cook

Dashi - The essence of Japan

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Jubei Yagi - Proprietor of Yaghi-cho - Katsuobushi shop

The Common Grains project has finally arrived at the final destination - Soba-ya in Torrance. Doing event after event is like running a long distance marathon with pots on my back. I have a dent in hub cap and a scratch on my new Prius, not to mention the car has not been washed in weeks; I got one traffic ticket, and lost my I-phone. Otherwise,we've been sailing smoothly, and the people have responded very well to our soba. This makes me very happy, and there are a few more events before we wrap at the end of the month.

Common Grians is offering its final soba pop up at Soba-ya until Feb 21, featuring handmilled soba. One of the highlights here is the upcoming dashi workshop, probably the first comprehensive dashi workshop to be held in LA, or maybe in the country!

Karebushi (katuobushi) blocks on display at Yagicho

Yagi-cho, a specialty dashi shop's owner, Mamiko Nishiyama, daughter of Chobei Yagi (picture above) will join us from Tokyo to do a Dashi workshop with me. I wrote about Dashi and the shop in the LA Times. I have two big boxes plus what Nishiyama stuffed in her suitcase ful of bonito blocks, bonito flakes, dried sardines, a variety of konbu and wakame seaweed, donko shitake mushrooms, sesame seeds, soybeans. Nishiyama was so thrilled she passed through customs safely. If I had a way, I would have moved their entire store here. I wish Chobei Yagi would join us too but he is holding the fort. It turns out that Nishiyama went to grade school with me. I forgot until my sister reintroduced me to her 40 something years later, and we hit it off like old girlfriends. What fun.

Here are two pieces of mature Karebushi - katsuobushi blocks. The upper part and lower part of the fish. 4 blocks makes a whole.

Jubei Yagi taps two karebushis together. He can tell by the sound how good the karebushi is.

He takes a sip of freshly brewed dashi. It's delicious.

Mitsuwa Marketplace - Soba Demonstration and Sales

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:30:00 +0000

One of the real joys of working on the Common Grains project is meeting people. Today, we started Phase 3 of the project at Mitsuwa Marketplace, after Breadbar and UCLA. We are doing soba demonstrations and sales of fresh soba there. An elderly gentleman came to watch us make soba. He wore a Dodgers baseball cap and a clean white shirt. His back was quite bent but he walked without a cane. He had a helping of soba, and then another, and after that, he wanted to buy the take home soba. But he later came back to tell me that he didn't know the soba noodles were uncooked! Yes, I explained to him that the noodles needed to be cooked in boiling water for a minute, and then shocked in cold water. He said he lived alone and didn't think he could cook the noodles by himself. He seemed a little lost because he had already paid for the noodles. I felt bad for him so we made an exception and cooked the noodles for him. He was very happy. It turns out that he is a 105 years old retired math teacher. He is a regular at Mitsuwa. His son (who is in his early 80s) brings him to a bus stop where he picks up the bus that brings him to the market every week. He likes to hang out at the food court.

He watched the soba demonstration with curiousity. He enjoyed talking about his family. His wife passed away a couple of years ago at age 94. He said that his wife getting sick forced him to walk again because he had to go visit her at the hospital. He thanks his "kachan" in heaven everyday for enabling him to walk again. Now he visits her at the cemetary every week. He says walking and appreciating people are the way to longevity. He has 55 grandchildren and some. When the noodles were cooked, I packed it carefully in his back pack. He headed for the exit. I hope to see him again while we are at Mitsuwa.

Soba event at Breadbar Century City

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:30:00 +0000

She slurped it all!

One of the main reasons why I got involved in the Common Grains project was to share my love for food and make new friends. The Common Grains soba event at Breadbar is doing just that. Every evening I am meeting new people and they all seem pretty happy with the soba. We have another week to go at Breadbar and then we move to the next event.

Some found our about us on the web.

This couple stop by for soba on their way to the movies.

It was their first soba experience and love it!

