Do you know the difference between sushi and sashimi? Most sushi lovers do, but if you have recently developed a pallate for sushi and want to explore further to expand the culinary horizon, you might want to check out The Nibble. This site explains the different types of sushi and how they are served. It also lists the terms commonly used for sushi and sashimi.
Now you can order sushi like a pro. Sushi chefs love it when the customers talk like they know what they want because the chefs take pride in what they do and want to make their customers happy. There are people who live to eat sushi. These people usually sit at the bar facing the chef and have a coversation because they truly appreciate the art of sushi making.

Arthor: James Williams

All over the world, people enjoy teatime. In Japan, however, taking tea with guests can mean considerably more than a relaxing break to the day. The traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony is a very grand and elaborate affair.

The Japanese tea ceremony is more like a sacred ritual than a friendly gathering. Each aspect of the ceremony is symbolic and adds great charm and meaning to this unique event.

The ceremony is conducted in a room called chashitsu, located in the teahouse. Fresh water symbolizing purity is held in a stone jar called the mizusashi, and may only be touched by the host. Matcha (tea) is kept in chaire–a small ceramic container covered in shifuku (fine silk pouch) and set in front of the mizusashi. Special stands called tana are used to display the tea bowls, and differ depending on the occasion.

The host enters with the chawan (tea bowl) containing a chasen (tea whisk), a chakin (a bleached white linen tea cloth) and the chashaku (tea scoop). Next to these items is a water jar, symbolic of the sun (yang) and a bowl, symbolizing the moon (yin). The host brings the kensui (waste water bowl), the hishaku (bamboo water ladle) and futaoki (a green bamboo rest for the kettle lid), and purifies the tea container and scoop using a fukusa (fine silk cloth).

Hot water is ladled into the tea bowl. The whisk is rinsed and the tea bowl is emptied and wiped with the chakin. For each guest, three scoops of tea are placed into the tea bowl. The whisk is used to create a thin paste using a sufficient quantity of hot water. Additional water is then added, while the paste is whisked into a thick liquid.

The tea bowl is passed to the main guest. He or she drinks some of the tea, wipes the rim of the bowl, and passes the bowl to the next guest. Each guest follows this same procedure until all have tasted the tea. The bowl is then returned to the host, who rinses it and cleans the tea scoop and the container.

A fire is then built for usa cha (thin tea), which rinses the palate, symbolizing the departure of the guests from the spiritual world of tea and back into the physical world. Smoking articles are offered as a gesture of relaxation, but smoking does not typically take place in a tearoom.

Finally, zabuton (cushions) and teaburi (hand warmers) are offered for the comfort of the guests, and higashi (dry sweets) are served. Before leaving the teahouse, guests will express their appreciation for the tea and their admiration for host’s attention to the fine art of serving tea.

If you are ever given the chance to attend a tradition Japanese tea ceremony, be sure to attend. There is no other experience quite like it.

Arthor: Rachael Cleipher

Decorating any home, apartment or office space is no easy task, especially if you have an eye for detail. It is even harder to decorate well when you realize how much it matters to decorate your space in ways that reflect you. I have recently been busy redecorating my office. It was very important for me that my office reflect who I am and that it be a comfortable environment for writing in. I chose, after much deliberation, to go with a Japanese art theme for my office.

I have always loved Japanese art, but it seems to be getting more popular and hence more widely available in the past few years. There is something about the look and feel of Japanese art that I love, so I figured it would be an excellent way to decorate a special space that I use for doing endless hours of valuable writing. I knew that I needed to be intentional about the way I decorated my office. I am very aware of my environment and so I know that I need to decorate and create my work environment with care. I write much better when I am inspired by my surroundings, and I know that Japanese art is very inspiring.

I began searching for Japanese art in thirft shops and in unique art shops. Anyone who is interested in Japanese art for their home or office could start on the internet by searching for Japanese art. See if there are any speciality shops or chain dealers in your area and then make a visit. While you can purchase great pieces of Japanese art off the internet, it is sometimes hard to really get a feel for the look and color scheme of an art piece without seeing it face to face. So don’t hesitate to be picky and to search around for Japanese art pieces that fit your style and needs. There are varying kinds and styles of Japanese art that can be purchased, so see what you like first.

My love for Japanese art hinges on their great use of color. I am very much affected by color, so I love the bold and brilliant hues that most Japanese art is comprised of. I started my search for Japanese art by choosing a color scheme that I wanted to decorate with and then I chose pieces according to that scheme.

I am not sorry that I chose Japanese art to be the theme of my office decor. In fact, I love what I chose. It inspires me to work hard and to create in much the same way that the Japanese have created such great Japanese art.

Arthor: Tom Heatherington

It is more than just a matter of taste!

