tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468Wed, 09 Oct 2024 20:30:51 +0000japanese foodbamboo shootsdaikon pickledaikonharvestkakipersimmonrecipesoybeanwinter gardenJonanKumamotobamboodigging bamboojapanese measurementsnattoo-mochiobachanpesticidepicklesrecyclingspinachvegetablesvillage workJAJapanKumamoto shrineNew Year's cardsNewYear's endShintoasian noodle soupazukibathbookmobilebuildingcakecarrotscharcoalchoreschrysanthemumclean centercoldcooking bamboodummiesedamamefarm co-opfarm equipmentferment beansfieldsfresh misofrugal gardeningfuneralgarbagegardeninggingergingko nutsglobe daikongovernmentgreenhousehakusaihantenheating the househeirhibatchihomemade noodleshoshigakihow to harvesthow to make misohow to make pickleshow to make udonhow to tie strawhyojapanese picklesjapanese traditionkabochakamakara imokinkankojikumquatlawnlibrarymarketmisomochimoldmolesnanohananapa cabbagenengajonukaokonomiyakionionsorganicpalmpeasquilted jacketsrainy seasonreturn giftsricerice bagsrice harvestrice millryukyu imosakurasatsuma imoshisoshosocializingspring gardenstraw bundlesubsidiessumosweet potatotakanatantanzentaping windowstawarateruteru bozutoolsudonvillage women JapanweedswheatLife in Kyushu, Kumamoto Prefecture with an American wife and a Japanese husband living on the family farm. Humor and practical information about food, farming and lifestyle.http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)Blogger236125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-6989422399117357570Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:31:00 +00002010-09-15T19:40:12.221+09:00What is a volunteer? For me, it is doing something useful that nobody asked you to do...you just do it because it needs to get done. Every year I get in trouble for being a good citizen. There are no "good citizen" awards because as we know, everybody by birthright, is a good citizen. I can never earn that status.The crazy vines - some sort of wild bean and wild hops and wild something else - http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/09/volunteerism.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-1196377953134406660Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:25:00 +00002010-09-15T19:30:59.999+09:00Finally, after suffering in incredible heat and humidity, there was a break in the pattern and we actually enjoyed a fall day. Mind you, it is still "sweat like a race-horse" hot when you are working, but at least the sun is less intense and there is a slight breeze.The village has been in the doldrums with only a few very early morning dog walkers visible outside the cool interior of their homeshttp://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/09/end-of-heat-wave.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-4240455647323100143Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:19:00 +00002010-08-30T14:23:13.738+09:00The thunder and lightning storms just roll in and out of here like trains in the sky. In between runs, we try to get a little bit of work done. I managed to get the fields plowed to keep the weeds under control and then attack the vegetable garden to remove those weeds. Luckily, I had neglected it long enough to allow the weeds to grow quite large so it was satisfying to see immediate results by http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/working-between-storms.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-3493288817317202110Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:25:00 +00002010-08-25T13:33:29.398+09:00It is like war out here. Lacey leaves might be fashionable but they are a sign of insects feasting upon my precious azuki bean plants. Bean plants can sustain a significant amount of insect damage and still produce beans, so I'll shake them off and see if we can survive without spraying anything. Something crawled around and killed entire plants here and there so my rows are not full -perhaps http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/azuki-beans-under-attack.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-3808860599789714140Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:20:00 +00002010-08-25T13:25:54.913+09:00The apple snail or simply called"jambo" in Japanese is our worst enemy in the paddy field. With no natural predators (except for crocodiles), they are difficult to control. Those bright red eggs (on a previous post) hatch into these slithering slimy hungry creatures that eat all the new growth on the rice plant. In the daytime, they bury themselves in the mud but when they emerge, they are likelyhttp://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/jumbo-snails.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-185620976934092675Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:51:00 +00002010-08-25T13:20:46.528+09:00I had always thought that the JA was just trying to sell pesticide when they required us to spray for rice worms. I had read that the japonica varieties of rice, the native species, were naturally resistent to the rice worm but since we all grow some modern variation of the original rice, not true hybrids but somehow manipulated species, we need to spray. Anyway, in all these years, I have http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/worms.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-550845910257055084Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:49:00 +00002010-08-25T12:51:36.701+09:00Well, the sesame aren't quite ready to open yet - still in the blossom stage but I like the expression. Here is a sesame plant, thriving in the dry clay of the small field next to the big road. This is a dry field, not a paddy, so there is no water access. The plants are about 50 cm tall (20") and have pretty pinkish blossoms along the central stem. From these, the sesame pods will develop and wehttp://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/open-sesame.