Blue Lotus

Kobe Kachoen

While I was visiting the in-laws in Osaka we took another trip to Kachoen, the bird and flower park in Kobe that we went to last summer. We stayed for a shorter time than before and although I didn't get a chance to see the owls or play with the toucans and parrots, it was even better because my niece Marya was with us. Watching her delighted reactions to the birds was just as fun as watching the birds themselves.

She had been really excited about seeing the penguins, and while she did like them it turns out that was she liked best feeding the ducks. "Come for the penguins, stay for the ducks", that's Kachoen's motto.

But for me the highlight of the day was the hot swan action:

But Kachoen is not all hungry ducks and randy swans. There's plenty else to see and do, so I'll leave you with a bunch of pictures from the rest of our visit. There are lots more in my Golden Week album, so if you just can't get enough of exotic birds, pretty flowers and cute nieces, have a peek.

Golden Week

I went spent the (roughly) week-long spring holiday called "Golden Week" with my parents-in-law in Osaka, and seeing as I've been back in Tokyo for a week I thought I should get around to posting about it.

My time was equally divided between playing with my niece Marya, eating enormous meals (including three buffet lunches, and if that doesn't sound exciting then you've never had a good Japanese buffet), and convalescing from yet another cold. Or whatever this thing is. Hours before I was to ride the night bus to Osaka I came down with the exact same sore throat and fatigue as I got last month (and New Years, and now), and knowing I was likely in for a bit of unpleasantness I considered canceling the whole thing and staying in Tokyo. But I figured I'd be better off being miserable around family than being miserable alone, so off I went.

I laid low for a few days, canceling my plans for a day trip to Kyoto and even going to a clinic for some meds. My first visit to a doctor in Osaka, and if that one experience is enough to go on it seems the waiting-time-to-consultation-length ratio is even worse there than in Tokyo. About a two hour wait (including the wait for meds and payment), and 90 seconds with the doctor. True, longer waits are typical during holidays, but I've never been brushed off so quickly by a doctor before.

Luckily the meds worked, which is a good thing because Marya is tireless. She had to go a park every day, and not just a dinky local park but great big special far away ones, full of playgrounds and vast spaces to run around in. She has very specific ideas about what each adult accompanying her should do, such as as who has to race her, who pushes her bike when she's not using it, and who carries the bags. Luckily she's still into the game called "you guys sit still and watch me while I do stuff", so we did get some rest occasionally.

Marya and her mom headed back to Tokyo before we did, and we were sad to see them go. Marya, on the other hand, couldn't wait to say good-bye, so excited she was about riding the "kinkanten" (shinkansen, or bullet train). To help cheer us up, Hideaki drove his parents and I to Kyoto. It wasn't the full day of sightseeing I had originally planned, but I was glad I got to go after all. After a very nice lunch (buffet #2) at the Miyako Hotel we headed to Toji Temple, home of Kyoto's iconic five-story pagoda.

It is 55 metres tall, making it not only the tallest pagoda in Japan but the tallest wooden building in Japan. But not the oldest: although the pagoda was originally built in 826, it has burned down several times over the centuries, and the current structure is a mere 364 years old.

There were some special exhibits that day, with access allowed to a few areas that are normally closed to the public. So (for a steep fee), we got to enter the normally off-limits pagoda and see the statues and paintings inside. Other buildings (the temple actually consists of several buildings) housed treasures associated with Kobo Daishi, founder of esoteric Buddhism and builder of the pagoda.

The gardens were nice too, and full of spring flowers in bloom. But most impressive was this egret, who made a splashy landing in one of the ponds and chugged down a few fish.

And finally, no trip to Osaka is complete without takoyaki (octopus dumplings) or okonomiyaki (savory pancake), so we made sure to have both for lunch. We followed with some yakisoba (fried noodles), but even with that and a big mug of beer this was probably the smallest meal we had all week. Now that we're back home we're trying to eat a bit less to try to balance things out. Not a huge problem though, at least in the takoyaki and okonomiyaki department: they just don't make it right here.

Lots more pictures in my Golden Week album.

A taste of Jamaica

Every year around this time I get a craving for Jamaican food, and it's a hard one to satisfy. Although Tokyo is a great city for eating and has nearly every type of cuisine out there, there are a few that are either really hard to find, or missing entirely. And Jamaican food is definitely one of those cuisines, so if I want to eat it, I've got to make it.

