Fall Baking... and other events!

"There will be a day..." is playing on KLOVE-online, the breeze is blowing my curtains hay-wire, and brown-sugar-cinnamon scent hangs in the air. It's fall, it's Sunday, and that means it's time to bake!

Last week I made Starbucks recipe for pumpkin spice scones. Twice! Yea, they were that good. And of course I shared the goodness, because that is the joy of this craft- giving it away. But baking takes a few unexpected twists and turns here in Japan. The mass plethra of ingredients found in American super-markets are not so readily available here. So I emprovise, and usually end up making something comletely from scratch. The taste is always worth it! Here we have step-by-step (minus a few steps cuz I forgot to take pics!) pumpkin and scones:

So, for starters, to make pumpkin scones, I first must purchase a pumpkin and cook it down to mashing consistency...

The Japanese style of cooking pumpkin, and other veggies, is to mix some sugar, soy sauce, and dashi (fish flakes) with the water, bring to a boil, then simmer. The result is a wonderful taste, sweet, but not too sweet. Hmm... delectable would be the word.

Cook pumpkin until you can stick it with a chopstick and it does not crack or break apart.

Then it becomes usable for pumpkin pie, scones, cheesecake, or just eating it plain. Delish!

Scones in the making...

Look at that beautiful color of pumpkin, cream, and egg whisked together. (I may have even licked this spoon too. lol)
Voila! The finished product. hungry?? (I'm so mean!)

Among the missing items in my "super-market" in Japan, is granola bars. So what do I do? I make them myself!! This isn't necessarily cheap, as a small box of oats is almost $4. However, from my experience this afternoon, homemade granola bars are well worth the extra effort, extra nutrition, and extra cost. (I licked my spoons clean, and can't wait to dig into the bars!). *That's just another perk of making and baking your own goods- you get to lick everything (but don't tell your friends you did!) Dad, you'd be proud. This recipe contains NO high-fructose corn syrup, rather brown sugar, honey, and butter. I dare you to try this one! ;) I can't take all the credit for this either. I found the recipe online (see below) and adjusted it to my tastes and ingredients. I used flax seed instead of wheat germ, and dried bananas instead of sunflower seeds.

I tend to be a distastrous in the kitchen, although my end products always turn out great. For example, today I made granola bars, which required wax paper in the dish, so the bars don't stick. I openen my wax paper, and to my horror, I had about 5 inches left! EEK! I ran to my [2] neighbors, but neither were home. Hmm... would aluminum foil work? Yep! I'll make it work! Haha. One time I completely burnt the crust of a cheesecake, in my lovely little convection oven. I was mad and poured it into the trash bag. It was still really hot so it burnt through the trash bag and got all over the floor!! (the bag was hanging on the door handle.... yea my flat is teeny.) I've done all sorts of ridiculous things like that. You'll be happy to know, though, that the cheesecake story ended happily with a perfect pumpkin swirl cheesecake, enjoyed after a huge bowl of chili (this party is in my first or second blog, last year). So I like baking. As far as cooking... I'm a little terrified. I would love to learn to make these amazing chinese dumplings that Adeng's mom made for us. Chinese food is a future goal to accomplish.

Speaking of Chinese, Adeng, his sister, some friends, and I went to YOKOHAMA and China Town this week, as it was a week long holiday! They found this store where I could try on a Chinese dress and take pictures, and they insisted that I do it! I was so embarrassed... at first. Then I just decided that they wanted to do something nice and fun; make a memory, of sorts. So I went along with it, and it was actually pretty fun. I like hamming it up for pictures, but amongst hundreds of tourists, it was awkward. We got some good shots though! ;) Adeng's sister is adament that when we go to China I can get fitted and have the perfect sized dress. cool!

Recipe sources:

Starbucks pumpkin spice scones: http://www.recipezaar.com/Starbucks-Pumpkin-Scones-214051

Granola bars: http://www.joyfulabode.com/2008/04/11/homemade-granola-bar-recipe-no-high-fructose-corn-syrup-in-these-bars/

UNDOKAI

*(oon-dough-kah-ee)* Means "sports day." Saturday was sports day for all three of my schools, but me being one person, I could only attend one of them! I joined Kusakabe's sports day, and this year I was given much more to do and help with. I felt like a real part of the group this year; very accepted, possibly needed, and able to encourage and communicate!

I was on the yellow team, so I marched in with them for opening ceremony, stretching, and later became the one of the cheerleaders in impelling our team to victory! We were definitely the loudest team, and we WON sports day!! (all the games' points added together, and we had the most points!) I was jazzed! This year, I was invited to join the 3rd and 4th graders in their traditional Japanese dance. I had never practiced this dance before, I did it cold turkey, eyeing the little girl in front of me. the crown apparently thought it was hilarious that a [big] American girl was doing these Japanese moves, because there were certainly laughs and comments from the peanut gallery. :) I didn't mind though, because I enjoyed myself SO much, and I'm so thankful for my generous teachers who gave me this experience.

The Dance...

This pose struck the crowd as funny...

below, we are "fishing," pulling nets into our boats, like Peter and Andrew in the Bible.



This part was really hard, I had no idea what to do, I just followed as best I could!

The finish! I can't get quite as low as them!

Here we have the 5-6th grades doing their gymnastics routine. Pretty amazing.

Below, the surfing pose. :)

**************************************************************

Sunday, Sept. 20, I had my own UNDOKAI, and ran my first ever 1/2 marathon! (to be honest, it was only 18.4K, 1600m short of a 20K-half marathon). Nevertheless, I praise the Lord that he carried me through this rugged race through the mountains. Angela Rasmussen, a friend and teacher here, and I have been planning on running this race since June, so she joined me on today's trek. The whole race was on roads, but on steep and winding, narrow mountain roads. I plugged my earphones in, cranked the Christian music, and made a worship service of this marathon. The Lord's presence and His surrounding creation reminded me that HE was/is worthy of the best performance I can give. That motivated me up the last couple hills, and past a few more girls, whom I challenged and passed! Woo!