There may not be two words as distantly removed from each other as ‘rustic’ and ’sushi’, but my reaction was the same to my first encounters with each. My appreciation and understanding of ‘rustic decor’ and ’sushi’ gradually evolved from aversion to amazement. Permit me to explain…

Many years ago I was employed by the American division of a large Japanese company. As a senior member of management, I was required to make numerous trips to Japan, and entertain Japanese visitors when they visited our facility. Regardless of the country in which we found ourselves, sushi was the preferred carte du jour. Price was never an object, but regardless of the cost of the meal, my early experiences with the taste and texture only served to make me drink more Sapporo. I simply did not have a love-at-first-bite appreciation for raw fish.

Sometime after those first unimpressive gastronomic introductions, something changed and I cannot tell you why or what was the cause, but I began to find sushi palatable. Before long I found it irresistible. To this day, sushi is a preferred dish of mine and I will often go out of my way to discover a good sushi restaurant. Undoubtedly you must be wondering what the fine-tuning of my taste buds has to do with rustic décor.

My early encounters with rustic furniture were similar to my sushi experiences. The first few times I was exposed to rustic furniture (stick chairs, twig tables, et al) I was not overwhelmed. My education in furniture design was what you might call “classical”, in that I had a serious appreciation for the graceful lines of a Queen Anne chair with carved scallop shells on the knees of its cabriole legs. Thomas Chippendale’s “Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director” was a mainstay in my shop and I referred to it often for inspiration when building a fine piece of mahogany furniture.

Rustic furniture on the other hand was not refined or sophisticated and did not fill me with appreciation for the craftsman’s talent. Much like my experiences with sushi, over time I began to develop a taste for rustic furniture’s functionality, its fascinating history and what the pieces began to say to me. The process of bending delicate willow branches into a decorative chair that would support an adult’s weight and was cool, comfortable and resembled a woodlander’s throne is an awe-inspiring example of pure genius. My initial lack of understanding evolved into meaningful appreciation.

In the same vein, using rough-hewn logs to create beds, tables, chairs and other functional pieces may not require the same fastidiousness employed by a master cabinetmaker, but the adaptation and utilization of nature is what makes one take notice. It is not the amount of detail or the intricacy of design that makes a piece of rustic furniture exceptional. It is what the piece says about itself, its function and how it relates with the surroundings that creates its delightful aura.

The intrinsic majesty of a tree is one of the reasons log homes and log furniture have such a loyal following. A traditional furniture maker may choose to saw planks from the trunk and carve elaborate designs, while a rustic craftsman will fashion a piece that appears to have grown up from the floor itself. With rustic and log furniture, form and function are complimented by nature’s distinctive characteristics. People want to surround themselves with such natural grandeur and rustic décor speaks to that desire in a way that old Thomas Chippendale probably could not understand.

Twenty years ago, I thought of raw fish as bait, and gnarled branches on the forest floor were little more than kindling. Over the years I have learned that if something is different than I think it should be, I might need to take another bite or one more look before I decide to spit it out or savor the taste.

Marisa taks sushi to the next level. Today I want to introduced her new Grilled Sushi Rice Cake recipe.
Following is republished from Marisa’s blog with her permission:

Author: Marisa Baggette:

The key to these spicy bean and corn-studded cakes is to make sure the rice is compactly pressed together. This will prevent them from falling apart when grilled. These cakes can also be sautéed in a skillet. Serve these tasty cakes alone as a snack or make it a light meal by adding grilled shrimp, salmon or chicken.

Grilled Sushi Rice Cakes (Makes 5 rice cakes)

2 cups prepared sushi rice (day old or fresh)

2 tsp finely chopped scallions

1/4 cup cooked corn kernels

1/4 cup cooked black beans; rinsed, drained and slightly smashed

1/2 TBSP adobo sauce from canned chipotle chili peppers

1/4 tsp finely chopped garlic

freshly squeezed juice from 1/4 of a lime

oil for grilling

Spicy Orange Soy Dip

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup honey

freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 orange

1 tsp shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven flavored pepper)

plastic or latex food safe gloves

To make sauce, heat soy sauce, honey and orange juice in a small sauce pan until it almost reaches a boil. Do not allow to boil. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in shichimi togarashi. Serve warm as a dipping sauce.

In a small bowl, combine scallions, corn, back beans, adobo sauce, garlic and lime juice. Toss well.  Add sushi rice and stir well.

Before forming cakes, protect hands with latex or plastic food safe gloves. Firmly pack about 1/5 of the rice mixture into a 1/2 cup measuring cup. It is okay if some of the grains of rice are smashed in the process.  Unmold and repeat with remaining rice.

Heat grill to high heat. Lightly brush rice cakes with oil. Place rice cakes oil side down on the grill and allow to cook until slightly charred, about 5 minutes. Brush with oil before flipping over and allowing to cook about 3 minutes more.

Remove from grill and serve immediately with warm Spicy Orange Soy Dip. The rice cakes can be presented on a decorative plate. 

About the Author:
Marisa Baggett is a traveling itamae, teaching sushi classes at various gourmet food markets and private homes. In addition to teaching, she is the “tsushi” chef of Tsunami Restaurant in Memphis, TN where she creates fusion sushi based on regions of the Pacific Rim.