Cooking at home

My father was a very good cook and I have many memories of him cooking and baking. Yes, baking! He made great scones, cakes, biscuits (cookies), pies, etc.

But one thing I had almost forgotten is that he rarely used pre-packaged foods or seasonings. I guess one reason is that there were not so many choices 30 years ago, and another was that my father had more time to cook.

I've been trying to make more of my own foods from scratch. (That is, from the beginning.) Here are some examples:








Gyoza dumplings and scones. Actually, I bought the gyoza wraps (kawa) so I didn't make them 'from scratch'! ;)








Simple pizza plus a cinnamon brown sugar bun made with the left-over pizza dough. I divided the topping into thirds - 1/3 was tomato paste, fresh basil and mozarella cheese; next tomoato paste onions, eggplant, anchovies and cheese; last tomato paste lotus root (renkon) and cheese. Lotus root is really delicious on pizza!


Pumpkin muffins cooked in the barbeque. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I've also cooked bread in the BBQ because mine has a lid so it becomes like an oven.




And lastly, I bought chicken bones from Marugen Meat to make my own chicken stock. The chicken is brand name chicken from Iwate and tastes great! I didn't add any salt or other seasonings, but put in one large onion and half a carrot. I simmered it for about 1 hour, skimmed the skum (aku) off the top, let it cool, then put it in the freezer.

This stock tastes WONDERFUL and was so cheap! I bought two chicken carcasses (gara) at 157 yen each. The onion was grown by my mother-in-law and the carrot was from Polan. Now I have about 2 liters of stock in my freezer to use for soups, curries, etc.

What do you drink?

What do you usually drink? For the past 3 months or so I have only been drinking:

1. water

2. tea/coffee (tea is English/barley/green/herb) (coffee is Starbucks beans)

3. milk

4. wine (1/4 glass about once a week!)

5. aojiru (kale/barley grass)



Now I never buy juice from the supermarket or any kind of soda drinks. I decided they are unhealthy and too expensive. Yes, I know pure orange juice seems healthy, but how can it be kept in a carton for two or three weeks and not go bad? Hmmm, I wonder what 'pure' OJ really is??? Anyway, eating a whole orange is cheaper and better - you get lots of fiber too! :)



My other decision was to only buy expensive milk. There are so many news stories about the strange foods and medicines that farmers give cows! And I also want to know how milk can be kept in a carton for over two weeks?



I buy just three brands of milk, and they all must be drunk within a week. The carton on the left is un-homogenised milk from the POD shop. The middle one is the best choice but the most expensive (almost 400 yen/1 liter) - organic milk from the supermarket in Lala Garden. The one on the right is also un-homogenised from Kasumi supermarket and costs about the same as the POD/POLAN at just under 300 yen. They all taste really nice.



Hah, hah, the money I save on not buying juices or sodas is being spent on milk instead ...



Oh, and by the way, please be careful not to say 'juice' when you mean other kinds of soft drinks like soda. 'Juice' is only the juice of fruits and vegetables. Cola isn't juice!

Tea at G-clef

This season G-clef cafe has a wonderful dessert - kind of like a soft pudding with caramel sauce. I went there for their delicious curry but couldn't resist having sweets afterwards.

'Sweets' is the British (and Australian) way to say 'dessert'. Nowadays my English is more international so I tend to use words that are common in many countries. 'Dessert' is a word that can be understood where ever you go, but I am guessing that Americans and Canadians don't know or use the word 'sweets'.

Well, I had English tea in a bone china tea cup so my brain was thinking in British English!

Injured

Last week my arm was injured. The muscle around my elbow suddenly began to hurt and then one night I could feel a nerve pinching in my inner arm. My whole arm, hand and two fingers hurt so much I couldn't sleep.

I rarely go to the hospital but I decided that I should have my arm checked in an orthopedic clinic, so I went to a large hospital in Tsukuba. What a waste of time! The doctor only spoke to me for 2 minutes, made me have an X-ray, then said there was no problem!!!

