And away we go!
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The day before spring is known as Setsubun in Japan. Traditionally, roasted soybeans are thrown at a family member wearing an ogre mask. The family chants, “Demons out! Luck in!” Also ehoumaki, uncut futomaki (fat sushi rolls), are consumed to usher in good luck. After some wrangling, I was able to convince K-ZO to sell me an uncut futomaki.
With the blustery weather, I was craving kimchi nabe, a Japanese take on kimchi jjigae. I made a vegan version of Just One Cookbook’s recipe. Nothing like a comforting hot pot on a rainy day!
Prepped ingredients.
The finished article. I ate my nabe with a bowl of brown rice, but I’ll cook up some udon with the leftovers tomorrow.
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Gorgeous! You really do make some very beautiful food. Even the prep is pretty. 
And why was Keizo being so difficult?
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Aww, thank you so much, @Bookwich! I always love your style of cooking, particularly your veg, soups, and salads.
I think they thought an uncut futomaki was strange. I actually tried to order the Big Veggie, a vegan futomaki, at Yuko Kitchen, but they refused to let me buy an uncut roll. I guess Setsubun hasn’t really translated over to The States, but you can find the masks, roasted soybeans, and ehomaki at Marukai and Mitsuwa though.
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Past month
Yakiyan:
Gwen:
Mori:
Some of the best mochi I have had
Tsujita:
Providence:
Destroyer:
Kagaya:
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how was the gwen sandwich?
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It was pretty good, although kinda expensive for a “to go” sandwich and it was extremely rich.
LOL, I was going to ask the same thing! 
So weird, but when I ordered a roll at Ramen Roll last week, it looked like what you’re talking about. But it’s just a hand roll that looks like a burrito. That’s the way Kazunori does them, too.
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Ah yes, ehomaki is very similar to the uncut roll at Ramen Roll. The minor difference is that ehomaki is essentially an uncut futomaki or thick sushi roll. Perhaps I’ll try Ramen Roll or Kazunori next year. Thanks for the tip, @Bookwich!
I inadvertently copied you, @Bookwich, and ordered the Baby Sinclair at Roberta’s today. It had so many of my favorite ingredients: kale, hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, cheddar cheese, Calabrian peppers, and garlic. While it was quite tasty, it was a bit too salty for me. At $14 for a salad-plate-sized pizza, it’s on the pricey side - although I know that I’m paying for good quality ingredients. I think I might be more inclined to get pizza from DeSano Pizza Bakery, but I’m glad that I have the option of getting good pizza at Roberta’s for a brief window.
I also picked up an iced cappuccino at Blue Bottle.
As I was typing Baby Sinclair pizza, I found out it was named after a character on some show called Dinosaurs, as the pizza has dinosaur (lacinto) kale. These kids today.
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Oh, it was kale! Mine wasn’t salty, but spicy as heck. And weren’t the mushrooms great?
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Not the mama
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Loved the kale and mushrooms, @Bookwich! That’s my jam. I really liked the spiciness too. I might be just a bit too sensitive to salt to be honest.
Ha ha, I’m kinda out of it in terms of American TV. I guess Dinosaurs was on in the 90s?
That was my friday night jam when i was still a wee chow pup, a cup of cup noodle and 2 hours of family matters, perfect strangers, step by step and dinosaurs. They don’t make tv like they used to.
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How much longer for the Roberta’s pop up? I did like the pies and would love one more go around if possible.
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Much obliged.
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