Summer's Bounty

Has it really been a week and a half since I last posted? Where does the time go? Things have been busy here in temporary Fuji Headquarters. We've been working on doing things like housing, buying cars, and have also done a pretty good job decimating the ant population of Irvine. We have maanged to have some fun as well though. Last weekend we drove up to Santa Barbara and went to their annual French Festival.You never knew that the Mona Lisa looked so much like me did you?

We've also been taking advantage of all of the wonderful produce that is in season. In Japan fruit is extremely expensive, so it is a treat to be in the US where it is very affordable in comparison! For example, a small watermelon would usually cost around 1500 yen (roughly $15 US) in Japan. That's probably why we bought one the other day and I promptly ate half all by myself with a spoon.

Yesterday I took advantage of some gorgeous strawberries and raspberries and made a batch of raspberry freezer jam and two batches of strawberry freezer jam.

Being so close to my parents we also have taken advantage of seeing them and of my mother's phenomenal cooking, like this blueberry apple pie that she whipped up last night.

Despite the heat of summer, I'm thinking that Ada Louise Huxtable was right when she said, "Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world."

Repatriating

It still feels like I'm just here in California on one of our visits, and that any day we'll be heading back to Japan. I don't think it helps that we're still living out of suitcases, and will be for weeks to come. Doing an international move is a laborious process. First there was the sorting--trying to figure out what needed to go into our suitcases, what needed to go into our small air shipment, and finally, the rest either being given away to friends, being thrown away, or being carefully packed up to be put on a boat and make its eight week journey across the Pacific Ocean.

Then the day of packing finally arrived, and the packers quickly boxed up our possessions in their wonderful efficient and meticulous Japanese manner.

It was a bit surreal to walk through our house with everything gone.

Then it was time to say goodbye to our house, familiar sights and smells,

favorite restaurants,

familiar faces,

and the city and country which I have grown to love so much.

Then there was the flight over, arriving in L.A., and driving to the apartment that would be our temporary home for the next couple of months. We quickly settled in, forcing ourselves to stay up to until a reasonable hour that night to help reset our body clocks. The next morning we awoke to rays of golden California sunshine streaming through the windows and . . . ants.

Thousands of ants. Everywhere. We have spent our time since arriving battling those ants. Sweeping, vacuuming, spraying, ugh. For the most part we are winning, but they are not gone. They continue to make their presence known, whether it be by making a star appearance on a toilet seat or by crawling up your leg. I now have a permanent case of the "creepy crawlies", where every little itch sends me wiggling and scratching trying to find the little ant perpetrator. About 50% of the time I find him and mercilessly squish him.

Happy 4th of July!

We just returned from going to the community Fourth of July celebration in Redlands (California). I grew up in Redlands, and spent many a Fourth of July at these celebrations. I remembered them being absolutely wonderful and tonight did not disappoint. We set up a picnic blanket on the grass in the middle of the University of Redlands stadium, ate dinner, and enjoyed the festivities. Entertainment ranged from the locally famous Redlands Fourth of July Band (of which I was a part for a couple of years growing up--I played the French Horn) that plays every year, to an Elvis impersonator, to an airshow and skydivers.



The night ended with fireworks, of course.



Squirrel was fascinated with the pyrotechnics display. We thought she would be scared, but she sat on Mr. Fuji's lap and stared up at the sky with a look of awe and wonder on her face the entire time.



Happy Fourth of July!

Danish Deficiency

After long hours toiling in a hot kitchen working with things like laminated dough, detrempe, beurrage, and a special technique called turning dough, I am proud to present this months Daring Baker's Challenge, an exquisite Danish Braid.

Okay, okay, I must come clean. This is not my Danish Braid. This masterful creation belongs to one of the blosphosphere's cooking elite, the amazing Helen of Tartelette. She made this recipe not once, but FOUR times this month. First of all, I'm sure mine would not have been this beautiful. Second of all, I had a variety of circumstances that ultimately prevented me from completing this month's challenge. This month's challenge was hosted by Kelly of Sass & Veracity, and Ben of What’s Cookin’?. I was very excited when I found out what the challenge was for this month and looked forward to getting my hands dirty. Every time I went to buy the ingredients, however, I ran into a little problem. Two little words became a very big thorn in my shoe: butter shortage.

