CHIBA☆

Hello♪

Summer vacation will come soon!!
It's too fast!!!

This week, I'll tell you about special products in Chiba.


Chiba is famous for peanuts, you know.
"miso-pi" is our soul food.


But, not only peanuts!!!


Loquat(biwa) is also famous product.
At souvenir shop, you can see biwa-chocolate, biwa-jerry, biwa-caramel, biwa-...many thing.
However, I think some of them are not nice...but this is my opinion, so you can try.


Also, marine products are famous because, Chiba prefecture is surrounded by the sea.
Please check map later if you didn't know.
I like bonito(katsuo) from Katsuura city.

If you have a chance, try to eat these foods!

Annual Event

Hello, how are you?

Did you eat rice cake at tanabata?
I did't eat it because I didn't know the custom:(

I'll introduce Japanese annual events;)

Spring

The day before the beginning of spring(setsubun)
We scatter beans to drive out bad luck, and eat the beans the same number as our age.
Until several years ago, eating ehoumaki was the custom only in Kansai area, but recently, this custom spread out all over Japan. Eat it with family quietly looking the certain direction at night.

The Doll's festival(hinamatsuri)
Eating clams(hamaguri) soup is the custom. It wishing to see good partner in her life.
I like eating hinaarare.

Spring equinox(syunbun)
Eat rice cake to wish rich harvest.

Summer

The Boy's Festival(tango no sekku)
Eat kasiwamochi(rice cake covered with an oak leave) and chimaki.

the Star Festival(tanabata)
Eat rice cake in many parts of Japan.

dog days(doyo)
We eat ells at doyo no ushino hi.
Also, eat clam(shijimi) soup.

Autumn

Full moon night(zyugoya)
It's the lunar 15th August night, eat rice cake looking at full moon.

the equinoctial week(ohigan)
Put rice cakes covered with bean jam(ohagi) in this week.

Winter

the winter solstice(toji)
Not to catch a cold, eat pumpkin(nankin) and put yuzu(a kind of mandarin) in a bath.
Also, eat kinkan, ginnan, renkon, ninjin, daikon, udon etc...to invite un(luck).

New Year's Eve(oomisoka)
Eat the buckwheat noodles eaten on New Year's Eve(toshikoshi-soba) is popular custom.
Also, eat salmon in the Eastern Japan, yellowtail(buri) in the Western Japan and sardine(iwashi) in the Southern Japan.

How many did you know?
I knew about half.
I learned Japanese people had eaten rice cake, rice cake, rice cake....in the old days!!!
Please try these customs this year!!

Food Poisoning

Hello;)

I can't attend class because of careing experience this week.

I wrote about heat injury last week, but I want to tell you one more disease.
It's food poisoning.

I think you know O157, it's one of the food poisoning.

In summer, bacteria increase because of the hot temperature and very high humidity.

So, many people are suffering from food poisoning:(

The peek season is summer, you know, in July, August and September.

Stomachache, vomit, diarrhea, fever,chills......but, in the worst case, you will die from food poisoning!!
Besides, some bacteria cause paralysis of nerve.

It's so dangerous, isn't it?

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, to avoid being food poisoning,

1. check the shelf life(× best before ○ used by), and get fresh food
2. put into fridge as soon as possible
3. wash your hands and cookwares(kitchen knife, cutting board, etc...)
4. cook enough with your clean hands
5. eat them with your clean hands
6. keep the leftover with clean container, and reheat


To avoid norovirus, heat over 85℃ at least 1 minute.

Be careful!!
Let's enjoy summer:D

Heat Injury

Recently, I read a terrible news.
1718 people died from heat injury last year.

Can you believe this fact??

This is the worst record since 1964.


A lot of people are already transported to hospital this summer.
It's really terrible X(

I don't want to die from heat injury:(
And, please do not die from heat injury!!
Although we should save on electricity, please beat heat this summer!!

Japanese people often eat hiyashi cyuka, somen, hiyamugi and cold soba during summer time.
These are all cold noodles, so easy to eat in hot time.

Also, it is said that eating unagi (eel) is good in summer because it gives stamina to us in hot time.

Beside, eating summer vegetables is good for our body.
Summer vegetables like eggplant, balsam pear(goya), mini-tomato, cucumber have much potassium, and the potassium help us keep cool.
However, potassium is easy to break by heat, so eating raw summer vegetables is good way to take enough potassium.


To avoid heat injury, what's the most important is drinking water many times in a day.

Let's beat heat together!!!

Proverb

Hi, how are you?

Have you ever heard any English proverb?
There are many interesting proverbs connect to food.

I'll introduce some of them;-)


・apple polishing

In Japanese, we say 'grind sesame.'
It means flattering. To praise his boss to expect some return.


・His bread fell into the honey.

In Japanese, we say 'a rice cake dropped from the shelf.'　
It means he got a luck without any effort.


・Like teaching a fish to swim.　

In Japanese, we say 'teaching Buddhism to Buddha.
'It means to teach something to the professional is foolish.


・Bread is better than the songs of birds.
・pudding rather than praise.

In Japanese, we say 'to like dumpling than flower.'
It means, to see the beautiful flower is good, but to eat delicious foods is much more good.


・His little daughter is the apple of her father's eye.

In Japanese, we say 'it's so pretty that I can put into my eye.'


・The proof is in pudding.

In Japanese, 'mono ha tameshi' but this is difficult to translate...
It means, you never know what you can do till you try.


・ as different as chalk and cheese
・as different as night and day

In Japanese, we say 'moon and soft-shelled turtle.'
It means the things are similar but very different.


・It is no use crying over spilt milk.

