I opened my refrigerator a few days ago and found one of our pots sitting inside. The pot had apparently been the victim of a drive-by boiling. Weird white streaks ran down the sides of the thing.
With more than a little trepidation, I took the lid off and peeked inside. White mash with long greens streaks. I quickly closed the lid, skulked away and hoped that I hadn’t just discovered the evening’s dinner.
A few days went by and no radioactive mush appeared on my plate, so I more or less forgot about it. Then, Yukari and I went out to dinner at a nearby restaurant. They served us a clam and on top of it was a sprig of some herb.
“Do you know what this?” Yukari asked. Having long since learned that she’s better off not waiting for a response, she continued, “This is one of the seven…errr…weeds that you are supposed to eat on the 7th of January for good luck and good health.”
“Oh, so that’s what that disgusting gruel in the refrigerator was,” I replied, “If it’s supposed to be for good luck and good health, how come you didn’t share any with me?”.
“Well, you’re eating one of them now. That probably counts.”
As it turned out, we saw many of the seven “weeds” throughout our meal. Not surprising, since the restaurant was clearly still on a New Years theme. Red and white foods, red and white are auspicious colors in Japan, and flecks of gold leaf appeared throughout the meal.
But now I know: I can’t trust my wife to tell me when I’m supposed to eat the appropriate foods to keep me in good health for another year. Word to the wise: when you find weird green gruel in your refrigerator, eat some. Just in case.
PS - This rule should be applied with some care by college students and bachelors.
Posted by pmk at January 11, 2005 11:23 PM