Hi again students -
I really enjoyed reading all of your thoughts about how your life has changed since coming to the USA. I was really impressed by your great attitudes towards your American adventure, which can sometimes be difficult, I guess. Many of you are trying to speak up with new people, make new friends, try new sports and activities, and develop good habits! All of that will help you to not be so homesick. Great!
A lot of people wrote about food, so in your next blog, I'd like you to tell us about a special meal or meals that you remember. For example, I remember Christmas dinners when I was a little girl. We lived in Northern California at the time, so there was no snow, but it was usually a sunny day and everything outside was green and cool and wet (winter is the rainy season in California). My mother would cook a large turkey - maybe 15 pounds or more - stuffed with breadcrumbs, onions, celery and herbs. You could smell it cooking in the oven all day until it was ready to eat at around 4 pm, and it smelled so good it would almost make you crazy. She would also make sweet potatoes and green beans and rice and a special desert of some kind, like chocolate brownies. My father and I would set the table with a white linen table cloth and the good silverware and china. Sometimes we would have guests come and eat with us, but often it was just the three of us, since my cousins and aunts and uncles lived on the other side of the country. The sun would be coming in the big picture window, and everything smelled and tasted so great - it was a very special and happy time.
Tell us about a meal or eating experience that you remember. 200-300 words.
I would like to talk about a eating experience that I remember. When I was little girl, my grand mother often made a pumpkin soup for me, my sister and my cousin. I really liked it. It tasted so sweet. Whenever I came back to my home from am elementary school, she already finished making a pumpkin soup and I had it. It was happy time for me. Pumpkin is too tough to cut into small pieces easily. I think cutting a pumpkin was so hard for her, however she made it almost everyday for me. I thank her very much. Sometime, she made a rice ball. ( a ball cooked rice wrapped in a thin sheet of dried seaweed. Japanese call it Onigiri.) I liked to eat a rice ball and pumpkin soup for lunch. But now, I hardly have a pumpkin soup because I hardly stay in my home because of school or part-time job. I miss a pumpkin soup. When I back to Japan, I will ask her to make it. I can not wait. My grand mother and mother like cooking and they are good at cooking. I am not good at cooking because they always make a meal for me in Japan. I have no chance to cook something. I love a meal which they cook. I want to learn cooking from them. Therefore when I was in Japan, I always had a good meal with my family.
ReplyDeletePumpkin soup sounds so delicious - especially at this time of year when the weather is getting a little colder! I remember in Japan, it seemed like the pumpkins were a little different from here - a little smaller and so delicious. American pumpkins are so enormous I am usually scared to try to cook them!
DeleteI'm one of the soup fans. And I haven't tried pumpkin before but from your responde it's look so delicious.
DeleteHi everyone.I'd like to introduce one special meal in japan and one special meal for me.In my opinion,the most famous special meal in japan is New Year's food.It is called 'Osechi'.Almost every japanese family eats in this day.Osechi consists of japanese such traditional ingredients as bamboo shoots and prawns.It also in a nest of boxes and it looks like splendid.In January 1st,I go to my relative's home with my mother and we eat ''Oseti'.I like this event because I can eat delicious food and I can meet all relatives anyway.So in winter vacation,I can't wait this event like Christmas!
ReplyDeleteAbout my special meal,I like ’Nabe’.This word originally means a pot in English.you can cook various things in a pot.Japanese often eat it in Winter and I ate third a week.When I was elementary school and high school,I usually ate a dinner in my grandma or aunt house because My mother worked until dinner time.So I was eble to eat 2 types ’Nabe’.One is dish of duck meat cooked with cabbage, spring onions, tofu,which my grandma made for me.Especially,I liked duck meats and soup stock very much.The other is my aunt's 'Nabe' which uses Chinese cabbage.It has characteristic smell.I thought that this smell made me healthy.It was true that Nabe' was a hot food,but their affections made me more warmer.Thank you.
I love how you say that even though Nabe is hot food, your grandmother and aunt's affection for you made you even warmer - that is beautiful! Now that the weather is getting colder here, I'm starting to think of some of those warm foods like homemade soups and stews - yum!
DeleteHi Genki, your new year food look same to one of the holidaies in our country. All of my cousins and relatives meet in one place to have lunch or dinner. I miss these days because I haven't been with them for long time.
