adekun's japan blog http://www.adekun.com Enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of first-time parenthood. Progress on the organic vegetable garden and other ramblings of a gaijin in Japan's least populous prefecture. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:51:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 adekunhttp://feedburner.google.com Gym: one month in http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/jBUEkqZO-ok/gym-one-month-in http://www.adekun.com/blog/gym-one-month-in#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:16:57 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=779

The idea was to write how I survived the first month in the gym unscathed. Being near the end of my session today, I thought I’d do a few sets of barbell pullovers. After the warm-up, the weight of the bar seemed to strain more than it ought as I shifted position slightly. It felt momentarily, as if my arm was pulled out of my shoulder. A definite pop. As there wasn’t much pain I finished the rest of my time on other exercises. I wondering now if I’ve rogered it as there’s now an unsettling grinding noise through some motions. Hopefully, just a bit inflamed. Silly me. :-(

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]]> http://www.adekun.com/blog/gym-one-month-in/feed 2 http://www.adekun.com/blog/gym-one-month-in Gnawed satsumaimo http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/ifu_WqbbZx0/gnawed-satsumaimo http://www.adekun.com/garden/gnawed-satsumaimo#comments Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:14:38 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=778 The sweet potatoes were harvested over the weekend. There wasn’t really much harvesting to be done. The dozen slips that were planted never really got going this year. It seems to be the same story elsewhere; a bad summer, lots of rain etc. Half of them had familiar nibble marks and headed straight to the kitchen. The rest are so few in number and misshapen that they will not be given away.

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]]> http://www.adekun.com/garden/gnawed-satsumaimo/feed 1 http://www.adekun.com/garden/gnawed-satsumaimo Hakusai and garlic http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/g1SX-A1nMVU/hakusai-and-garlic http://www.adekun.com/garden/hakusai-and-garlic#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:08:20 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=777 Both the hakusai and garlic should have been planted at the beginning of the month. At least now they are in. This season far fewer cloves were planted. Three rows of twenty-four. 10 rows of the usual 6-piece white, 10 Shanghai and the remainder Aomori. The hakusai were spaced 45 cm apart with another row offset to keep them fairly close together.

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]]> http://www.adekun.com/garden/hakusai-and-garlic/feed 0 http://www.adekun.com/garden/hakusai-and-garlic Asahi Lager http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/QdpsCwp-CVs/asahi-lager http://www.adekun.com/beer-review/asahi-lager#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:03:51 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=776 7
5%
¥254

Brewer Asahi

Style Japanese Rice Lager

Unremarkable, but not unpleasant. Can’t read the kanji. Mentions 1958. Has what looks to be the war flag of the Imperial Japanese Army behind Hokusai’s tsunami on the can.

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]]> http://www.adekun.com/beer-review/asahi-lager/feed 3 http://www.adekun.com/beer-review/asahi-lager Sudachi http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/OYAt_08cG28/sudachi http://www.adekun.com/japan/sudachi#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:24:12 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=775 Sudachi

Sudachi

Whilst uncommon overseas, here, sudachi is a cheaper alternative to the lime. It is quite similar in taste and smell, perhaps stronger. They are smaller than my impression of a lime. When in season, usual fayre get a dressing, as do chūhais.

Supermarkets prices equate to:

One imported lime = three imported lemons
Three imported lemons = six sudachi

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]]> http://www.adekun.com/japan/sudachi/feed 2 http://www.adekun.com/japan/sudachi To the gym http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/_2AmGBXUNwM/to-the-gym http://www.adekun.com/blog/to-the-gym#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:40:06 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=774

I’ve wanted to go the gym since the first summer’s digging ended. A lack of real commitment and the talk of money had relegated the scheme. The garden doesn’t provide the amount and sort of exercise I think I should be getting. In addition, heaps of rice hasn’t met the calories of missed English ale. The venture, I hope, will address the wasting away feeling and poor posture, in addition to the other positives that come from training.
It didn’t take long to feel the expected fatigue, but it also felt good, as if my upper arms were about to burst. There’s was a good mix of people and ages at the gym, some clad in Lycra and Spandex rather than ragtops. I got more konnichiwas than expected.

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]]> http://www.adekun.com/blog/to-the-gym/feed 2 http://www.adekun.com/blog/to-the-gym Where do Japanese get their vitamin C? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/yFHzFdvmT-E/where-do-japanese-get-their-vitamin-c http://www.adekun.com/blog/where-do-japanese-get-their-vitamin-c#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:09:59 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=772 Pitted umboshi

Pitted umeboshi

Whilst I’m still to reach a firm conclusion, I can be certain the answer to the above is not the following: berries and imported citrus fruits, too expensive; home-grown citrus fruits, seasonal availability; brussel sprouts, unpopular. Could it be C.C. Lemon, the soft drink laced with the vitamin C of 210 lemons? Rather than try to identify a super food, it could be an amalgamation of several. It could be the combination of the many plant foods with a moderate amount of the vitamin that make their way into everyday meals. Something questionable, yet not to be overlooked is umeboshi. Packed with vitamins and minerals, the pickled fruit are a reliable daily addition. It would seem some vitamin C is imparted by red shiso, a colourant. According to Kikkoman:

Thanks to its generous dose of vitamin C, eating one umeboshi a day is said to ensure good health by stimulating the appetite and helping digestion – it’s also considered effective against fatigue.

