Last week I got a sad email from Mr. Hori’s daughter, Susan.  Mr. Hori passed away at the age of 95.  My heart goes out to his children, Susan and Robert.  They took such good care of him and he always told me how proud he was of them.  Mr. Hori was such a vibrant, kind and wonderful man.  I will surely miss him.

On my blog, I wrote about my friendship with Mr. Hori.   Over tea and lunch, we spent hours talking about his youth and  life growing up in Seattle’s Japan Town during the 1930′s and 40′s and beyond.  As a Japanese American from Hawaii, I learned so much about the history of the Japanese immigrants who came to the Pacific Northwest.  You can read the series here:  Mr. Hori and The Panama Hotel – a Nisei Story.  His story is unique, in that it is the setting for the best selling fiction novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.  But, his is a true story,  a part of our Japanese American heritage and I am forever grateful to Mr. Hori for sharing his stories to me.

According to Susan, “age had taken its toll and he had slowed down considerable, but was still able to go out and do things.  ”  In March, Susan and Robert brought him back to Seattle for the Kagoshima Kenjin Kai event.  At the same time, they visited the Panama Hotel Tea Room. ” The hotel was actually granted National Landmark status in 2006, but the government didn’t get around to presenting the plaque until 2012. The National Register plaque that had been given to Jan Johnson, the current owner, designating the hotel and Japanese baths as a historical monument. ” Here is the article:  Panama Hotel Receives National Historic Landmark Recognition

How wonderful that he was able to see the Panama Hotel as a Historic Landmark!

Susan wrote, “ Last weekend, he went out to dinner with my brother to celebrate Boy’s Day and had a large Japanese meal, including a shot of shochu.  The next morning, however, he said that he was too tired to get out of bed and then later in the day developed a fever.  We had a nurse come to see him and she gave him medication to lower his temperature, but his body just gave up the fight and he passed away on Monday.  It was very quick, unexpected, and fortunately he was in no pain.  And frankly, it was what he wanted.  Over the last 6 months, he increasingly said that he wanted to join my mother.   I was at home with him when he passed away.  We will miss him very much. ”

Thanks to Susan and Robert for allowing me to share their precious stories of their time with their father.  Thank you Mr. Hori.

We will all miss this special man too.

Dr. Hsu will be teaching Form School Feng Shui this June in Seattle and in the Ukraine.  This is a great chance for those interested in Form School feng shui, chi energy, Chinese philosophy and how to live in harmony with nature.  I know I always rave about this, but it really changed my life!  It has affect many aspects from how I see things to even my actions.  By nature, I am a worrier.  I used to worry a lot about the little things, but to me at the time, they weren’t little.   But over time, through Dr. Hsu’s teachings, it has helped me to see the bigger picture and I am more comfortable in my skin.  Having a different perspective in life can be a wonderful experience.  If you have the opportunity to take even one class, I encourage you to do so.

Seattle, Washington

Class dates:  June 22, 2013  - July 1, 2013

June 22, 2013 (Saturday) (FS101) Form School Feng Shui I — Environmental Living Space Design with Chi Energy and Natural Principle

June 23, 2013 (Sunday) Yin-Yang Theory—The Fundamental of Natural Law

June 24, 2013 (Monday) Form School Feng Shui II–Chi Energy Design for an Ideal House

June  25, 2013 (Tuesday) Five Element Theory—The Law of Dynamic Transformation

June 26, 2013  (Wednesday) Business Success with Chi Energy and Natural Law

June 27, 2013 (Thursday) Signs and Symbols –Tapping into Secret of Natural and Human World.

June 28, 2013 (Friday) Feng Shui Case Study and Field Trip

June 29, 2013 (Saturday) Landscape and Garden Design

June 30, 2013 (Sunday) Feng Shui Remedy

Each Class is from 9:00 a. m. – 5:00 p. m. with a one hour lunch break.  Lunch will be provided.

Tuition: $180.00 per class

For those interested in becoming a Feng Shui Consultant please see the Feng Shui Consultant Certification Program

Crimea, Ukraine

Date:  June 7, 2013 – June 16, 2013

International Mastery Program in Russian

Dr. Hsu and I will be travelling to Crimea for this Mastery Program.  As I have never been to the Ukraine, I am so excited!  It will be great to meet many of his students and consultants who share the same passion!  I look forward to blogging about this experience.

