Cooking for the Girls

Posted on 2006/04/24 13:32:22 (April 2006).

[Sunday 23rd April]
We'd originally planned to go out for lunch with Chie's sister, to a vegetarian Chinese place we'd been to once before (see here). Chie still wasn't feeling that great, so in the end we decided it might be better to have Chie's sister come over to our apartment instead. Oh, and somewhere along the way, lunch turned into dinner.

I'd bought some dried beans in the UK (and another bag in the US) quite a while back, but have never quite got round to using them because of all the messing about with soaking etc. Today I decided I ought to finally get my act together and make something with them, given that I had the whole afternoon free to cook. Whilst Chie tried to sleep off her cold, I was busying away in the kitchen making one of my favourite recipes my Mum gave me - Boston Baked Beans. The resemblance to the original recipe was only slight - many of the ingredients had to be adapated, but I did at least stick to the core tenants: molasses (OK actually a kind of Japanese burnt sugar called kokuto) and Worcester Sauce (err, again, a Japanese version - but better for me as the Japanese one doesn't have anchovies in it). The original recipe also involved curry powder and beer (!) - both of which I approximated more or less.

I served the finished product with a quick salad, some crusty French bread, and some pan fried potato wedges. Although I say so myself, it was rather good.

As I sat back towards the end of the meal, I watched the girls chattering away and tucking in to second helpings. I experienced a wonderfully parental feeling of satisfaction, safe in the knowledge that the "young folk" had at least got a decent meal inside them.

Aren't there any place selling exclusively occidendal footdstuff? I mean, how big is the western community in Tokyo? Don't you think such a place would be a sheer success?

Posted by Sheri at 2006/04/24 15:28:35.

I bet you must be craving for a bit of cheddar...!

Posted by Sheri at 2006/04/24 15:29:38.

Aren't you?

Posted by Sheri at 2006/04/24 15:30:11.

Mmmmm Cheddaaaar...... drool. I think I'll pop to the fridge and get some cheddar, or my a quick bite of red leicester Mmmmm.

Posted by Kev at 2006/04/24 17:09:08.

Hi John
really great to see your photos, esp takaosan.I just came back to UK after a month visiting my girlfriend in takao-machi, so your pics made me feel happy and a bit sad too. Incredibly I was hanami-ing in kichijoji the same night as you.my photos of that evening are crap too.
very best wishes

Posted by mark at 2006/04/24 21:12:03.

Now you see what you've gone and done guys!?! I just had to nip to the 'fridge for some cheese to nibble! Red Leicester... Yum! I will have nightmares now! :)

Posted by Nigel at 2006/04/24 22:42:11.

Mark - what a small
world! I wonder if I
might have walked past
you then - we did do a
full tour of the park.
You weren't one of the
guys with the bongo
drums by any chance?
They seem to get
everywhere...

Do you have a website
with your pictures on
by any chance?

Posted by John at 2006/04/25 12:40:58.

I wonder if this is broken...?

Posted by John at 2006/04/28 15:24:12.

Post a comment