red beans and green tea: 2012

Thursday, July 26, 2012

First Birthday

I celebrated my friend’s baby’s first birthday with her family in Kyushu this month. First of all, I was excited to see her baby and play with kids again! What a cute age that is! Her son was crawling everywhere and pulling himself up and leaning against the coffee table, fascinated by household objects, and an awesome car seat dancer/bouncer. I learned about new Japanese customs while I was there. I don’t know how many families still do these customs, but they were very interesting!

So what I gathered from the celebration was that the family members get together and have a nice meal together. We went to a traditional Japanese restaurant that had a tatami room which overlooked the ocean. The food was lots of raw things. They started us off with squid sashimi which was served next to two live squid! It was really freaky because I did not realize they were still living until one of our chopsticks touched the tentacles and we saw it move! It kind of turned my stomach…there was some other traditional Japanese food which included lots of seafood. They later took that live squid back, grilled it, and then served it again at the end of the meal. I’m not sure what the point of showing it to us first was but I guess it was just for looks. Another dish they brought out was “tai”, or sea bream, sashimi that was served on the fish itself. This time I am pretty sure the fish was completely dead. Tai is used for all celebratory events in Japan so it is considered kind of a delicacy. They also took back the rest of the fish, cooked it up, and reserved it. The baby’s cousin was also there and it was fun to play with both babies as they went around the room exploring things.

After we got home from the restaurant, they brought out this big mochi (rice cake) and put a smaller one in a small backpack. They tried to put these straw sandals on him but he just wasn’t having it. Then they tried to make him stomp on the mochi while wearing the backpack. Of course a one-year old who can’t even walk is not going to be much of a stomper, but they said this is tradition to build strength and show that the child will be healthy. The whole process lasted for less than a minute—what do you expect with babies, right? The next ceremony they brought out a bunch of different random objects that were supposed to represent different skills or hobbies. Traditionally you would use a brush, an abacus, etc. They put the random objects in a line and set him on the other side of the room. The objective was for him to crawl to the other side and choose one object, which would represent what he would be interested in when he gets older. It wasn’t really taken seriously—not like being sorted at Hogwarts or anything. I guess it’s just for fun because it’s tradition. Of course is not going to understand what he’s supposed to do in that situation though but it was fun to watch.

Me and Kouki

Kouki's birthday lunch made with baby food by his mom

Kouki's birthday cakes: the one on the left was made with a baby cake mix and yogurt

Squid sashimi and live squid

The cooked sea bream

Squid sashimi and squid stuffed with sticky rice

The cooked squid

Obachan eating lunch

Kouki's cousin, Mei

"Tai" sea bream sashimi

Sea bream cooked into miso soup

Cute Mei-chan

Mochi

Trying to get Kouki to stomp on the mochi

He did not like those sandals!

Babies look cute even when they cry!

He ended up choosing a piggy bank shaped like a mail box...so he'll either be good at saving money or he'll work at a post office?

Saturday, April 28, 2012

The many shades of spring

So April is almost over! It is finally getting warm around here—actually it is HOT. I swear, Japan has only two seasons: summer and winter. It suddenly became summer, but then a couple days where it bounced back to winter…nothing in between really. :/ I am looking forward to warmer weather though. The cherry blossoms have come and gone (it is such a short and sweet season). Now my town is covered in bright green.

Here are some pictures from the cherry blossom season.

my neighborhood cherry blossoms

less than two weeks and they're all gone!

can you believe these are the same trees?

this is close to my house...these yellow flowers grow up to six feet tall by this river.

Last weekend my friends that had their wedding ceremony in Guam had their wedding party in Japan. This is common in Japan, but it still confuses me. The couple gets married just by applying for a marriage license, and then the ceremony and reception are just for show. It seems in Japan the dates can be further apart. I thought in America everything happened all on the same day, no?? It’s interesting to learn about other countries’ customs though. So this time they wore Japanese wedding kimonos (men wear “hakama” and women wear “uchikake”) AND western wedding attire. It is just not enough to only have one outfit in Japan. My friend who got married in Kyushu had four dress changes!

The party was very fun and it was great to see the bride and groom so happy. Like most Japanese receptions, it started off with a speech by someone close to the groom. Then the bride and groom gave a welcome speech (or maybe that came first…). Then the MC went around and interviewed people with a microphone about the bride and groom. Then the bride and groom went around to all the tables to greet the guests and there was some time to go up to their table to take pictures with them (there really isn’t a lot of time to talk with the bride and groom one-on-one, so most couples go to an after party called “nijikai” where they can relax—this of course would require another outfit change!). Then the bride and groom left to change outfits while the guests eat, drink, and chat. Then there is some entertainment: Bingo is a common party game here and there are several different prizes prepared by the bride and groom. The finale was a performance by the bride’s younger brother. It was a great experience to celebrate every part of my close friends’ wedding.

