This guy made this commercial himself, to promote the cause of wearing seatbelts. He was not paid. It is the most beautiful commercial I've ever seen!

Check it out here!

In the traditional Japanese culture, a man is considered successful and prestigious if he is able to go out after work to eat and drink, network and socialize, on a regular basis. So a man is rewarded for doing this, consequently, his wife never knows exactly when he will arrive home, whether he will be hungry or not, and whether he will be tipsy or sober. In the traditional Japanese culture, she is expected to wait patiently and have supper ready for him at whatever time he walks through the door. The husband and the wife have completely separate social circles and lives.

Another cultural tidbit is that, unlike in America, the Japanese recognize that children's tastes are different from adults. So, generally, the Japanese wife will prepare two suppers--one for the children to eat before dad gets home. Then, when dad arrives, he has time to take a nice shower and soak in a hot bath (the Japanese shower first before soaking) and unwind a little before he and his wife sit down to a grownup supper.

Japense suppers generally fall into these categories: Fried Foods (agemono); Foods Cooked in Seasoned Liquids (nimono); One-Pot Cookery (nabemono); Broiled Foods (yakimono); and Steamed Foods (mushimono).

In a traditional supper there will be many small courses, all laid out in tiny single servings on each person's tray. The diner eats from whichever serving he desires. Usually there will be rice or noodle, served near the end with pickle, and also a soup. The meal is finished off with fresh fruit in season.

I found a recipe for an full-meal clear soup. The original recipe called for several different items arranged beautifully in the bowl with the broth poured around. My family didn't care for the mushrooms or the fish so much--our favorites were simply the omelet and the shrimp. So here is a simpler version of this soup, better to please American and children's palates.

There are two main processes--in the first one you have to make two stocks. The first is the base for the clear soup and is more strongly flavored. The second is made as a second, weaker stock and is used in many Japanese recipes for flavoring, so you will want to have this on hand.

These recipes are from the Time-Life recipe booklet called Recipes: The Cooking of Japan, 1976, slightly modified.

First: Make the Stocks

ICHIBAN DASHI: Basic Soup Stock (to make 2-1/2 quarts)

• 2-1/2 quarts cold water
• a 3-inch square kombu (dried kelp seaweed), cut with a heavy knife from a sheet of packaged kelp and washed under cold running water
• 1 cup preflaked katsuobushi (dried bonito fish flakes)

Pour 2-1/2 quarts cold water into a 4-6 quart pot and, over high heat, bring to the boil. Drop in the kombu, let the water come just to the boil again, then immediately remove the kombu from the pot with tongs and set it aside. Stir the katsuobushi into the boiling water and turn off the heat. Let the stock rest undisturbed for about 2 minutes, or until the katsuobushi sinks to the bottom of the pot, then skim any surface scum with a large spoon. Place a double thickness of cheesecloth or a clean cloth napkin (or paper towel) in a sieve set over a large bowl, pour in the stock and let it drain through undisturbed. Remove the katsuobushi and set it aside.

The stock may now be used as the base for a soup or stew, or as a cooking base. Although best if freshly prepared for each occasion, ichiban dashi can remain at room temperature up to 8 hours without appreciable loss of flavor. Or it can be cooled to room temperature, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for as long as 2 days.

NOTE: use the cooked kombu and katsuobushi to make this next stock.

NIBAN DASHI: Cooking Stock for Vegetables (to make 5 cups)

• a 3-inch square cooked kombu from previous recipe
• 1 cup cooked katsuobushi from previous recipe
• 5 cups cold water
• 1/4 cup preflaked katsuobushi (dried bonito fish flakes)

Combine the cooked kombu and katsuobushi with 5 cups of cold water in a 2 - 3 quart saucepan, and bring almost to a boil over high heat. Add the additional 1/4 cup of uncooked katsuobushi, reduce the heat to its lowest point and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. Place a double thickness of cheesecloth or a clean cloth napkin in a sieve set over a large bowl, pour in the entire contents of pan and let the stock drain through undisturbed. Discard the kombu and katsuobushi.

Although niban dashi can be used at once as a cooking stock for vegetables, it can also be kept for 8 hours at room temperature. Or it can be cooled, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for as long as 2 days. Because ichiban and niban dashi look nearly the same, it is best to label their containers if they are not to be used at once.

Now, on to a Japanese full-meal soup:

Note: as with many Japanese recipes, there are many little steps to do, but most of these can be done ahead of time. Most Japanese foods are served at room temperature, so preparing ahead is almost always an option.