I was SO angry! I cancelled classes for the whole morning and wasted 3 hours at the hospital but the doctor didn't explain why my arm hurt or give me any advice. I couldn't use my arm - not to drive, use the computer or even write ...

That afternoon I went to my regular massage clinic in Takezono. The therapist was so kind and carefully checked both of my arms. He explained why my arm hurt, gave me a massage, showed me some stretches and even told me how I should sleep so that my arm would be comfortable.

I really wish doctors would consider patients' feelings. Maybe some people do go to the hospital to waste time and are not really sick. But I go to the hospital only when my condition is serious - so I expect the doctors will help me get better. When I left the hospital this time, I felt worse than before I went yet I still had to pay!

Photos of the week

A sunset and a praying mantis ...

Cobweb after the rain.

Gold!

Wow, look I'm rich! I have a gold coffee filter :)

Actually, the filter is gold mesh and it was a little expensive at 5,000yen. So why did I buy it? Two reasons:

1. Coffee tastes much better made with a gold filter. If you use a paper filter, the coffee oil is soaked up by the filter and doesn't remain in the coffee. In addition, I don't know how the paper filters are made. Bleached ones have chemicals in the paper and even brown ones have been made somehow in a factory. I worry about the manufacturing process of paper filters.

2. I can keep the gold filter forever! This means that in about 2 years I will break even on my purchase. (I calculated that buying paper filters for 2 years = 5,000yen). And how many trees can I save? :)

Fabulous food

Lately I've been trying to make most of our food, rather than buy it. That means I don't buy any pre-prepared food from supermarkets etc. Sometimes cooking is troublesome, but here are some of my efforts:


Healthy Croquettes
I don't like fried food so much, so these are a special treat. Inside is SUPER healthy - mashed pumpkin and kibi (millet). First I simmered the millet in vegetable stock then mashed it with the pumpkin. If you don't know what millet is, it is very small seeds that look like bird food! You can buy it at health food shops or some vegetable stores.

Chinese Dumplings

I used 'gyoza' wrappings from the supermarket but made my own filling. I minced a chicken breast fillet with nira, negi onions, carrot, garlic and a red chilli pepper. Very healthy! The ones in the half moon shape were lightly fried in a little olive oil, and the star shaped ones were boiled in chicken soup.

Scones

I often make scones rather than eating bread from a bakery. These ones are flavored with yuzu citron jam.

Silent again

Sorry, once again I didn't post for a few weeks ...

No reason in particular - I was just being lazy! This summer vacation I decided to do as little work on the computer as possible. I wanted to have a true break in the holidays, so I just watched TV (high school baseball), read books, cleaned the house, did gardening, went shopping, etc.

But it was surprising how fast one week of 'doing nothing' flew by so quickly! And because of my laziness two weeks ago, last week I had to catch up on some paperwork :(

Photos of the week

A tiny baby lizard - there are many small lizards in my garden. I don't know what kind they are but they are really cute! This one is the smallest I've seen.





A stick insect - crawling up the window frame on my veranda. It didn't move even when I opened the door. Then again, it's defence is camouflage so remaining still could save its life. The foolish thing was that the background was white so I could see it perfectly well!







The sky after the typhoon - clouds after a typhoon are often beautiful, and then it becomes fine and hot.






A passionfruit - easily my third favorite food after apricots and mushrooms. This one is organic and I got it from the Kiva/Pod shop on Gakuen-sen.

Wonderful chocolate

Nowadays I only buy the best quality of any kind of food or drink. This is especially important when it comes to 'unhealthy' foods that are a treat. If what you buy is SO expensive but VERY delicious, you only need a tiny amount to satisfy your cravings.

So here is my answer to chocolate desires ...

http://www.pierremarcolini.jp/index.htm

Pierre Marcolini is one of the world's best chocolatiers and his creations are superb! They should be too, because one tiny square of chocolate is about 300yen! In this picture you can see a box of plain chocolates (75% cocoa) from various regions in the world, and two flavored chocolates that I bought seperately.