For more information on these programs please visit:  Blue Mountain Feng Shui Institute

Now, you may be wondering why I have this piroshky recipe on my blog?  How did the Japanese come across piroshky?

Growing up in Tokyo, every Sunday, our family went to mass at the Franciscan Chapel Center in Roppongi.  This is an English-speaking Roman Catholic parish where most attended.  Now, being of Japanese descent, my grandparents were Buddhists, as were my parents.  But, during the 1950′s, my parents converted to Catholicism.  In the ’70′s the international parish at the church was so warm and welcoming and my mother made wonderful friends over the years.  The church also had fundraisers and various events whereby everyone volunteered their talents and services.  One of the Russian ladies on the committee shared her recipe for the church bazaar.  They had to make hundreds of these as they were so delicious and always sold out.  This is my mother’s adapted version for family use and makes 32 piroshky.  At first I thought, that’s a lot of piroshky for one family….well, I guess everything is relative.  I made it for our boys with the idea of sharing with my neighbors, but that never happened because they ate it all so quickly!  So, thanks to the Russian ladies at the church and yes us Japanese like piroshky too!

Lily’s Piroshky Recipe

 

Author: Jenny Nakao Hones

Recipe type: bread

Cuisine: Russian

Prep time:  1 hour 30 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  1 hour 50 mins

Print

Adapted by Lily for family use to yield about 32 large pieces of delicious Russian meat filled buns.

Ingredients

• DOUGH
• 4 Tbsp. yeast
• 1 /2 cup warm water
• _________________
• 8 to 10 cups flour (I used 8 cups)
• 4 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 – 6 Tbsp. vegetable. Oil (I used 4)
• 3 cups milk
• FILLING
• 2 round onions, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 to 4 pounds lean ground beef
• 4 – 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Instructions

1. Dough
2. In small ceramic or glass bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand 11minutes.
3. In a large bowl, place flour, sugar, salt, eggs, oil, milk and yeast mixture, adding flour if too sticky until dry ingredients are blended in and a ball shape is formed.
4. Knead dough for 10 minutes by hand, or 6 to 7 minutes by mixer on slow speed.
5. Put in a large bowl, cover with a towel and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour; punch down.
6. Filling
7. Brown onions and ground beef in skillet with onions and garlic, salt and pepper.
8. Set aside to cool.
9. FILL AND SHAPE PIROSHKI
10. Pinch off a piece of dough about the size of an egg and roll it out to ⅛ inch thick – place 2 Tbsp. of meat filling in the center. (I just used my thumb and fingers and shaped the dough into a ball, then flattened it with my fingers .)
11. Lift up the edges of the dough and bring it up to the top, pinching together tightly to completely enclose the filling and dough knits together.
12. Place on non stick baking sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown about 15 to 20 minutes.
13. NOTE For a golden color, brush top with melted butter or beaten egg yolk, diluted in water. (I used melted butter which added more color) We had only this for dinner and everyone enjoyed it very much!! But, a soup and/or salad with it would be even better.

3.2.1753

Continuation from Understanding Feng Shui for the Home Part I

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that Feng Shui for the home is based on relationships.  Relationships between you and your environment, including the location, topography, weather patterns, neighborhood, neighbors and your family.  What we have the most control over is our home environment.  So how can we use feng shui as a tool to help us create prosperity for ourselves and our loved ones?  Let’s look at it from a family perspective and the relationships between those who live within the same house.

We all strive to have a happy, healthy and loving family.  Regardless of what life throws at you, we all want to have support and love.  What can we do to have better relationships between family members?

From a form school perspective, you need to arrange your furniture in a natural way that encourages the family to communicate and interact.  This is feng shui by design.

Let’s start with the dining room.  First, let’s talk about the dining table.  Do you have a dining table? Do you actually use it? Or is it full of paperwork and knick knacks that there is very little room to eat?  If it’s full of clutter, clear the table and use it for it’s main purpose - to sit down and eat.   Make sure the table seats the whole family.  Look for comfortable chairs that allow you to linger at the table together, so you spend the time talking.   Some of the modern chairs are visually pleasing with clean lines and lovely colors, but are too hard for my liking.  The seats are tiny and after ten minutes I have to get off the chair.  From an interior design perspective they are beautiful, but from a feng shui perspective, it doesn’t work.  Those chairs don’t encourage time together with the family.  This is the difference between interior design and feng shui design.