Yes, believe it or not, Japan is in the middle of a large butter shortage:

"Japan is planning to import 5,000 tons of butter from Europe and elsewhere in an emergency measure to solve a supply shortage, farm ministry officials said Thursday. The measure is designed to prevent a butter shortage during peak demand season from autumn through the end of this year, the time of year when demand typically peaks.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries asked four major Japanese milk products makers in April to release their butter inventories and increase butter production. But supply has remained below demand due to a tight global supply-demand relationship and a shortage of raw milk. Importing 5,000 tons amounts to more than 5 percent of Japan’s annual butter consumption of some 90,000 tons. The emergency import measure will primarily meet commercial demand but may fall short of solving a shortage for consumers."

Source: Japan Today

A few months ago we started seeing signs in the grocery stores saying that customers were limited to buying 2 boxes of butter per visit. During this time you had to go in the morning to get butter, because by the end of the day all of it would be gone. About a month ago the 2 box limit became a 1 box limit. About the time that the limit was changed to 1 box we stopped seeing butter in the stores altogether. When I visited the international grocery store near our house they would occasionally have butter, but it was always an expensive imported European butter, and I'm sorry, I just wasn't willing to fork out 1,200 yen (approximately $12 US) to buy approximately 200 grams of butter.

I gave up on the idea of finding butter and making my Danish braid a couple of weeks ago when I started getting ready for the packers to come and box up all over stuff. I do plan on trying out this recipe sometime in the near future though, as I've drooled looking at everyone else's creations. Yesterday when we arrived in Southern California and I went to the grocery store to stock our kitchen I probably received some stares as I gleefully grabbed a box of butter to put in my cart. This morning I had butter on a piece of homemade bread (my mom met us at the airport with a loaf she had just baked--smart woman). Butter has never tasted so good.

If you want to try making this beautiful braided creation yourself, head on over to Sass & Veracity for the recipe.

My friend Jackie, who is an amazing cook, just joined the DBs, and did an amazing job on her first challenge! If I could convince Mr. Fuji to buy me a plane ticket I would be at her house in a heartbeat as an uninvited guest . . . .

To read more on the butter shortage in Japan:

1. Asahi.com: Where's the butter?
2. Time.com: Japan's Butter Meltdown
3. The Times: Japan is a market pioneer again

Bottled Fuji

Growing up in my family it was tradition to make a list of memories after taking a trip together. These memories ranged from favorite moments, to little things that we loved about the places we visited. I loved doing this, and my parents continue to do this. Now after they have gone somewhere I eagerly look forward to their list appearing in my inbox a week or so after their return.

I loved what my mom wrote after her last visit to Japan just a few months ago in March:

"Today is my last full day here in Japan as I fly out tomorrow. I am feeling a little sad! I have been here three times in the last fifteen months, and I have come to appreciate this dynamic city. It is SO clean and orderly. I love the food. I love the 7-11 mentality of small “convenience stores.” I love how the people bow to each other. I love how the shopkeepers call out friendly greetings as you walk in the door. I love how polite everyone is here—I never hear anyone yelling, even the guys working on the street, and even though the traffic is horrendous, no one honks their horn. I love the older men who are constantly sweeping the streets. (There is not even a dead leaf to be seen anywhere, even in the planter boxes.) I love the people who smile at my little Squirrel and take pictures of her. I love the clean, fast, efficient metro. I love the immaculate taxis with their chauffeur-like drivers (none of whom speak any English) and lace covered seats. I DON’T like how expensive everything is, and it is hard not to speak any of the language, although I have learned to say "hello" and “thank you” and “excuse me” and “I’m sorry!” and “yes.” In spite of not speaking the language, however, I have felt absolutely safe everywhere I’ve been. I also DON’T like the lack of handicapped access, which is really tough when you are pushing a stroller. The women’s fashion also doesn’t do much for me. The men are all wearing sharp business attire, but the women, especially the younger women and teenagers, wear dreadful clothes. Everything is mismatched, the shoes are universally ugly and uncomfortable-looking, and the girls walk with their toes pointing in. Weird."



What are some of my favorite things that I will miss?

