Unagi Pie

I've written about some of the odd foods I've come across in Japan. I thought I'd introduce this delicacy.

One of my students brought me some cookies from her college town. These are very famous cookies/biscuits that are absolutely delicious and a bit pricey. In Japanese they are called Unagi Pie. They are very, very light, buttery, sweet, crispy cookies and they are made of eel. Yes! Eel! The long slimy things that swim in the sea!

It seems the town is famous for eel (which I swear is also delicious) and they had all these eel bones left over so someone got the great idea of pulverizing them, making them into powder and adding them to cookies. One of the strangest ideas in Japan I think, but actually there must only be a trace of eel powder in there because there is not a hint that these pastries are anything but elegant tea time snacks. My friends and I enjoyed them yesterday and we commented as always about the lack of eel taste. Reading the back of the package one of us noticed that among the ingredients there was also listed garlic. What? There is not a trace of garlic in this cookie! (We had to have another bite to check.) Nope absolutely delicious.

I think of these as tea time cookies but please notice the English on the packaging. Do I even want to go any further with this? Eel is supposed to give a person stamina in the long hot exhausting days of summer... Nights? Maybe another reason these are so popular.

Quilt rescue

Yesterday was the last day of spring vacation for us in Nikko and I had planned to do quilty things like practice machine quilting. Make a bag. Start a new prayer quilt. I still did quilty things but not what I had lined up.

A couple of days ago my neighbor was visiting and she said because of family circumstances (divorce) she wanted to give me back the quilt she started a long time ago and that she wouldn't be able to finish. I had to pick my brain to remember what quilt we were talking about. Yes, maybe 10 or more years ago my neighbor had shown an interest in my quilting and I had offered to teach her. She didn't own any fabric so she thumbed through my scraps and decided on making a quilt in pink. I don't remember if she pieced by hand but I think she must have... I remember her thinking about a border fabric, again from my stash and I must have helped her trace the quilting pattern. That's it. My neighbor went back to work and that's the last I ever heard of the quilt. I asked a couple times in the early years but she said it was in the back of her closet and hadn't been touched.

When I saw my neighbor this week she said she'd discovered the quilt wadded at the bottom of the closet but it was stained and her kids had tried to use it as a dog blanket. She wanted to know if she should give it to the dog, or throw it out, but because all the fabric had been mine she felt a little guilty. I told her to hang on to it and someday she'd find time and be able to pass it on to her daughter. She looked at me doubtfully, and I could envision the dog getting the quilt eventually.

This is one reason why I don't really like teaching patchwork. So many of the projects get left by the wayside when people get busy with other things and yet I feel responsible for the started quilt. Often the people have spent money for tools (rotary cutters, cutting mats, quilting hoops) and of course for the fabric. I don't know if it is my advice to piece a certain pattern or quilt a certain design that throws them off but quite often the quilt gets forgotten. I thought about the neighbor's quilt. Am I responsible? If she finished it, wouldn't it mean more to her daughter than if I finished it? But it probably wouldn't get finished. Oh, phoo. Just get it and do it for her! She's been a very nice neighbor.

So yesterday I saw the neighbor's son and asked him if he knew where his mother's quilt was and he telephoned her and finally rooted it out of the bottom of the closet. Stained? Yes! Stiff and dirty? Yes! Cat and dog fur? Yes! It was much smaller than I remembered it but all the fabrics brought back memories of past quilts and quilt stores where I had bought them... The center had already been stitch-in-the-ditch quilted and there were quilting lines faintly visible in some parts of the border and corners though gone in others. My neighbor had planned to make a very nice little wall hanging but I could see how she might look at it and think it an impossible goal these many years later.

I retraced the quilting design and had to guess in some places. Then I spent a very nice day just quilting. The whole day through!!! And last night I gave it a wash and though some of the stains didn't come out I think it is a respectable quilt to hang on the wall or put at the foot of a bed. I've called my neighbor and she'll come and get it today. I hope she'll use it to brighten up her new apartment.

I'm glad I rescued a quilt.

Shoes

This weekend Tetsu bought me some new shoes. I hate buying shoes. I'm not so fond of shopping to begin with but I especially don't like trying on shoes. I can't seem to think fashion when in comes to shoes and I can go through a whole season with just one pair of walking shoes and a pair of black dress shoes (for funerals).

So the soles of the shoes I bought in October were wearing down so much I felt like I was walking on a slant (I do a lot of walking so I am hard on shoes). Someone even commented that I needed to buy some new ones so you know they were getting pretty bad. Tetsu was so surprised when I suggested we visit the shoe store on Saturday.

