My Grandfather's Wake

My grandfather's memorial photo and an orange juice. 

We just arrived last night, but there is so much to do to get ready for my grandfather's wake tonight.  I am excited to see the rest of my family members, but I wish it weren't at the funeral home. 

Abiko Baptist Church

I brought my running clothes and sneakers with me, so I went for a 2 mile jog.  In the summer time, Tokyo gets so hot, but the mornings are very nice.  There isn't much traffic, so it is a great time to really look around and listen to the quiet, serene aspect of the city.  

On my jog back, I noticed a Baptist Church across from the train station.  It doesn't look new; It must have been there for some time, and I never noticed it...all the dozens of times we walked around.  I feel comfort as it reminds me of my home. I would like to go inside the church some day.

My uncle serving Japanese buttered toast

For breakfast, my family eats toast with butter. The bread is fantastic. My uncle, a retired president of an insurance company, is in charge of buttering the bread since he is the best at it. Service with a smile!  The butter comes from Hokkaido, and it is so creamy and delicious.  I wish I could bring a bar back home, but that's not possible.  Perhaps, I can get it on Amazon.

I also ate a slice of Japanese honeydew melon which tastes like honey.  

After breakfast, my cousin drove us to the store to pick up Buddhist prayer beads called juzu.  I am not Buddhist, so I am not sure of the significance of these, but I was glad to buy them as a memory of my grandfather.  We bought ours at the dollar store, but you can get some worth hundreds or thousands of dollars if you are a devout Buddhist.

trip to the store

Here's a goofy one of me trying to take a photo inside the car to our trip to the store. I always feel silly doing this, but later on, I enjoy these candid moments.

My cousin Reina is a collector, so she hangs charms and dolls in her car, and it kept getting bumping onto my head and distracting my photo shoot.  It's a little red bear that represents her home prefecture of Chiba. 

When we got home, we quickly got ready for the wake tonight.  The service is in Tokyo which is 1-2 hours away depending on traffic.  Everyone wears pitch black.  I remembered to bring a black suit, but not my pearls which was ok.  My mother was afraid that I would not bring the right clothes, so she brought me a black laced top which was so much better than what I brought, so "thank you, Mom!"  She has great taste in clothes.

My mom was not feeling good, so she decided she wanted to take the train in. My aunt went with her. My uncle drove us in his Prius and we got so delayed due to traffic, that I wished we had all taken the train in.  When we arrived at the funeral home, the reserved spot for our car was taken, so we were even more late than we should have been.  When we arrived, I gave quick hugs to my cousins, and we quickly viewed my grandfather in his coffin.  He's not in a casket, because he will be cremated in the box he's in. But, the box is beautiful. It looks like it is made of wood, perfectly fitted. The box is covered in a lacy white fabric and has a viewing window for his face.

Our family priest chanting the sutra

In Japan, a funeral (sōgi or sōshiki) includes a wake the night before, a funeral service, cremation, a burial of the urn in a family grave, and a periodic memorial service.

The guests are seated, with immediate relatives seated closest to the front. A Buddhist priest arrives like a bride at a western wedding, and we stand to greet him while he walks down the aisle.  I am so thankful that our family monk (who is now Chief Priest) could be scheduled for my grandfather's service.  I have known him since I was a child, so it's nice to have a warm feeling during this sad time.  He chants a section from a sutra. 

The funeral attendant came down the aisle in the middle of it, and brought over a table with incense in it.  We were then instructed to come up one-by-one, great the other side of the room by bowing, then  offer incense three times to the incense urn in front of the deceased. The wake ended once the priest had completed the sutra. 

Afterward, we thanked the priest and ate dinner together at the funeral home with the family.

My aunt, our Priest, and my mom after the wake

Sushi from the funeral home in Tokyo

A bittersweet reunion. My cousins and me. Tokyo July 2013

My flight to Tokyo

 JFK to NRT | July 2013

As soon as I got the phone call that my grandfather died, I prepared for my trip to Tokyo.  My husband was very supportive of my desire to attend his funeral even though it was halfway around the world.  I called my mom, who was arranging her own flight from LA, and asked her if I could come. I know it's weird, but even though I am almost 35, I still don't impose on my mother without permission.

I went to work and told my manager that I would probably leave the next day and use my vacation if needed.  He understood, too.  It's actually a very odd coincidence that we, as a family, had decided not to go to London this week to visit my sister-in-law.  The flights were booked solid.  Had I been on my way to London, I would not have received the message from my mother about her father's sudden death.

We prepared to leave from Charlottesville (CHO) Airport.  I was supposed to take the flight to Atlanta (ATL) and fly direct to Narita (NRT) International Airport in Japan. But when I arrived in the morning, there was no airplane to take me there. The weather was too bad the night before for the pilots to fly to Charlottesville. Fortunately, I was re-routed to LaGuardia (LGA) Airport in NYC. From there, I took a shuttle bus to JFK International Airport. Then, I took a direct flight to Japan.

It was a very long day, but you want to know what? I got upgraded to First-Class - Upper Deck, baby!

