Wednesday, March 24, 2010

kitchen mishaps, triumphs and summer dreams

Am I in Washington? It sure feels like it. This incessant rain that allows only irregular sun breaks, and even with those sun breaks we still get cold and wind gusts. The cherry blossoms should say otherwise - that it should be warm and sunny and spring-like, but, it isn't. Perhaps I'm hoping for too much, considering it is only March, albeit the end of March. I've had enough of winter though. The cold, the dark, the unusual rain, being sick and inside... Instead I dream of exotic beach vacations and summer skirts and sandals, reminding myself that one day soon I'll be able to walk in the warm sunshine, soaking up as much as possible before the next winter. (Don't let that picture to the left fool you, that was one sunny day out of many rainy ones...)

Then I remember, the awful sunburns I got last summer despite using 65SPF sunscreen, the ones that still mark certain parts of my skin. Or the incessant humidity that leaves one with bladder infections, frizzed out hair and an oily face. Or, the mosquitoes - the blasted bugs that infiltrate my living space and steal my blood late at night, consequently leading to sleepless nights. Oh yes, and the shrieking bugs that resemble giant beetles that enjoy serenading the world at an ungodly hour of the morning since Japan does not believe in daylight savings time, also causing sleepless nights. Curse you, cicadas. I digress.

Now that I think about it, maybe summer isn't as dreamy as I thought... Perhaps I'll be wishing for winter again come August. For now though, I anticipate the warmer months.

Today was another one of those rainy days. Rain that blows sideways and upside down and every which way possible. It is such that, even though I was thoroughly bundled from head to toe, even outfitted with waterproof shoe covers that come up to my shins, and a raincoat that just allows my eyes to peek out, I still get wet. So, upon returning home from errands in the erratic rain, I decided today was definitely a curry day.

So around 5, I get the onions chopped and sauteing on the stove, whilst I mince garlic and ginger and gather the rest of my ingredients from around the kitchen. I'll take a brief tangent here to say that the past week I have begun spring cleaning, which includes organizing and trying to get our apartment more in order. Things are coming together slowly but surely, and maybe one day soon after I get more done and we can actually make some more purchases, I'll be able to share pictures of our place.

Back to curry. The onions are caramelizing and so I throw in the ginger and garlic, and then follow with water, stock, a bay leaf and star anise. That simmers nicely as the flavors amalgamate. About an hour later I get the still-somewhat-frozen chicken in the pot as David returns soaking wet from playing with children. Since the chicken was so cold, I turned the stove up and put the lid back on to get everything heated quickly without allowing bacteria or anything to form. Well, as I got caught up in talking with David per usual end-of-the-day conversations, I completely forgot I had left the burner on high, and sat down to read some food blogs while I "waited" for the chicken to "slowly" cook.

Maybe 20 or so minutes later I heard a sound like perhaps the water was boiling over, and rushed to the stove, where, in dismay, I realized I had left the stove on high, and when I nearly burned my hand taking off the lid, felt my stomach drop at the sight of the scorched pot, a pile of chicken in the middle... and the broth completely evaporated. What else could I do? I started crying, then burned my hand (on accident). It is silly isn't it, since it's not like we can't make curry still, and David comforted me and told me it was ok. I felt utterly stupid for forgetting about the stove, and just stupid that though I started dinner about two hours earlier, I'd have to start over again. So I did, and David thoughtfully cleaned out the pot for me. Although, from there on out, I kept dropping things and having issues all around, which eventually led me to collapse on the floor in laughter. It was all too ridiculous, how could I not laugh?

The curry turned out fine as usual, though slightly different than if it had been cooked much longer. Nonetheless, still delicious.

Although, despite the curry issues, the granola I got in the oven to slowly bake turned out beautiful. I threw some together a few days ago and made some more since David and I already downed most of my first batch. I hoped it would be a cheaper (and tastier) way to do breakfast, instead of buying bags of pre-made granola. The first batch included wonderfully roasted walnuts with oats, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, mixed up with maple syrup and baked at a low temperature for 50 minutes. The second batch included almonds instead of walnuts. Thankfully, I recently found a retailer here who sells bulk spices, herbs, dried nuts and fruits, so I ordered some nuts and seeds to bulk up our granola a bit for next time.

The sourdough starter was also put to good use this past weekend as I made pizza dough out of it, which we used to make BBQ chicken and Thai chicken pizzas.

