Saturday, December 8, 2007
Sayonara!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Hostie got spoiled!
Inside was this beautiful shawl that Hostie can't stop raving about:
She wanted to model it for Krafty1, but realized this would maybe partially destroy her anonymity before the big reveal, so we compromised and came up with this:
Today it is Thanksgiving in the USA. Tomorrow it is Labour Thanksgiving Day in Japan. What are you thankful for?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween!
After talking to Hostie I have learned that it has been only recently that western-style Halloween decorations and traditions have started to become popular in Japan. There are even a few Halloween events held now, including one at Tokyo Disneyland. A few of the neighborhoods in Tokyo with larger foreigner populations have even started having trick or treating.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Suki safe and sound, and a contest chez Krafty1!
In other news, Krafty1 is having a contest! You could win this incredible prize:
So go check out the contest--maybe you will win! Krafty1 has also provided links to several other contests going on right now, so go take a look!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Some knitting, no flashing of stash, and a farewell party
So, here I am--yup, that's right, I'm knitting! However, I must give credit where credit is due--Hostie has done a lot to make that knitting look the way it does (talk about a lot of frogging--phew!). This knitting stuff is slow going with hooves.
Shelby, Hostie's SP11 hostess is having a contest (show your stash!)--unfortunately I can't really participate for 2 reasons:
(1) I am participating vicariously in SP11 through Hostie--I am not officially "enrolled", and
(2) I do not have a stash of my own, as I am currently mooching all of my yarn off of Hostie
In other news, we had a "sayonara" party for my friend Suki today. She will soon be boarding a plane, along with a few goodies, to go be with my dear friend Krafty1. I'm going to miss her company, but I think Krafty1 will enjoy having her own foreign visitor. I hope you don't mind Krafty1! Hostie has scolded me for not clearing it with you first . . .
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Bento Bonanza!
What can you tell us about bento boxes? Special K and I take our lunches to school/work each day. We'd like to get something fun to carry and be able to pack without having to use plastic bags. Do you use one? What do you find useful? (What are "must-haves" as far as the actual box goes?) And if you use one, what is/are your favortite thing/s to pack?
The word bento is said to have originated from a 16th Century military commander called Odo Nobunaga (1584-1632) who fed the large numbers of people that inhabited his castle by handing out simple meals to each individual. The word was created to describe the small convenient meal.
However, Nobunaga did not begin the trend, he just seemed to make it more solid as a feature in Japanese culture. Bento can be traced as far back into Japanese history as the 5th Century, when people who spent all day working away from the home(hunting, farming, fishing or fighting) needed something nutritious that they could prepare quickly to take with them as they travelled.
Making your own:
You may ask, well this is all fine and dandy, but how do I go about making my own bento? Well my friend, first you need a bento box. This will influence your portions, your shapes, and even what types of food you use. Here are a whole slew of ideas and options that you might consider:
- Very traditional elegant box: http://www.asianartmall.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=bento
- Traditional Japanese school box: http://www.jbox.com/SEARCH/bento/1/
- More flexible/modern alternatives:
(1) http://www.lunchboxes.com/bento.html
(2) http://flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/430895005/in/set-72157594150632817/
(3) http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/70518AD.html?noImages (scroll down to see the bento idea on this one)
** Some of these options are very nice because they come with individual removable dividers and they lock completely air tight.
As for other equipment that you might consider using:
Cupcake forms and dividers are very useful when keeping flavors from mingling. Skewers or toothpicks are useful to include for skewering small bits of vegetables, fruit, or meat. A pair of chopsticks are always included in a bento set, and depending on what you pack, a spoon and fork can be included as well. Many people keep an assortment of small cookie cutters around to cut bits of colorful food into shapes to decorate their bentos. You will also need to find some way of transporting sauces and dressings separately in your bento. In Japan you can buy little individual one serving size disposable/reusable bottles for this purpose. If you do not have access to something of this nature, consider looking at the travel size containers available at stores like your local Walmart for suitable alternatives.
For a discussion of some bento equipment: http://www.airandangels.com/bentobox/equipment.html
Now for filling that bento! There are so many options, so I am just going to throw way too much information at you!