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-8953664255562669778Wed, 18 Aug 2010 01:39:00 +00002010-08-18T10:47:50.959+09:00shisoThe perilla plant is just a nice garden accent, with its greenish leaves, with red undersides and purplish new leaves, even if you don't eat it but here it is useful in the cuisine.The leaves are rubbed in salt and added to the green plum pickles to give them the deep red color that umeboshi usually have.In the summertime, we like to boil the leaves into a syrup for a refreshing cold http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/red-shiso.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-7233042822667162792Wed, 18 Aug 2010 01:36:00 +00002010-08-18T10:39:38.629+09:00I feel like singing....these are really hot peppers for pickles and spicing up certain Asian dishes. I love them but my daughter doesn't care for the spice so I have no idea what we will do with this crop. Anyway, they look pretty. I stupidly picked some without gloves and then wiped the sweat from my brow----I will be shedding tears for hours - these are potent!Right now, peppers and okra are http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/red-hot-chili-peppers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-6618735416463511113Wed, 18 Aug 2010 01:31:00 +00002010-08-18T10:35:13.908+09:00The edamame (immature, green soybeans) are ready to be boiled in salty water and served with beer. I'm sure you can use them in other dishes (we sometimes use them like peas, mixed with rice or stir fried with some meat or tofu) but I like them best with my beer on a hot afternoon. We seem to be having plenty of those. This global heat wave has not lost its power on us. We don't spray our beans,http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/edamame.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-4666311762615132795Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:36:00 +00002010-08-11T18:42:16.362+09:00In the blazing heat, I attacked the slopes again with my gas cutting whip. I switched the circular blade for the string because of all the garbage along the roadside. JAPANESE DRIVERS ARE INCONSIDERATE. Did I just yell inappropriately? I pick up the cans, bottles and cigarette packs every week and then there are more - trash tossed from passing cars that ends up on our slope. If you have ever hithttp://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/weeds-weeds-weeds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-64731985206298302Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:29:00 +00002010-08-11T20:55:53.216+09:00The pumpkins have gone wild! Random seeds from the compost heap that were plowed into my garden patch have sprouted and taken over the mini-greenhouse and the lawn! Just as well, their shade is suppressing the weeds. These are strange pumpkins indeed, not the usual kabocha but orange gourd-shaped ones with bright orange flesh that will make tasty pumpkin pie or bread. The little kabocha are http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/crazy-cucurbits.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-291458075797186896Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:23:00 +00002010-08-11T18:27:47.653+09:00The hechima gourd or loofah is a fun and easy to grow vine in warm climates. I never was successful with them years ago in Seattle but maybe these days, with the warming climate, anything is possible! They grow well here but with our cool, rainy spring, they were off to a slow start and I don't have many gourds on the vines.You can barely see what looks like a big fat cucumber there in the photo.http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/hechima.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-681862549209483902Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:40:00 +00002010-08-05T20:44:44.303+09:00The agricultural committee determines when the water flows and when it doesn't, so today was the official end of the irrigation water. The gates were closed and from now on, only rainwater will fill the paddy fields. The water quickly absorbed into the clay and it is now just sticky goo but once it firms up, in a day or two of this relentless heat, I will walk through the rows and pull out any http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/irrigation-water-stops.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-7474097084553653542Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:44:00 +00002010-08-03T13:46:18.159+09:00Blue and red dragonflies add color and whimsy to the sudorific air.http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/dragonflies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-472648461161593257Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:39:00 +00002010-08-03T13:44:45.653+09:00It is too hot and humid to function, let alone work. I managed to cut the grass and weeds around the perimeter of the fields and nearly died of heat stroke in the process. I was capable of returning home and downing a couple cold beers and felt somewhat revived!The azuki beans have sprouted nicely. The sesame seeds sprouted and are thriving in the heat. The cucumbers that we planted on the slope http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/humid-summer-days.