The winter coming soon

Kyoto,it is getting colder and colder.

 

It is nice to walk in a mountain. The leaves are changing their colors.

So pretty!

 

 

I love the roots vegetables like gobo(brown burdock),renkon(lotus root)

Japanese red carrot.This carrot is sweeter than normal one and only can get in winter.

 

This is preparing for Chikuzen-ni,which is one of a popular home dish.
Cut the same size and stair-fry with the oil.

 

Add dashi or water with soysause,mirin and little sugar.Then simmer it. 

 

The other day,I had a Oden party with my friends.

Oden is one of the popular pot dish in winter.

It takes a lot of time for preparation,but you can cook everything

before your guests came.That is very convinient menu for party.

 

 

Daikon is boiled for preparation.

 

boiled egg,konjaku,boiled daikon

 

They are all fish paste prodacts.with cheese,mochi and tofu.

The fish paste products are very very popular ingredients here.

 

 

Cook vegetables with dashi soup including soysauce,mirin,and alittle sugar.

for a few hours.

 

Set on the table with pot and add fish paste product in last minutes.

You can pick up some as you like by yourselves.

 

 

I love the Daikon.

This food make your body warm very much.

It's good for cold day!

Create an Autumn Picnic Bento Lunchbox!

 

I like a picnic or hiking in autumn very much.

I often go hiking around northen part of Kyoto or Shiga area.

The mountains are not so high but the views are so beautiful

especially maple colors are changing.

Another fun is bento box.
It is more tasty to eat in the nature.


Autumn in Japan is an  especially popular time for outdoor events
and activities such as sports festival ,school hikes,and shrine/temple festivals.

Many poeple bring homemade bento boxes to these events.
It is always exciting  to see what inside when they are opened.


I feel the bento is special form of traditional japanese culture.

Especially we call the picnic bento Koraku bento.
They are always beautiful and seasonal.

I like to bring with my family or friends it and enjoy the colors of autumn
on picnic along the Kamo River or the river in Arashiyama or some other
lovely locations.

 

This is usu-age(thin deep-fried tofu) for sushi.

I get them at tofu shop.

Cut this age in half(triangle shape) then simmer with sweeten Dashi.

In another pot, this is cooking autumn vegetables(lotus roots,

gobo,and carrot)with dashi.



Add them in Sushi rice.



Put the sushi rice in a pocket. 



Inari Sushi &

 Chicken Tatsuta-age(Autumn deep-fried chicken)

The Harvest Moon  September 22nd




Tomorrow  is the day of the full moon viewing in autumn.
We decorate Susuki(the japanese silver grass) and Dango(simle confections made of rice flour with
azuki beans paste).
This means we serve some food to the God wishing for rich harvest.
People traditionaly enjoy seeing a beautiful full moon with sake tonight.



This Dango looks like japanese autumn potato(Ebi imo).

(We serve this vegetable for God) 



This view is  the moon at the terace of my house the 21st evening.

I hope it will be beautiful day tomorrow.

A few weeks ago,I had a Gyoza party(japanese  dumpling )with my friends.

They are the piano teachers,so their finger works are very good!

Cook then on the table

This gyoza are beautifu brown & crispy.

This is the autumn popular fish ,Sanma (saury).

The simple grilled  are the most popular cooking.

I like to eat them with grated radish(daikon) or lime(sudachi).

Today i made a glatin using the Sanma and vegetables.

Grilled eggplant and Sanma.

Put cooked tomato,onion and cheese on top.Then grill in the oven.

Sprinckle parsely.

This is the corabration of the japanese autumn &Iitalian.

Satoimo(japanese atutumn potato)and pampkin are popular autumn vegetbables.

Cooked satoimo with dashi and soysauce and mirin(sweet rice wine).

The Simmerd vegetables like this are traditional side dish.

Pumpkin croqutte.

Deepfried horse mackrel marinated soysauce,sake and mirin.

Maitake Gohan , flavored rice cooked with maitake mashroom and deepfried tofu.

Sweet rolled omelet with green onion,served with grated radish.

Miso soup with potato and onion.

Simmerd cabage with dashi.

Doyo no Ushi (the day of  Unagi)


July 26

Today is the day to eat Unagi(eel).
You can smell this grilled Unagi flavor everywhere.

It is different way from Kansai(west) and Kanto(east),how to cut and grill.
And people eat this eel in the hot day like today to get some stamina.

I cook some very thin egg sheet.

Today I got this grilled Unagi from my favorite fish store.
They were so busy day.

This is Donburi dish.

The bottom is rice with unagi sauce.

I put a piece of unagi, sprinkle sansho pepper,shreaded egg on top of the rice.
Then steam it.

Serving with dashi soup and pickles.