All in all, more good food despite my curry mishap. And the week is only half over.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Challenging #17

Oh Spring, have you sprung? The buds I captured on camera just weeks ago are now blooming along our street - a mix of purple and white with soft petals. Though the temperature took a brief dip, the weather warmed up this weekend and allowed the sun to show its face. Since we are tired of being inside, David and I decided to go for a hike on Saturday. I spent the week looking up places to hike on the internet, and found a mess of them in Fujieda (the city next to ours on the east side). My natural inclination when choosing hikes is to find the longest and most strenuous, the ones I actually consider challenging. None of those walk-around-the-park types. However, David convinced me that I needed to take it easy since I am so out of shape from sitting around since last Fall. He was right, I knew, even though I still wanted to choose the 14k (8.6 miles) that traverses 5 mountains or something.

So instead, I looked at #16, 17, 20 and 10. They were all under 5k (3.1 miles) and appeared to be large loops that took under 3 hours to complete. I figured they'd be super easy, even for me, the out of shape one. David looked at them, gave his consent and I decided upon #17, a 3.5k course. This colorful, childish/cutesy looking map indicated some exciting stuff, waterfalls, a bridge, a "cat" rock, and even a tunnel. Whoa, tunnel? It all sounded very "Alice in Wonderland" or some such thing.

We set off Saturday morning armed with enough snacks to sustain us for a 6k hike rather than our short one. Though the sun was peeking out here and there, the wind decided it would rather be its beastly self instead of its happy, carefree, light breezy self. Though, at times I was thankful for the wind during our hike.

The bus dropped us off on the side of the freeway. We walked back a bit as I had to go to the bathroom (go figure). Then set forth, only to meet a slight incline on a cutesy path. "Hills already?" I asked, through deep breaths. David says nothing in reply, but rather is admiring the scenery. He says something only when I keep stopping to take pictures, saying the hike will take us double the time with me stopping all the time.

The park came up first, and we wandered through it, checking out the man-made waterfalls. Wandered towards the woods and walked for a bit when we realized we missed our turn somewhere behind us. When we found our turn, and started up this rock embankment, I almost cursed our decision to turn around. This path was straight up the mountain. So we climbed, me stopping every few seconds to take pictures (and get my breath, I was dying). David disappeared out of my sight eventually, as he kept going. Though, the higher we climbed, the more came into view, and I remembered why I love the hikes that go up a mountain and back down. Those make me feel like I got somewhere, that I accomplished something, and that for a brief moment in time, I could survey the world around me and feel a sense of peace. I had missed climbing mountains.

We climbed higher, and passed the cat rock. It looked nothing like a cat. We have no idea why it is called cat rock. Looking out off the left of our trail, tea fields appeared on the sides of mountain peaks. The tea farmers must be brave souls, or billy goats.

Not long after, we reached the top. The elderly folks' hiking clubs were stopped for lunch, taking up space all over the summit. I tried to angle in between them to get a good view for a picture, but alas, they blocked all the good spots, and ironically, none were facing the view, they were all turned in towards the woods (or in the woods).

Now, by this time I was quite tired, though invigorated over the fact we had just climbed a mountain without intent. Nonetheless, our trail was beckoning, and thus we continued down the mountain. (Rather, trying to keep from falling down the mountain. Have the Japanese ever heard of switchbacks? (Please know I'm exaggerating there.))  We passed a woman wearing UGG boots, dragging a small child up the mountain. Our subsequent comments included something like "crazy," "why those shoes?" and "I'd never take a child on something like this."

The next bit was quite boring and not even worth writing about. Part of it involved concrete and the freeway and a giant overpass.

Soon enough, we were almost to the tunnel. We walked along the Old Tokaido road through what seemed to be a ghost town, and reached - The Meiji Tunnel!

A bit of info: The Old Tokaido Road was part of the original route (in the Edo period) connecting Kyoto and Edo (modern day Tokyo). This route was (and still is) the most traveled route in Japan.

After walking through the tunnel, our hike was essentially over, as the freeway was just in view. So, after another bathroom break, and some soft cream, we met the bus to head home. A fantastic hike, I mused. Though, later that night and the next day, my body revolted against me for putting it through so much trauma and stress. It was only then, that David pointed out the course was an advanced course. Or maybe he mentioned it when we were hiking. In any case, I didn't even bother to notice the kanji written above the title, the ones that clearly state (in small lettering) "advanced course" (in Japanese).


Of course. You see, I really can't get away from the most strenuous and difficult hikes, even if they are short. They find their way to me.