#2 Eat sushi or tempura.

I did not specify where to eat the sushi or tempura. A restaurant or my kitchen? Both recall fond memories.

Gretchen often chose to celebrate at Nakato, a Japanese steakhouse. She arranged to whisk me away there on a couple of my birthdays where my husband, her family, and her brother and wife joined us seated low around a sizzling Hibachi grill. I seldom permitted my husband or me to be so extravagant for a meal, but she dined there often enough that her young son became a big fan of Japanese food.

I first tasted tempura in a Polynesian restaurant in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Gretchen's father and I were vacationing with our three kids and decided to take a break from camp fare and treat ourselves to a meal out. The vegetables we grew on a farm in Iowa - carrots, peppers, onions, zucchini - were elevated in deliciousness with a crispy tempura crust and a savory dipping sauce. 

I made tempura at home many times the following summers, Gretchen and her sister chopping vegetables and dipping in batter and me dropping them into hot oil. It found a place on our menu quite frequently until I paid heed to the warning that too much fat in the diet led to weight gain. No more bubbling pots of oil. No more tempura.

I hadn't eaten tempura or sushi in a long time. A memorable Japanese meal belonged on my list.