Lunch on the Go

Will I ever eat lunch at home again? As I embark on my 7th day of work this week (the result of having 2 jobs), the answer is not looking too good. Maybe at the end of July, when I wrap up both of them, I can actually eat my mid-day meal off a plate again instead of digging it out of a plastic container. How civilized!!

But, right now it's mid-June, so meals that can be packed up are where it's at. This week's concoction was pasta salad, so I boiled up some cheese tortellini...

...prepped garlic for mincing...

...and made the dressing in the bottom of the large container that would house my week's worth of salad in the fridge at home. The dressing is simple and refreshing: olive oil, white wine vinegar, some water, garlic, salt & pepper and le piece de resistance, fresh basil. The picture below hardly does it justice, since it's not scratch-n-sniff.

While the pasta drained in the sink, I sliced up mushrooms and red bell pepper and added them with several cups of lettuce and spinach to the dressing in the container.

The tortellini was the last ingredient to get added to the mix. Look at those lovely layers of goodness.

I put the lid on and gave the whole thing a few good shakes.

Unlike other pre-dressed salads, this one didn't get overly soggy as the week went on. The greens got a bit stuck together, but the dressing is light enough to keep everything tasting fresh. I think there is one more serving for today, then I will have to come up with something new for next week!

"Hoppy" New Year

While Keizo was at work cleaning his clubhouse with his teammates on December 31st, I was sitting at the kitchen table grumpily making a list of all things I thought we needed to do to get the apartment sparkling clean for the new year and starting on the giant pile of laundry that had accumulated. New Year's in Japan means a clean start, literally scrubbing your house from top to bottom, especially those places that get overlooked during regular clean sweeps (i.e. the inside of the microwave, drains and behind the washing machine)

There's really no need to go into all the details here on a food blog, so I will just say it took about 8 hours to clean the apartment, during which my mood went from grumpy to overwhelmed to angry about the gunk that wouldn't come out of the microwave to exhausted. We wrapped up the cleaning about 7 PM; Keizo took a bunch of damp laundry to the laundromat to dry and a I had a much needed hot shower and got ready to go out for dinner.

We headed to a local izakaya that Keizo knew about and enjoyed lots of small dishes with our celebratory drinks over the next two hours. Some of the highlights included the octopus carpaccio and grilled shitake below. In addition to some excellent food, this place had the most amazing ceramic dishes. They are lucky I was only carrying a small purse and none of them ended up back in our kitchen.

Sufficiently stuffed, we thought we were ready to make the 15 minute walk to Miyajidake Shrine for New Year's prayer and fortune telling. Little did we know that it had started snowing, and the wind had picked up while we were inside enjoying our meal. But that wasn't going to stop us, so we walked along the long line of cars waiting their turn to park the shrine. Walking definitely got us there faster, but the people in their cars looked a lot more comfortable.

We stood in the mob of people waiting to throw their coins and pray, got our paper fortunes and tried our luck at the raffle table. We both ended up with consolation prizes; a box of animal crackers for me and a bag full of sweet bread for Keizo and the shrine got 2000 yen richer.

Loot in hand we turned around to head home, but not before stopping for some tea and manju to fortify us for the trek. So here it is, the first food of 2011, the year of the rabbit!

Happy Holidays!

Look at the festive the peppers I picked up at the farm store on Sunday!

This is probably going to be my last post for a while, since the holidays are upon us and I will be busy attempting to entertain my brother Andrew after his arrival in Fukuoka tomorrow morning. We will be meeting up with extended family in Fukuoka on the 24th (my cousin Mike spent the fall semester studying abroad in Osaka) and attending Keizo's rugby game on Christmas together, followed by "Christmas Dinner" at the apartment. I am planning a big Japanese style nabe (hot pot) followed by the Christmas cake we ordered from the bakery up the street.

But before I start cleaning the apartment, finishing my grad school statements and writing some New Year's cards, here's one more meal from the past weekend. In my recipe collection it goes by the name "Orange Tofu Stir Fry," which is a tad un-inspiring, but at least I know where to find it. It goes together quickly; a perfect meal for one when Keizo is playing rugby in Okinawa.

Again, not sure why the picture wants to be sideways, but here it is. The sauce is orange juice, soy sauce, some sugar, chili paste and cornstarch. I used carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, some of the festive peppers from the photo above, and of course, more hakusai. Thankfully, by cooking it and smothering it in sauce, you can't really tell how limp it has become. Just one more serving to go!

Happy holidays! Please stop by again in a week or two for more food-y adventures.

Eat Local

Unless you have grown up on a farm, it is very easy to be skeptical and less than enthusiastic about "organic" and "eat local" campaigns. Even as someone with an interest in eating organic and/or locally produced food, I don't find it very easy. Old habits die hard, and it takes a conscientious commitment to seek out and often spend a bit more money on these types of products.

I am far far away from spending every food dollar on things that are both good for me, the environment and the local economy (hello Costco!) but I like to think that every little bit helps. This attitude led me to the "Wai Wai Farm Store" in Fukutsu, which is a local cooperative selling everything from fish and produce to cheese and packaged convenience foods, all made in the surrounding area. I have no idea how much, if any of it is organic, but it's nice to support the neighbors and I rest a bit easier at night knowing that my produce traveled only a few miles to get to my plate (which I hope helps offset the pasta from Costco that claims to have been made in Italy...maybe just a little bit?)

Even without the environmental impact of food engineered to be picked green and ripen while being shipped thousands of miles, there are other reasons to eat local food. Proponents often claim it tastes better, and if recent purchases are any indication, I agree.

Example 1: Potatoes from "Wai Wai Farm Store" in a simple creamy stew (courtesy of Yummy-san's 3 Step Cooking") Bought immediately prior to dinner preparations, the potatoes were incredibly fresh, a tad sweet and practically melted in the mouth. The broccoli and onions were also from the Wai Wai Farm Store, but were overshadowed by the incredible potatoes.

Example 2: Itoshima mikan. Keizo acquired these through a teammate, and recently we have had a daily consumption rate equal to 3 or 4 each. Thank goodness they are small, seedless and easy to peel! I feel that most citrus can really be hit or miss. There is nothing quite like a fresh, juicy orange and little as unappetizing as one that has been frozen and is dry and crunchy as a result. These mikans have been juicy and incredibly sweet. Some of the larger ones are a tad sour, perhaps they are miffed at being stored in the cold stairway and not in the cozy kitchen. Since the stairs lead to the front door, Keizo has made it a point to collect a few every time he goes in or out in an effort to eat them all at the peak of freshness.

Example 3: Grilled shitake mushrooms with soy sauce and butter, served at Naoko-sensei's house. Like many of the delicious things she serves her calligraphy students before class on Wednesday nights, these mushrooms came from her garden. As an adult, I have come a long way from the repulsion I felt as a child to acceptance and even enjoyment of fungi. These shitake took that enjoyment to a whole new level. I honestly didn't know that mushrooms could taste like that, and judging by the "mmmmmms" and "oishiis" uttered by everyone around the table, no one else did either. Warm with a subtle smoky flavor, it didn't take long for the plate to be cleared. I will definitely be trying to recreate this dish on my own.

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For more information about eating local and the impact of the modern food system on the environment, I recommend checking out grist.org and the books The Ominivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.