The second point for  better family relations is to take the time to sit down at the dinner table and eat meals together.   Family meals allow for a natural opportunity to communicate.  If your teenage children find excuses not to join you for dinner, cook their favorite meal.  They’re sure to be home! In contrast, when everyone is eating at separate times and in separate places, there is no chance for interaction.  Many times a lack of communication leads to misunderstandings.

In our home, food is a big deal.  The boys know they will get a better meal at home than if they went out.  So, even though during their late teenage years when they hung out with their friends, we felt comfort in knowing that we had dinner time with them.  Nowadays, when they come home for during their school breaks, they look forward to home cooked meals.  It has become part of our family tradition.

Now let’s move on to the living room.  How should you arrange your living room?   Are the seats close enough to have an intimate conversation?  Are they placed against the walls of the room, far apart?  When there is a large distance between seating, it’s difficult to converse.  The separation becomes tangible because the energy between the people in the room feels disconnected.  To be engaged in conversation, you need to be close.  Bring the furniture closer together whereby it’s easier to look into the person’s eye and see their reactions.  Your energies can now interact more easily.

Sometimes, when space is limited, there is only one sofa in the home and it faces the TV.  In this setting, you purposely want to interact with the TV.  That’s not a problem because it’s fulfilling it’s purpose.  However, if you need to communicate more with your children or spouse, make sure you have a separate arrangement and space where you can sit down together to have a good talk.

How about the bedroom?  Do you and your spouse sleep on separate beds or one big bed?  How does this affect your relationship?  What about your children?  Do they share a bedroom with a  sibling or two?   How does this affect their relationship with one another?  Think about how you interact with those you share a room with.  I grew up with many siblings and am blessed with four sisters and two brothers.  Growing up, us sisters always shared rooms.  Because we had bunk beds, we didn’t spend a lot of time in our rooms. Instead, we often sat around the kitchen or dining table sharing our experiences.  Our bedrooms were mainly for sleeping.  Re-assess how you want to use your bedroom.  Also, consider the locations of the bedroom and how you allocate the rooms.  If your children are young, you might want to consider keeping them closer to you rather than on a separate floor.  Temporarily making a study into a bedroom may work too.  Use space for your current needs and be flexible and remember you make the rules in your home.

Feng shui is about designing spaces that are natural, where people come together without effort.  These spaces make you feel good and allows for warmth and better communication.  Good design made for comfortable interaction is good feng shui and interior design will compliment the layout.

Our environment does affect us.  The forms in a space does affect us.  By using common sense, we all can arrange our homes with good feng shui.  Homes that work for our own needs, circumstances, and our own lifestyle is what we are all aiming for.

Understanding Feng Shui for the Home Part I.

As I have been studying feng shui for quite a while now, the other week, a girlfriend asked me to explain feng shui to her and how it really affects her home.  Although feng shui is commonly used in conversation about good fortune in homes, many don’t have a clear understanding of what it really is and I don’t blame them.  When I first started studying feng shui, most of the information I read was based on astrology.

Astrology means something that relates to time.  Based on my birthdate, in Western astrology I am a Virgo and in Asian astrology, I am a Rat.   In feng shui, there are various different schools of thought and the most commonly practiced is based on astrology.  Now, I have to clarify that I do not practice astrology feng shui, I practice Form School feng shui.  Two totally different schools of thought.  However, many people don’t know that there are different feng shui schools.

Astrological schools takes your birthdate and relates it to see if it’s a good match to various aspects of the house.  Some schools also use your birthdate to see if it matches the birthdate of the house.  Okay, by the birthdate of the house, they mean when the house was built.  They say this is important to the energy of the house.   I just find it hard to understand that the date a house was built affects it’s interior energy.  If I understand this correctly, it means the energy of a house differs depending on what year it was built.  As a hypothetical example, that means all houses built in 2005 may be good, but 2006 not so good?  Hmmm….  That’s like saying, those born in one year are better than another?

Please understand that this is not the only astrological rule, as there are a variety of astrological schools, each with their own set of rules.  This is just one example.

Now, it may seem strange to some that while I actually enjoy Western astrology and Asian astrology, I have difficulty associating this with feng shui.   I believe in astrology for humans, but I just find it hard to think that a house is affected by astrology.   So, we each have to find what we feel comfortable with, just as we each must find our own way of living and our own beliefs.

