Last weekend I had a great time going to the mall near Niigata with some of the other female ALT's in the area. We were able to go to a foreign foods store, which was awesome! A couple of my friends here have figured out a way to make cakes, cookies, and breads without an oven! On Friday, Meghan, Brian, and I went to Aimee's house in Sekikawa and made carrot cake! We had a wonderful time, and the cake turned out pretty good too! They both inspired me (since Meghan made my birthday cake in her rice cooker as well as many other things), so when we went to the foreign foods store, I was so excited when I saw cornmeal! I bought quite a few things and spent most of the day Monday trying to find new creative recipes on the internet.
When I got off of work, I immediately went to the grocery store to buy the necessary things for baking. I had to go to three stores to get the necessary items. I started cooking right when I got home. We had curry and rice (Japanese style curry), and then I made Blueberry corn-bread. I made it without dairy (using soymilk and oil) since my friend here has a dairy allergy. I made the mistake of putting all the batter into the rice cooker, which made it take 2 hours to cook, and it became so thick I had to cut it in half at the middle. The blueberries also didn't make it to the top of the corn bread, so the top half was pretty much just cornbread. It felt great to actually do some baking though.
Yesterday I made an apple cake/bread (also dairy free). I think I need to use regular oil instead of olive oil since it had a slightly funny aftertaste (not to mention the price), but overall it tasted pretty good. This time I only put half of the batter in at a time and it cooked much faster! I'm excited to try new (non-baking) recipes as well. When Aimee came over on Tuesday, I made a pasta bake with tofu instead of meat. It worked pretty well and you couldn't taste a difference. I made most of it on the stove, then transferred it to the toaster oven to finish off the cheese topping. We will have a few days leftovers from that meal! It's definitely lifted my spirits to be baking and cooking more familiar things. I have enjoyed the Japanese recipes I've found, but it's harder to know if I made it well since I'm not sure what taste to expect!
I've also been able to ride my bike to school a bit more these last two weeks. It really improves my mood when I get to ride to work. I feel like I've already done something productive early in the day. I've also started waking up early so I can do a quick exercise or stretch. It's also part of my "conserve gas and water" plan. When I got last month's meter reading for the gas I was shocked! It had never been so high before! I think it was high because I would use my morning shower as a way to warm up from the cold, but I guess I didn't think about how much longer I was staying in the shower. Now I try to take a max 10 minute shower.
Brian and I are looking forward to our "honeymoon" in Kyoto at the very end of March. We are going to leave for Matsumoto Castle on the 28th of March, and stay in that town that night. Then we will leave the next morning for Kyoto. We plan on spending one day in Nara, and one day going to Himeji Castle and Osaka. We have tickets to go to the Miyako Odori (Maiko Dance) where we will see apprentice Geisha perform their annual dance. We are hoping to also see a kabuki performance, but they have yet to start selling tickets! We will take the night bus back to Murakami from Kyoto on Saturday the 3rd. I think we will have a great time. I've been wanting to go to Kyoto since my grandma Georgianna got me interested in Geisha in middle school. After taking Japanese history, I wanted to visit even more, so it's kind of like a dream come true!
In May, Brian and I will be taking a trip with our friends from Sekikawa. We will be going to Nikko and staying the night there. I'm looking forward to that trip as well! Unfortunately, once we get back there will be absolutely no holidays until our trip to Tokyo to climb Mt. Fuji in July, which will make June a VERY long month.
I only have one more day at the school I'm at today. I will be very sad to have the current 6th graders leave, since they will be going to a school that I don't teach at. The kids here are really good and they like to talk to me. Most aren't too shy and they are very energetic. The teachers are fun to work with as well! I unfortunately have 2 days left at the school I dislike the most (but that's how it goes right? The elementary school you like least is the one you have to go to the most). I hope to get my schedule for April-July soon. It would be nice to have everything ready for the next school year. (I would also love to NOT be at my middle school on Mondays and Minami on Wednesdays. I wish I could switch them up because those are both bread days for school lunch and the bread is ANYTHING but whole wheat.
