Winter Dish and Nature;

*Hot-Pot Dish called "Nabe-mono 鍋物"*  (posted; Japanese meal page)

This hot dish is popular diner in Japan during cold winter season. As my aunt kindly sent us Crab as 'Year end Gift' last year, I cooked with them more tasty gorgeous Nabe than my usual one :-)  Here is the links of Wikipedia and picture pages.

I use dried sardine and sea weed then add powered one later for soup.  After eating food in Nabe (earthen pot), we enjoy rice porridge made with the yummy soup left inside the pot. My husband prefers to add some vegetables as well 

Found these sparrows last year along side the river by the hospital 

when I've been to the checkup for my eye late Dec.

*Sunset in the Hazy Sky*

On 4th when we were driving home from errand by the next city's seaside, I've noticed the sunset in the hazy sky due to 'PM 2.5'.  Well, I was in and out from our car for while trying to take pictures in different times :-)  Hope it's appropriate to post...

Thank you SO much for stopping by; 

Hope you all had a good start of New Year, ours are a bit busy one. 

Linking this post to, "SkywatchFriday" , "Saturday's critters", "id-rather-b birdin" , 

"Scenic Weekends", and "MosaicMonday",

Sweet Red-Bean Soup and "夫婦善哉, meoto-zenzai'；

(posted; Japanese meal page)

Zenzai, 善哉;

Sweet Red-Bean 'azuki 小豆' Soup, which we call ‘zenzai,善哉’ is one of my favorite winter sweets.   I made the one in the first picture a couple days ago; and the one in the second was the lunch post from 2,012 here.

"夫婦善哉, meoto-zenzai'    (meoto means married couple)

          This Japanese phrase came to describe "happy married couple".

The old Zenzai restaurant (opened 1,883) in Osaka serves two bowls of them for one person. This menu became SO popular and because of the menu is called 'meoto-zenzai', this phrase started to express the couple who are cooperating their marriage life each other through ups and downs. 

picture from restaurant's home page

Noble and movie were made with this menu title. And even the Enka song whose lyric I love was sung by one of the singer. It was released in 1,987; I was married 1,977 :-)  At that time I was helped by my husband's mental support after the infertility treatment for me didn't work.   Let me paste the video from You-tube introducing both the place and the song from last year.  Haha, I was happy to find this one.

(Sorry it's in Japanese and bit long, I'm happy if you could feel what Japanese Enka sounds like.  But this video is kind of for myself.  She is the original singer of this song.)

I couldn't find the lyrics in English, my poor translation only for the first passage;
          living like duckweeds,  you laugh 　
          around our shoulders, alley autumn shower dancing
          even if we have nothing, my heart can be called a brocade
          I'll follow your foot steps, meoto-zennzai
          your back is my guidepost

 Linking this post to, "Our World Tuesday"

Thank you very much for stopping by, I appreciate your kind visits;

ps.  Happy Australia Day to my Aussie friend.  I knew from my friend's blog. Wishing you will have a wonderful new week.　I have a touch of cold :-)  Visiting you soon, Take Care friends♪

Seven Herbs Rice Porridge (Nanakusa-gayu 七草粥)

 (posted; Japanese meal page)

*Jan.7th, is Seven Herbs Rice Porridge eating Day*

Nanakusa-Gayu with side dishes (grilled turban shell)

This is a New Year's Tradition of eating a rice porridge with seven-medicinal herbs to bring good health and longevity. After enjoying New Year food (osechi), this simple vegetarian rice porridge is very refreshing, help digestive system that is stuffed and exhausted.  Okayu (お粥. rice porridge) is the traditional meal to eat when you’re sick; I suppose the Japanese equivalent of chicken soup:-)　　picture page

*Seven herbs*
My husband's acquaintance who works at the agricultural high school kindly gave us this package of seven herbs which were grown by the students of the school.

Please enlarge the graph below to know what herbs are used :-)
I remember my late mother memorized the names and saying them like a song.

We can buy the seven traditional greens conveniently packaged together at supermarket.

And I found the one we are given sold at the store we regularly use. (left side)

 Linking this post to, "Our World Tuesday"

Thank you very much for stopping by;

Chestnut Rice etc;

(posted; Japanese meal page)

Let me post chestnut rice this year again :-)
Peeling is my husband's job.

Tasting them with right after boiled is delicious as well ♪
Even though I don't like my husband messes the table when we eat them with spoon, p:-)
I wonder how you eat chestnuts.

*Early Halloween Topic*

This is the front door declaration of my friend's house.

I'll post about her embroidery works with another post later.

  Weight application game;

At the supermarket close to my house, winners of this game was announced. You can see the weight of them with enlarged picture. The winner who guessed the exact weight of both pumpkin won the melon worth ￥3,000.

