TODAY I MET A LOVELY DOG

This is Bowie, Goldie's husky. I love him. I want one, too!!!

Look how good...

Everyone loves him!

Memories of Matsuko :)

まげて　のばして　お星さまをつかもう magete nobashite ohoshisama wo tsukamou

まげて　背のびして　お空にとどこう magete senobishite osora ni todokou

小さく　まるめて　風とお話ししよう chisaku marumete kaze to ohanashishiyou

大きく　ひろげて　お日さまをあびよう ookiku hirogete ohisamawoabiyou

みんな　さよなら minna sayonara

またあしたあおう mata ashita aou

まげて　のばして　おなかがすいたら帰ろう magete nobashite onaka ga suitara kaerou

歌を　うたって　おうちに帰ろう uta wo utatte ouchinikaerou

まげて　のばして　お星さまをつかもう magete nobashite ohoshisama wo tsukamou

まげて　背のびして　お空にとどこう magete senobishite osora ni todokou

小さく　まるめて　風とお話ししよう chisaku marumete kaze to ohanashishiyou

大きく　ひろげて　お日さまをあびよう ookiku hirogete ohisamawoabiyou

みんな　さよなら minna sayonara

またあしたあおう mata ashita aou

まげて　のばして　おなかがすいたら帰ろう magete nobashite onaka ga suitara kaerou

歌を　うたって　おうちに帰ろう uta wo utatte ouchinikaerou

I'M OFF FOR 2 WEEKS

I'll be off to Italy for 2 weeks. Unfortunately my mum isn't well and I'm going home to help and keep her company.
I'm going to bring my camera and I might be posting from Milan, if I find a bit of time.
Although this time I won't be around, I'd like to invite everyone to go down to the Truman Brewery from 20th until 23rd for the very famous and traditional annual Stussy/G5 warehouse sale. In spite of my absence, it is going to be great! (MJ you are going to need those Ugg!)

The other day I was very surprised to receive my very first postcard from Mongolia! My friend Simo is travelling from Europe to Asia by rail and thought of me while she was living with the nomads in Mongolia. Sweet. If you want to follow Simo's adventures here is the link to her travel blog http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chibisimo/2/1225834200/tpod.html

Here is Simo with a lovely puppy in Mongolia :) Cute!

She should have left Mongolia for China by now.

MORE RAIN

It is raining so badly today! I ventured out to buy some strawberry jam and I came back soaked. It is rather windy, too. I curled up on the couch with my blanket and watched "The Witches", based on Roald Dahl's novel. I've seen it many times before, but I have never noticed that the first part of the film takes place in Bergen, Norway. The opening scene shows a very picturesque street, which looks exactly like the street my friend Eirik lives on!!! Could it be the same?

I decided to bake some scones to cheer myself up. I love my heart-shaped cutter.

Baking cakes isn't my favourite, but I don't mind making scones. They are easy and fast to prepare. All you need is some strawberry conserve and clotted cream to go with them.

I received a lovely present from Japan. It was from Koko, who recently went back to Osaka. It took a while to work out what the pandas were for... After a few wrong guesses on my behalf, Tommy read the back of the packet and found out that they were... chopstick rests!!! So cute!!! Thank you very much!!!

Lately Torakiki has been acting funny. Very naughty and noisy. I suspected that something was wrong with her. Last time she was like that she had a toothache. We decided to check her mouth just in case. We discovered that she's been eating her litter! Some grains were stuck between her teeth and her gum was all swallen and sore. I really hope she hasn't eaten a lot of it. It is a special one and absorbs a large amount of liquids. I can't imagine the effect in her stomac! This is why she was drinking a lot these days. We'll have to take her to the vet. Silly cat!

SNOW!!!

This morning I got up and I couldn't believe my eyes! There was some snow outside the window. It has been really cold for the past few days and a bit of snow it is not surprising. It is a bit unusual for this time of the year though.

Someone got up early made this nice snowman :)

Here are some pictures of dinners for the cold weather. Okonomiyaki (yet again!) and my take on the classic nikujaga.

AUTUMN FLAVOURS

I love seasonal products. When I was living in Italy I could enjoy all sort of fresh products almost for free and I never really found it really special. Living in England made me realise how lucky I was to have access to my granny huge vegetable and fruit garden or to the woods near my town. Here in London I don't have a garden, therefore if I want to cook I have to buy everything I need. Everything is very expensive and what I used to consider "normal" is now some kind of a treat.
In the past few years my lifestyle has changed for the worse. Always very busy with work and other commitments and not much time to do the things I enjoy. As a result I am often stressed and frustrated.
Lately I have made an effort to come home from work in the and make sure I cook something nice and healthy. No take-aways and fast food. Not only this is good for my health, but it also means that I am not letting stuff go off in the fridge. Although some evening I am really tired and don't fancy cooking much, afterwards I feel much better about myself. I save a lot of money and I don't waste food.
The other day Yasuko-san, my Japanese teacher, told me that you should always finish your rice and don't leave a single grain. In fact, it is an old tradition to believe that there are 7 gods in each grain of rice and waisting even only one would offend them. In Japanese, the seven gods of luck are called Shichi Fukujin, which means "seven happiness beings".
Whether you believe in this or not, I think this is the right attitude to have towards food.
We take it for granted and we don't see it as a beautiful gift that nature has to offer. Children don't even know the names of fruit and vegetables, leave it alone eating or cooking them. A good meal brings people together to share something special and should be part of family life. I believe that it would improve the dialogue much more than fish fingers and boiled peas in front of the television. Anyway, I could go on forever.
This week Tommy brought me a lot of vegetables from Riverford Organic Vegetables. She orders almost every week and I get what she has in eccess. This time there were leeks, corn, apples, celery, carrots, kabocha, peppers, broccoli, sweet potatoes and pears. So nice!
At weekends I have more free time and I relax preparing more time consuming recipes.
Yesterday I made a variation of the traditional apple pie. I used wholemeal flour and left the sliced apples "marinating" with sugar, lemon juice and zest and cinnamon, before spooning them in the pie.


Chicken with ginger, mushrooms and leeks. A very tasty stew with a Japanese flavour.


A week-day dinner. Miso-marinated salmon, pak-choi, natto, miso soup, rice and the pickles I bought in Kamakura. Delicious! Pity I don't have any left...

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Sunday afternoon at Highgate cemetery. I haven't been there in a while. It used to be my favourite wandering spot. It was a bit crowded today, but it still has its charm.

This is a cute bench. Must be in memory of a child.

View from Suicide bridge...

Dinner! Ikura-don, steamed pak-choi and char-siu buns.