The Hinamatsuri Table is Made of Family Memories
The Hinamatsuri table is made of family memories.
Today is Hinamatsuri (Doll's Festival).
I prepared a celebratory meal with just a little more care than usual.
Camellia sushi and inari sushi.
Homemade yogurt with kumquats and sweet potatoes, seasoned with cardamom.
And pork miso soup made from layered vegetables.
thinly sliced sudachi citrus peel.
Rather than being flashy,
it is a celebratory meal that brings comfort to the body.
This is the camellia sushi I made before.
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Remembering the dining table of my childhood
When I was a child, I used to decorate the Hina dolls with my mother on the seven-tiered stand that my father would assemble and cover with a scarlet felt cloth.
We didn't take photos, so I didn't really know where to place the accessories...
I remember it taking hours to take each piece out of the soft paper and attach the faces to the twelve-layered ceremonial robes...
It was fine when we were setting them up, but I found it troublesome to put them away.
I think it must have been really hard for my parents.
Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to decorate them every year.
And on the table, there was a feast and white sake for the children.
I was so happy to be able to drink special white sake only on this day.
It was probably non-alcoholic amazake...
(I still can't drink alcohol even now...)
Mom, Dad.
Thinking about it now, that time and effort
was the love of my parents itself...
I am truly grateful.
When my children were young, I would display the Hina dolls my parents gave us
and celebrate with
chirashi-zushi and clam soup.
Last year and the year before, we gathered with relatives to celebrate our granddaughter with a celebratory meal and potluck dishes.
This year, we couldn't gather because everyone had their own plans, but...
I remember taking photos in front of the Hina decorations,
her little hands picking up the hina-arare (rice crackers),
and the sight of her eating only the shrimp on top of the chirashi-zushi first.
And we were all gathered around the strawberry cake we made together.
for last year's Hinamatsuri celebration
Seasonal events
remain in our hearts along with memories of the food.
When that season comes around, the happy moments we enjoyed together come back to life.
They are round and cute.
Today's perspective on health maintenance
Spring is the season to care for the 'liver'.
It is a time to gently circulate what has accumulated during the winter.
Kumquats circulate energy,
sweet potatoes nourish the spleen,
and yogurt regulates the intestines.
Add a dash of cardamom to that.
It aids digestion and lightens the heaviness of spring.
The pork miso soup made from layered vegetables
allows the sweetness of the vegetables to melt together,
and along with the power of fermented miso,
it warms you gently from the inside.
Even event meals
can become 'nourishing food' with just a little effort.
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Celebrations
don't have to be luxurious or perfect.
Remembering that today is Hinamatsuri,
and holding the kitchen knife with just a little more care.
That time itself
is a celebration for me.
The Peach Festival.
From the kitchen, I have welcomed a quiet spring.
After the meal, my husband made me a caramel cafe latte.
It was a comforting, gentle taste.
#Hinamatsuri
#GirlsFestival
#Fermentation
#LayeredCooking
#MedicinalCooking
#SeasonalMeals
#KitchenWellness
#HomeCooking