Kamakura (Nicki)

This Sunday got off to a rough start but, ended up being a lot of fun. Mike wanted to go to Tokyo and snap some photos but we were both debating on whether or not we wanted to head out early, take the hour + long trip, stay for 2-3 hours then head back for Josh's nap time. We decided against it and instead did a shorter trip to Kamakura. We forgot however, that this Sunday was pretty much the last day that folks had to celebrate the New Year. It was packed but we braved the crowds and had a blast.

The vendors were out in full force which gave us an opportunity to try all kinds of new foods. Instead of stopping for lunch somewhere, we just bought small things from vendors as we fought our way to the shrine at the end of the street. We started by sampling some mochi (A Japanese confection most of the time consisting of sweet beans and rice paste. Click on the word if you want more info) then tried some sort of crispy pancake, followed by a sausage on a stick, BBQ teriyaki chicken on a stick, and some candied fruits. I especially loved the candied fruits and one of these days I will find a recipe for these. They have candied grapes. They are about the largest grapes that I've seen, dipped in a grape flavor candy coating. Because strawberries are in season here in Japan, they also had candied strawberries. I enjoyed these but I think that my favorite is the grapes. Sometimes the grape vendor is out and sometimes he's not. We got lucky this visit.

Japanese strawberries are some of the best strawberries that I've had in my life. They are smaller than Discoll's strawberries from the States but they are so much sweeter. When they are very ripe, they fill the whole refrigerator with their very frangrant smell. They don't make it very long in my refrigerator. In fact, most likely 2 days after I've picked them up at the market, they've been inhaled. No sugar needed for these puppies. Late January through late Februrary is peak season for Japanese strawberries. They grow them in doors. In fact, there's a place in Nagano where you can go to pick strawberries. Apparently, we pay I think about 1600 yen ($16.00 roughly) and we have 30 minutes to pick and eat as many strawberries as we can. On a popular strawberry farm webpage, they state that some people have been known to eat 100 strawberries in those 30 minutes. Anyway, it's something that Mike, Josh and I may try to experience!

I suppose by this post, you can tell I LOVE food. It may be my downfall....but I am thinking of adding a link to a site where I can post all the recipes that I've tried lately. Not only for viewers but mostly for my reference as it is easier to find a recipe that's been blogged than it would be to go searching for that magazine clipping. I've been using several recipes in a new book that I received for Christmas. Barbara and Clint, thank you again for the Nigella Lawson Cookbook "Nigella Bites". This is the first book that I own of hers and I'm loving it. I like her style of writing and have really enjoyed most of the recipies that I've tried. I heard of her several years back when I saw her show for the first time. I really enjoyed her personality. Then a year went by and I saw her on the Oprah show making Hot Choco Pots (I think that's the name of it) anyway, ever since I tried that recipe, it's become a staple dessert in our home. The recipe card that I have for it is very well "loved" with chocolate and grease spots on it. Most of her recipes are simple but Oh so good! Seems as though she's been a hit in the UK (where she's from) for a long time now.