i thought "tarako" was a japanese word, "tara" being cod and "ko" because it's eggs, but now i stumbled over this: in modern greek, there's a product called "avgotaraho". i looked it up, the name is derived from coptic "outarakhon", which apparently comes from the byzantine greek word for "pickled fish eggs". that's weird, isn't it? tarako vs outarakhon.. it's pretty much the same product, too. both languages have a logical explanation for their word. is it just a coincidence? on the other hand, a pickled product keeps well and both countries knew how to build and navigate a ship..

Maki, if you get a chance while you are in Japan, I'd like to see photos of, or read posts about: - Food Festivals - Regional ekiben - Gyoza in Yokohama & Gyoza Stadium - The packaged gyoza from Yokohama that comes with collectible ceramic shoyu containers P.S. Very glad to hear that your mom is out of the hospital. P.P.S Your Loft & Tokyu Hands photos are giving me heart palpations!

Not sure which I am going to make for dinner tonight. Either a dashi broth with some udon, shimeji, baby bok choy, and some fish pieces like turbot and a little rice or maybe some marinated gindara(?) thats done in mirin, miso and sake with a side of veggies. We are trying to eat more health conscious and both options seem to be good.

Recently I've been trying "new" things - things that in the past, I haven't liked. Even though I remember trying them in the past and being thoroughly disgusted with these foods, by trying them again I have opened up delicious new possibilities for cooking! Mostly seafood like shrimp, prawns, crab, scallops, clams, but also just today Soy Milk.

(Not sure if this is a good spot for this, move it if necessary fearless leader!) Amazon link

On Monday, I bought a jar of kimchee. Today, I went to eat it and discovered that the "button" is up on top of the jar, even though it has that "sealed for your protection" plastic that has to be taken off before the lid is unscrewed (glass jar, metal lid). I went to the store to exchange it, but stopped by to look at the other jars and discovered that all of the jars had their "buttons" up except for one.

hello, there was a lot of purple cauliflower in those halloween bentos, wasn't it? people seem to think it's scary! i once bought purple cauliflower, it tasted like the normal kind but looked very weird in the cooked dish, like it belonged in a vase.. it's not a colour i associate with food! now i'm wondering if it'd turn into a lovely "edible" wine red hue if cooked with a little vinegar or apples and cidre, like red cabbage does.. that would be neat! it's nearly the same plant, i guess it should work.. has anyone tried this? rehfilet

hello everyone,