Ganko Jiji's Ramblings

Happy discovery on our 20th anniversary!

2012-01-15T14:49:00.000+09:00

For those who do not know "yaki tori" is one of my passions. It's basically mini kebabs of various meats, chicken, vegetables. I first experienced it within four hours of arriving in Japan 25 years ago. I was told then to look for the little red lanterns outside of shops to find good, cheap, food and drink.
As fate would have it my first apartment was right next to a yaki tori shop. It became my "kitchen" and hangout for several years; the owners becoming great friends.
In this area, southern Chiba, yaki tori shops are few and far between. Fortunately we discovered a new shop the other day and decided to pay it a visit to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We were very happy with our decision.
"Ippo" or "One Step" has been in business for about 4 years now and is run by a former Ground Self Defense Force soldier, coincidentally my former hangout was also run by a former GSDF soldier and his wife. (Ironic that I always wind up around former soldiers.) The picture above shows the shop's logo on a coaster and some very delicious beef "kushi". The shop's layout is very similar to my old hangout in Kyushu. The draft beer comes from a freshly cleaned server lines, this generally not the case in Chiba prefecture. I would say that 8 out of 10 draft beer servers do not have their lines cleaned on a regular basis.

"Fuku Shogun" Nihon shu

Freshly caught "katsuo".

After a draft beer I moved on to the sake (Nihon Shu) pictured here to the right. A very mellow "Fuku Shogun" which means roughly "vice general". I had it at room temperature and it really complimented the fresh young tuna sashimi you see pictured above (the master gutted and cut it right in front of us).
Needless to say we were just beginning to have a good time when other like minded revelers stumbled in and the basic litany of questions ensued as to age, nationality and length of stay in Japan. I'm sure they will get to blood type the next trip. By the way, sports and politics are banned subjects at "Ippo" so we have to leave our soap boxes and logo ball caps at home.
Back to the subject at hand, food! a special item for my Google+ buddy Steve in San Diego who mentioned "mentaiko" just hours before my wife and I left the house. Below you can see beautiful golden brown chicken wings which are stuffed with the above mentioned spiced fish roe, "mentaiko".

Grilled wings stuffed with spiced fish roe!

I think it goes without saying that we will be a frequent patron at "Ippo" in the coming year. It's located in Tateyama not far from Number 3 Junior High School, across the street from Kiyota cake shop.

Below you can see the generous pour of Jack Daniels on the rocks, which led to more silliness and self portraits of happy campers.

Looks like a triple on the rocks!

3 sheets in the wind

Cafe Del Mar, a video visit.

2011-07-27T13:30:00.004+09:00

Recently, we got a new action camera and since the only action we see is going out for a cycle or eating in a nice cafe, we decided to see how it works for food reviews and restaurant recommendations. My previous posts featured the wonderful curry and omelette with rice at Cafe Del Mar in Tateyama. Our charming host, Chika san, prepared the Indonesian fried rice you see in the video. Very delicious and mildly spicy. You really should watch the video in full screen. It's only 11 seconds.
As time goes by we hope to show you more video reports from the field. Is this how Anderson Cooper got his start?

Cafe Ohana, Ginza, Tokyo.

2011-06-07T11:43:00.000+09:00

Vegetable Curry (front) and Hash Beef

You can call it fate, good judgement or an innate sense that someplace could be great that often has led me to wonderful, off the beaten path, restaurants. There can be no better example of this than “Cafe Ohana” in Tokyo’s Ginza. With a hungry 18 year old boy by my side and a safe, comfortable choice of a “Subways” sandwich shop right in front of us, I took a chance to walk down a narrow hallway and take the elevator to what has turned out to be our “place to go” for lunch when we are taking photos for my other blog, “Panache Japan” http://panachejapan.blogspot.com/.
We dropped in, on a whim, for the first time just 2 days before the terrible earthquake and tsunami struck Japan. I was impressed right away with the friendly greeting in English as we entered and the quick, excellent service. Even more so. I was delighted by the thinly sliced ginger pork lunch I had then, which I believed I only posted on Twitter.

Facing the entrance & bar

Last week, June 1st, we returned to Tokyo for a spring photo shoot and began to look for “Cafe Ohana” again. The streets of Ginza as you approach from Yurakcho Station can get pretty confusing amid all the traffic and distractions, but we did manage to locate our landmark “Subways” sandwich shop and the narrow passageway that leads to “Cafe Ohana”. We purposely went there early to beat the rush and were lucky enough to get the interior shots, you see here, of the charming cafe without any other customers. If you look closely on the tables you can see “reserved” signs, a warning to anyone wanting to go there for lunch without calling first. We were lucky.

I had intended to get the pork again, but decided to try the vegetable curry. You can see my meal in the forefront of the food shot along with the “Hash Beef” that my son ordered.

Heir to the throne

Overlooking Ginza

Both meals were wonderful and not expensive at all, only coming to ¥2000. The vegetables were fresh and the salad was very crisp.

So I’m sure that the next time we go to Ginza we will at least stop in for coffee, but most likely call and reserve a table for lunch, charming service, great food and a relaxing atmosphere all in one “off the beaten path” cafe.

Cafe Ohana

Tel: 03-3567-4388

Chuo Ku Ginza 3-3-12

Ginza Building 4F

Cafe Del Mar A Place to Rave About!

2011-04-14T16:42:00.000+09:00

Scrumptious "Torotoro omelette"

To say I don't often get to rave about a place without taking a long train or bus ride would be a major understatement. Recently while on a bicycle ride in the Hojo Beach area of Tateyama I noticed a new cafe. The veranda and proximity to Tokyo Bay pulled me back one day to try lunch. The cafe was a little busy, but I really wanted to enjoy the deck and the fresh spring air. I ordered a "green curry", pictured below, hoping that it might be like Thai "gang guy" spicy curry. My expectations were exceeded when I tasted the wonderfully spicy dish which I was presented with white rice and a small carrot salad. Not for those who avoid spicy dishes, I warn you, but absolutely perfect for my overjoyed taste buds! I decided that my curry loving son should try it at the first opportunity which was today.

Spicy Green Curry!

He ordered the curry and I decided to try the "Torotoro" omelette, pictured at the top of the page. I often enjoy 'omurice' which is an omelette wrapped around a mound of rice-a Japanese creation that my son is quite good at making for the family. This, my friends, was no ordinary omelette! As spicy and delicious as the curry was, this dish was rich and flavorful. It is now going to be difficult to decide what to order for lunch. They also have individual size pizzas which I'm looking forward to trying late one Saturday afternoon. They close at 6 PM

Japanese are not like Europeans when it comes to eating outside. Cafes and restaurants with "al fresco" dining are difficult to find. In rural areas it's often difficult to find an eatery with an unobstructed view of street or scenery. It's a "privacy" issue. Just ask Google Earth about that problem.

