One of my friends surprised me this year by stitching me a little bunny design as a Christmas present. She used a small photo frame to display it. When I got home, I immediately put it on one of the bookshelves in the living room. I have very few stitched items from my friends, as I know they are busy with other projects and life in general, so it always a joy to receive something they have made.
After exchanging gifts, we all decided to play HP Clue. This must be my third or fourth time playing the game and I still cannot seem to win. When someone declares the answers, I’m always wrong. LOL Sunday night, the answer was Dolores Umbridge, which I had marked off for some reason. Oh, well! ~
Along with all the Christmas presents, I bought a box of Japanese mochi for all of us to try. I happened to see it while I was at a local Asian market and thought it would be nice if we had it at the party since it was the last time we would meet before the New Year. Mochi is a rice paste that can be shaped into balls or cubes and usually stuffed with a variety of different fillings. It can be eaten throughout the year, but is traditional eaten during the Japanese New Year.
The box I picked up contained three different types of mochi. The plain white mochi was filled with an (sweet red bean paste ~yum~) and the light brown mochi was dusted with some sort of powder and filled with.…..oddly enough….peanut butter. The mochi rolled in sesame seeds was a mystery filling to us. It was a black filling and it had a sweet taste. The ingredients listed on the back of the package mentioned tapioca so maybe that’s the flavor.
Mochi - three flavored box
My friends actually liked the mochi with the an paste inside. They said it seemed to be sweeter than the an that is usually in red bean buns. I had them try the red bean buns the last time we met and they didn’t really like it, LOL so I ended up taking some home and eating them myself. ~ more for me, yummy
Ah, bean buns! It makes me miss the Minamoto Kitchoan, a Japanese confectionary shop in London, Piccadilly Circus. I came across the store when I searching for Asian markets/stores in the city. It was a bit out of the way for me to go, but always worth the trip.
Picture I took while in London ;) Yes, I'm a geek!
By the time I found this little jewel of a store, I was already half way through my school year. I tried the following sweets during my various stops by the store:
- Iwamura: plum jelly
- Kurihoka: bean jelly
- Jyukushi: persimmon jelly
- Sakura: cherry blossom jelly with a cherry inside
- Yuka: citron jelly
- Kurizutsumi: bean cake
- Oribenishiki: Japanese traditional Kurimanju, using chestnut and sweet red bean paste wrapped in Japanese cake.
- Hakuun-no-Hotori: Milky flavored white bean paste wrapped in Japanese cake.
- Fukuwatashi-Senbei: Japanese style vanilla cream filled cookie.
- Tenka taihei bean cake, which is shaped like a fish and contains sweet red bean paste and chestnuts.
- Yamatowakakusa bean cake: a mugwort flavored fluffy cake with sweet red bean paste and a soft rice cake inside it.
- Tsuya: Sweet red beans sandwiched between sweet mini pancakes.
There is something to be said about simplicity in Japanese sweets. You are never really overpowered by Japanese desserts compared to American ones. My all time favorites at the store beside the tsuya buns were the seasonal jellies. Every time I came to the store, there would be something different. My favorite was the sakura jelly that they sold during the spring.
Sadly, the Minamoto Kitchoan is only located in four cities in the world so the only time I’ll be able to go again is if I make a trip to NY or London. (sigh) So if you are in either area, stop by and enjoy some Japanese sweets! You won’t be disappointed ;)
~ Sorry for the mini-rant about Japanese sweets! It’s all the mochi’s fault leading my brain to think about Minamoto Kitchoan!! LOL ~
Until next time!
What a great thing to experience the culture of another part of the world. Persimmon jelly? Maybe an idea for Grandma's persimmon trees this year.
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