The temperature in Yokohama had dropped since we enter the middle of October. No more T-shirts but sweatshirts with thick socks are comfy. I love this season but the temperature shifts are more dramatic than the pass, Japan use to be a country with gradual temperature shifts, the autumn or the spring was more gradual and we enjoyed it more.

横浜の気温がいきなり冬めいてきた１０月後半。先日まで半袖だったのに、気がつけば、スエットと暖かな靴下が丁度いい季節。最近の季節は目まぐるしく、春と秋が短い気がするのは気のせい？あのゆったりの季節を味わう感じが恋しいです。

I went to pick-up my usual organic veggies on Oct 18. The picture above was what I got. Water spinach, Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), fresh ginger, pumpkin, turnips and winter melon.

10月18日に再び、お野菜の回収へ。今回は写真の通りのセレクション。大きな冬瓜がズシリと重く、寄り道せずにまっすく帰宅。

Did you know that winter melon is named that way because it can be kept till winter? Winter melon is a summer vegetable so I was wondering why it was named “winter”. So this round bomb like veggies can be kept into winter… I see.

冬瓜って夏野菜なのになんで「冬」って名前なんだろうって思っていたのですが、冬まで日持ちすると言う意味で冬瓜なんですね。へ〜なるほど〜。

Winter melon are mostly water and this moisture cools your body heat therefore it’s really good eaten during hot summer time. In Japan it is often simmered in Japanese broth and then chilled to served cold as an appetizer. Sounds good during the hot summer days but unfortunately we are entering winter so I’ve decided to make it as a soup.

夏は冷たくお浸し的に冷やして食べるのもアリですが、季節は冬へ向かう訳で暖かく頂きたい。私の実家では冬瓜は必ずスープとしていただいていました。父がチキンライスを作るの上手で付け合わせのスープの必ず冬瓜が入っています。おいし鶏ガラスープをたっぷり吸い込んだ冬瓜の美味しい事。なので、私はスープ以外の使い道を知らないのです。（もうスープ一本で良いんじゃね、とさえ思っている（笑））

In my childhood, winter melons where always served in a soup. My dad was really good at making Thai style chicken rice and he will always make a soup with winter melon to accompany the dish. Winter melons were simmered in a chicken broth with some ginger and scallion until it is transparent and we will just add some salt, and pepper to taste. This day, I didn’t have any chicken broth so I simmered winter melon with some ginger, scallions, daikon, dried mushrooms and some chicken balls. The ingredients were simmered until everything comes together and I added some salt, pepper and topped with some coriander. We enjoyed it as a soup the first night and I pour the soup over the rice for lunch on the next day.

そんな訳で、やってきた冬瓜はまずスープ仕立てに。鶏ガラがなかったので、鶏つくねに大根、ネギ、生姜、干し椎茸と言ったお野菜とコトコト煮ました。当日はスープとして、翌日は冷や飯にかけておじや風に。お腹がホコホコ温まり食べた後心地よかったなぁ。

For the turnips, I pickled the small ones in the salted rice malt with its leaves. As you can see, the top part of the turnip is pink and I wanted to enjoy the color so decided to pickle it. The large one was thinly sliced and marinated with chickpea and enjoyed as a salad on the other day.

今回頂いた、かぶが妙に可愛いのです。上の部分がほんのりピンク色。しかも小さいの。なんとなく、その色合いを活かしたく、塩麹漬けにしました。味わいが濃くで美味しく、かぶの葉も凄く美味しくってびっくり。かぶの葉もたまに漬けるのですが、今回のかぶの菜葉がピカイチ美味しかった。あと、大きめのかぶスライサーで薄ーく切って、ひよこ豆とサラダに。かぶの辛味とひよこ豆のほくほくした味が対照的で美味しかった。

On October 23, I received another batch of veggies from my mom in law. I boiled the leafs, peeled the bruised turnips and turn them into soups, and the rest was pickled as soon as I got them.