DeleteHi to all of you, one of the best meal I ever had it was Indian meal called Karahai. This experience happened in Riyadh the capital of Saudi Arabia like Four years ago. One of my friend called me and said lets go to eat lunch. We went to that restaurant which is called Tolaitola. It was really old restaurant. The dust was in every where. the tables weren't in good condition. The stuff weren't too clean. I sat and i was wondering about my friend. I asked him lets change the restaurant. He told me don't be in hurry. I wasn't felling comfortable while he was making an order, and I wasn't sure if I'm gonna eat or not. While we were waiting I smelled very good smell. After that, I became exciting about trying it. And finally the waiter brought the lunch. I looked at it, it wasn't looking bad. but I decided to try it because of it's smell. It was brown sauce with chicken, vegetables and white rise. I tasted it for the first time. It was yummy yummy so delicious. After this experience, this Indian restaurant became my favorite restaurant. I was eating from it almost everyday. I wish I could go back home to first see my family and second eat Indian food :).
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy reading this experience.
What a great story! The way you describe the Indian restaurant, I can really imagine it. When I lived in San Francisco, there was a little Indonesian restaurant around the corner from my house. My friend didn't like to eat there because he had seen cockroaches there, but the food was so delicious! I love Indian food too.
DeleteRe:Mofadal's post
DeleteYou had a interesting experience!! Your friend had known about the dirty restaurant befor you guys went to there?? I don't know about your countrys' foods, but it sounds delicious!!If I can go your home country, I want to eat the soup!!
Re: Mof's comment
DeleteHello everyone. I'm interested in his comment! I experienced the same situation. My best of Japanese food is “Ra-men.” It is called Noodle Soup in English. I have eaten “Ra-men” from old time. But since I lived in Tokyo, I came to like “Ra-men” more. Now it is my best favorite Japanese food because there are a lot of noodle houses in Tokyo. Especially I like a kind of Clear soup based on pork bone and pork meat with thick noodles. I don’t know why, but noodle houses are basically dirty. So when I go to a house first, I need courage. In my case, almost every dirty house provides delicious good for me. It is the same experience like Mof.
Thanks Lee Ann
DeleteAya, my friend knew about that and he had the same experince before I had it.
Gen, I think me and you share the same opinion.
Hi everyone!! I’d like to tell you about my special memory of food. 10 years ago, in the winter vacation, I was looking forward to seeing a lot of snow which lay on the ground. I really wished the year’s Christmas become a White Christmas. But I couldn’t see snow on the Christmas day. I was very sad, and I had been crying all the day. That makes my parents unhappy too. Then next day (December 26th), my parents took me out to have a dinner. We went to one of famous restaurants in Tokyo. The restaurant had a lovely relaxed atmosphere. The salesclerks guided us up stairs of the restaurant. There is a splendid view on the floor. Amazingly, there are snowy floor. I was surprised at this view. And also I surprised at the dishes. I ate a very big steak, garlic rice in the shape of a snowman, some kinds of ice cream with candy shaped in snow figure. The most surprising one is the soup!! It was not made by normal style. The shape was a global body, and it was put on the one silver spoon. At the same time as I ate it, the global soup was broken, then, the delicious creamy soup ran out from it in my mouth. That was so amazing soup!! I had never eaten! I had very nice dinner with my family. I am grateful to my parents for all they did for me at that day. I would never forget about this special dinner.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm sorry for my incoherent writing...ONZ
What a great story (and your writing is VERY coherent)! My family moved to California when I was 11 years old, and after that I always longed for a White Christmas like when I was a child (it never happened in California). Your parents obviously cared about you a lot to take you to that snowy restaurant - and the soup sounds incredible! I wonder how they could make the soup stay in a globe shape? Amazing!
DeleteYour parents were wonderful! Your parents really love you and they really didn't want you to cry anymore. I have never seen White Christmas. You couldn't see it, but your parents made you so happy! You can see White Christmas this year because you are in Missoula. It will impressed us, I think. I want to eat big steak like you had. What is name of that restaurant? When I come back to Japan, I would like to go there! It's nice story!
DeleteHi Aya, when you wait for something and this thing don't happen this will depress you. But your parents knew how to solve that problm.
