Curious in Kyoto

Hello from Kyoto!

I left Tsukuba at lunchtime and caught the bullet train at 3pm. Today was only my 4th time to take the "shinkansen" or "bullet train". (It was called a bullet train because the original shape was like a bullet!)




It was very comfortable because I took a superior "green seat" which are very spacious and I had no-one sitting next to me. Most passengers in that carriage were businessmen. It was very reasonable because I used a package of train and hotel, so the superior seat was less than half price. I was going to try and sleep, but I didn't because I was happy to look at the scenery outside of the window. I could find Mount Fuji hiding behind a cloud, and a very snowy area just after Nagoya.

Now I am in a small hotel in Sanjo in Kyoto and I am using my mini-sized computer. It is very difficult to type on and the screen is small. The hotel is quite nice and better than a regular "business hotel". At Kyoto Station I went to Isetan department store and bought some simple side dishes for dinner. Plus two Japanese sweets :)

I've found some curious things about Kyoto:

1. I heard that in the Kansai region people stand on the RIGHT side of the escalators and let people pass on the left. That was true in the main station area, but in the department store and going to the subway, people stood on the LEFT, same as in Kanto!??? Now I'm confused :(

2. Most shop clerks are lovely! They are VERY polite and very carefully give you back your change after you  pay. It is nice :)

3. Some Kyoto people do speak with rising intonation - just like I saw on TV. So the end of sentences rises. I thought it sounds good, but not all people do that. I wonder why? Maybe it means some people were born and raised here, and others came from somewhere else ....

4. Kyoto Station is very big and confusing. There are English signs but the station building and how to get to the subway is maybe worse than Tokyo. And I was a bit surprised that people push into the subway carriages quickly. Most Tokyo people wait for the other passengers to get out first. Maybe people are in a hurry because it is Friday night?

Anyway, I am very tired and I think I will go to bed early. I have a big meeting tomorrow so I should be wide awake for that!

Goodnight.

Vocabulary - Dry vs. Air

Here are some verbs you can use when talking about housework!

dry = something that is wet becomes dry

I hung out my laundry to dry.

***
air = you put something outside to make it fresh. It is already dry, but maybe it is smelly :)
Or maybe it is just a little damp, from humidity.

I put my futon out to air. 
I picked up my suit from the dry cleaner, but it smelled of chemicals so I am airing it outside today.


Basically, if it is wet and you want it to be dry, then use "dry".
If you want the sun and wind to touch it to make it fresh, then use "air".

乾かす= dry;         風に当てて=air

By the way .... 洗濯
American English = do the laundry
British English = do the washing

Nigella Lawson's cooking

Do you like cooking? Would you like some very easy cooking ideas? Then you should visit Nigella Lawson's website.

Nigella is a British woman who has become one of the world's most famous cooks. I think one reason she is popular is because she makes food we can all make at home. She LOVES to take shortcuts. For example, she buys baby leaf salad mix in a bag from the supermarket and puts it in a salad bowl with homemade dressing. She just drops it in a salad bowl without washing it, so I really hope that it is "pre-washed"! She also often uses kitchen scissors instead of a knife. You should try it - I've used kitchen scissors for many years, especially for herbs because you can cut them directly over a pot. This means all the flavor from the herb oils goes into the cooking, not onto the cutting board. And of course, you don't need to wash the cutting board if you don't use it :)

By the way, I have never cooked any of Nigella's recipes myself because they are often unhealthy with much butter and sugar. But you should check her recipes and just use her ideas. If you watch her videos, you can get lots of ideas for taking shortcuts while cooking even 'gorgeous' dishes. There is a really good chicken pie video on Youtube. (Search for Nigella Lawson Chicken Pie)

She chats a lot while she is cooking, but don't worry if you don't understand what she is saying. Mostly it is not at all important for the recipe.

Here is one example of a very quick desert. (She calls it "pudding". In England, "pudding" can mean "dessert" or it can mean "pudding" - e.g. chocolate pudding.)

Recipe on her website:

150g mini marshmallows
50g soft butter
250g good dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces
60ml hot water from a recently boiled kettle
1 x 284ml tub double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


To see how she makes it, please watch this video:

For a bigger size, go to this page on Youtube.

Be careful about cup and spoon sizes in recipes from different countries. On Nigella's website, go to the recipe page and click on:

EQUIVALENTS AND CONVERSIONS

A new fry pan/skillet

Recently I bought a new fry pan. I know that is not very exciting, but a good fry pan is important for cooking well without too much oil. And less oil is healthy, right? But I have to tell you something important before you get too interested ... I IMPORTED the fry pan from the USA! Crazy? Maybe, but here are my reasons:

I've been looking for a good fry pan for YEARS! About 7 years to be precise. I want something that is easy to cook with, so I tried many kinds of non-stick pans. Even the expensive ones were not so good after just 1 year or so. The non-stick coating slowly wears off. The second to last pan I bought was an expensive one from America that I bought from a local kitchenware shop. It was expensive and the box said the coating would last for many years. Well, it lasted for 1 :( In the end it was no different to the next pan, a cheap one from a local home-center store.

The other reason I am worried about pans is that actually I don't want to use Teflon coated ones. There is some research that says the coating is toxic and very bad for our health. I don't know if that is true or not, but I don't want to take any risks. Anyway, if the coating comes off little by little, where does it go? I surely don't want to eat it!

So then I bought a stainless steel pan like chefs use in a restaurant. It is nice if you cook food on a high heat with much oil, but honestly it is difficult to use in daily life. If you are not careful, the food sticks very quickly :(

Then one day I was looking around on Amazon.com and the site was promoting kitchenware. I had some free time so clicked on the pictures just to see what kind of things are popular in the USA. After a few minutes of browsing, one brand of cookware caught my eye. It is a brand more famous for food processors, so I was curious about the pans.

Take a look at this site and you can see a selection of pans and also watch a video.

Before you decide you want one too, I have to tell you that you CANNOT buy them in Japan. Cusinart Japan doesn't sell this particular type of pan with ECO "hard anodized" coating. So why did I want THIS pan, and not one I can buy domestically? It's because the ECO pans are totally non-toxic even at high temperatures.

The pan itself was on sale for less than 5,000yen but shipping from the USA to Japan cost that much again. Was it worth it? YES! Great to cook with and the handle doesn't get hot at all - just like the video said. I highly recommend it. Now I just have to wait and see how many years I can use it :)

Oh, and by the way,

fry pan         is British English
skillet           is American English

so the Amazon.com webpage says "skillet".

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*** This blog entry contains many idioms or daily phrases. Please check the underlined parts in a dictionary. If you can't find the meaning, send a comment and I will help you.