This is not the case at "Cafe Del Mar", even though you can't see Tokyo Bay, the veranda is spacious and provides a view of Tateyama's spanish style train station, just a 3 minute walk away.

Finally, I must not forget the service which is charming and bilingual. The young lady who served us spoke English quite well. This led to my eventual question. "You are not from around here are you?"

By all means, if in the area of Tateyama station, visit Cafe Del Mar for a touch of class and great food.

Life will never be the same.

2011-04-10T08:00:00.000+09:00

Imagine you've got it made from birth. Your family owns agriculturally rich land and has for generations. It has provided enough money for you to educate your children who have moved off to urban centers for work that is not dirty or tough. Life isn't bad and your eldest son, now in his 50s, has stayed home to continue the tradition. You've modernized harvesting with the latest equipment to make up for the shortage of labor. Life is good.
Then it happens, before spring planting begins a massive earthquake spews a tsunami across your fields, destroying everything in it's path including your eldest son working there. Fate has spared you and your grandchildren who were safe at a school, but everything you had is gone. For good measure, to complete the destruction, much of the sea water lingers in your fields with no way to pump it back to the ocean.
As you read this, imagining yourself in this man's shoes, picture yourself living in a gymnasium with scores of others, including your grandchildren who cry for their parents and have nightmares.
This is not fiction. This is reality for thousands of victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. What are they to do? The hopelessness of their plight has driven several to suicide and more can be expected in a country with a tradition of suicide.
Much of the western media have moved on, covering the nuclear plant disaster in Fukushima, badly, or muckraking elsewhere distorting reality to sell advertising. I don't miss the celebrity journalists at all, but the world has an image of Japan being "rich" and able to spring back as it did after Kobe. This is a different story. An urban center is much more resilient than a rural area populated with senior citizens. They are going to need much more than a fighting spirit to embark on a new way of life.
Don't stop imagining what it would be like if it were you in this man's shoes.

After the deluge.

2011-04-03T11:39:00.000+09:00

If you look closely at the date of my last post you will see it was March 10th, the last normal day that Japan will experience for many days to come. We were in Tokyo the day before when the Tohoku area had a strong pre-shock to the massive quake that came on the 11th. We didn't notice it as we were probably on a train or in the metro at the time.
Needless to say, I haven't been in much of a mood to blog for the last 3 weeks. We live at the mouth of Tokyo Bay on the end of the Chiba peninsula and have been spared this time. Except for the major hit this area is suffering due to the loss of domestic tourism, life goes on at it's normal tedious pace. The frustration I feel living in such rustic surroundings is compounded by sadness for what happened and the inability to take physical action to contribute to recovery. I also have a nagging sensation that like the upstairs neighbor taking off his shoes, the second one is about to drop.
So, I have found myself getting more into the Japanese things that comfort me and give me assurance that an earthquake and tsunami will not keep my people down. I enjoy listening to traditional Japanese music and reading the haiku of my favorite poet, Santoka Taneda. Since spring and cherry blossoms are upon us now I thought I would share a haiku that seems appropriate for the season and recent events.

weeds that may die
any time
blooming and seeding

Peace be with you.

At theses prices, one is enough!

2011-03-10T13:23:00.002+09:00

As some of you may know I have dropped a lot of weight over the last 6 months by adapting my lifestyle to my age. I can no longer pound down the beers like I did at a spry young 45 years of age. So when I do imbibe I go for quality over quantity. No more do I guzzle a gallon of "Lite"; so while in Tokyo yesterday I made a quick stop, before boarding the bus home, at a pub that specializes in Belgium beer and poor service(by Japanese standards). The beer you see pictured here was a cherry flavored brew with a 6% alcohol level. At ¥980 plus service charge that comes to about $12 a glass. It was good and I'll probably never have another, unless of course the "bubble economy" comes back and companies start picking up the bar tabs like they did in the late '80s. I get misty eyed just reflecting on those days.

Mystery Food Revealed!

2011-03-05T16:20:00.000+09:00

Wakame bud, Mekabu

I posted a "foodie" quiz on Twitter (@libramuse) last night, "Identify the mystery food". You can see the original picture at the right and a full view of the sea vegetable "Wakame" below. We were given this monster strand by a good friend after her English lesson last night. The photo in the quiz is of "mekabu" which is the bud of "wakame" and the prize of the whole package. "Mekabu" is usually purchased in small packs at the market already processed and ready to eat with a little vinegar or soy sauce. It is touted for it's health properties, primarily it increases fat metabolism and helps burn off those "love handles". I can testify to this along with the benefits of green tea in the same, ahem, area.

A wakame strand straight from the sea

I compare "mekabu" preparation with democracy in Egypt. It takes a lot of work to get it, then requires boiling to kill the really nasty stuff-then it changes color to a bright shiny green, yet you still have to cut off and discard the remaining bad parts of the old plant. Only after all this sacrifice and hard work is it ready for public consumption.

I know this isn't readily available in most markets, but if you are ever in a Japanese restaurant and they push a small dish of slimy looking green stuff in front of you, remember what your mother used to say, "Eat it, it's good for you!"

Itadakimasu!

Healthy and slimming Mekabu

Plum Trees in Bloom 2011

2011-03-03T13:10:00.001+09:00

Plum Trees in Bloom 2011
Originally uploaded by osiodhachan

Just a quick entry with a few pictures I snapped today with the iPhone. On my way home from the market the beauty of these trees in the bright sunlight was just stunning. I actually enjoy plum blossoms more than cherry blossoms; they say, "Spring is here."

Oops, this posted to the blog too!

2011-02-19T19:24:00.002+09:00

photo
Originally uploaded by osiodhachan

The photo you see on this post was intended to go to my Tumblr blog and Twitter. However, I've changed so many settings on the mobile and my blogs that I have faint idea as to where things will pop up!
Just as well, what you see here is our very handy combination grill, hot plate and "tako yaki" cooker by Tiger. This version has been replaced with newer models that are just as versatile and convenient. If I were a single person I think I would just leave it on the living room table and use it almost exclusively. Bacon and eggs for breakfast, hot sandwiches for lunch and many other possibilities for a quick dinner for one.
We even use it on the patio in the summertime when it is too hot to cook inside.
So, an inadvertent post is sometimes better than none.
Special thanks for Glamourous Girl for commenting on this post or I wouldn't have noticed there was a picture with no text!

2011-02-19T19:23:00.001+09:00

photo
Originally uploaded by osiodhachan

Serious Ramen! I mean it!

2011-01-17T12:14:00.000+09:00

We had a little R&R in Tokyo last week and met up with our friend Mark "Magnum" Williams who introduced us to a ramen shop in Akihabara. Jangara specializes in Kyushu ramen and has several shops in Tokyo. I lived in Kyushu for over 10 years and am quite serious about ramen. There are many pretenders, but Jangara is serious ramen. The above pictured bowl is the top of the menu version and the orange item in the soup isn't a carrot. It's karashimentaiko a Fukuoka delicacy. This was simply the best ramen I've had this century! Expect to stand in line if you go there during lunch hours, but it is well worth the wait. So now we have a dilemma every time we hit "Akiba", Star Kebab or Jangara for lunch. It's going to have to be a coin toss.

