Ochzauke and afternoons...

[neotoma]

Went down to Archives yesterday and had ochazuke at Teaism while waiting for twistedchick. I didn't scrap off enough of the wasabi, so it was eye-watering and nose-dissolving, but since I seem to be developing a cold, that's just as well. I really like ochazuke -- does anyone have a good recipe or a cookbook suggestion for it?

I lent twistedchick one of my books on kumihimo, the Catherine Martin one that I think it an excellent primer, and showed her the Maru Genji square braid. We'll see if I've infected her or not in a few weeks. I just wish I knew were to get good plastic embroidery floss bobbins, as I use those for tama when I do kumihimo.

Then we went next door to the Teaism tea shop and I bought one bag each of chai, Dragon Well, and Moroccan Mint. It'll be interesting to see how they turn out when brewed at home.

We rambled around Chinatown for a bit, and then went up to Dupont Circle. I found a jade bead to use as a toggle in the handbag project, and three stone rings that actually fit. One's sodalite and will likely be part of my Ravenclaw costume, and the other two are red jasper that are just a touch loose on my thumbs. I'm going to keep them for costume occasions and just be very careful with my hands when wearing them.

The last stop of the night was Olson's. I picked up Sewing for Dummies, because I really need a beginner's text -- I know various bits about sewing, but nothing that's a coherent whole --and two CDs of early music. If I'd seen a copy of The Barchester Chronicles in the bin, I'd have bought that as well -- I think there's an interest in my local circle in seeing that and squealing over younger Alan Rickman dressed as a Victorian cleric.

Then I came home and fell asleep.

Now I've got to work on my resume, because damned if I'm going to work at a place where the management is going crazy. I don't suppose any of you would like to look at my resume in a few days and give me advice to improve it?

Comments

[murasaki99.livejournal.com]

I might have an ochazuke recipe in a zen cookbook. I'll look it up for you. I think it is the one that the author refers to as being 'good for hangovers and if you are recovering from being ill'. ^_^

What does kumihimo look like? The webpage says 'braiding' but doesn't show any examples.

I'll be happy to read your resume & offer comments. Good luck on the job search.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

The recipe would be *wonderful*. I know that ochazuke is made of white rice, green tea and 'flavorings', but it's the 'flavorings' that I couldn't puzzle out even when I was looking at it. Except the wasabi, which I got a little too much of.

There are several galleries of kumihimo down that page. Some of them have better images than others, but they are all nifty.

I was fortunate enough to take a short workshop through my guild from Rodrick Owen (http://www.rodrickowen.com/) two years ago. He's quite adorable in that 'older British gentleman' way, and he had absolutely amazing braids with him, including a flat braided scarf in an argyle pattern that was a good six inches across.

One of his most impressive pieces is A Dress for Galadriel (http://homepage.mac.com/billgreene1/owen/owenwall.html) (third from bottom) that was braided in the round. We only got to see high-quality slides of it, because it's obviously too delicate to take on teaching tours.

Ochazuke recipies

[murasaki99.livejournal.com]

Basic recipe for Ochazuke (for 4 persons):

4 bowls of hot cooked rice

For the clear soup:
6 cups dashi (clear soup stock)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce

For a good basic dashi recipe go to Bob and Angie's Japanese cooking website http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/hints/dashi/dashi.html It's a great place to start for an intro to Japanese cooking.
Dashi is made by boiling dried bonito flakes and a strip of kombu seaweed and then straining off the broth. Very distinctive flavor.

Otherwise the ochazuke you are eating is made with fresh-brewed green tea in place of the dashi.

This recipe uses the green tea:

Another recipe is posted here: http://maki.typepad.com/justhungry/2004/01/ochazuke_rice_w.html

Toppings range from a bit of cooked sea bream or salmon, shredded nori seaweed, toasted sesame seeds, bits of trefoil (or we could use cilantro), fresh ginger juice, and wasabi.

Basically it is a soup that lends itself to infinite variation. Enjoy. :-)

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

What email address should I send the resume too?

[murasaki99.livejournal.com]

Send it to bluefox (at) owt (dot) com. I'll be home tonight. Yesterday I rode the horse, today I'm nursing a sore hip. :-D