きのうは久しぶりにわが家に戻っての「日常生活復元」。
　まずはカミさんと買い物行脚であります。日常の復元にはさまざまな材料が必要なので、あちこちとまずは必要なモノと食べものの収集から。よく行くお店で食品素材をたくさん購入。
　わが家は取り置き冷凍保存の焼き魚用のお魚としては、ニシンとサケが定番ですが、どちらも欠品寸前ということでした。ニシンはナマを購入しての「捌き」。写真は捌いたあとの三枚下ろし。非日常の旅からの気分の「入れ替え」には、こういう食べもの調理がいちばんピッタリくる。
　まずはきれいにウロコをジャキジャキと飛ばす。カミさんが研ぎに出していてくれていた包丁類はみな元気いっぱいであります（笑）。とくに出刃は「おう、久しぶりだな、どこ行ってたんだよ〜」とでも言いたげな元気ぶり。きのうの買い物ではニシンは比較的小ぶりで、４尾だけの捌き。これからお店の仕入状況に合わせて順次、いろいろなお魚さんと再会していきたい。
　旅先ではりっぱな「おつくり」などを食してきましたが、やはり家庭的な食材のお魚には「帰ってきた」感が強く刺激される。
　つづいてはわが家定番の「キンピラ・ドカ作り」。ほぼ主食かとまで思える分量を毎日たべることで、栄養バランスの基点になってくれている。最近は孫育てまっ盛りの子どもたち家庭の分も一挙造作。なので、一度にゴボウ８本ほどを使っております。最大サイズのフライパンで調理するけれど、いつもはじめは超「山盛り」。徐々に山を小さくさせながらの炒め〜味付け工程。
　で、タッパーに保存させて１週間程度は冷蔵保存〜食卓へ。
　・・・というような家庭料理つくり。りっぱな料理屋さんでの食事もすばらしいですが、やはり身近な食材で工夫をして行く家庭料理は素朴な気分が盛り上がってきてくれます。なにより、食べる自分と身の回りのひとの健康を願う気分が盛り上がってきて、喜ばしいのですね。
　気分が落ち着いてくる、ということの実質は、こういった日常的なことに深く関わっているのではないでしょうか？　わたしは大好きであります。

●お知らせ
拙書「作家と住空間」幻冬舎から電子書籍で発刊
お求めはAmazonで。
https://amzn.asia/d/eUiv9yO

English version⬇

[Fileting herring, making kinpira… Cooking is the best way to get back to normal life (lol)]
I focus single-mindedly on our daily meals and engage directly with the ingredients. This unhurried, natural process helps me find my balance…

　Yesterday, I returned home for the first time in a while to “restore my daily routine.”
First up was a shopping spree with my wife. Since restoring daily life requires all sorts of supplies, we started by gathering the necessary items and food from various places. We bought a lot of ingredients at our usual stores.
　At our house, herring and salmon are our go-to fish for freezing and later grilling, but both were almost sold out. I bought some fresh herring and filleted it myself. The photo shows the three fillets after I’d finished. Cooking food like this is the perfect way to “reset” my mood after an extraordinary trip.
　First, I scraped off the scales with a satisfying crunch. The knives my wife had sent out to be sharpened are all in great shape (lol). The deboning knife, in particular, looks so lively it seems to be saying, “Hey, long time no see! Where have you been?” The herring I bought yesterday were relatively small, so I only filleted four of them. From now on, I’d like to gradually reunite with various other fish depending on the store’s inventory.
　While traveling, I’ve enjoyed some impressive sashimi platters, but there’s nothing quite like the home-cooked fish that really makes me feel like I’m “back home.”
Next up is our household staple: “mass-produced kinpira.” We eat such a large amount of it every day that it practically feels like a staple food, serving as the foundation of our nutritional balance. Lately, I’ve been making enough to cover the needs of my children’s families, who are in the thick of raising their own grandchildren. So, I end up using about eight burdock roots at a time. I cook it in my largest frying pan, but it always starts out as a huge “mountain.” I stir-fry and season it while gradually reducing the size of that mountain.
Then, I store it in Tupperware and keep it in the fridge for about a week before serving it at the dinner table.
…That’s the kind of home cooking I do. While dining at fine restaurants is wonderful, home-cooked meals made with simple, familiar ingredients really bring out that down-to-earth feeling. Above all, it’s heartwarming to feel that sense of caring for the health of myself and those around me as I eat.
I think the essence of feeling calm is deeply connected to these everyday things, isn’t it? I absolutely love it.

● Announcement
My book, “Writers and Living Spaces,” has been published as an e-book by Gentosha.
Available on Amazon.

Posted on 6月 15th, 2026 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 未分類