Cooking and Bento

I think a few entries back I talked about cooking. Well, I’m going to talk about it some more, so I hope you have a snack in hand!

The first year I ever lived alone I dropped a significant amount of weight. Most of it problem had to do with the fact that I was a broke exchange student who could barely afford to buy the mushy head of cabbage on sale, but a lot of it also was because I had no idea what I was doing. Some of my more notorious lunches at home in San Diego consisted of an entire box of Mac N’ Cheese, or baby carrots with peanut butter and Poptarts, or a whole can of Bush’s Baked Beans-I want my retroactively throttle myself too. Suffice to say, my year abroad taught me how to cook on a budget. A very tight budget.

Now that I actually have a salary, I’m a bit more lax about paying extra for good produce (except the $30 watermelons), and since New Year I have made a conscious effort to up the ante on my diet.

I’m proud to say that my meat consumption has dropped, I seldom eat any sort of refined or processed foods, and sugary snacks are a thing of the past. Occasionally I DO get a craving, and I will usually go with it. Thing is, my body feels better for it. I also haven’t gotten sick nearly as often as I did in the years past, despite working with diseased teenagers.

Last week, while perusing a department store’s going out of business sale, I decided to treat myself to a new bento box (They wanted $19, I got it for $11!). I have since used it every day to pack myself a yummy, healthy lunch that is devoid of the fried, greasy and mayonnaise laden foods typically found in my school’s purchaseable lunch order.

This is shrimp, so not meatless. It was an unusual bento day.

 Cooking in a Japanese kitchen is not without its challenges; I have approximately 2 square feet of countertop. It’s just big enough to put a cutting board on. I have 2 gas burners, one of which is designed to turn itself off if it thinks you are cooking too long. Cookies, cakes, brownies and all things baked are done in my convection oven that doubles as a microwave. I didn’t have a toaster until recently, so all toasting was carried out by the fish broiler. My crockpot has been a godsend (Thanks, mom!) and I used it a lot this winter for all sorts of things. 

Oh, remember what I said about meat? I meant it when I said I consumed less, although that’s also because the cuts of meat available here are pretty limited. No turkey, and no lamb. It’s a cruel world. Tons of pork, however I’m not a huge fan of pork, and beef is extortionate. What’s an omnivore to do?

My roommate and I decided to make an order with “The Meat Guy”, an online English meat seller. They are a bit pricey, but the quality and selection is fantastic. We ordered a 3kg (6 lbs) “Mystery Box” and crossed our fingers.

I was pleasantly surprised! There was only 1 item that I think may have to be given away-and that was beef tendon. Unless…anyone have ideas for cooking tendon? The rest of the stuff was exciting: beef tongue, 6 pork chops, 2 kinds of sausage meat, 3 all-beef sausage links, a rack of spare ribs, a crocodile leg, ground camel, and ground kangaroo.

No one sells buns either, so we made do with a baguette.

What to do with Roo? Simple. Meatloaf, my dear friends! Oh my, were we the talk of the staff room when we brought that in! And then we made some Roo burgers to finish it off. Yum yum!

Spring, Sakura, and Pre-Industrial Revolution Heating Standards

 After a longer-than-intended hiatus, and some threats made by my Grandmother over my lack of updates, I’m back!

Spring has sprung here in the Kanto area. Clothes hung out to dry now do so in one day instead of two, my electric blanket has stayed off for a while now, I can no longer see my breath inside my apartment, and the sakura had their week or so of beauty before littering the ground with pink.

He enjoyed the "Blossom Parties" a bit too much....

Spring Break was rather lackluster this year. In 2012, my mom and brother came out and their visit relieved me of a lot of boredom. This year, my housemate flew back home for week, no one visited, and there was nothing to occupy my mind except pictures of cats in Halloween costumes and other treasure troves of the internet.

I sneaked out for long lunches almost daily-at least, on the days when the weather was nice. It rained a lot this March, shortening the life of the sakura, and giving me a case of cabin fever every time I went to the office. You see, teachers don’t actually get Spring Break off here. Despite having nothing to do, if I wanted to take time off I would have to use my vacation time. All fine and dandy, except I need those days to escape the unbearable heat of the summer and visit home again! 

It was hard. I fought a tough battle on the brink of insanity. I prevailed. A few days of good weather managed to be snagged, and picnics were enjoyed before eventually being rained out.

The best part about spring isn’t the new school year and the excitement (read:panic) of new classes, but is in fact the realization that I no longer have to have bubble wrap taped to my windows, nor do I have to brave the cold and bike to the gas station to fill up a container of kerosene for my heater.

Behold, the holy grail of heating

I kid you not. These are Japanese heating methods. Yes, the country that has one of the most efficient public transportation systems in the world, the country that churns out robots and levitating vacuums and coffee makers that do your taxes-it really, really sucks at efficient heating methods.

Every window I have ever seen in a private residence has been single pane and poorly fitted. My own window has a draft along the top seal, and I stuffed it full of bubble wrap and tape last autumn. It helped a little, I think, but the heat loss is incredible.

There is also little-to-no insulation between the walls, and central heating unheard of outside of hotel rooms. Instead, the most cost effective way to heat an area is via a kerosene heater. I’m used to it now, and in some ways the smell of a kerosene heater is becoming positively associated in my brain with warmth and comfort, but there’s still the worry of, say, carbon monoxide poisoning. And random explosions. Always the explosions.

My personal favorite piece of heating is the kotatsu. It’s genius, really. It’s a low wooden table with an electric heater built into the underside, topped with a quilt. Many lazy afternoons and evenings have been spent snuggled under its warmth watching Dr. Who. People have been using this system of heat source+blanket for centuries, but it didn’t make the switch from coal to electricity until mid 20^th century. In the dead of winter, I find myself thinking how awesome it would be to take a kotatsu home, and then it hits me: Central heating will trump any necessity for a kotatsu. 

Look at these hipsters, being all warm and insulated.

Ah, well, until next winter, dear kotatsu.

Kotatsu Kitty's hobbies include: eating tangerines, drinking crappy beer, and catching colds
from napping under those fuzzy blankets

 p.s. When asked about why Japan has all this cool technology but never applies it efficiently, the answer was, “Japanese people don’t want life to be too easy. We would feel bad otherwise”. Take that to mean what you will!