On Again, Off Again

One of the challenges of living in two places and two cultures is that just when I think I've got a handle on things, I realize that I don't.

For Peanut's birthday this year, (her 3rd!) I was determined to bake a birthday cake. This is fairly uncommon in Japan from what I see, and I felt strongly that since this is the 3rd time we've celebrated her birthday here, she deserved better than a store or bakery cake. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that, but she won't get a party with all her friends, birthday crowns, etc. like many of her American friends are used to getting. Birthdays here in Japan seem to be pretty low-key (at least in my husband's family) and that's not what I want for Peanut. When I was a child, my parents didn't do anything extravagant for my birthday, but I was the special one on my birthday. My mom baked me a cake, and I'd often get to choose what we ate for dinner. It was little things, but things that let me know I was super important that day.

Anyway, I set out to find all the right ingredients and baking supplies including cake pans, sprinkles for decorating and even a "3" candle. I was surprised to find everything I needed, thanks to a friend who pointed me in the driection of a fabulous baking supply store. I came home and started to bake the cake. Not only did it look weird and puffy while baking, but when I tasted a sample, it just tasted....off. Metallic or bitter might be the words to describe the aftertaste. I had carefully measured and calculated everything because I've made mistakes before when converting measurements from English to metric units.

And yet.

When I asked Gboy to taste the cake he said he could taste a hint of something but didn't know that he'd complain about it. Still. I was hesitant about whether or not to serve this to his family. We went to the kitchen and double checked thee ingredients. Yup. I had used baking soda instead of baking powder. After all this time, I still couldn't remember that "tansan" is baking soda - NOT powder.

I was incredibly disappointed. I wanted it to work out for a change. I wanted to be successful at this. In the end, the cake was frosted and sprinkled and Peanut licked the frosting and sprinkles off not giving one whit about the cake anyway. And we did buy a back-up cake just before others arrived. Everyone was happy!

And lest this be a total downer of a story, I should mention that the piñata we set out to make was a huge success with Peanut and her cousins and the adults got a real kick out of watching the kids try to smash it. All's well that end's well!

And the fun continues....

Yes, our stay in upstate NY is ongoing. The snow that we had has now mostly melted away. No more building snowmen or sledding outside. Peanut is disappointed. She loved her Frosty the Snowman creation. She would regularly stand on a kitchen chair and look out the window and say, "Look Frosty!" while holding up her latest discovery be it a toy, a cookie, or even a new dance she created. Her best friend has just melted away!

I've been busy doing not much of anything useful. I haven't been studying my Japanese or even practicing my calligraphy, the things that I had planned to brush up on before my return to Japan (which is in less that two weeks). Instead, when Peanut naps, I've been napping. Or else I've been baking Christmas cookies or addressing Christmas cards.

Last year I sent out nengajo (although terribly late - I'm such a procrastinator!). This year, I sent out Christmas cards. I like the idea of alternating Christmas and New Year's card to recognize the traditions of both my culture and Gboy's culture as I think both sentiments are lovely. However, the cost of all those cards, and the postage and the time it takes to hand write a note in each one (yes I do that) makes even 35 cards a significant project. And yet, I feel so very accomplished once I'm done. What are your thoughts/strategies with regard to holiday cards?

Here's the recipe I baked yesterday. I thought I posted it previously on my blog, but I can't find it. It's originally from American Airlines inflight magazine; I'm very happy that my friend read it during her travels a few years ago and shared the recipe with me!

Chocolate Mint Marvels

¾ cup butter

1½ cups brown sugar

2 cups chocolate chips

2 eggs

2½ cups flour

1¼ teaspoon baking soda

3-4 packages of Andes mints

• Melt butter and brown sugar in saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate chips and stir to melt; put mixture into a bowl and let cool. Add eggs, and then mix in flour and baking soda. Chill dough for 1 hour.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• Roll into balls and place on baking sheet. (The dough might be crumbly, just work it with your hands into a ball). Bake for 9 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and place an Andes mint on each one. As the candy melts, spread it across the top of the cookie with a butter knife.

Updated to add: I've closed the comments to avoid more spam. You can always reach me at my email address in the righthand menu.

Perfect Moment Monday

I Capture
Perfect Moments.

