eG Foodblog: Torakris in the Heartland - Fast Food to Fine Dining

[torakris]

Tuesday lunch:

egg salad sandwiches, Thompson seedless grapes and a glass of water.

Pictures will come later along with pictures of the garden as we are about to head to the water park at Geauga Lake amusement park.

[MelissaH]

Oh, that's my favorite food magazine.. I have every issue from 1999 till now, and I still use every copy on a regular basis. Lots of seasonal recipes, and the most important thing is that every recipe really works!

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Good! I had never read this before, but I paged through every food magazine on the rack (and there were a lot of them) and that was the one that looked the best.

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We picked up this magazine regularly for a while, also. The only place we could find it was the nearest Borders (for us, in Akron). Fortunately, that store was very close to the monthly meeting of my husband's homebrew club, for which I served as chauffeur. Finally, my MIL figured out how to get a subscription, which we kept for a few years, especially after we moved to CNY and were an ugly hour's drive from a Borders. When I learned how expensive it was (and the subscription only saved the cost of driving) I let it go. I still miss it, because it's a very different view of food than the US magazines. (It also gave us hours of fun, trying to figure out which varieties of fruits and vegetables here were equivalent to the ones listed!)

I'm sure there's a Chuck E. Cheese around here somewhere, but I've somehow never managed to find it. I think it was in seventh grade that I went into one for the first time, when a friend had a birthday party there. We all waited in line for the Skee-Ball machines!

MelissaH

[handmc]

Kristin:

Are you going to take the kids to Cedar Point?

They have great wings at the boathouse restaurant. Some of the best junk food and roller coasters ever. They would love it.

[Abra]

Even though I'm late, I'm glad to see you blogging again, Kris. I have to say that your Japan meals look a zillion times better to me than your US meals, but it's fascinating as a comparison. I lived in Columbus for a few (miserable) years, and the CAM store there was my foodie salvation.

Pocky, the new universal language.

[Jason Perlow]

I made a quick run up to Beachwood Place (local mall) to tell my sister what bras I wanted, she works at Victoria's Secret and buys stuff for me with her 40% discount.

Photos?

[torakris]

Kristin:

Are you going to take the kids to Cedar Point?

They have great wings at the boathouse restaurant. Some of the best junk food and roller coasters ever. They would love it.

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I love Cedar Point and went every year as a child, I love roller coasters and Cedar Point has some of the best. Geauga Lake (previously Six Flags and then a combo of Geauga Lake/Sea World before that) is only 30 minutes away and has more things the little kids can ride. My aunt buys us season passes, so we go for just a couple hours at a time. Today we spent 3 hours in the water park...

No plans for Cedar Point this year.

[torakris]

I made a quick run up to Beachwood Place (local mall) to tell my sister what bras I wanted, she works at Victoria's Secret and buys stuff for me with her 40% discount.

Photos?

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All of the bras can be found on their website, victoriasecret.com

[torakris]

I have to share this computer with about 15 people....

I am just getting the pictures up

lunch: egg salad sandwich with green olives on wheat

[torakris]

Tuesday dinner (6 adults 7 kids)

paella!

roasted cauliflower ala Jim Dixon (it was a purple cauliflower not burned)

wow that did not photograph well, it looked much better and it tasted great.

tomato and basil salad

[torakris]

My dad's garden

various vegetables and herbs in the planters with two rows of raspberries in the back, this goes on for about 20 feet.

random garden shot

2 of about 8 zucchini plants

beans

broccoli, swiss chards line the insides of the boxes and onions are in the outer part, we ate a lot of swiss chard last week

horseradish

tomatoes still have a way to go

onions being dried

[tejon]

Now that's a truly glorious garden. Do your parents use all the produce that is grown there, or it is shared with others or dried/frozen/preserved for the rest of the year?

[torakris]

Now that's a truly glorious garden. Do your parents use all the produce that is grown there, or it is shared with others or dried/frozen/preserved for the rest of the year?

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The only thing my dad pickles is the zucchini, the rest is eaten by my parents and siblings. my brother was in from North of Pittsburgh last week and left with a trunk full of onions..

[Susan in FL]

That is a crazy good-looking garden!

[helenjp]

THAT is a garden! So why is your father so devoted to containers? Saving on fertilizers/compost and watering??? Quick turn-around between seasons?

[torakris]

THAT is a garden! So why is your father so devoted to containers? Saving on fertilizers/compost and watering??? Quick turn-around between seasons?

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Good question and I have no idea, I will have to ask my father when he wakes up. He never did planters when we were kids, it was just the big part in the back, the planters have come up little by little over the recent years.

[torakris]

My nephew Jake (age 12) made brownies for dessert, so I had one...

.... a big one

I am now drinking a diet Black cherry vanilla coke, because it was in the house.

[Hiroyuki]

THAT is a garden! So why is your father so devoted to containers? Saving on fertilizers/compost and watering??? Quick turn-around between seasons?

