Shubun-no-hi (秋分の日）

Shubun-no-hi is the Autumn Equinox Day. It  falls on the 22 of September on this current year . During the week of the equinox , Buddhist temples hold special services and people pay their respects at the ancestors' graves.

On the 16th , I went to the Myoshinji-temple in Kyoto to offer prayers and  flowers to our ancestors' grave .
At home we eat Ohagi which is an oval-shaped sweet made from sticky rice, coated with sweet red-bean paste.

 Higan(彼岸）  is a week which centers around the vernal  and autumnal equinox.

We have a  proverb that the heat and the cold continues till Higan. 

But it was 28 degrees yesterday and   this morning I am feeling  cold , I  just saw some people wearing coats!

Myoshinji-temple

 ↑  Home-made Ohagi prepared by one of my reader.   My mouth is watering!!! She made 18 ohagi but she only took this  picture as her 3 of sons love it  and finished  almost all at  once!
                           
 The yellow powder is  Kinako(roasted soybean flour.

Japanese Sweet Corns

The Japanese sweet corns are very sweet just like fruits.I was so surprised  as the corns that I ate in Singapore,which are from Malaysia,were not very sweet.
Only then did I realised that the Japanese corns are grown by the breeding method so they are so sweet.
The other day,I made pancakes using the sweet corns.I shaved them and fried the grains,thus following the recipe.
The pancakes were sweet so I did not have to pour any maple syrup on them.I also enjoyed the crunchiness of the corns.
Anyway,I am sure that the best way to prepare Japanese corns is to just boil or grill them and subsequently,spread soy sauce.
Summer is the season of the sweet corns.Now,they have come from Hokkaido.

It was  33.8 degrees  here today, that is about 5-7 degrees higher than the normal month  though September is supposed to be  autumn by the Japanese calendar.

Young Ginger with Leaves(葉生姜 Ha-Shoga)

 We call it ha-shoga;ha is leaves and shoga is ginger in the Japanese language.
We cut off the leaves of the ginger and eat it after a dip in miso or dressing.
When I was in Singapore,I did not come across any young ginger with leaves.
The taste of it is  less pungent than the normal ginger so we can enjoy eating it just like salad.
Since Yanaka(谷中） in Tokyo is the most famous place in the production of  this ginger ,we also call it the Yanaka shoga.
We can pickle the ginger's stems and roots and　serve it with  a grilled fish like a salted mackerel  in a plate as a refreshment and a good antidote too.

We do appreciate 4 clear-cut seasons so we are hasty in eating the seasonal vegetables .
We enjoy the very small bamboo shoots in the early spring too!

                                              deep fried (tempura)ginger

                                                 

                                       marinated ginger

                                    The color of  the  roots  becomes pinkish.

Yokohama Shumai (Kiyoken 崎陽軒）

Kiyoken is the most famous and popular shumai shop in Yokohama which started its　business more than 80 years ago.
Compared to the normal shumai which are being sold at the supermarkets and delicatessens,these are rather small,chewy and so tasty.
Most of the ingredients used to prepare shumai are of good quality of the Japanese pork and scallops of Hokkaido.My home-made shumai will have minced white onions as we don't have  water chestnuts here so they are softer than the Kiyoken ones.
Yesterday,I went to Yokohama and bought one pack of shumai  as my son likes them so much.
There are many small Kiyoken shops near and inside  the JR Yokohama station,where bento lunch boxes with the tasty shumai are sold.
When I was in 1 of the Chinese restaurants in Singapore,I ordered for shumai.I looked forward to be served with mustard for a dip with soysauce but instead,I was given chilli sauce.Later on I realised that  Singaporeans  eat shumai with chilli sauce.This fact came to me as a cultural shock as it was the beginning of my living in the island of Singapore.They also use chilli sauce for a dip of　French Fries at the MacDonals`s instead of salt!

