plum juice

Children cannot drink umeshu.
For children, we make ume juice.

PLUM (UME)  freeze one night  1kg

SUGAR 1kg or honey 800g

put them in the clean bottle, keep for at least one month.


It will be ume syrup. so,　water this syrup down, or  use this  when we make KAKIGORI.

This　drink is good for health.

UMESHU

Umeshu......I don't usually drink alcohol, but umeshu is different.
Even  the person who don't drink alcohol drink this a little.


Plum 1kg
Liqueur  35°　　1.8L
Cube suger  300g～1kg　　
   who like sweeter umeshu ,  use 1kg
   who don't like sweeter , use 300g -400g

Before making this, wash plums, put off calyx.
Wash the bottle veryvery hot water.

Keep at least half a year at the dark cool place.

Picture in the right is  UMESHU  4years ago.
I sometimes drink before sleeping.


There are many plum works from  late May to June.

Miso

 Miso I made half years ago.
This is the link........MISO 

 I must wait until Aug, but I couldnt't wait. I tried a  little, cooked miso soup.
It taste good.

antique hair comb

These are my precious kanzashi .  I chose at the antique market.
Coral kanzashi,
Urusi kogai (base is wood)
Japan urushi raden comb (base is turtle shell)
Kanzashi turtle shell with gold decoration.

These things are precious things for  women . So, there exist fake in the history.

I took long time to choose  before buying  that coral kanzashi.

yukata cloth

 I bought yukata cloth at an antique market. I sewed my summer dress.

 Cloth of kimono( silk) , yukata (Cotten) are around 13m long, around 36cm width. Cloth of Obi(silk), are around 5m-8m.

 They are very expensive at the department store, but we can buy at used store, flea market,antique market ..etc.
So, I enjoy buying that kind of cloths.

At the antique market, there are many textile.

Some of them are woven by craft-persons at the golden days of silk . They are very expensive.
But sometimes we can get cheaper price.

This flower pattern cotton yukata cloth is fake of ' indigo SHIBORI ' textile.
Real indigo SHIBORI yukata cloth are a little expensive than usual yukata cloth.

nigiri zushi

As I found several sushi gadget at the tsukiji fish market, I thought back on sushi tool  I have.

 This is nigirizushi tool for home cooking..
( we can buy it  100 yen -500yen I think). (Professional person never use this.... but at super market they use this kind of things.)




I was very busy to make sushi .  It took time for me to make sushies. My family waited . 
I must  practice  this  several times, to do this  well.

I have another sushi tool ' oosaka hakozushi'
 OOSAKA　hakozushi style sushi is easier to make. 　If someone want to buy something good tool for sushi for souvenir ,  only found  in Japan, I recommend OOSAKA　HAKOZUSHI　STYLE tool.

Or, temari zushi, (temari means small ball). In this link, round ball like sushies are Temarizushi.
It is very cute and easy.

this is temari in japan.

Tsukiji fish market

To go to tuna auction, we must go very early in the morning.

I went 10:30-11:30, it was a little late for 'JYO NAI'
Business time was almost finished.
I think 9:00-10:30 is best time to sight seeing.

The picture of shrine, is NAMIYOKE JINJA.
A woman is buying dried bonito. KATSUOBUSHI

I met chindonya. ( old stile adveertisement)

Ghibli museum ,KICHIJYOJI

If you have one day free time, it is a good idea to go to KICHIJYOJI.
KICHIJYOJI  is around 15min.　suburb from SHINJYUKU, by JR.
(20min. from Shibuya using Inokashira line )

South side of KICHIJYOJI Station, there are big forest, called INOKASHIRA PARK.
Inside, threre are forest, pond, shirine, zoo. and GHIBLI Museum.

It is a little complicated to get ghibli museum ticket in advance.
Summer vacation time, holidays, weekend , get the ticket in advance  is must.

The  weekday ticket , when the children are at school , may be easy  to get at Lawson in Japan. (but , check the availability and buy it as soon as possibles) .
Anyway foreign people can buy that in their country, please ask your country JTB.
One person ticket cost 1000yen.
(I think sunrise tour is foolish.  why this cost 6000 yen per person?)

Young people , who grow up  watching  ghibli animation, may be enjoy the museum more than I, as they know the story.You can understand  animation science as well.

Enjoy boat riding,  enjoy ice cream, odango  in the park. enjoy KICHIJYOJI.

North of Kichijyoji is a little old style Japanese mall. You can enjoy typical Japanease shopping.

New summer orange（citrus tamurana/ hyuga natsu)

New summer orange ( citrus tamurana or hyuga natsu)
Originally special of MIYAZAKI pref. (Hyuga means region of miyazaki pref)
I like this because I can eat whole, and I have lived there.
I peel this, and cut. White place is airly and sweet as well.

Left side vegetable are TARANOME.  Shoot of Taranoki
I will eat tonight.  Tempura or Fry or Boil..

lotus root. konjac

Ｌｏｔｕｓ　ｒｏｏｔ　ｉｓ　ｏｆｔｅｎ　ｅａｔen　ｉｎ　Ｊａｐａｎ.　This is a vegetable ,we feel crispy when we bite.
 In 'Obento no uta '  she songs `ana no aita renkon san'

There are many recipes of Lotus roots.

Today, I cooked 'su renkon' ( vinegared lotus roots)

I sliced this , put in  1  big spoonful suger and  1.5  big spoonful vinegar and  a little  salt, 　cover the bowl, and cook by microwave oven until  cook.
we can use  seasoning , if we want. like red pepper,yudu, etc.


Konjac , is produced by konnyaku imo... gelatinous food. Konjac is low calorie, so good for dieting..
I cooked this  today, with pork and raddish , a little sweet soy sauce taste.

macaron

Maccha macaron with musucovado （suger, producted in OKINAWA ) butter cream..

I failed to make chocolate macaron.

Kogome: one of wild fiddle heads

 On spring, we eat SANSAI..(wild fiddleheads) This is kogome.