Fortunately many Jamaican dishes are not hard to recreate here in Japan. And although a few substitutions and missing ingredients are necessary the results are pretty good.

Red pea soup is probably the easiest, at least in part because there are so many versions. It can be vegetarian or be full of beef and salt pork. Spinners (long dumplings) and coconut milk are optional, you can choose either potatoes or yams or both, and you can load it with vegetables or keep it plain. The four constants seem to be red peas (aka kidney beans), thyme, scotch bonnet peppers and a member of the onion family (scallions, onions or both). In the soup above I went with kidney beans, bacon, potatoes onions, fresh thyme, fresh aotogarashi (Japanese hot peppers), and spinners. And it tasted wonderful, although I made the spinners too big and they were closer to suiton (Japanese dumplings).

After the soup was jerk pork, rice and peas, and a spinach salad (not really Jamaican but the plate needed some colour). The pork was marinated with a bottled jerk paste and cooked in the oven, so it wasn't terribly authentic. But it turned out better than I thought and it's nice to know the bottled jerk, which I can buy here, is not bad. It made a good sauce too, with the addition of soy sauce, ginger and a little honey. The rice and peas were a bit mushy because Japanese rice is just too sticky. Which I already knew but am willing to live with considering the price of imported rice here. All in all a very good meal, and I'd even call it fantastic if I'd never tasted the real thing back home (where we have a large Jamaican community) or in Jamaica.

I ended up with huge amounts of rice and soup, even though I'd halved the recipes-- something that always seems to happen when I make non-Japanese food. So it was a great excuse to have another Jamaican meal today. This time I thinned out the soup with a bit of leftover coconut milk and served steamed spinach (no way can I find callaloo here). And I tried the jerk paste on a boneless chicken thigh and boy was it ever good. Somehow barbecue recipes with chicken suffer less than with other meats when cooked in the oven. Especially the thigh-- it's so hard to screw up and it certainly came out nicely tonight.

So why do I feel like Jamaican food this time of year? My parents go to Negril every February, and I've gone with them a few times. While they're gone I get nostalgic and wish I was there, and naturally I feel like eating the food. I also like to pull out the pictures, and have just uploaded some photos from my last visit (a whole four years ago). Here a few below, the rest are here.

Christmas in Nasu

Christmas fell on a weekday last year, which meant it was just another workday in Japan. I had the day off but Hideaki went to work as usual, and as I couldn't stand the thought of staying home alone on Christmas I headed up to Nasu, a resort town in Tochigi Prefecture, with my friend Emi. It made sense as Nasu happens to be the location of the English ski camp I was to work at starting from the next day. And Emi is from Tochigi and frequents a certain fancy hotel often enough to get us a super discount. So I was able to enjoy a lovely day of relaxation before the four-day ski camp and week-long visit to the in-laws.

Upon arriving in Nasu we stopped by a soba shop for lunch. I ordered gobou-soba, soba noodles in hot broth topped with gobou kaki-age (burdock root tempura). It was fantastic, and the gobou kaki-age (a first for me) had a lovely earthy flavour and crisp texture.

We stayed at Hotel Epinard, a large resort hotel with a nice onsen (hot spring bath). The lobby was decorated for Christmas, but there was surprisingly little going on-- I guess because it was a weekday. The only Christmas-related entertainment on offer was a hand bell concert, which I skipped in favour of getting an early sleep (I knew I wouldn't getting much sleep during camp). Emi stayed up past one, getting spa treatments and soaking in the rotemburo (outdoor hot spring).

Christmas dinner was shabushabu, a tradition when we stay at this hotel. Above is the shabushabu nabe (shabushabu pot, modeled on the Mongolian hotpot) with three dips: the usual ponzu (citrus soy sauce) and goma-dare (sesame sauce) along with a new one: yuzu-miso (yuzu citrus and miso).

The beef was local and very nicely marbled. It was less rich than top quality wagyu but still very good, and best of all it was all-you-can-eat. We managed two and a half plates.

The veggies are also said to be local and are really good, but you only get the one plate. Included are shiitake, hakusai (napa cabbage), shungiku (chrysanthemum greens), nira (garlic chives), chingensai (bok choi), negi (long onion), nasu (eggplant), shimeji mushroom, enokidake mushroom, and a few decorative slices of carrot and daikon. Also included are yakumi (flavourful garnishes) for the dips: negi and momiji-oroshi (daikon grated with chili pepper).

