torakris

Soft gobo is usually called shin-gobo (新ごぼう) in Japanese. This is new/young gobo, it is much softer, lighter in color, thinner and shorter than regular gobo. I have never seen leaves on it but a quick internet search shows they are popular in the Kansai (Osaka) region. I found this page that has a nice picture with leaves attached. Helen, I picked up some last week and cooked it tamago-toji style and the little bit leftover was turned in a kinpira for my daughters' bentos.

This is the kind of place where the kids might have more fun than the adults! In the same place are also Ice Cream City and Chou Cream Field (cream puff theme park!) I read though the reviews and they were all very positive including one woman who said her kids had a wonderful time. The only negative was from a person who went there during Golden Week (one of the 3 major Japanese holidays) and said it was so crowded they couldn't find a table. The weekends will definitely be crowded, my suggestion is to get there early(before 12) or plan to eat between 2 and 4. As someone who travels everywhere as a family of 5 I can tell you that trying to get a table for more than 4 people in these kinds of places can be difficult. There is a fee to enter 300yen per adult and 200yen per child. It sounds like a lot of fun and I might try to take my family there this summer.

I was hoping to go on Tuesday but it isn't going to work out, so I am hoping to make it on Thursday. I am looking forward to your reports!

I have never made a clam soup that wasn't cloudy.... This was my most recent one from about 10 days ago I never really thought about it until now but I am assuming the ones I have had in restaurants that are clear have been made by adding the already cooked shellfish to a clear broth. At home I will go for the one with a better taste.

Wow! If my mom had tried to prepare a rehearsal dinner for my wedding she probably would have been in a very similar situation. My mom is Italian, my dad is German and I married a Japanese man.... First off, I would skip anything really "Japanese" especially tastes that people might not be accustomed to. Miso soup doesn't go over really well with those who have never had it before. I would also avoid dishes like sushi rolls and tempura as they need too many ingredients, are very time consuming, not something you can do well on the first try and don't really keep well. Edamame are a wonderful suggestion, if you have a good grocer you may be able to pick them up fresh. If not frozen are almost just as good. These are incrediblely simple to prepare; boil in salted water, drain and then toss with some more salt. Just remind people that you aren't supposed to eat the pods! These can be prepard hours in advance and set out in small bowls around the eating area. I have yet to see even the pickiest eater turn their nose up at these. Just all around great nibble food. For a main dish I highly recommend this recipe from Epicurious: Grilled Salmon with a ponzu sauce and a Vegetable Slaw with Miso dressing I can't even count how many times I have made this for both Japanese guests in Japan and American friends and relatives in the states. Everyone loves it. It is close enough to teriyaki that most people are familiar with it and everyone loves salmon. The slaw is also a good way to introduce people to miso without scaring them away. It is also incredibly easy as the ponzu sauce can be made the day before and then all you have to do in grill the salmon. The recipe uses salmon fillets which is fine but I also sometimes use a whole side of salmon as it makes for a great presentation (it can be tricky turning though!). Let me give this some more thought and I will be back!

The price difference is typical, though not all places have it. I had an all you can eat yakiniku yesterday for lunch at 3,500 per person. This was the most expensive one I have had as we tend to go to places in the price range you showed. The difference is in the meat used. The one we went to yesterday had much better meat than the places that are cheaper. If you can eat a lot they can be a good deal and can also be a lot cheaper than the order by the plate style. Some of the cheaper places also have the meat set out buffet style, so you go and pick out exactly what you want and how much.

I feed a family of 5 (3 kids in the 5-10 age range) for between 40,000-50,000yen ($336 to $420 at today's exchange rate) a month. This includes rice and I make breakfast and dinner for 5 everyday and lunch for two adults (the kids eat at school during the week). I work really hard to pay this little by only shopping sales and often hitting 3 stores in one day to pick up the cheap items. I aim to have dinner for 5 under 1000yen ($8.40), though I allow myself to splurge once a week and go up to 1500. I have been keeping a monthly budget book for almost 11 years now and I know where every yen goes. I live in a much more urban area than Helen and thus have more competitive prices. I picked up chicken breasts 2 days ago at 32 yen ($.26) per 100g (about 1/4 lb). Vegetable prices were really bad in January and February but have started to come back down to normal. A month ago I wouldn't have been able to find a bunch of spinach for under 250 yen ($2.10) but on Monday it will be on sale for 78 yen ($.65) at a local store. From what I know of what my friends spend I would estimate the average monthly bill for a family of 4 in my neighborhood to be in the 70,000 to 80,000 range.

