Japanese cooking class in kyoto

2009/02/27

Spring will come soon...

When snow begings to thaw and the warm sunshine strikes
the ground, leaves of trees get colored with green.
Wild plants such as butterbur sprouts and horsetails raise their heads
in fields and mountains.
And rape blossoms cover all over with its yellow color.

Recently,I enjoy cooking using spring ingredients for my dinner
and decorating with spring flowers in my house.

This is Tarano-me.Popular spring sprout of Tara tree.

Tarano-me is called "King of Tempura".This tempura has
a fantastic fravor!!

Spaghetti with rape blossom & firefly squid.Both are popular spring
ingredients.

You will see this MOMO no hana(peach blossom) at the entrance of my house.
I am looking forward to UME(japanese plum blossom) ,SAKURA(cherry tree)
and my favorite flower Sweet pea.

2009/02/14

Hina matsuri-Girls festival

March 3

Hinamatsuri is a festival celebrated by family with girls,
wishing their daughters a good health and growth by decorating
beautiful dolls made solely for this occasion.
On this day,We prepare special dishes like colorfully decorated garnished sushi,
red rice,clam clear soup and shirozake(white sweet sake made of sake and rice malt).

These dolls were given to me from my grand mothers when i was born.
I decorate them in this season every year with sushi and sweet.

Today I made these 3 kinds of dishes using spring ingredients
for this occasion.

I can feel spring will come very soon !

Chirashi-sushi
Decorated sushi rice with traditional ingredients

　 Wakegi to Akagai no Teppai
Red shell and japanese green onion dressed with white miso dressing

Hamaguri no sumashijiru
Clam clear soup

2009/02/02

Setsubun

Setsubun is held on February 3 and 4, a custom to banish evils
and calamities from households.

I prepare special sushi roll and grilled sardine for my family every year.

After the dinner, we do mame-maki(a rite of throwing beans is to let devils out
and welcome happiness).And then we eat the same number of beans with the age.

2009/01/10

Introduction about Mariko's Kitchen

I will teach you how to make Japanese home cooking with simple technique.

You will see some Kyoto's vegetable in season and local traditional ingredient at my kitchen.
I hope that my place become one of the memorial dinner place for your Japan trip.

Here are some popular ingredient & japanese kitchen tool.

←Kombu(sea weed)＆Katsuo bushi(dried bonitofish flakes)
We use them to make dashi(japanese soup stock)

←Handai & Makisu （using to make sushi rice and roll it)

←Oroshigane&Suribachi.Surikogi
(using for grating daikon,ginger/grinding sesame seed,etc...we use them a lot!)

←Yukihira nabe
These pots can be used for a wide range of Japanese dishes.

←Japanese rectangular omelet pan.
This can be used for sushi-omelet as well.

2009/01/07

NaNakusaGayu
-japanese risotto with the seven spring herbs

Today is the day to eat this cooked rice with seven kinds of japanese herbs.
This is one of the traditional Japanese custom.

There is a meaning to protect ourselves from evil infulence,but also
there is that we eat it to rest our stomach because we had
a big meal during new year days.

It is really simple,but delicious!!

↑radish,turnip,japanese parsley etc...

2009/01/05

Happy New Year 2009

I have new year holidays between the end of the December to January 4.
Many house wife is so busy to prepare the traditional meal
(We call it "Osechi" )and decorate their house until end of December.

Recently famous restrant's Osechi is getting very popular,so people just buy it.
(because making Osechi takes about 2-3days)
Actually Pro's Osechi is really beautiful however I want to say that homemade meal is
the only one.There is no same taste.

I made 15 kinds of Osechi for my husbad and friends this year.
Home cooking gives us a gentle happiness.