January 1, 2016

Humble Osechi 2016/2016年の質素な御節(おせち)

On New Year's Day, my family had rather a late breakfast together at around eight thirty. (I usually get up at 5:30 and have breakfast alone at around 6:00.)
Well, actually, I had had one bun earlier because I was so hungry.
元旦は、家族みんなで、8時30分ごろ、遅い朝食を取りました(私は普段は5:30に起き、6:00頃には一人で朝食を食べます)。
実は、お腹がすいていたので、先に菓子パンを一つ食べていました。

My o-zoni (soup with mochi in it) on the left and nimono (simmered dish) on the right:
左側にお雑煮、右側に煮物:
My wife made the o-zoni yesterday and the nimono the day before yesterday. It's customary refraining from cooking on the first three days of New Year. Naturally, such a custom is dying out.
妻は、お雑煮を昨日作り、煮物は一昨日作りました。正月(しょうがつ)の三が日(さんがにち)は、料理をするのを控える習慣がありますが、もちろん、そんな習慣はなくなりつつあります。

My family's humble osechi:
我が家の質素な御節:
All items, except the chestnut-less "kinton" (mashed sweet potato mash), are store-bought.
栗なしの「きんとん」以外は、すべて市販のものです。

Seasoned octopus and kohaku (red-and-white) namasu (vinegared dish of carrot and daikon):
味付け蛸(たこ、タコ)と紅白なます:
Store-bought ham:
市販のハム:
My wife forgot to include it in the juubako (multitiered box), shown above, and put it on a plate.
妻はハムを、重箱に入れるのを忘れたので、お皿に起きました。
(A juubako is a multitiered box, so the word is a misnomer for my family's juubako because it has only one tier!)
(重箱とは、複数の段がある箱のことで、我が家の重箱は一段しかないので、重箱と呼ぶのは間違いですが。)

New Year's Holidays in Japan are like Christmas time in other countries.
正月は、外国のクリスマスのようなものです。



2 comments:

  1. Looks delicious..... Happy New Year

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  2. Elaine: Thanks for your comment. Well, osechi is more or less preserved food, meant to be eaten for the first three days of New Year, and I'm kind of tired of constantly having osechi for almost every meal...

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