candy

I found candy of lunch box style.
I was surprised.

(.......But there are similar candy traditionally. We sometimes  decolate this kind of  cute candies at girls festival on March 3rd)

setsubun

Feb.3rd is 'Setsubun'
we see packs of  soy beans at the store.
we threw beans at home at that day, to let Damon's go out, and good luck come in home.

From the day ,spring starts. even that day is still cold.

It is said it is good to eat the number of the age of soybeans at that day.

There are another  new custom , to eat  norimakizushi  at the day.
 But it is quite commercialized custom. (store want to sell sushi.)
I don't do that.

tofu lunch course

I went 'NEW YEAR'S PARTY' of my sewing lesson class.
 We usually have either bounenkai (year end party) or shinnen kai (new year's party.)

This year, TOFU LUNCH course.

They served us AMAZAKE ,at the entrance, but it is different way of mine. (they make from sakekasu.)

 This restaurant is near my town, saginuma, there are branch restaurant  near tokyo tower.

amazake

I made AMAZAKE ....................Sweet sake. which doesn't have any alcohol.
 keep 60℃ for 6hours with rice porridge

We can buy kouji　糀　in winter 　easily ,because it is the season we make MISO at home.
KOUJI is an important  ingredient of MISO, SHOYU soy sauce, KOMEZU vinegar of the rice, SHOCHU. This is made from RICE (this is why kouji's kanji is rice and flower) with microorganism.
 I don't cook homemade MISO, but  instead, I made AMAZAKE. I like that.

 It is mystery, as what is not sweet become very very sweet  because microorganism works.
We can buy better kouji, at specialized store, but I bought at the market near by.
.

kagami biraki

On Jan, 11th, people eat kagamimochi.
Usually as Oshiruko.

I didn't cooked red beans this year , I bought paste sweet beans.

Okara

Okara


This is  one of the ingredient which is CHEEP , good budget. You can find at next to TOFU at the food market. One  big pack is usually 50 yen to 150yen.
This is part of soybeans what is remain in the filter , when making TOFU.

I cooked it (the picture)" U NO HANA".

Nexday, I made OKARA SALADA ( it is like potato salad  which use okara  instead mashed potato)

Fuku bukuro

Fukubukuro....Lucky bag

These are  usually sold on Jan .  2nd. The first day  of  opening day of the shops on the new year. We cannot see inside when we buy.(sometimes there are information about that).

I have bought fukubukuro of the clothes, accessories, but  sometimes I don't like that.
now , I buy only grocery fukubukuro. We can eat them anyway.
It is said more than 2times value things in it.
Popular fukubukuros are sold out in  a minutes.
I bought them Jan 2nd 's morning at the department store near by. They were sold out all in the morning I think.(  At that day, department store is very crowded. People dash to buy that.Sometimes there are long queue to enter the store.)

FUKUBUKURO of  Cha, tea, dried fruits,meats,fish ,wines  tsukudani... etc......were what I bought.

Jan 7th nanakusa gayu

On Jan 7th, we eat kayu, rice gruel  with 7herbs.
The  kind of seven herbs is decided. I can find 5-6 in my yard and fridge.
sometimes I　use different kind of herb instead, and count 7kind of herbs.



This year, I bought 7herbs pack at the market. This is easy. I didn't have to look for herb in the frozen garden.

And we went to shrine to put away new years decoration.

 New year's decoration is for god, I feel something sacred, we cannot put away with kitchen garbage.
When I was young, there were bonfire, called 'SAGICHO' and we burned new year's decoration and Japanese penmanship shuji  there, but now it is hard to find that event in the city.

osechi no.2

I added several photos.


What I bought and what I cooked.

tatakigobou
kinton, I used two colours sweet potetoes

Nishiki tamago and Ko haku namasu

Nishiki Tamago is　egg dish , a little sweet.

 I use food processor.  Before I use food processor, I pureed by hand.
Kohaku namasu is  kind of salad, used white raddish (haku/white) and carrot(ko/red) .sweet and sour taste.

steem 15min.

osechi

Osechi is new year's dish in Japan.
I cook every year.

People can see many samples at any department store  at the end of the year.
Many people buy that becasuse family became small, or go somewhere, or work until new years eve,.....etc.
There are reasons.
But I think it is very expensive.

I cook , if I cook too much, and if it can freeze half,  I freeze, and eat  that half another day.