For some bento recipes: http://hubpages.com/hub/Bento_Box_Recipes
For some Japanese pickle recipes: http://www.theblackmoon.com/Jfood/ftsuke.html and http://www.opensourcefood.com/people/yongfook/recipes/cooling-japanese-cucumbers/
For excellent speed tips, tutorials, etc., see: http://lunchinabox.net/top-tips/
For an article on bento food safety: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/05/08/food-safety-for-packed-lunches-updated/
For all kinds of great bento tips: http://community.livejournal.com/bentolunch/tag/bentotips
Check out these interesting blogs of bento pros: http://lunchinabox.net/ and http://cookingcute.com/
A video blog featuring bento recipes, bento packing tips,and demos of bento making tools: http://bentotv.com/index.html
For some more inspiration, see: http://www.flickr.com/groups/367772@N22/ and http://www.flickr.com/groups/bentoboxes/ and http://www.mydailybento.blogspot.com/ and http://www.bentolunchesforall.blogspot.com/
For an interesting look at the bento lunch of a normal Japanese high school student, see this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA2ZFQQkZl8
I hope that helps! If anyone out there has any more questions about anything, just give me a shout! Good luck Krafty1 and Special K!
Cheers!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Knitting, DVDs, and a Stiff Reprimand from Hostie
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
For the birds.
In Japan, cranes ("tsuru" in Japanese) have a long history in Japanese history, traditions, and legends. The Red-crowned Crane (also called the Japanese Crane, "tancho" in Japanese) is the second rarest crane in the world (only 1,700 -- 2,000 currently in the wild). At maturity, the crane is pure white with a red crest on its head. Interestingly, this crest becomes bright red when the crane becomes angry or excited! During the spring and summer months this crane lives in Siberia, where their eggs hatch, and then migrate in the fall to various countries throughout Asia, including Japan to spend the winter. The only exception to this is a flock that stays in Hokkaidō, Japan, all year long.
Or if you would like detailed step by step instructions with pictures, see http://monkey.org/~aidan/origami/crane/.
Last year Krafty1 mentioned that she had picked up so yarn to use to design some "crane socks". She said that once she finished the design work she would post the info for ordering and that she would donate all funds to Operation Migration. Go give Krafty1 a shout out and tell her what a great idea this is. If you have any ideas for those socks I'm sure she would love to hear them! While we're waiting for those socks, you could always make yourself a pair of wings: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTallete.html
Me and my new whooping crane friends, Thelma and Louise
Thursday, August 23, 2007
The Year of the Sheep
Unfortunately, although they honor me by naming a year after me, my kind are rare in Japan, since the climate of Japan is not appropriate to raise sheep (it is too humid). No wonder my fleece has been such a mess!
Despite the rarity of sheep in Japan, we have done our best to make a name for ourselves here, though I’m not altogether sure that the efforts have been successful. Consider the following examples:
- In 1982, Japanese author Haruki Murakami wrote a novel titled A Wild Sheep Chase about a neurotic chain-smoking Japanese man who goes on a hunt for a sheep that has not been seen in years. At one point during his hunt he meets a man who dresses as a sheep and talks in slurs.
Hmm . . . okay, let’s try another one:
- A story that ran across the globe earlier this year in newspapers and on websites reported that a company called “Poodles as Pets” had been selling Australian sheep to rich women as poodles in Sapporo, Japan. The story went on to say that because sheep were rare in Japan, people were not able to distinguish between a sheep and a poodle. However, the story was later uncovered as a hoax.
Sigh. I guess we’re not doing very well on the PR front at this point. However, I am hoping that my presence may help Japanese-sheep relations along. It must be working already, as Japan’s wikipedia has already included an entry all about me. I also hold out hope for the Japanese people, as they must have some kind of sheeply respect, as a hiker came across these stone sheep in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido:
Monday, August 20, 2007
A Trip to the Tea Fields
This past weekend I took a trip out of Tokyo to see some Japanese countryside. Really I was just hoping to get a view of something green and alive. Hostie came through for me and took me out near the base of Mt. Fuji where we saw beautiful green tea fields.
Take a look at this video to see someone else's visit to the tea fields:
http://softypapa.wordpress.com/2007/07/05/hand-picking-japanese-green-tea-shin-cha/
See this video about abandoned tea fields do to the decline in population in Japan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIx1PJeBB8I
The fields are beautiful, and looked so delicious. However, when I went to snag myself a little nibble I was chased off. I wonder what the problem was?
:-) Shaun
P.S. Panda, I love anime too! Do you have any favorites?