Greetings from Japan. Post a day. Back on track. Thanks for the comments. You know who you are. My opinion is that if you aren't commenting, you aren't really reading. Am I just doing this for my health over here? No, I'm doing it for you. And for my ego. OK, mostly for my ego, but that's where you and your comments and emails come in. Please help my poor battered ego. My id has been kicking my ego squarely in the oshiri recently.
(Alert readers will notice that "Oshiri" has made several appearances recently. I am hoping that this blog will appear in the first page of search results for 'oshiri' in Google, like I did for Mata Ashta. So far, nothing. Do I want to be on there? You bet your sweet oshiri.)
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Girls day came and went. We put the dolls away way too soon for my taste.
Here's a picture of Veronica enjoying her "Girls Day" ice cream.
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Before Cherry Blossom Season comes Plum Blossom season. It's not as crazy and celebrated as the Sakura (Cherries), but it's lovely. Examples.
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Food. Japanese like food. I like food. I like Japanese food. Plenty of things that you and I don't consider food are loved in Japan. Crab brains for example. Called Kani Miso over here. You and I might say yuck. (I would say yuck.) Japanese say yum.
The last time I had Kani Miso was a few years ago. (Editors note: "last time" can be read both as "most recent" and "final occurence".) It was left in the top of the crab shell. Hot sake was poured into the crab shell and the kani miso was stirred in. The shell was then passed around from person to person to drink from. I wrote about the experience to a few people at the time. I likened it to the indulgent image of drinking champagne from a woman's dress shoe. The image works because seafood is generally more respected in Japan than are women. In fact, I think fish got the right to vote first.
I'm sure I've offended someone in the paragraph above. Either the Japanese readers, or the women who read this, or my readers in the sea creature community. To all, I apologize.
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From the "Americans don't consider that to be food" file: Chicken cartilage. Below is a picture of some chicken cartilage for sale in a local meat market. Just below the cartilage is a tray of chicken breasts. The price on the chicken breasts, converting units and currency, is about the same as in the states, more or less. The cartilage, you'll notice, is twice as much.
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Mata ashita
(More about foodish things tomorrow.)
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(Alert readers will notice that "Oshiri" has made several appearances recently. I am hoping that this blog will appear in the first page of search results for 'oshiri' in Google, like I did for Mata Ashta. So far, nothing. Do I want to be on there? You bet your sweet oshiri.)
*************
Girls day came and went. We put the dolls away way too soon for my taste.
Here's a picture of Veronica enjoying her "Girls Day" ice cream.
*************
Before Cherry Blossom Season comes Plum Blossom season. It's not as crazy and celebrated as the Sakura (Cherries), but it's lovely. Examples.
*************
Food. Japanese like food. I like food. I like Japanese food. Plenty of things that you and I don't consider food are loved in Japan. Crab brains for example. Called Kani Miso over here. You and I might say yuck. (I would say yuck.) Japanese say yum.
The last time I had Kani Miso was a few years ago. (Editors note: "last time" can be read both as "most recent" and "final occurence".) It was left in the top of the crab shell. Hot sake was poured into the crab shell and the kani miso was stirred in. The shell was then passed around from person to person to drink from. I wrote about the experience to a few people at the time. I likened it to the indulgent image of drinking champagne from a woman's dress shoe. The image works because seafood is generally more respected in Japan than are women. In fact, I think fish got the right to vote first.
I'm sure I've offended someone in the paragraph above. Either the Japanese readers, or the women who read this, or my readers in the sea creature community. To all, I apologize.
**************
From the "Americans don't consider that to be food" file: Chicken cartilage. Below is a picture of some chicken cartilage for sale in a local meat market. Just below the cartilage is a tray of chicken breasts. The price on the chicken breasts, converting units and currency, is about the same as in the states, more or less. The cartilage, you'll notice, is twice as much.
*****************
Mata ashita
(More about foodish things tomorrow.)
*****************
3 comments:
What do they do with chicken cartilage? I like to eat chicken cartilage, I will confess, but I like to eat it directly off the bone. I'm not sure I would like to chop it up and put it in something else. If they use it to add crunchiness to some kind of mixture, though, I will say this: It would be better than water chestnuts. (Maybe water chestnuts only show up in Chinese food; who am I to know? I only know that they are not my favorite, although they definitely sound better than crab brains.)
PS I almost forgot. From my trove of useless memories, I would like to recount the following:
1978. Kent Gardens Elementary. Choir, directed by Mr. Cox, performing for the school:
Sakura (ting!), sakura (ting!), ya yo ih no sorawa....
(The ting! sound was made by those little finger cymbals...and I used to know all the words. Every now and again I hear the sakura folk song on a classical music station and have to sing it for the rest of the day, making up all the syllables past the first line.) Anyway, perhaps Veronica has learned it and can re-teach me the rest......
I've had chicken cartilage stuck on skewers, and grilled with a little salt and pepper. And it tastes just like it seems like it would. Cartilagey.
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