Strawberry Fields

2011-01-16T08:21:00.000+09:00

As the January wind rages over the vinyl covered "strawberry fields" here, I'm sure the original fields of Beatles song fame are covered with snow in New York's Central Park where the concept of fresh strawberries in January is as alien as a Boston Red Sox fan in Yankee stadium. But, I digress. Baseball season is a long 2 months away.
Today, I must tout the joys of being able to enter heated greenhouses and gobble down massive berries like the one pictured here. The southern tip of the Chiba peninsula sits on the edge of real winter for the rest of Japan and the tropics to the south. Fierce winter winds rage here howling like banshees in the Irish night, yet we get no snow and the temperature seldom goes below freezing. Due to these favorable climatic conditions there has arisen a booming business in strawberry and flower picking, all of which you can pick to your hearts content for a specified amount of time. Of course all of this for a fee. Today being Sunday I'm sure there will be a caravan of tour busses coming from Tokyo/Yokohama and points north on the infamous Tateyama expressway. The evening traffic jam headed back to "urbania" is something to behold. I have seen it many times as I return from the opposite direction after a fun and frolic weekend in Tokyo. I'm sure such a traffic jam is no joy for parents of toddlers with bulging bladders and a bad disposition.

So if you feel you can inhale about 2 large strawberries a minute, you can challenge my former student's record of 60 in a half hour, hop on a train, give me a "tweet" when you get here and "Let me take you down" to strawberry fields.

Adult or not, 20 is a milestone.

2011-01-10T09:37:00.000+09:00

Monday morning holiday here in old Nippon as it is "Coming of Age" day. A holiday to celebrate all who became/will become 20 years old this year or last, wife isn't even sure which. These new adults all put on traditional kimono and go to a ceremony in their hometown, where the boys and some of the girls too, generally speaking, act like the imbeciles they really are. Japanese kids are basically coddled until 20 which is way too long in my opinion. Of course the news tomorrow will report on the few who will not see 21 as they go out drink too much and drive to fast. However, for the casual observer it is a feast for the eyes to see all the beautiful kimono on the way to and from the ceremony. My boy has 2 years to go before his and we have yet to decide if he will participate or not. Actually it will be his decision entirely.
We will observe the day by doing a little shopping, buy train tickets for a trip to Tokyo and enjoy a warm meal of "nabemono" this evening. Tomorrow should see a "return to normalcy" as Woodrow Wilson so full of hope once said. I hope your life has finally returned to normal after the holiday season.

Brown Rice "Mochi", the safe way to get energy!

2011-01-06T08:48:00.000+09:00

Just a short post today to share with you something my wife "discovered" last night. After our trip to the in-laws where I voiced my love for "mochi" made from brown rice,"genmai" in Japanese, she decided to try put the rice in a food processer and see if a glutinous mass resembling "mochi" would result. To my surprise it did. She shaped them into small, sausage sized, patties and let them set overnight. This morning she browned them, a toaster oven is fine, and added them to miso soup. I am no fan of white rice mochi. To me it is bland and dangerous-at least 9 people died last week when it stuck in their throats. "Genmai mochi" is much more palatable and not as dangerous as the white globs of commercial...stuff.
I don't expect to convert you to a "mochi" eater, but if you need to carbo load for running or cycling, it is a great source of energy that won't constipate or kill you like white rice "mochi".

Temple at Dawn

2011-01-02T08:49:00.001+09:00

Temple at Dawn
Originally uploaded by osiodhachan

On my early morning "power walk" I passed Yasuoka temple near the Sea of Japan coast in Shimonoseki. The ferocious winds of the last few days finally abated and the early morning calm was striking. The local dog walkers were stunned by the encounter with a "foreign devil" who greeted them loudly in Japanese. I'm sure I was mentioned over "mochi" & green tea in several households!

New Year's feast!

2011-01-01T09:42:00.001+09:00

New Year's feast!
Originally uploaded by osiodhachan

New Year's day in Japan means we feast on food prepared the day before and watch zany TV programs. This year we are visiting my in-laws and enjoying a little different taste. There are many other pictures of "osechi" on twitter. Check them out!

Final Dawn of 2010! It was a very good year!

2010-12-31T07:38:00.000+09:00

As I sit on the upstairs tatami floor of my in-laws ice box house, the sun is rising over western Japan and the rest of Asia for the final time in 2010. It has been a fine year for us. Of course there has been the downside as well, most notably the passing of my sister-in-law at much too young an age, also my “big brother” cousin passed without being able to say good bye.
In reflection, I realized that of the 44 New Years that have transpired in my adult life I have spent 21 of them abroad. Of these, 2010 was a year of major change for us as I left my job before it completely dried up due to a lack of students. Now I find myself a masterless samurai, “ronin”, in quest of new teaching adventures.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, in which I said farewell to my political activism stage and quit my old Twitter account, we all experience stages in our lives. In my case, I realized that it was well past time to put aside some vices that were no longer appropriate for a man of my years. I see far too many folks my age and even younger that have allowed habit to make them unhealthy and unhappy. Mind you, I am not going to become an evangelist for sobriety, fitness and nutrition, and I fully realize were I 30 years younger I would still be asleep and would be hungover when I did get up; after all, it is the New Year holiday weekend.
This was a very rare year in which I was successful in my resolution to lose weight down to 75 kilos. I need to be more disciplined in 2011 and explore the physical limits of a body that wants to surrender to the law of inertia. Never give up, never surrender. Bushido!
This won’t be my final post of the year, but is the final major post. Later I will post pictures from our final 16+ hours of 2010. I wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Kanmon Bridge

2010-12-29T13:22:00.001+09:00

Kanmon Bridge
Originally uploaded by osiodhachan

This Kanmon Staits Bridge that connects Honshu with Kyushu at Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu City. Cold and grey, but still very picturesque. Eating at a cafe with this view.

Bullet train interior

2010-12-28T09:25:00.001+09:00

Bullet train interior
Originally uploaded by osiodhachan

For my followers who live abroad, this is the interior of a Nozomi Shinkansen (Bullet train). We just passed Mt. Fuji on the West side, Tokyo Bay on the East. Very smooth ride.

"Over the River and Though The Woods"

2010-12-27T06:46:00.000+09:00

Today, Monday before the New Year’s holidays is trip prep day for us. From tomorrow I will be doing some mobile blogging and Tweeting from the in-laws I southern Honshu. They will see their grandson for the first time in 14 years. I know, my wife and I should be flogged for not visiting them since we came back from “that country”. The cost has been almost prohibitive as it costs more to go there than to go to Los Angeles. It appears that granddad is “sweating” his return; we got a very rare telephone call from them last night checking on our plans.
I would normally look forward to a bullet train trip, but not with luggage and definitely not over the crazed “Shogatsu” holidays when the trains run at 120% capacity. Cold prevention gauze masks are de rigeur . I am looking forward to getting some good photo ops and some “different” victuals from my mother-in-law’s kitchen.
So if you are so inclined, make sure you click on my links on Twitter that mention a blog post. Don’t you know that 140 characters just don’t get it on special occasions and in my book, everyday is special.

