Menu of 2021

Graduation Celebratory Lunch <br id="3"/>To celebrate the graduation of the 3rd year junior high school student and the 6th grader of elementary school, we had a graduation lunch today.
Sekihan, which is steamed glutinous rice mixed with red beans and cowpeas, is often eaten during celebrations.
This is because the color red has been believed to ward off bad things since ancient times.
In addition to sekihan, we also prepared flower-shaped tofu hamburgers and festive desserts.
All the kitchen staff sincerely hope that the graduates will continue to enjoy their meals every day and stay healthy.

Grilled salmon marinade
World Cuisine in March is France.
France is a country located in Western Europe, officially known as the French Republic.
Agriculture is very prosperous and many crops are grown.
French cuisine is also registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, just like Japanese cuisine.
Marinade is a dish made by pickling meat, fish, vegetables, etc. in a liquid called marinade made from wine, vinegar, oil, lemon juice, flavored vegetables, spices, and seasonings.
For school lunches, salmon was marinated in marinade and then grilled.

Boiled game
The local school lunch in March is Fukuoka Prefecture.
Gameni is a local dish of Fukuoka Prefecture, commonly called Chikuzenni or fried chicken.
The name gameni is said to have originated from the Hakata dialect word ``gamekurikomu'', which means to gather together. There is a theory.
Gameni uses a lot of chewy vegetables such as burdock and lotus root, so be sure to chew them well.

Feijoada (bean and pork stew)
February's World Cuisine is Brazil.
Brazil is a country located in South America, officially known as the Federative Republic of Brazil.
Feijoada is a stewed meat and bean dish that is one of the typical home-cooked dishes of Brazil.
The name feijoada means a dish that uses the feijao, which means beans.

Setsubun
February 3rd is Setsubun.
Setsubun refers to the day before the first day of spring, which was thought to be the beginning of the year, and corresponds to New Year's Eve in the old days.
It is an event to drive away bad things and attract good luck so that you can spend the new year in good health.
While saying “Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi”, they sprinkle roasted soybeans, and put up holly sardines in front of the gate, which are said to scare away demons with their strong thorns and the smell of sardines.

Chirindron (chicken in tomato sauce)
World Cuisine for January is Spain.
Spain is located in Southern Europe and faces the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Although cultures differ between the north, center, and south, olive oil is commonly used in all regions.
Today's dish is Chilindron, a chicken stewed in tomatoes, which is a local dish from some parts of Spain.
The name Chirindoron means playing cards, and the colorful vegetables look like cards arranged side by side.
Stir-fried chicken in olive oil, stewed with onions, tomatoes, green peppers, and yellow paprika.

whale ketchup sauce
January 24th to 30th is National School Lunch Week.
Whales are a rare ingredient these days, but in the past they were often used in school lunches as a valuable source of protein.
It is said that whales, which were available at a low price and had high nutritional value, supported people's diets.
In addition, it is said that there is nothing left to throw away in whales, so not only the meat but also the bones, whiskers, and other parts that cannot be eaten are used without waste.
Today's whale is seasoned with ginger and garlic, then dusted with starch, fried in oil, and topped with homemade ketchup sauce.

Winter solstice <br id="3"/> Today is the winter solstice.
The winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year.
It is said that eating pumpkins and taking yuzu baths on this day will keep you healthy and prevent you from catching a cold.
Pumpkins contain nutrients such as carotene and vitamin C that make your body resistant to colds.
In addition, yuzu hot water has the effect of warming the body and improving blood circulation.
Yuzu from Inagi City is used for the sauce of Sawara no Yuzu Soy Sauce.

Salmon Chan-chan Yaki Tare <br id="3"/> Chan-chan yaki is a local Hokkaido dish made by grilling vegetables such as onions, cabbage, and carrots and fish such as salmon on an iron plate and seasoning with miso.
There are various theories about the origin of the name chanchan-yaki, such as ``because it can be made quickly'' and ``because the spatula collides with the iron plate when grilling''.
Today, I put onion and cabbage seasoned with miso on grilled salmon with chanchanyaki-style sauce.

Japanese food day
November 24th is called “Washoku no Hi” (Japanese food day), from the puns of “ii (11) nihon (2) shoku (4)”.
Washoku is a culture centered on cuisine that the Japanese have inherited from ancient times, and at its root is the idea of ​​​​"respect for nature."
It is characterized by ingredients nurtured by the rich nature of the sea, mountains, and villages, cooking that makes the most of umami, and a menu centered on rice, which is also excellent in nutritional balance.
For today's school lunch, we have prepared a Japanese menu that incorporates umami-rich dashi and traditional seasonings such as soy sauce and miso.
Let's think about Japanese food culture again while eating.

Pig kimchi bowl
World Cuisine for November is Korea.
South Korea is a country located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, protruding from the eastern part of the Asian continent to the south-southeast.
The Korean diet consists of rice as the staple food, along with meat, fish, and vegetable dishes.
Among them, kimchi is a traditional dish indispensable to the Korean dining table. It is a fermented food made by marinating Chinese cabbage, radish, cucumber, etc. in a condiment sauce called yangnyeom.
The lactic acid bacteria produced when kimchi is fermented helps digest food.
In addition, lactic acid bacteria are known to enhance immunity and have a preventive effect against cancer.

