December 2009

It really has been quite a year....with more to come

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How has the year been for you? 2009 has been a year of change and turmoil for me. It looks like 2010 is going to be just as exciting and turbulent as 2009 was. There's a lot to look forward to though!

For New Year's Eve, we are just going to have a quiet evening in, with some sparkling cider from our old home town. Tomorrow we'll be having ozouni. We still don't know where we are settling yet -- it may be France, it may be Switzerland, or...somewhere else. I still have a lot of work to do, on the bento book and other things, and I am leaving for 3 month stay in Japan in 2 weeks. That will be the longest time I've spent there in ages, and I'll have lots to report on from there.

In any case, thank you so much for your continued support of Just Hungry and Just Bento this year. :) Happy New Year!

Filed under:  essays food travel
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Kenchinjiru, Japanese Zen Buddhist vegetable soup

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It's been a cold and snowy winter so far around these parts, which usually means soups and stews for dinner. This classic Japanese soup is hearty yet low in calories, full of fiber, and just all around good for you. It helps to counteract all the cookies and sweets you might be indulging in at this time of year.

The name kenchinjiru (けんちん汁）derives from the Zen Buddhist temple where it was first made (or so it's claimed), Kencho-ji （建長寺）in Kamakura. (Kamakura (鎌倉） was, for a brief while, the capital of Japan in the 12th and 13th centuries. Nowadays it's a major historical tourist attraction, and a fairly easy day trip from central Tokyo.) Since kenchinjiru is a shojin ryouri or temple cuisine dish, the basic version given here is vegan. It's still very filling because of all the high fiber vegetables used. You could make a very satisfying vegan meal just from this soup and some brown rice.

Filed under:  japanese lighter soup winter vegetarian favorites vegan washoku shojin
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Another New York roundup: From Bagels to Madison Park

Russ & Daughters, Lower East Side, New York

I still consider myself to be a New Yorker (technically I am) and go back there at least once or more a year. So I don't write about my trips there all the time. This time I did have more than a few notable food encounters, so here is a not-so-short roundup.

Filed under:  bread food travel restaurants new york usa
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Recipe: Glühwein, mulled wine for Christmas and wintertime (and a bit about Christmas markets in Europe)

Originally published in December 2005, edited in November 2008.

Bubbling Vin Chaud

Filed under:  drink winter christmas
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Menu For Hope VI: Just Hungry Offers a Taste of Japan Plus

menuforhopevi.jpgOnce again, Just Hungry is proud to offer a great raffle item for the annual Menu For Hope fund raising event, which will benefit the United Nations World Food Programme.

This year it's personal: A hand-selected (by me, of course) box of Japanese goodies directly from Japan, plus...a signed copy of my upcoming book!

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MasterChef U.S. version casting call

Longtime readers of Just Hungry may know that I am a big fan of the UK cooking-competition show MasterChef. I've written about it here several times, and even did my own ingredient challenge for six weeks one year. I also watched most of the Australian version, and commented on it a bit too. Well now there is going to be a U.S. version of MasterChef. Here's the pertinent part of the press release:

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