Dango

Traditional Japanese sweets are lightly sweetened and make use of savory components to achieve a dessert-like taste. Rice and red beans are two of the most common ingredients in Japanese sweets, but they work really well!

Dango is very popular and originated hundreds of years ago in tea houses in Kyoto. They are little round dumplings made from rice flour and are skewered in groups of 3-5 balls. There are several different styles and flavors. So far I've tried two: sanshoku and mitarashi.

The mitarashi has plain rice dumplings that are covered in a sweet soy sauce glaze. I did not care for these. I like the dumplings, I just don't like the glaze.

The sanshoku are very yummy, though. They are sweeter and the texture is great - that lovely, chewy mochi feel. Sanshoku always have 3 dumplings per skewer and they are pink, white, and green. The three colors represent the pink of cherry blossoms, the white of snow, and the green of new grass and leaves in the spring. All three taste the same and I love them!

Paper Beads

I recently learned how to make paper beads! I'd never tried this before, and it's incredibly easy. Depending on how you cut your paper, you can make the beads different shapes. I did a basic, easy shape since it was my first time. Simply cut or tear paper into strips, and start rolling it around a toothpick. Use a glue stick to glue down the paper as you roll. Once it's completely rolled, slide it off the toothpick and seal it with either clear nail polish or mod podge. After they are dry, you have beads to use in jewelry and crafts! I made a necklace with mine.

Oyako-don

Photo by Masayoshi-san

We belong to an international club here in town. Anyone can join, and the aim of the group is to explore different cultures and languages and make friends from around the world. Every few months we get together and hold cooking classes for the community. We take turns alternating between American and Japanese recipes. Most recently we made oyako-don, which is a rice bowl dish that is very quick and simple to make. One of the main ingredients in the sauce may be quite difficult to find in America, but you could substitute soy sauce in its place.



Here is what you'll need!

-Rice
-1 egg
-Chicken (you can use a breast or a thigh, whatever you prefer)
-1/4 of an onion
-Handful of mitsuba (it's a Japanese green, but you can use basil, parsley, spinach, or kale)

Sauce:
-3 parts mentsuyu (this is where you can substitute soy sauce)
-1 part sugar
-1 part sake

Combine your three sauce ingredients in a pan and simmer until sugar is dissolved and it's cooked through. While that's simmering, slice up your onion and chop your greens. Cut the chicken into very thin bite size pieces (no more than 1/4 inch thick). You can also go ahead and prepare your rice and set it aside. When the sauce is ready, add 1/4 cup of it to a skillet (you can store the rest of the sauce for later use) and add the chicken and onions. Simmer together until chicken is done. Once the chicken is cooked, beat the egg in a bowl and pour over the contents of the skillet, then sprinkle your greens over that. Cover the skillet and let cook for a couple minutes. And that's it! Dish up some rice in a bowl and spoon the oyako-don over the rice and you're ready to eat. It's so yummy and I was surprised at how sweet it is.
You can save the extra sauce to use in oyako-don again, or in other dishes. You could add it to any savory recipe you like, even soups and stews.

Photo by Masayoshi-san

Photo by Masayoshi-san

Deep Dish Cookie

I recently started making a gluten and dairy free deep dish cookie. We have a few friends that can't have dairy or gluten, so I enjoy trying out new recipes that everyone can eat. This cookie is very simple to make and very gooey. When you take it out of the oven, you might think that it isn't done, but it is. If you leave it sit for about 20 minutes it will firm up good enough for a nice slicing, while still being soft and gooey.






Here is what you'll need!

-500 grams of garbanzo beans (the can will say the gram amount)
-1 cup of oats
-1/4 cup of applesauce
-3 Tbsp oil
-2 tspn vanilla
-1/2 tspn baking soda
-2 tspn baking powder
-1/2 tspn salt
-1 1/2 cups of sugar
-dairy free chocolate chips (or any chocolate you want)

Drain and rinse the beans really well. Blend the beans in a food processor until they are completely broken down and there are no lumps. Dump them into a bowl. Blend the oats until they are powdery and dump them in the bowl. Add all the ingredients except the chocolate to the bowl and mix very well, making sure any lumps are worked out. Add as much chocolate as you wish. Mix well. Pour batter into a greased round cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
I like to serve it hot with ice cream on top. In the picture here, I have my homemade dairy free ice cream on it. Here is the recipe for that:

-3 ripe bananas
-1/2 cup of peanut butter
-2 Tbsp honey

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pour into a bowl and chill in the freezer. It's delicious and has the exact same consistency and texture as ice cream!

