Kyabetsu no Sunomono Recipe (きゃべつの酢の物) -
Pickled Tokyo Bekana

1 small Tokyo Bekana cabbage (about 750 gms)
1 small red chili (sliced with seeds removed)
100 ml rice vinegar
100 ml water
60 ml sugar
Black pepper (coarsely ground)

Steam the cabbage for about 5 minutes.  Strain and, when cool, squeeze as much moisture out as possible and cut into bite size pieces.

Heat water, rice vinegar and sugar together.  When sugar is dissolved, add the chili, then let the syrup cool.  Add the cabbage, sprinkle with a pinch of coasely ground black pepper and chill for at least 4 hours.   Serve as a side dish with grilled or fired Japanese dishes.   Itadakimasu!!

Komatsuna with Tofu  recipe (小松菜のさっと炒め煮）- Komatsuna no Satto Itameni

Two bunches komatsuna
250 gm fried tofu　（ 油揚げ）
25 gm fresh ginger
100 ml dashi stock (だし）
2 tsp mirin
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp light shoyu
2 tbsp grape-seed oil
1 tsp kuzu starch　（葛）

Wash, strain and cut the komatsuna in 10 cm pieces.  Steam for two minutes and then strain, squeezing out excess moisture.  Heat a large frying pan with the oil. Fry the finely chopped ginger for 1/2 minute, then add the strained komatsuna, half the dashi, and all the mirin and sake.  Simmer for two minutes, then add the tofu - sliced into strips - with the shoyu.  Add the remaining dashi with the kuzu dissolved in it.  When the sauce has thickened, serve with a garnish of a few leaves of coriander and a sprinkle of nori flakes.  Itadakimasu!!

Kohaku Nomasu recipe (こはくのます) - New Year Daikon Salad

200 mm piece of fresh daikon（だいこん）
1 large carrot
100 gms pickled gobo (ごぼ）
1 small Japanese cucumber　(きゆうり )
a few sprigs of mizuna (みずな）
50 gms white sesame seed
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons grape-seed oil
1 teaspoon Japanese sesame oil

Cut the daikon, carrot, gobo and cucumber into evenly sized julienne pieces.  Blanch the carrot in boiling water for one minute.  Soak the daikon in a bowl with a pich of salt for 30 minutes then rinse in cold water and drain.  Grind the sesame seed with a surikogi in a suribachi.   Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl adding the mizuna to garnish.   Itadakimasu! 

At the end of June I picked this (and more) Daikon  ( だいこん ) well over 40 cms long.  They were so juicy and crisp.  I was so very pleased with the result.