I'm back from what will likely be my last solo trip in a very long time: a three week visit back home to Canada. I was traveling during my 28th to 30th weeks of pregnancy, just at the beginning of my third trimester, so was a bit worried that I'd be uncomfortable or have some kind of emergency. But everything went well. In fact, I discovered a cure for the leg cramps that have recently been bothering me, so for that alone the trip was well worth it. Let me say a big "Phooey!" to all the pregnancy experts who recommend against traveling during the third trimester, my midwives who were reluctant to let me go, and all the Japanese people who expressed shock that I would even consider flying in my delicate condition.
Of course, things might have been different if I was flying back in coach. But I wasn't- my mother, who was already kind enough to give me her airmiles for my trip home, couldn't find any economy seats for nonstop flight so she upgraded me to executive class (the woman apparently has an endless supply of airmiles). Needless to say it was the best flight I've ever had, and the next time I fly it will be hard to adjust to flying with the plebes back in economy class.
Above is the view of Chiba prefecture as we were flying out of Narita, with Tokyo way in the background. I could actually see Tokyo Sky Tree, the new mega-tower under construction, fairly well, although it barely shows up in the picture- bonus points for anyone who can spot it (clicking on the picture will bring you to Flickr, where I've marked the tower's location).
Air Canada's international flights have just two classes- economy and executive first, and they are as different as night and day. Our seats were more like little cubicles (Air Canada calls them "suites"), with walls separating each passenger from each other (this would actually suck for couples or friends traveling together) and seats that fully recline into beds. Unfortunately I completely forgot to take pictures of the seats but you can see for yourself how the other half travels on AC's website, here. The only downside: I was unable to take advantage of the the limitless free alcohol during the flight (or in the executive lounge at the airport- itself a major treat). Plus it was slightly embarrassing to see the looks of the economy class passengers as they passed by during boarding, eying our comfy nests with longing and envy and sighing "ii na" (must be nice). But I got over it.
The food was mostly great, with three choices offered for dinner. I went with the Japanese kaiseki course, and although it wasn't quite served kaiseki style (one tiny dish at a time) it was very good. The first course is shown above, and although I can't tell you what was in each dish (I forgot to keep the menu, which wasn't very specific anyway), I can tell you that each item was well made and delicious.
The second course was steak teriyaki, and this was slightly disappointing. Not that I was expecting wagyu or anything, but this was a very lean cut of beef and the presentation not so different from economy class. It did taste good and was the softest, best lean steak I'd had in ages, but still. (It's kind of scary that within hours of boarding I was already used to executive class enough to be that picky.) Dessert was offered but I skipped it, and dozed through the mid-flight snack (of which we had several choices). I didn't sleep deeply, but it was the most I've ever slept in the air and I really think that helped with my jet lag later.
There were three choices for breakfast and I went with the omelet, which turned out to be just as rubbery as in economy class. Everything else was good though, especially the super flaky croissants. And then, almost too soon, I was landing in Toronto.
This was Sunday June 27th, right during the G8 and G20 summits, and as we were taxiing to our gate the pilot announced that we could see some of the delegations' official planes, including that of the Japanese prime minister and Air Force One. Sadly it was on the wrong side of the plane, and as I struggled to see I noticed that nobody who actually had a view was bothering to look. I felt slightly loserish to be so excited, but really, wouldn't you be at least slightly thrilled to see the president's plane? As it turns out, I didn't see it, nor did I see any official looking types at the airport, and as my family lives in Brampton (a suburb northwest of Toronto) my visit was completely unaffected by the summits.
My Dad picked me up at the airport (he wasn't impressed by my near Air Force One sighting either) and brought me home, and after checking out the changes (a bathroom reno, a guest room converted into an office, Toki the cat doubling in size, a gaping hole in the backyard's tree coverage where two dead poplars were cut down) we sat down to dinner.
