Intersections as American Life: the Smithsonian Asian-Latino Festival 2013 - Mochi & Tamales

Hey, I'm happy to say that I have a guest post in the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center's blog today!

Here is the post: http://apanews.si.edu/2013/07/19/mochi-and-tamales/

Intersections as American Life: the Smithsonian Asian-Latino Festival 2013 is a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Smithsonian Latino Center. The program will have a panel discussion on July 24th in Washington DC (live event is sold out, but you can watch the live stream), “pop-up” galleries featuring the work of celebrated artists who explore Asian-Latino intersections; and a two day symposium that will incite a creative convening of scholars, artists, writers, and organizers to discuss the future directions of Asian American and Latino studies.

My post is titled: Mochi and Tamales in Los Angeles. It explores my family's Japanese mochi making as well as the many Latino food fusions you can find in my Japanese American family and Buddhist Church festivals. Tamales with Chili...the best of many cultures.

Thanks Smithsonian for the feature! - mary

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Mochitsuki 2012 - Mochi Making with the Family for New Years

As we've done since before I was born, my family and friends came together on the Saturday before New Years Day to make mochi - a Japanese pounded rice patties used on New Year's day to give you good luck, longevity, good times, and a shot at George Clooney (what? that's not the promise of mochi? Hmmm...)

As I've described in posts from 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007, my family gets together annually to make hella mochi. Hella.

This year we cooked 200 pounds of rice. Yes, that is 20 bags of rice. Luckily, my friend Rosie was on winter break from Johnson & Wales. She washed all 200 pounds of rice! She's starting to look Asian now, huh? :)

We woke up to RAIN. What? This is Los Angeles! We haven't had rain on mochi day for years so we were pretty disappointed. The annual bouncy house had to be cancelled - so sad because you can get a good workout in the bouncy house (if you are in Los Angeles, try Planet Bouncy - Owner Sergei is a UCLA Bruin and they did a great job last year).

But is pouring rain going to stop a bunch of Japanese Americans with determination? No. We put up some pop tents and rain jackets. Above, my cousin, brother and cousin-in-law make mochi (this process is repeated for about 6 hours). Hot rice goes into the grinder and gets extruded. The mochi is cut off, and then handed to the catcher who rolls it into a round shape before placing the hot mochi onto a full-sheet pan.

This year I set up a Mochi Tasting Table. I saw it at a church function and thought it was a great way to introduce people to the different ways you can eat mochi...however, everyone just stuck with the standards: shoyu (soy sauce), sugar and kinako. We had: nori (seaweed), ponzu sauce (wasn't even opened), shoyu (soy sauce - light salt (next year, I need to have both the "red" and "green" bottle because some like the full sodium effect), kinako (roasted soybean flour & sugar), grated daikon radish, wasabi paste, and natto (fermented soybeans). Natto is a crazy very acquired taste - I find it gross, but one person did eat their mochi with it! Somehow, there is a Diet Coke in my photo...ignore that.

Mochi, mochi, mochi...

We ate and ate and ate - this is only a few of dishes. In the upper left hand corner is Spam Musubi...I'll have a post (and giveaway) soon. Someone "new" to mochi making (we always get a few new friends each year) brought Beer Can Chicken...they are totally invited back. My cousin grilled Korean BBQ at 8 am, in the rain, before coming over. That's dedication.

There are pans and pans of mochi by the end of the day. We pack it up and most people deliver it to friends so they can have fresh mochi on New Year's morning.

Although the house is covered with mochiko flour and I'm exhausted by the end of the day, it is so worth it to see lots of relatives and friends. And since we had rain this year, I think we're guaranteed clear skies for the next ten years.

Check out my friend JustJenn's post about the day! She has a lot more "process" photos so if you are interested to each step, check it out.

Happy New Year! Next up... I go to Jenn's house for a New Year's feast (with mochi, of course!)

- mary the food librarian

Related mochi posts:
Fmaily Mochi making: 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007
Sweet mochi with red beans
Chocolate Brownie mochi
Zunda mochi
Blueberry Mochi cake

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Mochi Mochi Mochi - Mochitsuki 2011

It's that time again! My family and friends got together on December 26th for our annual mochi making day!