- convenience store onigiri
- soda machines on residential corners
- 100 yen stores
- mango ice cream
- bowing
- Kaikaiya’s
- Osho’s (a little hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant chain here in Japan with the best gyoza and yummy tenshinhan--a mound of rice covered with an omelet and topped with an oyster sauce)
- kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi)
- the friendly cashiers at our local tiny supermarket who all know Squirrel's name
- 99% of pet dogs having been through extensive obedience training
- the cacophony of the huge black ravens that are all over Tokyo
- the view of Tokyo tower from our living room balcony and the view of Mt. Fuji from the balcony outside our front door
- the cultural practice of taking your shoes off in the genkan (the entryway of a house)
- sumo
- our "wasabi green car" and driving on the left hand side of the road
- the feeling of accomplishment after passing the scary Japanese driving test and being handed my Japanese driver's license
- Squirrel's birth in Japan and my wonderful quick-thinking OB/GYN
- the feeling of walking on tatami mats in bare feet

The list goes on and on...



My time in Japan is quickly coming to a close. We will be getting on an airplane on Saturday. I don't know when we will be back. As Saturday draws closer and closer I find myself trying to take everything in one last time. I guess I'm trying to bottle up a little bit of Japan to take with me.

"J" is for Japan, the country which has had such a huge impact on my life. Japan influenced me to start blogging, and has been a constant source of inspiration in what I write.


As I've thought about our time here in Japan, I've thought about the experiences I've had traveling to foreign countries in comparison to the experience of actually living in a foreign country. Although I love to travel, I think we often move so quickly so that we see all the sites that we fail to pick up on the true essence of a place. It's wonderful to see the sites of the world, but it is hard to have these travels be anything but isolated experiences abroad. I think we change with every new place that we live in, but foreign soil adds the extra component of being, well, foreign. The experience of ethnological immersion slowly changes a person--the constant exposure to the language and the reasoning of another culture changes you, but not completely. I find that this process, for me, involves constantly reexamining things in contrast to images and memories of "home", as this is what is familiar and available for comparison. Slowly bits of the "new home" are added to my previous concept of "home", and although I am still "me", I am not the same "me" as I was before.

Cram time!

The Fuji family has been trying to cram as much fun as possible into our remaining days in Tokyo. The clock is ticking! Last week I was involved in putting on a performing arts camp here in Tokyo for girls between the ages of 12 and 18. It was exhausting, but great fun.
Then the Fujis skipped town and headed for Matsumoto a city in Nagano prefecture that sits on the edge of the glorious Japanese Northern Alps. We spent our first day driving out to the Kiso Valley to explore a little outpost town called Narai. The Nakasendo was a highway between Tokyo and Kyoto that was constructed in 1602 and went through the Kiso Valley. The towns in the valley, included Narai were places for travelers to stop along the way. Many of the buildings in Narai are made of cypress which has aged beautifully over the past few hundred years, many becoming almost black in color. It is swallow season in the area, and so we enjoyed watching hundreds of swallows flitting about and finding many nests tucked up under the eaves of the buildings.
While there, we managed to try oyaki, a specialty of the region. Oyaki is a delicious chewy bun filled with vegetables. I think I could live on these. It's probably good that I don't live anywhere near an oyaki stand . . .
Later that day we drove to Daio Wasabi Farm, the largest wasabi farm in Japan. We got there right before closing, so we quickly took a look at some of the fields and then sat for a moment to cool off while we enjoyed some wasabi ice cream. I actually loved the ice cream. It was sweet, not spicy, and had wonderful flavor. Real wasabi tastes quite different from the imitation wasabi that is normally served. Real wasabi is expensive and much more flavorful (and not as spicy). We've decided that we drive a wasabi car.

