Soba - tears and chuckles for long happy life

One morning in Santa Rosa California, I saw a man walking carrying his dry cleaning clothes being placed on a hanger.  I started crying watching him walking down the beautiful tree-lined street nonchalantly and lightly.  I was deeply moved by the ordinary scene, a man doing one of his regular routines.  

One afternoon near Bodega Bay California, I stepped out my house to take my dogs for a walk. I stopped under a big tree at my front yard because felt gentle ocean breeze from the Bay, and then, I looked up a bright sun rays shining through the branches of the tree.  I felt tears running down my cheeks.  At that moment, I heard a jazz piano in my heart  ~The Koln Concert~  played by Keith Jarret. I was deeply moved by the ordinary nature, the gentle ocean breeze and a bright sun rays.

One evening in Austin Texas, I was driving to my work against after work traffic due to my graveyard shift. I was looking up the heavy clouds in the overcast sky, and all of a sudden, I realized that working for graveyard shift, having gloomy weather and not having anybody (except for my dog) to wait for me when I come home after work can be raw materials to produce a deep joy. 

I did not cry this time, but instead, chuckled.  

Strangely, it took relatively depressing scenes instead of the ordinary beautiful scenes to make me chuckle.

One night in Austin Texas, I finally gathered the courage to cook for beautifully corrupted people who try to construct their lives due to heavy body and mind abuse.  I realized that I have to keep on living my life for them to help them realize that they have not lost anything important in life yet because their pure hearts trying to become happy have not been destroyed yet. 

I was able to gather this courage after all those tears and chuckles.

Now, sitting at my desk recollecting all those sorrows and joys, I have never imagined that I would be so busy cooking Soba (buckwheat noodle) for my friends and family and chuckling and having tears of laughter this year, 2012.

Now, it is that time of year that I have to prepare Soba (buckwheat noodle), a bowl of hot noodle soup.  In Japan, we traditionally eat Soba on New Years Eve while waiting to greet the new year and end the old year because the long noodle symbolize the longevity, the long happy life...

Soba

Ingredients ・4 servings:

• 4 bundles of dried Soba noodle (buckwheat noodle)
• green onions (chopped)
• 6 cups Dashi soup stock (dissolve 2 teaspoon gragules or 1 stick)
• 1/2 cup Mirin
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 ~2 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Cooking:

<Noodle>

• Cook Soba noodles until al dente
• Drain when done

<Broth>

• Boil Mirin and add sugar (optional) in medium heat
• add water , Dashi soup stock and soy sauce
• Bring to a boil
• Serve soba noodle in a bowl and add soup
• Sprinkle green onions

~Serve immediately and eat while hot~