My Mom made spaghetti carbonara, and after all the food I got on the plane I didn't think I'd be able to finish it, but before I knew it I was getting seconds. This was a very special carbonara, at least to me- I always make the simple version, with just cheese, eggs and bacon (not pancetta, which is too hard to find, and not even good bacon, which doesn't exist in Japan). But this was the cream version, made even better by using both real pancetta and very good bacon. I may not be able to recreate this in Japan, given the lack of good bacon and pancetta, but I think I'll try a creamy carbonara recipe next time.
Another big treat was chicken souvlaki, served with tzatziki, hummus, onions and good soft tortillas (apparently good pitas can't be found in Brampton), along with orzo and Greek salad.
I was skeptical, but the tortillas worked really well. This is definitely something I can't recreate at home in Japan, since neither good pitas or tortillas are available and I lack a barbeque- not to mention my brother's bbq skills.
Soon after I arrived we were hit with a heat wave, with the temperature getting up to 34C at one point- far hotter than Tokyo at the time. So a nice light cold food platter was just the thing. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the lovingly arranged platter before we mangled it, but but that's my selection above. Included are a few illicit slices of proscuitto and mortadella (which pregnant women in Canada are told not to eat) and lots of naughty raw vegetables (strictly banned by my Japanese midwife).
Toki, the kitty in the above picture, likes to watch us eat from the hallway above the kitchen. She entertains us by squirming around, usually upside down, and generally acting goofy, but unfortunately she mostly does this in the evening when the lighting is poor and I never manage to get a picture of her at her silliest.
Toki is a very sensual cat, who likes to cuddle with Cocoa, above, and to be photographed in sexy poses, below.
But cats aren't the only pets in the house:
This is my brother Greg's new hobby: aquascaping (note that these are his pictures, not mine).
His great big aquarium holds a few kinds of fish, but they're on the plain side and almost beside the point (although he does plan to add more).
The real focus of the aquarium is the plantlife and how its arranged. Apparently a lot of the inspiration of aquascaping comes from Japanese hobbyists like Takashi Amano, who himself is inspired by traditional Japanese gardening and landscaping (check out his aquariums here).
Aquascaping makes use of freshwater shrimp to keep algae under control, and my brother currently has three types, the easiest to spot being the crystal red shrimp seen above and below.
It's a very cool hobby and I could spend hours staring at the aquarium. If we ever have the space I'll be trying this out myself.
All of the aquarium pictures above were taken by Greg Bishop. See more of them in his Aquarium album on Flickr.
All those shrimp pictures are making me hungry, so let's get back to food. Pizza is fun to make anywhere, but especially in places where you can buy an amazing selection of salamis and other cured meat. Instead of the ultra simple pizzas we usually make at home in Japan, I had a couple that were loaded with yummy meat.
My brother's girlfriend Sherry made this pecan pie, which is something I thought I didn't like but just had to try. And thanks to the rich, nutty filling I can now say I'm a pecan pie fan.
Another Sherry creation was this breakfast burrito. It's really good that she made this, as it ensured that I wouldn't be spending the day without filling my required bacon quota (seriously, I had bacon in some for or other every single day of my trip).
My Dad bought a new barbeque, and we christened it with hot dogs. Of course in my family a simple hot dog cookout is anything but simple, and here there are five types of sausages and dogs, along with corn on the cob and skewers of bacon-wrapped sausage, pineapple and onion.
There was also coleslaw and a wonderful potato salad made by Greg's friend Jim which I really should have taken a picture of in its dish, as it was lovely.
No trip home is complete without pierogies.
Or a visit to the Brampton farmer's market. Just to show that I ate more than bacon, here's the loot we got during a shopping spree at the farmer's market and Asian grocery. My Mom made that rhubarb (yet another thing I can't get in Japan, unless you count the single 20 cm stalk I saw recently that went for 700 yen- about eight Canadian dollars) into a beautiful strawberry-rhubarb crisp that I unfortunately devoured without taking a picture.