Christmas Japanese Sweets

2010-12-24T17:46:00.001+09:00

Christmas Japanese Sweets
Originally uploaded by osiodhachan

"Wagashi" or Japanese sweets can be charming as well as sweet! These are special for the season. Best wishes for a happy Christmas!

Buckwheat noodles in curry soup

2010-12-21T13:40:00.001+09:00

Buckwheat noodles in curry soup
Originally uploaded by osiodhachan

"Soba" is buckwheat noodles and a favorite of mine. This is from a shop on the bypass in Tateyama. It's one of several "mom & pop" shops that I love to visit.

"Mom and Pop" shops a vanishing treasure.

2010-12-21T11:20:00.003+09:00

The year seems determined to finish as its has presented itself so far, unseasonably warm. Yesterday we made the 2 plus hour trek to Makuhari, between Chiba and Tokyo, to see the movie “Tron”. After the movie, which exceeded my expectations and introduced me to the music of Daf Punk, we had coffee al fresco on the patio of a little Italian restaurant,”Pinocchio”, in the outlet mall next to Makuhari station. The pleasure of having a civilized coffee outdoors in December is hard to measure, especially considering that one of my Twitter friends in Miami was complaining about the cold. Today, so far, the weather has been fabulous with flowers that normally bloom in Spring bursting forth. This strange weather could play havoc with the seasonal trade in flowers in nearby Shirahama. Normally tours from Tokyo and Yokohama come here by bus after the New Year holidays to pick flowers along the beach(and strawberries behind our house). If the flowers bloom too soon and then get hit by a normal cold spell it could be a very disappointing ride for the senior set.
Recently I have re-discovered the joy of avoiding the 2 nearby “super” markets to patronize some of the locally owned specialty shops, a meat market, a fish mongers.
In this area it is almost needless to use the term “mom and pop” to describe any shop that isn’t part of a regional or national chain. There are many shops that have closed their shutters for good for various reasons, primarily old age and competition away from the center of town on the major “bypass”. It is sad that the personal attention, friendliness and service that these “mom and pop” run stores provide will soon be a faint memory.
In a few minutes, my son and I will take advantage of this fine weather to have some wonderful buckwheat noodles at a local, you guessed it, “mom and pop”, soba shop.

Christmas Hearts.

2010-12-19T09:10:00.001+09:00

IMG_0632
Originally uploaded by toshihide.sato

I'm taking the opportunity afforded by the arrival of a great seasonal photo on Flickr by Toshihide Sato to try out posting to this blog directly from Flickr. If it works as hoped, it should be a great way to quickly blog pictures, a welcome alternative to Tweeter.
If you have time you should visit Toshi's photo stream. He has some very nice night photography going on there and autumn foliage in Kyoto.
Let's see how this works.

From JFK to Obama; why I'm done.

2010-12-17T14:21:00.002+09:00

It’s no secret that we go through stages in life, most of them segue seamlessly; yet we all have climactic moments that we can pinpoint; the birth of a child, death of a loved one, war. We also have currents that run throughout our lives, our passions, our fears and hopes. I have been a political animal, espouser of causes, a would-be world saver since my senior year in high school when I attended a campaign rally for John Kennedy and had the great fortune to meet him and Mrs Kennedy. I spent part of one, long, very hot summer during university in Montgomery, Alabama much to the distress of my mother. Those were exciting times and you could almost feel a change was coming, not the current “change” of a glib, charming charlatan.
Recently, I’ve made some major lifestyle changes best characterized by the country western icon Willie Nelson when queried as to why he quit drinking; “I got sick and tired of waking up feeling sick and tired.” I have had more lucid moments in the last 3 months than in the last 20 years. There were several events during the summer that formed a perfect storm for a new stage and I realized what I could do to make my life more harmonious.
As I look at world events over the past 50 years I feel that all my involvement, all the arguing with conservatives, all the ranting on Twitter and even the tear gas inhaled has basically come to naught. We all preach to our own choirs and seldom sway opinion. The truth is that I don’t want to waste anymore time trying to save the world. I’ll leave that to the “bright-eyed and bushy tailed”-as we were called by our wonderful civics teacher my senior year in high school.
It’s time now to be at peace for the rest of my life, enjoying my passions for music, baseball, food, prose and poetry. Of course, I mean my own personal peace. I have little hope for humanity to stop doing what it has done since the first human cracked open the skull of another.
So I have decided to retire my “political” Twitter account, @GGMMX, to concentrate on blog posts. Twitter has introduced me to some great folks and I hope they will continue to follow me on my protected, non-political account and/or read my blog. The caveat being, if you start ranting about politics or religion, you are gone! So, if you are a campaigner or activist, I wish you more success than those who have gone before you and I urge you not to darken my door.

New Year's Priorities!

2010-12-15T14:12:00.000+09:00

We are now just 2 weeks from the end of another year and time to start contemplating what one would like to accomplish in the coming year. I got a late start on my "resolution" for this year, but have managed to lose a significant amount of weight; thanks mainly to my wife's cooking and co-operation. But, let's put this year to rest and ramble on about next year.

I feel that I need to Twitter less and blog more. I mean, after all, wasn't the original idea behind "web logs", to express yourself, share ideas, recipes, .etc with those who find they share your interests. I can't promise you that every post will have pictures of Japanese food. In fact that is the purpose of my Tumblr photo blog which has a link on this very page. I intend to revert to the original web log concept. When something worth sharing occurs I will share it here. I intend to completely eschew politics and world affairs. I have had my fill.

My goal for the coming year is to learn to sew. My wife is quite a talented seamstress and she has already deigned to teach me. I hope to be making my own shirts by this time next year. I'm already on a learning project to take 4 inches out of the waist and seat of an old pair of jeans. I told you I lost a significant amount of weight. This brings to the front my primary goal of maintaining the lifestyle I have adopted over the last three months.

Resolutions made on new year's eve often fade quickly from memory. So, maybe we should just call it "prioritizing".

I will post another blog about closing my main Twitter account soon.

Mayo and Miso dressing for Grilled Avocado and Pita Sandwiches.

2010-07-29T09:16:00.000+09:00

My wife finally wrote down the recipe for the dressing/dipping sauce for the grilled avocados.

1/2 cup of mayo (Japanese -Kewpi- is the best.)
1.5 tablespoon of Miso. Avoid using heavy dark type.
1 teaspoon of grated garlic.
2 tablespoons of olive oil or grape seed oil.
pinch of freshly ground pepper.

