A Miyazaki Film and some nice drinks

 

Yes it is a yellowjacket on my donut.

We like to go to the cider mill every autumn and have cider and donuts.

“The Boy and the Heron”

Finally, this long-awaited movie is on streaming.

We have watched this newly released film on streaming, and I’m sad to say, we didn’t find it as charming or captivating as our favorite Miyazaki films such as “Totoro,” “Spirited Away,” “Howl’s Moving Castle,” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service.”

The Japanese title is taken from a classic book written in 1937 and
 loved by Japanese youth.

I read the Japanese book How Do You Live last year, when I was first hearing about this new Miyazaki film. Like many reviewers, when I watched, I found the connection between them to be somewhat difficult to grasp, as the plot, setting and characters are all different. I reviewed this book in detail here:

How Do You Live?

Quite a few scenes include someone making tea served with bread & butter.

Miyazaki’s films often feature a “Granny” — in this one there are quite a few grannies who crave
food and cigarettes (since it’s set during the war when shortages were severe).

KAOS

Zeus drinks beer while barbecuing.

Blog post © 2024 mae sander.

Movie images from IMDB.

Shared with Elizabeth’s Tuesday party.

Where we ate this weekend

The Bad Luck Bar and Sake Brewery, Charlottesville, VA

Many Japanese restaurants have white cats with one paw raised to bring good luck
The Bad Luck Bar has black cats: a great place for a post-graduation dinner.
Coincidence: I just read about the cats and sake last week.

A glass of premium sake.

At Graduation Parties

Friday afternoon: a party at Miriam’s friends’ special rooms on the lawn at UVa.
We went to several other parties, but didn’t take photos.
In the background you can see the vast number of chairs set up for the weekend’s graduation ceremonies.

Carter Mountain, Charlottesville

Apple pie, donuts, cider, and strawberry lemonade with a view.

Sunday Brunch at Guajiros Miami Eatery, Charlottesville

Avocado toast with cream cheese, cucumbers, pickled onions, and an egg.
Delicious! Also very good orange juice and coffee.

 

Sunday Afternoon: Driving through Shenandoah, National Park

I didn’t take a photo this year when we stopped for blackberry cobbler 
in Shenandoah National Park, but here’s the photo from 2019.
(This year it came in a cardboard dish, not a nice little oven dish.)

Dinner: Takeout in Fairfax

“Sassy Shrimp”

Blog post and photos © 2023 mae sander

September In My Kitchen

It's been a quiet month here.

Changing Seasons Outside My Kitchen Door

Early morning, first day of Autumn from my kitchen door. 
A very cool rainy day after a long warm spell.

Later, we had more sun, but the leaves are turning.
The weather now is nice, and more sunshine is predicted.

Grilling

Autumn evenings are lovely, but it now gets dark rather early for outdoor dining,
and soon it will be dark early and maybe too chilly for outdoor cooking.
On the table: Len's old iPhone. He has now upgraded to the newly-released version.

Cooking and Eating At Home

Duck eggs. Big but they taste pretty much like normal eggs.

The table set for four of us!

We were at home for the entire month of September, and we cooked and ate almost every meal at home. My sister and brother-in-law visited us for a few days. Once during their visit, we got some take-out sandwiches, cider, and donuts to eat as a picnic at the Dexter Cider Mill — otherwise we ate at home. I didn't take pics at the cider mill this year, as it's always the same, but here are last year's photos: Cider and Donuts.

Homemade tomato and pumpkin soup in the refrigerator.

Another refrigerator scene: chicken and roast vegetables in my
vintage CorningWare casserole which I received as a wedding present.

Cauliflower cheese, browned in the toaster oven.

Local tomatoes are becoming hard  to find.

Len continues to bake many kinds of bread, all wonderful.

What passes for excitement in my neighborhood?

A huge tree fell a few blocks from here during one of the beginning-of-autumn storms.

Blog post and photos © 2021 mae sander.

Cider and Donuts

On a beautiful day we paid a visit the Dexter Cider Mill.

The Dexter Cider Mill, now open for its annual cider making and
sales of home-made donuts, cider, and other autumn treats.
Dexter, Michigan, is a half-hour's drive from our house in Ann Arbor.

We bought half-a-gallon of cider to take home.

We ate our donuts at the cider mill, sitting on a bench
not near other people.

"Social Distance" sign.

Tables beside the river in back of the Cider Mill.

The Dexter Cider Mill, longest-running cider mill in Michigan, was founded in 1886 by the VanNatter Family. From 1900 to 1986, it was owned and operated by the Otto Wagner family. The current owners, Nancy & Marty Steinhauer and their parents have owned and operated the cider mill since 1986.  (source)

A few miles from the cider mill: a little lake that seems to have no name. 

Another beautiful day: cider and other treats outdoors in our back yard.

Cider, apples, and pineapple upside-down cake
protected by fly screens.

Len's apple bread: flavored with cider and apples 
from the cider mill.

We were celebrating our friend Abby's birthday with this backyard supper.

Cider is the symbol of autumn, at least here in Michigan where we have many apple orchards and traditional cider mills. The Dexter Cider Mill is right on the river. Long ago, it may have used water power, though it no longer has a water wheel or a mill race on the site. I suspect that this very popular seasonal attraction is dangerously crowded on weekends, but we chose a Thursday afternoon, when very few people were present. All seemed quite safe. 

Elizabeth at the blog Altered Book Lover offers a weekly blog event each Tuesday, celebrating beverages. Cider seems like the perfect choice this week!

Blog post and all photos © 2020 mae sander for mae food dot blog spot dot com.