It is Thanksgiving and I am here in Japan. Although it is not as important a holiday as in the United States, it is still cool to have turkey and enjoy a day off. Ironically, today happens to be a national holiday here too. It is Sports Day.
Tonight I made a little Thanksgiving meal. Instead of turkey we had chicken. Some mashed potatoes and veggies as well. To top it all off, my awesome wife made a pumpkin pie for the first time. it was absolutely incredible. We bought all of the ingredients at Kaldi, a foreign food store here in Kobe.
The pumpkin pie to die for! It was and still is so amazing!
A great spread. I plan to have a big fill of turkey this December when I'm back in Canada for vacation.
Here is the plated meal. Some yummy stuff. Mashed potatoes, chicken, carrots, red bell peppers with asparagus.
From the time I woke up yesterday morning until late afternoon I was a cooking machine. A Christmas cooking machine. The turkey it into our oven nicely and everything went off without a hitch. Folks came to our place, were well fed and drank their fill of beer and wine. A good time was had by all and the "Kevin in Japan 2008 Xmas Party" was a success. I think I'll do it again next year! If not, I'll still order a turkey and cook one.
The beautiful bird! Bought this fella from the "Foreign Buyer's Club"!
Here's some of the spread. Turkey, stuffing (a batch cooking in and one cooked out of the bird), carrots, salad (not in picture) and a boat load of mashed potatoes and gravy. Good old fashioned "comfort food."
This afternoon I slowly kicked around downtown. I was taking a lot of footage for a video I'm currently in the process of editing. BUT....here is some footage of a cool band I saw playing by Sannomiya Station. I would have filmed more, but my camera battery died.
I have been running and running and running and running! That's what I've been doing for the most part this week during my vacation. I honestly don't want to be a lazy-ass so I am still waking up at the same time as I normally do when I have to work, say out of the way of my lovely wife as she gets ready to go to work and then I run. I'm so happy with my new found route. Running to Kobe airport is a great hill workout since the bridge to get there goes UP....then it goes DOWN! So far, since Monday, I've logged almost 65km. I'm pretty pleased and REMEMBER everyone...I am a hobyist....not "hardcore."
Tomorrow is a big day in my little world. I'm hosting a Christmas party. You can see in my early vlog, the turkey I bought. I also bought a pile of potatoes and will be peeling, boiling and mashing throughout the morning. Various coworkers and friends will arrive throughout the evening and I will delight them with Kenny G Christmas tunes..haha....just kidding about the last part. My house is a "Kenny G free ZOne!" The menu for Kevin's Xmas party: 1. Turkey 2. More turkey 3. Mashed potatoes 4. Stuffing 5. Boiled carrots 6. Booze (BYOB) 7. Christmas music 8> Can't think of anything else to write here...
For some guests, this will be their first time eating turkey. For others, the first time in a long time.
Oh yeah, btw.....Japan is joining the World Economic Recession Bandwagon. I suppose they felt left out. Sometimes it's just cooler to stand on your own and not be like all the other kids!
Also...I read a weird news story. A JR (Japan Rail) conductor, dragged a young high school girl into a toilet and assaulted her. He stole her underwear as well and when police apprehended him close by, he said he was going to sell her underwear to pay his debts! How weird it that???? Check out the story here....
What's a Canadian boy to do at Christmas when he's in Kobe? Well, I have to admit that I happily eat Japanese food on a daily basis and enjoy it. I live in Japan and enjoy it, but...I am not the sort of "gaijin" who's "hardcore" about Japanese culture and that's the only thing he cares about. To be honest; it's the Christmas season and I can't wait to have a nice turkey dinner with gravy, stuffing and loads of wine! But, where is a Canadian guy to get this sort of meal? Well...luckily there are a lot of ways o get my fix.
During my years in South Korea (5+) to be exact (or not), I only had one serious turkey dinner. That was the year I taught at Pagoda Foreign Language School in Shinchon, Seoul and myself and a large number of coworkers ordered a cooked turkey from the Hilton Hotel. It was a bloody fortune, but wonderful comfort food.
At the end of the day, that's what it's all about. It's comfort food. It's what you know and what you love. it's what you expect and enjoy. Although I really enjoy life in my new home in Japan, I still crave what I know. The same way my wife, when we lived in Ottawa, Canada, craved Japanese food and baked goods....it's comfort food.
Well....my fix arrived at my door this evening. These are some of the makings of my Christmas 2008 dinner. Later this month we'll host a party.We'll cook this bad boy in our oven and feed about 15 fine folks a "Canadian" style Xmas dinner. It'll be GREAT!
I ordered this food from FBC. The Foreign Buyer's Club. It's a mail order foreign food store based here in Kobe on Rokko Island. there is quite a large foreign population here in Kobe and a lot of services to cater to them. Of course this turkey cost me a king's ransom, but it's worth it.....comfort food.
Oh yeah....here's something from left field. Have you ever had a Swedish beer? WEll, neither had I, until this evening. My wife was shopping at IKEA which is on Port Island in Kobe. I live on Port Island, nice and close. She called me and asked if I'd like to try a Swedish beer. She could pick one up for me. I said "Hell Yeah!!!!" Here it is...beside the Kirin. It wasn't bad. A very light and smooth taste. It's a Christmas blend with %5 alcohol. Not bad at all, but I do like beers with bolder flavours!
Ah yeas....check out my latest YouTube vid. KansaiPJ and I were kickin around Sannomiya in downtown Kobe on Saturday afternoon and what didwe see?
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