in Kamiyama

I haven’t been posting much lately.

It’s not that there isn’t anything to write about, but there’s too much to say, and while I’m thinking about what to write more things keep happening and I just can’t keep up.

In these situations, we employ the photo diary strategy.

Two days after the canoe party, I had gotten the leftover wild boar meat so we were going to have sukiyaki with Tsuyoshi, and as perfect timing would have it, Karin and Pat came by and we all enjoyed a little meal of sukiyaki.

For the two of them who had never had sukiyaki before, they were surprised: “What? You season the meat with soy sauce and sugar?? And then eat it with a raw egg??” They seemed a little put off at first.

While Karin was hesitant at first, Tsuyoshi used his most convincing broken English and pushed her into trying a mouthful.

Karin suddenly became very animated. “What’s this! It tastes great!” Pat was at her side, in a trance-like state.

“I’ve got to try this.” he said, and cracked open an egg.
After Karin and Pat went home, Tsuyoshi got out some of the wheat he harvested this spring and ground it into flour with my personal stone mill.

He spun it around seven or eight times and produced some whole wheat flour.

On this day, Tsuyoshi finally got some flour after three years of working at growing wheat.

That night, we wanted to get a good taste of Tsuyoshi’s hard-won flour, but since we’d had boar sukiyaki for lunch, we wanted to have something with a lighter flavor for dinner we decided to base our evening menu around a flour dumpling soup called suiton.

Akirika, also a lover of flour-based foods, came by with a dish of her own and joined us for dinner.

Akirika made a stirfry with pork, chestnuts, and sweet potato, fried in rosemary oil. It was an unusual combination of foods, but it tasted fabulous.

It seems a waste to limit her to being just an artist…

More flour-based foods were a theme in the days following. The next day, Keiko Ishihara and David entered Shikoku via Takamatsu Airport.

Koko and I went to pick them up at the airport, but it was time to eat right after we picked them up. Without asking for a yay or nay, we took off on a compulsory Sanuki udon tour. First stop was a very well-known location that makes their own noodles onsite.

Tasting the flour alchemy amongst the thick air of the Sanuki Plain. That’s the best part of going on a Sanuki udon tour.

“This is going to ruin the reputation of Sanuki udon!”
We had barely finished eating when we decided to hit a second restaurant for a rematch.

David’s face seemed to say “Udon, again??” as we pushed him into the car and headed to a spot well known to udon connoisseurs, the “No-name Udon Restaurant.”

There’s no billboard to speak of, this udon restaurant that lies at the end of a hallway in an old house. The question marks in David’s head must have been quickly multiplying…

This is it! Beautiful noodle form! This is real Sanuki udon!

Saved by the comfortable atmosphere, I think our guests were able to experience the essence of Sanuki udon at last. Phew!

But, when we said, “How about a third shop?” they very gently and politely turned us down. A ha ha ha.

On the way back, we stopped to pick up some groceries and finally arrived at Green Vally HQ, the Kaizen Center. Mr. Ominami was there to welcome our guests.

David seemed relieved. “Finally someone who will talk about something other than udon!”