These were the beans I that I threw (into my mouth) to ward off the red devil (in the background) during the Bean Throwing Festival...
Folklore dictates that we should eat the same number of beans to match our age...
So if you are 52 like yours truly, you eat 52 beans...
Rainfield61 apparently consumed a lot of goodies during the Lunar New Year...
We had just the tomato-based squid spaghetti (one of my all-time favorites)...
Went to Tokyo to attend a seminar...
On the return leg, bought 8 packets of 'omiyage' (gifts)...
Had never bought so much omiyages in my life at one go...
As mentioned, very friendly neighbors we have...
So, why not a gift or two to them as a token of our goodwill?
Yes, while I was in Tokyo, the wood stove professionals came to finish off the installation...
Missed the maiden 'trial' run of the stove...
Apparently, we need to 'season' the stove by controlling the burning...
The stove must be heated up to a certain temperature over a span of time, and be allowed to cool down completely...
The neighbor who gave us the truckload of logs was as excited as us...
So, with his wife, they came along today, wine bottle in hand, and a wheelbarrow full of dried logs...
Oh my... what a delight...
And he had invited me to join him to cut wood tomorrow...
The third 'seasoning' burn...
So good to feel the raw heat...
while gazing at such a beautiful flame...
Is Woodstove still popular in Japan? In Australia, it is being phased out for obvious reasons. The government actually pays households to convert from woodstove to gas heaters.
ReplyDeleteWill you be toasting mashmellows in it? Maybe even throw in some chestnuts and sweet potatoes.
It is gaining in popularity here in Japan... most people cannot or are not able to have wood stoves because of physical constraints... we shall be doing some cooking with the wood stove, pizzas, bread, cookies, stew, soups, etc... and of course, sweet potatoes and chesnuts...
ReplyDeleteWhat's a goma tamago?
ReplyDeleteYour woodstove sure looks cool. Love the roaring fire shot. ;)
Watching the fire inside the fireplace and listening to the sound of a wood fire is fascinating and so romantic.
ReplyDeleteI envy you for it.
Congratulations on getting your wood stove installed. How long will the seasoning take? It's nice to have a kind neighbor who comes to visit with a bottle of wine and wood for the stove.
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ReplyDeletelina... 'goma tamogo' literally means 'sesame egg'... it is a popular sweet made from black sesame seeds in the form of an egg...
ReplyDeleteNope, your comment did not go astray... I am moderating the comments from now on because some (commercial) spam mail is finding its way into my blog...
Maia... you said it well... the fire is really very captivating... one can just sit in front of the stove, drink in hand, and just gaze and gaze...
George... thank you very much... we are done with the seasoning and am now enjoying the stove... yes, the kind neighbor... without him, I wouldn't have got myself into this 'affair' with the stove... reason is, I'd be clueless...
@Lrong,
ReplyDeleteNeed to look for those sesame egg if we ever get to Tokyo one of these days. Never seen them before or maybe we never notice it. Can it be found at the train station say, Ueno station?
How the weekend with the stove going so far? I bet you had a lot of fun. :)
lina... this sweet is quite good, I found... but I am not sure if the shops at Ueno have them... I normally buy them from Haneda Airport... yes, we had a lot of fun with the new stove...
ReplyDeleteWow! That's a mean looking flame!
ReplyDeleteUnkaleong... yeap, clean and mean... and hot too...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteI want one of those!!!!
(As if I had a place to put one...)
(But one can still dream, right?)
MM... my only 'regret' at this point is, why didn't I get that thing earlier... it is really a very good feeling to sit in front of that beauty...
ReplyDeleteWe have a similar stove, for the few weeks in deepest winter, when it is cold enough. We mostly burn invasive aliens, Australian wattles, which have to be cleared.
ReplyDeleteGas is not green enough for me, when they talk about fracking the Karoo!!
Elephant's Eye... it is a neat stove, don't you thnk? We really like it... we burn all kinds of wood but our preference is oak...
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