Cooking with the leftovers

Over X-mas the shops are normally closed for 2 days... this time even 3 days, because the 27st was a Sunday. So before X-mas we bought a lot of food and, of course too much, but you never know your appetite...

Deeply inspired by the japanese movie "The Chef of South Polar" (a wonderful movie I saw on the flight to Germany), I decided to cook something with the leftovers on Sunday.
Here is Scallop with mushrooms, Morzarella-Tomato Salad, Mango with Serano-ham and Cambozola with fresh figs.

And "Morille a la creme" Pasta...

 

 

more traditional German X-mas food

This is a traditional German X-mas lunch at the 25th of December.

People eat traditionally goose or duck with potatoe dumpling and red cabbage.

I prefer duck, because the meat is very soft and when you cook the duck before you bake it, it's less fat and the meat more juicy.And. you have a wonderful fond for a soup.

 

Here you see how it looks on the plate.

 

 

X-mas eve

 

Here is, how we celebrate X-mas every year.

I prepare the X-mas dinner. We always eat little cold fish- and seafood-snacks together with bread and pickles, olives and cheese.

It was the first time without my Mom, so I felt very melancholic, but I also wanted to give my best.

Here is what I cooked and after the kids opened their presents, we all had a wonderful dinner together and a very harmonic and silent X-mas... just like my Mom would have wanted it and I bet, she was watching...

Our travel to Germany, Day one

Every year we spend X-mas and New year in Germany with my family. So I want to share our journey with everybody here.

When we flew from Hakodate to Tokyo this year we were lucky to see such a beautiful view of Fuji-san. I'm always overwhelmed by the view of this amazing mountain. Somday I want to go hiking there.

After a loooong flight we arrived at my Dads house and had a German dinner with bread, roll, cheese and saussages... and beer, of course...

 

The kids are always looking forward to this...

Here is one of my favorites... self-made "Schweinemett".

My Dad always prepares it, when we arrive. It is minced raw pork meat with onion, oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg and it tastes like Negitoro. In Japan, people can't imagine to eat raw pork meat at all, but in Germany it's safe and tastes really wonderful.

Because of the jet-lag we were so tired, that we fell asleep instantly after the meal.

Mullet Roe Pasta

Whenever my husband goes to Taiwan, he buys "Karasumi" (Mullet Roe) there. The taste and quality are outstanding and the price is very cheap. We normally eat Karasumi (Mullet Roe) as a delicious snack with beer or a good wine or Sake, but this time, I thought I try some pasta with it, too.

Here are all the ingrediences I used... Crab-meat, sour-cream, Champignon-mushrooms, Ruccola, Nutmeg, pepper, Salt, pine-seeds and pistazias and, of course Karasumi.

  

Here is the result and I really was surprised, how good it tasted

(it was my first try, so I was a little nervous ^^" )

In Italy Karasumi is also a speciality, known as "Bottarga di Muggine" and people eat it with pasta.

...and more snow

Well, today we even have more snow and I have to dig out my car again >_<"

But the sun is shining and so I have my little winter-wonder-land here getting finally into X-mas mood ^_^

Will go shopping for the last presents today and rent a DVD for the evening.

Snow ^___^

Today it snows over here... and I want to share that shot out of my window with you. Actually, those are the days I want to stay inside my warm room, have a hot cup of coffee and light some candles, but when the kids come home from school I must drive them to their afternoon-class at "Kumon" and go for shopping. Well... so I have to dig out my car o_O but that way I can post my first 50 bunch of X-mas cards and some letters.
I'm also close to finish my painting for the contest... YAY !!! Painting it again really was a good idea. I'm much more pleased with this one.
What else?! I'm very busy, because we will go to Germany next week for 2 weeks to visit my Dad, so I need to pack and prepare everything, but I'm looking forward to it.

X-mas in Hakodate

Yesterday we went to the X-mas market here and I always love it so much. The atmosphere is unique and it's not so crowded like the markets in Germany, but really as beautiful.

When you walk home in the evening and the streets are empty, you have the beautiful decoration all for yourself and feel like it's already the December 24st.

 

We come there every year to enjoy it...and have some delicious food, of course.

At first, we went to an Izakaya at the habor. They always have wonderful and fresh sea-food, together with Hefeweizen, Altbier and Ale. The local brewery won many international awards and the beer tastes great!!!

In the end we always go to our fave Italian/French restaurant, Brasserie Carillon, where the Chef cooks the best Carpaccio and Tapas, I have ever eaten. His Kani-pasta is also best !!!

About my art

Often, when people hear I'm housewife and artist, they think it's like paradise. They often imagine me to sit at home the whole day, painting because I'm bored and painting is "just fun". Nope, this is not true at all. First of all, my main-job is being housewife and this is as challenging as any other job... sometimes I have 10 professions at the same time... if you clean, cook, do laundry, iron, for other people, if you are a nurse, a tailor, a teacher, a mediator, a secretary, a psychologist, a driver for them 7 days per week, 24 hours on "standby", you are a workaholic... but if you do this for your own family, some (especially Western people) look down on you or judge you as "too lazy or too stupid to work".
I just recently dropped a German penpal about this, who told me after just two letters, that a "woman under 40 being at home is nothing!" Quite rude, but this is just one of the examples I always heared, when I lived in Germany. Here in Japan I really enjoy that I can be what I want and my job is still respected and honored as "real work".

For my art, some people think the same. Often people think painting is "just fun" and very easy for me. Yes, I do it to relax... but it's also always a big challenge and... if you have a deadline to keep, it can be very tough, because you need to paint quickly, but need to hold up the quality.
For example, right now I work on that painting for the contest. I finished it, but I totally hated it, because I felt, I could have done so much better... on the canvas I can be my worst enemy sometimes. So I decided to paint it completely new... will be another week of hard work and self-struggle, but otherwise I won't feel satisfied. Worst for me is always, when I feel I could have done better. This goes for art and family alike... so I will go once more for it, after making the laundry the dishes and the cleaning... tough work, but I really would not want to miss it anymore.
I love my 10 jobs and I love my family ^___^

Here is another older work from me... I exhibited this last year at the Minoya wine-shop.

 Done with acrylics, watercolor and airbrush on paper, size is B3 original available...

Hakodate Ramen

Right now the weather is very cold and so it's always the right season to have delicious Ramen here in Hakodate. One of my fave Ramen-restaurants is Ichimonji. If you ever go there, I recommend you to try Tonshio-Ramen and Gyoza, which is very crispy outside and wonderfully juicy inside.

Japanese countryside

I love Japanese countryside... those old barns and classical landhouses and the nature you see, when you travel Hokkaido, Gunma or Gifu.

Right now I'm still busy with the painting for the art-contest, but in the meantime I wanted to finish this one.

Done with watercolor, acrylics, pens and airbrush on paper. Fromat is B4, Original available.