Mizutaki and family

Awww I had a lovely evening!!! Well, a lovely day for that matter. Tanabe-shimai took me to Nagaoka for a relief society meeting about finances....I didn't understand a word but after that we went to pick up her friend from the train station and made fun of the other gaijin walking around the station while we waited for her to come in. Then we went to a really cool art museum, had a delicious lunch and I zonked out on the way home. Then I rode home, grabbed a treat to bring to the Mizutaki party and was on my way. My friend Nogima, her daughter Sayuki and Nogima's nephew Yuse (sp?) came and a few others.
Mizutaki is a meal usually set up for a smaller group with a more intimate setting with your guests. In this case we wheren't down stairs in the church but on top, on the second floor where the rooms are smaller and there's carpet, it's cozier. The Elders had prepared two kinds of Mizutaki. First Mizutaki is made in a big pot! It's basically boiled cabbage, chicken, tofu, and assorted mushrooms. The other was a rendition of Mizutaki, but a Korean Kimuchi version (which was really good) The host pours a little sauce (soysauce/lemon/lime/rice vinegar) into the bowls of each guest. Then proceeds to serve everyone in turn. The meal was absolutley delicious! The Kimuchi Mizutaki was soooo good.
It was wonderful food and great company. We shared stories and pictures and had a great evening of chatting and eating (aka, my favorite things to do). It was awesome! And what I really liked is that I just felt like I was hanging out and eating and having a great time with family. You know that feeling when you are eating a warm meal all together and everyone is just chatting and enjoying is all. It was like that, like I was just with family.
It was such a lovely day!