Kotatsu (Japanese traditional heater)

Kotatsu is a  Japanese traditional heater with a quit in the cold season.
There is an electric heater below the table so when we sit down there
, it can warm our legs.
We seldom use air conditioner in winter ,so  this is very economical.
After the explosion of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, I heard that the Japanese
 prefer to use Kotatsu to save electricity .

The calendar is showing that it's the spring season now  but, still I feel cold so I can not
put away the quit and the plug.

Octopus Balls (Tako-Yaki)

Takoyaki are grilled octopus balls (dumplings). Ingredients include
batter,boiled  octopus 、 greenonions and marinated  ginger . Sold at
street stands, Takoyaki are grilled on an iron plate with many holes on it.
It is  served with shaved dried bonito ,  flakes of green laver  and a
thick sauce.
In Singapore I saw some shops used cheese, boiled corns ..instead of
octopus as they  are too expensive there.I also tried to use boiled
prawns and cuttle fish.But they could  not reach the standard
Outside of Takoyaki must be crispy , once you bite it, hot and creamy
 batter is oozing  out and it will  melt in your mouth.  Then, you can enjoy the
chewy  texture of the octopus.
As for Takoyaki being crispy, juicy , chewy  is vital.

The television  program  proved that  good ones can float in the water as they have
bubble when they are grilled. If there are no bubbles, batter becomes
hard and heavy and  not creamy so they will sink.
The holes of the iron plate  are semi- spherical  in shape  but perfectly round by quickly  using 2 awls .These two  points are the special  techniques of the making of Takoyaki.

I prefer Takoyaki in Kansai (Osaka Kyoto area) as it as in Kanto(Tokyo
Yokohama area) as Kakoyaki shops in Kanto spray oil   after they are
almost cooked to make them crispy . So I feel oilier than Osaka's
which are the  original  . At times  my tongue gets burnt !!

                                                                                  with mayonnaise

Agape World

Ms Keiko C Holmes OBE ,the founder -Director of Agape World has been taking care of the British prisoners of war (POW) from 1991. She  has just returned  back from UK to give lectures of   reconciliation and forgiveness  for the POW during Japanese occupation(1942-1945) in Southeast Asia.

http://www.agapeworld.com/agape.htm

Last night I met  Ms Keiko and her staff, Ms Keiko Kosuge in Hakone , where is one of the most popular hot spring resort in Japan.We had lovely dinner and also enjoyed the excellent  milky water of onsen(hot spring)at my husband company's villa .

26th March 2012

Shunbun-no-hi (Vernal Equinox Day)

March 21th  was Shunbun-no-hi which means Vernal Equinox Day , one of our national holidays.During the week of the  Equinox,Buddist tembles hold special services and people pay their respects at their ancestors's graves.

We went to the very famous shrine of Turugaoka-Hachimangu in Kamakura near  Yokohama. Traditional wedding ceremony was held in the precinct on that particular day.
Crowds of people flowed down the streets to look into  many stalls.
   
At home we eat Ohagi, which is an oval-shaped sweet made from sticky rice , coated with sweet red -bean paste.From the view of Macrobiotics red beans are good for our kidney .Old people used to eat it 3 times a month , on the 5th, 15th and 25th for detoxification .

                                                                              Torii is the gateway to a Shinto shrine.It
is regarded as a barrier against evil sprits.

