March 26, 2014

Quietly Enthusiastic Day

今日は家で仕事なので、窓の外を眺めながらちゃぶ台でお昼。
風が強いみたいで、裏の家の向こうにある木の梢がゆれている。
青空の遠くの方にぼんやり白い点の飛行機が飛んでいるのが見える。
裏の家の向こうの木はずい分背が高くなった。
ここに越してからそろそろ5年が経つからなぁ。
私達の知らないところで、木も日々成長してるのね。

Japanese leftover lunch. Miso soup w/ root veggies & half-milled rice w/ a plum pickle.


私が昨日オフィスに出ている間に主人が材料の麻布を全部洗濯しておいてくれたので、今日は他の仕事を朝からできた。布地は量があると結構重いしかさばるので、感謝。







私の仕入れている麻はヨーロッパで作られている。色つきの方は先染めで縦糸と横糸の色が違うせいで色に起伏というか微妙な色合いがあり、とても美しい。糊のついた真新しい状態だと、まるでシルクみたい。

買ったばかりの麻のハリと光沢のある感じも好きだけど、私の商品は子供用品や日用品になるので、まず洗って先に縮めます。こうしておけば、お客さんが洗った時に縮んで形が大幅にくずれたりすることを防げるから。でも、糊がとれてちょっとしわになった麻もラフでカジュアルな親しみやすさがあって好き。麻は大好きな素材です。

さ、今日は休憩もかねて、これからずっと作りたかったレモン・バーに挑戦。
仕事で座っていることが多いので、キッチンで動くのはいい気分転換なのです。
おいしく焼けるかな?


March 24, 2014

Slow Saturday, Artsy Sunday

SATURDAY • 3/22/2014

Leftover lunch bowl.
Itadakimasu.

Photographed and listed more linen
pot holders at my shop in the after noon. 




 SUNDAY • 3/23/2014


Went to The Noguchi Museum for a kids' art class with my daughter.
Though this is geared for children, taking Harumi's classes reminds me of my days at art school; the days we always created and critiqued our work. It's a great exercise of the brain to observe Noguchi's work and Harumi always helps us to look at them in different perspectives.

Today's subject was akari - light - as Noguchi's work sometimes incorporated paper and light.

This is what I made:


I expressed my mind forest.
As a young child in Japan in the 70's, reading thick volumes of original Grimm Brothers' stories was very exotic, it felt like wondering in the dark, but mesmerizing woods. The images and the feel is still vivid today and trees and woods are among my favorite motifs to draw.

In this one, I replaced the LED provided in the class
with a orange-ish flickering light. I like the cozy feel.

I was pretty tired, but Kiliko helped me with the dinner.
She was so proud of her sausage spaghetti - delicious.

March 9, 2014

Leftovers

I've been making some pot holders using leftover fabric from my bib making. I love making use of things otherwise can be trashed. All you need is a little imagination to turn things into useful things for your life.







 

Talking of leftover, my standby lunch is often something I whip up from whatever I have in the kitchen, like the one in the photo at the bottom. In this, I topped rice with avocado slices, shredded chicken breast meat and nori seaweed, then drizzled it with Asian-inspired dressing I learned from a friend (I changed it a little). You can omit the chicken or add slices of abura-agé (fried tofu, available in Japanese grocery stores) - dry sautée it to make it crispy - to make it vegetarian.


Asian Dressing:

3 Tbsp.  soy sauce
3 Tbsp.  lemon juice
2 teasp.  finely chopped or minced ginger
2 teasp.  finely chopped or minced garlic
4-5 Tbsp.  oil (neutral flavored oil like canola, grapeseed, etc.)

This dressing goes well with salads, fish, chicken, and lean parts of pork.

Little tip on poaching chicken breast: Use a heavy duty pot with a lid like Le Cruiset, place the breasts in one part water & one part sake (so the chicken is barely covered) with some ginger slices & a stem of scallion. Cover and bring it to boil then lower heat to simmer for 20 min. Turn off heat and cool the chicken in the broth. I think sake & cooling the meat in its broth make the meat tender and moist. Serve with your favorite sauce or dressing. (Save the broth - it's a nice chicken stock - to use in soups.)

Enjoy!


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