Next time you are in Ginza, or at Haneda Airport, drop buy and pick some up. Or if you are really enthusiastic, you can order online.

A day in Tokyo

Have you ever lived in Tokyo? I lived there 6 years ago, in Arakawa which is an old 'downtown' area. I loved the convenience of being able to walk everywhere or to use the subway or train system. Tokyo air mightn't be clean but walking and all of those stairs is certainly healthy! I miss Arakawa and wouldn't mind living there again some day.

But these days I rarely go to the metropolis. Of course the Tsukuba Express has brought Tokyo that much closer in terms of time and effort, but I just don't have any reason to go! I only go about twice a year and then only because of business or passing through on my way to Haneda Airport.

Last Friday I managed to arrange my schedule so that I could go to Tokyo on a weekday for some business errands. I finished up quite early and then had the rest of the day to wander about. Japanese have an affectionate term for wandering around in various parts of Tokyo - well I did 'Ginbura' (Ginza de fura fura suru???) Actually, it wasn't so interesting and it was VERY hot! Worse still, lunch was awful. After going to the one store that I purposely went to Ginza for, I went back to Tokyo Station and to Maruzen Bookstore.

I wonder if there is a word for aimlessly spending time in a bookshop? 'Honbura' perhaps? :)

A great haircut

Last Friday I decided to have a haircut. One problem with short hair is that it needs to be cut every month to six weeks.

I decided to try a new salon because while I wasn't unhappy with my old one, I wasn't so happy either! The old place has good service, the price is good, hair colors are good BUT I wasn't satisfied with my hairstyle. I really want a haircut that looks good and is easy to take care of.

Anyway, H recommended 'Earth' salon in Ninomiya. This is a chain salon that has been around for about 20 years. I used to pass the original Earth in Aoyama (Tokyo) quite often, so when a salon opened in Tsukuba I was familiar with the name.

To be honest, I am not overly fond of chain stores or salons. Sometimes they are good because they offer a certain quality of service - kind of like a franchise, but that also means that the staff mightn't have much interest in the business. After all, they are just workers not owners. It means they can leave and find new jobs very easily. I HATE when you find a place you like but the staff keep changing!

Well I decided to go to Earth just once to see what it was like and to have the same stylist H has. The guy's name is Shimizu-san and certainly he looks the part of a hair stylist. Very fashionable and quite handsome! But most of all, he is a truly professional stylist and cut my hair superbly. I walked out of the salon the happiest I have been about my hair in many years!

Earth is a little expensive and I don't like that you have to wait for a long time. I suppose that is typical of many busy salons. Despite that, I think I will continue to go there because a good haircut is worth waiting for!

PS. If you do go to Earth, please say that I recommended Shimizu-san. I think anyone is really pleased when they find out they made one customer so happy that he/she tells others about it. Recommending somewhere to friends is the biggest 'thanks' you can ever give a business!

Free trade gone crazy!

I don't usually write about political issues but today I was angered by something I read in the newspaper.

First of all, please go read the story at the Daily Yomiuri or Yomiuri Shimbun websites:

English
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20060803TDY01004.htm

Japanese
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20060802it04.htm

If you cannot read the links, see the bottom of this post for the basic details.


This is TOTALLY unbelievable! I'm sorry to say so, but the US companies/government departments involved in this issue are so SELFISH! I am really, really tired of such things. They are just being bullies {bully} and using their power to get money.

WHY does JR East have to allow international bidding but the USA and France refuse such projects? That is just hypocritical. If it must be allowed in Japan, it should be allowed in other countries too!

The USA forced Japan to accept American beef imports. I don't care about that because customers can decide if they want to eat US beef or not. In the end, each consumer must decide for themself. BUT the Tokyo Station problem is not our choice!

