Yam OKONOMIYAKI (pancake)

The other day I got a big yam. my neigor went to a mountain to dig yams. This yam is not raised, spontaneous.

I cooked it to TORORO-SHIRU, TENPURA. But we still have it.

And usually we eat grinded Yam. grinding it is troublesome, and when I'm grinding, my hands feel itchy.

Well, do you know OKONOMIYAKI? It's a kind of unsweetened vegetable(mainly cabage) pancake. We often make it. The other day a high-class OKONOMIYAKI restaurant was introduced on TV. They use only yam without flour. (Usually we use flour to put together the ingredients)
So my husand and I tried. He grinded all yam. I mix it with sliced cabage, egg, fried pork. And fried it on the pan like the photo above.

Yes, it was really YUMMY!!!!

--- but while I was eating it, much yam made my lip a little bit ichty,though of course I didn't stop eatting.

waitting is valuable

I found an inteseting report. These days most pf people have a cell phone, though I don't have a cell phone. It is really conveninet, especailly to meet people. Probably the young cannot meet their friends without cell phones, because they don't make a schedual to meet each other when, where. While they are keeping contact with each other by cell phone, they look for each other to meet.

The writer of this report says that
The other day on the way to the town I lost my wife. She doesn't have a cell phone. So what I could do is just waitting for her at the our destination. In this case I knew where we would go. It was a deaprtment store. While I was waitting I was thinking if I should go back home or not. Anyway I could meet her.
While I was waiting I sometimes got angry, worry, or nervus. I though she should have a cell phone though she said "don't need".

But now I think, having cell phones make the life convenient, but on the other hand we are loosing feelings of anger, anxiety or tension. We tend to the result quickly, we tend not to stand the process. We are getting bad at enjoying waiting.

It is intereseting.
Last month I met my mother. Unfourtunally my train stopped on the way to TOKYO. I don't have a cell phone. And even if I have had a cell phone, my mother don't have a cell phone either.
What I could do was to go to the meeting place somehow. And what my mother could do was just waitting. I got there half and one hour later, and she was still waitting. We were really glad to meet each other.
Of course if it had been a business meeting, we would have lost the job.
When I got there , could you guess what she told me?
"Thanks of your coming late, I could finish reading this book, so I'll give you this book"

She is a really laid-back person.

KINKAN

Do you remember that last year I was into fresh KINKAN. Now the season of KINKAN has come. Until last year I cooked KINKAN --- simmered some KINKANS with honey. KINKAN is said to worrk well to protect from a cold.

Yummy? Bitter? Anyway I love it, and I "make" my husband eat some KINKANS for breaksfast.

Well, do you remember another thing of KINKAN? I bought a small tree of KINKAN, now it has some KINKANs on the tree, but they are still green.

steak

When you hear the word of steak, what kind of picture do you draw in your mind?

When I was a child, "steak" meant beaf steak, and usually they were served at Frenc restaurant.

When I came here, the image was completely changed.

There is a famous steack franchaise restraunt, here. The compamy started from one restaurant, but the steake saure is so ordiganl that it made the restraunt famous.

And most people here love the sauce, so not only the franchaise restruants but also other restaurats, they prepare saurce of this type; made from grinded Japanese radish, onion, vinegar, apple, and soysauce. I also love this sauce.

But a friend of mine who is New Zealander says " I like to eat typical steak".

What is your typical steak?

Conming of Age day -2-

At the ceremony she got some books and handouts. They are really intereseting.
A book written the history of this city, handouts about DV(Dmestic Voilence), tax,fraud. And a handout that recommends to vote in elections. ( In Japan people more than 20 years oldcan vote in public elections). And the other handout that recommends to have a donor card.
I'm really surprised. When I was 20 years old, what I got?

Anyway compared with my 20th day, these days seem to be more dangerous, rude. So they have to present handouts about eleciton, tax, DV. On the other hand about medical field, many laws seem to be set.

Every handout is really intereseting to "me". I've read well. Why? Because she put them here. I wonder how many new 20-year-old people read these handouts? Is it a kind of waste of our tax?
I think they should set a law to write a report about these books after attending the ceremony.

Coming of Age Day

In Japa we celeblate the youth when they become 20 years old. It is Coming of Age day "SEIJIN NO NI). This year my daughter got 20 years. My family celeblet her. She attend the ceremony hosted by my city, wearing FURISODE.

