JAPANESE DINNER PARTY

JAPANESE DINNER PARTY

PART 2

Jubako Box

The anticipation built day by day last week as I looked forward to our foodie group's dinner party at Stephanie Crowder's house. What dishes would the other members come up with? Would I live up to the challenge of creating a delicious, yet authentic Japanese dish? Would everyone else?

Individual drawer from Oriental box

I should have known that everyone would rise to the occasion. When the appointed evening arrived, everything was delicious. Perhaps the highlight of the evening's fare was the maki sushi prepared for us by Mark's grandmother, Setsu. Not only was it delicious, but it was served in a beautiful, four-tier lacquered box called a Jubako that was as pleasing to the eye as it's contents were to the palate. Each tier revealed a different layer of colorful and delicious sushi. Mark explained that the Japanese people take all of their food to get-togethers in this manner.

The party's other dishes included: Spicy Pork Stuffed Pot Stickers with Nouc Cham (Vietnamise dipping sauce); Shrimp Toast; Chicken Satai; Spring Rolls; Japanese pickles; Pork Yakisoba Noodles; Marinated Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Soy; Miso Soup; Salmon Tugi Aki Yosida; Crispy Duck; Shrimp Rolls; Chinese Butterscotch Stacks; Japanese Slaw; and seaweed. For beverages we had Kirin, Ichiban, and Sapporo beer, sake, plum wine and Chiku Bai.

Japanese buffet table

Chicken Satai

Salmon Tuge Aki Yosida

(I named my salmon dish after a long lost pen pal from Japan)

Miso Soup

Sho Chiku Bai

Marinated shrimp with bacon

We gathered around the buffet table and each gave a bit of information about our particular Asian inspired dish.

Emily describes dish she and her mother brought

Lance with his Plum wine

Only one guest thought of wearing Japanese attire. Next time, we may all get into the groove of a theme party.

Kim wore a beautiful silk kimono

Stephanie’s ninty-nine year old home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of those old homes with very large rooms and high ceilings that feels almost palatial and yet as comfortable as if it were your own home. The effect is at least partly due to Stephanie's elegant, eclectic decor, obviously the product of her artistic eye. Among the most fascinating items lending their charm to her house are some intricately carved Indonesian trunks.

Indonesian trunks

Clock created for Stephanie by her father

Large crystal chandelier adorns oversized office

Stephanie showed us the bedroom where Marina stayed during her year visit. It is very large and comfortable. Marina was amazed when she first peered into the room exclaiming, “ You mean this whole room is all for me?” Apparently she has a small room in Japan and shares it with her grandmother.

Marina’s room at Stephanie’s

While having Marina as a guest encouraged Stephanie to prepare Japanese meals, she first became interested in gourmet cooking after spending time in Richmond. Stephanie says, “ My eighth grade year of middle school I lived in Richmond for three months and worked as a page/intern for the Virginia House of Delegates during the General Assembly session in 1991. All of the House of Delegate interns come from middle schools in Virginia and are all eighth graders. During the day we worked on the House floor. We had our homework/schoolwork sent to Richmond and at night we had to attend a group class to study/take test/do school work. Then our schoolwork/tests were sent back to our schools for grades,etc. It was a very organized program and the pay was awesome. We were paid weekly and we had $100/week food allowance and the delegates/senators took us out for fancy dinners all the time. Occasionally, the governor would invite us over for breakfast or lunch. “

Picture of House of Delegates

Stephanie has a picture of herself with the Virginia House of Delegates proudly framed and hanging over a doorway.

Outdoor fireplace

The evening culminated with a trip outside to Stephanie's outdoor fireplace.

Everyone enjoys fire, sake and conversation

I must say that theme parties present challenges as well as entertainment. I can’t wait for the next one. I think we are headed for one of my favorite places in the world: France! I hope you will join us for my February posting.

Stephanie and Lance

WE ARE OFF TO JAPAN!

PART 1 ASIAN MARKETS

Stephanie examines authentic rice steamers.

When Stephanie Crowder first announced to our small but diverse foodie group that she wanted to have our next get-together at her home, she also said that she wanted our party to have a Japanese theme. I was reluctant. I love to eat at Asian restaurants, but I don’t like to prepare the food myself. I had to put my thinking cap on to come up with something authentically Japanese.

Wayne, the founder of our group, recommended that I visit the Asian markets in Roanoke before deciding what I wanted to prepare. Since I’ve previously written about interesting local businesses in my blog, he thought I could combine my search for Japanese dish ideas with a tour and blog post on the area’s Asian markets. He volunteered to join me in the effort and suggested that we have Stephanie show us some of the best local markets.