She is eating the grilled onigiri.

Very happy slurpers.

Kanpai with sake!

This baby is getting a headstart with soba

The Bruin slurpers. Anne's part of the Common Grains

creative team.

Karumude and her friend.

Onigiri - JANM onigiri contest

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

I woke up 430 am this morning to cook 75 lbs of rice for the onigiri contest. We made about 300 onigiri with it. We sold out in 2 hours. 80 people entered the contest. This one was a runner up and not a winner, but I thought it a was fun and original onigiri.

Onigiri Contest - JANM

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 04:30:00 +0000

Tomorrow is the kick off of Common Grains. We will start with the Onigiri Contest.

My son Sakae made these onigiris while I was visiting him in Seattle. Binah, his finace, took these pictures.

Drying the Soba Seeds

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 02:45:00 +0000

50 lbs Kitawase Washington State Buckwheat seeds, washed and sun bathing, to get ready for the Common Grains Debut.

We washed 50 lbs of soba seeds, which will be used for making fresh buckwheat flour. Lili is checking to see if there are any stones or seeds. She said the buckwheat was clean.

Common Grains - Onigiri rehearsal

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 06:20:00 +0000

We are just two days before the kick off of Common Grains. Today, we tested the rice cookers and figured out the logistics of the onigiri contest. We don't know how many people will come but we are preparing for 500.

We practiced making onigiri. It's going to be fun looking at all onigiris on Sunday.

Lili Gomez's onigiri. The cilantro is the Mexican touch.

Janet and Soma's onigiri - The Jalapeno and shansho pepper eyes are hilarious. Souma's on right looks like it has a hangover.

Monster Onigiri by Soma. I stouck in the almond teeth.

A pack of new friends - Our Neighbors in Tehachapi

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:20:00 +0000

Happy 2012! Tehachapi Ranch

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 01:20:00 +0000

It's nice to start the new year in Tehachapi with our routine morning walk. Our neighbor, Michelle, stopped her truck to wish us a happy new year on her way to work. "Your field is so nicely mowed, I see you decided to take a walk," she said.

I love watching Ana dash through the field. You tell her to go and she shoots off like a bullet. She's really turned into a ranch dog. She loves digging the mole holes, too. One day, we will plant something or bring in some farm animals but for now, we like this empty field.

Happy Holidays -Tehachapi

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:55:00 +0000

Common Grains - The Project

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:30:00 +0000

Common grains is an idea that grew out of my love for grains. With a grant from the Japanese government, I am promoting Japanese grains in LA in the new year. Watch for the grain related events, including a pop up soba bar, panel discussions, screenings, and workshops in January and February 2012. Come and have a slurp of soba with me.

Before and After the Wind Storm - Pasadena

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:15:00 +0000

Day before the wind storm Day after the wind storm

The wind storm swept away the leaves of the ginko tree in my backyard. The golden leaves were as ephermeral as cherry blossoms. Our city lost 600 trees from the wind. Very scary driving highway 110 at night after the test run at Breadbar. I hit a few branches that were scattered on the road. Sakai's sculpture fell over but didn't break. Neither did the ginko tree.

昨晩の風であっという間に葉が全ぶ散る。この嵐で倒れた木はなんと６００本。結構悲惨なものでした。

Ginko Tree - Pasadena

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 03:55:00 +0000

The ginko tree in our back yard turned from green to bright yellow. I can see why my landlord adores this tree more

than anything else. He doesn't let the gardner touch it. An arborist from the Huntington Gardens comes to prune the tree once a year. I don't know how old it is, but it is probably close to 100.

限りなくイェローに近いグリーン. この銀杏の木と庭に挽かれて，パサデナに引っ越してきたようなもの。みているだけで目の保養になる。うちの猫も野生のインコやリスもこの木の中で遊んでいる。

Fall - Tehachapi ranch

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:10:00 +0000

A male deer sits under the apricot tree of our backyard. This is as close as I have seen a large wild animal make himself at home at our ranch in Tehachapi.

