wHatS in mY TuMMy?!?!

I never would have guessed I would enjoy Japanese food so much! Maybe its the healthy taste or fresh ingredients...? No complaints!

That's me: de-tirding shrimp! MMM MMM MMM! Lots of these little guys swimming around my tummy!

Another amazing meal prepared for me-at my house! Yuriko made a surprise visit and prepared these wonderful salads. She said she wanted me to learn "easy salad recipes" and that is exactly what these were. Pictured above are 3 salads with cucumber, lettuce, cabbage, seaweed, tuna and mackerel...each with its own special dressing! Japanese dressing is to die for...er, I would probably die eating this stuff withOUT it!

What a pitiful post! Don't feel sorry for me..there are the occasional amazing finds like this pie to completely make up for the horrific experiences below!

Well, I did it. I finally ate Uni (sea urchin, and Taneichi's #1 choice of food). Yep, raw uni...just like the locals! Cute litte bugger isn't he? Apparently the Japanese shoguy (vodka) I was imbibing at the time must have completely thrown my inhibitions outta whack, and down the hatch it went! I had managed to go almost a full month of avoiding having to try it, but that nite was my time and I am glad the time has passed. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! It looks like peanut butter paste in the dish, and knowing that it was just yanked from its spiky skin, and probably still carrying a pulse, I quickly took a small chunk and downed it. It has a musty smell, surprisingly salty taste and several lumps in it (which I told myself were garnishes, not the digestive tract and innards of the urchin). Terrible after taste though...had to gulp the rest of my drink--aw, shucks! ;)

This was an excellent feast! Yakisoba (one of my favorites, those sweet friend brown noodles you see here), a green salad with beef slices (cooked--thank you Masato!) and a special soup made with those potsticker-looking things and oyster seasoning...very delicious! Great job Masato! Very impressive!

Mayumi outdid herself cooking a traditional meal of pike eel sushi rolls with fresh cucumber and ginger on the side and a cold chinese noodle (aka ramen) salad. Interesting textures and flavors, but it all complimented one another! And how beautiful does that look! Too pretty to eat........well, almost.

This was one of my meals at a traditional dinner in Morioka a few weeks ago. Almost 30 of us Iwate JETs gathered in a large tatami room for a huge feast! I stuck with what was safe..soba, tempura and some salads with god knows what kind of meat inside. Pretty tasty and again, gotta love the presentation!

You all know that I am like a 4-year old when it comes to food. This isn`t a new thing,...I have been relatively stubborn and closed-minded at the dinner table for ....uhm, pretty much my entire life. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I swear I could (and have) subsisted on nothing but pineapple, oatmeal and applesauce for days at a time. FOOD was THE biggest concern for me in coming to rural Japan, but I`ve learned not to ask "WHAT IS THAT?" anymore (as i know it is something I would never eat on my own free will.) Curiosity always wins out though and I end up asking afterwards. The anxiety and panic attacks that ensue when realizing what it was usually cause mild indigestion.

Here's a list of some of the "Japanese delicacies" I have been subjected...er, so thoughtfully offered by many kind-hearted folks!

OCTOPUS (tako) too rubbery, too many appendages to swallow = too much work! so upon seeing it all purple and tangled/mangled on the dish...the panic attack begins in my toes...
TOFU-everything! (in soup, in cereal, on salad, served cold, made into scrambbled eggs, served hot, served as a dessert with milk--if it is NOT in something, i am shocked!)

SQUID (ika)--grilled is best and a surprisingly delicious texture. this is one that i will actually ask for at a restaurant. can you believe its even me talking!?

ABALONE -This was stretchy and c

hewy, but mild..which is scores huge points on my seafood ranking scale!

SCALLOPS (hotate) we grilled them in their shells--*dissecting* it OUT of the shell was especially memorable and completely unappetizing! i think back to tommy boy and david spade eating the shrimp..."why do you always have to de-tird these things.." but this was 500 times worse!

BEEF (yep----red meat free for 10 years and after a few weeks in Japan, I have choked down all sorts of cow parts...shockingly, it was pretty painless. maybe because it is more familiar than octopus and when placed next to sea urchin....uhm, you need to choose the lesser of the two evils. Cooked beef is always a bonus, the raw stuff didn't score well w/ me (what a shocker eh?)

CRAB (kani) the raw crab was super sweet and fluffy! its hard to find flaky seafood here! so i must get used to this one soon!

EGG SUSHI (salmonella anyone?) but its one of my favorites!

Chicken (toriniku). my saving grace! EXCEPT for the time i had to eat CHICKEN HEARTS! hearts!? come on people, unless there is some kind of depression going on in japan and the agribusiness industry has collapsed and the economy in complete ruins...I really don't think we need to consume such things. Life is just too short!

PICKLED APPRICOTS (japanese dessert)...sounds safe eh? NO NO NO! terrible...the most INTENSELY BITTER/SOUR taste I have ever had in my mouth. ever. completly disgusting--the ONLY thing i have actually spit out of my mouth!

Mackerel and Salmon - These are the fishiest tasing fish ever. I have been spoiled for too many years with delicious walleye and northern meals to want to eat fish like this. The noxious smell is completley unappetizing and makes for a pretty smelly dining experience. (No one makes fish like my Dad`s fish!)

and the list continues............

Check back often for new stuff swimming around in my stomach! i update this often...however unfortunate that is be for me!