My mother went to Heaven

My Mother died on June 17 Th 04:20 AM in Japan.

She was 80 years old.
In my life, I never have this kind of sad experience before.
She was a sweet and beautiful mother for us.

I went back to Japan last summer with my American friend's family.
We had delicious seafood dishes with my Mother in Fukuoka.
She looked so beautiful and healthy for me.
She gave Japanese Yukata kimono, obi, geta (shoes) to my American friend's family.
Whole her life, she always saved her money and spend for somebody else.

Even after 10 days since my Mom died, my tear comes out every days.
I feel like I never laugh again.

I feel emptiness with my heart.
I could not drive my car for 10 days with my body's shaking.
How long do I need to get back to my normal life.

Mothers are special for everybody and we know, we have to say "good- by" to our Mom in someday.

This experience is too painful for me these days.
Please try to do your best to your Mother whenever she is still fine.

I think I did pretty good things to her, but I still feel some kind of "guilty" for her strong love to me.


Love

Keiko

Japanese Miso Soup

Japanese people love miso soup.
When I was small child, my Mom used make miso soup every morning.
We ate hot steamed rice, miso soup and some pickles for breakfast.
For me "miso soup" mean my Mom's warm smile to our family.

Tofu and green onion are popular combination as ingredients for miso soup.
Let me think about another good combination.

*Potato and asparagus/ potato and onion/ cabbage and wakame(soft seaweed)/

*pork and bean sprout/salmon and white radish(thin sliced with quarter round cut)/

*somen noodle and green onion/eggplant and tofu/sliced pork and white radish(bar rectangles cut)

*ham and shitake mushrooms/chicken and shimeji mushroom/turnip and wakame/

And more more combination, I can think about ingredients for miso soup.
I feel so lucky as a Japanese whenever I enjoy delicious miso soup.

Let me show you how to make basic soup stock (dashi soup) for Japanese dishes like miso soup, noodle soup, clear soup and all in one pot soup.
I will show you two ways. "Grand Mom's way" and "Busy Mom's way"

*Grand Mom's way (all natural)

Ingredient--4 inch dried kelp, 1oz Shaved dry bonito, 4 cup Water

Direction--Wipe the kelp with a towel to clean and soak with water for 30 min in a pan ~Heat (low below 160F) and simmer for 30 min to 1 hour until small babbles appear around surface ~ turn off the heat and add the bonito ~ leave it for 30 seconds and strain the soup through a paper towl on a strainer slowly to make clear soup in a bowl.

* Busy Mom's way

Ingredient--1 Tbsp Hondashi (bonito fish flaver granulateed soup stock), 4 cup Water

Direction--Heat a pan with water and boil up~ add the hondashi ~ done! That all.

If you want to make miso soup, just add 4 Tbsp miso paste to the soup with useing a small strainer.

I love only one company's hondashi "Yamasa Tairyo Dashi"
This is a big secret for my recipe.
Yamasa's hondashi is the best natural flaver of bonito.

I hope you enjoy miso soup with "Grand Mom's way or Busy Mom's way"

Love

Keiko