To work off all of the desserts and bacon (and because I'm under orders to do so by my midwife), I got out most days for a walk. Usually my Dad came, and usually we went to the local park, which runs along Etobicoke Creek. I would have gone more but all of the paths had been torn up and the city was taking its time repaving them. It was also so hot that I had to cut a few walks short, as I never got out as early as I wanted- I usually woke up around six, before it got too hot, but then I'd spend a few hours leisurely reading the newspaper, drinking coffee, and eating breakfast. The lack of decent newspapers in Japan means this morning ritual is a luxury that I really, really enjoy when I'm in Canada.
We discovered something new at the creek: fire ants have arrived. We didn't used to have them, but now they're everywhere. And I quickly discovered that if I stopped walking for more than a few seconds and was wearing sandals, I'd be attacked. So after that first painful lesson I either wore shoes and socks or kept walking without pause.
I took the picture above not for the ants but to identify the plant they're on, since we'd just read an article about another invader: hogweed. Rather sensationally, the weed was described as causing blisters and blindness (with no explanation how, leaving us to wonder if merely looking at it would strike you blind or if you'd have to actually rub it onto your eyeballs). And helpfully there was one tiny picture with no tips on how to identify the week. So naturally we were on the lookout that day and saw several potentially deadly plants. This one turned out to not be the dreaded hogweed, but we're still wondering what it was.
We saw plenty of neat birds, including this cardinal (yes, that's the closest I could get) and a budgie that frequented our backyard feeders for a few weeks. It stopped coming around before I could get a picture, and I hope that no cats were involved in its disappearance.
We had a seafood feast one night, starting with crab legs served with Canadian and Japanese style- with both butter and ponzu (a citrusy soy sauce).
Next up were clams, plump and juicy and delicious steamed plain (forgot to get a pic), and a very complicated mussel dish. We were trying to recreate the mussels we love at a local Italian place (the flavours are actually more Thai than Italian), and a recipe from my Mom's Tribeca Grill Cookbook looked close. It turned out to taste close, but we had to go through so much work and use so many ingredients, some of them far more expensive than the mussels themselves (like six cups of clam juice!) that as good as it tasted we figured it wasn't worth trying again. After all, isn't one of the great things about mussels that they don't need a lot of fancy preparation? There has to be a better recipe out there. Very fine meal though.
Other seafood included fish and chips. Above is haddock and chips with a side of poutine.
Here we have some kind of steak wrapped in-what else- bacon, with beans, potatoes and beet greens. This was the first time I'd had beet greens and I liked them very much (and of course they are yet another thing that I can't find in Japan).
As much as I love the seafood in Japan, I really miss the way my Mom does fish: lightly dredged in flour and paprika and sauteed in butter. Here we have halibut, perfectly cooked.
This is the Thai curry I had with my friend Aspasia when I visited her in North York. It was a very hot day and I must have baked my brain or something, because I completely forgot to take pictures of her beautiful old house and cute kitties (I'm especially sad that I didn't get one of the impossibly huge-eyed Anime Cat). There might be some pictures on her blog though, so check it out.
When I got back from Toronto my sister Julie was home! She'd just flown up from Texas and although she only stayed for a week it was great to see her.
My Mom took Julie, Sherry and I out for brunch at Cora's, home of giant fruit-intensive breakfasts. That's my Mom's eggs Benedict above, and below is my giant buckwheat crepe with spinach and cheddar (ordered from the lunch menu so lacking the fruit).
Greg treated us to his amazing beef fajitas, with Sherry's guacamole and mango salsa on the side. I could eat this every day.
Soon we had more visitors, with family friends Penny and Ira and their daughter Melissa stopping by for the weekend. Ira's hobby is woodworking and he brought along a special present for my Mom. It's a very cute little cabinet that sits on the counter and hides...
My Mom's rum stash! For as long as I remember there's always been a giant bottle of Bacardi on the kitchen counter, but now the bottle has a discreet little hideaway and our kitchen is much classier.
In other alcohol related developments, I finally achieved one of my lifelong dreams: my bump has finally grown big enough to support a cold mug of beer. This not only keeps me cool in hot weather, but means that I no longer have to limit my drinking to locations that include tables or cupholders.
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