Mix all together with a whisk or spoon. Apply liberally to avocados after grilling. I also like it very much in fried egg and eggplant pita bread sandwiches. Just fry up what ever fresh veggies you have and put them in pita with a fried egg.

Grilled Avocado Skewers! Is that possible?

2010-06-28T09:50:00.000+09:00

On a dreary rainy season Sunday morning my wife tells me she is going to grill avocados on the BBQ. Now where I grew up vegetables never saw the BBQ grill. That fire was for meat and lots of it. So when I came to Japan and saw that most grills were covered with vegetables of all description I was very disappointed. Time has changed that opinion and it wouldn't surprise me to see almost anything perched on a grill. Yet, I was very skeptical about avocados. "Won't they fall off the skewers?", a Twitter friend asked me. My thoughts exactly, but not to discourage culinary inventiveness, plus the fact that nothing I could say would stop her, I remained silently skeptical; no mean feat for me I assure you.
So she breaks out the aging "shichirin" charcoal brazier- the workhorse for outdoor cooking in Japan. After the coals have reached their "white stage" she plops 3 metal skewers, see the picture, of avocados on the fire. Use metal skewers or bamboo ones that have been soaked in water. You can't walk off and let these cook like other veggie as they need constant attention and must be turned if the fire flames up too much. They only take about 3 minutes or so before they are done. My wife uses a miso and mayonnaise basting sauce whichalso slows down the surface burning.
So there you have a simple appetizer that really compliments grilled beef. I suggest you play around with different basting sauces.

Home process anchovies!

2010-05-30T13:52:00.000+09:00

My wife got the bright idea to process and keep anchovies as they were fresh and in plentiful supply at the supermarket. She sold me on the idea when she said that the liquid by-product of the process was fish sauce, or called Nouc Mam in Vietnamese. We usually buy the real stuff if we see it in specialty stores, but those are all in Tokyo or Chiba city, 2 hours from here. So she did the cutting and packing and I snapped pictures. We waited 30 days and I am very happy with the anchovies. The fish sauce is much milder than I like, but maybe it will get a little stronger.

So between making salted anchovies and growing our own jalapeño peppers we have some pizza toppings to go with our fresh basil.

Guess we'll have to do a mozzarella cheese project next!

My students and I say good-bye!

2010-04-05T18:32:00.000+09:00

Here's a great group of folks saying "See you around!" as I end up my stay at Griffin And Sabine English school. It's been a fast and fun 8 1/2 years, but time to move on and try something else!

Thanks kids!

2010-03-07T09:15:00.000+09:00

This blog is in serious danger of becoming another Japanese food blog and that was not the original intention. It's supposed to be curmudgeonly! You can see there are links to my other photographic excesses elsewhere on this page. I want to step away form my "ode to gluttony" and discuss something very dear to my heart.

I came to Japan in 1987 to "pick up Japanese and study Aikido", naively thinking that 2 yrs would suffice. In those days if I didn't like a place I moved on. In other words I was single. The economic bubble was about to burst and all were happy in a fool's paradise. Even then there were grumblings about shinjinrui or "new human beings" referring to the younger generation-that group of people who made up the second post war generation. I dismissed a lot of that in those days as simply generational grumblings that have existed since the beginning of the industrial age and perhaps before that.The "bubble" is now a distant memory and the current generation of "crumb grabbers" are spoiled grandchildren of the aforementioned shinjinrui.

I have no problem with the fact that currently Japanese are not having enough children to replenish the current population level. I think it's a good thing and would encourage the rest of the world to follow this example. Less people require less workers in agriculture and food production. As Martha Stewart used to say, "It's a good thing." Besides, what pampered little darling trundling off to first grade next month with a $300 leather backpack will want to harvest rice or stand on the deck of a whaler and go toe to toe with future eco-nuts?

The problem with the current crop of kiddies -here it comes the old gray beard dumping on the younger generation- is that their parents and grandparents have never experienced privation and fear of sudden death at all. They have no one to tell them stories of how tough life can be. Of course every year in August there are TV specials about the war, but my guess is that these kiddies won't be seeing them as they will be too enthralled with other media.

This is a society that values cuteness and gluttony. If you can stand it, try watching Japanese TV for a day. How many shows do you see where the key words are "cute" and "delicious"! I have no problem with that, but how is the younger generation going to get any idea of the real problems of the world.

So next month, when you see the fresh crop of first graders in their little yellow hats and ridiculously expensive rucksacks, be sure to exclaim in a loud voice, "kawaii" or "cute"!

A Trip To Shiki in the Dead of Winter

2010-02-12T18:39:00.000+09:00

January and February are bad months in the restaurant business; bad for the owners; good for customers who battle cold weather and depleted bank accounts after New Year's madness. Shops have very few customers and rely on a few New Years parties to staunch the flow of red ink. My wife and I stopped by "Shiki" one day after she got off work to see the chef, take a few pictures with my new camera and enjoy some sashimi. The photos you see on the right are of the interior and a wonder platter of lightly grilled scallops paired with raw spotted prawns known as "Ama Ebi" or sweet shrimp in Japanese.

We were lucky enough to be able to chat at length with the chef who has the very colorful hobby of raising Japanese ornamental carp. It seems that no two fish are exactly alike as he showed us a magazine with many pictures of these expensive beauties,

Soon spring will be upon us and I'm sure his business will pick up.

So if you plan to travel to the tip of the Chiba peninsula and would like

try the fare at Shiki, let me know and we can make all the arrangements!

I'm posting this for the first time via Picasa and will apologize in advance for any strangeness that results.

Bon Apetit!

Akihabara's Linux Cafe and Star Keba

2010-01-03T06:30:00.000+09:00

Everyone has their routines and preferences and my son and I are no different when we visit Tokyo. As many of you already know, we are dedicated techno dweebs of the first order and it should be of no surprise that we like to stay close to “otaku” heaven in Akihabara. Actually we stay in Ochanomizu at a small hotel adjacent to Kanda Myojin which overlooks “Akiba”. Checkout time at the hotel is 10:00 and most shops in that area don’t really get going until 11:00 so we generally hang out at “Cafe Solaria” aka “Linux Cafe” located one block off the main drag in the shadow of the new black office building on the main corner in Akiba. The coffee is good there and they have patio tables facing the street which make for good “maid” watching as they bounce to work.(Not recommended this time of year as it’s too cold to sit outside). My son, famed carbohydrate killer, also enjoys their pastries.
If we arrive in Akiba directly from Tokyo station and it’s near lunchtime we generally head for “Star Kebab” which is located an Ichiro Suzuki baseball throw from the aforementioned Linux Cafe on the same street.
“Star Kebab” started out as street vendor a few years back selling what the Turks call “Donner Kebab”, the Greek “Gyros” and the Levantine Arabs “shwarma”. Did I leave anyone out? Basically it’s finely sliced meat stacked on a vertical rotisserie and slowly cooked as it rotates. I fell in love with these in Jordan and Syria back in the day as they were, cheap, filling and delicious-although of suspect sanitary standards. At “Star Kebab” 1 sandwich is equal to about 3 in volume if compared to street vendors in Damascus. I enjoyed the selection in the Middle East as you can get beef, chicken and my favorite lamb.

