scrubbies

My grandma used to make the best scrubbies (for washing dishes).

I still have a couple in my "stash".

The other day, we came across someone selling scrubbies made of the same material but in a different form.

These are stiff because they put starch on it.

After use though it should get softer (the salesman said so).

I know they will never be better than the ones my grandma made but hope they will at least get the job done.

Miss you Grandma!

p.s. have a nice weekend!

saying goodbye

In late October, Grandma had a stroke. She was paralyzed on the right side, had a hard time eating and had some pain.

Several weeks ago, I face-timed with her, my brother & Aunty. (love technology!)

Even though she didn't recognize me, it was still nice to see her.

Unfortunately, she passed away the other day at 99.

I've said it before but she was the "tough one" in our family. The one to hold our family together.

Inspire us to move forward towards our goals.

I am thankful for the time I got to spend with her, for her words of wisdom, her love and guidance throughout the years.

You will be missed a LOT!

Love you.

happy birthday!

I think most families have "tough women" in them.

The ones that hold families together.

Inspire us to move forward towards our goals.

I think my grandma is that person.

She's turning 97 today.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

We love you.

the rain bonnet

In Hawaii, when it rains, you will almost always see grandmas wearing these rain bonnets to protect their hair-dos.

Though I think this is more a cultural thing for the outer island grandmas than the ones on Oahu.

My 96 year-old grandma always has one of these in her bag. Always.

For those sudden showers that Hawaii sometimes has.

Cute, yeah?!

Love you Gram!

box of treasures

My 95-year old grandma recently moved into a care home, don't worry nothing is wrong with her and she is fine.

Anyway, by moving, she had to give up a lot of personal items, which included a lot of her cookbooks (which I didn't get to check out, oh well!).

One thing that my mom had in her possession was her box of clipped recipes...what a box of treasures!

Some recipes are handwritten, some typed (do some of you know what a typewriter is? and no they weren't electric back then?! I think I may be showing my age by saying this...)

Wow, blast from the past recipes too, things that used to be "trendy" back in the day...

Not only that, but she kept the contents pretty organized too.

I took some of the recipes that I thought might be fun to try when I go back into the kitchen in a couple of months.

Hope they'll turn out good...Thanks for sharing Grandma!

some sad news

Over the weekend, we went to visit my MIL. We also went to visit Satoshi's grandma. It was a good thing too, when we arrived on Saturday afternoon, she was in and out of conciousness. (this photo was from our visit in January 2009.)

After coming back from Kyoto on Sunday evening, we got the phone call from my MIL, Satoshi's grandma had just passed away. She was 101.

MIL and Satoshi seem to be taking the news okay. The thing I will miss about her was her warm smile and her mis-pronouncing my name. She would always call me "Kyaria-chan". We'll miss you Hikone Grandma.

the past couple of days

Happy New Year! It is already the 3rd day of the year here. Satoshi had to go to work today but I wanted to tell you about the past couple of days.
December 31st...we went to our favorite soba shop to eat toshikoshi soba, but they were closed, so we ended up eating a nice bowl of kim chee ramen at Hanamichi. That night, I made some appetizers for dinner. One was this German potato dish. Thinly sliced potato, onions, weiners sauteed in a teaspoon of mayo. When the potatoes were cooked, everything was then sauteed in a teaspoon of whole seed mustard.

Dessert were these ichigo mochi from Senjyuan (the fillings were different for each, pink = koshian (smooth bean paste), yellow = kuri (chestnut), green = tsubushian (chunky bean paste). Just as the sun set, we were able to see the planets line up.

January 1st...we went over to my MIL's and had lunch of o-sechi. Can you believe that the white orchids that bloomed on my FIL's birthday are still alive? We were amazed at how long they are lasting.

After a nap, we headed to Kitano Tenmangu to pray for the new year. While at Kitano Tenmangu, we picked up some chogoromochi for dessert. After our prayers, we visited with a team mate of Satoshi's from his little league days.

January 2nd...my BIL came over and took us to visit Satoshi's grandma at the home she is in. She has her good days and bad days, luckily we caught her on a good day. Though she didn't remember any of our names, it was nice to see her. We all couldn't believe that she will be 101 this year. We were thankful that she isn't on medication and despite her legs, is in pretty good health.

For lunch, my MIL took us to a restaurant in her neighborhood, Sara. They were having a prix fixe menu.

