Cooking in December

The Oyster is the best season in winter in Japan.
I cook it for sashimi,deep-fried,use for gratin and pot dish.

Tonight I am making flavored rice with oysters.

I cook the seasonings and ginger.

This rice has very rich flavor.

The spinach is one of the winter vegetabes.

This is making Spinach and dried shiitake mushroom with sesame dressing.

This is one of the popular dish in my kitchen.

This is very simple but beautiful side dish.

This is  the small round radish,ko-kabu.

It is very popular winter vegetables in kyoto.

I use it not only japanese dishes also western style dishes.

Cooked with deep-fried tofu.The base of the soup is Dashi.

Enjoy the small kabu(round radish)!

Cook with kombu(sea weed)dashi until it become soft.

Pour the Shiro-miso sauce(white sweet miso).

The shiro-miso(sweet miso) is very kyoto-style.

This huge round dikon is Shogoin-daikon,which we can get
only in winter. It is also one of the traditional  vegetables in kyoto.

This is more mild flavor than regular daikon.

I use this giant radish for  Pot-au-feu.

It is very winter dish.

I have been decorating my house for the Chirstmas.

This is my  Christmas wreath.  Isn't it pretty?!

I love it ! You will see it at the entrance of my house.

These are my favorite chopsticks holders.They are pretty.

This is pink Princettia.

We japanese celebrate the New year mainly, but  the Cristmas is also
popular event,especially for the children!

The local festival


I had a fire ceremony of my neighborfood in November.
This purpose is for wishing our health and good luck.
I worked to decorate them these foods.

Served Mochi(rice cake),orange,sweets,and sake etc for God.

This fish name is Thai(sea bream).
We eat this fish when we celebrate something.

The winter vegetables like Daikon,Gobo,carrot and lotus roots.

Traditional dried foods like yuba(soymilk skin),shiitake,kombu,and squid.

A priest from the local shinto shrine is praying for us.

And the wooden sticks which are written our whishes are burned

in front of us.

After praying is finished and they are burned all, we add the oranges in it.

We eat grilled oranges together.

People say "you can spend in winter with good health if you eat this orange"

The other day,I decolate Suisen(winter flower,narcissus) at my tatami room.

And served Macha(green tea)for my friends.

One day,.I found very fresh Kisu(sillaginoid fish) at my favorite fish store.

I decided to make Kisu Tempura for our dinner.

Prepare the slice pieces.

The taste is very delicate and beautiful!

Winter is coming close


It is getting cold and the all maples have changed the color in kyoto.
I am preparing my winter jackets and gloves.

I cooked this fish dishes recentely,because  we can get a lot of good fishes
in cold season in Japan.

This is Buri(yellow tail).This younger fish is Hamachi.

Buri has very rich taste and good maching with a Daikon(radish).

Boil the Daikon in a hot water.It is the water which is after I rince the rice.

Quick boil the Buri in another hot water.

Combine together Daikon & Buri and simmer with soysauce and sugar
for an hour.

This is very tasty and feel winter flavor.

This green vegetable is the leaf of the Daikon.
I cut it small pieces and stair fry with a little bit soy flavor.

This is a Daikon rice.

Also we eat a lot of japanese potatoes in this season.

This is Ebi-imo,which is a kind of  potatoes in winter time.
The texture is a little bit sticky and i love it.

This is Ebi-imo glatin.Cooked with white miso(sweet miso) sauce.

Satoimo  This is one of the popular potatoes.

This dish name is Kinukatsugi.
Kinu means "cloth" and katsugi means "wearing".
So we serve it with the skin and peel ourselves when we eat.
It is very simple cooking and just steamed or boiled with salt
Enjoy the flavor itself of the satoimo.

The Autumn vegetables 2

Autumn is called to be the season for reading,sports,and appetite.

It is time to enjoy the king of mushroms,matsutake(pince mushrooms),

salmon,ginkgo nuts,Pacific sauries,taros,chestnuts.

Tamba area is the famous place for chestnuts.

(northern kyoto prefecture)They are so sweet.

Kuri-Gohan
I like to cook chestnuts with rice.

This is Mukago,which is baby taros.

Mukago is not very popular,so we can get it only in this season.

Mukago-Gohan
This rice has very rich flavor!

These are the ingresients for Dobin-mushi,
which is matsutake mushroom and hamo(coger fish) steamed in

an earthenware teapot.Add mitsuba(japanese persely)and

sudachi(citron) in a last minutes for the flavor.

Enjoy the smell of autumn!

The Autumn vegetables


It is still hot in daytime,however i can feel the autumn's wind in the morning
and evening.

I have changed the autumn flower"Rindo" at the entrace of my house.























I cooked some autumn dish using Renkon(lotus roots) ,
Satoimo(taro patato) and Gobo(burdock).
These vegetables grew up under the ground
and they are popular autumn vegetables.

You will see them at my kitchen in this season.
















"Tataki Gobo"
This is my favorite side-dish.
Boild burdock dressed with sweeten-sour sesame dressing


















This is another Gobo dish. "Gobo no Kakiage"

Renkon(lotus roots)

"Renkon no Kimpila"
This is also my favorite side-dish.

"Tsukune Renkon"

pan cake of grind Renkon and yamaimo

Tempura of lotus roots sandwiching grind shrimp&shiso leaf

Sato imo(Taro potato)

Satoimo mochi" pan cake of taro.

Autumn is the most enjoyable time to eat!!