The other day at one of the middle schools where I work, a certain poster caught my eye. It advocated “balance” in your daily diet and featured a graphic that reminded me an awful lot of the USDA’s food pyramid:
Continue reading ‘Rebuilding the Japanese Food Pyramid 日本のフードピラミッドを建て直す’
Humans are curious, inquisitive animals. Even before we developed the linguistic capabilities required to form actual questions, we investigated our surroundings and ourselves with a creative, experimental spirit afforded to us by our large, complex brains and opposable thumbs. And perhaps no question has led to such meaningful answers, such fruitful results, and such educational errors as this:
What happens when I smash it repeatedly with a heavy, blunt object?
Here are a few recipes I came up with for the Kitakyushu JET Christmas party this weekend (thanks for having us, Mash!). People seemed to like them (unless they were just lying to be nice to me), so if you’re pressed for something to cook next weekend, these are pretty easy and fun to make. Actually, the lobster stock wasn’t that easy… but it was good. I would also recommend serving the lobster stock at a more “formal,” “sit-down”-type gathering as opposed to a potluck-type event, because it can be difficult to serve and keep warm at the latter, and the greens tend to lose their structure and aroma if they’re kept in the broth for too long.
Note: Measurements are completely approximated (be careful), and all herbs and spices are to taste.
Meatballs with Fruit and Spice Sauce
For the past three years, I have celebrated New Year’s Eve by cooking and eating and drinking with an intimate group of close friends. Thanks to conversations that sparkle like the champagne we drink and fulfill like the warm, hearty food we eat, the night that I used to spend alone watching Conan’s “Central Time Zone Countdown” or Iron Chef marathons has become one of my nights of the year.
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to spend New Year’s with my old high school buddies this year, on account that I’ll be in Hong Kong (and I certainly can’t complain about that). But if and when I have the opportunity to share another year-end meal with them again, I’ll have a few new tricks up my sleeve, thanks to a class I attended Sunday on osechi cooking お節料理, Japanese food customarily eaten to ring in the new year (Gregorian, not lunar).
