Umeboshi update: onigiri and ume martini

So, the umeboshi turned out great! I figured burying things in salt was a safe bet, and I was right. After they sort of equilibrated for a month, I made two different dishes with them: ume onigiri and an ume martini. I first saw this kind of ume onigiri on Midnight Diner, which I’ve toldContinue reading “Umeboshi update: onigiri and ume martini”

Dried persimmons (hoshigaki)

I can’t remember whether I first learned about hoshigaki: it was either on Japanese Style Originator (I think episode 16 on fall foods? It’s not on Netflix anymore, so I can’t check), in which a wife sends her husband out to drink beer with a dried persimmon in his pocket, a traditional remedy against hangoversContinue reading “Dried persimmons (hoshigaki)”

Ceramics Saturdays: Longquan Ware

If you like celadon, then Song dynasty Longquan ware is for you. Production began in the Northern Song and lasted well into the Ming, making Longquan ware one of the most enduring and popular Song styles. Over 500 kilns were active in Zhejiang and northern Fujan provinces, with the largest “dragon” style ones capable ofContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Longquan Ware”

Friday Favorites: Feedly Clean-up

Some really good stuff in here: At the fabulous Public Domain Review: Aratea, a gorgeous 9th-century Norman manuscript of calligrams (pictures made from words) of astronomical constellations. Perfect for this time of year, also from the PDR: an early English translation of Pu Songling’s collection of Chinese folk tales. The history of heavy metal playedContinue reading “Friday Favorites: Feedly Clean-up”

Ceramics Saturdays: Qingbai ware

Qingbai ware was produced during the Southern Song and into the beginning of the Yuan dynasty in the 14th century at sites around Jiangxi, mostly at the Jingdezhen kilns but elsewhere, even Jizhou, as well. It was never an imperial ware: it was designed for the merchant class, to mimic Ding wares. But Qingbai achievedContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Qingbai ware”