Shabu-shabu is cooked by taking a slice of beef with your chopsticks and swishing it around in the hot broth for a few seconds until it is cooked to your liking (a little on the rare side is best; good beef like this is perfectly safe to eat raw). The vegetables are left to simmer in the broth and taken out and eaten whenever you feel like it.

At this hotel the shabu-shabu is finished not with the traditional udon noodles, but with ramen. Salt and light chicken stock are added to the remaining broth along with ramen noodles, negi and bean sprouts. It is utterly delicious and I could have finished up all of the broth, if not for a little accident:

While Emi was passing me the pepper shaker (nothing is better with ramen than black pepper) one of us-- we are still in dispute about exactly who-- dropped it into the broth. I would have been happy to ignore it and keep eating but we were advised not to. so our dinner ended there. Oops.

The next morning I woke up early enjoyed the above view of the mountains where I'd soon be skiing. Not much snow yet for this time of year, but pretty nonetheless.

Breakfast was buffet-style, and if you've never had a buffet breakfast at a good Japanese hotel you're missing out. The above plate was all I had time to eat, but represented just a quarter of the offerings, most of which featured local food (especially eggs, dairy products and vegetables). Very good and it sustained me over the next several hours, as I said good-bye to Emi and headed to the campsite to prepare for the ski camp.

Hotel Epinard Nasu
0287-78-6000
1 Takakuhei, Nasu-machi, Nasu-gun, Tochigi

Izu Oshima camp

Another reason for the lack of posts recently: I was away at a second summer camp. This time English Adventure headed to Izu Oshima for 4 days, and it turned out to be my favourite camp so far. Oshima is the nearest and largest of the Izu Shoto (also known as Izu Shichito, or Izu Seven Islands), a string of islands that stretch into the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo (Mikurajima, which I visited last year, is also part of the Izu Shoto).

We started early in the morning at Takeshiba Pier, where we (31 campers and 6 staff members) boarded a high-speed ferry to Oshima. The view from the ferry was great, with good views of Tokyo landmarks like the Rainbow Bridge (above) and Haneda Airport, as well as a glimpse of Mount Fuji.

An hour and forty-five minutes later we were on beautiful Oshima. A bus took us to Oshima Park, where we checked out the small zoo. It was actually pretty good by Japanese standards (it didn't make me cry, at least) and although it was free it was nearly deserted so we had the place to ourselves.

Another bus brought us to Umi no Furusato Mura, our campsite. It was nicely situated, with views of the ocean and surrounding mountains.

After settling in a bit, we were divided into our groups. Here is my group, the A-team! I actually had 12 campers, but one (who lives on Oshima) joined us after this picture was taken.

The place had all the usual campsite amenities plus a few extras: a large saltwater pool, a rocky beach, and a cool suspension bridge. 

Wild monkeys (apparently descended from zoo escapees, since monkeys aren't native to the island) could be seen at the other end of the bridge at the crack of dawn, which gave the early risers a big thrill.

The tents were comfortable, cool, (mostly) bug-free, and stayed dry during a few rainstorms, thanks to being pitched on top of a raised wooden deck.

Unlike at the Chichibu camp, we made all of our own meals. Since this was our first time letting kids help cook, we kept it simple: hot dogs, hamburgers, and curry rice. The curry was definitely my favourite.

The beach was rocky and not great for swimming, but it had a pier that was perfect for jumping and diving. Most of the kids took a turn, as did all of the staff-- except me. My LASIK earlier this summer was a good excuse to pass, but I don't think I actually fooled anyone as I'm well-known as a scaredy-cat. I did have fun swimming (gently) around in the water and helping kids climb out of the crashing waves.

The jumps looked like a lot of fun though, and I hope I can muster the courage to try it next year.

The beach next to the campsite was just as rocky, but featured cool tidal pools. We had  a few nature study sessions there, learning about tides, salt and sea creatures.

Plenty of pretty shells were collected, and we caught fish, rock crabs and hermit crabs.

We had a campfire, of course, and before we broke out the marshmallows we sang some old camping songs that really brought me back. It turns out that Derek, a fellow counsellor, is also from Brampton and attended exactly the same summer camps as I did, so we know the same songs. He sings them way better though, and knows all the dances.

Oshima features Mt. Mihara, an active volcano which last erupted in 1986. I guess the chances of it erupting twice in 21 years is slim, because the thing to do is hike up the mountain and around the edge of the caldera, which is just what we did. Unfortunately we had a lot of fog and didn't have great views of the caldera, but it was a good trek.

