Last night, I went to my friend's house, where we did hi no yojin. Around New Year's in Japan, groups go around neighborhoods beating wooden sticks and yelling, "hi no yojin," or "watch out for fires!" Apparently this started in the Edo period, when fire was used for heat and the buildings were made of wood. Today, it's done not only to remind people to be careful of the fires they have in their oil heaters, but also to remind them to keep their porch lights lit.
Before we went out to do hi no yojin, however, we had dinner. My friend's mother's food is always inspiring, and I want the recipe for almost everything she's ever made. It's always excellent.
So last night, among other things, she made a daikon-tuna-avocado salad. I'm always looking for new ways to eat avocado, so I was absolutely thrilled with this dish. I made it myself for lunch today, just to see if I could. It's super-simple, and it was delicious. A nice, light lunch.

Dinner tonight. A quick meal I discovered this summer and have eaten like once every two weeks ever since. I am a HUGE fan of avocados, and this is so easy and so flavorful. In the summer I ate it chilled, but now in the winter I'm eating it hot.
It's simply somen noodles with diced avocados and tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, wakame, and ground sesame seeds in a konbu dashi broth. Simple, filling, healthy and excellent. I love it.

冬至

Today is winter solstice. In Japan, winter solstice is called Toji and is celebrated with two main things: first, a bath with a yuzu; and second, eating a dish made of kabocha squash and azuki beans. The two things in combination is said to keep you healthy in the New Year and through the long winter. One of my goals for this year was to learn more about Japanese cooking for traditional celebrations, so I have those traditions in my family.

So I cleaned my bathtub and put a yuzu in. In the hot water, they release such a beautiful, relaxing fragrance. It was wonderful.



Then here's the azuki bean and kabocha dish. It was delicious, but a bit dense. Super filling!!



Finally, here's a shot of some of the varieties of yuzu I have right now. Two oni-yuzu, a bunch of tiny baby yuzu, and a few middle-sized, normal yuzu. I don't quite know what I'm going to do with them all. I made a yuzu miso dressing for cabbage salad, and I've made marmalade. I'll probably make some more marmalade soon. And I'll also make some more yuzu madelines at some point. First, however, I have to finish my nengajo and do my New Year's cleaning. Yikes!!!


Finally, to show you what a typical breakfast (and sometimes dinner) looks like now:

Rice with an umeboshi and two cloves of pickled garlic. A bowl of Sendai miso soup with a variety of vegetables--usually now, in the winter, I'm using shiitake, tofu, konnyaku, bean sprouts, carrots, sato imo, onions, and potatoes. I put in fish and potato cakes, other mushrooms, and eggs as the mood fits me and the vegetables are on sale. I also have natto topped with scallions--it is SO DELICIOUS with the scallions on top.
Finally, I finish with a dish that's a mix of grated nagaimo and daikon with moromi su (Okinawan black vinegar mixed with a titch of black sugar) and chirimenjakko (whole tiny baby fish). It's healthy, delicious, and filling. More than that, perhaps, it's SUPER EASY. Grate some veggies, serve the rice, heat the soup. And boom! Nice warm food to chase away the frigid chill of a morning without central heating.

鬼柚子

I have been cooking mostly boring food--I keep meaning to take pictures, but keep forgetting.
Anyway, tonight I made yuzu marmalade. I didn't have a recipe, and the end result is a titch on the sweet side, but I think it's good.
I started with this:


It's called an oni-yuzu (devil's yuzu), apparently. My friend's mother gave it to me. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. When I cut it open, it had no strong yuzu scent, which surprised me. It also had a lot of juice, and only one seed. Yuzu normally is quite fragrant, has very little juice, and has about twenty seeds in one fruit, which is usually about half the size of an orange or so. The oni-yuzu, by contrast, was the size of a grapefruit.
It also had the most amount of pith I've ever seen in a citrus. Yuzu normally is quite pithy, but not like the oni-yuzu was. I spent like an hour cleaning it up to make the marmalade. It was worth it however, because the oni-yuzu has a delicate, lovely flavor that I think is just sensational.
I did use three other yuzu I had in my fridge that were given to me by another friend in the marmalade, as well. These yuzu were juiceless, seedy, and fragrant. I think altogether it made a nice balance, although I'd like to make a marmalade with just oni-yuzu. I think it would be sweeter, tenderer, and an interesting experiment. Not sure when I'll get another oni-yuzu though. I did save the single seed the fruit contained, so maybe in the spring I'll see if it sprouts.