This restaurant looks rather new and they use a lot of fresh and local ingredients, mainly Kyoto veggies. Kyo-yasai, as it is called are mostly organic. It is sort of a brand name for Kyoto, but the quality of the vegetables are quite high and you can find them in most department stores.
For 6000 yen (about U$60) per person, there was a long dish filled with different appetizers. A spicy soup made with miso and karashi (Japanese mustard) and ebi imo (Kyoto dasheen). A plate of sashimi (tai (sea bream), toro (fatty tuna), ika (squid)).

Sekihan steamed with unagi, takenoko (bamboo shoot) and Kyoto tsukemono. Tempura--renkon sandwiching crab, eggplant and green pepper. A chawan mushi (savory custard) filled with yuri-ne (lily bulb) and hamaguri (clam) topped with nanohana (canola blossoms) and grated ginger. Buri (yellowtail) grilled with a teriyaki sauce and some kuromame (sweet black beans)


Kamo dango (duck dumpling) with Kyo-yasai (Kyoto veggies). There was also some o-sumashi (clear broth), rice and tsukemono (pickles). Dessert was a coconut pudding, a slice of melon and pear.

It was a great couple of days, lots of food, lots of family, lots of chatting. Hope you have a great week.

Sara
9 Hatsune-cho, Koyama
Kita-ku, Kyoto
Phone: 075.496.1155
Closed on Mondays
Lunch from 12:00-14:00 (last order at 13:30)
Dinner from 17:30-21:00 (last order at 20:00)

surprise!!

Since most of us “kids” come home during the Christmas holidays, the party was in its planning stages since September of 2005.

My Aunty M1 did most of the planning and created a wonderful slide show, my Aunty M helped with invitations and other details. My mom helped by baking all the cookies for the “goodie bags” and helped to bring my Grandma to the party.

This was the "goodie bag", assorted cookies in a "jubako" (lacquered box).

The story to my Grandma was that all her grandkids (the 4 of us) were coming home to help her celebrate. Little did she know that some of her relatives and extended family members were also invited. (Satoshi was also able to fly in the day before the party.)

The party was held at Kyo-ya. This is a Japanese restaurant that has been in business since 1958. The restaurant, which looks like a tea house in Japan, was renovated in 1991 and is a very popular place for parties and other gatherings.

We all got to the restaurant before 6:00pm and waited to surprise her. She was speechless. We were amazed that she didn’t have an inkling as to what we were up to. (I think she was almost going cry! I know I was!) She was happy to see her relatives and friends. It was sad that her younger sister couldn't make the trip over...

Our first course was the tako sunomono (octopus in a vinegar/mirin sauce), sansai (mountain vegetation—warabi (fiddle heads), kinoko (mushrooms), takenoko (bamboo shoots)

Next came the sashimi (sliced raw fish)—I think there was some maguro (tuna), and hamachi? or tai (?? or snapper ). The fish was so fresh and delicious!!

Entrees were grilled butterfish and a NY steak with garlic chips and a Maui onion steak sauce.

Assorted tempura (fried shrimp and assorted veggies) This was good because they brought it out as soon as it came out of the fryer! And tsukemono (pickled veggies).

Lastly, we had the birthday cake made by Mary-Catherine’s. Now I understand why this bakery charges such high prices! This cake was so light and delicious! And green tea ice cream.

The centerpieces were beautifully done by a relatively new florist called Flower Blooms.

It was a wonderful celebration filled with good food, good conversation and good times!

Kyo-ya
2057 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
Phone: 808-947-3911---->as of 2007, Kyo-ya has since closed for business

Mary-Catherine’s Bakery
2820 South King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96826
Phone:808-946-4333 --->as of 2012, this bakery is no longer in business

Flower Blooms : Yumiko Yamagami
Around the corner from Minatoya Eye Clinic
Pensacola & King
Phone: 808-597-1189

shh...it's a secret...

My Grandma is going to be 90 tomorrow. She has lived through some really tough times. She's very strong spirited and I don't think I would be able to survive the same things that she went through.

We're getting together for a little celebration this Saturday...what she doesn't know, is that we're also getting some of her friends and relatives to help in the celebration.

My Aunty M1 has done most of the planning and coordinating, she's even worked really hard on a little slide show which showcases different moments in my Grandma's life.

Here's just a sample of the cookies that my mom baked to give to the attending guests--kind of like a "goodie bag".

Everyone will start coming home tomorrow...

Hopefully we can pull off the surprise!