Jyugoya: The Harvest Moon

Today, after the gym, I saw a round full moon in the sky! But there were too many clouds and it went behind the clouds once in a while :( And what is more, now it's raining cats and dogs!!!

9/14 (this year) is the night called "Jyugoya" or "Chushu-no-Meigetsu". It is the night with a beautiful full moon! In a fairy tale, it's the day Kaguya-Hime (Princess Kaguya) left for the moon.

On this day, we view the moon. This moon viewing is called "Tsukimi". We offer "Tsukimi Dango" (small round dumplings like mochi), sake, and seasonal fruits with "Susuki" (Japanese pampas grass) decoration. Some people read poems under the moon.
The image is from Wikimedia.


Long ago, when I was small, I cerebrated the day with my grandparents, but now I don't really do anything. However, one year, I made Dango! But with pumpkin with dashi sauce! Because my boyfriend doesn't like sweet stuff...

Today, my boyfriend went home (Shiga Prefecture) to see his mom. He told me over the phone that she still can't speak well but doing fine. Hope she gets well soon.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna have a haircut for the first time in about 3 months, so tonight, I'm gonna change my hair color. Maybe darker a little because it's autumn ;)

Okay, bye for now!

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Miso Cheese Simmered Eggplant Witch

Hello! It rained yesterday and the high was 78F (26C). It was little cool outside, but going up to 86F (30C) from today for about a week again. High temp low humidity is bearable, you know!

Today, as I said before, I will translate my eggplant recipe. I'm ahead of the season but it's a great Halloween recipe idea ;)



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Miso Cheese Simmered Eggplant Witch

Difficulty: Medium
Time: 30min
Number of servings: 4

Ingredients:
4 eggplants (5-6 inches long)
50g (1.8oz.) cream cheese
A
* 1 tbsp. miso (preferably red miso)
* 1 tbsp. mirin (sweet sake)
* 1 tbsp. sugar
* 1 tbsp. sake
200cc dashi broth (using packaged dashi powder saves time)
4 star-shaped thick carrot slices

Directions:
1. Cut cream cheese into small pieces.
2. Make "Chasen Nasu" and soak in water to remove the oxalic acid. The procedure for "Chasen Nasu" is HERE.
3. Microwave cream cheese on Medium 500 W (50-60%) for about 30 seconds until softened. Then add A and mix well.
4. Heat 3. in a pan and add dashi broth little by little. Keep stirring once every few times until dissolved.
5. Add Chasen Nasu and carrot slices, then cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Keep flipping eggplants once every few minutes until done and sauce thickens.
6. Pour the sauce on a dish, twist and press the eggplant by hand to form the witch shape.
5. Attach carrot slices with a toothpick (like a magic stick) and stick it on to the eggplant witch.

My original recipe in Japanese is here.
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Actually, I was going to post this last night, but again I dozed off...
Monday is a holiday: Respect-for-the-Aged Day! On Wednesday, my boyfriend was busy and we couldn't go out for a dinner. Hope we could this weekend.

Have a good weekend :)

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Chasen Nasu

Hello! We have clear blue autumn sky almost daily since the last storm on Sunday! I enjoy walking to the station because there is a cool breeze outside :)

However, I am drowsy all the time. Last night, I couldn't stay up to finish my diary. Also, this morning, I couldn't wake up on time! It's too early to hole up...

Anyway, today I want to write about a traditional way to cut eggplant. Why I write this is because I want to translate my eggplant recipe which requires this preparation procedure ;)

The procedure is called "Chasen Nasu".
Nasu is eggplant. Chasen is a bamboo whisk for traditional Japanese tea ceremony called "sado". It is so named because they look similar.

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The image on the left shows the directions.
1. Use small eggplant. Put knife at the stem end, turn around, and make an incision around the stem end.　
2. Remove the stem part by hand. 　
3. Make thin lengthwise cuts in eggplant.
* Pictures are from tepore.
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By the way, there are many other traditional ways to cut and peel ingredients in Japanese cooking! This site shows some examples.

I heard of vegetable surcharge the other day, but still not seeing the effect on the prices. We can still purchase 5 large eggplants (when in season) for 100yen (approx. $1)! Hope things won't get worse all of a sudden...

Today, the gym is closed, so I am thinking of going out for a dinner with my boyfriend! Believe it or not, I go to the gym every day for an hour!!!

You all have a nice evening, too :)

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