#shoku-and-awe

[aers-radio]

Sanuki udon was THE local dish I was told to try if I went to Takamatsu, Shikoku (which I did, and I did try). Great texture and thickness!

Udon was the first Japanese food I got really, really into. In the last few years, I've become kind of a ramen person and kind of forgotten how wonderful and satisfying udon can be!

Finally ventured into this Sanuki udon place, which I'd wanted to try for ages, and it was wonderful. The vibes were impeccable, the texture and flavor were perfect, and it was so cheap (just ¥630, with TWO big pieces of maitake mushroom tempura), and—unlike ramen—you don't walk away uncomfortably full and sleepy. Also, look how THICK!

[todayintokyo]

Taishidō Hachiman Jinja in Setagaya has several rabbits on its premises. The shrine is tranquil thanks to its trees, but also irresistibly cute. Evidence supplied above, including the rabbits Chamu and Bubu.

[merpmonde]

Izumo Taisha's rabbits

@shoku-and-awe made a great post on the rabbit statues at Izumo Taisha and why they're there, so I'll only add that they are all over the shrine's grounds, and as far as East as the Ancient Izumo History Museum.

In the gardens, the rabbits are depicted doing all kinds of things: reading a book, taking pictures, birdwatching... Yes, all that!

And of course, there are a lot of rabbits facing the shrine buildings and praying.

The plaque behind these two recognises Senge Takamasa and Kunimaro, father and son, current and presumed future chief priest of Izumo Taisha. Tracing their origins back to the rulers of the Izumo province way back in the Nara period (Takamasa is the 84th head of the clan), the aristocratic-priestly Senge family has very much stayed in high society to this day, from being involved in politics and governor of Tokyo around 1900 (the shrine had been taken out of their control following the Meiji revolution and the abolition of the nobility), to Kunimaro marrying an Imperial princess (who no longer holds the title as per the rules) in 2014.

[todayintokyo]

Recalling this post about Toma'nade (for the uninitiated: it's a Japanese drink that combines tomato sauce and lemonade), and tagging @shoku-and-awe.

what is THE worst thing you've ever drank. all liquids acceptable. please tell me what it was, bonus points for why

[mawaroon]

Jinrui-shoku: Blight of Man

completed [45/45]

Japan deals with bizarre cases of "mummified" humans. Elementary students Seita, Hayato, Kaori, and Tsukiko get caught in the web of conspiracies behind this phenomenon.

--

insights and spoilers after the cut but tl;dr

give it a try for the beautifully horrific art, don't expect much from the storytelling after the halfway point

got hooked by this manga from ch1 since the mummification premise was interesting and the horror portrayed nicely through gorgeous art. it was bold of the author to start with an incident involving a dependent relationship, but honestly the writing was bizarre from the get-go.

supernatural powers play a big part in this series but the introduction of such powers was neither subtle nor cohesive with the story... i guess this pair of 11-year-old twins are just magically gifted with telekenises and shit?? not to mention the introduction of Too Many Characters even as far as chapter 30+ into a 45 chapter manga. you can imagine the amount of climax and resolution absolutely stuffed into a short width.

POV shift is a crux to this manga. almost every side character got a POV and eventually one of them, Inukai, even took the helm and drove major parts of the story forward, leaving the supposed main characters behind. it's so... weird. as if Inukai was supposed to be the lead character? or the writers started with the kids but thought otherwise halfway?? i am eternally confused by this decision o|<

the ending. AWFUL. supposedly it's the culminating effort of mankind against an invasive unconscious, but the ingredients gathered for this point did NOT make sense. i don't think 7 minor urban legends, one false god, and a powerful medium's powers tantamount to "humanity's counterattack". the ending felt uninspired, and lasted for just about 3 chapters.

i blame the writers for introducing aliens too

[todayintokyo]

We are now entering a very depressing period of 8 weeks or so, when the rest of the northern hemisphere will start posting autumn photos, autumn food, autumn festivals, autumn celebrations, autumn cats, autumn fashion, odes of joy gamboling down my dash...but here in Tokyo we'll be sweating and suffering and typhooning and suffering and airconning and did I mention suffering?

Autumn in its full red splendour usually doesn't arrive in Tokyo until November, but this year we'll be enduring the agony of a quote unquote particularly warm season. @shoku-and-awe and I will start kvetching about conbini oden, and she'll review autumn food, but it will be sweltering and we will be suffering.

Sulk.

[shoku-and-awe]

Chocolate Cherry Babka, In Progress, 2022

Recipe © Hannah Dela Cruz, pictures Shoku And Awe

Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1963

© Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko

Donate / Join mailing list by writing to dailyrothko@gmail.com and keep up on new exhibits

[dekitateyo]

ninjakittycomics replied to your photoset “Saw the ad and felt like trying BOSS’ new cappuccino drink. Hmm, it’s...”

Never seen the blue can before though �� neat!

This new blue can was released only a while ago here in Japan - just in the beginning of this month/very end of August, if I'm not wrong. Maybe you will be able to find it later there in US!

shoku-and-awe reblogged your photoset and added:

Ooh, is it foamy?

If shake the can, the coffee will be a bit foamy - not too much, but it's noticeable! 

