Archive for April, 2009

Takenoko

Written by: adekun on 26 April, 2009 10:56 pm - Filed under: food — No Comments »

Not usually found growing in the garden, bamboo shoots are harvested around this season. We were lucky to be given a sack this weekend. The preparation takes some time. Once the outer layers have been removed the shoots are boiled in nuka (rice bran) for about an hour. To remove the acrid taste, they should be left under a running tap overnight.

Plan It Green

Written by: adekun on 23 April, 2009 10:16 pm - Filed under: blog — 1 Comment »

To coincide with Earth Day yesterday, Merscom and National Geographic announced the upcoming release of Plan It Green an Environmentally Themed Building Sim.

• Transform Greenville from an eyesore, into a beautiful green city!
• Improve 8 neighborhoods across 45 levels!
• Upgrade your hometown with parks, eco-homes and environmental upgrades
• Build eco-friendly houses, stores and businesses
• Pick the latest eco-upgrades

Continue reading

Soft, smiley and not slender

Written by: adekun on 17 April, 2009 11:54 pm - Filed under: blog — 5 Comments »

Maya is now three months old. Although it seems she has been big for quite some time, the time has passed quickly. Something I’m very pleased about is that she seems a Daddy’s girl (certainly Daddy’s little girl). For me, there is longer the need to murmur “smile”. I’m already wondering how this will affect the future. She has sprouted a Mohawk tuft of hair and her eyes are still grey – for the moment at least. The はーはーは’s (ha-ha-ha) have already turned to ちゅぱーちゅぱーちゅぱ’s (chupa-chupa-chupa). It’s funny to hear she has adopted what seems to be a family trait; sleeping like a prostrate cactus.

Tags: maya

Potting mix #1

Written by: adekun on 15 April, 2009 7:27 pm - Filed under: garden — 2 Comments »

It’s probably too late to being messing around with seed trays. Anyhow, there are plenty of seeds to play with. So far I used old potting mix, recovered from old pots. It’s all gone. A small bag costs close to ￥1000. Instead, a more economical bag of vermiculite got muddled up in some free dirt. Continue reading

Tags: compost, garden

Green finger

Written by: adekun on 13 April, 2009 10:31 am - Filed under: blog — 18 Comments »

It’s inescapable that on my part, cookery needs full concentration. In reality, the tendency to undertake or at least start several different tasks at once doesn’t carry its self in the kitchen. The other week, I just thought I’d chop some thick broccoli stalks for the compost bin and keep an eye on Kento at the same time. I felt it roll and then my finger. It didn’t hurt, but it felt deep. Looking down I could see I had cut through the nail and some bone. Despite applying pressure, keeping my finger above my head and feeling a wally, it didn’t stop bleeding. Continue reading

My bag

Written by: adekun on 9 April, 2009 9:52 am - Filed under: blog — No Comments »

It is encouraging to see that more people are taking reusable bags with them when they go shopping. On the news this morning there was a feature highlighting the problems caused by this practise. One of the examples the presenter played out, was how much easier it is to stuff a large bag of senbei (rice crackers) into “my bag” than a zipped up handbag. I’m not sure what it was trying to achieve. Even out here, self checkout machines have been introduced.

Tags: news

Stressful hanami

Written by: adekun on 6 April, 2009 4:20 pm - Filed under: blog — 4 Comments »

The cherry blossom has been out a good week, which was a bad week weather wise. Late Sunday morning, the four of us met another couple of parties at a nearby park to sit and enjoy the sakura. Despite everyone else in the jumpers/jackets, I found it a hot day and was glad to settle down after quite a trek. This didn’t last long as Kento was particularly excited and wanted to race around the barbecue for the afternoon. This made tiring work with Maya tucked up in the sling.

Tags: japan, kento, maya, sakura