The end product:

No exciting new cooking today. I haven't been trying very many new things--I've been mainly sticking to recipes that are quick and easy, and that I've made many times before, because I've been quite busy lately.
BUT, today at Seiyu there were a few interesting local veggies I've never eaten before. Of course, this meant I had to buy something new to try. There was no contest. I bought this:


It's Romanesco, an Italian broccoli, at least that's how the tag in the store described it. It was amazingly beautiful, a delicate green with pointy cones of vegetable. According to the tag, it's full of vitamin C, which is also nice in the winter. The recommended cooking style was to treat it as cauliflower, which is what I did. I simply cut it, boiled it, and ate it with a mayonnaise based sauce I've used before on broccoli, asparagus, and cauliflower with great success. It was delicious, and I will have some in my lunchbox tomorrow! Like cauliflower, I think it will hold up incredibly well to a day in my obento box while I'm at the library.

Now, because it was so pretty, a few more pictures. The color's the best and truest in the first one, but the pattern is captured the best in the second (I think):


And cooked, ready to eat! Didn't lose any of its color. It's a fun, great, tasty vegetable--similar to cauliflower in flavor and texture, but much more delicate. I really enjoyed it. This vegetable is definitely on my "to buy again" list.

My favorite quick, filling, vegetable dish. I've made it many times, and I'm sure I have other pictures of it on here somewhere.
It works well as a side dish for a oily fish like saba, but it also can be a main course. I often make it with pork belly for added flavor, but I didn't have any pork tonight, so I just stuck to the vegetables. It's got edamame with red, yellow, and green peppers. It's a wonderful, simple, colorful dish. I ate it with sprouts with an umeboshi dressing, and braised kabocha that I didn't photograph because they weren't very pretty.

I've been eating quite simply for the past month. Homemade yogurt with cinnamon and fruit in the morning, noodles or onigiri for lunch, and then my main meal at dinner. I've been trying to be "mostly" vegan (having trouble giving up the yogurt). I haven't really been taking photos of my dinner anymore. Usually I have rice (which I eat with seaweed), miso soup, a chunk of tofu, and a few vegetable side dishes. Today I made rice and tofu topped with scallions and ginger (hiyayako), cabbage salad with sesame dressing, braised satsuma imo (a white sweet potato), and yurine (lily root).


The lily root is excellent, rich and gooey. I think I over-braised it a bit, but it was still delicious. I topped it with ao-nori and sesame seed. I hope I find these again before I leave--I really loved it. So rich and succulent.

Dinner tonight. An apple, three sparrow eggs with sesame salt, a carrot salad, a pepper saute, an unidentified green vegetable that was on sale at the supermarket (served with soy sauce, and whatever it was, it was organic and came with a caterpillar), a daikon in a spicy kochu jang sauce, nagaimo tsukimono, and a salad. The main dish was nagaimo and kabu (radish) steaks.



The pepper dish and the carrot salad.
The sparrow eggs with sesame salt and the carrot salad again.

It's been quite a long time since my last post. I have been busy this month, and have eaten a lot of dinners out. Today, I stayed at home and cooked for the first time in a long time. Even though the meal was simple, it was very satisfying. First, I made an ear of corn. I served some sweet and sour ginger pickles with it, and some asparagus with a goma-ae (sesame seed sauce). The sesame sauce had vinegar in it, as well, which gave it a nice little bite. Then I had nagaimo pickles with mushrooms. They had a tiny bit of habanero in them, and I thought it worked well. I also had an unidentified leafy green vegetable with purple stems that tasted like spinach. I bought it because I didn't know what it was. I was worried it would be very bitter, but when in doubt--blanch and serve with either soy sauce or ponzu. This was served with soy sauce, and it was delicious. Finally, a simple cabbage salad with sesame dressing and an avocado, sliced with white soy sauce.

I really love tsukemono--mostly of the vinegared kind. My meals are gradually becoming just lots and lots of tsukemono with no real center. After so much eating out, though, I need to just eat vegetables and clean out for awhile.