UMEWAN: Clear Soup with Omelet, Vegetables and Seafood (to serve 4-6)

• 4 eggs, well beaten
• salt
• MSG
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sake (Japanese rice wine)
• 1 small carrot, scraped and peeled into thin strips
• 3/4 cup niban dashi
• 6 large (or 12-18 small-medium) raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
• optional: 1/4 pound white fish fillet of your choice
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 6 cups sumashi soup base (instructions below)
• 12 young spinach leaves or 6 sprigs watercress (or 1/3 can of canned spinach, drained)
• garnish: a 2-3 inch strip of lemon rind, cut into 4-6 small circles (one for each serving)

Prepare ahead: In a mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs with 1/8 tsp. salt and sprinkle of MSG until well combined. With a pastry brush or paper towel, lightly coat the bottom and sides of a heavy 10-12 inch skillet with 1 T. of oil. Heat over moderate heat until a drop of water sizzles on it. Pour about 1/4 cup of the eggs into the pan, tipping it back and forth gently for a few seconds until the bottom is evenly coated and the eggs have coagulated into a thin film. Tilt the pan up over the heat, and with chopsticks or a fork, roll the omelet into a tight, thin cylinder. Then slide it onto a paper towel to drain and make similar rolled omelets with the remaining eggs. Then, one at a time, place the omelets on the edge of a bamboo mat or heavy cloth napkin and roll the omelet in the mat 2-3 turns. Squeeze the mat tightly around the omelet roll to firm it, then remove the mat and set the omelet roll aside to cool.

Drop the carrot sheds into 1 cup of boiling water and boil 2-3 minutes. Pour off the liquid and replace it with 1/4 cup of niban dashi. Add a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of MSG and cook another 2-3 minutes, stirring from time to time. Set aside.

Drop the shrimp into 1-1/2 cups of boiling water, add 1 tsp. salt, and boil uncovered for 5 minutes (or 2-3 minutes if using small to medium shrimp). Drain and plunge into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

Sprinkle the fleshy side of the fish fillets with 1/2 tsp. salt and dip them into the cornstarch to coat them lightly and evenly. Shake them to remove excess cornstarch, then drop them into 2 cups of boiling water (or, instead, fry lightly in hot oil). Boil 1 minute, then add 1/2 cup niban dashi and 1/8 tsp. salt. Cook another 3-4 minutes, remove the fish and set aside.

For the sumashi: in a 2-quart saucepan, bring 6 cups of ichiban dashi just to a simmer over moderate heat. Immediately reduce the heat to low, stir in the salt, soy sauce, sake, and sprinkle with MSG. This is your clear soup base, all ready.

To Serve: Slice the rolled egg cylinders crosswise into rounds 2 inches long and place 3-5 pieces in the bottom of each soup bowl. Add 1-5 shrimp per bowl, 1 sliver of fish, 2 sprigs of spinach or watercress (or 2 T. drained, canned spinach) and a few strips of carrot.

Heat the 6 cups of sumashi to the simmering point. Fill each bowl three quarters full with the hot soup, pouring it carefully down the side of each bowl to avoid disturbing the decorative arrangement. Garnish with a circle of lemon rind and serve at once.

Note: After the soup, rice and pickle should be served, follow by fresh, seasonal fruit.

Most of the time the Japanese kids and adults are at school, work and restaurants for lunch. The housewife, for herself, will usually eat her lunch rice with last night's supper leftovers. Often she will combine all of it into one rice bowl, a simple dish called domburi. In another version of this one-meal bowl, either green tea or soup broth is poured over the rice for a wet dish called chazuke. Favorite toppings for this include sashimi (raw fish), salted fish, nori (dried seaweed), omelet and/or pickle. The tea or broth (dashi) is poured over and let soak for a few minutes. The meal is eaten with chopsticks.

If you have mostly rice and few leftovers, the Japanese have some bottled mixed seasonings made just to sprinkle on and flavor plain rice. These are called furikake and varieties can be found at your asian market.

Again, some kind of soup (miso or clear) will probably be found at most Japanese lunches.

There are three main foods found at virtually every Japanese meal: rice, soup, and pickle.

Rice: most Japanese use a rice cooker. This not only cooks the rice perfectly every time, but it can keep rice warm and ready for the whole day. The Japanese have rice for breakfast, lunch and supper. In a traditional Japanese supper, rice is eaten near the end, with pickle, right before dessert. A Japanese friend of mine, JoAnn Mowdy, says the best Japanese rice is called Nishiki and the best Japanese soy sauce is the Kikkoman brand. There are many different kinds and flavors of rice, so choose wisely.

