Happy New Year to all my dearest readers!
I hope you had a wonderful New Year celebration with your friends and family. The New Years (Shogatsu) is one of the most important annual festivals in Japan, probably equivalent to Christmas or Thanksgiving in the US. We follow unique customs including eating special food called Osechi, and decorate the house and entry way to the house with special decorations. One of the decorations we decorate inside the house (see the picture above) is called Kagami Mochi, which literally means “mirror rice cake”. It is considered to bring good luck and prosperity in the near year.
Kagami Mochi is made from two rice cakes of different sizes with the smaller one placed over the larger one. The mochi are placed on a konbu sheet, a symbol of pleasure and joy. The decorative mochi is taken out on January 11 and hammered into pieces for Ozoni or traditional Mochi soup. It is extremely unlucky to cut Kagami Mochi with a knife so people break it into smaller pieces with a hammer.
This year we couldn’t get to celebrate Japanese New Years in the traditional way since my mom is visiting from Japan and we are in San Diego for a short vacation. My children had a blast spending the past few days in all the local attractions like LEGOLAND, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, San Diego Zoo, and Sea World.
I just wanted to take a moment and say a special thank you at the beginning of the new year. I’m thankful for your comments and emails, your encouragement, and finally your support. I started my blog last year without knowing what a “blog” is. I had no audience besides my husband, a couple of friends, and myself back then. My blog evolved throughout the past year, and without you, I wouldn’t be able to celebrate the winning of CBS San Francisco’s Most Valuable Blogger 2011 and 1st Blogiversary today!!
I wish to meet each one of you to thank you, but that’s not possible, so I prepared this giveaway in a token of appreciation. Thank you from bottom of my heart!
*****
YOU could win one of three: one (1) $50 Amazon Gift Card or Cash via PayPal or two (2) $25 Amazon Gift Card or Cash via PaPal.
To enter, please leave a comment on this post with any feedback or suggestion for me to improve my blog.
For Bonus Entries to maximize your chances of winning, please:
1) Subscribe to Just One Cookbook by Email and leave a comment.
2) Tweet this giveaway daily through January 15th (one entry per day) and leave a comment for each entry. For example:
I just entered to win $50/$25/$25 Amazon GC or Cash via PayPal @justonecookbook. #giveaway https://www.justonecookbook.com/happy-1st-blogiversary-giveaway/
The Rules: This giveaway is WORLDWIDE and expires on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 at 11:00 pm PST. Entries that do not meet the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be selected by random.org and announced on Monday, January 16th.
Full disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored by yours truly.
Congratulations on the award and one year blogiversary, Nami. Although I’m a new subscriber, I’ve enjoyed all your posts and look forward to more in the new year. I don’t know what suggestions I could make to improve your blog as it’s pretty much superlative now. Having guest bloggers introduced me to people that I would have never found on my own and led me to the discovery of matcha powder and all its possibilities.
Thank you for the introduction of the New Year’s celebration in Japan. The mochi decoration is charming.
I hope the 2nd year of your blog is as successful as the first.
Happy Blogiversary! I love your recipes and photos! Thank you!
and have twittered it too!
I’m following Just one cookbook via email
Congrats of your 1st blogiversary!!! You’ve achieved so much in just one year and should be very proud of yourself! I love your blog and look forward to more amazing posts this year!
I am not much of a cook, but recently I’ve had some time off from work and have been trying out recipes from your blog. I’d love to see more “quick and easy” recipes!
Hey pretty lady! Happy new year! Congrats on all of your achievements in 2011 and I hope that 2012 will be an even better year for you! You blog is perfect as it is. You don’t necessarily need any more improvements. But if have time, you could update more often?
Happy blogiversary! Just keep those wonderful Japanese recipes coming. They’re what make your blog so unique and special.
Happy Blogversary! Wow first anniversary that’s an important milestone!
I’ve really enjoyed reading and following your blog. Mr Bao is a fan of Japanese food so i’ve been coming back for tips and advice.
My whole suggestion is – MORE DESSERT RECIPES hahaha just because I have a massive sweet tooth and whenever I go to Japan I love the desserts they guys have 🙂
All the best in 2012 and i’m sure you’re going to come up with new exciting recipes to share with us!
Happy Blogiversary Nami. I love your blog and have been coming here since the first time I found it. Your recipes and your friendliness make this a fablous place. Your continual suppport of other bloggers certainly does not go unnoticed. You are a treasure. Happy New Year to you and your family.
Just tweeted about this giveaway and here’s the link: https://twitter.com/#!/uTry_it/status/153916778618167297
Happy New Year and Happy 1st Blogiversary! So happy to hear your achievements in just one short year. You deserved it! You have a beautiful blog here. I love your blog the way it is. If you ask if there’s something you can improve, hm….maybe include some pictures as step by step instructions on how to make some dishes, especially those that are a bit more complicated. I’m new to Japanese cooking myself and always love to learn more. Guess I’m a very visual person so pictures really help. 🙂 Thank you for this wonderful giveaway! Have a wonderful time with your Mom and your family. Wish you all the best in 2012!
i subscribe in rss
Happy Blog o versery! I love your blog and wouldnt change a thing!
I subscribe to your email