Potatoes from Ozora Town <br id="3"/>Ozora Town and Inagi City, Hokkaido, are sister cities, and they exchange their specialty vegetables and fruits.
Pears are sent from Inagi City, and freshly dug potatoes are delivered from Ozora Town.
Ozora Town is a town rich in nature, famous for its lake called Lake Abashiri, sunflower fields, and moss phlox park. And it's a town with a lot of people doing agriculture.
The mustard potatoes were made using potatoes delivered from Ozora Town.
Please taste and eat the potatoes that have just arrived from Ozora Town.

Fresh rice from Nozawa Onsen Village cooked in the kitchen <br id="3"/> For school lunches, rice cooked in the rice cooking facility in the first kitchen is provided to each school about once a month. (annotation)
This month, we will serve freshly harvested rice from Nozawa Onsen Village, Nagano Prefecture, which is a friendship city of Inagi City, and cook it with the rice cooking equipment in the first kitchen.
Nozawa Onsen Village in Nagano Prefecture grows delicious rice with the abundant snowmelt water that flows from the nearby mountains to Nozawa Onsen Village.
Chew well and feel the sweetness of rice.

　　　　
(Note) The 18 elementary and junior high schools in Inagi City are divided into three groups according to the rice cooking capacity of the rice cooking equipment in the No. 1 kitchen, and meals are provided on separate days.
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Group A : Inagi Daiichi Elementary School, Inagi Daiichi Elementary School, Inagi Daiichi Elementary School, Inagi Daiichi Elementary School, Inagi Daiichi Elementary School, Inagi Daiichi Elementary School, Nanzan Elementary School.
Date of provision : Tuesday, November 8, 2020
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Group B : Inagi Daini Elementary School, Koyodai Elementary School, Shiroyama Elementary School, Nagamine Elementary School, Wakabadai Elementary School, Hirao Elementary School
Date of provision : Friday, November 11, 2020
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Group C : Inagi Daiichi Junior High School, Inagi Daini Junior High School, Inagi Daiichi Junior High School, Inagi Daiichi Junior High School, Inagi Daiichi Junior High School, Inagi Daiichi Junior High School
Date of provision : Wednesday, November 9, 2020
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Urakami soboro (stir-fried pork and burdock root)
The local school lunch in October is Nagasaki prefecture.
Nagasaki Prefecture is located in the Kyushu region, and has prospered as a place for foreign trade since ancient times.
It is said that castella and sugar, which are now commonly eaten, came to Japan through the port of Nagasaki.
Urakami Soboro was created by a Portuguese missionary who was spreading Christianity in the Urakami district of Nagasaki Prefecture. It seems to be the beginning.
Urakami soboro, made by stir-frying plenty of vegetables with pork, is a dish that has been popular as a local delicacy for many years.

eye protection day
October 10th is Eye Protection Day.
Don't you feel tired eyes because you use your eyes too much for studying, smartphones, games, etc.?
Nutrients that are considered good for maintaining eye health include vitamin A, which is abundantly contained in green and yellow vegetables, and anthocyanin, which is contained in blueberries.
Blueberry Jelly is an Inagi City original jelly made using blueberries grown by a farmer in Inagi City.

Niitaka Pears from Inagi City <br id="3"/>Today's fruit is "Niitaka Pears" harvested in Inagi City.
Niitaka pears, which are in season from late September to mid-October, are larger than other varieties and have a very sweet taste.
In Inagi City, where the farmland area is small, the producers carefully adjust the fertilizer mix and devised ways to prevent insects and animals from eating them so that they can harvest high-quality pears from the limited field. I am growing.
Enjoy the local seasonal delicacies.

full moon
September 10th is Juugoya.
The night of the full moon is held when many crops are harvested, and it is an event to appreciate the blessings of heaven while looking at the moon and decorating pampas grass that looks like ears of rice.
By offering and eating moon-shaped dumplings that are round like the moon, people wished for good health and happiness.
Today's school lunch is moon viewing jelly and moon viewing jelly with rabbit-shaped kamaboko floating in it.
Let's eat while appreciating the blessings of nature.

Takao grapes from Inagi City <br id="3"/>Takao grapes, one of the specialties of Inagi City, are grown in Tokyo about 60 years ago. No grapes.
It's shaped like a rugby ball.
It was named after Mt. Takao in Tokyo.
It has a strong sweetness, a faint aroma, and a very strong flavor.It is a delicious grape that can be eaten with the skin.
The best time to eat them is from the end of August to the beginning of September.
The amount of production is decreasing year by year, but this year we were able to serve grapes that were carefully grown by the efforts of the farmers at school lunches.
Please enjoy it with gratitude.

