PROJECT Setting the Autumn Table

Sep 5, 2024 | Autumn, Kitchen PROJECTS, Tabletop

Setting the Table, Setting the Stage

This PROJECT is about setting the table… to set the stage for autumn’s culinary pleasures.

One simple and fun way to do this is by choosing fall-themed HASHI OKI (choptsick rests). Pictured above are a few of the options: autumnal maple leaves, chestnuts, shimeji mushrooms, persimmons, and SANMA fish.

Do you have any hashi oki ? If not, you can craft some HASHI-BUKURO (sheaths) from origami (folded paper) or other paper.

You can further enhance these hashi-bukuro by drawing images of seasonal motifs on them, or use stamps or stickers to decorate the sheaths.

 

Long, narrow plates are known as SANMA-ZARA (秋刀魚皿) because they are used to plate whole grilled sanma fish. Sanma-zara are also a great way to showcase clusters of food.

 

 

To learn more about SANMA fish, one of Japan’s autumnal culinary pleasures visit my Kitchen Culture blog and read my September, 2024 newsletter.

Cutting Board

Cutting Board

The unassuming cutting board – a dedicated surface on which to slice and chop food – is an ancient tool. Natural materials such as stone and wood offered smooth, stable surfaces on which to prepare food. In the modern kitchen synthetic materials such as silicone and...

PROJECT Fig

PROJECT Fig

Figs can be enjoyed in many ways, savory and sweet. This project offers two recipes, each a classic approach to fruit in the Japanese kitchen: Kanro Ni, poached in a sugar syrup Shira Ae, napped with a creamy tofu sauce. Download a recipe for Figs in Creamy Tofu...

Figs

Figs

Figs are one of the world’s oldest cultivated fruits. Images of figs appear in ancient Egyptian murals and are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament and the Qur'an (or Koran, the central religious text of Islam). Figs were known to be an important source of daily...

PROJECT Kanten

PROJECT Kanten

This project is about cooking with KANTEN, a shelf-stable foodstuff with remarkable gelling properties. It is used to make a wide variety of sweet jellies and savory aspics. Kanten is sold as sticks (they look a  bit like brittle cellophane or styrofoam) and in...

Recent Posts & Projects