My son’s favorite is the “donburi” rice bowl with the kebab meat topping and yogurt sauce and we prefer to eat in the shop so I can enjoy a nice cold draft beer with my sandwich. The service is friendly and multilingual-Japanese, English and Turkish.
“Star Kebab’s” success has spawned several other take away joints in Akiba, but I prefer making the walk to their shop.
So, if you ever get to Akihabara before the rush begins, I recommend “Solaria”, aka Linux Cafe for a light breakfast and “Star Kebab” for hearty fare at lunchtime.

Happy Year of the Tiger!

2009-12-31T10:37:00.000+09:00

In a short time it will be 2010, a year of the tiger. I thought it appropriate to post a woodblock print of a bald guy with a tiger.(ukiyo-e, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi).
I would characterize 2009 as the cow it was. Other than the US electing it's first afro-american president, I can think of nothing really outstanding.
In sports for us in Japan the top stories were about baseball. Starting in the spring with Team Japan's second victory in a row of the World Baseball Classic, followed by Ichiro Suzuki breaking an ancient record by hitting safely more than 200 times for 9 years running, and finally Hideki Matsui became yet another Japanese MVP in the World Series of American baseball.
Personally, in 2009, I developed cyber friendships with people all over the world via Twitter. I can't thank everyone who improved my life this year via links, personal messages and witticisms!
My greatest fear is that I would omit someone. So you guys know who you are! Thank you, ありがとう, Gracias, Merci, شكرا, 谢谢.
As for 2010, MMX, I hope that all will have good health and enough fortune that you will feel compelled to aid those in need. I wish you peace on one hand, but on the other hand the words of Billy Joel at the end of a concert in Gainesville, Florida, decades ago also ring true, "Don't take any shit from anyone, Gainesville!"

Sincerely,
Your hardheaded uncle(Gankojiji)

Simon O

Lunch and Dinner of Champions!

2009-11-23T10:12:00.000+09:00

Wheaties may be billed as the “Breakfast of Champions” and that maybe true or not, but in the world of sumo and in our house Chanko nabe is the meal of champions.

First I must say that nabe mono is one of the few endearing benefits of winter. In my heart, good hearty comfort food is the ONLY good thing about winter. But for the uninitiated nabe simply means pot.(I’ll not tell you what it means in street Japanese). In the case of nabe mono it means an earthenware pot. Often translated as “hot pot”, the translation fails to express the richness and warming qualities of nabe mono.

There are many blogs, photos, and recipes of hot pot cooking on the web so I’ll let your fingers do the browsing. We enjoy chanko nabe as it is the famed food eaten twice daily by sumo wrestlers. I have seen them belly up for breakfast at the McDonalds in Ryokoku since they generally don’t get breakfast at their stable.(If they win their bout of the day they can get free burgers after the match at this shop) Suffice it to say there are as many different varieties of nabe mono as there are cooks in Japan. I am sure that there will be more pictures of vegetables and meat bubbling in broth on my food blog and Flickr before the winter is over.

Going out for a nabe mono dinner can be quite expensive and the best shops are often run by former sumo athletes thus driving up the prices. For a family night out a trip to a chanko shop is hard to beat.

Japanese Country Cooking; beyond sushi!

2009-11-13T10:44:00.000+09:00

A friend, a sushi chef, once said to me that if I returned to my country, I’d starve. I laughed and told him that Japanese food was pretty much available in the “civilized” parts of my country. But thinking about this I realized that I was wrong. Sure, there are sushi shops in the wilds of West Virginia and “Japanese” restaurants in many landlocked areas. But as for quality “country cooking”, fresh ingredients just aren’t available-not to mention qualified and experienced kitchen help.

When I first arrived in Japan I was often served small plates of unfamiliar, shall we say, “goodies”. Training and upbringing taught me to eat whatever others around me ate and afterwards inquire to what it was. Of course there were times when I regretted that first bite. Culinary adventures they were, but nothing like appendages of sheep or simian sauté(another story)!

I’d like to introduce you to some of the items that I have grown to enjoy including more informative links that will give you greater detail.

I first experienced “fougere de mers” or “undaria pinnatifidia” in grad school before coming to Japan. In an attempt to make “ichiban dashi” http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/hints/dashi/dashi.html for Japanese soup I succeeded in smelling up my basement apartment with the aroma of low tide.

“Wakame” http://www.physorg.com/news77201733.html is cursed by it’s English name “seaweed” but is an integral ingredient in Japanese cooking. It’s off shoot “mekabu” http://www.nilab.info/cheapjap/000920.html and more at http://epicureandebauchery.blogspot.com/2009/03/terms-mekabu.html was introduced to me by my wife as a healthy way to lower cholesterol. It looks pretty dreadful, but it is quite tasty.

Now that cold weather is here I enjoy “arctium lappa” or burdock root http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_burdock in my soba and “oden”. This relative of the Deadly Nightshade plant is quite delicious and has been used extensively in Chinese medicine and is supposedly this source of origin of “velcro”. Harvest this plant at your own risk!

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the other slimy yet tasteful addition to buckwheat noodle(soba) soup. “Yamaimo” or “Dioscorea opposita” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioscorea_opposita is a yam and is grated and added to the noodle soup at presentation.

Time and your patience with this blog are running out so I will leave other highlights of Japanese “country cooking” for another date.

I have given the Latin names primarily for my readers who live in Japan and often are asked by bleary eyed bar patrons how to say these dishes. Unless they are serious students and taking notes at the time, I like to give them the Latin(if I’m in condition to remember). I enjoy the look of dismay as I say “Discorea opposita”. I feel like Harry Potter invoking a curse!

Curry to Die for By the Beautiful Pacific!

2009-11-06T09:48:00.000+09:00

Here is Japan we are spoiled by really good restaurants and wonderful service. My Twitter friends often post pictures from little out of the way “Izakaya” and generally it’s of what we have come to call “comfort food”. The kind of food that “sticks to your ribs” and leaves you with that warm comfortable feeling.

Being so spoiled it is seldom that I do more than publish a few pictures on my photo blog http://gourmetjapan.tumblr.com/. Note and disclaimer that this is also where I often post pictures of family cookouts under the influence of uncontrolled substances. However, today I do have a place to rave about.

Kamal, http://sale.riseresort.com/index.html , was brought to my attention by 4 students mentioning it in class over a 2 week period. Then a student volunteered to take us to this beachfront “curry shop” located between Chikura and Awa Shirahama at the tip of the Chiba peninsula. We all know the mantra about starting a restaurant; “Location,location,location!” They have completely ignored this and placed it at lands end. I half expected to see “The Black Pearl” anchored on the horizon. It is worth the trip!

