Mystery Food Revealed!

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

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!

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!

photo
Originally uploaded by osiodhachan

Serious Ramen! I mean it!

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

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.

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.