◎Tanimura time begins with “Good morning”
Tanimura time begins with “Good morning”
The community center, located along the road, was surrounded by greenery and looked like a smal house. When I opened the sliding door, I found the kitchen bustling with activity, with women cooking and laughter ringing out.
The three women who gathered on this day were from the Sakano area. They met at Tanimura and have been friends for over 50 years. They cal out to each other enthusiasticaly, “Okay, taste it!” and they are in perfect sync, just like sisters.
◎It’s okay if you don’t have any side dishes
“This is the filing for wild vegetable rice.”
Emiko, our leader, worked briskly, stir-frying a variety of colorful ingredients, including carrots, green beans, and wild vegetables. In the steamer next to her, steaming rice with chestnuts was rising softly.
“It’s caled okowa, but it’s more like takikomi gohan (rice cooked with mixed ingredients),”
says the attentive Shizuko, tasting the food next to Emiko.”You add seasoning after the The rule is that one cup of soy sauce is used for every 1 sho of glutinous rice.
glutinous rice has turned transparent, otherwise it wil have a hard core,” she said, handing me a few grains of glutinous rice that had been steamed for about 30 minutes.
It’s true. The glutinous rice is so transparent… When I bite into it, it’s stil a little hard. Mix half of the ingredients into the chestnut rice, steam for another
15 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients to complete the wild vegetable rice. The sweet and salty flavor is thoroughly infused, and the scattered chestnuts and edamame beans are a delight. A wonderful feast that doesn’t need any side dishes is ready.
Shizuko mixing glutinous rice and ingredients
Tanimura is an area rich in mountain produce. In spring, you can go for a walk and pick bracken along the road. If harvested wel, young shoots wil continue to appear, so experts harvest until July. This wild vegetable rice contains precious fern that Emiko picked and dried.
However, the three laugh and say, “You can use whatever ingredients you have on hand.
A pack of boiled wild vegetables wil do just fine.”
◎Because I feel like I’m going to jump up
鶏肉のお吸い物
The smal pieces of chicken that we had prepared to put in the rice were instead used in the soup. Looking at the soup bowl, Shizuko muttered, “It doesn’t have any green color,” and Emiko went searching the front door. “I felt like something was there. Look.” She reached out and saw a lush mitsuba leaves. If you tie the stems together and display them, they are perfect for entertaining guests.
“Try jumping up cucumber.” said the gentle Akemi, handing me a cucumber. You might think it’s so delicious that it makes you jump, but apparently it’s because it’s so spicy that it makes you want to jump. I tried it hesitantly, and it wasn’t that spicy. The myoga and green shiso are refreshing, and the sweetness of the sanbai vinegar is exquisite. When you bite into the thick, crisp, cold cucumber.. it’s here!
Oh, it’s spicy! But there’s also the wonderful aroma of green chili peppers. This is an addictive taste.
Jumping up cucumber
“Try jumping up cucumber.” said the gentle Akemi, handing me a cucumber. You might think it’s so delicious that it makes you jump, but apparently it’s because it’s so spicy that it makes you want to jump. I tried it hesitantly, and it wasn’t that spicy. The myoga and green shiso are refreshing, and the sweetness of the sanbai vinegar is exquisite. When you bite into the thick, crisp, cold cucumber.. it’s here!
Oh, it’s spicy! But there’s also the wonderful aroma of green chili peppers. This is an addictive taste.
Fluffy okra
Making fluffy okra is very easy. “Just put 20 or more fresh okra in a blender and mix with straight mentsuyu soup.” If you are concerned about the hairs on your okra, just sprinkle salt on them, rub them on a board, and rinse them quickly. There’s no need to boil them. It’s delicious when Jumping up cucumberpoured over udon or tofu, and is packed with nutrients. This is a convenient recipe for using up large amounts of okra if you have too much left over from planting too many. “Okra grows quickly.” according to Akemi
Fig jely
The fig jely was loosely and delicious, but the three of them said, “It melted a little too much, so maybe agar would have been better than gelatin.” The homemade jam is thinned with water and gelatin, adjusted the flavor, and it hardens in the refrigerator. “It tastes better if you add a little kabosu,” says Emiko.
◎Maybe it was just something I
“You realy need to talk to people,” the three of them say.
We al enjoyed chatting together over the finished feast.
When the three met about 50 years ago, the young men were already good friends and formed a youth club where they would often have drinking parties at their homes. At that time, the women did not yet have much interaction with each other, and when asked when they became so close, Akemi said, “I don’t remember.” Emiko also said, “Hmm, I don’t know.”
Everyone burst out laughing at her comment, and Shizuko replied, “Maybe it’s because they’re socializing at the temple or something.” They also say that their children are around the same age and they raised their children together is what helped them become close. Even after that time, the three of them continued to deepen their bond, and they continued to stay connected as they grew older. “We got together about three times to discuss how to prepare the food this time,” says Emiko.
When I couldn’t help but mutter, “That’s a great relationship,” Shizuko replied with a smile, “That’s great. It’s not like we forced each other to be friends or anything, we just naturaly became friends through conversations like this.”
Akemi and Emiko often see Shizuko greeting her husband cheerfuly every day. “She would say things like ‘Good morning’ or ‘I’m off now,’ and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s so great.’ I’d never said things like that to my husband, but at some point, ‘Good morning’
started coming out naturaly. Maybe it was just something I picked up on,” says Akemi.―Come to think of it, the children in Tanimachi often say helo to me. I think that’s because there are adults who greet them like this every day.
Tomorrow morning, I think I’l try saying “Good morning” in a brighter voice than usual.
“Local Cuisine” is “Today, Saturday.”
If you cook with the vigor of Emiko,the kindness of Shizuko,and the cheerfulness of Akemi,you’l surely find yourself enjoyinga relaxed “Tanimura time.”
(From left) Shizuko Sato, Emiko Ono, and Akemi Sonoda
