Food - the essentials

We really do not like an unstocked fridge. Sad for us that the fridge is so small! 

So what about the essentials? Here is what we bought first:

Rice, shoyu (soy sauce), crispy nori seaweed, miso paste, pickles, tofu, umeboshi (sour plums), ochazuke mix (for a kind of rice porridge - so yum), and spicy seasoning. 

Back in Edinburgh, Rose eats rice with nori probably three times a week. So she is well at home here. Oscar loves miso, and he loves ochazuke. Last night he asked me to cook extra rice so he could have ochazuke for his breakfast this morning. What a dude. 

Local produce here in Hokkaido is fab. Will post more on the farmers' markets later. But here are our first purchases:

Tomatoes, small green peppers (almost perfect for spanish pimiento de padron), myoga (which is like a ginger shallot), baby aubergines, enoki mushrooms and - in the middle - maitake mushrooms (ah - maitake - how I have missed you!)

And now - Rose and Oscar's favourite treat! Huge white flesh peaches. So precious they are individually cocooned.

And finally - this one is for you Ali Morton

Itadakimasu!!!