For dinner we sampled another of the regions specialties: horse meat. This is not a first for the Fujis. Mr. Fuji ordered a sampler plate, which ended up being a sampling of different parts of the entire horse (cartilage, fat, stomach, liver, etc.).
I had banikudon, a rice bowl topped with strips of horse steak. My meat was delicious--tender and flavorful, perfectly cooked.
The second day of our trip we visited Matsumoto-jo, or Matsumoto Castle. This castle is unique because it is mostly black (other Japanese castles are white). It is also the oldest five-tiered keep in Japan (built in 1593) and has the oldest walls and moat (built in 1504). Although it was tricky getting Squirrel through the tour (no elevators...5 flights of extremely steep wooden staircases), it was well worth it and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. It was interesting to get a glimpse into what life might have been like at the castle and enjoy the views from the 5th tier.
We spent the rest of our day driving up into the Alps. We drove up as far as we were permitted (private cars are not permitted beyond a certain point) and then hired a driver to go the rest of the way to an area called Kamikochi. Kamikochi roughly translates to meet "where gods descend" and I found this to be a befitting description. The views were spectacular. We had a great view of smoking Mount Yake, the only active volcano in the Northern Alps.
We had an even more incredible view of Mount Hotaka, the highest peak in the Alps (10,470 ft/3,190 m), resplendent in the afternoon sun. We only wished we had longer to stay and soak in the fresh mountain air and peaceful atmosphere.Although Squirrel got carsick on the drive back to Tokyo and rewarded us with a display of vomiting reminiscent of Old Faithful, I think we were able to reach a state of personal zen that will get us through the next couple of weeks as we pack everything up, move, and start to try and settle into our new life in California.

Power Breakfast

As Squirrel gets older, and is eating less and less baby food and more and more "regular" food, I have begun to worry more about the things that I am cooking for us to eat every day. For a while now Squirrel has been eating a bowl of oatmeal every morning for breakfast (she likes it plain, no sugar or jam, I kid you not). I have been trying to think of something else that I could give her in the mornings to occasionally shake things up a bit, and then I realized that the answer had been staring me in the face.

I just finished a book called Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat, by Naomi Moriyama and William Doyle. The book was an interesting presentation of scientific evidence, statistics, anecdotes, and recipes, looking at the traditional Japanese diet in contrast to the growing problem of obesity in many countries. One of the issues addressed was breakfast. In Japan, breakfast is very different from what many Americans might eat. In Japan a typical breakfast might consist of some steamed rice, miso soup and side dishes. Common side dishes are grilled or smoked fish, a type of rolled omelet and pickled vegetables. While this combo seems nontraditional to the Western palette, if you think about it, this breakfast is a great way to start the day. It provides a balanced meal with protein, iron, other essential minerals, and vitamins. This meal gives sustained energy and nutrition, instead of something that will give you a rush, but leave you feeling hungry within a few hours of consuming it.

I'm not advocating that we all go out and start only cooking and eating Japanese food. Although I love Japanese food, I also love way too many other types of food to have the will power to do something like that. As a mother, however, I am interested in introducing a variety of healthy options to my children. So, to give variety to Squirrel's morning diet? Miso soup!

Miso is an excellent source of, vitamins, and minerals. I figure that Squirrel doesn't have any set concept of what "breakfast foods" are, so the only hurdle with serving her this dish for breakfast would be whether or not she liked the taste. This hurdle was not a hurdle at all, as Squirrel very nearly inhaled the soup because she liked it so much. Miso soup will definitely be making a regular appearance in our morning repertoire from now on.

Miso Soup

3 cups dashi*
1 cup vegetables, julienned or cut into small pieces**

2 scallions, roots and top cut off, with white and green parts thinly sliced and kept separate from each other

2 large eggs

1 1/4 tablespoons red or white miso (or use a combination of both)

1. Place the eggs in a small saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 7 minutes. Remove the eggs and put on a plate so they can cool. When cool enough to handle, peel and quarter each egg.

2. Place the dashi in a medium saucepan. Add the vegetables and white part of the sliced scallions and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

3. Gently whisk in the miso and turn off the heat.

4. Ladle the soup into 2 small bowls and add the eggs and green part of the sliced scallions.

* Dashi can be made from scratch, or from a powdered stock mix which you add water to.

** Add whatever veggies you have on hand. This morning I put julienned daikon and carrots in mine, but there are so many other options! You could add peas, corn, potatoes...just get creative! Open up your refrigerator and see what's inside.

Meal of champions and small furry visitors

A couple of days ago we decided to try a little restaurant, called Tamakairiki, right around the corner from where we live that specializes in chankonabe.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you might recall that I have mentioned chankonabe before. Chankonabe is a Japanese stew that is eaten by sumo wrestlers as part of their normal diet. It is cooked at the table in a large nabe (pot), and contains various fish, meat, and vegetables. The chankonabe we ordered was made exclusively with chicken, just as a wrestler would eat it during a tournament (this is a superstition thing, the idea being that a sumo should always be on two legs like a chicken, not all fours like a cow or off one's legs like a fish--i.e., in a position of one who has just lost a match). The broth was lovely and flavorful, and the mix of vegetables and chicken was delicious. This would be an easy dish to eat every day. It's one of those dishes that can change day to day, season to season, based on what is in season and available at the local market.