Stephanie became addicted to Japanese food a few years ago when she sponsored an exchange student from Japan. Marina (the student’s American name) lived with Stephanie for over a year and introduced her to some of the best of Japanese cuisine.

Marina and best friend

Beautifully carved wall sculpture

We started our evening with dinner at Taipei, a wonderful Chinese restaurant. We then headed to three Asian markets to purchase ingredients for our upcoming dinner party.

The first market we visited, coincidentally, is also named Taipei. Owner Amay Liu made us feel right at home, allowing me to take all the pictures I wanted to while she introduced us to some new oriental foods. Taipei Oriental Market is located at 3120-B Peters Creek Rd. Roanoke, Va. 24019

Owner, Amay Liu

King Oyster Mushrooms

Thai Rice

Tapioca Pearls

Wayne gives potential ingredients for his party dish a thorough inspection

Next, we visited Worldwide Food Market, Inc. Owner Teap Chhouk. and his wife, Sovann, are from Cambodia and sell Asian furniture and gifts as well as food. They are located at 5623 Williamson Road, Roanoke, Va. 24012.

Teap Chhouck

Statues for sale at Worldwide Food Market

Fine hand-crafted steamers

Alters to the Buddha; Teap changes the food offerings daily

Our last stop was Fresh Oriental Market owned by Hien Bui. They are located at Suite 12, 2501 Williamson Road, Roanoke, Va. 24012 and are open Seven days a week from 10 AM-10:PM.

A customer of Fresh Oriental Market

I’m not sure I will be purchasing these; are they anchovies?

What is bloodmeat? Do I want to know?

Crabs aren’t just for eating!

What a wonderful time we had exploring markets that I didn’t even know existed.

We’re all looking forward to our dinner party at Stephanie’s. Only authentic Japanese, please! I’ll be posting a report on the outcome Friday. I hope you'll join us!

GODDESS CEREMONIAL NECKLACES

Dusty’s Fairy Woman

Beth’s custom Goddess necklace

The craft show circuit is exhausting. When I started on the circuit, I exhibited in about thirty shows a year. . As I got older, however, the constant travel was too much, and I reduced my participation to about twelve shows a year. It was at that time, about 20 years ago, that I joined the Sugarloaf Craft Shows. I exhibited at shows from as far north as Detroit Michigan to as far south as Atlanta, but most were in the D.C. area and Pennsylvania. In 1995, I met Beth Pollins at a show in Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Beth purchased a few things from me and asked if I would create a special piece for her that included her late Aunt Gloria’s fur coat. She was happy with the sculpture I made for her, and I frequently saw her at succeeding shows during my years with Sugarloaf.

I retired from the shows in 2000 and had not seen Beth since. I was very surprised, then, to see her name pop up on Facebook one day asking to be my friend. Of course, I was delighted.

In August, I had a contest asking my blog readers to send ideas I could use to create a sculpture from a lifeguard chair that had been left on my front porch. Although I received many wonderful suggestions, the winning idea, the one that spoke to me most vividly, was from Beth Pollins. She envisioned not only a sculpture fashioned from the chair, but a beautiful, imaginative story to go with it (to read Beth’s story, please see my August 26, 2009 blog post). Needless to say, Beth won the contest.

While viewing my blog, Beth noticed that I had begun making custom Goddess Ceremonial Necklaces and asked me to make one for her. I’m always amazed at how much I learn about people when I begin making one of these necklaces. Even though I had known Beth for years, I gained a completely different perspective on her life from the information she gave me to guide my design. It was clear from her contest entry that she has a talent for creating magical stories. Only when we began talking about the necklace, however, did I find that her fondness for these tales originated with her grandfather, apparently a superb storyteller. He also seems to have been a bit of a transcendentalist in the mold of Thoreau or Emerson as you can see from one of his essay at the end of this blog post. Even though he died when she was very young, she clearly remembers being captivated by his tales. Apparently, her fascination with these stories was obvious to everyone around her as well, and the neighbors nicknamed her “Dusty’s Fairy Child.” She has carried his memory and the love he gave her for the spiritual, the mystical and the magical with her throughout her life.

I also found that she and I share a fondness for labyrinths as both art forms and as spiritual tools. And, I also learned that she has undertaken some serious spiritual quests. She sent me some special tokens from one of her spiritual retreats, The Spiritual Midwife Project, and I used several of these in her necklace. I also found two eleven-circuit labyrinths that seemed just right for her necklace. But still, I just didn’t feel that I had the one key item I needed to tie everything together. And then, one day, I found that I had had it all along: a pewter fairy that had lain forlorn and unused in my jewelry box for years. It was an item that was given to me several years before I even met Beth. What better icon for Dusty’s Fairy Child than a beautiful fairy. (This became even more obviously appropriate when I later learned that Beth had taught classes on fairies at a new age bookstore and at a farm in Lancaster county, PA.)

