One more week to go, and I'm feeling a bit deflated. "Time" had been a big factor in my very first extended vacation. For months, I was so looking forward to it, I was counting days until July. Customers were shocked everytime I mentioned that I was closing for a month. Then since I got here, I kept reminding myself how many days were left. I wish I could handle this time issue better- I think it's taking half of the fun out of the whole experience.

We finally went to check out this joint on Main Street "Rock Da Pasta." Everytime we drove by, Taiyo would chant "Rock Da Pasta! Rock Da Pasta!" although I was never sure if he knew my favorite Clash song. As we walked into the little funky joint, I felt like I was time warped to good old East Village. It was exactly like what we used to have around East Village- like 20 years ago. There were bar stools made with old guitars. Fun and funky, totally unpretentious but with theme and belief. Ceiling was adorned with vinyl records. Under glass tabletops were torn paper napkins with short messages and passages by people who passed through there. Menu was original and rather ambitious, with dishes named after rock stars and iconic classic songs. The dishes were also grouped with such terms like "Opening Acts" or "Headliners." Taiyo of course would go for simple "Spaghetti with Grateful Red Sauce" and I decided on "Pesto Palooza," which was described as "this festival of lime chicken artichoke hearts, red pepper coulis & cilantro pesto takes center stage over penne, armed up with fresh avocado and balsamic vinegar reduction." Doesn't it sound crazy? Many dishes sounded kind of crazy and this one really made me wonder how it tastes like. It was surprisingly delicious. We both liked the food. Taiyo also loved the garlic bread and he snatched half of mine too. Our waiter was also sweet and I truly enjoyed my time-trippy meal. Sun in low western sky was filling the dining room with amber light, adding to my nostalgic feeling.

The vegetable I picked up for my CSA share last week that I didn't touch was this kohlrabi. I don't think I ever cooked with it, and I didn't know what to do with it. Thanks to internet, I was able to find a solution- just slice and eat it! It's mildly sweet raw but very crunchy. And its skin is extremely tough, so needs peeling. I cut in thin matchstick("thousand cuts" in Japanese,) sprinkled sea salt with thin sliced cucumber, and topped with umeboshi dressing. It was so simply delicious! It was almost like daikon salad, but without spicy kick.

Umeboshi, salt-pickled plum, is also an excellent food on a hot summer day to combat heat. This alkalizing food is like all-purpose medicine for us- something we'd think of when we feel sick, upset stomach, cold, or even hangover - but culinarily it's downright delicious. I've been also enjoying drinking ume-su (ume vinegar, or by-product of umeboshi making process) as my favorite summer afternoon drink with lime, mint and seltzer.

The month is already at mid-point and of course I'm not as much done as I wanted but we surely having lots of fun adventures! Over the weekend we made it up to one of the crag of Shawangunk Mountains. We didn't try the challenging vertical ascent on the rocks- the family we passed by told us, "I've seen 7-8 year-old climb up." But I didn't want to get stuck in the middle, so we hiked around to the top, which was fairly steep toward the end. Then we were rewarded with stunning views!

I was just reading about these wild edibles in local publication, and I decided to give it a try. Yes, these are wild edible weed, small succulent purslane and clover-like wood sorrel, and that can be commonly found around house. Yes, I found them around the house and they are even packed with nutrients. But when I began harvesting I quickly realized that they are so small it's time consuming to collect enough to amount to a 'dish.' So I just sprinkled them over my salad, and except visually, they didn't add too much to it. So my beautiful lunch today was salad with lettuce, pickled radish, cucumber, and these cute wild edibles, and soba noodle with pesto, topped with fish flakes (most everything taste better with fish flakes, in my opinion, and the dish suddenly turns Japanese) and red pickled ginger.

We have spent already 1/3 of our time here and feels like we are just settling down. The other day we visited the sculpture garden at Unison Arts Center just down the road from us. It was a nice quiet place in the woods and we explored newly installed works. He read most of the titles himself.