DeleteHi everyone, I would like to talk about my eating experience that I remember. When I was elementary school, my grandfather was a cook of sushi shop in Tokyo, so I ate a lot of sushi at the counter when I visited Tokyo. Because I lived in Shizuoka, Japan. Then I was 7 years old, so I didn’t know how much that sushi is. However I realized that it was very expensive recently and I was surprised. I loved sushi he made, and I loved the shop. I often helped him to work there, so many I was remembered by many costumers. I was happy that he smiled. However suddenly he stopped to work because of his age. The shop disappeared so I was shock. My mother took me to another sushi shop to eat sushi, but I couldn’t eat it. I couldn’t think it’s delicious. Now I love 100 yen (about $1) sushi, I think it’s delicious. I recommend you to go to 100 yen sushi shop if you went to Japan. Of course I don’t’ remember my grandfather’s sushi forever and sometimes I think I want to eat sushi he made. If I came back Japan, I want to eat sushi the first!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a nice memory! And you were so LUCKY to be able to eat sushi all the time at your grandfather's shop. Is 100 yen a sushi chain? When I lived in California it was pretty easy to get good sushi, but it's not so easy in Missoula. I miss it too!
DeleteI heard from one of my friends that there is resturant here in Missoula provides suchi for only one dollar for each plate.
DeleteHello everyone. I would like to tell you about my eating experience. I like to eat something so I eat something in my free time. When I was elementary school student we had a cooking laboratory. About once in a month, we cooked something together. One day we cooked miso soup. And we had to get ingredient by ourselves. Our elementary school is very near the mountain. So we went to the mountain and got wild vegetable and some mush room. After that we returned school and cooked a miso soup. We were very hungry because we went to mountain. So miso soup which we made was really good and I ate a lot. Hungry and eating together is the best spice. Getting ingredient and cooking and eating together with my friend was really good memory. I found it very good. I will never forget this experience and someday I want to go mountain and get wild vegetable and cook delicious miso soup together. Now I miss Japanese miso soup. So please tell me good and inexperience Japanese restaurant. I really want to go and eat. But of cause I love American foods such as hamburger and pizza. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIn English, we also sometimes say, "hunger is the best spice." I guess that is why food always tastes so much better when you are camping or staying outdoors. It is cool that you were able to find the mushrooms that you cooked by yourselves! I think you have to know a lot about mushrooms to make sure that you find ones that are edible and not poisonous, right?
Deleteyou let me remember my past days when I was living in the dorm with my friends. we were doing the same thing.
DeleteHi everyone! I’d like to tell you about my eating experience that you remember. Before I show the eating experience, I’m explaining about “Toshikoshi soba” which is buckwheat noodles and a Japanese traditional food. “Toshikoshi soba” means eating soba at the end of a year. It is a popular custom in Japan. Japanese people usually eat Toshikoshisoba once on December 31th. But I ate “Toshikoshisoba” four times on December 31th last year. First, I ate it in my house. I didn’t feel like eating it this morning, but there was only soba on table. So, I had to eat it. Second, I went shopping with my friends, and then a friend of mine wanted to eat soba. So, I had to eat it. Third, after shopping we went to Japanese style bar, “Izakaya”, we drank much, and the same friend ordered much soba. So, I had to eat it again. Finally, we went to friend’s house, also drank in his room and there were soba’s cup- noodles. So, we ate it! So, I had eaten Toshikoshisoba four times. Maybe I think I keep healthy for long time because I can keep healthy if I eat Toshikoshisoba.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of noodles! It sounds like you weren't really in the mood to eat soba at all that day, but you had to keep eating it again and again! I wish Missoula had a really good Japanese noodle restaurant. I remember the little food stands that you could find on the city streets in the evenings in the fall - the food was so delicious!
DeleteI like soba too. My home town Nagano prefecture is famous for delicious soba. I want to eat soba four times in a day. Maybe it’s enough for me. Someday please come my home town and eat “Shinsyu Soba”. This is one of the most famous foods in my home town. It’s so good. Nagono has clean water. Clean water is very important to make soba. So please come home town and eat Shinsyu Soba. And eat four times.
Deletecan you eat sobe in diffrent time in the year or just at the end of the year ?