When we had finished the bulk of the soup, and mostly had only broth remaining, they added thick chewy udon noodles to the pot. I was already full, but the noodles were so enticing, that I had to have a couple of bites. Mmmm....

We sat in the tatami area of the restaurant and enjoyed the fun atmosphere--a great dinner!

For an article on this interesting dish and a couple of recipes, go here.

We just had a very special visitor arrive, all the way from Wisconsin! Luke is a wandering mouse that started his travels way back in February! After many background checks his family decided that we would be a suitable host family for Luke's first foray into international waters. Luke arrived with his travel trunk packed full of all his most important items: scarf, blanket, family photo, passport, favorite book, and goodies for his host family.

After seeing what his favorite book was,

I quickly decided that some homemade oreos might be the ticket to making Luke feel at home and get over some of his jet lag.

Luke will be blogging all about his adventures here, so check in if you want to keep up on all the excitement!

Open Sesame!

I love sesame seeds. The first time we lived in Japan I was introduced to black sesame seeds, and they quickly became a favorite. In Japan, sesame seeds are found in many salads and baked snacks. Sesame paste is also used in a variety of dishes. Many soft cream stands even offer black sesame as one of their flavors (right hand column, second from the top--YUM!)

I can't get enough, so when I stumbled across a recipe for black sesame shortbread on The Sugar Bar, I knew that I had to try it.
These little cookies aren't overly sweet, just sweet enough to compliment the butter (of course!) and the nuttiness provided by the sesame seeds. The recipe calls for half of the sesame seeds to be ground. This can be done in a variety of ways. You could use an actual sesame seed grinder if you happen to actually have one. You can also grind them in a blender or a food processor. If you use this method, just be careful not to grind it more than a few seconds. If ground too much, it will release it’s natural oil and form a paste. You want it to be a coarse powder. The method I employed was using a suribachi, a Japanese style mortar and pestle.

What makes this mortar and pestle different, is that the inside of the bowl has short grooves in the pottery which make grinding things very easy and efficient.

My suribachi has become one of my favorite kitchen tools!

Black Sesame Shortbread, by The Sugar Bar

Makes approximately 40 cookies

-2 cups flour/
-225g (7/8 cup or 14 tbs) salted butter, softened
-1/2 cup powdered sugar
-3 tbs black sesame seeds, half of this ground
-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
-pinch of salt
-caster sugar, for sprinkling

1.Whisk together the dry ingredients.
2. Beat the butter until soft and creamy. Add the vanilla extract, beat.
3. Add all the dry ingredients and mix together.
4. Split the dough and press into 2 balls, then gently flatten them into discs. Wrap each disc with clingwrap and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm.
5. Preheat oven to 340 degrees Fahrenheit (170 degrees Celsius).
6. Flour your working surface and a rolling pin. Remove the discs from the fridge and place one disc onto floured surface. Roll out flat to your desired thickness (preferably just under 1cm). Use a cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Place on greased cookie sheets and sprinkle with sugar. Repeat until all the dough has used.
7. Bake in oven for about 15min or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet with a spatula and let cool on wire rack.

Mt. Takao: Idyllic Tranquility

Yesterday we fled to the outskirts of Tokyo to escape a rainy dreary day to an area in Tokyo called Hachiōji. Why Hachiōji? Hachiōji is the home of Mt. Takao, a 1,965 foot tall outdoor oasis overlooking the crowded chaos of the city. We had a lovely drive there, arriving late morning. We took a cable car up to a higher point on the mountain and then walked from there.

There was a small Monkey "Park" (zoo) that Squirrel enjoyed (though I think she enjoyed being a monkey more than actually seeing the monkeys).

Then we made our way up to a Buddhist temple, Yakuōin, that is actually on the mountain. This temple is said to have been built in 744 A.D., a time when Buddhism in Japan was at its peak. The trail climbing up the mountain was originally built for worshippers visiting the temple. The cable car was also originally built for the convenience of temple worshippers.