After the hike we rode a bus to a public beach. It was a real treat to be on a real beach with real sand-- never mind that it was black volcanic sand.

The kids had a great time in the water, swimming, snorkeling, playing water volleyball or just floating around in tubes (next year I'll have to bring an adult sized tube so I can do the same). And there was plenty of activity out of the water too- building sandcastles and canals (one little guy dug himself a private hot spring) and hunting for shells.   

After four days, I came home feeling like I always do after camps-- completely exhausted. Yet I also had so much fun that I'm still not sure if I should be getting paid for the experience, or paying for it. I hope the kids enjoyed it as much as I did.

箕面滝

My husband's parents live in Minoh City, in the mountains of northern Osaka. The main attraction in the city is the Meiji Memorial Forest Minoh Kokutei Koen (a mouthfull more commonly known as Minoh Koen, or Minoh Park), known for its beautiful momiji (Japanese maples), wild monkeys, and the Minoh Otaki waterfall.

One of the oldest parks in Japan, Minoh Koen was once a popular resort area, with ryokans (Japanese style inns), shops and an onsen (hot spring). Though people still come, the once-vibrant entrance area of the park seems faded, with many shops boarded up and few shoppers at the ones remaining.

The 3 kilometre paved path from the station winds along the river, offering pretty views, and although it is uphill to the waterfall, it is an easy walk. Autumn, when the momiji turn red, is the most popular time to visit, but I like it in the summer. The heat keeps away the monkeys (which are cute but quite aggressive), but the trees offer shade and the mountain breeze keeps the area cooler than in the city. Plus, the shallow river is a great place to splash around and cool off.

Don't let this picture fool you: the area around the falls was teaming with people, who were milling about taking pictures and eating snacks from several little shops. Still, it wasn't too crowded to get a good view of the beautiful 33 metre falls.

After jogging most of the way down (I was ready to collapse the whole way, but got a real kick out of the admiring looks people gave us, as if we were marathon runners or something) we went to Minoh Onsen Spa Garden, a hot spring facility. The place is old and rather run down, and we've never bothered to visit before. But the signs advertising "fish therapy" enticed us: they had a foot bath full of doctor fish.

The little fish love to eat dead skin, giving you a gentle cleaning and exfoliation. It was a very wierd sensation, and extremely ticklish at first, and afterwards my feet did seem a bit smoother. It wasn't as effective an exfoliation as that provided by a good scrub with a pumice stone, but compared to the slightly rough texture a pumice will leave behind, the doctor fish left my feet soft and polished.

My husband was especially popular with the fish. He has eczema so has lots of dead skin to spare, and within seconds of putting his feet in they were covered with fish. When a staff member encouraged him to put in his hands as well, so many fish swarmed him that the other customers started complaining (only half-jokingly) that he was using up the fish. His skin looked much better afterwards, and in fact doctor fish are known as a treatment for psoriasis, with sufferers going all the way to Turkey to bathe in pools full of the fish.

The rest of the onsen was less impressive. There are several large baths and saunas, including a rotemburo (outdoor bath), but the place is old and shows it. Still, it was nice to wash off the sweat after our 6 kilometre walk/jog, and the doctor fish made the visit more than worthwhile. Admission to the onsen and 15 minutes in the doctor fish bath costs 1400 yen for adults.

With our newly-smooth feet, we walked back to the station, stopping to buy some momiji tempura. These are deep-fried momiji leaves, with a thicker and crunchier coating than regular tempura, flavoured with sugar and sesame seeds. Several small shops sell it, frying it right in front you. 

One of these days I'll have to buy momiji tempura when my good camera is working. But trust me, they are a beautiful and delicious snack, and everytime we buy them we always wish we'd buy more.

That night we caught the night bus back home to Tokyo, and since then we've been riding out the rest of the Obon holidays (and the record-breaking heat wave) quietly at home.    

Summer camp

If you're wondering why I haven't been posting recently, it's partly because my camera is broken, and partly because I'm busy. And most of the busyness comes from working at English camp last week, which is where these pictures are from.

As usual, it was an English Adventure camp, and it was just as fun as the others. This time my husband and I went up to the campsite, located in Chichibu, one day early. Our plans to relax and enjoy nature were somewhat dampened by the storm that started up shortly after our arrival, but luckily our log house was comfy and had a balcony with a roof and a bbq so at least we got in some good eating.

