Sakura

Mary had this beautiful piano piece called Sakura, which is Japanese for Cherry Blossom.  It got us interested in the tradition of viewing and celebrating the beautiful cherry blossoms in Japan.  It has been a tradition for hundreds of years in Japan.  They have pic-nics and sometimes weddings under the blooming Cherry trees.  The piece that Mary is playing is a very common song heard by most Japanese people when they are children.

Here is the link: https://youtu.be/kI70EmrK4UA

We saw some beautiful pictures of the cherry trees in Japan on the internet and it inspired Mary to make a painting of a cherry blossom path.  She had so much fun painting it and I just loved how it turned out.

 

For Sunday dinner Rich made pink rice, a traditional dish eaten during the cherry blossom time.  He made up his own recipe.  We had it a long with salmon patties and beets.

 

 

Here is his recipe:

 

Sakura Rice

 

2 cups uncooked white rice

Juice from one large can of salmon

Juice from cooked red beets

Juice from sauteed celery, white onion, garlic and mushrooms

 

Combine all juices to make 4 cups of liquid in all.  Simmer liquid and add rice.  Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Take off heat and let stand for 15 minutes.  Serve using an ice cream scoop with some flakes of salmon on top or wasabi.

 

We serve this dish when we make salmon patties for the traditional Sakura (Cherry Blossom season) and Mary plays the beautiful theme music on the piano.

 

Cherry Blossom in Japan