Things That Please and Amuse
Joel offered to play a real game of Scrabble with me last night at the tail end of our traditional New Year's Day Japanese food extravaganza with Hiromi's sister and her family.
Shane and Hilda also joined the game. Very nice. Knowing the word "roux" from teaching nutrition (cooking) class at school came in very handy when I had an "x" to find a place for.
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Dorcas says that Tristan is extraordinarily fond of the Japanese daikon pickles Shane made from the daikon radishes he grew this fall in the garden. If Tristan sees them on the table, he wants a piece of daikon pickle in every bite of food. There's an Asian toddler disguised under that blond hair of his . . .
We used to make our daikon pickles with a naturally fermented process similar to that used in making sauerkraut (although the radishes were sliced in rounds instead of grated), and we liked those pickles. Then Hiromi learned how good they are if one more step is added to the process. After the liquid is drained off, finely chopped fresh ginger root and soy sauce are added and the pickles are allowed to absorb those flavors while being pressed. They're amazing, just as 14-month-old Tristan is, for already recognizing this.
We use a similar process for making cucumber pickles during the summer. If Hiromi can't get the long skinny Asian cucumbers he loves for these pickles, he splits them lengthwise and scoops out the soft center. He's that sure that he doesn't want that juicy stuff in the pickles. Sometimes I can't watch (too wasteful), and sometimes I eat the stuff he cuts out.
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Christmas vacation is an amazing gift for everyone subjected to the rigors of a school environment. This length and timing for vacation is not quite unique to the academic world, but almost. One of the few things I remember from my college commencement address is this (speaking of how things change after students enter the work force): "Then, Christmas vacation will be a day in December." Two weeks sounds so much better.
Shane and Hilda also joined the game. Very nice. Knowing the word "roux" from teaching nutrition (cooking) class at school came in very handy when I had an "x" to find a place for.
**********************
Dorcas says that Tristan is extraordinarily fond of the Japanese daikon pickles Shane made from the daikon radishes he grew this fall in the garden. If Tristan sees them on the table, he wants a piece of daikon pickle in every bite of food. There's an Asian toddler disguised under that blond hair of his . . .
We used to make our daikon pickles with a naturally fermented process similar to that used in making sauerkraut (although the radishes were sliced in rounds instead of grated), and we liked those pickles. Then Hiromi learned how good they are if one more step is added to the process. After the liquid is drained off, finely chopped fresh ginger root and soy sauce are added and the pickles are allowed to absorb those flavors while being pressed. They're amazing, just as 14-month-old Tristan is, for already recognizing this.
We use a similar process for making cucumber pickles during the summer. If Hiromi can't get the long skinny Asian cucumbers he loves for these pickles, he splits them lengthwise and scoops out the soft center. He's that sure that he doesn't want that juicy stuff in the pickles. Sometimes I can't watch (too wasteful), and sometimes I eat the stuff he cuts out.
************************
Christmas vacation is an amazing gift for everyone subjected to the rigors of a school environment. This length and timing for vacation is not quite unique to the academic world, but almost. One of the few things I remember from my college commencement address is this (speaking of how things change after students enter the work force): "Then, Christmas vacation will be a day in December." Two weeks sounds so much better.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
1:56 PM
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