Dinner was yaki-niku (Korean bbq), with beef, pork, eggplant, green peppers and kabocha squash marinated in a Korean-style sauce. Brunch the next day was rice and tonjiru (miso soup with pork and vegetables). Both were yummy, hearty and easy meals that also happen to be classic outdoor foods in Japan.   

The heavy rain and fog continued until the next morning but pretty much cleared up by the time the campers arrived, which was great for the kids (and not so great for my husband, who headed home without ever seeing the sun). 

They were a great group of kids, a bit younger than usual and very very cute. We did hiking, nature games, martial arts, a big campfire, and plenty of just playing around the campsite. The grounds were huge and despite plenty of roaming around we only saw a bit of it (here is a map of the camspite with clickable icons, and here is what the tents looke like)

My main activities were uploading pictures to the camp blog (which I'm afraid is private, but if a child you know might be interested in attending a future camp I can give you the password) and t-shirt painting. That's my t-shirt above-- the hearts seem a bit silly, but they are actually just a clever way to cover up some spilled red and pink paint.

Lunches and dinners were served buffet-style at the camp cafeteria, and the food was pretty good. The lunch options included curry every day, which the kids were really happy about (me to--I can never get tired of curry rice) and there was plenty of other yummy stuff. This was a typical dinner:

Miso soup, rice, olong tea from the drink bar, spaghetti with bacon and cabbage, salad with beans and carrots, a cabbage roll, yakisoba (fried noodles), minchi katsu (deep-fried cutlet of minced pork) and fried fish. And yup, I ate that much at every meal, and sometimes more! I'm hoping I got enough exercise to balance it out...

Canada visit: last week

After my sister, niece and nephew flew back to Texas I had a last relaxing week at home. I finished up my shopping, thrilled to be able to find things in my size (and not so thrilled at the lack of variety available, with dozens of different shops selling exactly the same stuff). I ate well. And I took a few walks around the neighborhood, especially down to the creek.

The creek is surrounded by parkland and is full of flowers, birds, and bugs, like this tiny woolly aphid, which being just a few millimetres in size I originally mistook for a little fluff of cotton.

It is also full of fruit, like red raspberries, saskatoon berries and these black raspberries. The black raspberries were especially abundant, and since nobody else seems to know about them there were always plenty ready to be picked.

My brother did a few more excellent barbecue meals, like this roast. It was done on a spit (yup-- he actually has one of his grills set up with a rotisserie) with the juices falling into a pan of potatoes underneath. The meal started with a thick minestrone-like soup made by Sherry and a salad made by me-- pretty much the only "cooking" I did all month.

Greek food is a must on my visits home, since it hardly exists in Japan. This time my Mom took me out for lunch and I had dolmades, which are grape leaves stuffed with ground lamb and rice, served in a lemony cream sauce. This is what it looks like inside, and it tasted even better than it looks.

One busy evening we got take-out at the local grocery store: a whole roasted chicken, wings and potato wedges, served with wild rice mix and salad. I love the take-out available in Japan, but it's hard to beat a rotisserie chicken when it comes to both convenience and deliciousness.

My Dad took me out for Indian food, to a place that had been recommended to me by a very friendly taxi driver. He said it was cheap and good, but I wasn't prepared for just how cheap and how good it was. The place is called Village of India, and if you live in or near Brampton I highly recommend a visit (address is here-- be sure to watch the video of their commercial). We were halfway through our meal when we realized that the food was vegetarian, and we didn't miss the meat at all.

The desserts were a bit bewildering, since I know nothing about Indian sweets. But I did try a few and really liked this one, called gajar halva, made with cashews and carrots and flavoured with cardamom and lots of sugar. And my Dad loved his handful of fennel candy so much that I regret not going back and buying him some (the place also sells sweets and candies to go).

We also got take-out from a local Jamaican place. This is escovitch fish, a whole fried snapper with onions and a tangy sauce, served with rice and peas, cole slaw and fried plantain. We also got some patties and oxtail soup with spinners, which was fantastic.

On my last full day we celebrated my Dad's birthday. We began with a selection of his favourite stinky foods: cheese, olives, pickled herrings and pickled eggs. Then I taught him how to grill squid, something he loves but doesn't get to eat much of as my Mom doesn't like it at all.

