My First...

Before I hitted the Asakusa house, I had the honor to have my first Osechi Ryori (御節料理) and first kotatsu (被爐)  in Yokohama.  Mrs Miyahara just has retired from her work this year.  She is an absolutely amazing cook!  She made the delicious Osechi set within 2 hours, I will definitely vote her for Japan top chef! ;D Osechi is a traditional Japanese new year food, usually eaten on the new year’s day.  While Mrs Miyahara was busy in the kitchen, I slipped into the kotatsu that I have wanted to try since a long time ago.  It is a short table with a heater on the underside. Covered with a thick blanket, people in the Japanese drama eat mandarin and shriveled up into a baked potato that doesn’t want to get out of the oven.  With that extremely comfortable picture in my mind, I submerged myself into the blanket world and waiting to get shriveled up.  So I waited. Waited.  And waited.  My arms and legs were still as cold as ever. (FYI, my Canadian friends, I really missed central heating!!)  I thought to myself sadly, is THIS it?  Is this as warm as kotatsu will get??

While I was mourning my warm picture of kotatsu, Mrs Miyahara came out from the kitchen, took a look at me still in full winter coat and scarf, took a look at the kotatsu switch, then exclaimed, “The kotatsu wasn’t turned on!  Why didn’t you say anything?” 

I blinked, blushed, and shriveled into a mushroom and replied in a small voice, “It was my first time in a kotatsu…”

Nonetheless, I love being a baked mushroom! ^o^