10月23日別便で義母より野菜が届く。かぶ、小松菜など。このお野菜は有機栽培では無く、肥料も使っている所なので、その日のうちで下処理。（有機野菜は日持ちが良いのですが、他の野菜はケースバイケースですが、傷みやすい。水っぽい野菜は溶けるし。。）かぶは痛んでいる子は皮を剥いて擦り流し風のスープ。あとは漬物へ。茹でた野菜は半分その日のうちに、もう半分はタッパーで冷蔵。

I marinated the greens with olive oil and dressed with balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and salt. I wanted some texture and found some burdock in the fridge so sliced them thinly and deep fried them like a potato chips. I lightly salted them and topped it on the greens. I didn’t want to mix them so you can enjoy its taste separately or together according to your mood. Burdock have an earthy nutty taste which I really love and gives a good contrast to the refreshing green veggies.

かぶの菜葉の方を頂いた日のうちに調理。野菜はオリーブオイルで和え、塩、醤油、バルサミコ酢で下味。冷蔵に牛蒡があったので、素揚げして、軽く塩をしてふわりとトッピング。混ぜても良かったのですが、それぞれの味を楽しみつつ、最後にあえて、２度美味しい感じでいただきたかったので。

I also received a bag of newly harvested rice. In Japan we call this Shin-Mai, which translates as New(Shin) Rice(Mai)! Around October is a harvest season for new rice and Japan only harvest rice once a year, so this is very special moment for the Japanese. There is a phrase call “Shokuyoku no Aki” which translates as “Autumn is for pleasing your appetite” and everything seems to taste richer during this season but I personally think this phrase was made because it is the best season for the rice.

そうそう、そして、新米も頂いたの。義母の実家は新潟県。南魚沼市の方。なので毎年、新米の季節のなると親戚の方がお米を送ってくれるのである！美味しいお米さえあれば、もうおかずはシンプルで良いよね。

When the rice is good you don’t need much. Just some pickles, soup and veggies will do so this was how our meal looked that day. Pan fried konnyaku (a root pureed into a jelly like blocks) with garlic and chili, kabocha pumpkin simmered in dashi broth ( I over cooked it), turnip potage soup with some pickles (& and that salad I mentioned above). Almost plant based meal but was very satisfying.

なので、その日の食卓は野菜中心にしました。かぼちゃに崩しちゃったけどあとはok〜。ご飯美味しい〜。

On the another day, I still had some winter melon left and wanted to try something new, I simmered it with pork ribs and added the clams just before it was done. It’s a Taiwanese recipe and needs more adjusting but the pork and the clam broth was really delicate. (It was very good the next day.) I should re-do this recipe when the clams are more tastier in springtime.

それとこれは別の日。冬瓜がまだ残っていて、いつもと違う物が作りたく、台湾の料理本から豚軟骨、アサリのスープってのを作りました。本通りに作ったのですが、味が決まらない。ふーむ。あさりの味が弱かったのかな。でも翌日、出汁がグーっと出て、美味しかった。これは改善せねば。でも海と陸の合わせ出汁は美味しい。

I stir fried the water spinach with some minced pork and garlic, the dish that I grew up with. These organic water spinach’s stem was so tough, I had to smash it with the knife to loosen the fibers. Added some rice wines and oyster sauce and it was really good. Crunchy!

有機栽培の空芯菜は（前回も思ったのですが）ものすごく力強い。茎が硬い！！なので、今回は包丁で茎の繊維を叩き潰し（笑）、ひき肉と炒め物にしました。酒、ニンニク、オイスターソース、醤油など少しづつ足して、しっかり炒めてクテっとさせました。すると、まぁ、箸が止まらない一品に。シャキシャキ歯応えがありました。

So this is it for today’s post. Overall, the cookings are more winter-like and can’t wait to cook more soup and hotpot next month. Oh, and if the Chinese cabbage gets sweeter, I’ll definitely will start making kimchi!!

とりあえず10月はこんな感じで一気に冬になってしまった。夏野菜らしい物も食卓からいなくなり、スープとか鍋が恋しい季節へと。来月は何を作ろうかしら、またお野菜と睨めっとしながら決めたと思います。あと、そうそう、白菜が甘くなって来たらキムチも作りたいね。また来月もよろしくお願いいたします。