One Year!

This month, we have been in Japan one full year! On March 9th of last year, we were touching down in a land neither of us had ever been to before and the rain was pouring.... and continued to pour for days, and then when the sun finally came out, we were rewarded with cherry blossoms! We have seen and done a lot in one year, and I know our Japanese adventures are very far from over. We have fallen in love with sakura (cherry blossoms), ramen, gyoza, curry, Mt. Fuji, tanuki, large-billed crows, the trains, flowers that bloom all winter, and how polite and friendly everyone is. We have been humbled by living without a car and relying completely on walking and public transit. We go through shoes like crazy! It makes me think of pioneers on the Oregon Trail, who did nothing but walk for miles and miles every single day. Although we never have to ford rivers or battle scurvy, a typical day of running errands consists of walking at least 5 miles, 2 of which is just going between our house and the closest train station.

We have made so many new friends and have formed bonds that will no doubt last a life time. We have learned a bit of Japanese and have pretty much mastered the train and bus system. We have tried tons of new food and have loved almost all of it! We learned that Japanese homes lack insulation and are very thin walled - we can watch TV in our house and hear our neighbors eating dinner (literally cutlery touching the plates as they eat). We have also mastered the insane garbage schedule and rules (we have 4 different trash cans).

It took several months, but we have fully settled in here and it now feels like home. Kentucky will always be home of course, but Japan is like home away from home. We don't feel like outsiders or strangers. We can't wait to see what else this lovely country has to offer!

Combini

Convenient stores here in Japan (called combini) are amazing! They put the ones in America to total shame. Back home, convenient store food is questionable at best, but here it is restaurant quality. You can go to a 711 and get a great dinner - and they even microwave it right there at the counter for you and provide you with chopsticks and cutlery! They have a large variety to pick from, with everything from ramen to curry to salads to sushi. Here is a lunch I picked up one day at 711. I have a bowl of soba, some gyoza (dumplings), and kakiage (tempura fried veggies). Delicious!

Ramen

Ramen!! Ooohh yum! I love taking pictures of bowls of ramen - everything about them is fabulous! This wonderful bowl was at a shop near our house (about  a 10 minute walk away), and it's our second favorite ramen shop. When you walk in, there is a machine full of buttons and you press a button for which type of ramen and side dishes you would like. Then you take a seat and they bring your food out. At the table, they have a nice variety of sauces and garlic and sesame seeds for you to add to your meal. There is also a large pitcher of ice water so you can have all the water you like. The whole experience is great, and then a giant bowl of gorgeous ramen is placed in front of you and it's time to snap a quick photo and get down to business.

Ginger Coke

Yet another jazzed up Coke! I wonder what they'll come up with next.

Bakery Treats

More fantastic treats from a local bakery. They never disappoint!

Flowers!

American Diner?!

We took a spontaneous trip to Yokohama a few days ago and were in the mood for American vittles. After a bit of searching, we found Penny's Diner! It was such a cute place, and they played great music. The decor was classic 1950's Coke themed, and their onion rings were excellent! We would highly recommend checking this place out if you ever find yourself in Yokohama, craving an American style burger.

Yummy

By now, we both definitely have favorite foods and drinks that we are going to miss a lot whenever we leave Japan. One of my all time favorite drinks is lemon tea. You can buy it cold or hot, in grocery stores, convenient stores, vending machines, pretty much everywhere! It's sooooo delicious and refreshing!

Spring is here!

Spring is here and although flowers bloom all through winter here in Japan, they are popping out even more now! The cherry blossoms are gearing up for their annual show, also! Sunny days are becoming more common, and we cannot wait until every day is a lovely temperature!