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-3357813128562994627Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:28:00 +00002010-08-03T13:39:47.411+09:00The greatest threat to the rice crop is the apple snail, an unwelcome foreign creature,originating from Brazil, that can devastate a field. The telltale red eggs line the canals and are found on young plants. We try to remove these by hand and squish them before they hatch. Red splotches dot the pavement in the village. Once hatched, the small snails eat voraciously, consuming entire bunches of http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/08/snails.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-5845911832575965035Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:16:00 +00002010-07-24T20:21:30.937+09:00The heat wave continues...it is not only hot but unbearably heavy air that makes it feel even hotter. The dog is not faring well and elderly folks have been dying from heat stroke. I get drenched in sweat even by 9 am, so it doesn't leave much time to work outdoors.I did manage to plant a few rows of azuki beans today. Some farmers were planting a late crop of soy beans and I feel like we should http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/azuki-beans.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-5964757902528526640Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:59:00 +00002010-07-22T15:05:25.891+09:00Time to plow the big field. It hasn't rained significantly for a couple of days, allowing the saturated mud to dry out a bit. I plowed the big field thoroughly in the heat and humidity of this insufferable day. I like just cruising up and down the rows in my noisy tractor, singing off-tune (the only way I know how to sing) while the engine drowns out my voice, watching the egrets catch bugs. I http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/plowing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-4672965964729398708Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:55:00 +00002010-07-22T14:59:24.646+09:00My mom-in-law went to the mountains with the senior citizen's group from the village. They arrange for little day trips every couple months. They gather at the garbage dumpster to board a chartered bus for their destination - today it was the cooler temperatures in the higher elevations. Not a bad idea- the heat wave has already caused several deaths and we are accustomed to hot weather.I wanted http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/hot-days-in-field.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-6829165131430138999Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:54:00 +00002010-07-21T21:01:35.453+09:00Just when everything seemed to be going well... the farmer who rents the neighboring field threw some kind of herbicide on his weeds. Enough of it was carried in the wind and landed in our field, poisoning our plants. We have to contact the JA to see if there is any insurance coverage for such a case or if we should sue him (of course, law suits are a rarity in Japan) for damages. He had a buckethttp://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/disaster-in-rice-paddy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-8993355840624109218Tue, 20 Jul 2010 06:24:00 +00002010-07-20T15:31:07.835+09:00Fast moving thunderclouds are bringing lightning bolts, torrents of rain and then amazingly beautiful evening skies with every cloud formation in the book filling a techno-colored panorama above the hills. It is quite spectacular to see the clear blue sky above the clouds once the storm passes. I watched the lightning strike the hills to the north, somewhere in Kumamoto city, after it had passed http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/more-thunder-fallow-fields.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-8489188039796235377Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:57:00 +00002010-07-18T22:04:05.233+09:00Planted a row of sesame seeds in the small field today after Taka plowed. It was too wet to plow the big field but I did manage to spray some weed killer on the invasive sugina horsetails. I dismantled the watermelon house after harvesting the last of the melons. We had a good haul this year and they are all very sweet and delicious. The harvest is stored in the small barn, which is cool, but http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/sesame-and-lightning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-2876971181287570167Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:44:00 +00002010-07-15T21:50:15.275+09:00July 15 is the O-Bon celebration in Jonan town. Different areas in Japan have different dates but we welcome home the spirits of the deceased on this day by setting up colorful lanterns around the family altar and in the cemetary. Because it is rainy season, it isn't terribly practical to set up candle lit lanterns or to plug in expensive electric ones but a few families go to that trouble. Freshhttp://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/obon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-7150830322704438545Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:04:00 +00002010-07-14T14:11:44.998+09:00rainy seasonteruteru bozuWell it's no wonder that our weather has been so funky. It is like someone is controlling a master faucet in the sky - downpour on, downpour off - tremendous outbursts of warm water fall from the clouds that are boiling in the sky and then suddenly, it just stops and there is silence. Crazy, typical rainy season. We slosh around on the roads walking the dogs or checking the paddy fields for http://homemadejapan.blogspot.com/2010/07/rain-makers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (KaLaNi)0