homemade fermented sweet rice for the Lunar New Year

1-13--26- 2025 

FERMENTATION and BAKING ---   Chinese fermented sweet rice |  Swedish limpa rye bread

sweet rice liquor from home fermentation 

steaming sweet rice  45 minutes

 600g  rice, 12g yeast, 300g water 

in fermentation box 86 degree 

day one 

day three 

home baked limpa bread 

DINNERS ---  sauteed Chinese celery with winter bamboo and bean curd | hot pot | scrambled eggs with yellow chives | simmered Chinese eggplant with fermented black bean sauce | sauteed Chinese long beans |  Chinese hand pulled noddles in beef broth with braised beef and mustard greens | pork short ribs steamed in crashed rice and five spices | pasta with baby squid and bitter melon | provincal garlic sage soup with poached egg and toasted bread | peppermint chocolate pastry 

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concert Mozart Piano Concerto no. 20 

first snow, first good movie of the year

1-02--12-2025

 DINNES ---  ( at Kumiko's ) Japanese new year dinner: sake, rice cake soup with greens, burdock and lotus root ,  braised root vegetables, shrimp, fish cake, braised pork,  12-h simmered sweet Hokkaido black beans || ( take-out ) pizza : tomato and artichoke || home cooking: Chinese hotpot with sliced lamb, fish balls, leafy vegetables, varieties of tofu, and mushrooms | broiled lamb chop | lentils with celery and roasted red pepper |sauteed  bitter melon with tomato | stir-fried threaded daikon with green onion | stir-fried rice with kale and bacon | baked Japanese sweet potato fries | chive flowers and smoked tofu | sauteed Chinese long beans | steamed shao-mai |  home baked walnut bread 

Kumiko's new year set 

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  *** 

 "Brutalist"  at  AFI 

intermission 

Japanese New Rice, Mexican Dried Chilies to welcome the New Year

12-31-2024 --01-01-2025

HOLIDAY PRESENTS from Family

new rice from Japan 

art ceramics from Mexico 

Wounaan Werregue palm basket from Colombia 

NEW YEARS EVE DINNER --- Ochazuke with polished new rice, dashi, pickled plum, roasted seaweed, pickled tiny fish, salmon flakes, wasabi | parboiled winter greens | Oden with fish cake, fried tofu, taro root, daikon, mountain yam  

NEW YEARS DAY --- home baked cinnamon roll bread | homemade Mexican chili sauces: Oaxacan Pasilla salsa, Guajillo garlic salsa , arbol tomato salsa  |  simmered black beans with Coyoacan dark chocolate spices | home baked whole wheat flat bread | spicy braised pork | caramelized onion | fried eggs | cilantro and pomegranate