Have been away from blogging these days.
Mariko's cooking has been improving. She cooks Japanese dishes which have been light and gingerlicious. She doesn't use oil when preparing proteins. So far, the mackerel and chicken she's made have been parboiled and then poached in a broth.
On Tuesdays, she and I have lunch at the flat. Yesterday, she made a chicken dish that was simple and precise. I say precise because there were only three elements~ sauce, chicken, and radishes. One tasted the chicken without the complications of other things. Everyone enjoys a simple roasted chicken, for example. Mari's lunch was 'roast chicken' in a light broth. For the radishes, she parboiled them to lessen their zip. The fresh ginger, mirin, soy, and seaweed broth was exquisite. Again, I must emphasize the absence of cooking oil in the process. I'm curious on just how far her skill can go.
The Thanksgiving party last Saturday was a success. Everything went pretty much according to plan. I did mistaken the oven gauge as being in degrees Fahrenheit. So for one hour I was cooking the bird at 300 degrees Celsius. Transporting the dessert, stuffed squashes, stuffing, and Turkey to the party was interesting. Michiko and her sister handling it all moving from the 9th floor to the taxi was hilarious. On arrival, the ladies were distressed about the succotash. Mariko's face was stern. I could tell she and the others were not on-point with their half of the dishes. No major problems, just a few adjustments to the seasonings was all. The guests really enjoyed themselves~ I thank them for coming.
Too much to say about the week before the T-giving party. Whew! Picking up the Turkey from Itaewon, Seoul was a story in itself. I was chilling out at the gate with the guards talking about the PanAsian Games, while waiting for the turkey delivery. Haven't been practicing my Korean, geez! Tossed the turkey in my napsack and away we went to get a fancy Italian dinner a few blocks away. There was a winter chill and the turkey would have kept well outside for days. It was a nice night. Happy to have another successful dinner under the belt. How many has it been now?...
D A R T S!!
This Sunday is the national championship round. The tournament will be held at the Yangjae performing arts complex. Like many conferences, attending these massive gatherings makes you feel good to be a part of something larger than yourself. We compete to see whose nerves are the sharpest. No sandbagging for these matches. It's shoot to win! Again, whew! Let's go team Sanbon, Jack's Bar! I want to take home something, eh!