The National Fruit Collection, Faversham, England

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:35:00 +0000

My English friend Caroline sent me this picture she took of apple varieties displayed at the National Fruit collection in Faversham, England. They grow 2,300 varieties, 2 of each tree. Caroline and her partner, Evan, went on a guided walk and tasted various apples directly from the trees. I didn't know that many varieties of apples existed.

Katsuo - Skipjack Tuna - Yaizu, Japan

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 01:50:00 +0000

One of the first things you see when you get off Yaizu train station is a large whimsical drawing of Katsuo (skipjack tuna or Bonito) musicians. Drawn by the graduating class of the local high school, the fish are depicted as one happy bunch, and you soon find out why. Katsuo fishing has been the main industry of Yaizu since ancient times. Caught in the tropical waters of the south seas, most of the catch is frozen instantly and brought into Yaizu port for processing into Katsuobushi - smoked tuna, which is used for making "dashi" - the essential Japanese seasoning - miso soup is among the savory soups that benefits from Katsuobushi. Of all tunas, Katsuo is considered the most fecund and sustainable. I was in Yaizu, just at the start of katsuo season. I spent a day at a katsuobushi factory and at the old Yaizu port for a story I am writing on Katsuobushi.

An oil painting of Katsuo (skipjack tuna) drawn by Kuno, the late owner of Marusho - 80 year old katsuobushi factory in Yaizu.

A lunch in Yaizu of smoked eel and sashimi of Katsuo and baby sardines. What a productive day!

Grape Harvest - Tehachapi

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:55:00 +0000

One of the things our new neighbors on Old Ranch Road pointed out when they stop their trucks and suvs to greet us was our grape vines. "Your concords are very good," they all said. This was back in April when the vines had barely any fruit. I counted close to fifty mature grape vines on the property. I decided to water the thirsty looking vines periodically and give them some food to see what happens. Even though they had been neglected for sometime, maybe two years, they produced tons of fruit. Sweet, juicy and fragrant fruit. And I found out we not only had concords but also muscat grapes. The birds and deer were trying to get to them before us but everyone got a fair share of the harvest.

I picked the grapes right before leaving for Japan and took them back to Los Angeles to give to my friends. The grapes contain seeds and their skin is on the thick side but they have darn good flavor. It's hard to go back to eating industrially grown grapes again. The muscat is the sweetest of the bunch. Look how fat the fruit is. I wonder what will happen when we give the vines proper pruning.

The grape vines are growing along the fence. There is a row of blackberries growing parallel to the grapes but they need some serious love and care to bring them back to health. That will be my job.

Growing Buckwheat #3 - Tehachapi

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 21:45:00 +0000

The buckwheat farm is slowing coming together. We have no tools, except a few shovels. The patch of land has been plowed entirely by hand. Man power can accomplish a lot. Of course, I eventually want to get a tractor but I don't even know how to drive a lawn mower so we will see.

The weather is definitely getting cooler but I am going ahead and sowing the seeds to see which buckwheat grows best. I have never done any planting of this scale so I was intimidated by the sheer possibilities that this land offers but once you get started, it's all about making plans and putting them into action.

The land is very hard and dry because it's never been irrigated before. I have plenty of well water to irrigate the land. With some water, it will get a nice makeover. The rains helped loosen up the soil. It was a blessing.

I sent pictures to my advisor Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills. He liked the look of the soil

One small step in growing food, feels like one big leap in life.

Growing Buckwheat - #2 - Tehachapi

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 21:00:00 +0000

Barren land in summer - weeds cut to prep for planting

I am in Tokyo for three weeks attending a film festival. So I miised the sowing. Sakai just e-mailed me today and said that the weather in Tehachapi took a drastic turn and winter has arrived. There is snow on the mountain peaks and temperatures at night are in the 40s. Ana, our dog is shivering. It has been raining there for two days straight. I like the rainy part but the low temperatures are discouraging. My idea to plant three kinds of buckwheat has now been thwarted to one. But that's okay. This is a test. Sakai asked me which of the three types of seeds to plant. I asked for Tartan. Let's hope that the moist ground will do good to the seeds. I just need 75 days of warmer weather for the buckwheat to mature. I am praying from Tokyo.

