Posts from — December 2003

This polished stone baseball and Mizuno bat caught my eye as I passed a gravestone and statuary shop yesterday (That’s a standard Japanese gravestone behind it). I thought the holes were for flowers and incense, but it seems the maker perhaps didn’t have that in mind. Whimsical website for a gravestone maker. ã�‚ã�¶ã‚‰ã�¨ã‚ŠçŸ³ï¼Ÿ

is a vegetarian and vegan restaurant conveniently located at the corner of Imadegawa and Higashioji Streets, an area known as hyakumanben in the district of Kyoto University.

I had a delicious Thai style green curry there today with organic brown rice. Yoshiko had tofu chicken that I refused to believe was not real chicken. I made the waitress come over and swear that it wasn’t real chicken kara-age, but I still can’t believe it. They also have a big gaijin-sized soyburger, and that is my next target.

Tasty, but a bit funny because they are on the third floor above gyudon (1F) and yakiniku (2F) restaurants. Here is their website.

UPDATE: I emailed the restaurant, and it turns out the waitress I talked to was the owner, so I guess I’ll concede that the chicken really was made of soybeans. Also, she replied that the location of Cafe Peace above the two beef restaurants was no ironic accident:

“When I opened Cafe Peace, I deliberately choose that location.The motive of starting this restaurant was to spread Veganism & Animal ethics. So my target was not only vegetarian but mainly meat eater.”

Good place. I’ll be back.

Joi Ito videotaped a maiko performance over the weekend, the ceremony of passing from maiko to geisha in Gion.

My neighbors pound rice into gooey mochi, which is rolled in cornstarch, filled with sweet red bean jam or eaten in various other ways. I did the next round.
Here’s a short video of the pounding. Watch those fingers!

It seems I’ve been nominated twice (?) for some Japanese blog award I didn’t know about, and even got a few votes. Thanks for that. The strange thing is, the leading blog as of Saturday night, something called “Kind of Crap”, is not a blog at all, just a JET’s personal website with journal-style entries. Oh, and he has underline tags on all kinds of things that are not links. Go ahead and look.

It would be embarrassing for me as one of the registered Japan Bloggers to have this award hijacked, even if I’ve never heard of it. Thus, I am asking you, if you haven’t voted, to go over there and vote for Sushicam if you have just a minute to spare. Sushicam is only a few votes behind, and he posts some good pictures. If a dozen or so people vote from here, that might do it, as the voting ends tomorrow at noon.

Then come back here and report your good deed in the comments. I’ll give you a pony.

Sleet is falling after overnight snow on Saturday, the first day of the new Year’s holiday for many people.

This year for the Christmas feast I made egg nog for the first time ever, and it was quite good. I’d only had the strange-tasting kind from the carton before, and it was an annual ritual: “I’ll have a few sips of the junk, this nutmeg-flavored liquid plastic, then I don’t have to touch it for another year.”

This time I made it fresh, it was really simple, and I went easy on the nutmeg. Very nice. This will definitely become a tradition.

EggNog Recipe
(Do this earlier in the day to let it cool)

ingredients:

3 cups whole milk
1 cup cream
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
whole nutmeg
fine grater

In saucepan, beat eggs and add 2 cups milk, then heat it over medium low flame while stirring continuously, add sugar and salt as it heats and keep stirring, but don’t cook those eggs, now, are you listening to me?

When it’s plenty warm but not hot (it will coat a metal spoon), take it off the stove and stir in the remaining milk and cream and vanilla, and add grated nutmeg slowly, checking the taste, till it meets your personal nutmeg point.

Let it cool to room temperature at least before serving, and put it in the fridge to chill further. This is made of eggs, it won’t keep more than a couple days.
Drink it as is after stirring to smoothen it, or garnish with shaved chocolate for kiddies or rum, whiskey or liquer for grown-ups.

Elvis sings The First Noel (mp3)

The Emperor’s birthday (Dec. 23) is a national holiday in Japan, and close to
Christmas, so we cooked a traditional turkey (5kg, about 10 lbs.) dinner at my mother-in-law’s house and invited the Shindomo family. This is Daiki Shindomo, an up-and-coming musical talent, posing with the victim. A traditional turkey dinner in my family consists of exactly roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and peas. This year, everything turned out perfect, the best we’ve done yet, which is a real confidence builder. Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner also normally includes my mom’s unbeatable apple pie, which Yoshiko has mastered, but this year Michiyo Shindomo made strawberry shortcake, and it was excellent.

Daiki being the only kid there, he got a pirate’s haul of presents, and entertained us with songs played on various instruments.