One of two bundles harvested from the garden. My mother often advises me to be careful what you wish for. Most of the time it works out well. Once, on a hike in Hokkaido I really wished for a hiking pole. A day or so later a friend discovered one discarded along the trail. The timing couldn't have been better as I'd just bruised pride and right knee in a fall coming down to a natural onsen (hot spring). Later, I wished for a pair of gloves. They, too, magically appeared along the side of the trail. "Why don't you wish for a million bucks?" quipped my husband, and we all laughed. "The universe does seem to be listening to you," said our friend, Ryan, and I sent up a small word of thanks. I still have the gloves and the hiking pole. However, when it comes to aka shiso (red shiso) I should have been more careful. "I wish aka shiso grew in my garden," I said this spring. Used for making umeboshi , the deep red almost purple leaves of aka
Words about farmers markets, gardening, food and whatever else catches my fancy.