My Oshogatsu 2007
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I come from large extended families on both my mother's and father's sides. Actually, my mother's family is large (she's one of 8 kids). My father's family is extra large (he is one of 15 kids). The holidays for me has always been about family and food. Most of the relatives (or at least a large number of them) get together on special occasions, particularly New Year's, to celebrate in traditional ways. This year, I decided to document the special Oshogatsu foods I had at three New Year's parties - New Year's Eve (mother's family), New Year's morning (my parents and a few extra for ozoni), and New Year's Day lunch (father's family). They all wondered what I was doing as I carefully stood above each dish to photograph, but I "clicked" away (digital cameras don't actually make sounds unless you program them to), and I'm happy with the result. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed eating the foods pictured in them!
Slides in this album |
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toshikoshi sobaSoba noodles in broth. My Auntie made it this year with kamaboko and cucumber. My Auntie remembered that I'm not a fan of kamaboko, so my bowl is the one in the picture without the pink and white fish cakes. I'm not sure why, but my family always eat ours … |
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ozoni in nabeEvery New Year's Day morning, my mother makes ozoni for our family. Her's is a shoyu-based soup with mirin in which she puts tofu, nappa, mizuna, carrots, and daikon...and, of course, mochi! This year, she prepared everything, then brought it over to my new home to finish cooking. We enjoyed … |
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my first bowl of ozoni in the new yearThis is a photo of my first bowl of ozoni for the year. This was followed by two more bowls. I really like my mother's ozoni because she puts a lot of vegetables in it. I love the nappa and mizuna in the soup. It flavors it so nicely. My … |
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manjuMy mom also brought over a box of Mikawaya manju. She didn't buy yokan this year, but that's fine with me, because unlike my sister (who's a major fanatic!), I'm not a fan of yokan...it's too sweet for me.
Assorted manju |
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toasting the new yearFor lunch, we went to the house of one of my father's sisters. All of my father's remaining siblings except my aunt in Washington were there along with many cousins and their families. It's a LOT of people. After going through the house with greetings of "Happy New Year" and … |
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my cup of sakeI don't actually drink any alcohol normally...except once a year. I drink one little cup (it's actually more like a few sips worth) of sake. I was very thankful this year that the uncle who normally serves it came later. I was able to just drink a little bit, instead …
Oshogatsu - sake |
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mmmmm...tsukemono!I LOVE good tsukemono. I grew up eating ochazuke at the end of pretty much every dinner growing up (we always had rice with dinner, regardless of what was served...spaghetti and rice). To clean up our bowl, we would pour our ocha (tea) over what was left in our … |
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tempura & other fried foodsMy family no longer makes everything from scratch for the New Year's meals. These were ordered from a local Japanese market. To make it easier and fair, every family is assigned a particular traditional New Years dish. The dish selections rotate every year. There's even a printed schedule so they …
Oshogatsu foods - tempura, korokke, renkon, and gyoza |
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tatsukuri (tiny fishies)I never used to want to eat these when I was younger. They're not my favorite now, but I've grown to like to eat them occasionally (that happened with natto too, although I like natto better than tatsukuri). |
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nishime vegetablesThese also came prepared in a tray. I'm not actually a fan of these particular of vegetables. |
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kinpiraGobo sliced thin and fried in a pan (at least, that's how my mom makes it). Another dish that's grown on me. They actually sell pre-cut and washed gobo slices in a bag. You can keep it in the freezer and just cook with some spices. It's pretty convenient. Not … |
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namasuVery vinegary, but it goes well when paired with other foods like sushi. |
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kuromameI eat a little bit. It's too sweet for me, but it's supposed to be good luck. When I was younger, I was told we were supposed to eat one for each year of our life. I don't know if that's true, or just something my family said to make … |
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chicken teriyakiI'm not sure whether this one was home-made or store-bought. It was good though. |
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makizushi & inariBy the time I went around the table to get my food, these were pretty much gone. I don't think I even got to eat one. Apparently, there was some miscommunication on the number of sushi trays that were supposed to have been ordered. Oh well... |
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tekka, kappa, & california rollsI didn't try the tekka maki because I don't like wasabi, and most places automatically put some into the sushi. I usually only eat it if I can order it without or after someone else can confirm there isn't any (because it would be rude to poke at it to … |
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kamabokoAs mentioned in the first photo in the collection, I don't really like kamaboko. So, as you can probably guess, I passed this dish by, but I thought it made for a pretty picture, so I photographed it anyway. This is the end of my 2007 Oshogatsu foods collection. Hope … |
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My Oshogatsu 2007
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