Linking this post to,  "Our World Tuesday", 

I will be a lot freer next couple days; promise catching up soon☆☆☆

Thank you very much for stopping by;

(about my header, please refer to my link page in the side-bar)

Decoration at Airport and Expensive Fish Dish;

I'm linking this post to "Our World Tuesday"
When I went to our city's airport to get tickets, I found this "Gold Fish Lantern" decoration.  I've already posted about this last year but let me show you again by using this years pictures. A coincidence vising there around the same season.

One of the cities in my prefecture (Yanai-city) has "goldfish lantern festival". It was originated through the idea of famous festival called Nebuta Matsuri and used the city's dyeing technique to make them. The lantern became its city's folk-craft article. 

*This year, there was another fish decoration "puffer-fish"* 

From this page; Expensive set dish from restaurant with Sashimi and Nabe

Shimonoseki-city in my prefecture is famous for good fish-catches of Puffer Fish (fugu 河豚). It is enjoyed since more than 2,300 years ago. There were times (mainly, Edo period) prohibited to eat by Shognate, but the first Prime-Minister Hirobumi Ito liked it when he happened to have it. It was the trigger of lifting a bun. Sashimi is delicious but I rarely buy them just because of the price p:)  These are the Wikipedia and Fugu dish pages for the reference. 

*About the flower called 'Gold Fish'*

          The flower of the header above I used for this post before; 
Snapdragon; kingyo-so; 金魚草" in Japanese. Literally means "goldfish flower". This flower was introduced into Japan late Edo-Period and became popular since then. The Netherlands, it's called 'Leeuwenbekjes', winch means 'little Lion's mouths' in English. Interesting how we take the image differently. 

Thanks to Tex and Mariette, I could know these names last year.

There are 2 theories naming the flower goldfish.

        * Snapdragon's petal looks like puckered lips of the goldfish.

      * The whole shape of the flower look like goldfish's tail fin.

You may remember this explanation from last year as well; 

Thank you so much for reading this long post..

Noodle for Summer;

(posted; Japanese meal page)

         This is the simple summer noodle lunch I made; 

This noodle is called "so-men, 素麺". Somen is one of the popular lunch menu especially during hot summer. We have a phrase '喉越しがいい; nodogoshi-ga-ii', which means "pass down our throat comfortably" or 'palatable' for one word. It usually served cold with a light flavored dipping sauce or tsuyu. Like Soba noodle for summer version. With lots of other topic, I missed the chance of posting this drafted one and may be a bit late for summer. As we consider autum is getting close after Obon.      

Somen and cooked chicken

Soba has longer history but Somen is also one kind of noodle date back to 11th century. It is dried like the picture above and boiled in hot water, then drained, and rinsed in cold water. I used lots of ice to chill p:)

Here are the two links about Somen:    Sōmen ; Somen Noodles

                

I'm linking this post to "Our World Tuesday"

　

Thank you very much for stopping by;

Visiting you soon (#^.^#)

Our Spring Taste;

(posted; Japanese meal page)
*Cooked Bamboo shoot; our favorite spring taste*

Sorry that my old friend may remember my old post about this dish. About a week ago, awaited annual gift of spring taste from my next-neighbor arrived. Wife of the family has parents who are semi-agricultural and lives mountain side.  Its season starts from April and we can enjoy them until May. My blog friend taught me that one of the highest fiber content vegetable. So it help us to keep cholesterol levels. I wonder if mine suits my friends' taste in western country.

Ones sold at the stores are a little bit expensive, 

we were blessed with the precious and delectable spring gift. 

This was my late brother's favorite dish too and  I remember his happy face when he came to have them or pick them. We have superstition that Life is prolonged for 75 days when we eat firstling of the season"       I wish to believe it p;)

         Linking this post to "Thursday Favorite Thing"

              

      (PS> So sorry for the unmatched header for the new post.)

Chestnut-rice (autumn flavor)

(posted; Japanese meal page)    

I had another birthday gift on my birthday this year♡♡♡

18th of this month, we had our eagerly awaited annual gift of chestnuts from our neighbor this year as well.  So, I cooked chestnuts-rice on my birthday. I had many gifts this year, harvest moon pictures(from husband), flower-basket(from cousins) and the chestnuts♬♬♬ I felt SO blessed this years birthday. I wished I hadn't got a cold soon after on that day, p;) 

I still am not in perfect condition, but getting better; 

short post of my birthday post sequence, 

Love you always, my friends♪

Autumn taste with mushrooms♪

(posted; Japanese meal page)     

    I'd like to introduce you one of Autumn taste I cooked the other day. 

                            mushroom-rice (キノコ御飯 kinoko-gohan) 

It is a kind of flavored rice with soy source, sake, sugar and soup stock.  I put all the mushrooms you can see below which we can find in Japan. Added some shrimp. 

The store wasn't so crowded, so I took photos of them with mobile phone.  There were some pine-mushrooms from a foreign country.  They are a little expensive, especially the ones from our own country. There will be another chance to show them p;)

I wonder if you have many kinds of mushrooms as much as we do. I never run out of them especially the one in top center (various usages for it).

    Anyways, enjoyed the autumn flavor♡♡♡