FURISODE is Kimomo, but the sleeves are longer than usual Kimomo. This Furisode was sewed by my grand mother. It measn I wore it when I got 20 years old.

At that time I preferd to pretend to be a boy. I never wore skirt. So I didn't have an idea to attend the ceremony wearing "KIMOMO". But a week before the coming of Age day, suddenly my grand mother brought this KIMOMO. I was really surprised. Though I used to strike an attitude of defiance to my parents, I couldn't do that to my grand mother. I accepted her desire unwillingly. At that time I "hate" feminin color like pink, sky blue. But the Kimomo was full of these colors. Anway I wore, and attend the ceremony. Of course my grand mother was really glad to see me.

This oppotunity gave me a change. I showed an interest to Kimomo. So I started to take Kimomo lessons. Thanks of lessons I can wear Kimomo by myself. When I go to my husband's house for the fist time, I wore this KIMOMO. (My mother in-law remembered it, but my husband didn't remember it.)

This time my eleder daughter wore it, and probably in two years my younger daughter is going to wear it again. My grand mother must be really glad.

Well, my grand mother brought up my father sewing and teacing Kimomo. (Her hsuband passed away in the war.) So she was really knowledgeable about Kimomo. This Kimomo is KAGA YUZEN. It is really valuable.

When I become a grand mother, I will not be able to do such a thing for my future grand children.

Ox fibrous meat

Last year we ate real ox tounge.
And this morning I simmered oxx fivrous meat with vegetables and seasoned them with soy sauce, suger and SAKE.
It was delicious than we expected.
Have you ever cooked ox fiverous meat?
If you have, how have you cooked them?

Well, Jan, I have a question. You told me "tail soup" was not made from real "ox tail". What was it made from?
When we go to YAKINIKU restaurant we often order "tail soup". I thought it had used ox tail.

When I was a child, I used to eat giblets(chiken's guts). I love the feeling of chewing, some part is really chewy, and some part is really soft. At that time there used to be many chicken shop hear and there.
Now I seldom see chicken shop (though we have buthcers), at a department there is a chicken shop. I sometimes buy steamed and seasoned chiken guts.

I love to eat chiken guts, but I hate livers of ox and pig.
Do you like them?

Snow man

When I was listening to radio, I knew that; American Snow man is made up of three snow balls.

Japanese snow man is usually made up of two snow balls, and we use charcol to make eyes and nose.

Intereseting.

Why I didn't notice this thing, though I've read books about snowmen for many years in this season.

Tomorrow I have a meeting to read English picture books. I'll explain this thing.

The middle snow ball seems to be "belly". What is the lower snow ball? Legs? Hips?

What shape is your snow man?

Happy New Year

Now I'm relaxing at home. Since 29th I have really been busy.

This year my elder daughter will be 20. In Japan it is really meaningful. Though the celebration day is 1/13, she had a phtographer take a memorial picture at a photo studio ahead, wearing special KIMOMO. ( It took a few hours to wear it.) I have a specail memory about the KIMOMO, I'll write about it later.

Next day we (my family and my mother) went to Sendai. Sendai is a famous sightseeing spot. But our aim (or my husband aim) was eating GYUTAN (ox tail) and my mother's aim was eating ZUNDA (gree soy bean paste)

I put the photos on the phto page.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/choro/

On 31th it was a shopping day, though my younger daughter had a part-time job. My husband and my husband went shopping here and there; mainly elctorailcal sore to buy a new digital camera for her.

On the other hand my mother and I went shopping here and there; maily food stores, and went to see a movie.

In the eveing my daughters went to TOKYO ahead to visit a shrine in Tokyo.

At night my mother and I was so tired that we went to bed early. My husbad "finaly" started to tidy up his room on the New Year Eve.

On the New Year Day, early morning we went to TOKYO. We dropped by my mother's house and picked my daughters and went to my mother-in-law's house. His borther's families came there and we celebrated starting this year.

Yesterday we came back with lots of presents (including small stuff that my mother-in-law didn't use.)

And today, my younger daughter went to work a part time job, my husband went playing golf (According to him, finaly he is able to spend "his" winter vacation".

I tidied up the things we brought from my mother-in-law's house, clearned the rooms in the morning, and now I'm relaxing.

I'll introduce my daughters.

The girl wearing KIMOMI (This KIMOMI is called FURISODE) is my elder daughter.

And the funny gilr who tries to drink "ZUNDA" shake is , of course, my youghter daughter.

Happy New Year!!