So, back to the birthdays.  Back in the day when I still had no conceptual idea of feng shui, I tried to implement one of their formulas to my home, to see if our house had good feng shui.  I plugged in my birthdate to find the most auspicious locations in our house, diligently with paper and pen, did the math to figure it out.  I wondered what they had to say.  But, even after attempting all those calculations, it still didn’t make it easier to understand.  This formula finds your best direction a house should face.  But, no book or person explained why this was good for me or even how this system was established.  It was just something I had to accept as my good direction, based on faith.

Like I said earlier and throughout my blog, I practice Form School Feng Shui.  About eight years ago, I was fortunate to meet my master, Dr. Shan-tung Hsu, who teaches a completely different approach to feng shui called Form School Feng Shui.  And after years of studying,  I am now a certified consultant for Blue Mountain Feng Shui.   It does not incorporate astrological feng shui, so my birthdate is not related to the energy of my house.  As the name says, it’s all about form.

As an interior designer, I understand how one space feels different to another just through it’s décor and furnishings.  Colors, textures, pictures, and furnishings all add to the feeling of the space.  That’s why most of the time, when you go to someone’s home, you feel you get to know them a little better, because our homes reflect who we are.  I also understand that sometimes our homes don’t reflect who we are and we want to change it.  Often, the reason being not knowing how or a lack of finances.

What to do then?  In feng shui, the first and foremost thing we can do, is to work on the floor plan.  When we can’t change the walls, we always have the option of moving the furniture.  What happens when we move the furniture?  Our movements change because things are placed in a different spot.  By moving the furniture, what changed?  The form of the space changed.  And this is what Form School Feng Shui is about.  Form.  Dr. Hsu’s main concept is Form Defines Energy.  So, when the form changes, the energy changes.

Now you can see why I feel comfortable with it’s teachings.   It’s based on something concrete, something we can see and we can feel. This is the form of a space.

In Form School, we always begin with the big picture – which is the place you want to live.  For any home owner, the first thing we must decide upon is where we want to live.  We choose areas that suit our needs whether it be due to the school district reputation, the commute to work, the setting or for family reasons.  Once we choose an area, next we must chose the actual location.  The first thing to observe is the site of the house.   When finding a site to build, first and foremost we must use common sense.

Don’t build in a flood plain, because it may flood.  Don’t build on the edge of a cliff even though the view may be wonderful.  Don’t build if it’s in the path of a volcano.  Don’t build in the middle of an empty field with no protection.  Don’t build in the path of a hurricane.   You get the picture.  This is just common sense.   But because we have the ability and technology to build anywhere, sometimes we ignore these things.  As Dr. Hsu always teaches us, we can’t control nature, we must learn to work with nature.  So, the first rule is to observe.  Observe the topography, the surroundings, the weather pattern, the traffic, the light, the neighbors and the whole environment, not just the house.  Do your homework to find out more about the site.

You see I’ve come to realize, feng shui is really about relationships.  Relationships between all things and how they interact.  In the case of the house on a site, it’s the relationship between the house and its environment.  Now, you may ask, how does that relate to my prosperity?  Isn’t feng shui about bringing good luck?

Yes and no.  Feng shui is about bringing prosperity but luck is based on chance.  Feng shui really isn’t about chance.  Like I said, it’s about relationships.  How our living environment, our house, our kitchens, our rooms and all our spaces affect our well-being.  And this all depends on the whole environment, not just one thing.

To be continued…

This guest post by Hiro, who lives in Japan and writes a blog called Japanese Candy and Sweets Gallery, is about his visit to Tashirojima, 田代島, also known as Cat Island, in Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan.

A year after 2011 Mar 11, the day of the major earthquake in Japan, I visited Sendai and Ishinomaki a couple times. This is not for volunteering purposes or anything else, just as a tourist. I understand the opinions about the recovery process of disaster areas though, it is good to just visit and spend money there.  I think that this could be a small contribution to the recovery of disaster areas.  This time, I went to Tashiro Island (commonly called “Cats Island”)　It is located at near Ishinomaki-shi and takes 1 hour by ferry.

Japan Map

Tashirojima, Cat Island

A bit of explanation of this island.  The population is only 80-90 people and the average age is 71 years old.  It is also categorized “Genkai Syuraku“, which means in danger of disappearing altogether. In the same way, as dozens of other villages anywhere in Japan, this island also has problems of an aging population.　However, something on this island makes it popular and brings many visitors/tourists to this island. This is “Cats”.  

