Food Showcases in Mitsuwa, Chicago

There is no brown rice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, miso, etc. which is an essential needs for the Japanese cooking in Hiroko’s kitchen shelves, because Hiroko had no chance to go to Mitsuwa over a month. Kibochan might enjoy those Mitsuwa’s Japanese food, because she missed Japanese food for one week. Dan-san said, she would enjoy this ramen from Hokkai.

Prepared foods in the Mitsuwa’s Counters:


Sushi counter: All these sushi were made the day’s early morning, so they are fresh and tasty.


Obento Counters: Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) box, or cooked vegetable box, or fish box are always favorable lunch box for many people.


Rice-balls and other Counters: In those empty counters, there are usually appetizer plates, such as goma-ae, tsukemono, sunomono, cooked vegetables, etc.
These foods can be warmed up by micro-wave there, and eat at the Mitsuea’s dining hall.
 
There are five restaurants in Mitsuwa:

1. Japanese restaurant menu shows by pictures: rice in the bowl with chicken, beef or pork (donburi-mono), tempura dish, and udon and soba noodle dishes


2. Korean fast-food shop

3. Japanese hamburger shop called “Gabu’to”
4. Chinese fast-food shop


5. “Santoku” fast-food shop from Hokkaido shows various ramen dishes

Dan-san and Hiroko purchased this ramen:

There are shoyu, miso and shio ramen with roast pork. Can you see umeboshi (picked plum) in the bowl?
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Kit wrote interesting article regarding her eating habits. Please go to Kit’s blog “Trading Yokes” (http://www.tradingyokes.com/) Hiroko loves to eat any foods and tendency to eat too much, so it is good to follow Kit’s ideas, especially the Bible verse I like from Kit quoted in her article.
I Corinthian 10:31
31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
It surely is the good verse to remember for changing eating habits.

Please go to Kit’s blog “Trading Yokes” to find out more information and recipe using the fermented beans sauce.

Thanks, Kit, for the sauce you gave to Hiroko. She made the fried tofu dish with the sauce. Some day those recipe will be posted. Thanks, again!

Here is a photo what Kit made:

Dan-san’s Nursery and Porch Garden 5

While Kibochan was here, she gave lots of water to the cucumber plant at Hiroko’s porch garden all the time. Saying cucumber plants want water again, she gave lots of water. Kibochan has gone home now, so Hiroko have to give water three times a day to those plants. Those cucumber plants may not produce any more, because the cucumber are funny shaped.


Can you see funny shaped cucumber? The beginning of the season, the funny shaped cucumbers were produced, so at the end of the season it would be the same.

The cucumber plants also looks like getting old.
Elsa asked how many times can we eat these fresh and tasty cucumbers ant tomatoes. It is a question! Four or five times! Last year, because of the weather and the rats, there were hardly any harvest of tomatoes and cucumbers. The beginning of the season this year, the weather was very hot and humid, and lots of rain, but there were not enough tomatoes and cucumbers compared to 4 or 5 years ago. There is no tomato to freeze for saving for the winter season. Cuchan cucumber made once from Dan-san’s nursery.

For the Friday’s dinner menu will be fish. With the fish cake, the sautéed vegetable and fried tofu will be served. Used the recipe from Kit’s blog “Trading Yokes (http://www.tradingyokes.com/)

Ingredients for the sautéed vegetable:

Shishito from the porch garden, green beans from the neighbor’s green beans vine came over to Dan-san’s nursery (Dan-san said it was stealing,) carrots, celery, and green onion from the land-lord’s nursery; sautéed those vegetable with salt and pepper, and just before serving, pour the sauce mixed with sesame seed oil, oyster sauce and shoyu over the vegetable. Putting the oyster sauce over the fire, it becomes bitter.

About green onion, Sayo-san, the wife of Land-Lord, planted the roots of the green onion bought from the grocery, have grown a good size green onion.

Green onion and shiso: Comparing with green onion and hashi (chop-stick), isn’t it long?

Chop shiso and the top of the soft part of green onion, and mix them with shaved bonito, shoyu, and shichimi (hot pepper), to use this mixture as condiment sauce for the cold tofu.


Cucumbers and tomatoes from Dan-san’s nursery
It is strange that Dan-san harvested the small and young cucumber. He said he has to fight with the squirrels, because the squirrels has been eating his tomatoes, but now the squirrels have started eating young cucumbers, so before squirrels eat he has to harvest.


Hiroko’s dinner plate: This is good customs in the United States. One plate holds all the different foods for the dinner. In beginning in the American life, this one plate dinner made Hiroko funny feeling and didn’t want to mix the seasoning, but right now Hiroko can enjoy this one plate dinner. Especially, Dan-san and Elsa has been washing the dishes after the dinner, so it is better for them to wash fewer dishes.

Kibochan came to Chicago

Kibochan, who is my sister’s grand-daughter, wants to test her English came to Chicago.

This is Kibochan.
Kibochan arrived at 2:25 on August 8. Dan-san and Hiroko wondered which gates, A or B, Kibochan came out at O’Hare Airport arrival gate. Kibochan’s mother bought “escort service” for her, so they had just waited for her at the middle of the two gates.


Kibochan and escort service personal, and Kibochan and Dan-san
Waiting for 40 minutes after arrival of the airplane, she came out, and the escort person handed Kibochan to Hiroko who had to prove herself by her passport.
From the date Kibochan stayed here in Chicago for two weeks.

