I had fun with three of my friends who are my neighbors and walking buddies at lunch the other day. Joy who lived in Japan for several years has mastered some Japanese dishes.
Look at what she sent over to me last New Year’s day: Toshikoshi Soba. It is a Japanese tradition to prepare this New Year’s fare to dispel the old year’s misfortunes and welcome the new year fresh , hoping for long life and abundance.
“I will prepare tonkatsu and soba for the three of you”; she said the day before. I can only prepare so much at a time so i can only cook for us and our husbands. Of course we were excited and looked forward to it.
She prepared the tonkatsu, side dishes and brought sauces from her house which is just a stones throw away.
Celine also lived in Japan for many years, was requested to prepare the soba on site. Celine in the photo feeling at ease preparing the soba in my outdoor kitchen while Jim took photos of us.
And Juliet came in early to help in the lunch preparation
Here are Joy and Kazu who initiated this lunch and lovingly prepared our food.
We enjoy walking together, taking photos, sharing recipes with so much fun and laughter.
“Creating wonderful Memories” is our New Year’s catchphrase, call it motto or battle cry if you wish. We know that we will also encounter challenges along this journey but we hope to take them all in stride.
Happy new year!