Anyway, that's all for now! I will let you know about my future cooking endeavors! If you would like any of the recipes I mentioned in this post, please let me know through facebook or email. =)
When I got off of work, I immediately went to the grocery store to buy the necessary things for baking. I had to go to three stores to get the necessary items. I started cooking right when I got home. We had curry and rice (Japanese style curry), and then I made Blueberry corn-bread. I made it without dairy (using soymilk and oil) since my friend here has a dairy allergy. I made the mistake of putting all the batter into the rice cooker, which made it take 2 hours to cook, and it became so thick I had to cut it in half at the middle. The blueberries also didn't make it to the top of the corn bread, so the top half was pretty much just cornbread. It felt great to actually do some baking though.
Yesterday I made an apple cake/bread (also dairy free). I think I need to use regular oil instead of olive oil since it had a slightly funny aftertaste (not to mention the price), but overall it tasted pretty good. This time I only put half of the batter in at a time and it cooked much faster! I'm excited to try new (non-baking) recipes as well. When Aimee came over on Tuesday, I made a pasta bake with tofu instead of meat. It worked pretty well and you couldn't taste a difference. I made most of it on the stove, then transferred it to the toaster oven to finish off the cheese topping. We will have a few days leftovers from that meal! It's definitely lifted my spirits to be baking and cooking more familiar things. I have enjoyed the Japanese recipes I've found, but it's harder to know if I made it well since I'm not sure what taste to expect!
I've also been able to ride my bike to school a bit more these last two weeks. It really improves my mood when I get to ride to work. I feel like I've already done something productive early in the day. I've also started waking up early so I can do a quick exercise or stretch. It's also part of my "conserve gas and water" plan. When I got last month's meter reading for the gas I was shocked! It had never been so high before! I think it was high because I would use my morning shower as a way to warm up from the cold, but I guess I didn't think about how much longer I was staying in the shower. Now I try to take a max 10 minute shower.
Brian and I are looking forward to our "honeymoon" in Kyoto at the very end of March. We are going to leave for Matsumoto Castle on the 28th of March, and stay in that town that night. Then we will leave the next morning for Kyoto. We plan on spending one day in Nara, and one day going to Himeji Castle and Osaka. We have tickets to go to the Miyako Odori (Maiko Dance) where we will see apprentice Geisha perform their annual dance. We are hoping to also see a kabuki performance, but they have yet to start selling tickets! We will take the night bus back to Murakami from Kyoto on Saturday the 3rd. I think we will have a great time. I've been wanting to go to Kyoto since my grandma Georgianna got me interested in Geisha in middle school. After taking Japanese history, I wanted to visit even more, so it's kind of like a dream come true!
In May, Brian and I will be taking a trip with our friends from Sekikawa. We will be going to Nikko and staying the night there. I'm looking forward to that trip as well! Unfortunately, once we get back there will be absolutely no holidays until our trip to Tokyo to climb Mt. Fuji in July, which will make June a VERY long month.
I only have one more day at the school I'm at today. I will be very sad to have the current 6th graders leave, since they will be going to a school that I don't teach at. The kids here are really good and they like to talk to me. Most aren't too shy and they are very energetic. The teachers are fun to work with as well! I unfortunately have 2 days left at the school I dislike the most (but that's how it goes right? The elementary school you like least is the one you have to go to the most). I hope to get my schedule for April-July soon. It would be nice to have everything ready for the next school year. (I would also love to NOT be at my middle school on Mondays and Minami on Wednesdays. I wish I could switch them up because those are both bread days for school lunch and the bread is ANYTHING but whole wheat.
Anyway, that's all for now! I will let you know about my future cooking endeavors! If you would like any of the recipes I mentioned in this post, please let me know through facebook or email. =)
- Maria
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