Vegetables galore

Another weekend brought another harvest festival.  Nerima, the city we live in, is known for it's daikon (a long white radish).  November is harvest time for this robust vegetable, so it is the time to celebrate.  There was a festival in Hikarigoaka Park featuring the fall harvest of daikon, persimmons, apples, cabbages, and more.  All of the venders were selling fruit, vegetables, or food made from fruit and veggies.

There was a boat made from vegetables at the entrance to the festival.  This is the second time I've seen vegetables in the shape of a ship.  It seems that they do this in honor of takarabune - the ship carrying the seven gods of fortune. 

My family wandered around and enjoyed seeing all the vegetables.  We bought apples and tsukemono (pickled vegetables), as well as umeboshi (pickled plums).  We even picked up a couple persimmons along the way.

Daikon drying to be made into tsukemono.

There was even a huge tent that had vegetables laid out competition style.  They reminded me of state fair competitions.  Today they were out on display for all to appreciate and tomorrow they will sell them.

I cook with fresh vegetables every day and my family eats a ton of fruit.  It is nice to have access to such beautiful produce at these festivals, as well as the many farm stands around our city.  In my opinion, many children in America have no idea where food actually comes from.  There is such a huge disconnect between the farmer and the grocery store and they aren't taught the "real story" behind how their food is created.  To see the children here being exposed to farmers and celebrating locally grown produce is exciting. 

When we arrived home, I made some applesauce with some of the apples we purchased at the festival and Asian pears that I already had.  To make my sauce, I typically roast the apples and then put them in the food processor.  I don't remove the skin because it is full of vitamins and minerals that add so many nutrients.  Putting it in the food processor make is so you don't even notice the skin.  I roast the apples because it brings out their natural sugars and I never sweeten my sauce.  It just tastes like to do.  I didn't make a huge batch, but I made enough to freeze some for eating throughout the winter.

I'm so thankful for all the festivals and community events.  They are fun to attend and help me to appreciate my surroundings.  Before we moved here, I was dreading living in the city.  When I thought of Tokyo, all I pictured was an urban environment.  But my little part of Tokyo is quite the opposite.