Here are the rough lists of what Kibochan did in Chicago.
1. On the day she arrived, Hiroko took Kibochan to Jewel’s grocery buying the things she needed

2. Shopping at Disneyland, 21 forever, and couple other stores in Chicago downtown. She said she loves shopping.


3. For five days till 12:30 – she attended Devon Church VBS



Listening and speaking English only at the VBS, she became little nervous, and in her dream she couldn’t speak anything.

4. Walking by Michigan lakeshore side, and on the way home Kibochan and Hiroko stopped to eat the French crepe sweets at this restaurant


5. Shopping at Hiroko’s neighborhood, Andersonville stores.

6. Shopping at the stores in the downtown Chicago with Elsa for 6 or 7 hours


7. Visiting “Ginza Holiday” festival at Japanese Buddhist Temple.

Kibochan ate a cup of Udon. Kibochan asked why it is called “Ginza Holiday”. It is better to call “Japan Holiday” In the booklet called “Ginza Holiday 2011,” there found the explanation about the name of the festival. “The Ginza Holiday took its name from the Ginza a busy and colorful shopping center and the most famous district in Tokyo. Ginza Holiday found its beginning in 1956. It was at the former temple within the Old Town Triangle several blocks east of this location. The name Ginza seemed appropriate as it is a district in Tokyo known for entertainment. …”


After came home from the temple festival Elsa took Kibochan for nail.

8. One day, Kibochan didn’t go out and did homework


9. (i) Visiting at the Navy Pier – riding the two or three amusement rides, eating at McDonald, boat ride, and play at the Children’s Museum, (ii) Going to see bean, (iii) shopping at Macy’s department store, (iv) Visiting at Willis’ Tower, and (v) eating Chicago’s famous pizza at Giordano.
It was all most 14 hours outing.








10. Cooking breakfast for her Economy Class homework, shopping at Sam’s Club, and the evening going to see Chinese Circus at Navy Pier




11. Visiting at the famous Great America amusement park.
Kibochan's American friend's house, and with their van they left for the Great America around 10 a.m.
Kibochan rode with scary feeling many rides with her brand new friends for hours. Having picnic in front of the park
For dinner, having Tacos which is one of Kibochan’s desire to eat food.
This was again 14 hours outing.




12. Resting in the morning and shopping at toy stores. Elsa taught Kibochan how to play the games she bought after the dinner.

13. Kibochan did homework in the morning, and last shopping at neighborhood stores. No KFC in nearby Hiroko’s home, so at Jewel, Hiroko bought fried chicken which is one of Kibochan’s desire to eat food.
Kibochan packed her stuff and made two baggages taking 5 to 6 hours.


Lisa/Dave and Steven/Amanda came for dinner and played the game again with Kibochan to make sure she can play the games at her home in Yamagata with her Japanese friends.

These Kibochan’s 14 days photo diary in Japanese posted Hiroko’s Japanese blog. Please visit of her blog to see more photos. http://ishimaru92.blog105.fc2.com

Kibochan wanted to finish her book report homework after the dinner party. Hiroko sat together with her until 2:30 a.m.
This book report homework was a miracle in Hiroko’s eye. Kibochan came to visit her Christian Grand-Auntie in Chicago and attended VBS at Devon Church. She heard the first time the word of “sin” connected with the word of “love” “joy” “patience” and “kindness” at VBS. The main character ‘I’ in the book Kibochan had to read is growing up at a Christian home, and mentioned the word “sin” in the book as “on the day ‘I’ knew the sin, when ‘I’ was 10 years old.” Picking the sentence, Kibochan wrote the report titled “What is Sin.”
Hiroko would like to write the main idea of her report.
“The parents of ‘I’ had been planning to divorce. At the day his mother told ‘I’ about her divorce, and kept saying ‘I’m sorry,’ ‘I’m sorry’ many times. Watching and listening his mother ‘I’ thought she was changed and she has done something wrong. At the moment ‘I’ thought ‘I’ knew the sin.
I, Kibochan, learned the sin connected with love, patience at the Decon Church VBS. Christian have to love everybody even the person who does wrong things to me, or the rough person, and without patience people fight each other, and become selfish, and occur the war. I understand the fighting selfishness and the war is the result of sin connected patience.
I think the general Japanese are thinking about sin that the people who have done something wrong, such as a murder, robbery, burglar, etc., under the law. That is Japanese way to think of sin.
As the conclusion I’d continuously like to study the sin, not only Japanese way to think, but also the sin mentioned in the Bible.”
Kibochan wrote about these in the three pages book report.
 
Kibochan left at 12:35 on August 21 via United.

This is O’Hare Airport waiting for her Airplane.

Kibochan had safely arrived Japan and took one day off from school, so she started school from Wednesday, August 24. She is sharing with friends and relatives her experiences in Chicago with mixing English expression. Her mother told Hiroko that Kibochan has been using English expression in her conversation here and there, so her mother gets lost. She may lose those English but she had very valuable experience with her very new American friends. She said she was so excited to have this American friend because with her little English knowledge she made this good friend.

Hiroko gave thanks to the Lord for his love and grace to Hiroko’s family. Hiroko ask those who visit Hiroko’s blog please pray for the Holy Spirit works on Kibochan and her family, and many Japanese who don’t know the Lord.