First,, I took a ferry that only is scheduled once a day from Ishinomaki. Half of the passengers were local people and 10-20 seemed to be tourists.

The harbor is still under the construction due to the damage from the tsunami and land sinking. Fishery and oyster farming are the main industries of this island, so early recovery is expected. One of the reconstruction projects is called “Tashiro nyanko the project” .  This project raised money asking for a contribution of buying one share for 10,000 yen. This funded reconstruction of the oyster farming, and in return it sent out original cat goods and items as a reward. It had major appeal for cat lovers and this project collected more than 100,000,000 yen!

After getting off the ferry, I walked around the island. All I saw were houses, cats, and something related to cats. There are no shops, restaurants, or public toilets, only vending machines. It is a bit of a waste because there is no place where tourists can spend their money. If any, it would be good revenue for island’s residents.

abandoned school in 1989 due to lack of children

Cat lodge that does BBQ’s. Closed during winter

Cat shrine located in the center of the island

roadside ornaments

Cats here are used to people, and were not scared nor did they run away when people got close to them. As usual cats, they are laid back, relaxing and enjoying a siesta under the sun.
As matter of course though; every cat has a different character.–one that always runs toward people earlier than others asking for food, one that does not really care, and one that fawns upon people. I kept seeing those and felt easy and relaxed^^

relaxed

roaming free

siesta

friendly

This is not the most famous tourist place. I asked my friends, and not many people knew this island. As described, cats are the only attraction. However, it ‘s worth to go once, because you can actually see the local people’s life and their island lifestyle. Please visit there if you have the chance!!

In Ishinomaki City itself , there seems to be more recovery compared with the previous year. People on the street increased, and more shops re-opened. Of course, I can’t say that it is “as before” and guess that there are still plenty of problems. However, I want to believe that a recovery process is proceeding in the right direction little by little.

Shotaro Ishinomaki Museum

years ago there was nothing at sandbank in the stream

vacant land due to damage by tsunami

view from little mountain

Main industries are shipbuilding and seafood processing. They try to promote tourism because industries mentioned had serious damage by the tsunami. However, Ishinomaki does not have “hot springs” so they cannot expect high spending overnight customers. Therefore, they promote “day trips” by luring customers through food and the Shotaro Ishinomaki Museum. He is the famous anime/manga writer of Cyborg 009.

That’s all for today. I would be happy if anyone is interested in those places by reading this post.

Arigato and matane

In Asian cuisine, sesame seeds and sesame oil are very important condiments.  In fact, today, Japan and China are the two largest importers of sesame products.  The nutty, slightly sweet seed is not only savored for its flavor but is a very good source of minerals that include copper, manganese,  magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, selenium, and zinc.  Of all these minerals, the major benefit for Asians is calcium.

Did you know that for most Asians, the mineral that we commonly lack is calcium?   According to the U.S. Department of Health, ninety-five percent of Asians are lactose intolerant.   I myself am lactose intolerant and so are my kids who are half Asian.  One of our sons didn’t know he was lactose intolerant until he went on an exchange to France.  You see in our house, I only buy lactose free milk, so that’s all they drank.   However, while in France, every morning they had cereal and milk, a typical breakfast.  But, every day he had a funny tummy and couldn’t figure out why.   Then it dawned on him that he was drinking regular milk.  The light bulb went on and he figured he must be lactose intolerant, just like me.  Poor thing. 

The funny thing about being lactose intolerant is that I can eat cheese and yoghurt with no problem.   Ice-cream though, is a hit or miss.  It’s not easy to figure this thing out.

Because of this, many Asians avoid dairy and consume a lot of soy milk.  But we do need more calcium, so I find the easiest and most delicious solution is to include sesame seeds in our diet.  I love sesame seeds and find it so easy to add it in salads, stir-frys and I even just sprinkle it on rice.    

Here are a few tips for shopping and consuming sesame seeds.

Whole sesame seeds:

Whole seeds can come in various forms such as raw, hulled, unhulled, and roasted.  To really enjoy the nutty flavor of the seed, I like to buy the roasted seeds.  I used to buy sesame seeds in very small quantities because they go rancid quite quickly, and I hated having to throw away half the bottle.  But, I finally figured out a way to avoid this.   

