Little greens

At the store we have edible greens. All the plants are actually edible. Herbs like basil and rosemary, parsley and shiso. Kumquat has green little fruits and will turn orange in December I think. There is another citrus that is getting close to harvest. That will be great on cooked fish. 

My favorite this year is the chives. It has appeared on our dinner table pretty often.  This is after we had cut them and used them in our cooking. It’s great that it grows so quickly and I just love the extra little something it adds to the dish. 

We add a little to our sashimi, this is red snapper, which is one of my favorites. We’ve had it with salmon and other fish. Bonito was very good too. Usually bonito is accompanied with grated ginger but chives will be great too. 

My other favorite is a simple carrot dish. The carrots are sliced and then tossed with salt so the flavor of the carrots are more concentrated. Then olive oil is added with chives. I like the texture of the thinly sliced carrots and the simple flavor. I could eat so much of it!

Thank you again Georges for these dishes~ the basil seem to want to be eaten soon! 

Dessert time

I start to feel at home in a new area when I find a restaurant or a cafe that I like.
So far in Tokyo there are few great places that I found.
It is nice when the people who work there or own it know you, and when the food is also great it really makes you feel at home.

This bar/ cafe that is close to where I live is one of my favorites. I feel lucky that my husband and I have found a place that is welcoming anytime we go.  We sometimes call and use it like an extension of our living room. A great place to end your day.

When I' m there I often order my usual. A dessert/ drink with vodka and coffee jello and kahlua.

The owner gave me an extra swirl of whip cream that day. Didn't quit fit in my photo.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if we didn't have this great bar~

Would we have found something else? Would we have found comfort at home? 

little fish, gold fish, swimming in the water

There are so many things that are cute, cool and beautiful in Japan.

My friend had brought rice crackers (shrip crackers to be exact) confectionary the other day to the studio.

On the package it said "catching goldfish". Inside, there were shrimp crackers shaped in goldfishes and circular crackers as bubbles in water and a spoon like cracker that acts as a net to catch the fish. 

There is a tradition in the summer time where there are carnival like festivals and one of the common games is trying to catch goldfish with a net that is made out of tissue paper to make it challenging to catch with.

The crackers were such a playful idea and yet very seasonal. These are the things I love to find out about Japan, so fun! 

something warm

It is still very cold in Tokyo and what is great for cold seasons is something warm and sweet. A little bit of alcohol will help you warm up.

Tonight I had a cup of Irish Coffee. 

There is a place that is right by the train station that is nearest to me and it is always nice to warm up before you ride your bike back to the house.

Color of fall

There is something that I do everyday around this time of year.
It is eating persimmons. I love them! 
There are different types of persimmons and depending on the orchards, they taste different. 
But I just love them all!

This year my grandfathers tree had some fruit and my husband was there to pick them, I was thereto photograph him.
There were about 20 to 30. All very small but really sweet.


Around the neighborhood there are a lot of persimmon trees. A lot of them are big trees that have lots and lots of fruit that are ripe ready to eat. I wouldn't leave it hanging on the trees all for the birds, but I guess those neighbors don't like persimmons as much as I do.

Some of them were still a little hard so here, we have them sunbathing. Each day they are getting sweeter and softer.

Fall

The one great thing about chestnuts are that they have a distinct, not so great, smell earlier in the year. So, I knew where the tree was before they even had the fruit in fall. 

So here is the floating green very prickly chestnut.

I picked one that had dropped from the tree that grows in a neighbors' back yard.

So I took it home to see if it's going to hatch..... but I think these young ones that fall from the tree are the ones that you can't eat?

A few days has passed and still not much of a difference for this guy.

I went by the tree again and saw that the ones on the trees have turned brown now. 

So I think I need to open this guy up by force, if I want to see what is inside..... well I know what's in there.....

And meanwhile if I do want to eat chestnuts, I just have to go buy them!  One wasn't going to satisfy me anyway~

green~

When you head west a little ways in Tokyo, you reach a part that has still a lot of nature and trees less houses and apartments.

It's really nice to come here sometimes. It's nice there are place like this just an hour away.

This river that we like to set up our gear and invite friends to come, is a big river by the time it is closer to Tokyo Bay and around the city.

The water is clear, and to hear the noise out there is refreshing.

you can click to see the whole photo

In this photo, we had all set up the tents (because it was drizzling) and Georges had just started on the slow roasted beef~! so good! 

we are waiting for the other hungry guests to arrive~

Next time when it's sunny I know everyone is going to be in the water.

too much

iced coffee.

I think it was hurting my stomach. 

So instead I had mint tea today.  

Our mints hasbeen doing good this summer. Growing very well and fast!

We have three different kinds and sometimes I like to try and blend them all and sometimes I  like to just choose one.

I think the best way to make the tea is to put it directly in a pan with water and let it boil.

I've tried pouring hot water in to a pot with mint leaves but I think boiling it directly would give you the most flavor.

Its very easy and simple. the mint taste is really refreshing too. 

I think my stomach feels better today.

bananas!

This building is located between Akihabara and Okachimachi. It doesn't seem to be used for bananas anymore. I'm sure it was once filled with bananas. Maybe when it was an expensive imported fruit. I'm sure but I feel like my mother had told me that a long time ago.


I pass by it quite often now that I am doing an event in at the "Hacoa Store" in Okachimachi. 
There through July I am selling a collaboration pieces with the brand Hacoa, who designs and makes wooden objects. 

Lately I've been having frozen banana treats. 

It's  perfect for the hot weather. and you don't feel too bad eating it for a late night snack.

Healthy and simple. 

I remember eating this for snacks when I was like 5. I'm glad my mother has raised me on it. I think I'll pass it on too.

Ok now back to what I was doing. 

good partnership

Lately I have a few projects where I need to just make, make, make!

A good thing is that at the studio I have the "bite size Reese's"

It's been like the best combination, the salty peanut butter and the sweet chocolate.

Is it just me, or is your concentration better when you eat chocolate?

I also do miss the American peanut butter. Here, the common peanut butter is creamy and sweet.  The right amount of saltiness is what I am used to!

I have to think of a way to get this again!!

little shrimp

The other day I went on a little road trip.

This time it was to Shizuoka. There is a department store I am doing an event at, and I needed to go there to set up.

Since it is almost December and getting cold, we are able to see a snow covered mount Fuji.  People say it is the best way to see mount Fuji.  The white mountain against the blue sky really did make the mountain stand out.

There were low clouds that day, and when we got to our usual spot to take a good look, it was covering the top part of the mountain.




It takes about roughly 4 hours by car to get to Shizuoka.

The city is located close to the sea, and it is famous for tuna.
For dinner we had a variety of fresh raw fish.  How fresh the fish is, key when you want to eat it raw, so this was a great place to try different menus. My favorite was the tiny shrimp. Usually you see these dried. To eat them raw was really good and I didn't expect them to be so flavorful! They are very small, about 3/4"inch.

Another reason why going to different parts of Japan is exciting. Every place has their specialties~

The department store set up turned out like this!