I'm a first-time participant in Perfect Moment Monday, but since I had a few this past week, I had to record them. First, my mom got out some gingerbread dough and asked Peanut if she'd like to help make cookies. Cookies?! Of course. Peanut is fascinated by Christmas and winter themed shapes these days. Gingerbread men, snowmen, Santa, sleighs, nutcrackers, Christmas trees, reindeer - there's a world of shapes and objects that she has just learned the words to describe. Additionally, she was tempted by the word cookie.

They rolled up their sleeves and I mostly supervised to make sure that (a) Peanut didn't fall off the extra tall chair that she was standing on (caught her once as she headed towards the floor noggin-first!) (b) Peanut didn't eat all the dough before it was baked! She had the best time dragging the cookie cutters through flour and then pressing the shapes into the dough. She loved that my mom had small, medium and large sized cookie cutters. She even tried rolling the dough with the rolling pin. We had a great time watching her fall in love with making cookies. At the very end there was just enough dough for one last small cookie. My mom handed the ball of dough (the size of a walnut maybe) to Peanut and said, "Go to town". Instead of picking up the rolling pin, she popped the whole thing in her mouth! My mom and I couldn't stop laughing.

Then yesterday was another sweet and perfect little baking moment. I waited until Peanut was down for her nap because I wanted to make some Skor bars and knew that they wouldn't interest her. It had snowed the night before, so I had a lovely view of a dusting of snow outside on the trees in the backyard as I worked in the kitchen. The kitchen was warm and I had the radio on, playing Christmas tunes of course. My mom sat with me and helped out a little, but the recipe is pretty simple and really it was just a way for the two of us to spend some time together, to relax and make some chocolate-toffee confections to satisfy my cravings.* I was perfectly happy and content and fulfilled at that moment.

Oh, and one last perfect moment to share. My mom and I went to Barnes and Noble to do some shopping the other day. Peanut was at home napping (thanks to my husband!) while she and I snuck out. We're both readers, my mom and I. It's no surprise then, that we found ourselves wandering around that store for over an hour. At some point early in our visit, I caved and bought a peppermint mocha. It was heavenly and made for the perfect moment! Books! Coffee!

Hope you're all having some memorable moments lately!

*Speaking of cravings, while some cookies were the order of the day yesterday, I find that I am ravenous a great deal of the time now. The nausea seems to be dissipating just in the last couple of days. Even for the last couple of weeks, I've been feeling good for 75% of the day, and then not so much for the last bit, but that hasn't kept me from having an appetite either. I was nowhere near this hungry for any part of my first pregnancy. I'm starting to think that I may be growing a boy - simply based on how different this feels, but I don't *really* have any sense about the baby's gender.

Baking marathon begins!

Oh dear friends in the internet...I am looking for new (to me) and exciting recipes for Christmas cookies. That's right, at the moment I'm feeling like eating! And baking too. This year, I've got at my disposal not just an oven. But I have my mother's kitchen which looks a lot like Mrs. Claus' house. She has more cookie sheets, decorations, and baking paraphernalia than I've ever had in my own little kitchen. As such, I'm feeling like doing some serious baking. Perhaps not fair to my mother, recently diagnosed as diabetic, but I can't help it! Luckily, her willpower these days is great and she can sample a cookie or two without adversely affecting her blood sugar levels, mostly because she's so good at managing her diet and exercising regularly. Go mom!

My mother is actually the one who instilled in me the love of baking Christmas cookies until your freezer can't hold anymore. When I was a child, she was the choir director and organist at our church and every year at the holidays she would have the choir members over to our house for a rehearsal and plates full of cookies! She also hosted a holiday open house every year which also prominently featured trays of home-baked cookies. And I think that she's looking forward to doing some

So here's my request:
Do you have any favorite cookie recipes? I'm especially interested in those that are festive and holiday-like but they don't necessarily need to be such.

Even more specific (but certainly not a requirement to a good recipe) do you happen to have any favorite diabetic-friendly holiday treats? Since my mom is new to the diabetic diet, I'd sure like to help her out with a few good recipes.

Please share!!