DeleteHello everyone! I would like to tell you about my eating experience. My contemplation food is vegemite. when I lived in Sydney, I always ate toast with vegemite for breakfast. And brought them to my kindergarten for a lunch every day. This tastes like salty and the flavor is so unique. So, many poeple surprise at this taste when the first time to eat. Therefore, my family don`t like to eat it. But vegemite is very popular food in Australia and New Zealand. It is used not only toasts and sandwiches but also some cookings. The best way to eat vegemite for me is with toast. You can spread butter on the toast and then spread vegemite on it. It`s so delicious. Whenever I eat it, I remember memories of my childhood. However, vegemaite is famous for not good taste. I don`t think so. But many people think so. So, I want to ask, "Have you ever eaten vegemite?" If someone haven`t eaten it, I don`t want to think about it. Luskily, you will have an opportunity to go to Australia or New Zealand, try eating vegemite! And please let me know what you think about it. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWow! It's interesting that you love vegemite so much! I used to work on big cruise ships (before I was a teacher), and we would often cruise in Australia/New Zealand in the winter. All of the Australian crew loved vegemite, but everybody else thought "yuck!" I thought it was "okay," but very salty, as you said. I wonder if you can buy vegemite in Missoula?
DeleteI love toast. And I love salty food so much
DeleteHi everyone! I'm going to tell you about food in China! Dumpling is a truditional food in China. I remember when I was young, I like dumplings so much! When we celebrate the Spring Festvial we eat dumplings, It seems reunion and festival. Then I gonna tell you about sweet soup balls. when we celebrate Lantern Festival we eat sweet soup balls. It is seems reunion too! Because When in the field work or school a person return the home, we will eat sweet soup balls. Both of them is delicious. And then I gonna tell you about something traditional, we both know when we have a birthday, we eat cakes, but in China some people eat Birthday noodles！ It means you can live to be 100 years old! In China we have a lot of things, if you want to know more, you can ask me !
ReplyDeleteYum! I love dumplings! In the US, dumplings are usually just balls of dough that are eaten in soup or with a creamy sort of gravy. I think Chinese dumplings have something inside, don't they? Meat or vegetables or something? And I wonder what sweet soup balls taste like?
DeleteI like dumplings, too! whenever I go to Chinatown in Yokohama, I always eat dumplings. I can`t stop eating them! And my grandmother used to make them for my family. So,they are memories of my grandmother. This spring vacation, I traveled to Shanghai with my friends. There I ate the home of dumplings. I was moved by that taste!! And I reconfirmed that Chinese foods represent the Asian food.
DeleteNoodles in birthday?? this is new for me. but I like when people create new things.
DeleteHello everyone, I would like to tell you about a special meal or meals that I remember. I remember when it's Eid ( special day in muslim countries) we would make kind of party. There would be lots of food and all the family would get togather my mom, did my grandmother and grandfather and all my uncles and aunts would be there too.anyway, in that day as i told you there would be a lot of food. My favorite one is breakfast meal, my mom would wake up early and make bread in our house and tahenia ( it's a sweet food, kind like cheese, but it test totally different than cheese) and some sweet surgery candy, and foale with cup of tea or milk when i was young, I wasn't allowed to drink tea when i was young, but i remember everyone wake up so early about 5 or 6am and be so nice with each other and then have our breakfast as family.it was really delicious, amm I think i got hangrey now haha just joking, Thanks everyone!
ReplyDeleteOoh I miss Eids days. And I think Tahenia is same like ranch. Good memories ha ?
DeleteFamily meals make really nice memories, don't they? I've heard that the sense of smell is one of the most immediate and primitive senses. This means that when you smell something familiar - even if you haven't smelled that smell for a long time - it can instantly give you a really clear memory of the other times you smelled it. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteI think so too. I remember not only food but also anything! If I smell something, my memory of the past gradually come back. Then I miss something that I smelled a long time ago.
DeleteRe:Karin's post
ReplyDeleteWow! I never heard vegemite, so I was really curious it. I didn’t know it is famous in Australia and New Zealand. How taste is it? I like vegetables, so I think I can eat it! I want to try. This experience is so special because you ate it in Sydney. It’s cool. Oh, I’m hungry now. My brain is full of toast spreading butter and vegemite… I think you know other special food of Australian. If you know any other special and delicious food, please let me know. I want to go to Australia, and eat uncommon food someday!
Re:Genki's post
ReplyDeleteI like Osechi and Nabe, too! When it comes winter, I want to eat Nabe because it makes me warm and happy! It's very delicious and we can put anything we want to eat into a pot, so I always put " Tofu" into a pot. It's so good and I also put Kimchi into a pot. I like it! On January 1st, most Japanese people eat Osechi, a Jpanese traditional food. It's so great, so I eat it too much every year! In every winter, Nabe and Osechi make me get fat. But I can't eat these foods this year, so I miss the foods!