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Oh dear. I think that there is a toxin in blue food coloring that, when one reaches a critical point, causes one to forget one's most basic principles and commit random acts of artsy-fartsiness. That is the only possible explanation for the Grover face that appeared in my blue rice. (The face is made with egg eyes, umeboshi nose, nori mouth and pupils, and tomato for the lower lip. It was also made without the benefit of reference material, drat it.) I know that Grover's fur is much darker, but my palette of food colors is rather limited.

Ahem. Up above that is some pseuki yaki. Last weekend I cooked up a batch for my sister, her family, and my mother. I was nervous about this, because as I've mentioned before this is a family recipe. They're my family, so they've tasted the real stuff before, and I was afraid I'd get it disappointingly wide of the mark. I emphasized to them that I wanted constructive criticism and suggestions for how to get it closer. They did give me some ideas - maybe more onions and rice sticks, both good points, as I'd gone a little light on those. Aside from that, my mother told me "I think you got it!" YEAH! Behold the pelvic gyrations of my victory boogie!

And then there's some colorful steamed kabocha, steamed broccoli, and baked purple sweet potato. Guess what, that's the last of the kabocha. Awwwww. The broccoli is actually blue-green, but you can't really tell because it's so dark. I cut some florets and set them stems down in some food-colored water, the same way you'd make blue roses. It worked, but I'd have to go with something much lighter to get a definite blue. (Pity I'm not a fan of cauliflower.) And finally there are a pair of steamed buns with anko filling being besieged by raisins.

Wanna talk about it?