2014 has arrived. I wonder how long it'll take me to remember that when I write a check. In my previous post I sent you my wishes for the New Year. Good health was at the top of the list. In our family, Ricky's cold may be gone, but I woke up yesterday - on the first day of the new year - with a sore throat - his sore throat! I still managed to put together an abbreviated traditional Japanese first-day-of-the-year meal. Of course, some of it had been prepared in advance. Since my plantar fasciitis was starting to act up, I basically spent the rest of the day watching TV and reading.
On New Year's Eve we did not go to First Night Burlington as we usually do. With Ricky's cold and my fasciitis, it would have been crazy to walk around and stand on lines outdoors in the below freezing temperatures waiting to get into performances. Instead, we watched old home movies we hadn't seen in years. We ate soba (buckwheat noodles) for long life, and watched the ball fall in Times Square. We toasted in organic sparkling apple cider.
WhenToshi was growing up, eating sukiyaki was a rare treat. Since beef was so expensive then, his mother reserved it for the first night of the year. Everyone in the family looked forward to it, especially the four children and their father. We usually continue that tradition (I try to carry on as much as I can for both Toshi's and Ricky's sakes as I do my own family's traditions for myself and Ricky.) I had all the necessary ingredients for it but I was feeling so tired and sick as the day progressed that the guys had to eat leftovers last night (though Toshi did offer to prepare it himself). I'll make it for lunch today instead. They enjoy it so much they won't care when we eat it just as long as we do. Although I always make it the night of the 1st, we can afford to eat it other times if we want.
I had prepared an abbreviated version of Japanese New Year foods for yesterday morning. The most important dish was Toshi's family's version of ozoni - the soup with mochi in it that is eaten in nearly every home in Japan on New Year's morning. The soup varies from region to region and even from home to home. The only constant is the mochi - extra sticky rice which has been pounded until it is smooth and elastic and then formed into patty cakes. In the Tokyo area it is a clear, fish-based soup. In Toshi's family home, it was a miso based soup with kombu (kelp) and dried shiitake stock. Once the soup is cooked the mochi is put into it. At this point, the cook must be very careful since the hard mochi will soon soften up and and there is always the danger of it softening too much and losing its shape completely and basically melting away. If that happens you end up with glop.
Just before eating, each person adds katsuobushi (dried bonito fish flakes that look like wood shavings) to their soup. The ozoni used to be accompanied by Okaasan's (Mother's) takuwan (pickled daikon radish). They were a perfect match. I don't make takuwan and the only kind I've found in the area is full of chemicals that I won't eat or feed my family. So I make a different daikon pickle which is a very good substitute and is ready to eat in one day instead of in weeks or months like takuwan.
I also had prepared teriyaki fish, burdock root and a Japanese sweet potato and apple dish to balance out the salty and spicy taste of the other foods. Usually there would be many other dishes - enough to last for several days. But we weren't able to make a trip to New Jersey or even Boston to buy the necessary ingredients as we usually do.
Today we'll have leftovers and the fresh sukiyaki to enjoy. Happy eating to you all.
On New Year's Eve we did not go to First Night Burlington as we usually do. With Ricky's cold and my fasciitis, it would have been crazy to walk around and stand on lines outdoors in the below freezing temperatures waiting to get into performances. Instead, we watched old home movies we hadn't seen in years. We ate soba (buckwheat noodles) for long life, and watched the ball fall in Times Square. We toasted in organic sparkling apple cider.
WhenToshi was growing up, eating sukiyaki was a rare treat. Since beef was so expensive then, his mother reserved it for the first night of the year. Everyone in the family looked forward to it, especially the four children and their father. We usually continue that tradition (I try to carry on as much as I can for both Toshi's and Ricky's sakes as I do my own family's traditions for myself and Ricky.) I had all the necessary ingredients for it but I was feeling so tired and sick as the day progressed that the guys had to eat leftovers last night (though Toshi did offer to prepare it himself). I'll make it for lunch today instead. They enjoy it so much they won't care when we eat it just as long as we do. Although I always make it the night of the 1st, we can afford to eat it other times if we want.
I had prepared an abbreviated version of Japanese New Year foods for yesterday morning. The most important dish was Toshi's family's version of ozoni - the soup with mochi in it that is eaten in nearly every home in Japan on New Year's morning. The soup varies from region to region and even from home to home. The only constant is the mochi - extra sticky rice which has been pounded until it is smooth and elastic and then formed into patty cakes. In the Tokyo area it is a clear, fish-based soup. In Toshi's family home, it was a miso based soup with kombu (kelp) and dried shiitake stock. Once the soup is cooked the mochi is put into it. At this point, the cook must be very careful since the hard mochi will soon soften up and and there is always the danger of it softening too much and losing its shape completely and basically melting away. If that happens you end up with glop.
Just before eating, each person adds katsuobushi (dried bonito fish flakes that look like wood shavings) to their soup. The ozoni used to be accompanied by Okaasan's (Mother's) takuwan (pickled daikon radish). They were a perfect match. I don't make takuwan and the only kind I've found in the area is full of chemicals that I won't eat or feed my family. So I make a different daikon pickle which is a very good substitute and is ready to eat in one day instead of in weeks or months like takuwan.
I also had prepared teriyaki fish, burdock root and a Japanese sweet potato and apple dish to balance out the salty and spicy taste of the other foods. Usually there would be many other dishes - enough to last for several days. But we weren't able to make a trip to New Jersey or even Boston to buy the necessary ingredients as we usually do.
Today we'll have leftovers and the fresh sukiyaki to enjoy. Happy eating to you all.