A Stranger in a Strange Land: Part 6

Hachiko Statue at Shibuya Station, Tokyo Japan

Golden Week

Continuing the story of my time in Japan as a 20 something. Michael and I both worked a lot while we lived in Kyoto. Although Michael did not work on the weekends, the weekdays were completely absorbed by work responsibilities. As mentioned before, Michael took two trains to work, so he had to get up early in order to be to work by 7:30am. I worked many nights, and there was no way I was going to get up early to see him off (I'm pretty selfish that way). Michael worked regularly until about 6:00 or 7:00pm and then there were the almost nightly Konpa's: after work drinking parties. These parties got very expensive too as everyone split the bill evenly. Even though Michael did not drink and was probably the lowest paid person there, he had to pay the same as everyone else for the Konpa. Sometimes the founder of the company would rescue him and pay for him and then take him home in his Mercedes limousine, but that was rare. It is not appropriate to decline going to an after work drinking party and totally unacceptable to quibble over the bill. Whether I had to work on Saturday or not, Michael slept a good part of the day. I am not sure if it is true what they say, that you cannot make up for lost sleep, but Michael sure gives it a good try.

As a "Salary Man" the Japanese vacation is a real double-edged sword. On the one hand, you are guaranteed certain vacation time because there are universal days off in Japan, namely New Years (first few days of the calendar year), Golden Week (roughly the first week of May) and Obon (a week in August). On the other hand, everyone has the same time off, so everything is incredibly crowded and expensive. During my time in Japan, Golden Week allowed Michael and I the opportunity to spend a whole seven days together. I was also very excited to ride a "bullet" train to Tokyo, see Michael's friend Bruce, visit the Tokyo Tower, experience Japanese Disneyland, visit Ueno Koen (big park with a great zoo), and hang out under King Kong at the Roppongi Hard Rock Cafe.

The bullet train, as it turns out, is just a really fast train. Yes, very practical, but actually not all that cool. Everything goes by in a blur and you get to where you want to go faster. That's it. I'm not sure what I was expecting? The Tokyo Disneyland was interesting. I have now been there 3 times and I for sure prefer the California Disneyland, but it was an experience. Again, we were there Golden Week and it was excruciatingly crowded. The line for the Michael Jackson exhibit (this was 1987) was over 3 hours long. I don't know if they ever had this show at any of the other parks, but suffice it to say Japanese people LOVE Michael Jackson. We did not wait in that line. It was interesting to see all the Japanese Disney princesses and there were far fewer rides, so the lines were crazy long. Michael, having grown up in LA, is really not a huge fan of Disneyland, so let's just say we didn't close out the park.

I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Tokyo. The one thing I did not thoroughly enjoy however, was waiting in line for approximately one and a half hours at the Ueno Park Zoo to see the famous Panda Bears. I am not an altogether patient person, but I will definitely wait to see Pandas. I did my best to remain calm even with my 23 year old exuberance at the possibility of an imminent sighting of one of the cutest animals in the world. I am not a huge fan of keeping wild animals locked up in cages, but since they were already there and I knew me boycotting the situation would mean nothing with the thousands of visitors they were welcoming each day, I decided to see these pandas for myself. So, as the anticipation builds, so do the number of signs all around the pandas that say "NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY" in nearly every language imaginable. I understand the words no FLASH photography. I know the difference between with and without flash. So, in a literal sea of asian faces, Michael and I stand out and when the Japanese girl next to me snaps herself a nice FLASH photo of the pandas, guess who gets kicked out... YEP, you got it, ME!!!! After standing in line an hour and a half, I manage to get about a 30 second glimpse of the pandas... and this is what I saw:

Fei Fei the Panda at Ueno Park Zoo

Yeah, I don't think she cared about the flash photography and clearly, since there is a glass wall in front of me and a flash would certainly leave a reflection, I did not use my flash. But once a mean old Security Guard has escorted you from the premises, there is really not much else to do other than get really mad at the person standing next you... in this case Michael. I believe a temper tantrum ensued and possibly chocolate was required to calm the whole situation down.

Speaking of getting really mad, as my time in Japan grew longer, my patience for our situation grew shorter. Even though I had learned to love Japan, I needed to finish my education and I became impatient to return home. In June, all hell broke loose.

Until next time... bye, bye.

What's for Dinner?

A deliciously meat free meal: Spring Pea Risotto

plus Golden Beets with farm fresh Chevre Goat Cheese & Walnuts

For a while now I have been striving to include more meatless meals in our weekly plan. Joey and I have had a few heart to heart conversations lately about the concept of eating meat. When we leave the farm on Sundays (after petting a few goats and gawking at a couple of adorable pigs), inevitably I start thinking about where our food comes from. I am starting to feel more strongly that if I could not kill the animal myself that I am making a meal out of, that I shouldn't be eating it. Even though I know this is someone's job... or possibly multiple people's jobs, I still feel somewhat hypocritical. I know some people agree and some people think that is just crazy talk. People are vegetarian and vegan for many different reasons--each one important to the individual. Many people need to know the animals are treated humanely. Some people just plain need to know where their food came from and that it isn't loaded with antibiotics and hormones and that it wasn't produced in a factory with questionable food handling practices. Some people believe animal proteins are bad for the human body. All are valid points in my mind and reason enough to question the quality of your meat.

I have always been able to push out of my mind that when I am eating meat, I am eating an animal... because if I thought about it all the time, I know I couldn't keep doing it.