Summer projects

Every time I get a few moments in front of the computer, I can't remember a darn thing I was going to tell you all. For instance, right now all I can think about is why my Yahoo homepage was showing me that the current temperature is 93F. It's not anywhere near that warm here right now (sorry to all my friends in Japan but it's a lovely and cool 66F right now). And why is that I can't think uniformly in metric or non-metric systems? In the U.S. I can only think of the temperature as Fahrenheit and when in Japan I can only assess in Celsius. It's maddening to me! I simply can't do the conversion easily so I don't bother. Anyone have a shortcut for approximating the conversion? When I lived in Australia I used to do something like "double the Celsius temp and add 32" - could that be close?

What else? We've been doing our best to catch up with old friends but it's not always that easy. It's especially hard if you have to account for travelling on a ferry with a small child. We tried to go visit a friend over on the other peninsula on Saturday and we went by ferry. But we were late for the ferry we had intended to catch meaning we had to wait in the parking lot for nearly 45 minutes. Luckily, Peanut is getting really good at entertaining herself in the car (esp. if she doesn't need to be in her car seat) so even though we could get out and walk around she was actually just as happy to sit in the car and play peek-a-boo with us. But all told, we spent over 2 hours getting from our place to our friend's house and by the time we got there, we had about 2 hours to visit and grab some dinner before we needed to return.

Recently, Peanut and I also had a chance to meet up with Sunny and her adorable son Bean. She has my eternal gratitude for introducing me to a new and delicious cupcake joint. I am still luxuriating in the ability to have cupcakes and American style sweets whenever I want them!

I've also got about 30 books checked out from the library. I went crazy when I kept finding books (in English!) that I want to read. I'll let you know if I find anything good. Lately nothing terribly interesting. I also decided to get a few books about baking. I'm determined to learn more about baking this summer. When we're back in Japan this winter/spring, I want to know how to work with what I've got. Not sure how well this project will pan out (I'm a great one for starting and not completing projects), but it's produced one tasty yellow cake already. I should have taken a picture! Next time.

As for unfinished projects, I started a counted cross-stitch project for Peanut before her arrival. I couldn't finish it before she was born (1) because I ran out of time (2) we didn't know if we had a he or a she and therefore didn't have the name to stitch onto the wall-hanging. I'm hoping to maybe get it finished this summer! Wish me luck....

They say it's my birthday

Tomorrow is my birthday. Rather than dwelling on the crossing of the invisible line demarking "advanced maternal age" (that's right I turn 35 this year), I thought I'd focus on baking. I'm trying to do a lot more baking this year. In fact, I've sort of made it a pet project. I think the challenges presented by baking in Japan spurred me even further than I thought possible. Needless to say, I decided it was time to tackle one of my all-time favorites - a sweet treat I've never seen in Japan - the cannoli.

But that was before I finally succumbed to the germs or allergens. Peanut got sick last week, followed promptly by Gboy which put me back on full-time duty 24 hours a day for several days (Gboy wasn't just sick, he coughed the wrong way and seriously wrenched his back and was out of commission for several days). It's no surprise that I'm under the weather I suppose. But it sucks. I'm just too tired to do anything; and I couldn't taste the cannoli anyway.

And I'm a wee bit sad because no matter how many times I've told Gboy that he doesn't need to celebrate Valentine's Day or Mother's Day or Christmas (he's not a celebrater by nature and his family history either reinforces this or created it - not sure which) I've also told him that birthdays are a "my feelings will be hurt if you don't at least TRY to do something nice" kind of day. In the first few years we were together he really made an effort. Now, I might get dinner. *sigh* It just makes me a little sad.

So I know I need to make it special for myself if it's going to happen at all. Can you tell I've decided that this year's party theme is PITY?

Where is Santa?

We're going to spend the next few days looking for Santa Claus. Just the other day it dawned on me that this is really and truly Peanut's first Christmas. You only get one "first". And I have dozens, nay surely there are hundreds, of Christmas pictures from my childhood. Pictures of the beautiful tree with gifts under it. Pictures of the decorations around the house. Pictures of the delicious holiday dinner. Pictures of me with Santa. Pictures of lots of people filling the house to eat cookies and drink egg nog. And I'd like for Peanut to have some of those pictures and memories. Only it's difficult when no one in her family here in Japan celebrates Christmas, and my husband is only sorta into it, and Santa Claus is much harder to find than he is in the U.S.

Needless to say, when I realized this, and thought, "Gosh it would be nice to have a picture of Peanut with Santa" I made it my mission to find her a Santa Claus. In the next few days I have a couple of good leads and I've decided since I don't have any family to entertain for this holiday, I'm not having a party, etc. this will be my mission. Updates will surely follow...

