Somen for Dinner

Monday zoomed pass with 2 lessons in school with my sen-nen sei. Something to be happy about, the air=con was on in the afternoon!!! Wohoo!!! Felt so much better with the air-con on.

After going home, I was lazy and didn't go for my jog, so I only intend to eat an apple for dinner. BUT... my super nice landlady Aso-san called me and gave me somen for dinner. (cannot complain, cos it's delicious! Tmr I will jog! I will! I will! I will!)

Sōmen (素麺) are very thin, white Japanese noodles made of wheat flour. The noodles are usually served cold and are less than 1.3 mm in diameter. The distinction between sōmen and the next thicker wheat noodles hiyamugi and even thicker Japanese wheat noodles udon is mostly the size of the noodle. Somen noodles are stretched when made. Sōmen are usually served cold with a light flavored dipping sauce or tsuyu. The tsuyu is usually a katsuobushi-based sauce that can be flavored with Welsh onion, ginger, or myoga. In the summer, sōmen chilled with ice is a popular meal to help stay cool. It is actually like our 面线.



 Aso-san's "Teishoku" (定食)

Somen (素麺)

Nagashi Somen

Some restaurants offer "nagashi sōmen" (流しそうめん flowing noodles) in the summer. The noodles are placed in a long flume of bamboo across the length of the restaurant. The flume carries clear, ice-cold water. As the sōmen pass by, diners pluck them out with their chopsticks and dip them in tsuyu. Catching the noodles requires a fair amount of dexterity, but the noodles that are not caught by the time they get to the end usually are not eaten, so diners are pressured to catch as much as they can. I would like to try this, it sounds fun!

Information from Wikipedia :)

Another weekend in Saiki..

I have been staying home for a few weekends, cos of the rain. I wanted to explore Oyujima island, but the rain just wouldn't stop. It stopped on Thursday and Friday and start again on my precious weekend. sigh... I only have 5 more weekends left in Saiki, 5 more drumming sessions, 4 more lessons with my sen-nen sei, 1  more lesson with each with my ni-nen sei, maybe no lessons with my ichi-nen sei. My time in Saiki is running out, have to go back to reality in Singapore soon.

There are things I look forward to...

Next week, there's exam week, so I am going to Hiroshima. I paid for the bus, reserved the hostel, and I checked the weather forecast and... it's RAINY! THUNDERSTORM! I hope it will not rain the whole time I am there.

Before I go back, I look forward to more time with my students, the teachers and friends in Japan.

I look forward to my 5 drumming sessions and the performances on the last weekend that I will be in Saiki. and I am planning to cook chicken rice for my drumming friends.

I look forward to OKINAWA in mid- July with Anna and YP. It will be fun!

Then... Han and Gin are coming!!! We will go rafting, eat lots of food and shop!!! not forgetting ZJ and David too... Can't wait to see them...

Japan 1 year is ending, but it's definitely a great memorable year!

Going back to Singapore to see my family, my tyrant niece (Juliette) for the 1st time, meet up with friends, eat local food, celebrate National Day... It's pretty awesome... only down side is I have to get use to hectic working life again...

Well Done Kakujyo Brassband!

It's a rainy day, I should say it's a rainy week... Well, it's rainy season... But my heart is warm (This is what how my student will write to express warm-hearted :P)

I went for the brassband concert in the evening and needless to say, they were fantastic! (My student gave me a free ticket!) When they performed Ikimono-gakari's  (いきものがかり) "Arigatou" (ありがとう) for encore, I was a little emotional, sad, cos I will be leaving soon. It should be the last time I watch the brassband perform, and also the last time for the san-nen sei (3rd graders) to perform with the band. The students were all emotional too when they stood outside the concert hall to say thank you to all the audiences. One of the boys was crying away. I went around hugging them and shaking their hands, congratulating them on putting up such a great show. I'm sure this will be a great part of their memory of high school life...

Well done Saiki Kakujyo Brassband!

   

The Giving Tree???

I planned a lesson based on the book "The Giving Tree" and I conducted the lessons with my ichi-nen-sei (1st graders) and san-nen-sei (3rd graders). They had to write about the "giving tree" of their life. Most of them wrote about their parents, teachers, friends..... I was in one of my san-nen-sei class today and they were writing and my JTE (Japanese English Teacher) called me over and showed me one of the boy's paper.

This is what the boy wrote:
The giving tree in my life is Sandy. The reason is she is so cute. She is smart. She is a great person. Therefore, she is the giving tree of my life.

That's not all, right at the bottom he wrote: Let's marry a person of different nationality!!

It was so funny. My JTE even read it out to the class. He said he is single, and kept asking how old I am. They said 18, I said 80. We had a good laugh. Cheeky boys...

One cheeky boy is good enough to make my day. The class continued and I was walking around checking their work and collecting them. As I was reading one of their essay, one boy passed his paper to me and I 顺手 put it at the bottom of my stack of papers, wanting to read it later, but he gave me a disappointed look. So, I took it and read it.

This is what he wrote:
The giving tree in my life is Sandy. She is a pretty and intelligent girl. She has developed into an attractive woman. Therefore, I love her forever.

Oh gosh, as if he knew me when I was 18. Haha... and he added and said," I'm crazy for you!" I'm truly flattered, but.... I can only reply," Thank you!"  (too bad they are all too young for me...hee)

These crazy yet sweet boys, I'm going to miss them lots when I return home...

A refreshing jog by the river and...

I know I have already published 3 postings today but... I just feel like writing now. I went for a jog down Banjyo River, very cool weather, and I felt really good after sweating it out. After the jog, I was walking around my apartment, trying to cool down and I saw the folder that contains all the letters, cards and notes I received from family and friends, so I took them and re-read every one of them. I miss them all, not in the sad way, but more of feeling their love and encouragement. Thank you! 