                                               

                                      25.8. before 10am in Yokohama

                                            JR station

                                               550yen

                                                      

Japanese Peaches

The Japanese peaches are in season , they are big and so sweet. We are now  having our holidays in Singapore..Luckily,1 of my friends who happened to come to my place on the next day of our arrival got to taste it.She was surprised as it was very soft and sweet just like can fruit because it was fully ripe.When I peeled the skin,the juice was simply spilling down from the peach.I used to miss these  Japanese peaches most in this season when we used to live in Singapore.

Madonna's Japanese private chef of Macrobiotics

Mayumi Nishimura who's 56 years old,used to be Modonna's private chef for 7 years;2001 to 2008 and will resume work soon.She was specially selected for her baby boy who was 9 months old who then had an allergy problem.It was only for a week and his allergy problem was cured by her Macrobiotics cooking.This gave her the job as a private chef. Mayumi smiled and said that actually it was not difficult for her to bring about the desired result as the little boy only ate her food!

When she was in her 20s,she moved to US.She got married and brought up 2 children.She also had an experience of working for a year for the founder of the US Macrobiotics,Mr.Michio Kushi,who happens to be my teacher too.So she could cook the Japanese style of vegetarian food very well.She also worked for the vice president of Goa and also for  the cancer patients in US.
Her lecture was held in the Lima Macrobiotics School in Shinjyuku,Tokyo on the 20th of July.During the question and answer session,I asked her what did Madonna benefit from her cooking.'Madonna disliked the normal vegetarian food as my Macrobiotics cooking was very attractive for her where the taste and her health was concerned.Amazingly she was not tired of my food for 7 years as I had many variation and devised.She looked happy !.'She worked very hard everyday to prepare the 3 meals with  the dessert even during her world tour.
She added that there are many kinds of delicacies all over the world;however this Macrobiotics cooking has the meaningful theory of the Yin and Yang like Zen.
Mayumi confessed that 1 day she was asked  by Madonna to dance and sing in front of her but she declined and said that she could only cook!

                                       Ms  Mayumi Nishimura

                            Brown rice with black beans, clear soup, pickled radish by her recipe

                                        Rice millk pudding by her recipe

                                Lima Macrobiotics School's founder was Michio Kushi 's teacher.

             *  Madonna's comment above  is ' Mayumi  makes delicious meals that have kept myself  and my family healthy and happy for years'        

                             Brown rice& *Pickled Plums（Ume-Boshi梅干）
              *http://macromacrobiyoko.blogspot.sg/2012/06/rainy-season-work.html

              * http://macromacrobiyoko.blogspot.jp/2012/07/lets-dry-ume-boshinow.html
                 

         *http://macromacrobiyoko.blogspot.sg/2012/02/ume-boshi-pickled-plums.html     

                                                        

                                                     Hijiki seaweed

                                                   Dried radish (Kiri-Boshi Daikon切干大根）

                                                   Dried Tofu（Koya-Tofu 高野豆腐）

                                          Mixed Sushi (Chirashi-Sushi　ちらし寿司）                      

                                       

                                           vegetable  Lasagra        
                                                                                            

                                   Lovely dessert without sugar, egg and dairy products            

                                         
                                          

                                              Ingredients      
                                                   
                                            

Japanese Cherries

Recently,1 of my readers asked me about the salted Sakura leaves as she wants to make Sakura Mochi.
That reminded me of something which I've forgotten;that is to show the photo of the lovely cherries.
There are many Sakura trees here but I've not seen any fruits and if I manage to find any,they are too small to be eaten.
Maybe these cherries come from different kinds of species in Yamagata Prefecture in Tohoku region.
When we lived in Singapore  , my husband once brought them to his company to share with his staff after his business trip in Japan .Later I heard from his Indian driver who also got some of them that he had  brought back home  and called his relatives and enjoyed each one.
He said that they looked like beautiful ornaments, and I thought the prices were also like ornaments too!

                         
                                     This photo was taken in June.