I am angry because the money for rebuilding Tokyo Station should stay in Japan. Japanese people need jobs and Japanese companies need to support the health insurance and pension systems. I am very angry about paying for domestic services (train fares) but the money will go out of this country.

Please don't think I am only attacking America because it is not true. I would be equally as angry if the money went to Australia!!!

*****

* U.S. complaints to the government have forced East Japan Railway Co. to include non-Japanese construction companies in the bidding for a 50 billion yen project to restore Tokyo Station to its original 1914 design, when the station opened.

* The U.S. companies argued the project was initiated by JR East, which is on a list of companies subject to competitive open bidding under the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).

* JR East claimed that since its privatization, it was no longer a government organization and, to avoid conflict, has reluctantly invited non-Japanese builders to bid for the project.

* The GPA was designed to allow foreign firms to compete for public works projects over a specified size.

* Since JR East has already been completely privatized, the government feels the railway operator should have been removed from the GPA list.

* The agreement has a clause that exempts projects related to transportation that may affect public safety

* The government says that it is unfair that France's SNCF railway operator and Amtrak of the United States, over which the French and U.S. governments have significant influence, are not included in the GPA list.

Thinking of the environment

These days I am trying to think about the environment and my own health more. I am worried that I am using too many chemicals.

One thing I've done is to stop buying various cleaners and just buy big bottles of good quality dish washing detergent. It can be use for everything! For example:

- washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Just use hot water and detergent, you don't need strong cleaners. If you put some baking soda (= bicarbonate of soda = jusou) on the sponge, you have a gentle but effective cream cleanser. This is wonderful for cleaning china, making glasses shiny and cleaning the cooktop without scratching it. And baking soda has the effect of making more bubbles, so you need less detergent.

- cleaning the bathroom. I don't want to take a bath after I have used a strong bathroom cleaner. They smell and even if you rinse the bath carefully, I am sure some chemicals remain. Dish washing detergent is just as effective and much safer!

- removing stains from clothes. If you have a new stain on your clothes (curry, tomato sauce, etc) put a little dish washing detergent directly on the stain before adding the garment to the laundry as usual. It is also perfect for putting on the collars of white business shirts!

- for washing the car
- for washing windows
- for washing the floor
- for washing your hands

By the way, I usually buy some detergent with antibacterial ingredients but never buy ones with added oils like orange oil. I have tried 100yen shop detergent but it wasn't so effective.

Finally, these days I use plain unbleached toilet paper. I used to use nice patterned white rolls with pretty flowers on them to match my toilet! And the paper was also the thick type especially made for 'washlet' toilets. I have kept a few of the nice rolls for when guests come but for daily use the cheap one is fine, AND it is better for the environment.

Basically I think that modern consumers have been fooled by large companies. We can see many advertisements showing the latest cleaning products but they are probably not much better than regular soap or detergent. Our grandmothers would be shocked at the variety and range of cleaning products that are available now. Worse still, the chemicals they contain are killing us and the environment!

A Simple Soup

I really like soup but sometimes I get tired of eating miso soup so I make something 'western'. Here is a recipe for a simple cream fish soup. Sorry, I made it up myself so everything is 'about this much' rather than exact measurements.

1. Put 2 tablespoons of good quality olive oil in a pan. Turn on the gas to low-medium heat. (Point: oil olive burns easily so don't make it too hot. You can use other oil like canola, but olive oil is healthy and delicious.)

2. Add two cloves of chopped or crushed garlic.
(Note: a clove is one small piece of garlic, and a bulb is the whole round thing that comes out of the ground.)

3. Add one half of an onion, thinly sliced.

4. While the garlic and onion are frying on LOW HEAT, do the next steps. You should stir the pan sometimes.

5. Slice some potatoes very thinly. (About 2mm - I use a slicer/grater you can buy at the supermarket or homecenter.) Add the potatoes to the oil and mix. Be careful not to break the slices.