These unsweetened rice cakes are eaten on New Year's Day in a special soup called ozoni to bring about good fortune and health and all that jazz. Our family has been getting together since 1955 to make mochi. We have two electric machines and a bunch of gas steamers to cook the special Koda Farms Sho-Chiku-Bai sweet rice (old school method is with a pound it by hand with a mallet.)

I think this year was a record - 190 pounds of rice! That took about three hours alone just to wash and soak on Christmas day (thanks Mom for doing that!)

Rice is steamed in steamers then poured into the machine. It comes out piping hot! Little bits are cut off and shaped into rounds. They are cooled on racks and then dusted with mochiko (rice flour).

All hands on deck for mochi making! Often, this is the one time a year we see some of our aunts, uncles, cousins and their growing children so it is a very important tradition for my family. And, of course, we have a bouncy house...just like our ancestors had I'm sure...

Um, we had two food tables and one salad table...making mochi definitely stirs the appetite!

Yum! Yum! Yum!

And this year lots of my friends dropped by!

We can't forget the desserts too! My auntie made this delicious cookie tray, JustJenn brought delicious and cute cupcakes and my cousin made these fried cookies.

Days later, my cousin and I are still cleaning the house and putting back things (we need to clear out three rooms of the house for mochi day). Of course, the benefit is that I'm eating fresh toasted mochi every day!

Looking forward to joining JustJenn's family for her annual New Year's feast...featuring our mochi for the ozoni soup! :)

Happy New Year everyone! 2012 is going to ROCK! - mary the food librarian

Other mochi-related posts: 2010, 2008, 2007 family event, sweet mochi with red beans, zunda mochi from sendai, blueberry mochi cake.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Happy 44th Anniversary Mom & Pop!

It's my parent's 44th anniversary today!! 44 years!

 

Here they are in the backyard garden with some of their summer veggies! Love you Mom and Dad!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Day of Remembrance 2011 - Japanese American Internment

My dad (middle with snow cap) in Jerome, Arkansas during WWII. 

My father, his sister and two brothers were American citizens born in California.

Usually, I write about baking, eating, baking, eating, my friends, and my cousin's cute dog. However, today's post is a little different.

Look at yourself in the mirror. Oh, ignore any zits, wrinkles or beauty marks. Think about your ancestry. English? German? Korean? Mexican? Italian? A mixture of all of them? Who do you you see?

69 year ago, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which cleared the way for the military to forcible remove anyone of Japanese descent (including American citizens born in the U.S.) from designated areas and incarcerate people like my dad, my friend's grandmother and 120,000 others. The United States government looked at my father and his family and decided they looked like the enemy. 2/3 of the people taken from the West coast were American citizens. My dad and his siblings were all U.S. citizens. They were not the enemy. They were farmers growing lettuce in California, raising their kids and trying to attain the American dream.  My dad was 10 years old and liked reading comics and fishing.

Look around at your house. All your belongings. Your car, your business, and for a child, your collection of toys. Everything was sold for pennies in a few days because you could only take What we you could carry.

Years later, the government apologized for the unjust treatment of the Japanese Americans. My dad framed the letter signed by the President. My father, like the rest of his family, loves this country. My dad and his brother served in the Air Force during the Korean War. And there are many veterans who served in the armed forces during WWII while their families were in camps. Get that? Your family needs to be locked up, but you can fight and die for your country. Read more about the 442nd here.

My dad is 100% American (just ask my mom...she jokes my dad's Japanese language skills are so poor that he wouldn't survive a minute in his parent's homeland); but his face and his bloodline moved his family into a racetrack, Arkansas and Arizona during the war.

