Sakae's diary

I like seeing mushrooms in the forest as well as eating them.
I had watched a TV program about a mushroom photographer before. After that, I looked up his photos and other websites about mushrooms on the Internet. I then found a mushroom watching tour in my city by chance. I applied for it soon.
However, unfortunately, I was not chosen by lottery because there were many applicants.

Yesterday, I went to see some mushrooms freely at Nishioka Park in Sapporo city.
There were many mosquitoes in the forest. When I was trying to take photos, they soon came to my hands. So, once I found a mushroom, I had to take a photo quickly before being bitten.
I couldn’t find any perfect mushrooms like the photographer did, but I enjoyed them in the forest after a long interval.




























↑Keyamahannoki (alnus hirsuta)
















There were many acorns in a stump. I wonder who collected them. Squirrels?



I finished reading The Japan Times Alpha, 8/26 and 9/2 issues.
There were still many words I hadn't known.



P.S.
You can see the corrections of this article on the comment section.





にほんブログ村


にほんブログ村


にほんブログ村

It’s been a long time.
We had a memorial service on the forty-ninth day after my mother-in-law’s death the other day. We still have some things to do related to her.


On my way home from high school, there was my cousin’s house. I used to go to school by bike every day. I sometimes visited her after school. She was one older than me and she was mature for her age because she had an elder sister.

On a Saturday in summer, since I finished school earlier, I dropped in my cousin’s house on my way home. She asked me to go to a beach together. She said that she wanted to tan herself because it was sunny. We went across a road and went through woods. It took only less than ten minutes on foot to get to the beach.

There was no one as far as I could see around on the beach.
I was a little surprised to see that my cousin took off her clothes and she started to lie down in a BIKINI! because I only had a plain school swimsuit in those days. On the other hand, I wore a school uniform at that time and sat down next to her.

After a while, I noticed that two U.S. armies were coming in distance. Those days, I hardly saw any foreigners in person. I thought that it was the second chance to talk to foreigners in English in my life. The first chance was when I went on a junior high school trip to Kyoto. I was very excited to talk to a women group of four foreign travelers. Therefore, I was thinking what should I talk to the armies in English.

However, as soon as I let my cousin know that the armies were coming, suddenly she said, “Run!” I followed her soon, but I was disappointed to miss the rare chance.

In retrospect, how naive I was!!! I was relieved that nothing had happened to us then.



I finished reading The Japan Times Alpha, 8/12 and 8/19 issues.
My comment was posted in the 8/19 one.





P.S.
You can see the corrections of this article on the comment section.




にほんブログ村


にほんブログ村


にほんブログ村

I went to a farmers’ market to buy some fresh basil, parsley, and other vegetables. I usually wash a bunch of parsley and put them in a freezer. When I want to use them for some dishes such as pasta, salad, and casserole, I crumble some of frozen parsley with its plastic bag. I keep a few bags of them in the freezer. It’s useful.



I make basil sauce every summer. I like it very much, especially by Mr. Ochiai’s recipe. He is a renowned Italian cook. I always cook Italian dishes by his recipe.
I don’t like to use an electric mixer because it’s bothering to take out and put away, and wash. So, I usually use a mortar instead although it takes more time. However, the amount of basil in a bag this time was more than usual, so, I reluctantly used the electric mixer to make its sauce.

Basil Sauce by Ochiai’s recipe:
50g basil
50g pine nuts (I used walnuts instead.)
50g parmesan cheese
A clove of garlic
1 tea soon of salt
1/2 cup of olive oil

I added one oiled sardine to them and mixed all with the machine.
Actually, when I opened the can of the oiled sardine a little, the oil exploded up to high and it came down to my head. Some other oil came to my face, even into my eye. It was messy. I bought it recently, but I knew I had to throw it away. However, I really wanted to use it because it makes the sauce better. I tried to eat a little. It was no problem. I decided to use it. There were two sardines in the can. I threw away the rest.



I then fried some bacon and vegetables. I added the basil sauce and some boiled pasta. It was delicious!
I ate it a few hours earlier than my family to check whether or not it was safe. In the end, I was relieved to know that it was no problem. I didn’t say anything about it.
As soon as I ate it, I washed myself.



I finished reading The Japan Times Alpha, 7/29&8/5 issue.




P.S.
You can see the corrections of this article on the comment section.





にほんブログ村


にほんブログ村


にほんブログ村

After I laid Dokudami (Houttuynia cordata) leaves in the sun to dry for several days, I put them in the oven for 5 minutes at 150℃. I then crushed them with hands and kept them in a jar.
I made its tea by boiling. It was good. I’m going to drink it every day until the medical checkup day.





When I was walking at night the other day, to my surprise, a cat suddenly crossed just in front me. To my more surprise, the cat I had thought was that its tail was bigger and longer, and the ears were bigger than normal cats. Yes, it was not a cat, but a fox! I was trying to take a photo of it, but it went to a parking lot and I missed it in the dark.

A few days later, around the same time, but at the different place about 300 meters away from where I had seen the fox, I saw one again. I didn’t know whether or not it was the same fox as I had come across. It cried like a dog, “Can, Can ! ” with a high-pitched voice. I was not sure the voice was from the fox because it was in the residential area, so it might have been a dog that noticed the fox and barked from a house. Also, I didn’t know how foxes cried. Anyway, this time, I was trying to take a photo soon, but at the moment, unfortunately, a big spider came down just in front of my face from an electrical wire over me. I missed taking a photo of the fox again.

Although I live in a city, I often hear citizens have seen foxes. Especially, near rivers.



P.S.
You can see the corrections of this article on the comment section.





にほんブログ村


にほんブログ村


にほんブログ村

Kanagawa and Kanto special foods are sold at some supermarkets in Sapporo now.
I found one of my favorite sweets, Bumping(番餅) there, so, I bought some. Actually I love Chinese sweets made by Jukei Hanten (重慶飯店). I used to visit there when I lived in mainland before. I love its Geppei(月餅), too.




By the way, the backyard of my mother-in-law’s has a lot of valuable plants such as Fuki, Dokudami, and Mitsuba.
I’m going to make Dokudami (Houttuynia cordata) tea. I picked the leaves and I have dried them in the sun. It will take some more days because the weather has been nasty recently. Dokudami tea is good for health. For example, it gets cholesterol level down. I’m going to have a general checkup next month, so, I want to drink its tea before it.
I also picked Mitsuba (trefoil) and I put them with other condiments on cold tofu.


Dokudami




Mitsuba



I finished reading The Japan Times Alpha, 6/24, 7/1, 7/8, 7/15, and 7/22 issues.



P.S.
You can see the corrections of this article on the comment section.





にほんブログ村


にほんブログ村


にほんブログ村