１２月１８日（火曜日）２０１８
カフェで出している「特製いなり寿司」に使うお米、多賀産 「秋の詩」を今回は玄米で購入し、まずは１０キロ、自分で精米してみることにしました。注意していると町のあちこちに自動販売機のような精米機が見つかり、我が家の近くにもあったのですが使うのは初めて。インターネットで「精米機の使い方」を検索して事前にやり方をノートに書いても、いざ機械の前に立つとまだ不安でノートと機械の説明が違っていないかどうか何度も確かめ、恐る恐るスタートボタンを押しました。が、待てどもお米は出て来ず。「えっ？」と思って機械の説明を読むと「下のペダルを踏む」とあり、これも怖々やってザアーッと白いお米が袋に入った時はほっとしました。触ると温かい精米したてのお米。「案ずるより産むが易し」、初めての経験とはこんなものでしょう。米ぬかが自由に持ち帰れるようになっていたのでヤッホーと思いながらもって帰りました。I make "Asahiya special Inari-zushi" (vinegared rice mixed with minced lotus root and carrot and wrapped in deep-fried bean curd) for customers in the cafe and I use rice of the variety named Aki-no-uta produced in my area. This time, I bought 30 kg brown rice and polished 10kg of them by myself. If you pay attention, you can often find a rice milling machine in the town, and there is one near my house. It is the first time for me to do it, so I checked how to use it by the Internet info beforehand. Even so, I was very nervous in front of the machine. I read the procedure on the machine again, and after putting the brown rice into the machine, I pushed the start button. According to the net info, the polished rice should come out automatically, but it didn't go well as I expected. Worrying about what I did was right or wrong, I tried to press the pedal which was lower in the machine. Then eventually white rice came out and went into the rice bag. What a moment of relief that was. There is a proverb "It is easier to do something than worry about it" and I agree with it. It is a good thing that I can take the rice-bran back home for free.
