The ume syrup is done! Technically, it was done a couple weeks ago but it was so sweet that I wanted to leave the plums in longer. Now it's perfect, with a bit of a sour kick! Last night, I pulled the plums out and strained the syrup into a jar. So far, I've tried... Continue Reading →
Mid to late June in the inaka is plum time. Not because the plums are all lovely and ripe and sweet, but because they're hard, green and bitter. The unripe plums are harvested to make homemade umeshu (plum liqueur). The local grocery store had a display as soon as you walked in of the liquor,... Continue Reading →
Today is Valentine's Day, which in Japan means that a women should give something sweet to her preferred man to woo him. This year, unlike all the others I've had before, I happen to have a husband. So obviously he has been successfully wooed. Nevertheless, I decided I wanted to do something a little more... Continue Reading →
Have you ever found yourself wandering through the woods, stepping on stabby hedgehog-ish pods to harvest chestnuts? And then did you find yourself listening to an old man's wisdom regarding said chestnuts, and then embarking on a week long adventure of Japanese sweets-making? This girl has. Shibukawa-ni Shibukawa is, besides being the name of a... Continue Reading →
As you likely know, Japan was just pounded by Typhoon Hagibis. It was really scary to go through, and my prefecture was hit pretty badly by landslides and flooding. Before the typhoon hit, everyone emptied the grocery store to stockpile food in case we needed it. I did that, but I also decided that to... Continue Reading →
This is not a food blog, but I do like to make food. So I will not tell go into a food blogger story about the weather or farmer's markets or my family, but I will give you a tasty recipe. Boom. Ingredients: Soba noodles (buy in a pack dry like spaghetti noodles) These are... Continue Reading →
Linka Learns Things 