Tomatoes <br id="3"/>Tomatoes are a typical summer vegetable that turn bright red in the summer sun.
Tomatoes contain a lot of glutamic acid, which is the same umami ingredient as kombu, and they make the dish even more delicious.
The more ripe a tomato is, the more glutamic acid it has.
Today's soup uses tomatoes harvested in Inagi City.
Let's taste while feeling the flavor of tomato.

Tanabata
July 7th is Tanabata.
Tanabata is an event introduced from China in the Nara period, and it is said that Orihime and Hikoboshi cross the Milky Way and meet only once a year.
The custom of hanging strips of paper on which wishes are written on bamboo leaves, which is said to have started in the Edo period, is unique to Japan and is still practiced throughout Japan.
Today's school lunch is related to Tanabata.

Irish stew (meat and vegetable broth)
The Cuisine of the World in July is Ireland.
Ireland is an island nation located in western Europe, near the United Kingdom.
Irish cuisine has many dishes that use potatoes.
The Irish stew for today's school lunch is a soup made by slowly stewing meat, potatoes, vegetables, etc., and is one of Irish home cooking.
It doesn't use milk or flour, so it looks like a pot-au-feu.
Generally, it is made with mutton, but I used pork for school lunch.

Locally grown food in Tokyo <br id="3"/> Every June is Shokuiku Month, and the 19th of every month is Shokuiku Day.
In the kitchen, we try to incorporate menus that convey nutritional balance, Japanese food culture, and the appeal of local products.
Today is a school lunch using ingredients related to Tokyo in connection with "Food Education Day" on the 19th.
The potatoes and onions in the curry nikujaga are grown in Inagi City where we live.
In addition, the Japanese mustard spinach, which is used in Japanese mustard spinach seasoned with grated radish, is a vegetable named after Komatsugawa, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo, where cultivation began.
Ingredients used for school lunches are delivered from all over Japan, but locally produced ingredients can be delivered to the communal kitchens in a shorter distance and less time, so they are delivered fresher.
Taste and enjoy.

Sardine fish soup <br id="3"/>This month's local lunch is Chiba Prefecture.
Choshi Port, located in Choshi City, Chiba Prefecture, is known for its large amount of sardines.
Off the coast of Choshi Port, the plankton that the sardines feed on grows abundantly, so fatty sardines are landed here.
In particular, the sardines that are caught during the first plum season in June are called "prince plum sardines" and are said to be the most fatty and delicious of the year.
Sardines contain calcium, which is necessary for bone growth, and vitamin D, which helps absorb calcium.
You can also get fats that are good for your body, such as DHA and EPA, which improve blood flow.

wiener tomato sauce
World Cuisine for June is Argentina.
Argentina is a country located in the southeastern part of South America.
Blessed with nature such as jungles and prairies, agriculture and livestock farming have flourished.
It is a food culture that eats a lot of meat, and the amount of meat consumed per person is one of the top in the world.
Choripan is a thick sausage sandwich called chorizo.
It is sometimes eaten with a sauce made from vinegar and spices called chimichurri.
There is a notch in the coppépan, so please try to eat it like a choripan with a sausage wrapped in tomato sauce.

thunder juice
The local school lunch in May is Tochigi Prefecture.
Tochigi Prefecture is located in the north of the Kanto region.
Nikko Toshogu Shrine and Kinugawa Onsen are famous as tourist destinations, but agriculture is also thriving, and specialties include kanpyo and strawberries.
Due to the topography, it is also known for frequent thunderstorms in the summer.
Kaminari-jiru, a local specialty of Tochigi Prefecture, is a soup made by frying tofu in oil while crumbling it, adding dashi stock and other ingredients and simmering it.
It is said that this name was given because the tofu makes a loud crunching sound like thunder when it is fried in hot oil.

hoki fly
World Cuisine for May is New Zealand.
New Zealand, like Japan, is a long, narrow island country that stretches from north to south, and has four distinct seasons.
Because it is surrounded by the sea, there is a food culture that eats seafood, which is very similar to Japan.
Today, I made fried Hoki using Hoki from New Zealand.
Hoki is a white fish, like cod.
Because it has a light taste and a soft flesh, it is often eaten in deep-fried dishes such as fries.
It is said to be a popular fish that can be eaten in fish and chips overseas as well.

chicken miso cutlet
April's local school lunch is Aichi Prefecture.
Miso-katsu is a local dish of Aichi Prefecture that is made by adding Haccho miso, bonito stock, and sugar to a pork cutlet and then eating it by dipping it in miso sauce.
Haccho miso is a dark brown miso made from soybeans, salt, water, and koji, and has a rich umami flavor and a unique astringency.
Because it was made in Haccho Village, Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture (currently Hatcho Miso), it was named Haccho Miso.
For school lunch, we ate crispy fried chicken cutlets with a salty-sweet miso sauce made from Haccho miso.

Young bamboo soup (dashi)
World Cuisine for April is Japan.
“Washoku”, registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, is created in Japan's four seasons and rich nature.
Dashi is an indispensable ingredient in Japanese cuisine.
Dashi made from bonito flakes and kombu seaweed contains inosinic acid and glutamic acid, which are umami components.
Today's wakatake soup uses dried bonito stock.