"YOU?! You want to buy shoes?!"

Shoes have to have some support because of all the walking I do. They can't hurt because I've already got bunions. They should be black or brown so that they won't show the dirt when Choco steps on my feet. They also have to be easy to get on and off because we live in a Japanese house where we are removing shoes every time we enter a building. (Yes, not only houses. We all remove our shoes when we enter a school or the kindergarten or wherever.)

I don't buy shoes in America either but I have a feeling shoes are a little different. What do you think? I looked at some shoes (but didn't buy them) that have soft backs at the heel area. I considered these because I have a TERRIBLE habit of stepping on the backs of my shoes when I get into them. I think most Japanese do this and that is why these types of shoes are becoming popular. The back of the shoe is soft so that you can pull it up around your heel, or if you are in a hurry you can smash them down like mules. Mules are VERY popular shoes in Japan for just this reason.

What I ended up with are MAROON colored walking shoes. (Tetsu chose the color for me). They've got the reflectors on the back of the heel for walking at night, and they have a good arch for walking. Best of all they have zippers on the sides. Do shoes elsewhere have zippers? If I'm going to buy shoes I look for some with velcro or zippers so that I can get in and out of them quickly. I just can't be bothered to sit down on the entry way step and tie or untie tennis shoes every time I go in or out of the house.

I'm ready for a lot of spring walking!

How the nightingale got her song

"Pi-pi-pi-pi-pi Ho-o ho-o kekyo!"

In the past few days Tetsu and I have been greeted by this bird call when we go for a walk in the mornings. This is the call of the Japanese nightingale and he always heralds the arrival of spring. The Japanese nightingale is a small bird and though I hear him when I am outside I rarely get a glimpse of him. Far off in the trees I think I can see a small brown bird and it is amazing how far and clearly the nightingale's voice carries over the fields and forests. Tetsu will sometimes whistle back and the nightingale will answer with a long warbling voice that ends in the familiar "Ho-o ho-o kekyo!" (picture from the Internet)

Do you know this story? It was always one of Leiya's favorites when she was a child and each spring when the nightingale's song could be heard, she'd ask me to repeat it.

One morning God sent out word to the birds in His world that He had planned something special for them and that they were all supposed to gather at a certain time and He would give them a present. Birds from all over the earth flew to God's side and He pulled out a huge box of paints.

"Today I am going to paint each of you and give you whatever colors you want. You are to go out in the world and brighten your place!"

The birds were very excited and started lining up in front of God and talking about what colors and feathers they wanted.

The cardinal declared that he wanted to be RED. As bright as possible! And God painted him in a brilliant vermilion.

The gentle swan gracefully came to God and said she wanted to be pure white so that the sun would reflect on her wings.

The peacock wanted each of his feathers painted in detail and it took God a long time to paint the sparkling designs on each long feather. The peacock strutted off proudly displaying God's amazing artwork.

The parrot was a bit of a joker anyway and he said he wanted every color that God had to be splashed on him. And then the toucan, not to be outdone, said that he wanted that strange looking beak at the bottom of the box and the brightest yellow available to spice up his shimmering black coat. The other birds giggled and thought the parrot and the toucan had overdone it but God smiled indulgently and the two birds chattered about who would be the brightest in the jungle.

The sweet little robin came up to God shyly and asked only for a soft red on her breast that she could look down at and admire alone.

All the birds got the colors of their choice and God spent a wonderful day painting and choosing the colors that were just right for each bird's personality. When evening drew near and all the birds were happily on their way home, God started to pack away His paintbox. It had been a busy day and all His wonderful paints had been used to their fullest.

But just then a small drab nightingale came fluttering in all in a panic.

"God! God! I just heard that You'd called all the birds together today! I live in the far off mountains and I didn't get the message! I have just come! God! Please paint me too!"

But God looked into His paintbox and then looked sadly at the nightingale.

"I'm so sorry. All the paints are gone... I used them all up and there is no color left for you my little nightingale."

The poor little nightingale looked so forlorn and so sad that God took another look in the box and at the far corner He noticed one tiny drop of gold.

"Little nightingale, open your beak wide and I think I can give you the best present of all."

So the nightingale opened her beak wide and God took one of His paintbrushes and placed the drop of gold at the back of the nightingale's throat.

The nightingale started to thank God and when she opened her mouth the most wonderful melody flowed forth! She could trill and warble and for miles around her golden voice could be heard over the hills and fields! All the other birds in the world were envious of the nightingale's beautiful song!