                                                           Before pray we wash our  hands for purification

                                                                  wash corner

                        I bought two Ohagi from different shops. 1 piece costs around  180 yen

                                                 sticky rice is inside

A heroine to the Tsunami

She did not put the microphone down because  her one and only thought was  to save the local people.1 year has passed by.Recently,many sad stories were told by the survivors from the earthquake of the northeast region of Japan.
The other day,a program about the earthquake was telecasted in television.A very important story of 11 March 2011.
Ms Miki (24) was working at the ward office in Minami Sanriku cho ,Miyagi  Prefecture.That is the place where superior quality Wakame seaweed was being produced.
After the place was attacked by the terrible earthquake,she informed the local people of the emergency urging them to run to high places through the radio.
The 4 storied building of the asylum is higher than the other buildings  so during the first stage of the earthquake,they did not think that they needed to escape. But once someone saw the very big ebb from the window,the situation changed rapidly.They said that if the height of the Tsunami was less than 6 m,it would still be safe,but indeed,it was 12m!She shouted 'a Tsunami above the height of 10 m is attacking here now!Run away to the heights!Run away for your lives!She had shouted 44 times during the 24 minutes!When this record was found,we can realise the seriousness of the situation through her voice and also the atmosphere behind her.She continued to inform in a loud voice.Finally,someone shouted,Miki,go up!Go up!Only then she put the microphone down but the tsunami was 2 m higher than the rooftop of the building  so it flushed down the whole area.Now t,here is a rusty iron framework of the building which she was working until her death.A few people  were saved to have taken hold of the pole on the roof..
Her mother's tears were rushing down her cheeks listening to the record of Miki's last voice.She said 'my daughter did her very best sincerely to save many of the local people's precious lives!'
Ms Miki - the heroine!
             

  (middle building was the ward office before the Tsunami)

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(Tsunami is attacking the rooftop of the building where Ms Miki was there..)

March 11th 2011 Terrible Earthquake

1 year has passed after the terrible earthquake attacked  in Japan.
Our daily lives have completely changed after the disaster.
19000 lives in the northeastern region of Honshu were lost .
May they rest in peace...

During that  time, I was  teaching cooking to the Japanese housewives in Chinatown,Yokohama.
Suddenly the new and massive condominium was shaking strongly,the lights which were hanging from the ceiling in the room were madly swaying.I heard eerie sounds of swaying of the building so I thought I was going to be crushed, It was the worst terror in my life.

At first,I thought that I needed to squat under the table but very soon I realised that it was not the usual one as it lasted longer and much stronger than I've experienced before.I was working on the second floor so I decided to rush out of the condominium.Due to the massive shake,I could not walk straight and I almost  fell  down the stairs.All the cars have stopped and there were many people standing outside of the buildings.I stood stunned in the centre of the street.I saw the blinds of the building that I've just left were jumping as if they were dancing.After the first earthquake,I returned back to the building but soon after,the next one attacked and all of us rushed out again.

I was worried about my husband who was working nearby.I could not contact him as all the telephone circuits were cut.I wanted to go home but the JR station did not operate so I stayed at my student's house.How lucky we were   at that time as we were not alone and  we had good food ,too because of my cooking class!!  But I was worried about my husband the whole night.Actually,I wanted to inform my family members and friends in Japan,UK and Singapore that I was safe but could not as both the connections of the Japan and Singapore hand phones were cut.

Fortunately,my son-in-law who's working in London as a banker,called me using the emergency line around 8pm.I was so happy and relieved that finally I was able to speak to one of my family members.I could only hear him saying'Yoko,are you ok?!'To my embarrassment,I couldn't understand his fluent speech as he was panicking.I did feel how much he was worried about us.I appreciated his calling and the system of emergency in UK.

Yokohama is very far from the disaster area  but  its land was  reclaimed  and furthermore just next to the sea so the swing of the earthquake was a heavy one.

The next morning,I went to the JR station.On the way home I saw lots  of litter in the underground arcade where many commuters had stayed over and eaten.If the cooking class had finished earlier than I had expected,I would've been stuck in a shopping centre which is few stations away from Chinatown and would have to spend the night there with the other commuters.
There were many long queues at the station and I had to wait for almost an hour to enter a train which was packed with people.

My husband had stayed over at his company and early in the morning,he came back home by a taxi.I was over joyed when I saw his face!

