I was having supper with a group of friends (three other Japanese girls) the other evening. I started talking about a self-help book that I'm reading at the moment. I couldn't find a Japanese word for 'self-help' so I used this English word. Then one of my friends said the word in Japanese, and I realised that in Japanese language 'self-help books' are called 'self-enlightenment books'. Can you see the difference in nuance?
When I say, "I'm reading a self-help book", people would think, "Oh dear", wouldn't they? The word 'self-help' has got some kind of pathetic, forlorn, and pitiful image, whereas 'self-enlightenment' has more positive and intellectual tone to it. Am I being defensive because I'm reading one of these books? I don't know, but my genuine reason for reading this type of book is to try to illuminate my own mental faculties, as it were.
But then, it would mean that I need to read a book to develop my own thinking skill and that I can't think without a help of a book. Maybe 'self-help' is the right word after all...
Oh, well. I'll change the subject. Cottage pie. It's a funny name, if you think about it. English people call anything covered with mashed potato a 'pie'. There are Shepherd's pie (with lamb mince) and Fish pie (with er...fish). Cottage pie, as the name indicates, is a cheap dish to make as its humble origin - a cottage - and it's delicious. Leftovers are perfectly fine reheated the next day with a bit of foil over it :)
Ingredients (for 4 people):
500g minced beef
1 onion, chopped small
2 sticks of celery, chopped small
2 carrots, coarsely grated
3 cloves of garlic, minced
a glass of wine (whichever colour you fancy)
200ml beef stock (1 cube dissolved in hot water, really)
1 tablespoon tomato puree
about 800g potatoes (about 3 large ones), peeled
1 tablespoon butter
50g cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 200C.
Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and throw in onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Stir around for about 5 minutes until soft and add the mince. Break up large lumps of meat and cook through. Add wine, stock, and tomato puree. Season with salt and pepper and keep cooking for about 15 minutes on a medium heat until all the liquid evaporates. Leave to cool.
In the meantime, cut the potatoes into large chunks and boil them until cooked. Drain. I shake the pan over a gentle heat to get the water evaporated completely. Mash them and add butter. Season the mashed potatoes.
Put the meat mixture into an oven-proof dish and cover evenly with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top, and bake for about 20 minutes until the cheese is golden.