Store sesame seeds in the freezer and they stay fresh! I am now able to buy a big bag of seeds.   I just take a portion and fill a small bottle, keeping it in the pantry, and replenishing it as necessary. 

And an important point to remember about sesame seeds is that for your body to absorb its wonderful minerals, they say it’s best to consume them crushed rather than whole. 

Sesame paste:

In the Asian market you will find a variety of pastes.  Some are a creamy beige color that uses white sesame seeds, some are gray in color because they crush black sesame seeds and then there is the blended white and black paste that has an ochre color.  Chinese sesame paste is usually very dense.  The separation between the solid paste and the oil is visible at the top of the glass jar.  On the other hand Japanese paste must be whipped because it has a very smooth texture similar to smooth peanut butter.

When I lived in Kuwait, tahini, which is the Middle Eastern sesame paste was readily available.  Tahini is most commonly used in hummus.  I don’t know why but Asian sesame paste and tahini taste different.  I think, but don’t know for a fact, that the Asian version uses roasted seeds while tahini uses hulled unroasted seeds.  It just tastes that way.  Although they are both sesame pastes, they are not interchangeable for recipes.  For Asian recipes, stick to Asian paste and for Middle Eastern recipes, stick to tahini. 

Here are two favorite sesame recipes:

1.   Japanese Goma ae,  which are boiled vegetables blended with sesame seeds.  Please try Green Beans with Black Sesame Seeds

2.      Middle Eastern Hummus.  This recipe pretty idiot proof if you have a food processor. Fresh always tastes better than packaged!  Please try Easy Hummus. 

To stronger and healthier bones! 

This simple, refreshing vegetarian salad with a soy sauce based dressing has a wonderful crunch from the Japanese daikon or radish.   This can also be substituted with Korean radish. Just use whatever looks the most fresh.   On the day I was shopping at my local Asian supermarket,  the Korean radish was hard and fresh, while the Japanese daikon was soft and limp.  Always go with the freshest you can find.

In Asia, we often enjoy our daikon raw as well as stewed and pickled.  In this recipe we cut all the vegetables into thin julienne slices and blend with cucumbers and carrots. This helps reduce the bite of the radish.

As with all salads, the dressing is key to enhancing the vegetables.  This recipe calls for a Japanese citrus fruit called yuzu.  Here in the U.S., it’s not easy to find and often it’s substituted with a Meyer’s lemon, which is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange.  However, recently I found a product imported from Japan in our local Asian supermarket, Uwajimaya, called:  Yuzu Juice.  This is just the yuzu juice in a bottle.  Now, I know this may not be available everywhere so for a good substitute  I use lime juice or a combination of lemon and lime.  It’s okay to be flexible.

I brought this to my monthly book club and it was a big hit, so I decided to share the recipe here!

photo credit:  Japanese daikon -Wikimedia , yuzu – jpatokal

Tricolor Salad with Yuzu: Daikon, Cucumber & Carrots

 

Author: Jenny Nakao Hones

Recipe type: Salad

Cuisine: Japanese

Prep time:  15 mins

Total time:  15 mins

Print

Ingredients

• 3 Persian cucumbers or 1 English cucumber – cut into julienne strips
• 2 carrots – cut into julienne strips
• ¼ Japanese daikon radish or ½ Korean radish – cut into julienne strips
• 3 tablespoon chopped herbs: with fresh Thai basil, cilantro, mint – your choice of one
• 1 Tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
• Dressing
• 2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoon canola or grape seed oil
• 2 Tablespoon sushi vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon yuzu juice
• optional: a dash of sesame oil

Instructions

1. Cut carrots, cucumbers, and daikon radish into julienne strips. Chop fresh herbs. Blend together and set aside. Blend all dressing ingredients together in a jar.
2. Add dressing to vegetables and blend well letting the flavors marinate for about an hour before hand. Place on dish and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

3.2.1596

In Japan, there are a few etiquette rules when using chopsticks.  Although I grew up in a Japanese-American home, there were some rules that my Japanese girlfriends kindly pointed out to me because I did a few of the taboos, simply out of ignorance.  Here are a few that I think are good to know.

First, a basic reminder:  chopsticks are utensils.  Because it’s just a set of two sticks, we often forget this fact as it easily morphs into all sorts of things such as drum sticks, weapons, toys, pointers and anything one can imagine when having too much to drink!  Just make sure you chose the right time and place to act silly.  Also, with the creative minds of children, they often find that mealtime can be boring if the menu isn’t to their liking.  Chopsticks become great entertainment tools.  However, it may be best to restrict their creativity at a young age in this situation.  In Japan it’s considered bad manners to play with your chopsticks at the dinner table.