In Japanese, we say 'spilled water don't return to the tray.'
It means, once we did something, it cannot get back.


Even the meaning is same as in Japanese proverb, the words are different.
However, I can guess the meaning of some of them.
It's very interesting, isn't it?

Rice Farming

Hello:D

I like rice as you know:-)
That's the reason why my title is 'rice field'!

I'll introduce the process to grow rice!!

Have you ever grown rice?

Recently, some schools adopted rice farming as study actual experience.
I think it's good for children.

Anyway, I'll introduce the process.


Winter

prepare good soil

Spring

sowing
grow the young plant
rice planting

Summer or Autumn

reap the rice



←I took this photo last weekend.
This is our rice field.








This process is one simple example.
Of course, it's different from the area and the house.

Also, there are a lot of other works!!

The weather is very important, because rice need plenty of water and sunlight!
Rice farming is not easy work...
So, please appreciate farmers when you eat rice:-)

New Zealand

Hello, how are you??

Last summer vacation, I visited NZ and ate many delicious food!!
So I'll introduce about it.


Do you know something about NZ?

NZ locate near the Australia, the capital is Wellington and the famous sport is rugby.
Also, there had a terrible earth quake around Christchurch as you know.


NZ is famous for sheep.
I don't like lamb in Japan, but it was so delicious in NZ, so I ate it many times!!
Lamb is used for humberger, kebab, and so on.


Have you ever heard hokey-pokey?
It's a very popular flavor of ice cream in NZ.
The taste is like caramel and it so delicious.


Also, kiwi fruit is very popular.
You can see CM on TV which Norika Huziwara is eating gold kiwi fruit.
It's from NZ!!


This is very popular cake "pavlova" !!
The inside is meringue, the outside is sugar.
At last, put kiwis on.

However, it was too sweet for me...

If you visit NZ, please try!!

Allergy

Hi, everyone:)

Do you have any food allergy??

Fortunately, I don't have any allergy.
So, I can eat everything;)

Some people around me have allergies...
They have to check the ingredients when they eat something.


I was working at cake shop, and sometimes costumers asked me "Is this contain egg?"
I had never think about that, but some allergens are used for cake.


Last year, I studied about a dog in Media English class.

In the textbook, an eight year girl was suffering from severe peanut allergy.

If she touch something with peanut residue left behind, she'll be hospitalized.
If she eat something with peanut in it, she'd die.

However, she is always protected by a dog, which trained to detect peanut, and
thanks to the dog, she can go everywhere.

I didn't know about the dog, but I think a lot of people need the dog.


Recently, some restaurants have low allergen dishes, for example, curry and rice, spaghetti, soup, bread, hamburger and so on.
The dishes don't contain egg, milk, wheat, peanut, shrimp, buckwheat, soy bean and crab.

I think it helps a lot of people, but still limited.
We should study and understand about allergy.
Don't you think so?

Let's eat chocolate☆

Hello!!

Last year, I researched about chocolate in my writing class.
So, I want to write about chocolate today!!

The reason why I researched about chocolate is very simple.
It's because my favorite food is chocolate!!!
I love the texture, the sweet taste and the rich flavor!!

What image do you have for chocolate?
It's unhealthy? Get fat?

I'll tell you the good points of chocolate;)

Chocolate contains a lot of good nutrition to prevent us from serious diseases like cancer.

Have you ever heard GAVA?
Chocolate contains GAVA, and it makes you relax.
You can sleep well if you take it.

Chocolate contains a lot of cacao poly phenol.
It reduces the chance of cancer and allergies, and it also good for diet compared to other snacks!!

Also, chocolate prevents heart attack, and keep healthy blood pressure!

However, of course, eating too much chocolate can make you get fat:(
Be careful!! 100 gram is good according to my research.

I recommend you to eat chocolate everyday:D

♡Ginger♡

I caught a cold last weekend:(
I have a sore throat today...

I always drink ginger tea when I had a sore throat, because it's good for sore throat.
It makes me hot.
Also, I heard it's good for our stomach and intestines.
So, I drank it yesterday.

Ginger is not main food, but it's important spice for Japanese food.
Furthermore, ginger cookie from England is popular.
I think ginger is wonderful food!

Anyway, I like ginger tea♡

However, I wanted to drink another drink for a change.
So, I mixed cocoa and ginger tea.
It was very nice!!
I hope it heal my throat.

When you have a sore throat, what do you eat and drink??
If you know something delicious and good for sore throat, please tell me!!

Gyoza(A Chinese-Style dumpling) Party☆

In last spring vacation, I joined a party that my friend organized. We cooked two types of gyoza. One is Japanese type which we usually eat and the other is Chinese type.

When we hear "gyoza", we image grilled one in Japan, but boiled one is much more popular in China. Furthermore, we eat it as dishes with rice or Chinese noodle in Japan, but in China, they eat it as main food The food culture is different between Japan and China.

At the party, a boy who is from Tochigi prefecture leaded us to cook Japanese type because Tochigi is famous for gyoza, and a Chinese woman taught us how to cook Chinese type. I had never cooked boiled gyoza, and also I had never cooked the wrapping sheets. I learned the way to wrap the boiled gyoza. It's very different from the way of grilled one, so it was really interesting for me.

At last, we ate them with white rice. It was really nice!! I should have brought my camera!! However, I had very good time there:D

Self Introduction

Hi! I'm Misaki Hasegawa. I'm a junior student.
I like eating but I'm not good at cooking.
My favorite food is chocolate.
My grandparent are farmer and they're growing rice. I've been helped the farmwork since I was a child. So I like rice and rice field! That's why I chose this title for this blog.