Vernal Thunder ( 春雷 Shun-Rai)

We have an old proverb that says that heat and cold lasts till the equinoctial week which is around the 23rd of September and the 23rd of March.
This morning,at around 6:30 am,there was a loud thunder.
When I was polishing my husband's shoes at the entrance of our house,I saw lightning and heard a roar.Without noticing the lightning,I would've thought that it was an explosion just outside our house as I felt the pressure of the wind through the metallic door!
This loud boom woke many people up.Well,on the other hand,this sign is telling us that the spring season is approaching soon!

                                                      
                                                                   Plum tree with white blossoms

                                                                    Plum tree with red blossoms

Baked Sweet Potatoes(Yaki-Imo 焼き芋）

We have very big and sweet potatoes during the autumn  and winter seasons. When I lived in Singapore, sometimes I bought the sweet potatoes from the wet market  labeled 'Japanese sweet potatoes". But they were much smaller and had less sweetness than the real Japanese ones so I was disappointed

A vegetable shop nearby  bakes sweet potatoes in this season, the nice smell spreads  in the air  attracting many customers who   start to  gather to buy them. I am the one of them !
When I went to  Thailand  I   saw baked bananas in  charcoal along  the road side for the first time .
 I thought they were sweet potatoes!

We have an old saying　by Saikaku Ihara (1642-1693) who was a poet and an author in the Edo period  that women  love sweetpotatoes, octopus and pumpkin.

By chance yesterday I found a real and traditional shop selling  sweet potatoes baked in hot pebbles in a hand cart on the road side　called Ishi-Yaki-Imo 石焼き芋 in Tachikawa , Tokyo. Amazingly his potatoes were much sweeter than the roasted chestnuts!! He said he is famous among the  foreign travellers.

158yen

200yen

Kasu Jiru ( 粕汁）

Kasu Jiru literally means 'Japanese rice wine lees (Sake Kasu) Soup'.
During the cold winter season , we prepare this particular soup to warm our bodies  and hearts .
I normally use deep-fried bean curd , a fish cake , hard jelly  which is  made from  Konnyaku yam potatoes and  vegetable like a white radish, onion, carrot ,burdock , yam potatoes and green onion for the topping.
Sometimes  salted salmon's head  is added  to enhance  the  taste of the soup .
 We use some  soaked  Sake Kasu and Miso Paste (fermented soybean paste) for seasoning  after all the ingredients become soft .

Actually I have  prepared  this  Kasu Jiru several times in this winter  as it  has been very cold..

                                                                   Kasu Jiru

                                             Sake-Kasu ( Japanese rice wine=Sake  lees)　酒 is  Sake.

Konnyaku jelly ( we use left hand side one  for this soup and the other one is for Suki -Yaki)

                                         burdocks, long carrots and a normal carrot

oyster cutlets

If you come to Japan during this season,you must taste the delicious oyster cutlets in the restaurant　as in winter oysters becomes bigger and tastier than any other seasons.
Normally when we eat the cutlets ,we pour a thick sauce which is similar to the HP sauce  and it's  much thicker than the sauce  .It goes well with any kinds of cutlets like pork cutlets called 'Ton Katsu' and Japanese pan cakes called 'Okonomi Yaki(お好み焼き）'

Large amounts of shredded cabbage is usually placed beside the cutlets as it is a good combination.
I used to eat them raw when I got very fresh oysters with the shells.
But now I seldom do this way   as I want to be careful in getting food poisoning.
I prefer to grill them with the shells and then squeeze a lemon on them.
I also love boiled oysters with soysauce ,Sake (Japanese rice wine) and sliced ginger .

                                                                Oyster Cutlets Set (cutlets, rice, miso soup and pickles)

                                                              Most of the food in  this restaurant are  fried items.

                                                                

                                                 You can see　some Japanese words,   Selected big（厳選大粒） oysters（カキ）, produced(産） , Hiroshima (広島）famous for good oysters.
豚(buta) is pork in English.

                                                            You can refill with Cabbage(キャベツ） , rice(ご飯） and Miso
Soup（みそ汁）　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Home Made Oyster Cutlets

my favorite, boiled oysters