24 Sekki

We decided to use late harvest Portuguese peppers, walnuts, and Sen’s homemade miso to make these brown rice miso onigiri to celebrate the concept of 名残 nagori.

24 Sekki October 9 – 寒露 Kanro

Featured today is the traditional Japanese autumn dish, 茄子田楽 Nasu Dengaku. Sen used her homemade miso, that she started in the spring, to make a sweet miso glaze to dress the grilled eggplants.

24 Sekki September 23 – 秋分 Shuubun

In Japan, the equinox is a day of reflection when families gather and pay respect to their loved ones, spend time together and connect over food.

24 Sekki September 8 – 白露 Hakuro

With the last of the summer heat remaining and the recurring theme of dew during this micro season, we thought a classic Japanese sweet called 心太 Tokoroten would be fitting and refreshing.

24 Sekki July 7 – 小暑 Shousho (Tanabata)

One of the customs in Japan for tanabata is to write wishes on thin strips of paper called 短冊 tanzaku and hang them on fronds of bamboo. Many households will have a length of bamboo displayed with ...

24 Sekki June 21 – 夏至 Geshi

To celebrate the beginning of summer, Sen surprised us with her homemade Strawberry Ichigo Daifuku mochi. The daifuku mochi is one of our favourite treats, especially with the first strawberries of...

24 Sekki June 6 – 芒種 Bōushu

芒種 Bōushu directly translates to “awn-types” and grains with awns would be sown in the ground by Bōushu and prepared for the rainy season.

24 Sekki May 21 – 小満 Shouman

For celebrating shouman today, Sen made Ayame-mochi; a classic Japanese confection inspired by the beautiful purple irises.

24 Sekki May 5 – 立夏 Rikka

As the sun gets higher in the sky everyday, we start to get longer days and begin transitioning into more summer-like weather with rikka (立夏) or “Summer Arises”.

24 Sekki April 20 – 穀雨 Kokuu

For celebrating Kokuu, Sen has made these spring treats called 草餅 kusa-mochi, sticky rice dumplings with young yomogi herbs (Artemisia princeps) that are filled with a sweet red bean paste. Kusamoc...

24 Sekki April 4 – 清明 Seimei

The salted sakura sable cookies that Sen made invoke a happy feeling of springtime, anticipating the arrival of new growth and all the different varieties of cherry blossoms we have growing in Vanc...

24 Sekki March 21 – 春分 Shunbun no Hi

Every spring we look forward to receiving Japanese baskets made during the long winter season from the snowy part of Japan.

24 Sekki March 5 – 啓蟄 Keichitsu

For this bright start of spring season, what we have here today is 桜餅 Sakuramochi, a spring specialty and one of our favourite Japanese sweets to make to enjoy while watching the plums and sakura b...

24 Sekki March 3 – 桃の節句 Momo-no-Sekku (Hinamatsuri)

Because Peach blossoms begin to bloom around this time and they were used to ward off bad omens, this March 3rd day is sometimes called 桃の節句 Peach Sekku.

24 Sekki February 19 – 雨水 Usui

This little wagashi models its cute shape to this songbird and is called an uguisu mochi. Filled with sweet bean paste, they are only served during spring when these birds hold their spring choirs.

24 Sekki February 4 – 立春 Risshun

Sweetened sticky rice wrapped in tsubaki leaves are one of oldest recorded wagashi-style sweets mentioned in Japanese literature.

24 Sekki February 3 – 節分 Setsubun

It was thought that Setsubun was a day when the boundaries between our world and the spirit world were blurred and special measures were taken to prevent any evil spirits bringing bad luck into a h...