6. Cut the ends off some green beans and cut them into 3cm pieces. Add to the pan and toss in the oil.

7. Add half of a very thinly sliced carrot. (Again I use the slicer.)

8. Add about a 5mm slice of butter. Toss the vegetables so the butter and oil covers them.

9. Add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of plain flour. Mix so the flour and butter coats all the vegetables. It looks a bit sticky but make sure the butter/flour is on the vegetables, not on the bottom of the pan.

10. Add some milk a little at a time while mixing, about 700ml in total. MIX continuously! If the butter/flour coated the vegetables, it will be very easy for it to melt into the milk to make a very smooth soup. DO NOT BOIL IT!!!
(Note: more milk or less flour will make the soup thinner. If you want a thick soup like stew, add more butter and flour at first, maybe 1cm of butter and 3 to 4T of flour. I usually use skim milk that I made from powder, but any milk is okay.)

11. Add two fillets of white fish. I like cod (tara) and I rinse the fillets under water first. Cook on a low heat for a few minutes until the fish becomes white. DO NOT BOIL!

12. Serve

The total time from start to finish is less than 15 minutes because I prepare the next thing while the first things are cooking.

This is delicious served with a simple green salad and French bread. You can use salmon fillets for variation or add a pinch of curry powder to the cod soup. It is also nice the next day for breakfast! If you make it thick like stew you can change it into gratin by putting it in a baking dish, adding cheese to the top and baking. Or put the stew on top of toast, add some cheese and bake it :)

A Frog on a Rose

Lots and lots of baby frogs in my garden. I found this one on a rose last week.

Cute, huh?

Lovely Lotus

Lotus flowers are so beautiful! And of course, lotus root (renkon) is great to eat.

When I married I stopped eating lotus root so much because my husband said he disliked it. I don't remember why, but last year I bought it and he tried it. Now he says it's delicious!

Maybe the reason is that the one he ate before (in Western Japan) was not so fresh or not good quality. Tsuchiura is the lotus root capital of Japan and it is said to be the best. Try driving around Lake Kasumigaura to see fields upon fields of swaying leaves and pink flowers. You'll have to hurry though because the flowering season is almost over. Ueno Park in Tokyo also has a small lake with many lotus.

The only problem is that I think the water in Kasumigaura probably isn't too clean. Hmm, just try not to think about it when you buy lotus root this winter!

By the way, if you want to try a new dish, slice the root thinly and fry it in a tablespoon of olive oil. (Just a little oil is enough.)

A Step Back in Time

Would you like to step back in time? It's really easy if you go to Sobaya in Yanagibashi, Tsukuba. It is a handmade soba restaurant inside a 150 year old farmhouse. Actually, the farmhouse was originally somewhere else in Ibaraki and it was moved to Tsukuba.

You can find Sobaya really easily because it is next to Mizuho vegetable and flower shop on Route 19. It's just south of Banpakukinen Koen. Please check the map and more info here -->

http://mizuhonomuraichiba.com/sobaya.htm

Sobaya is probably my favorite soba restaurant in this area, and the best choice on the menu is the hot kamo-jiru soba (wild duck soba). Unfortunately, it is also the most expensive!!! (And be forewarned, the amount of soba you get mightn't fill you up.) However, it is really delicious and the texture is great.

Here are some photos from a rainy day when I went to Sobaya recently. It is better to go on a weekday because weekends are so crowded and sometimes they finish up all the soba before closing time.

Stinky flowers

Lillies are lovely to look at but I am allergic to them! In fact, I think they stink and they make me sneeze.








These ones are right outside my front door. Hold your nose!

Beautiful bugs

It is amazing what you can find if you look carefully ...








And here is my new 'pet'. Thank you to Y and her daughter for giving it to me :) Can you guess what it is?

A spider?
A bee?



No.


Hint: It lives in water and it will fly when it turns into an adult.








Its the larva of a dragon fly!

By the way, today was the first time for me to hear a cicada in the daytime. The ones that go 'mi mi mi'. I heard the first evening cicadas a few weeks ago - the kind that go 'whee whee'!