As we began our descent down the mountain, we stopped to sample the grape "soft cream".

After making our way back down the mountain to our car, we drove around enjoying the beautiful scenery, while Squirrel took a little cat nap.

We finished the day off with a bang with dinner at Ukai Toriyama, an amazing restaurant serving kaiseki cuisine. This was an experience by itself. The restaurant is comprised of 39 separate buildings, with a total of 79 separate rooms. Some of the buildings are original buildings transported from other parts of Japan, and others are new, but built using traditional materials (wood, bamboo, stone, mud, tatami mats, and washi paper screens).

We were led to our own thatched roof tea house, where we were served by delightful kimono-clad waitresses.

Our first two courses were appetizers featuring seasonal vegetables --(1) a cold preparation of some green vegetables in a light sauce topped with thinly shaved katsuobushi; (2) a thick slice of eggplant grilled until the meat was soft and sweet and topped with a thick sweet miso sauce. These were followed by (3) our sashimi course and (4) a light clear soup with a few slices of vegetables and one quail meatball. Then we were ready for the main event. A brazier of glowing coals was brought in and arranged in the center of the hearth, covered by an irori grill. Once it had heated up we began grilling. (5) We had generous chunks of skewered free-range chicken (the specialty of the house), potatoes, and shishito peppers which we cooked slowly, a couple of skewers at a time. (6) After grilling both sides of the skewered food, you then immerse the whole skewer into a soy-based tare dipping sauce, then put it back on the grill for a few moments longer, and then slide it onto your plate to cool. A knife and fork are provided to cut up the meat, shichimi (seven-spice) to season it, and chopsticks to eat it.

We then each enjoyed (1) a small ayu which had been rubbed with salt and grilled over charcoal whole. The entire fish was edible, and was delicious. We rounded off the meal with (2, 3, 4) rice topped with tororo (a sauce made of grated mountain yam which has a slimy texture but has a wonderful earthy flavor) , miso soup, some tsukemono (Japanese pickles), and finally dessert, (5) a delicate ball of mochi filled with sweet smooth anko paste. The meal was fabulous (6).

After finishing our meal we took advantage of the twilight by walking through the garden behind the restaurant.

A beautiful ending to a wonderful day.

Jelly Yarns

I recently won a giveaway on Vickie Howell's blog--a jelly purse kit from Jelly Yarns.

I received the crocheted small market bag kit, and quickly got to work on it. It worked up very quickly, and was an easy project. I was very curious to see what working with material like this would be like. The yarn was very stretchy, which made keeping a consistent gauge a bit difficult at first. But I got the hang of things, and the bag came together at lightening speed.

Squirrel was very happy with the results, and quickly claimed the bag as her own. She loves how stretchy, squishy and bright the bag is.

Although this was an easy project, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this yarn to beginners, as it is difficult initially to determine where your stitches are and where your hook should go next. If you have young daughters, there is a multitude of projects available on the Jelly Yarns website that would make fun gifts.

They even have a line of glow in the dark jelly yarns to choose from!

L'Opéra!

No, I didn't go to the opera this week. Instead, I attempted to bring the opera to me, but not in musical form. I made an Opéra cake (or little mini cakes to be exact), a cake made up (usually) of five components: a joconde (a cake layer), a syrup (to wet the joconde), a buttercream (to fill some of the layers), a ganache or mousse (to top the final cake layer) and a glaze (to cover the final layer of cake or of ganache/mousse). I love this dessert and had more of them while living in France than I would care to admit. Traditionally, the joconde (cake layer) is flavoured with darker flavours such as chocolate or coffee, but for this endeavor I went light in both color and flavor. Why? Because these were the specific directives for this months Daring Bakers Challenge!

The production of this Opéra is dedicated to Barbara of winosandfoodies.com(http://winosandfoodies.typepad.com/). Barbara used to be an active member of the Daring Bakers, and is now the force behind a food blog even called A Taste of Yellow that supports the LiveSTRONG foundation started by Lance Armstrong. This year's LiveSTRONG Day is in May so Ivonne and Lisa decided that we could show our support by dedicating our respective challenge posts to Barbara if we so chose. I'm grateful that this was the case, otherwise all I might have had to show was some buttercream, syrup, and a heap of crumbled cake. I was extra motivated, however, to get this done so that my post wouldn't be embarrassingly pathetic. So Barbara, thank you for motivating me not make a fool of myself.

