Special things for hinamatsuri

Peach flower........as hina festival is peach flower festival.
Clams   ................ perfect pair,
                     golden pair of clam is my mother bought for me when I  married,
                      When I was small, there were some of my grand mothers,
                     but I played with that , kept in the toy box, and broke. ....bad girl.
                     Many years ago, kaiawase (this is kind of the game , similar to concentration.)
                       was the what bride bring when she married,
Sweets..............hinaarare（usually white and pink colored puffed grain)  and hishi mochi（three colored rhomboid shaped mochi)
shirozake ...........white sake.. I don't like it.
                         instead, I use amazake, or calpis.

menu of HINAMATSURI

This is　a typical traditional Girl's festival menu.

CHIRASHIZUSHI  and Hamaguri no ushio jiru and salad of na no hana

CHIRASHIZUSHI is different from  that of sushi restaurant. (sushi restaurant of chirashizushi is usually with raw fish. Once my son weeped at sushi restaurant , as the chirashizushi he ordered was different from what he imaged.)

  sweetly cooked carrot, dried shitake, kanpyo, and shrimp.......(differ from family) are in it and beautifully arrange with yellow egg, green leaves or green string bean, and red salmon roe or  pink colored sweet freaked fish (sakura denbu).. Every thing is favorite of small children.

Hamaguri ushio jiru ......this is clam soup, with salt and soy sauce taste.

this clam must be still in the shell, when it served.

Clam shell  doesn't fit another shell,  fits only original pair.

So, this means happy marriage in the future.

When I  was small, I wore kimono, and parents  used to invite my cousins,  held hina matsuri party at home.

Display of hina dolls

March 3rd is girl's festival day, every family who has daughter display hina dolls at home.

They pray their daughter's  healthy growth and happiness , well beings with the dolls.

 Mothers often talk  each other on Feb,

" Did you display hina dolls?" 

Answers are
" Not yet" or "Yes , already." or " I have to hurry"....

 It is usually displayed from around after setsubun, and put away　as soon as possible after doll's festival day ( March 3ｒd afternoon or night, the day of the festival. or next day.)

At the cold provinces,  where snow are still exist, the peach flowers has not sill blooming  sometimes it does at Apr.3rd, it is based on　traditional old style calender.

There is a superstition, 

display of dolls later >>>>>> delay to start  to look for husband

display  longer than March 3rd>>>>>> lose the chance to get marry,  or marriage　will be later

not display hina dolls >>>>  cannot marry

So, it does not have to display  on first week of the Feb,  but,  it must display, , but it must display  in the Feb. Display for short time means  she starts to look for husband  and find in short time , so it is OK. Display them  only one days  , I don't know, but I can image. Display more than 1month, it is not good for usual age marriage.

This is mine, I married already,  but dolls which has eye , want to open eyes at least once a year, I do that in the superstitious way.

I played with hina dolls  and their small swards, things, when I was small . (it may be  prohibited but I did )
They have  small swards, drawers, etc...and they all become old, so some parts are broken and lost.

Unkei

 I went special exhibition of UNKEI at kanezawabunko near SHOMYOJI , in YOKOHAMA. He is genius sculptor, around 1200.

Tendon & shiratama jiruko & mitsumame

I ate out today.

Tendon , at  NIHONBASHI.  crispy, and tasty. but  I became full.
  tempura of shrimp, conger,etc.... are on the rice
this tendon include Japanese salad of daikon, ginger were free, and this is 880 yen,
(there were long queue outside the rendon restaurant)


And I went Japanese sweets shop, ( as I had free service ticket)
ate shiratama shiruko, my friend  ate mitsumame.
Both of us became full, I could not ate dinner.

Negi toro／ Tekkadon

I often go to whole sale  fish market nearby , like TSUKIJI, but not TSUKIJI.

I go there around   AM 8:30 , this is after bussiness time of them.
(they start working AM 5:00 ? I don't know, but very early)

I got   wild tuna  pack cheaper price.

St.Valentin's day

Feb.14th is St. Valentin's day, in Japan this is the day of women present chocolate to men.
Cake shop, department store, everywhere , chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.........
Not only to boyfriend , at the office, office ladies give co-workers and friends girichoko. ( chocolate out of courtesy)

but, man return something on March 14th, white day, two or three times valueｓ of the chocolate they are presented. So, my husband says he doesn't want any.

At home, I cooked fondant chocolate.
I used many many butter.  A lot of calories.......

Yellow tail

Typical dinner set at home.
grilled yellow tail is the main menu.

there are two kind of yellow tail, farmed yellow tail ( a little cheap)
wild yellow tail ( toyama or ishikawa prefecture is best)

Today, we chose　wild one.

miso soup with tofu, nameko, wakame
spinach with katuobushi
daikon oroshi    (grated radish)
spinach and daikon in winter  are very sweet .

strawberry cherry brossom mochi

I made sakuramochi ,strawberry is in it.

I used microwave oven to cook domyoji ko.
It is unbelievably easy to cook.
Strawberry with anko is good.

moffle ....mochi waffle

I have a waffle cooker of vitantonio.

Of course I cook waffles, but mochi waffle...we call that moffle is great.

I used 'YOMOGI MOCHI' and ANKO, this time.
yomogi is one of  the herb of spring smell.
I love the moffle and waffle with maple syrup  as well.

battera sabazushi

Battera.......saba zushi .... sushi　of ’mackerel of vinegared dressing’(shimesaba）

When I went to department store,  there held on special event of nice foods of Japan, I wanted to try sabazushi of  most famous restaurant  "IDUU" @KYOTO , but  it is too expensive. One pack of sabazushi was 4410 yen . I didn't buy that.
So, I bought sliced  shiro ita kombu instead,  to make that at home.

This morning, I could buy good mackerel, so, I made SABAZUSHI at home.
and instant soup with white tororo kombu and umeboshi and dryed agodashi and shungiku

Kasujiru

I  bought sake lees .


In winter, sake kasu soup  makes us warm.
It contains alcohol　so, I feel like a little drunk.

hari kuyo

 FEB 8th it the day of HARIKUYO.
memorial service day of needles, and  thank to needles and pray  to be good at sewing

I went ASAKUSA sensoji, that temple is west side of hondo.
Please take a rest , broken and bended needles on the soft places, like TOFU or KONNYAKU.

When we saw kimono, we must saw straight, needle often become bend and break.
We must change needle several times.

I found professional kimono tailor's blog.