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Good question and I have no idea, I will have to ask my father when he wakes up. He never did planters when we were kids, it was just the big part in the back, the planters have come up little by little over the recent years.

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Another question: How many hours a day does your father spend on gardening? Is he retired now? I wonder if he would like to talk to us gardeners in person...

I agree with Helen! What a garden!

[torakris]

THAT is a garden! So why is your father so devoted to containers? Saving on fertilizers/compost and watering??? Quick turn-around between seasons?

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Good question and I have no idea, I will have to ask my father when he wakes up. He never did planters when we were kids, it was just the big part in the back, the planters have come up little by little over the recent years.

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Another question: How many hours a day does your father spend on gardening? Is he retired now? I wonder if he would like to talk to us gardeners in person...

I agree with Helen! What a garden!

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My father (67) is retired as of this year. He puts in a couple hours a day, mostly in the morning.

He will be glad to know everyone is impressed with it, I thought it was a little scraggly compared to years past. Also in the past he used to try to grow a lot of new and different things, he seems to be sticking to the basics recently. I did bring him some seeds from Japan like mizuna, komatsuna, edamame, etc that he can try next summer.

[chardgirl]

THAT is a garden! So why is your father so devoted to containers? Saving on fertilizers/compost and watering??? Quick turn-around between seasons?

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While we wait for Kristin to queue up for the computer she's sharing (or maybe she's getting a good night's sleep!) I'm going to guess that the containers are a gopher proofing.

cg

[Swisskaese]

I have never heard of nor seen a purple cauliflower. Where do they come from?

Do they taste any different?

[bethpageblack]

Interesting -- do your kids speak English with a Japanese accent?  Also, if there is no accent in their English, do they speak Japanese with an American accent? 

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No they don't really speak English with a Japanese accent, but when they speak you can tell it isn't their native language. My oldest speaks the best probably because it was the only language we spoke at home until she was 5. Once my second daughter started preschool at the age of 3 the conversation between them turned to Japanese. By the time my son was born he heard more Japanese than English. The level of bilungualism is going to be dependant on many things. My husband is Japanese and isn't really very good at speaking English so we decided that we should each use our native language around the kids so they wouldn't pick up on our mistakes. My friends who have the best success with true bilingualism are those that have only one child or siblings spaced quite far apart and with two parents who can converse fluently in the language used in the home.

If we were ever able to spend a year here, I really think my kids could get up to speed as I even notice a huge change in just one month.

Their Japanese is native sounding with no accent what so ever.

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Thanks for the insight, Kris. Forgive me for sounding peculiar, but I have a sort of worry that my kids won't have command of the English language if they're raised in Asia. It's not a huge concern for me, but I would obviously prefer that they have command of both languages. My future wife is bilingual and has command of both Chinese and English, and I speak mainly English. I'm not really worried about the Chinese aspect, but the English aspect worries me a little. However, your post has me less worried. Thanks very much.

One more question -- your kids, what kind of food do they prefer? I'm sure they eat more Japanese food in Japan. Do they have cravings for American food in Japan, and vice versa -- do they have cravings for Japanese food in Cleveland? Thanks.

[torakris]

Breakfast time, I didn't bother taking a picture because you have seen it all before. Lenders blueberry bagel with some spread from a tub and a cup of (hot) instant coffee with 1/2 a pack of sweet and low and some 2% milk.

I am really lazy when it comes to breakfast, both at home and here. I just don't like to eat in the mornings, I really don't get an appetite until noon...

[torakris]

One more question -- your kids, what kind of food do they prefer?  I'm sure they eat more Japanese food in Japan.  Do they have cravings for American food in Japan, and vice versa -- do they have cravings for Japanese food in Cleveland?  Thanks.

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I just asked my kids which they preferred and they just stared at me like they didn't understand the question.. I don't think they separate their food into categories like that. So then I asked what their favorite food was:

Mia (10) steak and mashed potatoes

Julia (8) mapodofu (Chinese tofu dish)

Hide (5) shumai (Chinese dumplings), curry rice, and kabocha (Japanese squash)

I usually make a mish mash of everything at home so I really don't think they get cravings for American food and since we are only here a month I don't think they really have a chance to miss the Japanese food.

We did go to a Japanese place our first week here and they both squealed in delight when they saw as ushi platter on the menu and they both devoured it...

[torakris]

I have never heard of nor seen a purple cauliflower. Where do they come from?

Do they taste any different?

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I am not really sure it was the first time I have ever eaten it, it tasted no different that regular cauliflower. My nephew told me it was stained with beet juice, but you would think it would leave a beet-y flavot then. Anyone?

[torakris]

Back to the garden,

I asked my dad about the hours he spend there and he replied, "oh, not too many. About 3 or 4"

Sounds like a lot to me...

The planters he said are to give him more space, he doesn't want to dig into the rest of the backyard.