Heavy snowfall in March, which has become a regular occurrence in recent years, has also fallen this year. It has not rained for a while and the fields are parched, so it is a blessing that the snow has come.
Well, there have been no updates for a while and time has stood still, but from the end of February to the beginning of March I was packed with seasonal work.
At the end of February, parents and children got together to prepare miso together.
They desalted the rice koji made from the rice they grew themselves, and then slowly boiled the organic Nakasennari soybeans they received from Hakushu Sorakumo Farm over a fire for about five hours.
While the soybeans are boiling, we will proceed with the process of "shiokiri" (salt cutting), which I mentioned in my previous blog, in which rice koji and salt are mixed.
After crushing the soft, sweetly cooked soybeans with your fingers to check their firmness, the preparation process finally begins.
The soybeans were crushed by a team using an old mincer, while another group crushed the soybeans by putting them in a bag and stomping on it.Finally, both groups were mixed together, resulting in a product with just the right amount of granularity remaining.
After crushing the soybeans, mix the soybeans with the salted koji and toss it in a barrel to complete the brewing process. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product in two years.
Looking back, last year the adults were mostly doing the work alone, but this year, watching the children actively helping out, I couldn't help but feel once again how quickly children grow.
The children played, worked enthusiastically, tasted the mashed beans and laughed about how delicious they were, and chatted enthusiastically.The atmosphere was friendly and lively throughout, and they were able to prepare 50kg of miso.
People of all ages come together and look after each other's children, regardless of whether they are their own or someone else's, and both adults and children grow up together, discovering new things, learning new things, and gaining joy.
Perhaps it is precisely because we are willing to learn from the old ways of life rather than choosing convenience that we are able to enjoy such things.
We ourselves are still in the experimental stage of "Kodachi Shamoji." Please support us!
Field work has finally begun, and we have begun sowing vegetable seeds.
First, I planted peas, broad beans, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, and kohlrabi seeds. They are growing slowly and healthily while keeping them warm in a greenhouse.
We are now accepting reservations for vegetable sets starting in June.
