seasonal peas and beans

*While my mints are lush again on my balcony,
Fresh green vegetables are appealing at shop

while my mints are lush again on my balcony, 

fresh green vegetables are appealing at shops,

so i cooked them with a twist, which were lemon and garlic.

they make my dish feel truly springy.

garden peas can make me happy.

especially tiny jade-like peas and beans like these.

 

i missed the broad bean season last spring, since it is usually very short.

ii’d been watching out.

and at last, i got a bag of them from my local super market.

how would i like them, then?

let’s do it straight, this time i thought, for lunch.

a simple way to enjoy the seasonal taste,

which may mean cooked beans on toast.

voilà!

a bite for a moment of bliss. 

by the way, what is a pea and what is a bean, can you tell?

that was my long-unsolved botanical question,

as they are the same term "まめ" used in our language.

but now i know the difference between them and feel appreciative of the net.

have a great easter weekend, everyone!

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a weekend in pink

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strawberries has been sold since december, but they are in real season now.

so, i made an english summer pudding with lots of them.

meanwhile, even after the disaster and despite the nuclear crisis,

cherry blossoms are in full bloom everywhere.

no japanese could get by without cherry blossoms in spring,

no matter what adversity one has.

people go on a picnic having lunch under a cherry tree.

maybe, some bread with strawberry cream cheese would be lovely for me.

and, philadelphia daisies look sweet in april, too.

i adore this kind of rustic cuteness.

i am having a pink-coloured sunday.

enjoy the sunday, everyone!
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yellow blossoms

*

in a time of the happy yellow mimosa, i take a walk in the park feeling joyful.

even though the crisis is not over yet,

i’ve been deeply moved and inspired by the fact that the world is continuing to come together.

i feel so wonderful to see the world as one.

i can never thank you enough for your genuine ongoing aid to my country!

meanwhile, my neighbourhood cherry blossom festival has been canceled.

it does happen to anybody in japan at the moment.

voluntarily, the whole nation has got into the anti-celebrating mood.

we have refrained from anything rollicking at all.

considering the victims and the situation, we should stick to it, of course.

but, the thing is,
when will be the right time for us to stop that?

nobody knows it or dares to tell it.

*
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happy valentine

:

sorry, everyone, for my long absence.

i'm still here.

have a romantic valentine's day!

:

xmassy week special #1

*

hello friends!

are you ready?

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the saffron revolution

**

like my last few novembers,

i was supposed to rejoice at a little harvest of homegrown saffron

from my mother's balcony.

she missed the timing to plant saffron bulbs in september.

so, we have no saffron harvest this november.
*

still, like any other november,

leaves have turned gold and red.

they have plenty of different shades of saffron.

i am absolutely charmed by every single falling leaf.

do you remember the saffron revolution, by the way?

nothing really has changed for those burmese monks and people, though.

but, growing saffron instead of, yes, poppies in afghanistan seems to pick up,

which is indeed good news, don't you think?

i hope this will make a true saffron revolution happen over there.

enjoy the gorgeous season before getting busy, everyone!

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*

september

on the last day of september, i felt inclined to say hello to the blog world.

this summer was a long and unbearably sultry one.

indeed, the climate change was turning japan into a tropical country!
but “my season” has arrived at last.

i did lots of ironing.

and adorning my place with wild flowers.

i am getting happier to see my environment as you can see here.

enjoy the beautiful autumn days!

xxx

many many thanx for all your lovely comments ;)

 
 
 



tricolore floral

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*

it’s le quatorze juillet, la fête nationale for the french.

we japanese have never had such a “revolution” in our history.

so i do admire those who fought for liberation and idealism.

in japan, the anniversary is called 巴里祭 (festival of paris)

in an extremely nostalgic way,

and has been adopted as sort of a day for enjoying french things.

nowadays, almost no one talks about it, though.

but at least, one francophile here.

i shall personally celebrate bastille day with the french flag tricolour.

le drapeau de la france ou drapeau tricolore, oui... 

bleu,

blanc,

rouge,

vive la france !