Last night I attended a wonderful reception with excellent food. Out of all the amazing dishes, two things stood out for me: an almond-crusted fish and an avocado ceviche. I don't dare attempt the fish, as I wouldn't even know where to begin, but I did think I could do a ceviche. So I tried it tonight. I'm also trying to use up food before I leave on a short study trip, so I had some really weird pairings tonight. I'm trying so hard to finish the myoga and cauliflower, carrot and cucumber pickles; I have so much! Had two eggplants to use, so made my usual braised eggplant, then the pickles and the ceviche. Also accomplished today but not pictured: I got some Caspian Sea yogurt started! I may have some for a snack tonight, and definitely for breakfast tomorrow. So excited!

The ceviche. What I loved about the ceviche last night was the sweetness of a bit of mango in contrast to the bite of the citrus. I was missing a few key ingredients: no cilantro available in my local supermarket, and I wasn't going to pay 200 yen for a single lime. So I did a "Japanese" take on the ceviche: I used sudachi and mitsuba to give it a little kick, and then I added habernero to give it a bite. I've got to say, I think it worked quite well. The sweetness of the mango, the richness of the avocado, and the tingling habernero at the finish seem to work together well. I've got quite a bit of it, so we'll see how it tastes tomorrow. I'm worried about the avocado holding up.

I have been trying to eat mainly fresh vegetables, and I've been buying local seasonal vegetables. I go with what's cheap, so I've been having a lot of repetition: such as this eggplant dish, which I keep having because eggplant is so cheap right now! So, once again, my eggplant with myoga and shiso. Served this time with carrot, cauliflower, and cucumber pickles, hijiki salad, okara, braised shiitake (these are SO GOOD), pickled broccoli, a cabbage and tomato salad, and pickled myoga.




The okara. This time, I made it with gobo, carrots, shiitake, and a little bit of konnyaku.
The braised shiitake. I got more shiitake today, and I'll be having these again tomorrow.
The eggplant--again.
The myoga, pickled in vinegar with just a touch of sugar. Isn't the color lovely?
And the spicy cauliflower, cucumber, and carrot pickles.

Cleaning out the fridge 2

Tonight I had to finish the last of my leftovers--it was quite lucky, because I certainly didn't feel like cooking at all, although I did spend most of the afternoon making pickles.
I'm having a repeat of last night: hiyayako tofu, goma-dofu, a cabbage salad with tomatoes, and hijiki salad. To complement that, I have some nuka-zuke cucumbers made in my newly revived nuka (it was near death when a friend's mother gave me advice on how to heal it). I also made a broccoli pickle with kombu, and a braised shiitake mushroom--the mushrooms are locally grown, and with the braise they are just phenomenal. I'm still undecided about the broccoli, but I think there are probably better broccoli dishes I could have made. I don't really care for it.

Cleaning out the fridge!

Had a few things I needed to eat before they went bad: tofu, goma-dofu, and eggs. So tonight I had some hijiki salad, a chunk of hiyayako with white soy sauce, a cabbage and tomato salad, some goma-dofu, and omu-rice! A great way to use leftovers, if a slightly odd combination of dishes and flavors. At least I used my leftovers.

Tonight: a salmon in a butter-vinegar sauce (it fell apart while I was cooking it, so it looks a bit like soup), kabocha, sauteed eringi, a cabbage and tomato salad with sesame dressing, and some homemade hijiki salad. Yum!




Dessert: Haagen-Dazs Gateau au Chocolat... it's pretty amazing. Just look at the powdered sugar on top!!

End of summer

While I'm excited about the fall and the new vegetables that will bring with it, I'm sad to see summer ending. I love the colors and the flavors of all the fresh summer vegetables. So tonight I made a dinner that really celebrated all the lovely summer vegetables--that happened to be on sale at the supermarket.
First, the eggplant dish I had last night. I thought, with the other vegetables, the meatiness of the eggplant would be nice, so even though I just had it I decided to make it again. Then a cabbage and tomato salad with sesame dressing from Kobe. I also made a spicy pepper dish with a mayonnaise-based ae (dressing). I also made the cucumber, corn and tuna vinegar dish with fresh corn! Oh my goodness, it was lovely. Finally, some bok choy that I have to admit wasn't very nice at all. But the rest made for a delicious dinner.