Although the nightingale stayed a brown little bird, God had given her the most beautiful voice in all the earth, and she spread her joy whenever she sang her thanks.

Friends

Yesterday my friend Masako-san and I took a drive to the southern part of the prefecture to visit another friend, Heidi. Masako-san and I are definitely directionally challenged. At the first corner we looked at the directions that Heidi had given us and couldn't decide if we were supposed to go north or south. We wanted to pick up some cakes so we headed in the direction of a bakery but got stopped at another corner and had another discussion about whether we were supposed to go left or right. However, between Heidi's directions, a prefecture map and Masako-san's built in GPS we did finally find our way.

Masako-san had originally been Heidi's Japanese teacher a few years ago and since Heidi was new in Japan and had married a Japanese, Masako-san introduced us.

"Heidi, I know someone just like you (American and married to a Japanese) and she has been here nearly 30 years." (and managed to survive!)

Well, Heidi has a lot more energy than I do (she's younger yes, but overall she's just bubbly. I'm sort of a simmer) and over the past five years we've shared stories and talked about the different challenges facing foreigners in Japan. Yesterday Masako-san and I got to meet some of Heidi's new friends and neighbors and play a bit with her little "evangelist". Baby Luke is a friendly toddler and people flock to him giving Heidi and Luke a chance to spread the gospel in their daily lives. Masako-san and I went home happy to have seen how Luke is growing and how Heidi is shining her light!

Japanese 101

How about a Japanese lesson today?

I thought I'd teach you a couple of common phrases heard daily. Actually all three sort of apply to me...

The first. "Neko jita" Literally "Cat's tongue". I have a cat's tongue. This means that I huff and puff when I'm served something very hot (temperature-wise). My friends know that I can't drink the steaming hot tea that they serve me and that I don't mind having my cooled coffee topped off rather than start with a fresh and very hot cup. I guess cats are known for not liking to drink hot milk or something.

If I say, "I think I'll let this cool a bit. I have a cat's tongue." everybody knows what I mean and they smile indulgently. (Children often have a cat's tongue).

How about "Nekoze". This is literally "Cat's back" and it means that the person has rounded shoulders or a slight stoop. I was looking in the mirror the other day and realized how I need to work on my posture a bit more.

Mothers will say "Stand up straight. You are getting a cat's back."

Looks good on the cat, not so good on me.

And a last one. "Neko ni koban". This is translated
"giving a cat a gold coin"
and is similar to the English phrase
"throwing pearls to swine".
Cats won't appreciate what treasures you give them so it is waste of money to ply them with riches. Me too. I'm sort of a recycle shop sort of person and don't have the slightest idea what is good or bad quality, what has cost someone a lot of money or not.

"No sense taking Tanya to that expensive restaurant. It's like giving a cat a gold coin. She doesn't know the difference."

Please review the information. However no test will be given.

More cooking

Hmmm. I am running around today so this will have to be short.

I had a great time for my last class with my two jr. high students. (You met Tetsuhiro-kun last week.) One boy is moving away and Tetsuhiro-kun will be busier with school clubs so he is "graduating" too. I will miss both boys. They have been coming since 1st grade and actually got very good at comprehending and they weren't afraid to string English words together to communicate. For their last class we made dinner. Same menu as last week. (But a lot more fun!) The boys were joking and moving around and tasting things and even making suggestions about what might be good additions. (If you want to know what's with all the peace signs check out this old blog post.)

Okay. Here is the recipe for Cherokee Casserole from my childhood.

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 can of tomatoes
1 can of mushroom soup
1 cup (or more) of cooked cold rice
6 stuffed green olives chopped
shredded cheese

Brown meat in oil.
Add onions and garlic and cook until tender.
Stir in ingredients in order given (except cheese)
Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with cheese and broil.

My recipe card is sepia colored and torn and splattered with who knows what. I think my mother typed it up for me when I got married (29 years ago!) This is an old stand-by recipe in our house and Tetsu calls it "American Ojiya" which means rice gruel. Actually I can't get mushroom soup in Japan but I used canned white sauce or sometimes gratin sauce (for any Japanese blog visitors.) I also can't often get stuffed olives so what do you think I use instead? You know how when you think of those pickled green olives how your mouth starts salivating? Well, the same thing happens (Pavlov's dogs?) when I think about Japanese pickled plums so I tried chopping up some Umeboshi (pickled plums) and my Cherokee Casserole turns out great! Japanese think that is a horrible thing to do to pickled plums but even Tetsu agrees that it is a good substitute! Delicious!