Chasing the Eto

New Year's day brings with it many fine traditions like the consuming of black eyed
peas for luck. I think the tradition actually showed luck in and of itself as HAVING peas, a hock to cook them with and a pot in which to accomplish this were signs in and of themselves that you were pretty darned lucky to begin
with.

Nursing a sick head from too much wine or a sick stomach from too much food are also fine American traditions- as if somehow we need to punish ourselves for being well off. I decided this new year to A.) Be sensible and sensitive to the
needs of others and B.) Be more than a little cranky about it and C.) Be OK with that.

Fred had recently introduced me to a new concept. We were speaking about an aquaintance of his who recently did some THING (I forget what) for herself and stated she was NOT being selfish, she was ENTITLED. It became the theme for
my evening let someone else feed me and do for me and if I won at Candyland (which I did, beginners luck actually having never played before-) I was teaching the little guy good sportsmanship AND I was entitled. The crankiness? Well
after having absolutely no fun sharing my own crabby company I decided I was ENTITLED to a better time and took my grumpy butt to bed at 11:30. I was awoken at 12:08 and about every 4 minutes thereafter by well wishing friends who
were astonished I was asleep. I explained I was not asleep I was just answering the phone lying down with my eyes closed in pajamas and leaping to conclusions was no way for them to start a new year.

Bed was important as I had a plan for new years day. I was going to catch a mouse. Specifically an Eto. 2008 is the year of the Eto- the Japanese Good fortune Rat.

I met 'Neff at the Mitsuwa market a Japanese mall in Edgewater, NJ. I arrived at 9:00 that rainy morning and was met with a line of about a hundred slightly damp Asians awaiting the opening of the market. According to Keiko it is customary for Japanese folks to go out and celebrate on New Year's morning. Mitsuwa offered Taiko Drumming, Ceremonial Dragon Slaying, soft serve black sesame ice cream and the big draw the 1st 500 families would receive a free porcelain rat meant to bring luck in the coming year- the Eto.

I got mine, Neff got hers and we wandered Mitsuwa looking at...the everything. There was so much to see. Amazingly marbled Wagyu beef, a vast array of pickles, sake, ramen and gyoza all beautifully displayed. Even a lowly cello pack of okra was elevated to 'okura' giving it not only a certain Asian exotic-ness but an additional syllable as well.


New Year Cake


If I had 2 Etos- I'd give one to you...


Taiko Drummers




Mizuna


A whole LOT of sake


I am assuming this is a cocktail snack....

VLH joined us just in time for brunch. Mitsuwa offers a stunning array of Japanese and Chinese style foods as well as taking a stab at French and Italian inspired cuisine; offering croissants (stuffed with red bean paste) and soba noodles with baby clams served as ' linguine con vongole'. I was very pleased when the counter lady at the St. Honore bakery greeted me in English to be able to respond with my only complete and absolutely correct Japanese phrase " Shinnen akemashite
omedeto gozaymasu" Which I have believed for the past 25 years meant 'Happy New Year' in Japanese. Keiko, ever aware of my desire to learn and be appropriate in Japanese informs me that this phrase actually means "Happiness to you on the
dawn of the New Year's Day" basically I had until noon that day to say my one phrase and then it was another 364 days of waiting.

25 years ago I learned the phrase to impress a Japanese man named Alan that I had a crush on. I repeated it over and
over to myself for weeks and learned the night I actually SAID my hard-won greeting to him that A.) Alan was gay. And B.) Knew not one single word of Japanese. Looking back I cannot say which discovery upset me more but I know the
counter lady and the fifteen or so strangers I greeted this new year's morning at Mitsuwa appreciated my work all those years ago.



As I mentioned-VLH joined 'Neff and I for a gorgeous brunch in Mitsuwa's food court. H had been a bit late to the party and was so stunned by the museum-quality display of plastic food at Mitsuwa that he was launched into a sort of food fugue and rendered completely incapable of choosing a stall from which to purchase breakfast. It was a giddy state brought on by an excess of ...noodles and potstickers. All he kept muttering was... "I dunno- you pick and then I'll choose- I dunno, I dunno..." I was worried that drool was imminent or some form of spasm.

As I had arrived 2 hours earlier I had calmed down sufficiently to narrow the field. Eggs. Scrambled. Sounds like everyday fare in the U.S. of A. until you find that these particular eggs are scrambled with crab and served over rice with pork and scallions. Yum. H chose a plateful of plump pork-filled gyoza, pan fried and 'Neff a bowl of soba noodles with pork accompanied by rice covered in salmon roe and a somewhat ancient-looking hardboiled egg in what appeared to be soy sauce. The question for me was how in the world did the denizens of Mitsuwa market maintain such diminutive and trim stature? The portions were ENORMOUS!

As with many New Year's past, the post brunch activity was VERY serious napping. 'Neff went on to home and parents and VLH and I to our patriotic duty of sleeping off the effects of a Japanese super-sized brunch. A very pleasant way, in many ways, to spend a New Year's Day. Easy as snapping a garter. I did not miss the hangover or the black-eyed peas- not even a little.

I spent THIS weekend thinking about my good fortune- this the first weekend in recent memory that I spent on my own and I set myself (again crankily as I would rather have had company but did not provide any for myself- self imposed grouchiness-even worse) to straightening cabinets and closets and clearing things out for the new year. I found that I had at least two of everything, and sometimes more. As the afternoon wore on I also found the crankiness moving away and being replaced with a sense of awe. Maybe for the first time in my life, I have much more than I need. Especially of luck and prosperity. And it did not come by chance- just like my Eto- I went out and got it and more and more- like the Eto- good fortune and happiness comes to my door- free of charge, even if I'm too cranky at that moment to appreciate it. So next time I'm feeling a bit like this I can just reach over- grab my Eto- and remember to be grateful.

Shinen Akemashite Omedeto Gozymasu!