Done! Not sure why I didn't think of that.... I was trying to figure out out nira could be mistaken for shikora and I realized it was because I kept seeing the words in English. When you look at them in Japanese it is really obvious... しこら shikora にら nira

This is the homepage for the shop mentioned. I like sweet potatoes but am not quite willing to pay that much for them yet..

3/9: おにぎり　　おむすび onigiri omusubi rice balls Tarako and mentaiko are very popular fillings for onigiri and can be enjoyed in various ways. This site shows a couple tarako/mentaiko variations 4th row down #4 mentaiko and okra, #6 mentaiko and mayo 5th row down #3 yaki tarako, #4 tarako and mentaiko mix, #6 straight mentaiko The onigiri thread

3/8: 焼きたらこ　　焼き明太子 yaki tarako yaki mentaiko grilled tarako or mentaiko, this is much more common with tarako This is very simple to do at home with a net over a flame, but it can also be purchased already grilled. Yaki tarako can be eaten just like that but it can also be used in other dishes, most commonly onigiri and ochazuke.

from here Japanese now seem to have different opinions about whether to grill tarako. You will know what I mean by reading this blog (Japanese only). ← That is interesting! I always assumed they were both meant to be eaten raw and that grilling was just one option for when you got bored with it raw.

Hell yeah! I didn't start drinking coffee until I came to Japan either. The Japanese can do wonderful things to iced coffee. I use the Toddy cold brew system for most of my coffee now, it is more expensive than the carton stuff but I like it better. I do buy the carton stuff though for when I am having parties, etc Have you tried the coffee flavored milk that seems to be a favorite of most Japanese children?

Helen, how long do you think these would keep? My MIL often buys the flavored sesame seeds in the plastic jar and I have always found them to be pretty flavorless. I guess I could make my own...

Never even thought of it.... Please let us know how it turns out, this sounds very interesting!

3/7: たらこスパゲティ 明太子スパゲティ tarako spaghetti mentaiko spaghetti These are probably the most common of the Japanese style pasta sauces. There is quite a bit of discussion in the Japanese Pasta thread. mentaiko spaghetti You can even buy the sauce ready made in squeeze bottles and retort packs, like this one from Kewpie. They even have a (cute?) kewpie tarako mascot...

3/6: 明太子　めんたいこ Mentaiko is a Japanese delicacy made from the roe of the pollock fish marinated in chilli. It is a famous product of Fukuoka City. Mentaiko originated in Korea and was brought to Japan after Japanese colonies in Korea were repatriated after WW2. The name is derived from the Korean word for cod 明太 (mentai/myong tae) and the Japanese word for child 子(ko). It is also known as Karashi Mentaiko 辛子明太子. from here EDIT OOPS! forgot to include the mouthwatering picture. click

You will probably learn about this in time... The ren'youkei + たら (tara) is one of several conditional forms, translated as "if" or "when". Besides its conditional function, it is often used to describe an assumption, usually referring to a specific situation, or to an action which has been completed. much more here najimu would be like the more fmiliar verb nomu (to drink) when conjugating to the past tense. nomu becomes nonda and najimu becomes najinda, so when you want to express something in the conditional form of tara they become nondara and najindara.

sakura castella This was a supermarket version and was ok tasting but on the dry side, also the salted cherry blossom on top made the parts of the cake it touched so unbearably salty you couldn't eat it.

Can you tell I love sakura flavored food? Yesterday I found sakura castella! The cake part was ok (a little dry) but the salted cherry blossom on top left the parts that it touched so salty that you couldn't eat it...

Chives and nira are both relatives in the onion family. Here is some good information about them.

Wow! You did really good! najindara is from the verb najimu, I would probably translate 充分になじんだら中火にかけ as 'Once it is thoroughly mixed turn on the heat to medium.' I ouldn't think of a good way to describe najimu especially when it comes to cooking, here is how dictionary defines it. also you will see しんなりするまで quite a bit in recipes, depending on the food you might translate it as 'until it wilts' or 'until it softens'

New (I think) to the All Raisin series All Apple these were really good, but I love anything they put out....

Picked up these yesterday Ceasar Salad flavored chips, they weren't half bad and the kids really loved them.

I too had never heard of this and tried searching online thinking maybe it was a regional term, but no luck. I even tried various spellings... you say it was garlicky? how about ninniku no me? often translated as garlic sprouts or garlic stems. It sounds to me like either this or nira (that Hiroyuki posted a link to).