lately

Lately there are peaches at the markets.

Love the peaches here, most are perfectly ripened--the fuzzy skins just come right off.

So juicy and sweet.

Also found some local blueberries which were a little tart compared to the peaches.

What are you enjoying this summer?

summer

The weather has been depressingly grey and super humid.

Poor Kyushu, they got a month's worth of rain in a couple of hours...

We've had some rain too, at times it rains in sheets.

It makes getting to the market a challenge for me, but I still try to get out so that I can get in a little walk.

We've been enjoying peaches.

The first couple of peaches were on the firm side but this morning the peach was perfectly ripe.

They are super sweet and juicy.

Satoshi and I stand over the kitchen sink eating them in the morning before sitting down to breakfast.

Summer is here.

korakudo

The weather has been really miserably gross. Yesterday, the humidity (and probably the sun) made the heat index go as high as 39C (102F)...gah!

Have you ever taken "hot yoga"? I've not, but can imagine it feels just like the day we had yesterday.

Still, I walked to the market to pick up some groceries...we still gotta eat, right?!

As I was walking to the market, the sign in front of Korakudo caught my eye..."fresh peach daifuku"...

Have you had Japanese peaches?! They are the white variety and when they are perfectly ripe, you can peel the skins off the fruit without a knife.

The flesh itself is juicy and sweet.

So good chilled...I think this is the first summer Satoshi and I have eaten so many peaches. Sometimes for breakfast Satoshi and I share a peach and stand near the kitchen sink eating it because of all the drippy juices.

Anyway, back to the daifuku. This is a piece of peach surrounded by some sweet white bean paste and a very soft mochi.

It was my first time purchasing this particular daifuku.

I liked it, the piece of peach was a nice size and the daifuku went perfectly with the green tea based fruit tea that I cold brewed.

This shop doesn't disappoint.

It's the end of July and it's Friday, I hope you have a nice weekend!

peaches

Found decently priced peaches at the market recently...350 yen for 2.

You should've seen the prices a couple of weeks before 800 yen or something ridiculous like that.

Even though the peaches were a little greenish in color, when I sliced them, the knife went smoothly in and the outer skin came off without having to use a knife.

Anyway, these are super sweet...whoo!

dinners & breakfast

As you'll probably notice I've been hooked on "the carrot salad"--it is so simple to make and I love the refreshing flavor...

Friday's dinner was gyo-burg (gyoza burgers) with carrot salad and steamed green beans with a lemon oregano vinaigrette, rice and kurumi tsukudani.

Saturday's breakfast was egg salad sandwiches made with Best Foods mayo which I got from Nate (HwnPakeOkinawa). Growing up with Best Foods, there really is no other mayo. (Thanks Nate!) We also had carrot salad and steamed green beans, plus white peach.

Sunday's dinner buta kimchee (pork with kimchee) omlette, more carrot salad, the last of the kurumi tsukudani and rice.

Last night's dinner minced pork with corn in a miso butter sauce over rice with carrot salad.

This recipe comes from a cookbook I have called "Natsu ni oishii kondate" by Orange Page.
Serves 2
1/2 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic
150g minced pork
1 corn on the cob
100g green beans

400g cooked rice

Sauce:
1 teaspoon tobanjan (chili paste)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons miso (soy bean paste)
2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
2 tablespoons water

ground white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon butter

Preparation:
cut the kernels off of the cob and rinse.
cut the beans into 1 cm pieces, rinse.

1. Heat the oil on low and add the garlic
2. When you can smell the garlic, add the pork, turn heat up to high and stir
3. When the pork has turned color, add the corn and beans and stir
4. Coat everything with the oil and add the sauce ingredients.
5. Turn heat down to medium and coat everything in the sauce.
6. When everything starts to turn thick add the butter to finish.
7. Serve over rice and top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

NOTES: You could use canned corn, but I'm not too sure on the portions. When you add the sauce ingredients, make sure that the miso is completely "melted" and the sauce is smooth. I didn't have white sesame seeds, so I used black ones. Also, if you are watching your calories you could probably omit the butter at the end.

Enjoy!

fruits of summer

More and more fruits are coming into season here. If you remember last month, there was Delaware grapes and Quincy melon.

This month, meet Sakuranbo from Yamagata prefecture. These cherries actually remind me of Rainier cherries (maybe they are of the same variety?) They weren't very sweet and actually a bit tart. I was surprised at the price too, about US$3 for a little over 200 grams.

And white peaches from Fukuoka prefecture. These are called Hakuho. The skins are a bit bitter, but the insides are juicy and sweet.

I had to cut away at the insides to get it off of the stone (it was that ripe!) 2 of these delicious peaches were US$6! Luckily, when I bought them they were in a container with holes so I could smell them before buying.

The fruits and veggies are probably the only part of Japan summers that I enjoy.

Hope you have a good week.