The Last Supper

Sunday, September 30th

The last day of my home-stay with the Oki’s had arrived. I got up at 7:00 sharp and went downstairs. Takao-san was up reading his newspaper and that morning the kitchen was strangely quiet because Chiharu-san was not there occupying it, busy concocting breakfast for the family. She was actually still asleep. That is because the previous night on our way home, we stopped by the grocery store at a request from me, so that I could pick up supplies for a Western-style breakfast that I would cook up for them this morning. I was glad that I didn’t see Chiharu up so early. But soon enough, she was up as well. By then however, the kitchen was alive with action!

By the time 8:00 rolled around we were about ready to roll. Now, for those of you that were living with me over the summer, you can probably guess what I decided to make for them. I had to do things a tad bit differently that day however considering I was cooking for five people. So I decided to sauté the red and green pepper and onion first and set them aside. Then I cooked up approximately 2 eggs per person, 11 altogether. Once the eggs were cooked, I laid them out on a serving platter and spread the sautéed vegetables overtop of them. Also set out on the table was a fruit salad composed of pineapple, kiwi, and banana, some toasted bread with spreads of butter and jam, and some bacon! We were set to go!

That day I believe they had planned to take me to sing Karaoke, but do to the weather, and my concession that the day would be just as well spent relaxing, we stayed home. Takao and I sat down in the living room and put on a CD of Liszt’s Solo Piano Works. I was working on my computer and he was reading. After about an hour, I heard something over by Takao… I look over to see his book on the ground and his head slumped back in the chair… he was asleep! The CD had finished and I didn’t want to wake him up, so I relocated upstairs to Ryunosuke’s room for most of the day. I spent a lot of time writing in the blog. I saw the van leave sometime in the mid-afternoon. Takao had gone out.

Later on that day, sometime close to 6:00 or 7:00, I came downstairs to find Chiharu and Ryunosuke sitting on the ground grinding something in a bowl. It looked like peanut butter, and smelled delicious. I was soon urged to join in and help.

Afterwards, we used this to make a dipping sauce. We made two sauces, both were made using some broth and soy sauce. The differing factors were that in one we used the ground sesame paste, and in the other we used fresh-squeezed lime juice and scallions. The dipping sauces were used for our thinly-sliced meats, which we cooked in a boiling pot of soup sitting upon a portable gas burner on the table. It was fantastic. A great way to end a great stay with a great family!

Stay tuned for updates about my new homestead and new additions to my life in Japan!