Dogwood & Grandma

This time of year I always think of my grandmother. Dogwood blossoms were her favorite. She had a way with food, too.

Dogwood blossoms were her favorite. In Japanese: "o-mizuhana". Misao Kasahara was an amazing woman. She lived to 94 and was a woman with her own mind. She raised three girls and a boy cousin through the war and many hardships.

She was a forward thinker in a country that still barely values that, especially in women. In the 1920's she became a "mo-gu" (shortened from "modern girl") and adopted Western style of dress, hair, and wild talk of equality between the sexes. When I returned to Japan in the 1990's seventy years later they were still advertising jobs with two salaries: one for men, one for women.

She gave me my first camera when I was about eleven. It was a treasured gift that made me feel special and opened up a whole new world to me. I've had several cameras since then, shot photos all over the world, even sold photography, all because she trusted a little girl with such a grown up gift.

One of the things I remember her sharing was a war-time regret. There were long stretches of time during the war when all they had to eat was sweet potatoes. Later I met the boy she'd felt so sorry about having fed only sweet potatoes. Now in his 50's, I asked if he had an aversion to them. His reply, "No, I love them, why do you ask?" I'm sure she had a lot to do with why he was unaware of their hardship. She always had a way not so much of enduring - you never saw her burdened - but of just getting on with it.

While my family is full of good cooks, each of us has a specialty or two. I remember Grandma making tempura and hakusai (pickled Nappa cabbage). She was so tiny, she had to stand on a stepstool to get above the nappa high enough to press it! No matter how closely we watched her, and tried to follow her instructions, ours never came out as good as hers.

I always thought it had something to do with the decades of love and strength somehow coming through her hands. Remember Like Water for Chocolate? When the emotions of the daughter Tita, flowed through her food to those eating it?

Toward the end of her life, family gatherings and holidays took on more importance and poignancy. We each dealt with the impending loss in our own ways. One of our last Thanksgivings with her we waited so long to decide to do the holiday together. When Mom finally went to pick up the turkey, the only ones left were the size of small children. The photo of that meal still makes me laugh. Grandma (80 lbs soaking wet) looks like she's half the size of the turkey!

I once asked her what her wish for her grandchildren was. She wanted us each to have the freedom to study and pursue whatever interested us. She was a diligent writer and wrote every day of her life. She traveled all over the world and was curious about most everything. She was completely unimpressed when I was making a fat salary at a less than thrilling job. I think she would be really happy for me now.

Misao's Hakusai

Americans would probably liken this to a slaw or salad more than a pickle, it's not cooked in brine, simply "pickles" in salted water. It's a great side to any meal and the basic recipe can be modified to taste. Some cooks add bonito (dried shaved fish) or a splash of fish sauce, soy sauce, or more or less chili flake. If you add garlic and chili you'll have something more like Kim chi.

1. Nappa cabbage is best in winter. Rinse and chop into about in inch pieces.
2. In a large non-reactive bowl such as glass. Layer nappa in bowl, salting liberally as you go.
3. Dissolve 1 tsp salt in about 1-1 ½ C of water. Add red chili flakes.
4. Pour over top of salted cabbage.
5. Place a plate or dish on top of cabbage and weigh down with 3-5 lbs of weight. (I use a big glass bowl and place my cast iron Dutch oven on top, with a big pitcher of water sitting in the pot.)
6. This should sit at least overnight, up to 3 days.
7. Check to see that water is being released from the Nappa. If not, you may not have salted it enough.

After pressing, I drain from the salty water and add a little Yuzu vinegar and serve with a splash of soy.