Hi guys- I was watching the morning news a few days back (Fujisankei morning news in the US, to be exact), and they introduced another strange but interesting Japanese food phenomenon: morning curry! Ever since it was broadcast in the media that Ichiro (the baseball player) ate curry rice for breakfast before big games, an increasing number of people have started to consume curry rice in the mornings. Here is another source that looks at this interesting fad: http://blog.benippon.com/2009/06/morning-curry-boom.html

I found an unopened glass bottle of soy sauce in my food storage in the basement. It's been down there for at least five years. I would just not use it, but it also happens to be gluten-free, and stores charge a lot for gluten-free soy sauce. So, my question is this. Is it OK to use? It's been stored at a relatively constant (and below 80') temperature and is still sealed. Thanks!

Has anyone in the UK (or elsewhere, for that matter) been watching the new series of Celebrity Masterchef? As usual, most of the 'celebrities' are people I have never heard of, but it's been good viewing so far until tonight.

Originally I thought this enquiry might be premature, but the more I think about it the more I realise that I'm probably making my initial questions at just the right time. A baptism/Christening is not appropriate for our little one and I've recently learned about okui-zome. What I'd be very grateful for is any advice or suggestions in order to replicate this tradition outside of Japan (it's very likely that our baby's 100th day will coincide with Christmas - which, although harder to organise, would be perfect as I'll be in Spain then and more of my family can take part)

I opened a pack of white miso I haven't used for a while last night to find the top layer had gone all dark brown and crumbly, like compost, and there were pale little seeds in it. At first I thought the miso had spored or something (?!?) but on closer inspection the "seeds" turned out to be little bugs all wriggling about! What are they? Are they harmful? Are they like the little guys you sometimes get crawling though rice that's been sitting too long on the shelf?

Maki was praising marmite a while ago on Just Hungry, so I finally decided to try it. It's not bad! I tried it on melba toast and fried tofu. A little does go a long way.

Hi! There's certainly a lot of food related advice for pregnant women - no raw eggs, no liver, no unpasteurised dairy products, go easy with the caffeine, go easy with the tuna, no marlin and swordfish and no raw fish or shellfish. There's also conflicting advice about eating peanuts (of particular concern as my husband has eczema). The advice I've found and been given, however, is focused almost entirely on foods found in European diets. I'd be very grateful to learn which foods women in Japan are recommended to eat and avoid.