Next week we have some days off for a national vacation called “Golden Week.” Looking forward to relaxing and meeting up with people in Kansai.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

The Weekend

I had a laid-back weekend. I got a new bookshelf for my room and set it up. I think it balances out the wall that my bed is on better. It needs to be filled now though--working on that. I also got a new pillow, so I put one of the other pillow cases I made on it and my daybed is looking good. I love the marimekko fabric (pink poppies and the dark blue print with the apples). It definitely brightens my room. I'm still waiting for bed risers to complete the daybed, as well as maybe one or two more pillows. ;) I also made a picture by cutting out letters from scraps of paper and origami paper to write out "It always seems impossible until it's done," which is a quote I like by Nelson Mandela, and a felt wall decal that looks cute peeking out from behind my bookcase.

I did a bunch of cooking on Sunday to prepare for next week's lunches. I made some tofu and chicken--both turned out well. The trick I learned for cooking tofu is that you have to wrap it in a paper towel and microwave first to get rid of the water inside. Then when you fry it, it won't be all wet. I fried chicken with this seasoning I got and added fresh lemon and some sesame seeds. The trick I learned for making crispy and juicy chicken "nuggets" without deep frying them is to cover the frying pan so the chicken kind of steams while it cooks.

Today is April 1, and I saw some cherry blossoms beginning to bloom. No matter how cold it is or how long winter lasts, there is something truly magical about cherry blossom season in Japan. Yes, it comes with allergy season attached and rain, but the days that are nice are wonderful. I went for a short walk/jog around this river by my house. It has a bunch of cherry blossom trees lined up along it, so it will be very nice once they bloom all the way. There was an old man sitting out and barbecuing. That's the thing about Japan--you'll see totally random things all the time. I mean, the road along the river is concrete. And the trees he was sitting under just had branches with small buds. And it was cold. But there he was, just sitting on some tarp he laid out with a portable grill, probably waiting for his other Oji-chan friends to join him. I really like my neighborhood and I'm glad to live here.

I have a lot of creative energy lately, so I think I might start drawing again. I hope this phase doesn't end soon.

Tried a new original design

Working on my daybed

Felt wall decal and new picture

Fried chicken with lemon and sesame

Seared tofu with Japanese flavors

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Making things

I’m continuing to sew almost every day. Since my accident in February, I think it relaxes me and that is why I have been doing it so much. I think it has a cathartic effect on me and gets my mind off of things. Also, to make one sleeve, it takes about two or three hours with all the cutting and appliqué, but it’s not very difficult or complex, so I can get satisfaction out of accomplishing something. If I were to venture into something more complicated like clothing or bags maybe I wouldn’t keep up with my projects. And how many tote bags can you make/give someone anyway? I like the sleeves because they are functional but also unique. I hope I can start selling them soon.

Last night I made salmon in my toaster oven. I used a recipe that my mom and grandma use, so it reminded me of home. I couldn’t get big salmon steaks like they have in America, and almost all the filets had large bones in them, but oh well. That’s Japan for ya. I mixed Dijon mustard with mayonnaise to make the sauce, squeezed lemon on the filets and then placed lemon slices on top. Then I baked it in my toaster oven until it was tender. It didn’t taste as good as when my mom or grandma makes it but it was my first try, so I guess you could say it met my expectations.

I also made a pumpkin “salad” by microwaving a hunk of Japanese Kabocha, or pumpkin squash, and then mashing it up with some mayonnaise and a little Dijon mustard. I then added some salt, pepper, and paprika. It would’ve tasted better with some raisins thrown in, but I didn’t have them on hand.

Another recipe I came up with is a frying pan faux quiche. It is super easy and healthy! I cooked up some cabbage, spinach, and bacon in a frying pan and then added three eggs that I beat with milk. I put a lid on the frying pan and cooked it on low until the “quiche” firmed up. You could call it an omelet, but the texture was really similar to quiche! I didn’t add a pie crust or anything, so it was healthier than real quiche. Also, I didn’t have any cheese, but the egg texture tasted rich like it had cheese in it! Success! The second time I made it I added “Shin Tamanegi,” which means “new onions.” They are sweet and compliment the spring cabbage very well. I made the mistake of covering the veggies before adding the eggs and the result was them sweating too much, but it still tasted good to me. I make this dish at night and then divide it into Tupperware for my lunches. One of the downsides to living alone is you have to eat the same thing every day until you run out.

Next I want to learn how to make felted wool soap bars and how to do needle felting! I just need to figure out what supplies I need and where to get them…..

Inspiration:

Felted wool soap bars

Wool for felting

Wool roving for felting--pretty colors

Love this artist (not many pics on her website though)