From the Christmas jack o lantern.
Archives for category: Culture
Happy Finland!
It’s Finlands 100th birthday. Besides their design, music, art, food, Finland has influenced me very much – like in my building ideas when I saw photos of Finnish garden buildings at an art show.
Now for some Finnish garden art (random pictures stolen from the internet).
Finlands thing is my thing.
Today we found a fun and different market in our neighborhood park (Minatogawa park) – arts and crafts, music, food, and coffee and….
Coffee ceremony
The adress to an organic tea grower near Nara.
Nan bread with spinach curry lunch
Nan bread oven
One of the most famous and photographed and visited places in Kyoto i the buddhist temple Kiyumizu dera. We went there again today too. We just can’t get enough. And it’s not the last time I hope.
It was labor day in Japan, so the crowds were big.
Alot of the buildings were covered in shrowd because they are being repaired. It was the same three years ago it seems but different buildings, so we didn’t go out on the famous balcony for pictures, but got some good ones anyway.
Wisteria in winter covers.
We had a fika break with amazake and warabi mochi.
And some water from a mountain spring.
We were there till dark, but didn’t stay for the light show. We walked down to the kamo river and got a river stone for and old friend. Then ended the day with dinner at the vegan restaurant Veg Out – brown rice with a view of the river. 
We like Kobe too.
It’s a nice town on the coast of the Pacific Ocean – a bit cheaper and more funky than Kyoto. We can stay here and still get to Kyoto easy and fast by train with a Japan Railways Pass. The best, tho, is that we have made some good friends here.
Our favorite place to stay, the Yume Nomad Hostel is here. We are now nested in here for the rest of our stay.
It is inexpensive, quiet, artsy, and a great gathering place where you can meet like-minded travelers and locals in a laid-back and cozy atmosphere.
Our hosts (and old friends)
Then there is the traditional market Higashiyama Shotengai nearby to get lost in and find just about any thing under the sun, such as traditional japanese underware, an extra suitcase or tofu or lunch.
Grilled mochi balls
Kabocha pumpkins
We buy our supplies for cooking meals at the hostel here. The best place to buy miso and pickled vegetables was still there, of course. And the family that runs the stall was so glad to see us again.
Three years ago we met Bun, the coffee enthusiast, at Yume Nomad. Since then he has established himself in the business and moved to a new shop in down town Kobe near Sannomiya station. We got a great cup of ethiopian coffee and spent some time talking about coffee and old times.
The Ikuta Jinga Shinto Temple was almost next door and demanded a visit. History has it that it was establised around 200 AD. It has been burnt down and destroyed in wars and natural disasters many times but always rebuilt.
Now it still stands majestic amoung the high rise.
This weeks fermenting.
Still going strong
The annual Morhers Day Buffet is enjoying very nice weather this year.
This time the beans got cooked right. And the result was perfect – so far. One jar of 6 month rye miso and the other jar of 1 year rye miso.
I had 600 grams of rye koji which I divided into 3 parcels of 200 grams each, 1 for later use to test rye amazake and 2 for quick miso.
I had to recalculate my standard recepes for 6 month miso and 1 year miso with 200 grams koji as the fix figure.
6 month miso:
- 167 gr soybeans
- 200 gr rye koji
- 33 gr salt
1 year miso
- 188 soybeans
- 200 gr rye koji
- 45 gr salt
Both fit nicely into 1 liter jars for fermentation. Now for the final ingredient – wait.
While my 23rd batch of koji is growing well, I make my 6th batch of miso this season.
That sounds like alot, but it’s not much work or time spent. If I was making for my family and friends, I would only make alot less. 5 batches of koji and 5 of various types of miso would be more than enough. But I make most of it for selling at the farmers market in Uppsala (Fyris Market).
And I’m not done yet. I have to make more than last year, as sales are increasing . I have to think ahead – 2 years ahead.
