Oh, poor gingko nuts. Chanthu and Mindulle have blown you down on the ground, still premature. Mei-Shun wishes she could pick you up to eat, yet they say you have amygdalin, a harmful toxin. You remind her of their own gingko, whose green leaves have been torn from branches to land onto balcony floor. Both of you left home too soon, yet had no choice.
Madoka-chan remembers Mei-Shun as her “refreshment mom”, asks treats every time when the latter approaches her stall. Sure, here’s horse cookies today. You will see an apple, your favorite on Wednesday. R. mom heard that you are too thin in the back to let us ride. We therefore plan to serve rich foods to you. Now, shall we go to the dressing space? Wishing your forelock were a bit bushier, r. mom chose this browband. Oh, how cute you look with it!
We have 立秋=risshu, the 13th of 二十四節気 yesterday. It means autumn has come, while nobody could recognize it in the middle of summer. Still, we find it in these ripe golden ears of rice, bowing themselves into the same direction. 案山子, kakashi started their bulwark against flocks of little birds with big appetite.
昇仙峡, Shosenkyo is one of the most beautiful places Mei-Shun recommend you to visit. White, uniquely shaped rocks give wonderful contrast with clean, emerald water especially in winter followed by simmering hoto. It is a miso stew with various vegetables including pumpkin, Japanese white radish, carrot, leak, etc. while meat and hoto noodle. We found it nice in summer as well with egg plant, cucumber, tomato and okra today.
… to you mom, in 草津, Kusatsu on one-month summer vacation there for these several years. She often told Mei-Shun that her birthday gift was a watermelon in her childhood. She and her two younger brothers were so happy to see it cooled in a well. Yes, that fruit worked as a birthday cake for children. Even today, big watermelons seem to symbolize joy of summer, especially for big boys including Shin, his late father and Mei-Shun’s. Shall we go to a greengrocer’s shop to buy one?
鮎, ayu tastes the best from June to August. Mei-Shun has a propensity for it, asked Shin to arrange a lunch date at their favorite Japanese food restaurant in Shinagawa. They know well what she covets, serving a course featuring grilled one. This genuine delicacy is edible from top of head to edge of tail, except for white-salted fins. Oh, rainy season is over in Kanto area. Thank you so much for bringing real summer to us.
It seems we are still in the season this year. Such weather may remind Mei-Shun’s generation of 1993, when cool summer affected seriously on rice harvest. We lacked rice so much that our government imported a lot from Thailand. It might have lead to today’s popularity of Thai cuisine in Japan. At that time, however, the fluffy texture of Thai rice was a kind of shock for most of us. On the other hand, もちもち感 =mochi-mochi-kan, a lush mouthfeel of Japanese rice have been well accepted in many countries recently.
Sometimes you really crave them, don’t you? Mei-Shun does, maybe because she resembles her late father in favorite foods. He used to bring home a box of assorted donuts after job. Little Mei-Shun was so happy to choose one as a dessert next morning. Now on low-carb diet, she has to refrain from sweets as much as possible. However, when she feels herself out of control, it seems better to eat them a little, replacing other carbohydrates. Breakfast toast for example, as the best candidate for substitution.
Half of 2016 has already passed. This Japanese confectionery written in 水無月, meaning June, is popular in Kyoto. We have no time to drop in on sweets shops last time, so ordered it from たねや as usual. Shin has made a step into summer diet. Now a competition between him and Mei-Shun starts — winner would have a right to ask him/her to buy his/her favorite food!
Have you ever seen this cute, white creature? Looking like a baby, it is a delicacy of cheese ball filled with strings and cream. An Italian master living in Hokkaido is the only person who has technique to make it in Japan, Shin said. He seems quite right — one of Mei-Shun’s best impressions on that area is amazingly tasty dairy products, followed by potatoes and beer.
meishunkikunoe 