Growing buckwheat - Test #1

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:55:00 +0000

I know little about growing buckwheat or farming for that matter, but it is an idea that frequents the minds of many soba makers. Ever since I began making soba, I wanted to have access to fresh buckwheat because the most flavorful soba I've tasted in Japan has always been made with groats that have been freshly milled at the restaurant daily. Buying the ranch in Tehachapi gave me a chance to pursue the idea of starting a small buckwheat farm.

When I first came toTehachapi, I read in the local paper, Tehachapi News, that the Kawaisu indians from the area used to gather food in the wild, including the seeds of native Tehachapi buckwheat. I thought I may be able to make soba with this native varietal and got rather excited about the idea. I started searching for more information on the net, asking people about this buckwheat and one day, a local grape farmer pointed to the hills and said, "it's those reddish plants that cover the hills." They looked more like burnt sage than the buckwheat I am familiar with. Even though this native varietal is edible, it had little in common with the buckwheat for making soba. The buckwheat I was looking for belongs to the polyganaceae family.

I've been visiting the buckwheat farms in East Washington, even as recently as a week ago, and learned that East Washington and Tehachapi have similar climates and grow common crops. Tehachapi is in the high dessert. It has four distinct seasons. The farmers in Cummings Valley, Tehachapi where I live grows apples, melons, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, berries, cherries, apricots, lilacs, lavendar and peonies. I am sure buckwheat has a good chance, even though noone I know is growing it yet.

I've been in touch with growers and millers like Glenn Roberts from Anson Mills in North Carolian and Darrel Ottness - a buckwheat producer in East Washington - buckwheat capitol of the US where they grow sixty percent of the crop that is exported to Japan. They have been generously guiding me in my endeavor as a layman farmer, and providing me the seeds I need for free! Glenn says it is his mission to help farmers like me. He is dedicated to restoreing heirloom grain varietals and researching ways to grow food for better flavor and higher nutritional value. Glenn and Darrel would both answer my questions patiently by e mail - my questions about deer, birds, gofers, PH level of the soil, types of seeds, and how far to plant the buckwheat so they don't cross breed, etc.

When the hurricane hit North Carolina, Glenn didn't e mail me for awhile so I got worried about his farm. He e mailed me later and apologized for responding so late. His wheat crop was damaged by the hurricane but then he was back on the farm frantically trying to replant before the cooler weather set in. Farmers are a resilient bunch.

Then, there is Sakai who encouraged me to put my idea on paper and find someone who can help me prep the soil for planting. He found me a Okinawan gardner. He and his Nicaraguan wife came out to look at the land where I want to plant the buckwheat. They looked at a few videos about buckwheat planting and said, they could help me. We talked for a long time about other things besides growing buckwheat - like Japan, the earthquake, sake, apples, well water, etc. But after the hour visit, we finally got down to the buckwheat discussion, and made plans to do it this weekend.

Planting wise, October might be a little late but buckwheat only takes 75 days to grow, so I am hoping with that the weather will stay warm (it still gets in the mid-80s during the day) - optimum growing temperture is 64F. I need 10 weeks before the first frost. I hope the frost comes late this years. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but this is a test. If the crop fails, I can plant again in the spring. I have to start somewhere.

I am keeping the buckwheat garnden small. They say that you need 1 square meters of buckwheat to produce 100 grams of buckwheat, which is about 1 serving. I am using an area of 80'x80. I am planting three types of buckwheat - Kitawase, Tartan and Botan.

It's very exciting. I am already thinking about purchasing a stone mill for grinding the fresh buckwheat groats to make buckwheat flour. I am going to Japan in October to look for a mill. This buckwheat field is my field of dreams.