Delta's First Class / Upper Deck JFK to NRT | July 2013

I need not tell you how wonderful the upper deck is. The pod is almost completely private. It's like an office cubicle with everything you need within a hand's reach.  I was greeted with an offer to take my coat and a glass of champagne.  Then, I reclined and enjoyed the ride.  I watched the movie "Silver Lining" which is a comedy starring Bradley Cooper and the girl from The Hunger Games. I don't want to ruin the plot.  I will tell you that 1) I laughed out loud, and 2) it is rated R for maturity.

And what would be a good blog post (or part of my life) without a photograph of what I ate?  For lunch, the flight served Japanese Soba noodles with fresh fruit.  What a nice preview of my upcoming trip to see my family in Japan. Even though, it's a sad reason, it will still be wonderful to see those whom I love so much.

Oden with Japanese vegetables

Oden

Ingredients:

I packet, Oden soup mix by S&B ("oden no moto")
4 cups water
I bag, frozen japanese vegetables by Shirakiki
I pack, frozen fish cake ("chikua")cut on half diagonally
I pack, frozen fried bean curd ("abura age") each cut in half to make a pouch
I pack, shirataki yam noodles
Toothpicks

Instructions:

1. Boil a cup of water in small saucepan. Add tofu pouches and simmer for a minute or two. Strain and let cool.

2. Stuff each tofu pouch with shirataki and close off by lacing a toothpick through top.

3. Boil 4 cups water in large saucepan or wok.

4. Add oden soup mix.

5. Add frozen items and bring to a boil.

6. Add tofu pouches.

7. Lower heat and simmer for 20 min.

8. Serve warm with liquid.

*i like to add leftover boiled eggs when I can.

Clare and Don's Beach House

Fish tacos with rice & beans

My Aunt Pug took us to a great place called Clare And Don's Beach Shack in Falls Church, VA.

Fried Pickles (and my canned Corona)

We shared the fried pickles appetizer. My main entree was their Fish Tacos. $11.95. It's their most popular dish? And I can taste why! I cleaned the plate.

Outdoor seating area

The atmosphere was really cool.  There was a live band singing cover songs we could sing along with.  It really felt like we were at the beach...in the middle of Falls Church, VA!

-Ereina

Fish Sandwich At Martin's Grill

a tasty alternative to my favorite #16 filet o' fish meal at McDonald's at Martin's Grill, Charlottesville

Bacon & Potato Soup

 

Today's lunch is a modified version of Delicious Ham & Potato Soup from Allrecipes.com

My version was delicious!  I served with a side of fresh french baguette slices.

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups peeled and diced organic yellow potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3 slices bacon sliced into small pieces
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (I used a mix of skim milk & half-half for convenience)
shredded cheddar cheese for topping

Directions
1.Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, bacon and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2.In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3.Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through.
4.Serve immediately.  Garnish with cheddar cheese.

Ochazuke with Salted Salmon Flakes

When I do not know what to do for dinner, I use leftover cooked rice saved in the freezer.

One simple meal is leftover rice topped with hot water and packaged Nagatanien - Nori Chazuke (rice soup seaweed seasoning) 0.85 Oz. .  For an extra special treat, I add salted salmon flakes on top.

I buy my Japanese items and fish locally at Seafood at West Main in Charlottesville, Virginia.

All of my girls love this dish.

Hot Soba with Scallion, Carrot & Potato Tempura

I made traditional soba with tempura "kakiage" for New Year's Eve using the directions from the following YouTube video by cookingwithdog.

 I did not follow her directions completely, as I used the vegetables I had in my refrigerator to produce my version.

 Charlottesville residents: I purchased almost everything locally! I shopped at Foods of All Nations to get the specialty ingredients:

Kikkoman Memmi Noodle Soup Base
JFC Buckwheat Noodle Soba with Yam
Sushi Nori (for garnish)

 It took about an hour to prepare, but I estimate that I spent only $10 to feed my family of five tonight!

Copycat Bang Bang Shrimp

 This recipe was found at Food.com, and it is now a family favorite!

This is my adapted version after several tries:

Ingredients:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Mae Ploy Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
5 drops Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
1 lb raw shrimp (60-80ct), shelled, tailed, & deveined
1/2 cup cornstarch

Directions:
1.In small saucepan, combine mayo and both chili sauces together.  Keep warm on very low heat.
2.Coat shrimp with cornstarch.
3.Deep fat fry the shrimp for only a few minutes.
4.Transfer hot shrimp to mayo/chili mix. Coat quickly.
5.Serve in a lettuce lined bowl, top with chopped scallions.

I purchased every ingredient at my local Wal-Mart (chili sauces in the Asian Foods section).  The two bottles will be a year's investment, and it cost me only $6 for both bottles.

My homemade copy bang bang shrimp costs about $6 for 1lb of shrimp.  Bonefish is about $9 for 1/2 the amount.

Still...I do enjoy the real thing when our family goes for special dinners.  The Tilapia with Lemon Butter sauce is our favorite!!!  I doubt I can replicate that dish!!