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]]> http://www.adekun.com/blog/where-do-japanese-get-their-vitamin-c/feed 6 http://www.adekun.com/blog/where-do-japanese-get-their-vitamin-c Keith Floyd http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/Eu8ZsmgXmoc/keith-floyd http://www.adekun.com/blog/keith-floyd#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:33:52 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=771 Keith Floyd

Source: BBC

I am saddened to read that personality and chef Keith Floyd passed away on Monday. It is almost as if I had a premonition whilst weeding the garden yesterday. He practised what he preached: “to enjoy food and drink” and lived life to the full. Rather than try to portray, I encourage anyone unfamiliar with him to delve in.

Below are a couple of clips from some of his earlier shows.

A final message from Keith Floyd: ‘I travelled the world and shared the finest food with millions. Truly I was blessed. Thank you and Au Revoir’

What also makes sad reading is what was bubbling under the surface.

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]]> http://www.adekun.com/blog/keith-floyd/feed 0 http://www.adekun.com/blog/keith-floyd Spring onions http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/KyOXORMc6vM/spring-onions http://www.adekun.com/garden/food/spring-onions#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:08:18 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=770 Allium wakegi are sown this time of year. They seem much the same as spring onions or scallions. The dry stems are pulled off and the ワケギ bulbs broken apart so you can plant two or three together. Space every 15 cm, maybe two or three rows wide. They should be ready for harvesting in [...]]]>
ワケギ - Japanese spring onions

ワケギ - Japanese spring onions

Allium wakegi are sown this time of year. They seem much the same as spring onions or scallions. The dry stems are pulled off and the ワケギ bulbs broken apart so you can plant two or three together. Space every 15 cm, maybe two or three rows wide. They should be ready for harvesting in the spring!

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]]> http://www.adekun.com/garden/food/spring-onions/feed 2 http://www.adekun.com/garden/food/spring-onions Varicocele http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/RtH-cvDMDys/varicocele http://www.adekun.com/blog/varicocele#comments Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:58:52 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=769 For some time, I’ve been thinking about how my diet and lifestyle mirror each other. It’s not that both are particularly unhealthy; more that they could be bettered in some areas. I squander too much time. Does a Japanese diet provide the best nourishment for a Westerner (at least, it doesn’t feel it mentally). And so on.
Adding to my general malaise is a growing trouble downstairs. I saw a urologist a week ago and was told that I have a varicocele, a varicose vein in a sensitive area. It was expected, nevertheless a relief. The condition isn’t as uncommon as I thought, yet there isn’t firm reason to the cause. Even though the doctor was unhurried, he didn’t offer up any suggestions to alleviate the pain. Put up with it or open surgery (in this district). Recently, the continuous dull ache develops far beyond uncomfortable. Sitting or standing for a length of time becomes an awkward and fidgety chore. It’s as if it’s some sort of warped payback for years of laughing at Nobby’s Piles.
Changing my diet and habits are unlikely to have an effect on my ailment. Yet it is a worthwhile pursuit. I should use this setback to spur me into becoming a doer, albeit a John Wayne swagger.

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]]> http://www.adekun.com/blog/varicocele/feed 2 http://www.adekun.com/blog/varicocele A new hope http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/KbrvHeouWHg/a-new-hope http://www.adekun.com/blog/a-new-hope#comments Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:18:51 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=767 The red team wins the election. Minshutō (DPJ) has unseated Jimintō (LDP), gaining toward three times the seats of the incumbent. The change brings an end to an almost unbroken half century reign. It also signals a real change in voters attitude; content to choose the untested in the direst of times. As a result, Taro Aso resigns as party president.

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]]> http://www.adekun.com/blog/a-new-hope/feed 4 http://www.adekun.com/blog/a-new-hope Election Day http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adekun/~3/F8SgD5kwEQ4/election-day http://www.adekun.com/blog/election-day#comments Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:37:10 +0000 adekun http://www.adekun.com/?p=765 It is Election Day here in Japan. The month long ordeal of maddening speaker vans has come to a close. Turnout is expected to be high. Who will the people choose? The grandson of a former Prime Minister or the grandson of a former Prime Minister. A political and industrial elitist or a political and industrial elitist et cetera.

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