*
*

learning from a lotus

*
*

i’m kind of feeling low at the moment.

tt is something i, and even good people, sometimes and inevitably experience.

it feels like everything sucks.

the fate will never smile on me?

but, that’s not true.

could i pass this melancholic spell by living like an oriental lotus in the park?

focusing an image,

being receptive enough,

without losing grace and dignity,

and standing still whatever happens for some time to come…

it’s almost 禅 zen, isn’t it?

at any rate, i will enjoy life. and the weekend.

so will you, my dear friends!

a cherry bomb

*

*

the peak season for cherries is now!

so don’t miss it.

the thing is, which one should i try first, japanese or american?

generally, japanese cherry is lighter and more subtle for taste.

they are quite different from each other.

after all, i grabbed american ones from a shelf in my local supermarket.

not because they were less expensive than japanese ones (true),

but because it was dark cherry that’d go with dark chocolate.

i thought i’d need to use up chocolate bars before it got hotter.
lately, sunday has become my baking day. well, sort of.

i made a classic black forest with a modern twist...

using fresh cherries instead of ones in syrup,

 using melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder with lots of sugar for the sponge,

and making curls to garnish only the top.

using rum instead of kirsch, simply because there was no kirsch in my cupboard.

in spite of all the twists i’d made, it still was a calorie bomb!

i really have to take extra long walks this week.

have a great and healthy week, everyone!!

my herby baby

*

*

as i am living alone, i sometimes think of having a furry companion.

it would be great if i could walk him or her in the park.

i always find myself being negative, though.

not only because of the neighbourhood residential regulations i have to keep,

(banned from raising dogs and cats in our housing complex, still some do)

but also because of my possible heavy responsibility.

i doubt i can be a better caregiver than i am now to my potted herbs.

i love them like my babies.

but, no matter how well i look after them,

some would get sick or do a perish unexpectedly.

tending furry animals can never be easier than that.

i admire all the animal guardians.

so, i settle for being a happy herb-grower.

they look pretty on my balcony.

besides, my babies are edible.

and it’s time to pick a little,

...hang them in my kitchen

how’s that for my green babies?

...then put them in jars.

*

all herbs are good.

**

enjoy the last weekend of beautiful june, my friends!

*

*

hydrangeas in the rain

*

rain, rain, rain…

i am living in a nation blessed with rain at the moment.

but who’d love a rainy month all the way through?

only thing people love about this wet month is hydrangea.

hydrangea is the june flower in japan.

they are blooming on my balcony, too.

so i am happy to forget about rain adorning my home with them.

i love that.

maybe, happy monday?

wishing you all a happy new week!

p.s.

dear vale, n and kate,

thank you very much for your wonderful comment on my mulberry post!

*

good black mulberry

*

what i wanted to post last time is this:

black mulberry.

there are several mulberry trees in the park,

but no one seem to be keen on or keen to notice them.

maybe because they are truly tall trees

unlike ones you may usually imagine in your garden?

meanwhile, this time of year,

everyone would certainly notice a score of the purple stains on the park path.

last week, when i was walking through the park,

one mulberry dropped from up above.

now, you can guess what was in my mind?

i really hope you'd never think i’m a rubbish-picker, though.

it’s fun and quite palatable to do this.

yes, i started picking up mulberries, but only genuinely fresh ones.

as my crop piled up in a small bag, just enough to fill a small café-au-lait bowl,

i took it home and washed and hulled thoroughly.

voilà, my own homemade mulberry jam

it’s yummy to have some with yogurt,

it’s even yummier to be used for victoria sponge!

yesterday was a perfect summer’s day.

i saw a huge number of ripe mulberries still dropping from trees in the park.

disappointingly, the weather turned humid and bad today.

this year’s rainy season has just begun in my region...sigh.

how are you enjoying your sunday?

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