the first couple of days

Reader Alan had wrote to me about not posting about ozoni.

I've posted about it several times, and didn't want to bore you and post about it again, but since he asked, I'm posting...

Let's reverse a bit...On December 31st, we had toshikoshi soba for lunch, in Japan, you are actually supposed to have this at midnight, but we didn't know whether we would be awake at that time or not, plus, eating that late is a no-no for us these days.

You know, I have many dishes, but nothing proper to warm sake in...sad, yeah?!

Our osechi was store bought, the only thing I made was dashimaki egg (which wasn't traditional)...my kind of cooking.

Buri teriyaki, chikuzeni, kuromame, namasu, konbu maki, tazukuri, kamaboko...I was missing some items from a traditional osechi but we got to eat some of those missing items when we visited MIL.

This year's ozoni was "lazy" style.

A packet of instant o-suimono, some mochi, some daikon slices and hot water.

Heat your mochi and daikon in a pot with water so that they soften, and then pour over the dry o-suimono in a bowl.

I actually saw a version of this on a TV commercial, their version only had the mochi and the o-suimono.

You could probably "jazz" it up with some kamaboko and carrots too.

January 1st, we visited MIL.

Besides osechi, we also had sushi. She said it was her first time ordering from this sushi place, but we thought it was pretty good.

On the 2nd, we did our hatsumode.

We went to a couple of our "usual" places to pray but also went to the Toyonaka Inari Shrine. We were amazed at how big this shrine was, I think we're adding this to our list of places to pray at.

And we had some Japanese sweets, uguisu mochi (which is coated in a green soy bean powder) and shogatsu mochi from Kagetsudo.

So there you go...If you're interested, you can also read a detailed post about Japan's New Year here.

Kagetsudo
1-12-24 Honmachi
Toyonaka, Osaka
Phone: 06.6852.6105

p.s. It's Friday here, and a 3-day weekend, enjoy!

toshikoshi soba

(photo taken at Katsuoji, Minoo)

In Hawaii, we used to eat toshikoshi soba as part of our New Year's Eve dinner. I was surprised to find out that in Japan, they eat it just before midnight. Toshikoshi soba literally means "year crossing noodles". When making the toshikoshi soba, the noodles are left extra long to symbolize long life and prosperity.

Most people recall events that occurred during the year and prepare for the coming year while slurping their toshikoshi soba.

Here's my toshikoshi soba, which I had for lunch.

Cook your soba (buckwheat noodles) according to the directions on the package.

The soup: Serves 2
4 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
4 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
300cc dashi (kombu & katsuo (kelp and bonito) soup stock)(about 1.5 cups)
40cc shoyu (soy sauce) (about 1/4 cup)
5g katsuo bushi (bonito flakes)

The toppings:
naruto maki (a type of kamaboko (fish paste) which resembles a whirlpool)
chopped green onions

We want to thank you for taking the time throughout the year to write a comment, send an e-mail and for reading our adventures.

Despite some low points, the bulk of the year was fun and exciting. We made some new friends and had new adventures.

We hope 2008 will be a delicious year for you, filled with new experiences, new adventures, good health and prosperity.

(a little photo round-up of the year)

Let's see what the Year of Rat will bring...Happy New Year everyone!