January 1, 2015

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day/大晦日と元旦

On New Year's Eve, we had soba for supper, among others. Such soba is called toshikoshi soba (lit. year-crossing buckwheat noodles). My wife and I had this bottle of Nama Zake (Raw Sake) from Aoki Shuzo.
大晦日(おおみそか)には、夕飯に蕎麦などを食べました。このような蕎麦を年越しそばと言います。私は妻と、青木酒造のこの生酒(なまざけ)を飲みました。

On New Year's Day, we had a late breakfast, which included a nimono (simmered dish) made by my wife yesterday, and
元旦には、遅い朝食を食べました。妻が昨日作った煮物と、
humble osechi.
質素な御節(おせち)。  
My wife remarked, "It' no use posting a photo (of such humble store-bought osechi)", but I dismissed her remark. My intention here in my blog is to show our everyday life no matter how humble it may be.
妻が「(そんな市販の質素な御節の)写真を載せても意味がない」と言いましたが、私は無視しました。このブログの目的は、どんなに質素だろうと、私たちの日常の生活を見せることだからです。

Naturally, we also had ozoni.
もちろん、お雑煮も食べました。
Salmon is a required ingredient here in the Uonuma region of Niigata.
新潟の魚沼地方では、鮭は絶対に必要な具材です。

At lunchtime, I had another sake, Hakkaisan.
昼食には、別のお酒、八海山を飲みました。


18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting the photos! No matter how everyday they are, I find the posts very interesting. As I'm reading these posts, I get a calm and comforting feeling, as if I was keeping in touch with an old friend: discussing sake or preparing mushrooms for everyday dishes. I love Japan, but I've only briefly lived in Tokyo, and my experience about everyday life in other cities - with a family - are rather non-existent. I'm glad I found this blog and hope you have the time to share a glimpse of your life in 2015 as well. Excuse me for not commenting earlier and Happy New Year!

- Laura

Hiroyuki said...

Laura: Thank *you* for your comment! I hope you stay tuned to my posts even if they may sometimes be too humble to read (laugh)!

Nona said...

Glad to find your blog Hiroyuki. Happy New Year!

Hiroyuki said...

Nona: Thanks for your comment. Happy New Year!

Cate said...

It is wonderful to see your "humble" New Year meal - to me it looks so delicious and real-life (not something made up just for glamour). I agree with Laura - I always find your blog so comforting, like I am really sharing some Japanese family life - like an online 'home stay' :)
I hope the snow has cleared away a bit - here in southwest Australia it has never so snowed, so for me your photos look quite marvellous! It is going to be 39 degrees Celsius here today so your photos make me feel cool ;)
Happy New Year to you and your family and I look forward to sharing your humble stories for a long time to come.

Hiroyuki said...

Cate: Thank you for your comment.

Well, actually, I was thinking of changing the writing style here in my blog. Thanks to you and Laura, now I think I should stick to the present style.

Anonymous said...

If the meal fills your heart and belly, it's not one to be considered humble. Happy New Year. Thanks for sharing.

Hiroyuki said...

Anonymous: You're right, but I have to say that our osechi are humble by the present-day Japanese standards...

Tea Apprentice said...

Normal life is what I too like to learn from your blog. Thank you for always sharing with us! Happy New Year!

Hiroyuki said...

Tea Apprentice: Thanks! Happy New Year!

Sissi said...

Happy New Year, Hiroyuki! You know that nothing you post seems humble to us, Japanese cuisine lovers; and anyway, as other visitors have already said, what we appreciate about your blog is the everyday food style (on the other hand, I often envy you a lot even everyday meals, at least from the point of view of ingredients I can only dream of!).

I'm very curious about the sake... I must say that during my trips to Japan I was very shy about drinking sake because I don't know much about it... I know I prefer dry sake (like dry wine), but I wouldn't be able to appreciate without learning more. Maybe next time I go to Japan! Meanwhile I keep on buying shochu... much easier to appreciate (though not cheap here alas).

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: あけましておめでとうございます!

As for ingredients, we are even because I am curious about some of the ingredients you show in your blog, like quark.

As for sake, most brands produced in Niigata are described as tanrei karakuchi たんれいからくち 淡麗辛口, roughly, "light and dry". I hope you enjoy some of them during your next trip to Japan!

Yangsze said...

Happy new year! I love reading your blog and hope you keep blogging :)

Hiroyuki said...

Yangsze: Happy New Year! Thanks for your kind words!

Kiki said...

あけまして おめでとう ございます!
Many thanks for posting so many interesting recipes.

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: あけましておめでとうございます! 今年もよろしくお願いします。

I first mistook you for someone else. You are now displayed as Kiki, not Fräulein Trude(?).

okasan said...

あけましておめでとうございます。今年も宜しくお願いします!
I agree with everybody that we all enjoy reading your everyday humble meals! I guess not too many people are making their own おせちany more. Each food item has a specific meaning. Do the osechi come in a set or you can pick and choose?
Niigata must be a popular place for skiers with the large amount of snowfall. My home-stayed students from last summer are going on a ski trip in Niigata.

Hiroyuki said...

okasan: あけましておめでとうございます!

You can buy an osechi set, or you can just buy the individual osechi that you like. Some osechi sets are very expensive, 20,000-30,000 yen or even higher.

Yes, Niigata is a very popular destination for many skiers!