My petits Opéras took me 2 days to complete. The first day I made the syrup and buttercream without any hiccups. On the second day, I made the joconde (cake) and glaze. I decided to forgo the ganache (which was one of the choices in our directions), as the cost of the ingredients was really starting to add up. All went smoothly until I put the joconde into the oven. I have a tiny temperamental oven. It has a few behavioral problems. One of these problems is that in any one spot inside the oven the temperature varies from one extreme to the other, and very rarely do these temperatures accurately reflect the temperature which I have set the oven to heat to. It was this problem that reared its ugly head when I attempted to cook the joconde. I had to cook the joconde in 2 batches, as my oven was too small to accommodate the amount of cake called for. The first batch came out looking finished, but was extremely undercooked upon closer inspection. After fighting to try and achieve a more suitable and stable temperature the 2nd batch was more successful, and so I was able to proceed.

By the time I had cut the rounds of cake, soaked them in syrup, topped them with buttercream, and layered them, I was exhausted. It was all I could do to press forward, make the glaze, and finish those babies. But finish I did, and then Mr. Fuji and I feasted! I ended up flavoring the syrup and buttercream with coconut cream, and the resulting flavor was not as strong as I would have liked, but still delightful. In the end, I prefer the traditional Opéra, but this was a fun challenge. Now I think I need a nap!

If you want to attempt creating music in your kitchen, the recipe is available here.

Yuzu Euphoria

I have been a passive Sugar High Friday watcher up until now. Then this month, when the brilliant Helen of Tartelette, one of my all-time favorite food bloggers, announced that she would be hosting this month's edition and that the theme was citrus, I knew that it was time to get into the kitchen and actually participate this month. I knew right away what type of citrus I wanted to highlight, and then finally got my inspiration on how to use it just a few days ago.

Living in Japan I have fallen in love with yuzu, a type of citrus found in Asia.

The smell of yuzu is intoxicating, a mixture of orange blossoms and lemon. Then, once cut into, the flesh of the fruit smells like it tastes, an extremely tart flavor that has hints of grapefruit, lemon, and mandarin orange all wrapped up in one. This fruit is used in a variety of ways in Japanese cooking. In fact there is quite a bit of evidence of those uses in my own refrigerator.

Yuzu koshou, a spicy paste made from yuzu zest, chile and salt and used as a condiment.

Dried yuzu zest.

Ponzu shoyu, a sauce whose main ingredients are citrus juice (yuzu juice is often used) and soy sauce.

Yuzu juice (unsweetened).

So I had my citrus all picked out, now I just needed a recipe. My inspiration finally came when that same genius Helen posted a recipe for lemon madeleines. I quickly got to work, and the result was the perfect blend of 2 of my biggest sources of inspiration: Japan and France.

Yuzu is quite strong, so the madeleines were wonderfully tangy. The only modifications I made were to replace lemon zest and lemon juice with yuzu zest and yuzu juice. Perfect. Perfect enough to have my own magical Proust-worthy moment.

"I" is definitely for Inspiration.

"She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called 'petites madeleines,' which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim's shell. And soon, mechanically, weary after a dull day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate than a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, but individual, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory--this new sensation having had on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me, it was myself. I had ceased now to feel mediocre, accidental, mortal. Whence could it have come to me, this all-powerful joy? I was conscious that it was connected with the taste of tea and cake, but that it infinitely transcended those savours, could not, indeed, be of the same nature as theirs. Whence did it come? What did it signify? How could I seize upon and define it?"

-Marcel Proust, Remembrance of Things Past, Volume 1: Swann's Way. English translation, C. K. Scott-Moncrieff. London: Chatto and Windus, 1922. Excerpt retrieved online from Project Gutenberg e-Book of Volume 1.

Paper or plastic?

Going to the supermarket in Japan requires a different routine than I would normally use in the US. When in the US, I would drive to the supermarket about once a week, taking advantage of the large free parking lot, loading up on all of our necessities, and then driving back home. I would do it this way because, for one, the supermarket was too far away to walk, and two, because it was so convenient.