Finally finished the green curry! It wasn't bad, but boy I was tired of it. I walked to the archives today because it was raining, and on the way home I stopped at the local fish shop. I bought fresh hijiki and a yellowtail jaw bit. They were super-cheap, and I couldn't resist, even though I had eggplant at home that needed to be used. So dinner tonight ended up being: eggplant braised in a soy sauce sauce, topped with myoga and shiso; eggplant vinegar pickles; a cabbage and tomato salad with sesame dressing; my yellowtail jaw bit; and a fresh hijiki salad!! Mmmm. I actually ate every bit.


The hijiki salad. It was much softer and held the liquid a little differently than dried hijiki, but it did turn out OK. Yum!
And the eggplant. I made it earlier, but it is delicious. And so easy!

I've been watching too much Top Chef and Top Chef Masters. Even though it's just a hobby done in such a limited amount of time each day, my blog seems so much sadder now.
Tonight's meal: Thai green curry. I don't know quite how successful I was with the spices. It was OK, though, and cheaper than a restaurant, I suppose. I'm lucky it's OK; I have enough for dinner every night this week. *sigh*

A quick dinner last night! A summer vegetable gratin, moyashi topped with the ume sauce I've made before, eggplant pickled in vinegar, and a dish made from okara. It's kind of a strange twist on a typical Japanese recipe, but I like it very much. I also had okahijiki with naga-imo again. This time I served it with a vinegar sauce, and added a secret ingredient: a touch of plum vinegar. It was very nice.

The naga-imo and okahijiki. The moyashi and ume sauce.

And the okara!
Breakfast yesterday morning: okara, vinegar-pickled eggplant, and a mix of spicy pickled cauliflower, carrots, and cucumber.


A close-up of the spicy pickles. They're quite nice. Dinner a few days ago: chawan-mushi. Since it's just me, I buy the ingredients to make a dish once and end up having to make it several times to use up everything I've purchased.

Simple, quick dinner tonight. An eggplant simmered with shiso and myoga, served with a grilled piece of buri (yellowtail).

The eggplant was very, very good. I'll be making this again soon!

Just a quick and easy meal tonight. I had rice, nuka-zuke (asparagus, broccoli, and okra tonight, but it's pretty pathetic-looking so I didn't take a picture). The two dishes I made fresh were oka-hijiki and a cucumber, corn and tuna salad. The oka-hijiki I simply topped with ponzu again--delicious!

The cucumber, corn and tuna salad was quite easy to make, since two of the three main ingredients are canned, but it's very nice. It's got a vinegar-ginger sauce on it, which makes it very refreshing after a day of 90+ degrees. And Japanese canned tuna is SO GOOD. I'll definitely be making it again.

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Tonight I had a friend over for dinner--again, these are her photographic skills on display, not mine (although she did use my camera, does that count?)
I liked oka-hijiki so much when I made it the other day that when I finally saw it in the grocery store again I bought a few packs. It's only available as fresh local produce, so I get the feeling I've only got a few weeks of it left until next year. So I better get my fill while I can! I served it blanched tonight with raw naga-imo (but I soaked it in vinegar water to get the bitterness out), topped with a soy-vinegar dressing. It was quite yummy.



After the oka-hijiki and the naga-imo were mixed up:
The main dish tonight was chawan-mushi. I know it's an autumn dish, but I make it sometimes with vegetables in the summer. I had just bought a steamer and chawan-mushi cups so I had to try them out. It worked well, and I was so happy. The first chawan-mushi I served my friend was a bit underdone, but the rest were fine.
My chawan-mushi had shimeji, carrots, zucchini, and chicken in them, topped off with a few leaves of mitsuba. I think it's the mitsuba that really makes the chawan-mushi. The zucchini was a bit weird, but overall I think it was quite good and rather summery. I'll make it again in the fall with ginnan (ginko nuts)--I can't wait!

And the chawan-mushi served up! The mitsuba was a little bit out of control--I need to chop it up more next time. This dish was the most questionable of the evening. I had some cauliflower and some cream I needed to use, so I tried to make the mousse I have posted earlier in this blog. It's quite delicious when it's made right... but I didn't have a blender. So I tried to smoosh up the cauliflower using my large-size suribachi (yes, I have three sizes, and I love them all and use them constantly). It was not quite the success I hoped it would be. It wasn't bad... but it wasn't to die for, either. I can think of better things to do with cauliflower next time I get some.