Do you know the classic anime movie, “My Neighbor Totoro” ?

The film is full of references to the old Japanese way of life, and food.

Ohagi (a traditional sweet made with sticky rice-cakes and sweet beans), old tin lunch boxes filled with pickled plums, grilled fish and sweet beans, bamboo baskets and sieves, okamochi wooden boxes with lids and handles, for carrying food…. the recipes and utensils in Totoro are exactly how we used to do things just a little while ago.

I remember especially how the little girl who is the main character, Mei, goes into the summer vegetable patch and eats cucumbers straight from the plant. When my son was little he used to love to copy Mei, and munch on the cucumbers or tomatoes I grew in the garden.

This miso mayonnaise is a perfect match for those summer vegetables! It’s fresh and light, but has just enough punch – try it and you’ll see!

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons brown miso
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 tablespoons yoghurt (unsweetened)
• lemon juice

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Just mix the ingredients – you can change the amounts you use of each to suit your taste – that’s all!