As promised, here are photos from the second breakfast at Pembroke Springs Retreat from this past weekend. Taeko Floyd changed things up a bit this time. Said she usually doesn't serve this type of fish (described below) to guests, but figured we could handle it. In fact, another woman staying at the B&B and myself were referred to as "almost Japanese" by Mrs. Floyd, which is a very high compliment in my book, since we took out most of the breakfast fish that morning. Here's a list of the items served:

1. Sanma, a fish, maybe in the sardine family, frozen and imported from Japan. Oily and tender meat, grilled and served sliced down the center with no head.
2. Hijiki salad (seaweed, soaked in water, mixed in with carrots, pine nuts and sweet sake, stir-fried in a little sesame oil)
3. Scrambled egg with bonito
4. Age (pronounced ah-gay, fried tofu) -- the item with a bite taken out of it!
5. Grilled asparagus
6. String beans
7. Miso soup, with seaweed and tofu
8. Rice with dried plum shaken on top
9. Apples and strawberries to finish

I can't say enough about how unexpectedly tasty this Sanma fish was. Taeko said she and a bunch of her friends order a big box of it frozen from Japan and divvy it up so they can enjoy it whenever they like. I am not a big sardine fan, so when she told me it was from that family, or sort of like it, I was suspicious. It had such a smooth texture, though, and the flavor was subtle and really really good. Bring on the Sanma, yo!