I know there are many wonderful Indian restaurants in Tokyo and I hit them when I can. Shops in Yurakucho and Ginza come to mind. But I must throw down the gauntlet and challenge any of them to make better “Nan”(Indian flat bread) than I had Sunday night; absolutely the best in recent memory!

At lunchtime(1100-1500) they offer it as an “all you can eat” side dish with their curry sets. I don’t think most people could hold more than one. Sumo wrestlers not being “most people”.

The dinner menu is served from 3PM, meaning lunch specials are over and the prices change. If I were to drive here from Tokyo, I’d want to have lunch, see some sights and return later in the evening for dinner. They stop serving at 9:00. Speaking of sights, Kamal is so close to the Pacific that global warming will put them out of business if success doesn’t prompt them to relocate first. I defy you to not walk across the road and gaze at the Pacific!

Finally, I must allay any doubts you have about the Nepali beer they serve at Kamal. It’s quite good actually and I would say better than 80% of what passes for beer in North America. That, of course, is just my opinion.

Their website is noted above and is only in Japanese, but prices and pictures should inspire you. The website is much slicker than the restaurant, so don’t expect anything fancy from this 5 table shop; beach sandals and jeans no problem.

Tabletop cooking!

2009-10-19T09:07:00.000+09:00

The climate here at the far end(I'm being nice today) of the Chiba peninsula is such that we can cookout 9 months of the year. Bundling up against the fierce wind is sometime required, but February cookouts are not out of the question.

Yesterday we came across a little stove that reduces our reliance on charcoal to cook "yakitori", the popular mini-kebabs that almost all foreigners learn to love. I had my first skewer (don't go there) within hours of arriving at Narita in 1987 and have never stopped loving them. You can see the Iwatani Robata gas oven above on our picnic table. It is very easy to set up and get cooking. Of course the difficult part of yakitori is what happens behind the scenes. Cutting the chicken and other delights into "skewerable" sizes is a labor of love, but each person can build their own "kushi" at the table. If you use bamboo skewers you should soak them in water for a long time to reduce the possibility of them burning. This little oven comes with rests for the skewers which fold down out of the way if you just want to grill meat and vegetables .

I suggest using longer metal skewers with the heatproof handles. It may require a little more clean up, but you could then cook safely without the skewers catching fire. As you can see from the picture to the right the stove will flare up from time to time. For this reason yakitori chefs are required to hover over their masterpieces, turning them constantly.

As I mentioned before, wind is a factor in outdoor cooking and as you can see from the next photo down, care must be taken when using the grill as the wind will send flare ups flying.

If you visit my honest to goodness nothing but food and drink blog, you can see some of the other culinary crimes we have committed outside. My favorite being apple pie baked in a Dutch oven perched on a small charcoal brazier.

http://gourmetjapan.tumblr.com/ .

Bumper Stickers, Philosophy and Twitter.

2009-10-10T11:41:00.000+09:00

One does not often see bumper stickers in Japan. Apart from the small window sign that tells us that there is an immature, regurgitating, human life form in the vehicle. Japanese cars go pretty much unadorned. You do see the little colored leaf that tells us if a driver is a "newbie" or incredibly old and shouldn't be on the road any longer. Hint, the green and yellow ones mean they still have pretty good eyesight, but not the best of judgement. Now that I have insulted well over half of the Japanese nation, nothing personal of course, lets move on. Why would Japanese not be inclined to commit amateur philosophy on their cars? Simple, he says, required classes!

You remember, quite fondly I'm sure, required classes. Those entry level courses often taught by bored graduate teaching assistants to indifferent under grads in cavernous, poorly heated classrooms. I'd be interested to hear which one was your least favorite. Japanese have required courses, but I'm sure "Introduction to Western Philosophy" isn't one of them. Oh, please, I still remember the excruciating hours listening to that guy drone on. Not a grad student(who would get a post graduate degree in philosophy in the first place), but a full fledged Ph.D deigned to enlighten a room full of disinterested adolescents! However, as scintillating as they were it wasn't the lectures that made us into a nation of one line philosophers-it was all that reading in preparation for the exams and condensing the wisdom of the ages to forms usable in essay questions. Then came the late '60s and a large segment of the population wanted to get all philosophical in traffic and the bumper was no longer enough; entire life philosophies started to appear. (Disclaimer) My Volkswagen van had absolutely no painted flowers. Of course this trend spread to the masses whose last required class was 8th grade English and that was the end of any form of civility.

I haven't been stuck in traffic in the US for many years, but judging from some of the Twitter philosophy I see; I'm sure things have only coarsened and worsened. So the next time you see one of those little green/yellow(wakaba) or brown/orange(koreiba) stickers on a Suzuki mini car, just remember; it could be a hell of a lot worse.

Don't forget to let me know which was your least favorite required course.

Kappabashi is for Cooking!

2009-09-30T09:03:00.000+09:00

Many great cities of the world have long established neighborhoods that specialize in products. I remember the dazzling gold "souq" in Damacus as well as the less appealing meat shops in other areas. Tokyo's most famous "town" is Akihabara or "Electric Town".

Lesser known, but possibly more significant, is "Kappabashi" which supplies kitchenware and restaurant fixngs for households and Michelin 5 star restaurants. If you are a foodie or just a kitchen gadget nut like myself, you owe yourself an afternoon in Kappabashi.

My interest in knives was a source of distress for my departed mother who thought no good would come of a hothead with a knife. Fortunately on this occasion she was wrong and I have channeled this love along culinary lines. The gleaming beauties you see here are displayed in a wonderful shop "Kamata" which has been in the business since 1923.(http://kap-kap.com) The master was very friendly and informative once he was comfortable with our Japanese ability. These are works of art and worth a "drop in" just to browse. You might want to leave your credit cards in your other wallet. However a great knife is forever, and you can pass it along to your kids.

Competition for the diners yen is very high among Tokyo's over 180,000 eateries so displays and gimmicks of all sorts are available in Kappabashi. The picture of a giant shrimp being eyed warily by Betty Boop was taken in "M's Display and Sign"(http://minegishiSS.com). Display items for bars, clubs and restaurants know no bounds here.

The same holds true for the very "camp" shop of Mr.Shimura who displays americana goods from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Everything from a full sized working jukebox to tin advertising signs from the past are available here. My wife intervened before I could buy tin adverts for John Wayne cowboy movies. His webpage is http://www.shimura-s.co.jp Below is a picture from the front of his store. I do have to go back there, alone.

There are many more wonderful shops I could tell you about, but I will save them for another posting. I will leave you in probably the most photographed interior on the Kappabashi way, that of the triple decker shop Kajiwara. This shop has an incredible amount of kitchenware, but you must mind your step and your head while browsing in the upper levels. Happy shopping in Kappabashi, near Ueno station.

