a dash of zest

March 05, 2011

Memories of Japan

I just finished reading A Year in Japan (日本の一年) by Kate T. Williamson and every page managed to put a smile on my face. It's a gorgeous illustration book that captures the random but everyday aspects of Japan, details I think one would really appreciate if they've lived in the country. Some examples: bananas are sold sealed in a plastic bag, takeout sushi comes with a small fish-shaped plastic container of soy sauce, and Japanese winters are unbearably cold not because it is that cold temperature-wise but because the buildings lack central heating and insulation. (No exaggeration, it was the most MISERABLE winter of my life and we all know how cold it gets in Canada.) Random memories make me long for Japan. I thought I would make my own list of things I missed, though I limited this entry to ten items or else it would be never ending.

My mamachari

I was quite fond of my bike. It was what you would call a mamachari (mother or grandmother's bicycle) but don't let the name fool you because everyone rides these bad boys. This was my main mode of transportation the whole year round - in the freezing cold, during rainy season and in the humid heat. I was especially proud of the fact that my bike had a front AND back basket, as they were quite useful during grocery runs. The bike only had one gear but who cares, it was comfortable and easy to ride on. I would trade my current bike for my mamachari if I could.

Mikan

My students liked to tell me these are "Japanese oranges" but they are much more similar to mandarins. Seedless, easy to peel and deliciously sweet, my prefecture was known for producing a large amount of mikan so I ate an abundance of these during the winter.

February 21, 2011

Kale Pesto Pasta

We had a tease of spring on Friday when the temperature jumped up to 9 degrees C. Nine! Alas, the warm weather was temporary; by nightfall, it fell to -9 degrees C and my hopes of an early spring were dashed.

Aside from looking forward to the sun setting past 5:30 in the afternoon and not having to wear ten layers of clothing to keep warm, I am counting down the days until the arrival of fresh spring vegetables to replace the wilted selection currently at my supermarket.

February 14, 2011

Swiss Chard, Potato & Sweet Potato Gratin

The past few weeks have been a wonderful stroll down memory lane. There was lunch with high school friends, some of who I only get to see about once a year, and we caught up on each other's lives and reminisced about the past. The week before that, I visited my university roommate in Hamilton and we had a lazy weekend enjoying each other's company. It's moments like these that makes me wonder where time has gone and when exactly it was that we entered adulthood.

January 25, 2011

Homemade Applesauce

The past weekend affirms the fact that I'm a wuss when it comes to the cold. The temperature hit -20 degrees C (windchill excluded) and I can't help but wonder why I live in a country such a distance away from the equator. As the winter drags on, I reminisce to my favourite season: autumn.

Autumn is the perfect season - not too hot or cold, wonderful crisp weather, the fall harvest, the leaves changing colours. What's not to love? I will admit, the beginning of last October was really rough work-wise and I was more than ready to embrace the Thanksgiving long weekend when it arrived. On the agenda: fall foilage and apple picking.

November 07, 2010

Southeast Asia & China 2008-09

As predicted, I ended up abandoning this blog. Now that I have settled into a routine, perhaps I will post more regularly. One would hope so anyway.

While I am enjoying my time back in Canada and getting the opportunity to spend time with friends and family, life is a bit mundane compared to what I was up to last year. The itch to travel is getting more and more persistent, something I'm trying to suppress as I attempt to be a Grown Up. I have visions of working on an organic farm in France, taking cooking lessons in the countryside of Italy or travelling through India on its rickety train network. Of course, I would be eating my way through these countries because aside from sightseeing, the best part of travelling is gorging on delicious food.

Instead of succumbing to my urges, I've been looking through my travel photos of Southeast and East Asia. I skimmed through the pictures when I first arrived home but haven't touched them since. It's an awful habit of mine - I take a crapload of pictures and then discard them to the side afterwards.

Here is a small sample of some of my favourite places that I visited.

Sapa, Vietnam

Sapa is located north of Hanoi, above sea level and surrounded by beautiful mountains. There is a large ethnic minority population and I did a two day trek with several ladies from a Black H'mong village. I can't even describe how breathtaking it was to walk through the terraced rice field - a green so vibrant it's almost blinding.