Fairy found in my jewelry box.

Below are the items Beth sent me to use in her necklace.

Medicine bag earring created for Beth by a shaman friend

Holy stone Beth found on the beach

Replica of a “priestess” bead from a community talking stick

The remaining spiral from a pair of Beth’s favorite earrings

To these items I added two pewter labyrinths and spiraled purple/blue stones.

Pewter labyrinth

Purple/blue stone

It was a pleasure working with Beth and learning so much more about her. I hope she gets as much pleasure from her necklace as I got from making it.

Dusty’s Fairy Woman

For centuries, spiritual seekers have regarded labyrinths as symbols of spiritual pilgrimage as well as tools to encourage meditation and contemplation. On your necklace, Beth, the labyrinths represent two of your most meaningful spiritual quests, the Harner shamanic training course and the Spiritual Midwife Project.

Stories of the magical and the mystical have been among the most important influences in your life. These first took root when you heard the tales of your grandfather, C. Richard Rhoads. A lover of nature as well as a teller of magical, spiritual stories, he once wrote that “No temple in the world can excel the beauties of the forest; and there is nothing that will bring you closer to God than a prayer beneath the solemn pines or the sturdy oaks.” The spiral at the bottom of the pendant represents your spiritual journey as influenced by your grandfather. This form has been an important symbol to cultures from prehistory to the present. For some, it has represented the journey of life for an individual or for the entire culture. For others, it has represented the evolution of consciousness or of spiritual understanding. The spiral is also the shape of a wide variety of entities in nature, from tiny sea creatures to galaxies.

Echoing your spiral, the swirled violet discs between the labyrinths represent the dual aspects of your grandfather’s consciousness – his magical, spiritual stories and his love of nature – that have played such an important role in the formation of your own consciousness. The fairy represents you, “Dusty’s Fairy Child”, laying a bouquet over one of these to honor his memory and his gift to you.

The tiara forming the base of the figure’s headpiece is your aquamarine baby ring. This stone was credited with healing powers by many ancient cultures. The medicine bag amulet and the holey stone suspended from the bottom of the figure represent items that have long been reputed to bring the owner protection and prosperity. I have included these talismans with my sincere wish that the powers ascribed to them may always be present in your life, Beth.

The key reflects your ongoing quest for knowledge through spiritual training and your more conventional academic pursuits. May you continue to gain understanding through both.

~Cheryl Dolby~

Here is the article written by Beth's grandfather, C.Richard Rhoads. (Click on each image to enlarge the page for reading.)

HALLOWEEN!

HALLOWEEN!

Linda Jo

If you are looking for a face painting artist, I can tell you exactly who to go to. Her name is Sally Edelman of Face Painting FANTASY. Sally is responsible for painting all of the faces I will be showing you on my Halloween post of the Roanoke City Market.

Cat and dog?

Who let the dogs out?

Demented Kyle

Sally and apprehensive friends

Sally can be seen painting faces on the Roanoke City Market at various times of the year. Her website is www.facepaintingfantasy.com and e-mail is fantasyfacepaint@aol.com Of course, not everyone had their face painted today. Some people just put on cute costumes.

Hot Dog

Ann and Fionna

Ann and Fiona

Chloe and Katherine-bubble wrap queen

Gene and Cheryl-that’s me

On The Rise bread store serves brownie treats

After a very long, yet fun day at the market, I met some friends and we headed to Grandin Gardens in Grandin Village for the bi-monthly drumming ceremony given by Polly Branch.

Bonfire

There was a beautiful bonfire lit and we drummed until our hands were numb.

Drums and fire

As I think back on Halloween’s past, I remember the way that we celebrated in my home town of Warren, Ohio. Children trick or treated for a week before Halloween and a week afterward. Woa be it to the the poor families who didn’t have something in the way of candy or cookies to give out each night. Their fate was sealed. It was give treats or pay the penalty of having your house completely covered with toilet paper or even soaped! Sometimes the families got even though. Those glorious days of “Life in the 50’s “ that you so often read about were not as perfect as sometimes presented. I remember one night I received a candied apple on a stick only to discover when I got home that it was really a raw potato covered with red nail polish! Cruel? Well maybe, since a person could get sick by ingesting that ‘treat’ but it doesn’t compare with recent Halloween tricksters serving up needles and poison.

Halloween is still one of my favorite holidays, even though the number of tricksters coming to my door has diminished. This year, for the first time ever, I decided to shake my Halloween celebration up a bit. Drumming by a bonfire and giving homage to the “Day of the Dead” or “Samhain” will be my new tradition!

HEE HEE HEEEEEE HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL!!!