So, today, please take a minute to remember this time in United States history. And today, please think about judging people by what you see...their face, their ancestry, their religion. We must all guard against racial profiling and civil rights violations, and make sure what happened to my family never happens again. Thanks for reading this. If you want to read more, here are some links:

1. Day of Remembrance event in Los Angeles, today at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles
2. Story about food memories and the effect of camp on the family dynamic in this NPR/Kitchen Sisters story: Weenie Royale: Food and the Japanese Internment.
3. Photos and Background: Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive (JARDA)
4. For my librarian readers and friends... Clara Breed was a San Diego public librarian who corresponded with her young patrons. Letters at JANM and Joanne Oppenheim wrote this book, Dear Miss Breed.
5. Lesson Plans for teachers and homeschoolers from JARDA, Manzanar National Historic Site, and the Japanese American National Museum

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Mochi Making (Mochitsuki) 2010

On Sunday, December 26th, family and friends came over to continue our 50+ year tradition of making mochi or mochitsuki. I was talking to my dad and he said one of our mochi machines is over 50 years old. He was trying to figure out the timeline based on his service in the Air Force during the Korean War. Yeah...let's just say my family has been doing this forever.

Mochi making starts with washing the rice. My mom washed 150 pounds of the special sweet mochigome rice from Koda Farms (that is 15 bags of rice!!!). It soaks overnight, then small batches are placed in steamers. Yes, we've taken the gas line from the dryer in the garage to make these outdoor steamers.

The hot rice is placed in the mochi machine. It's ground up and comes out piping hot!

Each mochi is cut off the machine and handed to the catcher who forms it into a ball and places it onto a full sheet tray (photo on right). Friends and first time mochi makers Alison and Nicole! They were awesome!

After sitting on a cooling rack for a bit, the mochi get transferred to tables covered in mochiko flour. Then they go off and get packed up. This goes on for HOURS. Serious...we start about 9 am and end around 2 pm.

The mochi packaging "store". We make packages for family and friends. After mochi making, the Mochi Express delivery process begins. We deliver most of it by car, but also vacuum seal some and ship it off to relatives in Vermont!

Food. Food. Food. We had the typical Japanese American potluck...some sushi, rice dishes and lots of Mexican. :) See the Mochi Factory Gingerbread house? JustJenn made it and you can read the post here. I made a few food items and will be posting them soon!

The Japanese have been making mochi since them ancient Japan years. I'm sure the Samurai Warriors had a bouncy house too, no? Since we have lots of kids coming, the bouncy house is awesome.

Oh yeah, not just kids end up in the bouncy house! :)

Finally, this was Cidney the Dog's first mochitsuki too! She was so excited to meet everyone and was very good. However, when everyone left, she whined for a few seconds, "Where did the party people go?!"...and then crashed out. Mochi making is exhausting!

A friend of the family came for the first time and said, "My best friend is Japanese American, my husband works for a Japanese company...and I've never heard of anyone doing this." Yeah, that's pretty much true! Some families may make very small batches, but most Japanese and Japanese Americans will buy mochi from the store. Our family is kinda crazy making 150 pounds of mochi. Ha ha. However, it's sometimes the only time I see my cousins and their kids all year...so I'm glad we have this tradition!

Happy New Year everyone! I'm looking forward to heading over to JustJenn's New Year celebration where she makes all the traditional Japanese New Year's food and puts a toasted mochi in a bowl of special soup called ozoni...bringing you luck and good health in the new year.

Links: JustJenn's recap of my family's mochi making

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Happy 43rd Anniversary Mom & Dad

 

My mom and dad celebrate their 43rd wedding anniversary today! Happy Anniversary!

By the way, if you wonder what I look like (because I'm shy), I must look like my mom. For their 40th wedding anniversary party, I put together a slide show. My nephew, who was 4 years old at the time, pointed to all the wedding photos and said, "Grandpa" and "Auntie Mary."

 

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad! Love, Mary 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

How to Grow Tomatoes! Secrets Revealed!

Remember my earlier post about growing golden beets? Well, today I'm going to let you in on a huge gardening secret! How to grow tomatoes!!!

1. Order seeds.
2. Give them to your parents and their "all-garden" backyard. Yeah, there isn't room for a lawn chair or anything. It is all Southern California, all-garden backyard.
3. Dad plants, encourages growth, waters, transplants, stakes, and grows the tomatoes.
4. Mom waters the plants and runs the heck out of the backyard when she sees a tomato bug.
5. Voicemail says, "Hi Mary, This is your Mom. We have tomatoes if you want to come over."

