adekun’s japan blog

Apparently, I was told nobody likes cauliflower or broccoli. Ah well, all the more for me. Not my favourite of vegetables, it doesn’t take much to turn a gnawed cauliflower into something palatable. Again, got most the bugs off outside. Afterwards the head was left to soak in some salted water. I returned later to find my wife had already turned it into cauliflower cheese. One down five to go.

Around the start of the month, the crab season begun. On the first day, I was watching a report on the TV. As the camera panned, the prices started to increase. ¥680 at first, then ¥2000, finishing up at ¥20000 (£100) a piece. The later, being matsue bakani (bagane). The prices begin to fall after the first day.
This cheaper, tasty trio from Canada cost ¥5000.

I just harvested my first (and probably only) cabbage. I thought about keeping it in a couple more weeks, but had orders from my wife. Pleased about that, as I expected a bit of challenge to get people to eat it, since there were a quite a few caterpillars crawling over it. I took the precaution of prepping it out of sight. There where a few nooks and crannies that must have been the bug’s latrine. Still have a lot to learn about organic gardening.
So tonight, cabbage, no doubt Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き). I’m quite looking forward to it.
Perhaps, the other cabbage will start doing something, but it’s just sitting there, like a cabbage.

Today, we weighed him, he has gained almost 4 kilos since he was born. I think his favourite place is the bath. He really loves it. Perhaps that is because, there here can hone his sharp-shooting skills? He is very apt at choosing the moment, Still my wife gets her own back when it comes to feeding time, poor little boy doesn’t know what to do.

I gave up on the idea of growing beans alongside some onions. Found that area more susceptible to flooding than the rest. After a mizo was dug on each side of the bed, there just wasn’t the space. My neighbour kindly offered me some of his sprouting onions he had left over.
Without a dibber, was a pain but found an old waribashi after having a rumage around the garden. After a lot of stick wriggling, I managed to get the best part of a 150 onions transplanted. These should be ready in July, a few months after the previous lot of red onions.

He’s going to be three months old on Thursday. Over the past month, he has become much more vocal. Qooing and laughing, but I think tonight is going to be difficult since he slept through most of the day. Most nights though, it’s usually just the once for a feed and a cuddle.

Went on a trip arranged for gaijin to Sakaiminato. We braved the rain to tour around Mizuki Shigeru road area and a sake brewery. Below is a pic of Kitaro of Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro fame. He is holding is father’s eyeball.

http://www.adekun.com/japan/tottori

Got the first lot of onions in. Two rows of twenty-four. Keen to get some early onions and wanted to grow a more costly red variety. If I understood the sign, these should be ready for March. Have an empty patch where the sweet potatoes were. The ground is still quite soft, having just mixed in some eggshells and compost. Want to get some more onions planted next week and perhaps some beans.

It’s usual for us all to sleep together in the early hours after Kento has been fed. I’m finding however, that I’m getting nudged further towards the edge of the bed each time.
This morning I found myself out in the cold, I think I’ve got a chill.

Most families here don’t own a dishwasher due to a lack to space. Consequently, the dishes are washed by hand.
Unsure if this is a quirk of my in-laws, the cleaned items are then arranged it a wire bowl to drain. Everything is stacked, inserted or left lying precariously on the top. This seems to be done as a Zen art, the pile reaching a couple of feet.
It must take me three times a long to dry, anxiously removing a teaspoon in the fear the whole lot will go. Why a rack can’t be used I don’t know.
Perhaps I should test my skills and add a couple of sets of chopsticks. It would make an interesting game of Ker Plunk.