Today we crossed the bridge over to Poughkeepsie. Coming from this side where it's mostly farmland and mountains around us, busy large chain store lined highway in Poughkeepsie suddenly made me feel like we were in New Jersey all of a sudden. We were heading to his favorite trampoline place "Bounce!" I wanted to save it for a bad weather day, but he kept begging to go- we were there when we spent the New Year vacation up here. And that time it was packed and we had to wait for a while for his jump time. So this time I called ahead and the girl on the phone said, "oh, you don't need a reservation. Just come in." It was true. It was almost totally empty. There were only three of them in the Jr. area that was for 5 and under. So Taiyo had a quality jumping time to workout a serious sweat. He fell asleep in less than a minute when we got in the car and I changed the plan to hit Balloon Festival. Maybe tomorrow.

A young deer visits us this morning in our yard. When I came out to take a photo she was a little alarmed at first, but I won the staring contest and she kept munching grass for a while before disappearing into the back woods.

I found two unmanned litte farm stands by Taiyo's summer camp. These are "honor system" stands where you write into the log the items you're purchasing, calculate and take your change from a little cash box. At Meadow View Farm I saw a few interesting items- pumpkin blossoms- beautiful yellow flowers which I really didn't know what to do with. Perhaps you just eat with your salad or add to your plate to make it prettier? And these gooseberries were so amazing-looking I had to try them. Well, as is, they are a bit tart and not really fabulous. Perhaps I make them into jam?

Another farm stand nearby was Full Moon Farm, with well-stocked meats in their freezer: grass-fed beef, pastured pork, lamb, goat and free-range chicken. I picked up some chicken and simmered with lots of napa until they almost melted. Similar to what I make sometimes at SOY "chicken and cabbage," this is more of a take on "chicken wings and napa" that my mother used to make, flavored with soy sauce and touch of sesame oil.

The deck quickly heats up in the sun, so I decided to set up my workstation under the big maple tree. It gives me a perfect shade and plenty of fresh air, but I realized that I have to get used to all kinds of tiny insects landing on my arms, notebooks, and laptop. Aside from the tiny creatures, I'm enjoying in the yard watching butterflies dance and birds dive into the yard for their prey. This morning after dropping off Taiyo at Phillies Bridge Farm for his summer camp day 1, I enjoyed running along quiet and shady Wallkill Valley Rail Trail which runs nearby. I ran through farm lands, with chipmunks, birds and rabbits.

Not very Hudson Valley lunch today except the scallions - Cold udon with avocado, topped with grated ginger and garlic, chopped scallions, ponzu and sesame oil to finish.

Good morning!
I sit down on the deck with arugula, cherry tomato and cheese omelette and sunshine in my coffee. I would describe this moment in Japanese as "washing of my soul." Yesterday we went to pick up our CSA share at Phillies Bridge Farm, where Taiyo will be spending some days for summer camp. It's half share, but plenty to go crazy with. We even picked beautiful flowers in the field. They also have herb garden you can help yourself with.


And this was our humble dinner. I chopped up beet green and cooked with rice- it didn't turn the rice pink as I thought it would, but Taiyo didn't protest eating vegetables in the rice! I also mixed some dried shrimp and little anchovies in the rice for flavor. I sauteed sugar snap peas with scallions, bacon, and miso pickled garlic. No extra seasoning was necessary. Fennel bulb was sliced and simply roasted- I never cooked it before and that was the simplest solution.

This year I decided to make a bold move and take a month (and a change) off from SOY. We came up to New Paltz to experience country life. I'm already super inspired to cook up new and familiar dishes with fresh local produce from this lovely region. Besides working on my cook book, my theme for the month is "Eating Hudson Valley Japanese Style," with Japanese flavors and/or our often simple techniques to enjoy seasons.

Yesterday morning I picked some fresh kale from the backyard and made a salad for breakfast. Quick blanching made the crunchy leaves softer and also took much of bitterness out. Then I topped with wakame seaweed, pine nuts, fish flakes and dressed lightly with ponzu.

After a quick hike in the Mohonk Mountain House up the road, I picked up beautiful local produce at Wallkill View Market- beets, arugula, peaches, tomatoes, zucchini, basil and even a gorgeous pot of cheery tomato in a basket, which now hangs in my country kitchen.


And here's the dinner. Not very Japanese but very simple and flavorful. Chicken stock base soup with rice noodles, tomato, napa, egg, and basil. Salt and pepper sufficed to finish. I baked the rolls too!