年賀状 – new year's card

In Japan it is more than a tradition to send new year’s card to all your friends, family, colleagues etc… Their preparation is a big business. The post office is also playing an important role, because you can post your cards anytime before January 1st, they will be strictly dispatched only on 1st and after, so no worries that you card will arrive too early!

Well, for me this year that will not happen! I was really out of idea for the design and a good brain storming was necessary to come out with something. It’s very likely that this new year Chinese animal: the sheep, didn’t inspire me much (it’s also a tradition to use the Chinese sign in your design).

Well, I’ve finally managed to design something 

and to prepare the cards. Now I need to post them, oups!

So, happy year of the sheep!!!

Navettes

We spent part of the holiday season in Aix-en-Provence, France, my home town and we went visiting some places I like and used to often when I was a kid. One of these places is the cathedral Saint Sauveur. Not that I visited this place as part of my religious up-bringing, but I spent a lot of time in the beautiful Roman cloister (freely accessible at that time) with my mother, every Wednesday morning after my dance classes until my sister would finish school and we would go home. Since at that time I couldn’t eat a single thing for breakfast, we would often stop by a baker that made some

navettes

(not the dry one from Marseille). Visiting that place again I wanted some navettes and tried to bake some since no-one seems to make any anymore.

I found some recipes on the net and adjusted them to fit my distant memory. The shape, the color and the smell were perfect, but honestly the taste I couldn’t say. It was good, but not to my expectations… I need some more adjustments before releasing any receipe…

Et voila!

It didn’t take me long to open the box and try my pasta machine.

It was my very first time using a machine to make pasta so I decided to read carefully the notice and to follow my usual ravioli dough recipe (100g of flour, 1egg, a bit of milk which can be replaced by water, a bit of olive oil).

To really manage to work it out I had to had some flour, and the kitchen was a real mess, but the tagliatelle were delicious, even if there is room for improvements!!! I prepared a simple tomato sauce on the side and served them only with olive oil to enjoy fully their taste and texture.

Pasta machine!

Oh my god! For my birthday my parents offered me a pasta machine: a Marcato Atlas 150. No more irregular ravioli dough and now so many options open up!!!

I can’t wait to try it!!! Probably tonight!

The most difficult moment…

It’s really a heart breaking moment for me to leave the house and the garden on a sunny morning and to go back to Tokyo (top picture). It’s silly, because the drive by the sea-side is really beautiful and the view of mount Fuji from our apartment is quite amazing (bottom picture)… Yet I can’t resolve myself to go…

Cauliflower soup and homemade croutons

Nothing better when it’s cold outside than a hot soup.

Tonight a cauliflower soup with some rye bread croutons. Simple, easy and delicious. 

Just boiled the cauliflower and blend it, then cut the bread in cubes and fry then in a little of oil. Salt, pepper, over.

First bread of the year

About a year ago I’ve started to bake my own bread on week-ends. Not for being snobbish but because in Ohara there is no good bread, and there is nothing better than a homemade breakfast!

Using a lot Eric Kayser’s book on bread making in the past 12 months I really learned a lot and manage to make some good breads, brioches, etc…

In 2015 I’m well decided to continue and learn more.

So here are my first two breads in 2015:

Rye bread and Orange bread.

Happy new year 2015!!!

Starting the year in veggie mood!

Our local shops were closed when we arrived in our country house and they will remain closed until the end of the week fir the traditional Japanese new year holidays.

Since shopping possibilities were limited I starting the year with a number of veggie receipes.

Starting with a spinach and tofu whole-wheat and soya flours tart for 2015!!

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