お雑煮、おせち料理

お雑煮
Originally uploaded by bagelfire

Had my first taste of this traditional Japanese New Year dish yesterday.

Full of the richness of miso, wine, rice and meat, perfect on a cold winter's day.

More than that; the feeling of togetherness and caring warmth made yesterday's dinner very special indeed. It was a privilege to have been invited into the 霜鳥 household and treated just like part of the family--the distant nephew with the weird Japanese accent :)

Yum, yum, I get hungry just looking at the pictures.