Making miso
Ono Karori
Five years have passed since I moved to Fukuoka .
3 children , 2 cats, 1 dog , 2 staff members ,
Before I knew it, my family had grown to a large one, and my days were busy with the shop, childcare, and housework.
I would like to write here about the small joys I experience in my daily life.
I gave birth to my third child last April .
The first job after returning was farm work.
Children and staff
I started making ridges and compost by imitating what I saw.
Sow the seeds
"Grow big! Grow big!"
And lots of love,
Watering and weeding are minimal during the hot summer.
Of course, the vegetables were grown without any pesticides, along with the wildflowers, and they grew freely and leisurely, and in the fall we harvested our first beans.
Red beans are sweetened with zenzai or bean paste.
Black beans are cooked with rice to make bean rice.
Freshly picked edamame beans can be boiled and enjoyed as a snack.
The remaining soybeans were left to ripen for use in miso.
Children peeling beans
We were dancing and playing so it didn't go very well, but...
We decided to make miso while snacking on some freshly cooked, steaming beans.
Throw the miso ball into the pot with all your might.
My eldest son, who was making miso for the third time, said, "I didn't know girls could be so strong."
He immediately crushed the miso ball with his fist. I was happy to see that he actually remembered it.
It is natural to make miso soup using stock.
Miso is an essential ingredient in our home, and even though I'm lazy, it's no big deal in our busy daily lives.
I was in my early 20s and didn't even know how to soak soybeans in water .
The first time I made miso, I didn't know how to do it and had to stay up all night mashing beans, but now it's a funny story.
Since then, growing beans and making miso has been a little dream of mine.
Around Utsushiki, old ladies are hard at work in the fields today as well.
It's something I've been doing for a long time.
People often say to me how dare you come to such a place in the middle of nowhere, but the scenery there reminds me of the countryside where I spent my first seven years of life, and it feels nostalgic and comfortable.
As I repeat the same thing every day in this place, I want to live each day to the fullest, in order to find small changes and joy.
Ono Kaori