Without shaking, the drink looks like this:

[iwillbemother]

亀田の柿の種 明太子×マヨピー味

@shoku-and-awe さん曰く

I like the idea of mentaiko flavor, but the mayo peanuts… hmm…

☆★☆ @shoku-and-awe さんへ ☆★☆

😋it’s yummy. Try them. (…Actually I’m not a faddy eater. In other words, 味音痴かもね〜 ha ha ha 😁)

[redsixwing]

Here's the tofu nuggets I mentioned! These were mixed miso, tofu, and edamame, with a bunch of veggies, a rice ball, and some pickles on the side.

[destinationtoast]

This is the envelope that the $100 came in, for anyone who doesn't know what these look like.

@shoku-and-awe @todayintokyo (or anyone else!) -- is there a specific term for these in Japanese?

My grandmother is Japanese and really likes to give gifts. Often those gifts are Japanese desserts or other food, but sometimes she just slips me cash, folded up inside a tiny, beautiful envelope. But she likes to pretend she's not giving me money, so when possible, she'll hide it somewhere that I will find later.

Today I spent the afternoon with her doing chores and tech support, and she clearly felt this warranted a significant gift in return (no matter that I enjoyed myself). But she forgot to slip something into my pocket or bag before I left, so instead she rushed outside as I was starting my car, making the old-school "roll down the window" gesture. Once I complied, she was forced to acknowledge she was handing me money, but she also tried to minimize the gesture.

The result was that she said, "Thank you, dear! I just wanted you to be able to... to buy yourself a hamburger," and then handed me a darling little envelope that turned out to contain $100. And all I could think was:

[hug-your-face]

The overwhelming amount!

[redowlkitchen]

@shoku-and-awe- I made these today and they came out really well! The sourdough flavor came out really strongly--definitely not a traditional pretzel flavor, but still good!

I have another soft pretzel recipe I really like that calls for the pretzels to be boiled with baking soda before baking instead of just having the water/malt powder brushed over them. I don’t have any malt powder, so I tried that with these. It worked nicely!

[todayintokyo]

I went early. The baker apologized: he would not be able to slice the bread for me, because it was so freshly baked that it was still warm. I bought three loaves:  Roggebrot, Vollkornbrot, Siebenkornbrot. Rye, whole wheat, seven-grain bread.

I waited at the bus stop with the warm bread cradled in my arms. You know it's real German bread when it's so heavy that it's easier to cradle it than to carry it in one hand. Brot, I thought. BRRROOOTTT. (I always imagine that in the voice of Captain Holt.) I'll let it cool off, slice it, freeze it…and then enjoy one precious slice a day. OK maybe two.

PS: Real German bread is rare in Tokyo. Baguettes everywhere, but bread that breaks your teeth? ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ Not so much. Worth an excursion. Tagging @shoku-and-awe.

[sugargarden-it]

🍋 Homemade Limoncello recipe 🍋

Making your own Limoncello is easy and fun. You just need a few ingredients and a little time but rest assured that your patience will be largely rewarded by the results 😋

This is the recipe I’ve perfected over time and I am happy to share it. This is for you @shoku-and-awe and for anyone else willing to try it. Let me know how it went!

Ingredients:

750 ml 95° distilled alcohol

8 to 12 lemons, depending on the size

up to 12 fresh lemon leaves (optional)

1500 ml water

1200g sugar

Peel the lemons making sure you pick the yellow zest but discard the white part, which is bitter. Put the peels in a thoroughly washed jar and add the alcohol. If you are lucky enough to have a few lemon leaves, go ahead and throw them in the jar without esitation. Close the jar that should be airtight - you don't want any alcohol and essential oils from the citrus to evaporate. Store in a cool dark place for at least 30 days, the longer the better and remember to shake the jar from time to time to ehance the flavour of the maceration.

Once ready, put the sugar in a pan with the water on medium heat and let the sugar melt without boiling. Let the syrup cool down to room temperature. Filter the maceration in a colander or cheesecloth, discard the exausted peels and add the liquid to the cooled syrup stirring well to combine. Put it back into the jar and let your limoncello mature.

Liqueur is a labour of patience, so you will want to wait another 30 days before you open the jar and put the precious liquid into perfectly clean, dry bottles.

Don’t be tempted to skip this last step or your limoncello will not taste at its best. You will taste the alcohol and the sugar a lot and not much of the gorgeous, rich taste of the citrus (I speak from experience). Place into the freezer or refrigerator and enjoy!

Serve like the italians do: straight in small, very cold glasses previously left in the freezer or refrigerator or on the rocks.

Following this recipe the limoncello will be around 19% ABV (alcohol by volume). You can of course modify the proportions of the alcohol to syrup to your taste but remember that going below 18% will make your limoncello’s expiration date closer.

[iwillbemother]

2018年6月10日🌥 I’m on a diet… と言いつつ柿の種を食べる😋

@shoku-and-awe , finally I found KAKINOTANE CAFEs.

I ate one of them, milk chocolate × KAKINOTANE. It was interesting taste. Firstly, chocolate... one moment later, TOO SWEET (actually, I don’t like milk chocolate)... finally, slightly spicy.

I thought they were great with black coffee without sugar.