Epic Fail

I tried, I really did. I found a recipe that used ingredients I already had... I was taking a break from Japanese cooking. Cheese ravioli ratatouille. Beautiful eggplant, fresh tomatoes, savory garlic. And all my family ate was the ravioli. I took a bunch of pictures as I slaved away chopping and simmering and rushing around the kitchen. Seems a waste not to post them.

My Beautiful Organic Produce

Eggplant

Eggplant and onions sauteing

Green peppers and tomatoes

Ratatouille on Cheese Ravoli

The Finished Product

What They Didn't Eat

Why I am learning "Their" ways

Funny, when I got the idea to "blog" I thought I might magically find more time to actually do so. Looking a the sparseness of posts so far I realize reality. Like all thinks in life you have to MAKE the time. Like homeschooling. I thought it might be different. So far I am really slacking. It's all on me really. No matter how much Marion fights me and gets frustrated or fakes a lack of understanding I am the one to make it all happen. I am the parent, I am the teacher, I am the one responsible for her education. But this shouldn't be a surprise. We decided to homeschool because we felt it was a calling. We felt it was an extension of our parenting. This all really has nothing to do with what I though I'd be writing about today. I planned to tell our back story. Why I am learning Japanese cooking. Why I am learning Japanese culture, language, and history. But I suppose it all is connected. How can I learn when I cannot teach. How can I teach my children to speak Japanese when I cannot teach basic English grammar and Math. Bottom line. I have to step it up. I have to MAKE it happen. All of it.
I have made several Japanese dishes over the past few weeks. I have even taken pictures. Just failed to blog. My husband, Wes and I feel called to be Missionaries to Japan. I suppose the same way we felt called to Homeschool. It will be an extension of our relationship with God, of our ongoing service to God. We are still in the very early stages. No clue of a timeline, no clue how it will happen, or what it will all look like. So in the meantime I am learning to cook. Learning to MAKE it all happen.

This is Marion at our Classical Conversations Homeschool group. She is learning to write a treble clef as part of this weeks music lesson. (see she does learn SOME stuff!)

Sigh

About a week and a half later and I am sick of ramen... That is all.

Starting the Journey

I made the girls “Ponyo” soup for lunch today. (Ramen) Today I used the Oriental seasoning packet and added some dried chives and roasted sesame seeds to each bowl. Later I made Wes some soup too. We didn’t have any more Oriental flavor so he got Creamy Chicken. I added the chives and seeds to his in addition to a hardboiled egg cut into 3 slices and laid pretty in the top. As you can see he tore it up

This afternoon I made what I called Harvest Muffins! I took the recipe from Annie’s Organic Buying Club called Mama Bread and tweaked it. (Yet again) It called for applesauce but I used mashed pears. I also added cranberries. I kept to the recipe and used both carrots and zucchini. (Sometimes I sub shredded apples if I don’t have zucchini and bananas for the apple sauce) {I’m such a rebel} With all the cinnamon and nutmeg in them they couldn’t help but smell divine! The girls ate one each once they cooled and asked for more! SUCCESS! I plan on using them for breakfasts during the rest of the week. I hope since I made a double batch I will have enough to share at group tomorrow night!

For dinner we are having an American favorite: meatloaf! I planned to make peas and mashed cauliflower to go along with it but the organic produce was a little less than favorable this week. Meaning the cauliflower was FILLED with bugs. Little gnats I think. I understand that produce grows outside, in the ground. But this was like an infestation! So it’s just meatloaf and peas. I only have a few more meals of “American” food left until we start our journey of mostly Japanese meals!

I’m excited and nervous. I’m good at making muffins and meatloaf. Will I get the hang of stir fry and rice balls and stews with ingredients I’ve currently never heard of? Will I one day create a Japanese feast for guests as easily as making a pot of Chili? God is good. He always seems to provide in even the smallest and simplest ways. I have faith. And now for me doing my part! First at hand: recipe research and meal planning!