I have been eating meat all my life. It is a habit, one of my oldest habits. But I have also been eating processed food my whole life and I know that is bad for me. I have been eating too much sugar and I know that is bad for me. Lately I have been striving to change these bad habits and I have made progress. I am ready to make more changes.

I think my original goal last year was three veggie dinners per week. I thought it would be easier with our weekly supply of fresh garden veggies. Sure we have been eating our veggies, but we have also been eating our animal protein too. I have not been very good about reaching this goal. I am ready to try again.

This week Michael and I volunteered at La Finquita del Buho and we spent the better part of three hours harvesting shelling peas. We then packaged them up for Monday's share families.

Tonight Joey and I made this delicious Spring Pea Risotto (recipe modified from the Chicago Sun-Times). We substituted out a couple of vegetables for ones we had received in our weekly share.

SPRING PEA RISOTTO

(makes 4-6 dinner sized servings)

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1/4 cup olive oil

2 shallots, minced (we used fresh spring green onions this week)

1 tablespoon green garlic or 1/2 tablespoon regular garlic, minced (we had green garlic left over from last week's share)

1 cup risotto

Kosher salt, to taste

Fresh ground white pepper, to taste

3/4 champagne (we used white wine because we had an open bottle of chardonnay in the fridge)

4 cups hot vegetable stock

1/2 cup fresh spring peas

1 sprig fresh mint (we had some in our own garden)

1/2 cup pureed or blanched fresh peas (see note below)

3 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano (we used a little extra for garnish)

1/2 cup pea tendrils, rough chop (or other tender leafy green, we used spinach from the farm)

In a large heavy bottomed stockpot, melt 2 tablespoons butter and olive oil over medium heat; do not let it turn brown. Add the shallots (or other onions) and garlic and cook until translucent. Joey used his amazing new Pok Pok knife skills and diced the onions and garlic so fine that it only took about a minute to cook. Add the risotto and stir to coat with the oil and butter; season with salt and fresh ground white pepper.

Add the champagne (or wine) and cook, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until liquid is absorbed. Add the hot stock, a ladle at a time, stirring constantly, letting the liquid absorb before adding the next ladle. (It is important that the stock be kept hot during the entire process.)

When adding the last ladle of stock (the risotto should be cooked, but sill have bite), add the fresh spring peas and mint sprig. Cook until liquid is absorbed, then remove from the heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, pea puree, cheese and pea tendrils (or other tender greens); stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Discard the mint sprig and serve. Risotto should be creamy about the consistency of a good oatmeal, so that it can be eaten with a spoon.

Note: Make the pea puree ahead of time by blanching about 1/2 cup fresh peas in salted water, then pureeing the peas in a blender with a little of the cooking water. This can be done in advance.

We also received delicious golden beets this week and we had left over hand made Chevre goat cheese from the farm--these items make a great combination.

I boiled the beets, then peeled and sliced them

I topped them with crumbled goat cheese and chopped walnuts.

(We were going to add a little balsamic vinegar, but realized we were all out... next time!)

It's not really a salad, better than a straight vegetable, a little like a dessert.

Well, if you really like beets, like I do, it is!

Chicken Piri Piri

Well, we have been going through some rough times here at the Lubitz house. I hate to say the obvious, but when the goin' gets tough, I get to eatin'... and in this case, cooking and eating. Not to mention I am always looking for fun ways to use our CSA groceries. For this recipe, I was able to use our fresh farm cilantro and also some of the delicious feta cheese we got from La Finquita last week.

A few weeks ago I was having lunch with my good friend Dana at Marco's Cafe in Multnomah Village. Marco's has some really tasty dishes. I ordered the Spicy Chicken Piri Piri Sandwich. The description read "grilled chicken breast wrapped in a pita with a spicy red chili, citrus, cilantro and honey glaze, cranberry chutney, watercress and cucumber". I asked for a side of their feta dill dressing to help with the spice. Well, the darn thing was not spicy at all. It was delicious, but I was a little disappointed. I decided to try and recreate the dish at home, more the way I had expected it to be.

I did a little research on Piri-Piri Sauce which apparently has Portuguese and African origins. I looked up a few recipes and then added some of the ingredients that had been listed on the Marco's menu. My version of the Piri Piri Marinade Recipe goes something like this:

1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 Tablespoons red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 Tablespoons honey

I marinated 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the sauce for about 6 hours although there is probably enough marinade for 8 breasts. I baked the chicken breasts at 375 degrees for 40 minutes in a Pyrex baking dish, spooning some but not all of the marinade over the chicken before baking. While the chicken bakes, the marinade cooks into a nice sticky sauce in the pan. I then sliced the chicken breasts right in the baking dish and tossed the chicken to coat with the sauce in the pan.

Before assembling the sandwiches, I prepared some feta yogurt dip using fresh feta from La Finquita:

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup whole milk plain yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (or dill)
1 Tablespoon honey

We could not find cranberry chutney at the grocery store (although I will keep searching) and since the marinade was already a little sweet, we left it out. I also completely forgot about the cucumbers although that would have been a great addition and makes me want to go make this recipe all over again.

I used Greek Pita for the bread which is one of my favorite things. It's a big flat thick pita. I grilled the pita in a non-stick frying pan for a minute or so on each side to get it warm and pliable.

I assembled the sandwiches by loading half the pita with the Chicken Piri Piri. I then topped it with the feta yogurt dip and topped that with a nice handful of watercress, which is supposed to be very good for you.

Once it was assembled, we folded it over...

took a bite...

and then took another bite...

Even without cranberry chutney and cucumber, these sandwiches were a big hit.