Incident at Yakitori Okamura

2009-09-18T10:26:00.000+09:00

On our summer vacation trip to Tokyo we stayed in Asakusa since my wife found a good bargain at a hotel we had stayed in before. I'm no big fan of that area as it is much too "touristy" for me. That said, I agreed because the price was right and it is just a short walk to the "Kappabashii" area which is the cooking goods and restaurant supply area of Tokyo. I intended to get photos for a blog post on this very interesting area; that should come next week.

Our second evening there, in quest of yaki tori, we came across a new large cloth "kanban" or sign displaying the face of the shop's master. The very same master was twirling small skewers of chicken on a grill facing us through a small window(see picture). The prices on the sidewalk chalk board looked reasonable so we went in.

The 2 storey shop's main floor is narrow with only four tables that I could see without rounding a corner by the kitchen. The other tables were occupied by a family of 3 young girls and their parents and a lone non-japanese customer waiting for the skewers I mentioned before.

The family group was already into their meal and their table was crowded with plates and empty beer mugs.The drama began just after we ordered. I faced the entrance way, as is my custom, and was taking a picture of my son, when I heard a loud crash next to me. Apologies filled the air as the family scrambled to escape a large puddle of draft beer and broken glass. The young father stood rather sheepishly by the table perfectly drenched in the beer that didn't make it to the floor.

Not seeing what had happened, and from prior experience, my first thought was, "fight"! No way, this is Japan.I've only seen 2 fights in 19 years and I caused one of them.(Long story)

The waitress in this newly opened shop had pushed the limit of the table to critical mass and a beer mug had fallen to the floor, soaking the father's pants on the way.More apologies and cleaning ensued as the very cool master joined in and dispatched a young kitchen employee out the door. Fortunately none of the kids was cut as they had managed to slip off their sandals before the incident.

The mess cleaned up and more beer arrived with compliments of the house and I thought the incident finished.

Soon the young kitchen staff returned clutching a large bag marked "Uniqlo". The master gave the bag containing new slacks and underwear to the father who scurried off to change. The end of the story saw the family of tourists leave the shop without paying a single Yen. Master and staff bowing on the way out as they would later do to us while apologizing for the commotion.

Oh, by the way, non-plussed the master's yakitori was excellent. So If you are ever in the Kaminari mon area of Asakusa, across the street from Starbucks you will find a large kanban with a grinning face of a young chef who has his act together.

Below you can see some of the prices for party groups in the upstairs room.

Autumn Appetite and Outdoor Cooking

2009-09-08T08:37:00.000+09:00

It will come as no surprise to my friends and the neighbors that we are crazy about food and cooking outdoor. Autumn always brings the best weather for the latter as well as "Autumn appetite". Aki no shokuyoku, in Japanese, means the natural increase in appetite that comes with cooler weather. For us it means we break out the Shichirin charcoal brazier. Basically this miniture stove is used to grill fish over a frugal portion of charcoal. They are available in home centers for less than ¥1000 ($10 USD) and come in various shapes. They are made from a special type of clay and we replace ours about every 2 years.

The above picture(right) of thin sliced pork rib meat wrapped around Japanese basil (Shiso) demonstrates how to cook Yakitori or skewers of chicken and other goodies.

But diverting from the norm of 3 or 4 pieces of charcoal there are more interesting things one can enjoy.

For steaks, thick burgers, and Dutch oven cooking a hotter fire is needed so you should build a strong fire by adding coals to your base fire. The photo above left shows small pieces of wood added to some charcoal to speed up the process. My wife has baked biscuits and even an apple pie using a Dutch oven on a shichirin. Needless to say the apple pie was a lot of work, but the baking was extremely simple. There are plenty of pages devoted to Dutch oven cooking on the Web. Below you can see how she lowered the pie into the Dutch oven onto a steel trivet. She used aluminum foil(heavy duty) to lower and remove the pie. The top crust was a little over cooked so it's not necessary to load up the top of the oven with hot coals.

With a little ingenuity and a lot of patience you can do a lot of cooking on the little shichirin.

Are you "bogus eco"?

2009-08-23T17:20:00.000+09:00

Young singles in hope of finding a partner flock to an "Eco" event in rural Japan and take up chain saws to bring down trees in hope of finding an eco conscious mate. Bogus eco! They could have been planting trees in Tokyo. What did they do in the evening, sit around a bonfire and sing "We are the world"?

But, in fairness, isn't this whole grassroots efforts to save the planet doomed to failure without a complete restructuring of the materialistic value system of the advanced world? Since you are reading this on a computer it is safe to say that in a nearby room their is a large electric box keeping your food from spoiling. In another room another smaller box that brings you pictures, entertainment and advertising telling you that you need more of their products. It is equally safe to say that nearby there is a petrol powered vehicle waiting to take you wherever you want to go. Comfortable climate controlled rooms allow you to sleep and work without breaking a sweat. Not that you should feel guilty about any of these modern conveniences; I don't.

Now that we've established our starting point. Which one of you wants to go tell 1 billion Chinese and soon 1 billion Indians that they can't get in on this gravy train?

China and India have just as much right to comfortable lifestyle as we do. There's the problem. Where are all the resources going to come from to fill all this demand? All the above mentioned products require massive amounts of resources to produce and maintain, not to mention disposal/recycle.

Now if you have recently adopted a frugal, environmentally friendly, lifestyle-as the owner of the above pictured bicycle has-don't let me dissuade you. But, in my view, too little too late. Time magazine warned the world about the explosion of the population bomb back in the '60s. Over population and dwindling resources makes this trendy "Eco" movement almost laughable. How about turning off that light when you leave the room.

A 2 year stay now approaches 20!

2009-08-16T12:14:00.000+09:00

There are almost as many blogs about Japan as their are foreigners with computers. I have 2 other photo blogs that are devoted to Japanese food and the many wonderful restaurants in this country. No tipping please! Good service is a mark of personal commitment to the customer.

This blog will be the ramblings of a "ganko"(hard headed) "jiji"(rough Japanese for geezer"). Postings will cover many passions and peeves which accumulate with the years. They will be highly opinionated and sometimes insensitive; that's the nature of ganko jijis. If you are easily offended I suggest developing a thicker skin; mine comes in very handy. Your comments are welcome at the end of each post!

I started living abroad when I was 3 in Alaska which was not a state at the time. When asked where I grew up I always say, "... in the back of a '49 Ford".

My family and I live in rural Japan which I am slowly getting used to as I approach "retirement". Fortunately we can reach central Tokyo on a bus when being surrounded by others of my ilk gets to be too much. I love Tokyo and would move there if circumstances permitted, but the rent we pay here is just too sweet.

That's enough about me as I see a twitchy index finger hovering over a mouse ready to move on to another blog.

In future posts I hope to inform you a little and when possible make you at least smirk if not guffaw loudly attracting curious stares from fellow slackers drinking coffee at Starbucks. Not that you are a slacker! What did I just say about "thicker skin"?