今日、栗原はるみ先生が家に来た。オラはNHK 国際の番組「Your Japanese Kitchen」を撮るため、先生のところで何十回もお世話になっているけど、今日、特別企画で、その番組をオラの家で撮った。いつものスタッフの皆さんなのに、なんだか緊張した〜。特に緊張したのは女房かも。

Getting ready for the shoot
The “charismatic housewife” Ms. Harumi Kurihara, known as the “Martha Stewart of Japan” came to my place today. She has published quite a number of very popular cook books in several languages. She and I (and the very talented George Williams, of course) work together on the program called “Your Japanese Kitchen” on the NHK International Channel.
Usually, we shoot this program at her home/studio, but today we tried something different and shot the program at my apartment. I was a bit nervous even though I already knew all of the people involved. (You never know when they might discover the odd cobweb you missed.)

Getting into it
だって、栗原先生は、料理研究家で有名だもん。女房は自分の料理テクニックに先生がなんか文句付けるなのかな〜って心配していたみたい。無意識でも。
でも、心配する事はなかった。先生はテレビに出る時と変わらない、そのまんまの人間じゃ。冗談言ったり、やさしく教えたりする。女房がリラックスしてはるみ先生と楽しく料理の話しとか(オラに対しての不満話しとか)出来た。
I think maybe my wife was more nervous than I was. I mean, gosh, Ms. Kurihara is -like- the biggest star in the cooking world over here in Japan. What if she spots something mistaken about the way my wife cooked?
What if my wife cuts the vegetables at a 47 degree angle rather than a 42 degree angle?
Egads! We’d NEVER live that down.

Coming up on the finale
But, of course, I jest. Ms. Kurihara’s way of cooking is actually very similar to my wife’s. They are both very busy, career oriented women. As such, it is imperative that they strive to be efficient in every aspect of their lives — including cooking. They both use quality ingredients and flavorings. They don’t spend much time measuring things or cutting to precision. They already know where they want to go BEFORE they begin. Like I said, they are organized.
今日の一番面白いポイントは料理スタイルだったかな。栗原先生と女房はすごく似ているな〜と思った。
二人とも仕事で忙しく、料理するときはやっぱ速い。いい材料と調味料を使ってるから、あまり細かく測ったりしないね。こだわりはあるけど、なんちゅうか、大体「かん」で動く。
それだ。二人とも、料理の上手な母親から料理を習ったから、なんだか「本能」みたいなもんかな?

今日の御馳走はこれ
Both my wife and Ms. Kurihara were taught cooking by their formidable mothers, so they don’t waste any time while cooking. “Get it done, and move on the next chore”
would seem to have been their motto.
It’s almost instinctive. And it’s a joy to watch. I wish I had half of their skill.
Anyway, here are the two dishes we introduced on the program today (right hand side).
Beef and eggplant simmered in miso AND Natto-jiru.
See the NHK website for all the details.

豚となすの味噌煮

なつかしい納豆汁

gochiso-sama deshita
キーワード: NHK, 料理, 番組