From the VIRTUAL KITCHEN:
One of my favorites for the holiday is a recipe similar to this one for candy cane cookies. I confess I've never actually used any peppermint flavoring on or in them. I just *love* almond flavoring and have relied on that and the beautiful color and shape to make them festive and delicious. But having read the optional note at the bottom about chocolate and crushed peppermints, I'm thinking that's the wave of the future!

Chestnut holiday cookies

The VIRTUAL KITCHEN is hopping these days! Not the actual kitchen as I still have no baking sheets and haven't resolved how to bake cookies 12 or fewer at a time. I'm used to baking at least two dozen at a time. My sense of scale is off now that I have such a little oven. As I'm sure I've mentioned, I'm thinking I should start with some no-bake items first. However, this is one recipe that's going in my file for future reference. I figure if we decide to stay here in Osaka on a more long-term basis the upgraded oven is my number one priority. After that, I can bake all I want! Oh, and I need a hand mixer at least, stand mixer at best. Call me lazy. I like to think of it as "dedicated to the art and craft of baking".

In the meantime, hopefully this recipe is inspiration to someone. These cookies from Martha Stewart take advantage of one of my favorite ingredients often found here in Japan - chestnuts!
Butter Cookie Sandwiches with Chestnut Cream
Note: The recipe says 6 semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped. Several bakers have indicated that this seems to be 6 squares of semisweet chocolate (by American standards). Best of luck translating that for your own cooking pleasure.

The recipe for the chestnut cream is on a separate link - it's big so you might decide to scale it down. On the other hand, you might decide to make the Chestnut Cake with Chocolate-Armagnac Glaze in order to use up the cream. What a sacrifice!

Ganache just sounds luscious!

The VIRTUAL KITCHEN is hopping once again.

I love the way these chocolate thumbprint cookies look. To me, the word ganache by itself(!) sounds luscious. Even better - this recipe is from Cooking Light a favorite publication of mine. What a great way to indulge a little with less guilt! Here's a recipe I just might have to test for myself. In the meantime, maybe someone else will bake these and share their photos? Can you tell I have a sweet tooth and am willing to live vicariously through others in order to indulge it?

Who doesn't love a little PB and chocolate?

I am a fiend for peanut butter and chocolate especially when mixed together. As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I'd have to try it. I even managed to find some peanut butter here in Japan, meaning these may actually come to fruition! You must look at the photo included with the recipe - mouthwatering!

VIRTUAL KITCHEN:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mini Sandwiches

More on egg nog and other things....

Things are crazy here. I started Japanese class today - yay!

Peanut has been spitting up and vomiting over the course of the day. We're a little worried that she's unwell. May be a trip to the doctor's office in our near future. Booo.

In the meantime, from the VIRTUAL KITCHEN:
Egg Nog Thumbprints
This isn't exactly the recipe I've used in the past (mine included pecans but the recipe is in the U.S. somewhere!) however it's a close approximation. The idea is to imitate the flavor without using actual egg nog. The filling makes them the best!

Welcome to the Virtual Kitchen!

To celebrate the upcoming Christmas holiday, I'd like to share one of my favorite holiday traditions - baking! When I was growing up, we spent a lot of time baking cookies and breads around the holidays. Various members of my family were part of this tradition and the baking has become a long-standing tradition that I hate to lose, especially because the sharing of the cookies was half the fun! However, in light of the tiny oven, lack of kitchen appliances, etc. that I am faced with this year, the baking will be kept to a minimum for sure, if it happens at all.

I was saddened by this prospect, especially as my Thanksgiving was less than stellar. Suddenly though, I was inspired. Why not create a "virtual kitchen" in which I could share my finds, ideas, and desires with whatever readers might stumble this way? Perhaps someone with an oven will execute one of these recipes and tell me how heavenly the end result tastes. Alternatively you might let me know if the recipe needs tweaking so that when I can bake more (hopefully next year!) I'll know what to do to improve the recipe.

Thus, in the spirit of the season then, I present you with the VIRTUAL KITCHEN.

Today I'm cooking up:
Egg Nog Sparkle Cookies
I'm a sucker for egg nog. I never drink a lot of egg nog, but I love that one glass each year. This sounds like a perfect way to use that excess egg nog.