friday dinner sanma (saury pike) simmered for over an hour so that the bones become soft and are able to be eaten. This was delicious beyond words.......... turnip pickles with yuzu and konbu (kelp), these are homemade turnip greens sauteed with miso, sugar and sesame oil, this is eaten like furikake shirasu (baby sardines) cooked with a little soy and mirin and a handful of sesame seeds, this also was eaten like furikake eryngii mushroom soup, kombu broth with soy and mirin for seasoning with green onions and white pepper Japanese rice

I looooove okra! You can do millions of things with it, you can eat it raw, blanch it, boil it, sautee it, stirfry it, braise it, deep-fry it, bake it, grill it...... Blanch it and mix it with some wasabi and soy sauce for a great accompaniment to rice, sautee it with some fresh tomatoes and corn splashed with tabasco, slice it raw and drop it into soup or natto! Skewer them and grill them at your next BBQ, or blanch them, mash them up with some ginger and serve them with cold blocks of tofu and tomatoes drizzled with a good soy.

word for 1/10 some more citrus from an earlier post すだち sudachi かぼす kabosu these are both small and green, sudachi being smaller, and are used mostly for their juice. Their season runs from late summer to the end of fall, but now in Japan can be found year round at gourmet markets. They are normally served like garnishes with dishes like grilled fish, grilled mushrooms. sashimi, etc to be squeezed over the top as you like. In season you will often see them used in place of vinegar in salad-y type dishes and it is quite popular to make ponzu with their juice to eat with nabes. here are pictures: http://www.marutani-21.co.jp/mikan/sudati-saidebook.htm sudachi is first, then scroll down to see kabosu

Thursday night: Chilli (with ground beef and pork and kidney beans) corn bread celery sticks (the last vegetable in the house) with a blue cheese and cream chees "dip" forgot yesterday Teeok (Korean mochi) sauteed wwith Chinese cabbage and octopus in a kochujang sauce steamed shumai nagaimo (mountain yam) grated and mixed with squid sashimi, ikura (salmon roe) and wasabi and soy