Soup: the favorite soup of Japan is Miso, and another is called Clear Soup. There are two kinds of Miso, White Miso (eaten in winter) and Red Miso (stronger-flavored, eaten in summer). To make miso you simply buy the miso paste from the health food or asian store. The simple directions are on the package, but it's basically just heating up the water, adding a few Tablespoons of miso, then adding various tiny bits of garnish (green onion, nori, tofu, etc.). It is quick and easy to make. The recipe for Clear Soup is a little more involved, and will follow later.

Pickle: Most of us are familiar with the pickled ginger given with sushi, to clean the palate. Several kinds of Japanese pickle are eaten with rice near the end of a traditional supper, and is considered the most important part; a digestive. Some Japanese also start the day with a nibble of extremely-sour umeboshi, pickled plum. Pickles can be bought all ready: several favorites are daikon, cucumber, miniature eggplant, melon and, of course, ginger as well as plum.

Eating Japanese: for the serious student, try to get a rice cooker if you don't already have one. Get the Nishiki Japanese rice, some miso paste, and at least one jar of Japanese pickle of your choice.

Here's the latest: after enjoying many recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which included consuming French bagettes and white wine with my meals, my weight started going up, reaching the highest it's ever been! What an awful statement to have to make. What ever happened to the French Paradox? I don't know.

I have noticed that at this time of year, the Fall into Winter, is the easiest time to gain weight. I believe it has to do with a natural mechanism in our bodies which stores extra fat from all the good harvest eating, in order to help us survive the winter and lean months of Spring. Just keeping warm in cold weather burns calories.

But in our modern society, we are usually warm all the time, and we like to indulge in all the sweets and fat eating of the holidays, so this is not helping us. I also notice that as we get closer to the shortest day of the year, my energy wanes, which reduces my desire to exercise. But then, come January, the earth is returning to the sun once again, the days are slowly growing longer, and energy returns in abundance. Hence all the New Year's resolutions.

Over Christmas my daughter's interest in Japanese cuisine got me interested, too. The Japanese have an incredibly lean and healthy cuisine. Until they started eating more American food, the people as a whole never gained weight. So, I figured, if French food makes me fat, perhaps Japanese food will make me thin.

As an aside, due to a spinal problem I'm dealing with, my chiropractic doctor actually told me not to exercise at all, other than stretching. How often does that happen?

More on my forays into Japanese cooking and eating, next, including some yummy recipes. Happy New Year!

Ever since I watched the Julie & Julia movie, I've been interested in learning to cook French from Child's cookbook. I bought her Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I. I tried a few recipes. Then, I read Child's book My Life in France. That book really got me going, after reading about her food experiences, and all the labor that went into her cookbook. Now I'm reading Julie Powell's book which spawned the movie, of her experiences cooking Child's recipes. And I'm making several recipes a week from Child's cookbook, as well as immensely enjoying "The French Chef" cooking show which Child did in the '60s. So we are eating French almost every day, savoring the delicious leftovers on the off days.

Despite the French Paradox, however, my weight has been creeping up from all this gorgeous eating. It has gotten higher than it's ever been (DOH!). The problem is that I'm not burning enough calories. Since I want to keep cooking and eating the French foods, I've decided to start exercising again.

Six months ago I bought and tried the Slim in 6 program. I loved the challenge and how it made me feel, and my husband loved how toned my bod was looking. It's pretty intensive, working out 6 days a week. I had to stop exercising over the summer as one of my discs was trying to slip out of my spine. But after acupuncture for 6 weeks this Fall, my back seems to be completely healed. So I'm re-starting Slim in 6. If I'm able to keep it up, I will have finished a total body makeover by New Year's!

This is Week 1. I started out at 171 lbs., with a waist of 34 instead of my usual 31. My goal is to get down to 145 so I can wear a size 10 again, the size I've been all my life since high school. On Monday after my first workout, I was down to 169.5. Today, after my second workout, I'm down to 168.5. I'm continuing to eat whatever I want and enjoying the French meals. I'm in Phase 1 of Slim in 6, called Start It Up, 24 mintues long. It's supposed to get easy after a week, then I'm to move up to Phase 2, Ramp It Up. We'll see if I can do this throughout the holidays! Already I'm feeling great.