Wednesday, May 27, 2020

next chapter

Last Wednesday, the second box I ordered from Tabechoku arrived.

It was from Daiwa Farm, a dairy farm in Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu.

The set they were selling had 2 mozzarella, some ricotta, a tub of yogurt and 2 yogurt drinks.

Mother Nature slammed us back to March temps...low to mid 50s (F) (low to mid 10s (C)), my mind is already in summer mode, so of course, I already put away all my winter stuff...

I tried to mail a letter to a friend in Europe and was told that AIR MAIL was not an option, it would go by boat and they could not give me a timeline as to how long it would take (I overheard the clerks say, "maybe until next year?"...WT?!)

Thursday, we went to MOS to pick up lunch.

I hadn't been there in awhile, so I was surprised that they moved out most of their tables and had these marks on the floor to "social distance".

Even though we took out, I was also surprised that they were allowing "eat-in".

Saturday, we had part of the ricotta with some fig spread, proscuitto and toasted boule.

And one of the mozzarella as a caprese of sorts with pesto drizzled on top.

Both cheeses were delicious...very creamy!

Sunday, I used the other mozzarella to top a pizza.

The dough recipe I got from Elle Japan was a bit sticky, but was tasty, the texture seemed more like foccacia.

The dough was featured in the magazine to be used to make 8 mini pizzas, but I instead made one big one using the turntable of my oven as the "pizza stone/pan".

I topped this pizza with kale, thinly sliced onions and cherry tomatoes.

Even if it was really sticky, I love how easy this dough came together, and think I will give it another try when the weather warms up.

We ate the pizza with slices of proscuitto, pesto and homemade marinara...so good!

Monday we had the rest of the ricotta crumbled on raisin french toast.

I am glad we tried this farm's products, all were creamy and rich.

I look forward to trying other vendors from Tabechoku in the future.

Monday evening, the Prime Minister declared Japan's state of emergency was over because most of the numbers are in "manageable ranges".

The past couple of weeks were an interesting look at how local and main branches of government do not communicate well.

How the main branch of government just "throws" their ideas out there and expects the local branches to "make it happen".

Most local branches have set up their criteria to keep their prefectures open, with the understanding that if their numbers come close to becoming unmanageable, we might all have to "stay at home" again.

For now, Tokyo still needs to "stay at home" until May 31.

Satoshi is back to work from June 1, but will meet to see what they will do for the future months.

Tokyo, as well as other prefectures (Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama and Hokkaido) are not allowed to travel to other prefectures and other prefectures are not allowed to come to Tokyo or the other 4 prefectures until June 19.

The experts say that it will take Japan at least 5 to 10 years to produce a "safe" vaccine.

Until then, the medical system here will use the drugs that have seemed to help patients recover from their symptoms from the virus.

We still need to keep social distancing, washing our hands and keeping out of confined spaces.

Most stores here require you to wear a mask and to use hand sanitizer upon entering.

I need to adjust to waking up earlier to make Satoshi's bento and look forward to going market shopping more than once a week.

(it was tough to shop for a week (without a car to carry everything) especially when I needed to restock on heavy items like bottled condiments or rice!)

I am not sure when I'll start to ride the train, but will gradually work my way back to the "city".

Oh, and the letter I thought would go by boat to Europe, instead came back yesterday, saying to come back for a refund and apology letter...when we called the post office they said that Japan was not allowing mail to go or come from 140 countries...boo!

As the next chapter starts, I hope Japan will take this time to prepare for the 2nd wave...

Hope you are all doing well.

8 comments:

KirkK said...

Wow, what's up with the mail thing Kat? That's so strange. You're putting out some really good grindz. Glad the both of you are in good health and hope the next month brings a return to whatever the new normal will be and not a large next wave; though being "close to the numbers/data" makes me pessimistic.

Anonymous said...

I admire how you incorporated the dairy goodies into your meals as light bites and pizza without having to use recipes. I did hear about Japan’s mail restrictions, but you don’t really think it will affect you until you get a surprise like you did. Hmm, I know the American military in Japan handle their own mail so it isn’t an issue for them, but I wonder what the American embassy does about their mail? Stay safe and take care! Your longtime fan

Rowena said...

absolute craziness with the mail - by boat?! I appreciate the gesture all the same ^-^! over here it seems to be getting back to normal, but the MotH still isn't back to work onsite. 6 people tested positive, so here we go again.

Anonymous said...

I'm always so impressed by how you find so many ways to use your ingredients, cheese, veggies, etc. I thought ricotta was only for lasagna or sprinkle on salads. Or, I would have just trashed a junkie apple and fumed. I never heard of garlic scapes too.
v

jalna said...

I love what you did with your dairy products. Everything looks awesome! Strange about the mail, huh?

K and S said...

Kirk, I think most mail goes onto passenger flights, so that is probably why there is no mail going back or forth.

Thank you Longtime Fan, I wonder if the Embassy get their mail through the military?

Bummed it didn't get sent Rowena, hope you have a great (safe) birthday!

I try not to waste anything V, had originally thought to put the ricotta into pancakes or gnocchi, but was too lazy to do either.

Really crazy about the mail Jalna, hope you are doing well :)

Take care everyone.
Kat

Anonymous said...

Hi, could you elaborate any further on the Japanese experts thinking that a novel coronavirus vaccine is 5-10 years away? That’s “interesting” since the American media outlets talk in terms of a year or two at the earliest. I’m wondering about the wide difference in ranges. Thank you.

K and S said...

Apparently Moderna (the company creating the US vaccine) is using a method that cuts out many steps that most vaccines have been made with in the past, Anon. By cutting these steps, Moderna will apparently be able to start testing their vaccine on people a lot quicker than most other countries. The Japan vaccine on the other hand needs to apparently go through many steps before it actually becomes approved by the Japan government to be used throughout Japan which is why they are predicting 5 to 10 years.

Hope this helps.
Kat