Do

1. The proper way to hold chopsticks is to have them parallel to each other.  Although, initially, some find that crossing chopsticks to pick up items may be easier, with practice you learn that keeping them parallel offers more control.  Practice, practice, practice
2. If a chopstick rest is provided, place the tips on the rest.  Click here for the short video I made:  How to make a chopstick rest.

Don’t

1. Sashi bashi:  Sashi means to stab, therefore, it is considered impolite to stab your food with chopsticks, although sometimes it is understandable, especially for small children.  Try to separate a large piece with the tips of your chopsticks.  Better yet, get a knife and cut into smaller pieces.
2. Tate bashi/Hotoke Bashi:  Tate comes from the word tateru, meaning to stand.  Hotoke means buddha or spirit, and so it symbolizes how incense is offered to the spirits.   This means do not poke your chopsticks in your rice bowl to make them stand upright.  This gesture is done during funerals, so is considered inauspicious.
3. Hiroi bashi:  Hirou means to pick up.  Do not pass food from chopstick to chopstick.  Again this is done during funerals when passing bones, so it’s taboo.
4. When eating from communal dishes that are shared with everyone at the table, usually, a separate set of serving chopsticks or a spoon is provided.  Make sure you use this. However, if it isn’t available, flip you chopsticks around and use the opposite end that has not been touched by your mouth to place food in your plate.  
5. Neburi bashi:  Don’t suck, chew, or lick the tips of your chopsticks.
6. Yose bashi:  Yoseru means to pull something close to you.  Don’t use your chopsticks as a tool to pull a bowl or plate closer to you.  As in any culture, ask someone to pass you a plate.

These are just a few simple chopstick rules that you can apply right away.  When you are unsure of the customs or are having difficulty, just ask for help.  Everyone will happily give you guidance and will commend you for your efforts!

  For those who follow the Lunar Calendar, Happy Chinese New Year!  With the New Year comes a new color trend.  The 2013  Pantone color of the year is Emerald.  Coming from the “Emerald City” Seattle, I am all for green.  It’s one of my favorite colors.

Although I love green, for interior design purposes, Emerald Green is a not an easy color to work with.  It’s a bold color that makes a statement.  That’s why, for interiors, I suggest using it sparingly. Otherwise, it has a tendency to overtake the whole space.  As we look to nature for inspiration, what do we find  that’s emerald green?  Some of the evergreens in my neighborhood could pass for emerald, but when the weather is so gray it’s hard to tell.  And that’s the point I’m trying to make.  The environment and lighting can change how you perceive a color.  This means that even the same green will appear different depending on where it is placed, what it is next to, the lighting, the weather, the season and it’s whole environment.

Elle Décor April 2011

But, what we do notice is that when there is bright sunlight on the trees, and the sky is clear and bright, the green comes to life!  The contrast and light makes the leaves appear more pleasing to the eye.  So, in the same way, to enhance an emerald green object, a background of  gold, white, and creamy neutrals will help bring out it’s full potential.

For those who enjoy keeping up with trends, and want to add a touch of emerald into your lifestyle, why not try incorporating emerald through your clothing or accessories.  After all, the emerald stone is stunning  in jewelry.  And an emerald green dress is a winner for any special occasion.  A green vase is stunning!

But one of the reasons why I love green is because it has that healing component.  Green is the color of nature and all her plants.  When viewing a natural landscape covered in greenery, all your worries and troubles seem to melt away.  Things that seem so important just a few minutes ago suddenly seem so small, so trivial.  And why is it that ‘getting away’ to the country side always seems to have a therapeutic effect?  Have you noticed that even when you are ‘doing nothing’, just being in the natural environment is therapy.  That’s the magic of nature.  That’s why I enjoy studying feng shui.   We do believe that our environment does affect our well-being.  Also, in the Chinese Five-Element Theory, green resonates with Spring. So I like to imagine new shoots breaking the earth.  New life means new energy,  new chi.

So ,for 2013,  emerald is a good color.  Following the symbolism of green, why not use it as a challenge for new beginnings.  Maybe you want to start a new hobby, a new business, or even meet new people.