This was followed by a salad, our first taste of the year of local corn, and a delicious stewy dish of clams, chorizo and tomatoes. Since I now know where to find chorizo in Tokyo, I'm looking forward to making this soon.

And then before I knew it, my trip was over. And the good eating stopped. I had requested low-calorie meals on both flights, and instead of the reasonable good food I'd had on the Tokyo to Toronto flight, this time I was served the exact same awful meal twice. Ugh. And when I got back home jet-lag, a cold and the heat all took away my appetite, an extremely rare occurrence. Not that I'm complaining-- after my trip back home I could stand to use a kilogram or three.

Canada visit: Niagara

When Julie, Aaron and Zoe headed back to Texas, we made a trip out of taking them to the airport. This made sense because rather than flying out from the nearby Toronto Pearson airport they used the Buffalo Niagara airport a few hours' drive away (a move that saved them quite a bit of money). And Niagara Falls is an attractive destination for certain members of my family, thanks to its casinos.

We didn't actually go to the falls this time ("I've already seen them" was Aaron's view), so the picture above is as close as we got. Instead my Mom and Julie went gambling and my Dad and the kids went swimming in the hotel pool (the best thing about the Niagara Hilton). And I, recovering from LASIK and not able to go in the water, relaxed in our room.

Flipping through the channels on TV, I came upon NHK (Japan's public broadcaster). It was near the end of my visit home and I had been feeling a bit homesick for Japan, so it was kind of a treat to hear Japanese. The show itself was less of a treat: their normally excellent cooking show featured sauteed pork with ice cream sauce.

Dad and the kids came back just in time for a little sumo wrestling, and after tiring of watching that (it doesn't take long) we went for a walk. These beetles were all over the place, and apparently it was mating season. After looking them up online, I discovered they were called Japanese beetles, which is odd because I've never seen them in Japan.

The view from our hotel wasn't great, with the Fallsview Casino blocking the falls. After coming home from dinner though, it was a bit spiffier.

And here's the early morning view, with the Skylon Tower.

After crossing to the American side on the way to the airport, we searched for a truckstop or roadside diner like the kind we used to eat at decades ago on our stateside road trips. But there were none to be found so instead we stopped at Denny's and I had the biggest breakfast I've had in ages (aside from the two eggs, two slices of bacon, two sausages, two pieces of toast and two orders of hash browns above, I also put a big dent in my Dad's stack of pancakes).

After saying good-bye to Julie and the kids we returned to Canada and did a quick tour of the Niagara Wine country and the quiant town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. We hit three wineries, tasting plenty of wines at each, and especially liked Pallatine Hills with its delicious Gewurztraminer icewine which I regret not buying a bottle of. My Dad did though, and if he is nice he will hold off on opening it until my next visit home...

Canada visit: third week

When we got back from Sauble Beach nobody was in a cooking mood, so we ate take-out from a fish and chips shop. The traditional cod has long been in short supply so we had halibut, haddock and polluck, and for chips we had both plain and poutine (fries covered with cheese curds and gravy, a Quebec specialty).

The next day my sister spent hours the kitchen making a huge batch of tomato sauce, which was put to use a few ways. First she made a wicked appetizer (it had a silly name that I can't recall now) with slices of goat cheese nestled in the sauce and baked. This is something I will definitely be recreating, and without worrying about goat cheese haters: the heat and sauce mellow the cheese out enough that anyone would love it.

Next, the sauce showed up on spaghetti. There are two versions, one with cream and one without, and they were both fantastic.

During my visit Sherry had her ice cream maker out often, usually to make strawberry sorbet. It was delicious plain, and even better topped with hand-picked berries. It made me seriously consider buying an ice cream maker, but the idea was rejected when I realized I'd need a bigger freezer (and for a bigger freezer I'd need a bigger kitchen, and for a bigger kitchen I'd need a bigger apartment, and for a bigger apartment I'd need to not live in Japan).

And here's something I'd really been waiting for: spinach-stuffed salmon. My Mom makes this with a classic recipe from the Provincial France book of the Time Life Foods of the World series (she has almost the complete collection), and it is just amazing. She had to go to a few places to find a suitable whole salmon, and the one she bought (at the local Asian market, after overcoming a bit of a language barrier) was so big it had to have its head and tail removed to fit in the roasting pan.

This is the best I've ever had it, with the salmon extra fresh and fatty. Served with the stuffing and a rich sauce made from the cooking juices, it only needed a few simple boiled vegetables on the side.

On the Canada Day weekend we