And you thought gardening was difficult!

I love, love, love, these yellow heirlooms. They were sooo delicious!

My folks will celebrate their 43 wedding anniversary next month! My dad is 78 and my mom is 67. My mom always says,"11 years apart, just like Prince Charles and Diana." Um, Mom, that one didn't quite work...

Unfortunately, Southern California had a really gloomy and cold summer. My dad only got one round of tomatoes this year...and his cucumbers definitely didn't give him a bumper crop. But it was all delicious!

I know people were canning, making tarts, salads, and so much more. But here is my recipe:

Ingredients and tools:

• Tomato
• Sea Salt
• Hand or knife

Eat tomato from hand with a dash of salt, or cut up and eat more dignified.

Thanks Mom and Dad for growing such great tomatoes this year! Let's do it again next year!- mary

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Stan and David's Wedding Reception

Several months ago, I was honored to attend my cousin Stan and cousin-in-law David's 1.5 Wedding Anniversary celebration. Oh yes, 1.5 years is the new "in" celebration date! However, I went into a time warp and never posted about the party...but with the Prop 8 ruling this week, I felt it was a great time to celebrate love and equality.

In 2001, Stan and David met in a Bay Area church. In October 2008, during the too brief window in California where same-sex couple could legally marry, they got married in Alameda county. In May, they had a celebration with their Southern California based family and friends.

Stan and David were treated to JustJenn's red velvet cupcakes with cut-out hearts at our 2009 mochi making, and they hired her to make the cupcake favors for the party. Aren't they pretty?

I bought these 3x3x3 clear boxes for the favors.

Some of my awesome cousins. If you guessed their ages, you would be off by decades. Seriously. Did you know I have 16 first-cousins on my dad's side and another 14 on my mom's side? I'm really lucky to have a large and loving family!

David's family came from Texas, and Stan's best friends gave a toast to the couple!

My dad (left) and his brothers and sister. Unfortunately, we have lost an aunt and uncle, including Stan's father.

My cousin Todd & Stacy's beautiful kids...they were excellent cupcake delivery young ladies at the party too.

David with friends and family. Stan and David aired a great slide show covering their childhood, family and their loving relationship.

Stan hanging out with my aunt and uncle. The party was at Ca'Brea Restaurant in Los Angeles. The service and food was very good, I would recommend this rustic Italian restaurant.

My cousin and her husband came from Vermont for the party!

To Stan and David, Wishing you many more years of happiness and love! And to the many gay and lesbian couples out there in California, may you too have many happy weddings and family receptions! - Love, Cousin Mary

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

How to Grow Golden Beets

Yeah, this blog is called The Food Librarian.
Doesn't mention my gardening skills.
So, here they are.

How to Grow Golden Beets

1. Go to the interwebs. Go to Seed Savers. Pick up a packet of Burpee's Golden Beets.

2. When they arrive, call your dad and ask him about his garden...talk up the fact that golden beets are sweeter than his usual planting of red beets. Um, I guess it would be helpful to mention that your dad should have a backyard garden. That is helpful in this process.

3. Give the seeds to your dad on HIS BIRTHDAY. Didn't you know that the most appropriate gift to give your dad on his 78th birthday is Golden Beet seeds?

4. Have you dad start seedlings in a pot. Check them daily. Keep the birds away. Transplant when ready.

5. Have your dad grow the beets until they are big enough for YOU to drive over and pick them. Yes, YOU have to do some work here! :)

This photo is from April 2010 as the beets were coming up!

Love me my gardener dad! Next time, I'll review how to grow cucumbers, China peas, heirloom tomatoes and other veggies. Yeah, shockingly, it'll be a pretty similar process. :)

Fresh from the garden... I like to clean them up and roast them with other veggies, or steam them and slice them for a salad. Golden beets are great because they don't stain your hands like red beets and are sweeter. If you don't have a retired gardening papa, pick some up at the Farmer's Market! :)

My dad's golden and red beets! Yummmmmmmy!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad