Food – Gleanings in Buddha-Fields

The Ultimate Japanese Winter Food: Oden

Usually when people think of Japanese food, they think of sushi, or ramen, but these are luxury foods that aren’t normally eaten at home. There is one food though that’s very popular in Japan, eaten on special occasions at home, and truly a wonderful food for winter: Oden (おでん).1 Oden is hard to explain, butContinue reading “The Ultimate Japanese Winter Food: Oden”

Christmas Takoyaki

While I am still on my last day of quarantine in the den, trying to keep myself busy, my wife and kids are celebrating the Christmas season why decorating a gingerbread, and making takoyaki: Takoyaki (たこ焼き, “cooked octopus”) is a Japanese food that originates from the Kansai area (think Osaka and Kyoto) of Japan, andContinue reading “Christmas Takoyaki”

Japanese New Year: a shopping list

If you, or a loved one, are celebrating Japanese New Year, Oshōgatsu (お正月), you may need to do some shopping. During the December in 2021, we got snowed in really bad, and my wife couldn’t go to the local Japanese supermarket to buy goods and ingredients herself. So, I went on her behalf using publicContinue reading “Japanese New Year: a shopping list”

Eating Simple, Japanese Style

I had intended to write this post earlier when I first started my winter abstinence, but during recent events, this got pushed out a little. Anyhow, my wife and I have been together for more than half our life and her eating habits have rubbed off on me over time: I’ve written about natto before.Continue reading “Eating Simple, Japanese Style”

Happy Thanksgiving !!

Dear readers, Wherever you are, I hope you have a terrific Thanksgiving day! As for me, I am thankful to have a freezer full of nattō right now. 😎 Best wishes to you all!

Samadhi, Schamadhi

My family knows I love to eat rice and natto, or fermented soy beans, in the morning. Often with Korean kimchi. It’s a breakfast habit I started about 10-15 years ago, and never looked back. Thanks to the crunch of the pandemic, and inflation, shipments from Japan have become a trickle, and so our localContinue reading “Samadhi, Schamadhi”

Breakfast of Champions

Having lived with my Japanese wife for 15+ years has influenced eating habits a lot despite not living in Japan. Years ago, I found the idea of eating nattō (納豆), that is Japanese fermented soybeans, abhorrent. They smelled like sweaty feet, had a sticky, stringy texture and smelled awful if too warm. At some pointContinue reading “Breakfast of Champions”

Happy Moon Festival 2021!

The Moon Festival (中秋節), celebrated across east Asia starts tonight depending on your time zone. I got to celebrate on Animal Crossing: New Horizons by decorating my “home” with regional treats: moon cakes from China at front, colorful song-pyon from Korea on the back-right and white dango from Japan on the left. In Japan, theContinue reading “Happy Moon Festival 2021!”

A Nerd Dad’s Review of the Hero’s Feast Cookbook

Last week, at the local book store, my teenage daughter used some of her allowance to purchase a book called Heroes’ Feast: a cookbook of Dungeons and Dragons-inspired recipes. During lockdown, she has taken an interest in baking and cooking, and after years of playing Dungeons and Dragons with me (and now her little brother),Continue reading “A Nerd Dad’s Review of the Hero’s Feast Cookbook”

Girls Day Bento

The Japanese festival of Hinamatsuri or Girl’s Day is almost here and I recently dug up this old photo I found. My wife used to make bento lunches for our daughter when she was a little girl and this one was themed for Girls Day. 🥰 Compare with the real doll display here: The traditionalContinue reading “Girls Day Bento”