I came in 14th out of 243 women, and 192nd out of 1273 people overall. Angela also met her time goal and was very pleased with the race, despite the incredible challenge it turned out to be. She and I came back to my "flat" (my new word for my apt, because it sounds so much cooler!), we took showers, and then dined at a lovely little cafe in downtown Yamanashi Shi; http://www.ael-market.com/. Sadly, CAMERA wo WASURECHATA!! (I forgot my camera at lunch!) but our Yamanashi-peach-mint parfaits were the perfect icing on the cake of this day. YATTA!!! (WE DID IT!!)

Pre-race...

My new running skirt and gear. New gear gives new motivation. Yay!

Sweaty, sun-burned, and satisfied with a successful finish!!


Did you know that kiwi grows on vines, a lot like grapes?! I never would have known that, unless I lived here. Cool!

I wanted to pick it and eat it, but it wasn't mine, so I just touched it. LOL.

A pic of our parfaits at lunch, uploaded from the cafe's website. Delish!

Thanks Lord, for your gifts of health, running, and surrounding creation of people and nature!

Round TWO!

September marks the beginning of my second year living in Japan. The past one year held incredible experiences, and endless opportunities; I can't wait to see what this year brings.

Returning to Japan was a little difficult, to be honest. I enjoyed my family time so much, it was very emotional to leave them again. However, upon arrival I was surprised by my boyfriend, Adeng at the airport. He escorted my weary soul all the way to my front door; bless his heart! I wouldn't have made it home without him. My suitcase weight 72 whopping pounds! HA!

I began teaching right away the next day, which was good for me to have something to do. Now the elementary schools are preparing for their sports day event. This is probably the biggest event in elementary school. They spend countless hours practicing games, practicing marching, cheering, singing, and running! Actually I don't teach much in September because they use every spare moment to prepare. Then on Sports Day, Sept. 19th, all the parents will come and camp out around the field, inside of which the activities will be performed. It really does seem like more of a performance than a sports competition. Incredible.

The amount of energy the students and teachers use everyday to run around and practice is staggering. I feel lazy, because I don't do much but watch. However, I am on the yellow team again this year, and I've been given a song to learn. I am also expecting to perform a traditional dance with the 3rd and 4th graders, wearing a costume and all! I feel very comforably at home at my schools. My rapport with my "colleagues" seems to be growing; I'm starting to joke with some of them, and understand their Japanese so much!

The very day after the schools have their sports days, I will be running my first 1/2 marathon ever! It is run around Yamanashi Shi and Katsunuma area. Katsunuma is famous for its grapes, wine, wineries, and grape juice. Therefore, after this race, each runner will receive a bundle of grapes! These aren't just any grapes- they've earned their right to be famous, and rightly so. they are deep purple, juicy, and taste just like a glass of Welch's grape juice. Actually, I have some in my fridge right now....snack break....

This is my latest bulletin board, born from the 4th graders lessons about food. I wrote the Japanese sign all by myself, which asks the students to guess which pictures are American food, and which are Japanese. I used pictures of school lunches and boxed lunches. When they lift the picture, they see a flag of the country from which the food came.

Have you ever seen the art of Japanese Obento? Obento means packed lunch... but Japanese Oka Sans (moms) and artists alike, have taken the traditional obento of rice and veggies, and turned it into an artform all its own. Please, do not miss this cultural opportunity to be amazed...

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Flistsgalore.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2F25-lunches-too-awesome-to-eat.html&h=f84dd1cf19bdeb9d75c56860bfda1144

My new friends Evie (left) and Rachel played a "gig" last Sunday at a cute cafe in Minami Alps. the cafe is owned by a guy from Iowa who married a woman from Japan, and they now live here and operate a cafe/English school. Very hip new place! I will be visiting there more often!

Summer Summary

Wow- summer came and went like a typhoon through Yamanashi!- quickly!!

I've already told about the fun weekend at Okoboji lake, memories still fresh in my mind.

After Okoboji we went here and there, doing this and that... mostly amounting to shopping! Jill and I must haved shopped nearly everyday, which I actually enjoyed! Living in Japan has turned me off to shopping, because the fashion either doesn't appeal to me, or just plain doesn't fit my body! HA! However, this is good for my pocket book!

We met up with family for a few dinners, always wonderful to see them! Andrea, Amy, and I met for Culvers one last time before we parted ways. Andrea is now in Chile teaching English, and Amy and her hubby of one year just moved into a new home!

Andrea, me, Amy

Then on to Judy and David Bligh's wedding! That was weekend I was most looking forward to, and turned out to be the highlight of the summer. Not only did one of my best friends get married, but her wedding was a college reunion for us, minus Erin, whom we all greatly missed. I make it sound like she's dead, she's not dead, just in Africa. My parents and Jill also came up for the wedding, which was very meaningful.

Rehearsal dinner!


Peace! A Japanese picture pose!

My family was a huge blessing while I was home. Even though I'm an "adult" now, they paid for my meals and loaned me their cars. Thanks you guys!

Look who wanted to come back to Japan with me ?!? Rudy San!! He loves me because I'm his walking buddy.

Nathan moved to college just before I left, and is now enjoying Husker games, biking to class, and the perks of the UNL campus.

David came over the night before I left and said goodbyes. I bawled, I think he teared up a bit.

Afterwards Jill, mom, dad, and I prayed over Jill for healing. We all cried, and were very moved by the Holy Spirit. We are waiting patiently, expectantly for His promise of restoration!