random pictures that I haven't posted yet

I'm doing clean-up with my picture files and half-written blog entries. I've had some of these pictures for a while, and it's about time I posted them. I was going to wait until I decided to write more about them, but who knows when that will be. I do have a couple of posts I want to put up (about the awesomeness of nabe, the latest Kit-Kat haul, and future travel plans), but I need to actually get around to writing them first. Until then, enjoy the pictures.

This is a fig. Until I came to Japan, there were certain fruits I'd only heard of and never seen but knew must exist somewhere in the world. Figs were such an example. Eating a fig is not like eating a fig newton. Figs are actually very tasty. This is an organic fig that was at its perfect moment of ripeness. It was therefore delicious. One of Benni-sensei's students gave them to us (I have no recollection of who it was, maybe Motosu-san? He's a farmer.)

This is yokan, which is basically jellified sweet red bean paste. Naofumi-san brought this back from a business trip, and because Benni-sensei doesn't like sweet things, she forced me to take it home. Not that I was complaining. It was very good with some plain butter cookies I found.

Of all the anko-filled sweets I've had, this remains my favorite. It's anko wrapped in mochi covered in sesame seeds. The first anko I ever had was at a buffet sushi place in Jacksonville, which served fried sesame balls filled with anko. These are actually more Vietnamese than Japanese, but it was close enough, and I've loved anko ever since. I LOVE these sesame balls and am somewhat sorry that they aren't around much anymore. Maybe they're a seasonal thing.

These are my hashi - my chopsticks. One of my students went on a trip to Shanghai and brought these back for me. I like them, they're pretty. And they were a gift, which is always nice. They even have a little storage bag! It's nice (even if it is pink).

This is a persimmon, another of those mythical fruits that I'd never seen, only heard of. I ended up getting about a dozen of these from various students. After I got my convectional toaster oven, I made persimmon bread, which was very yummy and enjoyed by everyone who tried it.

This is a fish cookie filled with custard that Hitomi-san gave me. She said it's called taiyaki. No surprise, it was yummy.

This is my homework from the holiday break. You probably can't read it, but it's my attempt to master the days of the week. My kanji sucks. My hiragana isn't much better. However, my pronunciation and memorization of the vocabulary is flawless. Or so I'm told. (By the way, today is suiyobi, in case you were wondering. You probably weren't; that's just me showing off a little.)

This is strawberry daifuku. It's strawberry-flavored mochi and anko with a giant strawberry in the middle. There have been lots of strawberry-related sweets out lately, which may or may not be related to a holiday coming up (Valentine's Day?), but I have no confirmation on this. Benni-sensei is on vacation and can't answer my questions, and I forgot to ask Hitomi-san and Naofumi-san. They're usually the people I turn to when I have burning questions. Either way, this is probably my second-favorite daifuku treat, after the sesame balls. (hehe)

This is Eddie, my convectional toaster oven. Benni-sensei has great fun teasing me by calling him my boyfriend (she's just jealous that she doesn't have an oven), so we decided he needed a name. Eddie was chosen, though I don't remember why. I like Eddie, he works very well and also heats the room, which is a bonus. He is my favorite appliance.

These are the cookies he helped make, the first batch. Notice how buttery, greasy, and generally sub-par they are. That's not Eddie's fault. Now that I have shortening (yay, thanks, parents!), I can make proper cookies. After I'm done with this whole being sick thing.

And these are the brownies he helped make. They were very easy and very good and everybody liked them (everybody liked the cookies too, but they don't know what I can really do).

This is the Christmas wall, just before I tore it down. The kids make almost all of those snowflakes, and they had a very happy time doing it. They also colored all of the pictures and made the Santa figures too. The adults also liked coming in and every week and seeing what new things had been put on the wall. I have a world map up there now, with arrows pointing to the GEOS schools worldwide. It's a homestay work-in-progress.

This is oshiruko, red bean soup with baked mochi. This is how Hitomi-san suggested I eat my mochi, seeing as how I love azuki beans. Unsurprisingly, I love it. It's also a pretty popular dessert, it seems, considering I've had it at two restaurants (again charming my Japanese hosts because of my adoration of azuki beans). I should note that most oshiruko has smaller mochi balls that aren't usually baked. This is just my personal version.