「ファーマーズマーケットで買い物」 or "I bought a lot of produce"

Every Saturday and Sunday, year-round and practically rain or shine, there is a Farmer's Market a one-minute's walk from the school where I work.

I sometimes stop by to get lunch from one of the food trucks parked around the periphery (Indian curry, falafel, gourmet salads, Thai-style green curry with coconut soup, spicy taco rice...you get the idea), but today I decided to take a look at what the farmers had to offer.

Apparently they have a problem with foreigners touching their peaches...

If you do all of your grocery shopping here, you're paying too much.  But the upside is that there are some good deals if you look around (with occasionally lower-than-the-supermarket prices) or even items that are otherwise hard to come by.  This is the only place I've ever seen red beets for sale in Japan, for example, and that was still only one time.  (The other time I ate beets here, it involves someone "forgetting" to declare them on a customs form when re-entering the country from abroad...and we'll leave it at that). This is also the only place I've ever been able to buy jalapeño peppers.

Early-harvested mikan

The market also carries things like flowers, coffee, roasted chestnuts, sesame oil, and pickles, depending on the season.  One of today's unusual items was early-harvested mikan, a type of Japanese tangerine.  They're in-season in winter here, so these are about two months early.  Typically, they're a nice orange color, but the early ones are green (see the photo above).  I'm told that they have a flavor similar to a lemon, but I haven't tested that claim yet.

Here's my take for the day:

• きゅうり / Cucumbers (price at the supermarket has nearly tripled recently, so I was happily surprised to see them here for a lower price)
• 黄桃 と プラム / a yellow peach and two plums (from Yamagata!)
• みかん / early-harvested mikan
• みょうが / myouga ("Japanese ginger")
• ハラペーニョ / jalapeño peppers

Eating my "five a day" is rarely a problem for me, but this week it'll definitely be a little bit more colorful.

P.S. My Oregonian friends might be pleased to know that this market was inspired by a Japanese traveler's visit to the Portland Farmer's Market.

「誕生日： 料理で幸せ…」 or "At my house, I make my friends work"

Yesterday's festivities commenced at 4pm. When friends come over to my house, they usually know that I'll put them to work in the kitchen.  I do the recipe selection and grocery shopping ahead of time; I just need the hands.

I also provide the apron...

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to make at least one new recipe each month, and in my entire life this is probably the only resolution I've succeeded in keeping.  I've done so well at it that I just might repeat it again next year. For my birthday-slash-cooking party I found three new recipes to try (I've made the pie before, so it doesn't count).  After making only make slight modifications to one dish--due to ingredient availability--our efforts paid off, and this is what we had to show for it:

Menu:
焼き野菜のバゲットピザ / Grilled vegetable French bread pizza
コーンミールパンケーキとアボカドクリーム / Cornmeal pancakes with avocado cream
クリームチーズパイとさくらんぼソース / Cream cheese pie with cherry sauce
トロピカル味緑茶 / Tropical flavored green tea
スパークリングロゼワイン / Sparkling rosé

I'm secretly giving myself extra bonus points for the colorfulness of the spread.  Aren't you jealous?

「屋形船」 or "Dinner on a boat!"

Tonight was the most Japanese experience of my summer: yakata-bune. This is a dinner cruise on a Japanese type of boat that has tatami mats for flooring.  Everyone sits on a cushion on the floor, and the food is served on griddles set into low tables.  I did a terrible job of getting a good picture of the inside of the boat--if one of my friends has one, I'll come back and edit this post to include it.

A little pricey--6,000 yen for 2 hours of all you can eat/drink--but the food was great and the view spectacular.  We had monja-yaki, okonomi-yaki, yakisoba, and then anko-maki for dessert while enjoying the scenery of Tokyo Bay and the city itself.  Also included in the cost were expressions of envy from everyone I told about the trip beforehand.

Okkonomi-yaki: a savory, pancake-like dish and my personal favorite from the evening's menu.

Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo cityscape from the deck of our boat.

Wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to maximize the "Japanese-ness" of the experience, I purchased a yukata (a light, single-layered cotton kimono worn in summer) just for the occasion.  My friend, Akiko, wore one of the most gorgeous kimonos and a beautiful obi (sash).

 

Akiko's kimono from the back.  The black sash is called the "obi".

A lot of firsts tonight: first yakata-bune, first monja-yaki, first time wearing my very own yukata--not to mention putting a whole outfit together that included geta (sandals), and a handbag tied from a furoshiki scarf.  Memorable night!

Goldfishy paradise

Fact: Japanese people sometimes have awesome ideas. Tonight was no exception.  I mean, an exhibition of an unbelievable variety of goldfish in tanks that could pass for sculptures?  You could try to argue that that's not a great idea.  But you'd lose.

Tonight, two friends and I made our way to Nihon-bashi for the "Art Aquarium" event that's been going on for a few weeks.  I'm glad we got there early in the evening: we had no trouble getting in, but I've been told by two different people who tried to go last year that by the time they arrived there was a three hour wait to get in the door.

 

They take their goldfish pretty seriously.  As they should.

I'm crazy about goldfish, so I had the hardest time not plucking one out of the tanks and stuffing it into my bag.  Had to remind myself that it wouldn't make it home alive, which would defeat the purpose.  Below is one of my favorite pictures from the whole night.  My friend had no idea he was in the shot, but I like the way it turned out.

Some of the most beautiful pieces on display included kimonos with goldfish motifs, as well as a good old fashioned byoubu--or folding screens--this time with a very modern twist (yes, the fish are real):

Well worth the trip...but seeing so many beautiful fish tonight has got me fighting the urge to head to the pet store tomorrow.