Pickles - Polish ogórki kiszone

 Ingredients

Fresh pickling cucumbers, about 2.5 kg

Water, about 3 liters, enough to fully cover

Non-iodized salt, 2 to 2.2 percent brine, about 20–22 g salt per liter

Fresh dill with stems and heads

Garlic, 6–10 cloves, lightly crushed

Horseradish root, optional but traditional

Bay leaves, 2–3

Black peppercorns or allspice, optional

Oak or sour cherry leaves, optional for crispness

Method

Wash cucumbers well and trim just the blossom ends.

Place dill, garlic, spices, and leaves on the bottom of a clean jar.

Pack cucumbers tightly, upright if possible.

Add remaining dill and spices on top.

Dissolve salt completely in cold water and pour over until everything is submerged.

Keep all solids under the brine.

Fermentation

Cover loosely so gas can escape.

Leave at room temperature, about 18–22 C.

Timing

2–3 days: lightly fermented, małosolne

5–7 days: classic ogórki kiszone

Once ready, move to the refrigerator to slow fermentation.

soups

Many online videos warn about vegetables you should never eat, especially those rich in oxalates. The tone is dramatic. The reality is much more benign.

I grew up with Polish soups like barszcz (beet soup) and pomidorowa (tomato soup), and now I often cook Japanese bowls like miso shiru (味噌汁) or soba (蕎麦). My soups are based on broth, slow cooking, and simple balance. They do not fit the fear-based approach that thrives on the internet.

The research on oxalates has a solid foundation, but it does not condemn these foods. The risk mainly applies to people who already form kidney stones or who eat high-oxalate foods without enough minerals.

When vegetables like beets meet warm broth, the story changes. A good bone base carries calcium and magnesium. These bind oxalates in the gut, lower absorption, and make the meal gentle on the kidneys. Traditional cooking understood this long before anyone named the chemistry.

In Poland, soups start with bones, water, and herbs. In Japan, miso and soba are made with dashi (出汁), fermented and fresh plants, seaweed, and mushrooms. A bowl of warm broth does more for health than any YouTube warning list. It keeps fluid moving through the body, supports digestion, and brings minerals that soften the sharper vegetables.

So when I hear strict rules about what never to eat, I remind myself that a good soup supports a long life better than anxiety ever will.

Meal

 

shioyaki

 Japanese salt-grilled pompano, shioyaki, is one of those dishes where the method is so simple that the character of the fish becomes the center of the meal. 

Start by rinsing the pompano and drying it carefully, then make a couple of gentle diagonal cuts across each side. These shallow openings help the heat enter evenly and let the salt season the flesh. Coat the fish inside and out with coarse salt and let it rest for twenty to thirty minutes. This short waiting time pulls a bit of moisture to the surface, firms the flesh, and gives you that clean, focused flavor that makes shioyaki so satisfying. Before it goes into the oven, pat the fish dry again so the skin can crisp.

Heat the oven to a high temperature, about four hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit, and place the fish on a lightly oiled rack or tray. At this heat the pompano cooks quickly, usually in fifteen to twenty minutes, and the transformation is obvious when the fins darken slightly and the skin becomes crisp while the interior stays tender. Some people turn the fish halfway through, some leave it untouched, and both are fine. The key is to keep it simple.

When the fish comes out of the oven, serve it immediately with a squeeze of lemon or a spoonful of grated daikon touched with soy sauce. Nothing heavy is needed, because the whole point of shioyaki is the clarity of the fish itself. This style rewards attention to small steps, a little patience, and the quiet satisfaction of good, honest cooking.

awari wa hajimari 終わりは始まり

The phrase awari wa hajimari (終わりは始まり), "the end is the beginning," has become one of the core concepts in my life. For most, what are the undesirable chores or routines I see are actually small cycles of completion and renewal. 

I know at this point it is a widely popularized cliche, but the Marine Corps has taught me to make a perfect bed each morning. From the Japanese perspective, making the bed —or putting away a bed roll if you sleep on tatami —is not merely the end of the sleep cycle but the first meditative gesture towards the new day. Similarly, routines like a morning shower and shave make for a better day.

When I cook, I have a habit of opening jars of spices one by one, inhaling each aroma before deciding what belongs in the pot. I put the spice on the palm of my hand; do not use a spoon or a measuring cup. I never buy pre-mixed blends, because each spice has its own character and spirit. This small ritual is a moment of ichigo ichie (一期一会) — “one time, one meeting.” 

It is a conversation between nature and my senses, a way of meeting the present moment through something as ordinary as soup. I have come to understand that mindfulness does not require meditation cushions or temples; it happens in the kitchen, in the steam rising from a pot.