In Tokyo I don't have the same luxury. Here in Tokyo, if you want to drive to the supermarket, you most often have to pay to park (usually somewhere around $6 US per hour) unless you go to one of the few markets that offer free parking. Even if you do go to a market with free parking, the parking is usually limited, and thus you would be smart to schedule your trip at a less busy time of day. Another difference is that in many places in the US, driving 5 - 10 miles is not a big deal. In Tokyo, 5 miles can mean 45 minutes behind the wheel.

The result is that I do most of my shopping by going to the places that are within walking distance of our house. This is made tricky by the fact that Squirrel is usually in tow on these trips. So how do I get everything home? Well the most obvious answer is that I don't buy as much, and I make more frequent trips. I also always go with Squirrel in her stroller. We have a wonderful Maclaren Quest stroller which is lightweight and sturdy and comes with a roomy basket which I fill up with groceries. The groceries that don't fit in the basket are hung off the handles in bags.



Here's where it gets trickier. I guess I should say, where it used to get to trickier. I can't tell you how many times I had one of those plastic bags split, leaving me scrambling to try and figure out a way to get everything home with a broken bag. I started watching the other moms to see what they were doing and quickly saw that the Japanese moms carried reusable cloth/canvas bags. All of the markets seem to sell their own version of these bags and some even offer incentives to customers who use them. I began to try and take a few of these with me whenever I went to run errands. I tried several different kinds, and quickly settled on one that I preferred.

My favorite is actually a bag I received over a year ago from my secret pal in SP10. What makes it different from the other bags I've tried is that it is very large and roomy, but it folds up into a tiny little bundle that I can slip into my purse. This way I always have it with me when I need it.
I have loved this bag so much lately, that I decided to find out more about who makes it. It is made by Envirosax, and they have many different prints for you to choose from. They even have a line of bags for kids and an Organic series, manufactured using viscose from bamboo, linen and a fine grade hemp. Right now I'm loving these two bags from their new Mikado series:

and this bamboo bag from their Organic series:
As I was walking back from the supermarket today with the stroller loaded down with groceries, I realized that it has been quite a while since I've had a bag split on me. So, paper or plastic? Neither, thank you very much.

Koji no go aisatsu.

Koji no go aisatsu: Construction Announcement

meiwaku, n.: annoyance; nuisance; trouble. When used in in a certain form it functions as an apology for being a nuisance.

This morning I received a construction announcement accompanied by gifts. A woman who lives in one of the apartments on the floor below ours came to tell me that her apartment will be renovated starting on the 26th of this month. Her visit was accompanied with a letter giving all of the details and apologizing multiple times for the meiwaku and a gift bag. The head of the construction team was also with her, and he handed me a wrapped box as well.

There is an entire system of etiquette surrounding gift giving in Japan. I have read that this system is perhaps one of the most intricate and demanding in the world. There is a multitude of rules which specify when, to whom, and under what circumstances a gift should be given, as well as what type of gift is appropriate given the occasion, how much it should cost and even how the gift should be wrapped. In fact gift-wrapping, called tsutsumi, is almost as important as the gift itself:

In Japan, the concept of wrapping, tsutsumi, is not limited to the function of packaging. It plays a central role in a wide variety of spiritual and cultural aspect of Japanese life . . . In Japan, it is said that giving a gift is like wrapping one's heart. Just as one helps a friend into a coat carefully and courteously, a gift should be wrapped tenderly and conscientiously. While the wrapping should, of course, protect the contents from breakage or other damage, the same care should be taken with aspects normally thought of as merely decorative--those that reflect the sentiment of the giver--the paper and the way it is wrapped, the ribbon and the way it is tied.
-- Kunio, Ekiguchi. Gift Wrapping: Creative Ideas from Japan. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1986.

This morning, the gifts that I received were to apologize in advance for any inconvenience that the construction on the floor below me might cause. So what was in those packages.

In the box from the head of the construction team was a beautiful towel labeled as a "face towel" (about the size of what we call a hand towel in the US).

In the other package from my neighbor below was a tin of "Leaf Pies".

They are thin sugary wafers shaped to look like leaves.

One bite revealed that these little cookies were made with TONS of butter. They are melt-in-your-mouth yummy. Sigh.

We'll see how this period of construction goes, but at this point I'm wondering if I can convince any of my other neighbors to do some renovation so that I might be able to receive another tin of these little wafers of buttery decadence.