In Okinawa, where I once lived, this way of being seemed to exist naturally. The people there often said nankuru naisa (なんくるないさ) — “things will work out if you live sincerely.” It was not laziness or avoidance, but trust in the natural order of life. They treated their surroundings with quiet respect, believing that kami (神), the spirits of Shinto, reside in all things — the house, the tools, the garden, the wind. I feel this too. When I handle my kitchen knife or clean the counter, I sense I am tending to more than objects; I am honoring the spirit of the place. The home becomes a living jinja (神社), a personal shrine of gratitude.


I have also found this awareness in my work with tools, both physical and digital. I love Japanese joinery, not only for its precision but for the respect it shows toward wood and craftsmanship. The carpenter’s philosophy, shokunin kishitsu (職人気質), resonates with me as deeply as any teaching of Zen. To sharpen a chisel before beginning work is not preparation; it is part of the work itself. In the same way, I see software architecture — the structure before the code — as the sharpening of my craft. A well-tuned tool or a well-structured program allows the spirit of the task to flow without resistance. In both, mastery is less about performance and more about readiness.

These ideas have merged for me into a kind of personal dō (道) — a way of life. Whether I am practicing karate, writing code, or tending to a small bonsai, I feel the same rhythm. Each motion is shugyō (修行), daily discipline that refines not only skill but character. Each action ends and begins at once. The repetition is not dull; it is liberating. There is no “done,” only continuous practice.

Over time, awari wa hajimari has changed how I see everything. The end of the day, the last spoon washed, the final line of code written — none of these are true endings. They are bows, gestures of gratitude before the next beginning. This awareness brings a calm satisfaction, a kind of chōwa (調和), harmony between what I do and who I am. Life becomes less about achieving and more about participating in its cycles — the quiet flow of beginnings, endings, and the spaces between.

Sushi by Bunica

 

 

Having Bunica (my mother-in-law Zina) staying with us is wonderful. 

She is willing to experiment with any dish that kids, or I, ask for, and she usually quickly gets it done perfectly. In addition to Moldovan cuisine, she spent about 10 years in Italy, so fasting is not an option. Bunica learned to cook Polish food, Hispanic specials and now she got Japanese buns and sushi just right. Do not let me start about bread and pastry baking. 

Bravo! 

Ketogenic Diet

I am taking the opportunity while the girls are in on vacation to go on a ketogenic diet, lose a few extra pounds, and detox a bit.

My routine consists of 16 hour night and morning fast, 2 meals, one around noon, the other around 6 PM.

The meals are keto and very satisfying. The mix greens organic salad with olive oil, Modena balsamic vinegar makes it very tasty. I tried few other vinegars, but they are to harsh.

I eat 3 types of nuts, Brazil, Pistachio and Macadamia.

For the extra crunch and flavor, I put some pickles.

Crispy, spicy chicken

bread

Natalia has baked a wonderful sourdough bread.

 

Freshly baked, so hot it melts butter

Banana, coconut roll with coco powder between layers

Buns

Healthy stuff

With so few things going "healthy" in my life now, at least the food
has improved, but as Igor (my cousin) wrote today, it sucks to eat
alone.

I got a blender yesterday: banana milk shake with a couple cherries
and much sugar baby!!! Ha ha, sounds bad, taste awesome.

Farmers' cheese buns - made from scratch

Before baking...

After baking... yumy!

Cheese buns baked, try #1

Vanilla farmer's cheese yeast buns

Night before baking.

Hafez' verse

Even though alone, I decided I shall "taste" life to its fullest.

It is nice to visit Quebec or Europe, but... 

home is where the heart is, and if we do not have the heart to feel at home where we are now, 

we will never be at peace.

I made apricot-and-date buns, good bergamot tea, and Shiraz wine and wrote matching poetry, oil lamp light... Bon appetite!




Shiraz.. she left tonight her ruby mark
My night's companion after dark
A crecent stamp on Hafez' verse
Of lover's longing well rehearsed
I dipped my lips in thoughts of love
soul-mates tonight like wings of a dove
Cross distance fast and have you near
My mind is calm, goodnight my dear.

French onion soup

Just in case you wonder... taste like heaven!

Recipe:

1. thinly slice a lot of onions into a big pot

2. mix it with butter (spoon or so) and let it marinate

3. add beef broth

4. add a lot of spices (all spice, mint, basil, dill, etc.),

5. add few sliced potatoes

6. cook long time with 1/3 bottle of Sherry (I used cream sherry)

7. when serving toast the slice of baguette and sharp cheese (mozzarella, jack cheese)

8. serve with a glass of sherry to complement the bouquet

Basil, mint, deer curry

As always with my cooking there is at least a dozen of spices in it, I usually "look" for the bouquet by opening various spice jars and sniffing for the right amount to add. I make the curry part by using basic spices, too, not a "curry" mix. 

This time I added fresh mint and basil leaves as well as fresh tomatoes.

I have a deer meat because my father hunts, because the meet was in the freezer for a long time it is much softer and better. I like deer for the curry because of it's stronger taste which I like. 

Making coconut hazelnut haystack cookies