2 more precious months and I will be back in Singapore...

Dental Visit

I finally made a visit to the denist yesterday. One of the filling in my tooth dropped (again...), sigh... I had to see the dentist anyway, to get it cleaned and checked. The dentist speaks English, very good English. (so I'm in good hands...at least I understood what he was telling me.) He is a friend of Yellie (my neighbour) and I met him and his wife on my 1st day in Saiki. I haven't met them again since then... hee.. According to the regulation, I have to go back another 2 more times. He says it's better for me to get rid of my wisdom teeths. I'm still thinking about it. Price wise, it will be cheaper, but I don't know if I have enough time to do it in Japan.

http://www.tsuchiya-dc.com/

RIce Planting...

Rice Planting Festival

12 June 2011

Japan is a country of RICE. They produce rice and rice is precious to them. Japanese love eating rice, I have seen my Jap friends finishing food on their plate and leaving the rice till the end. There's no way I can do rice planting in Singapore, so I have to plant some rice in Japan. So... I followed some friends back to Bungo Takada after the TAO concert and joined the Rice Planting Festival.

We had lunch there, special buffet lunch cooked by the locals there. I couldn't get a set of costume, cos I didn't make any reservation, but it's ok. I just wanted to plant rice. There was a ceremony to call for the god before we can start with the planting. They also had some people dressed up as a buffulo walking in the padi field. It was hilarious. Finally, we got to get into the mud and form lines and so some planting. They held a string of line with red dots on it and we are suppose to plant where the red dots are. After planting that line, they would shift and we will continue to plant. 

It was really interesting, but it rained the whole day, got reallly wet and cold. BUT... I can now say that I planted rice!!!

The Gaijins. Lots of paparazzis following them.
I'm a "Japanese"...

In line to do some planting...

TAO again!

TAO Concert

11 June 2011

Last Saturday, I went for TAO concert again. Last Sept, I went for their concert in Saiki for the 1st time and they were fantastic! Thus, I'm willing to pay and watch them live again this year in Oita City.

This is TAO's website:

http://www.drum-tao.com/en/main.html

Woah!!! I just found out that they ARE going to SINGAPORE!!! In September!!! Should I watch again?!

Mushi Pan (Steamed Bread)

Mushi Pan (Steamed Bread)

11 June 2011

I was browsing thru baking blogs when I saw the Mushi Pan. I have eaten Mushi Pan before (bought from the supermart) and they are delicious. Healthier maybe cos it's steamed. They are soft and nice. Japantimes actually had and article about these mushi pan: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20010617a2.html

The ones I made are not as soft as the supermart's ones, but they still taste good, not too sweet. It's an in between of cake and bread. AND... becos I have my high-quality matcha powder (bought in Uji, Kyoto) and I don't have cocoa powder, so it's Matcha flavoured again. (I love the green!)

Adapted from the recipe from http://justonecookbook.com/blog/recipes/steamed-cake/

Matcha Chocolate Mushi Pan

(Made 3 with the alunimium holders used for Matcha cheesecake)

In the steaming pot, I forgot to take
a photo before steaming it.

Pretty Mushi-pan

Look at how nice the green is...

Ingredients:

½   cup (75g) all purpose flour
1½ Tbsp. Matcha powder
1    tsp. baking powder

1    egg (small) (If using large egg, use 3 Tbsp of milk)
4    Tbsp. milk
2    Tbsp. sugar
1    Tbsp. vegetable oil (Original recipe used 2 Tbsp)

2-3 Tbsp. chocolate chips

(I don't have chocolate chips, so I replaced with one "Melty Chocolate" in the middle and oreo bits on top, you can mix in the oreo bits as well, I forgot to do that.)

Directions:

1. Fill a pot with water to 2/3 full and bring it to a boil (and turn off the heat
    if you are not ready yet). 
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and Matcha powder. 
    Whisk them about 20 times. (This is a shortcut for sifting.)
3. In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, sugar, and vegetable oil and whisk 
    them all together.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix until smooth.
5. Add toppings (chocolate chips, oreo bits, whatever you like) and mix well.
6. Pour the mixture into the cups.
7. Place the cups in the pot and cover to cook 8 minutes. Stick a wooden
    toothpick or skewer into the mushi pan. When it comes out clean (without
    wet batter), remove them from the pan and cool down.

2100yen Bento and Oreo Matcha Cheesecake

2100yen Bento

A very good but expensive bento for lunch with the English teachers.

The chicken and beef were superb!

 Oreo Matcha Cheesecake

I made oreo matcha cheesecake for dessert. It is a non-bake cheesecake and I substitute the digestive biscuits with oreo and sprinkled some oreo bits on top as decorations.

I like the oreo bits...

Oreo Matcha Cheesecake

adapted and modified from:

http://j3sskitch3n.blogspot.com/2010/12/marbled-green-tea-cheese-bar.html#more

Ingredients
15 pcs of oreo cookies

(remove the cream, crush the oreos in a zipbloc bag, save some for topping, mix the rest with 40g melted butter) 

500g cream cheese, room temperature
200g milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)
80g sugar
10g gelatin powder (original recipe called for 16g, but I only have 10g)
20g green tea powder (I used 1.5 tablespoon)

12 square aluminium cups (about 6cm length, 5 cm height)

Method

1) Press oreo mixture onto the 12 square aluminium cups. Level the oreo mixture with the back of a spoon. Place cups into the refrigerator for at least 30mins.

2) In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and milk and double-boil the mixture over a pot of simmering water, whisking constantly until cream cheese and sugar are melted completely.

What I did:

In a medium bowl, put the cream cheese into the microwave. Microwave on high for about 30s, or when the cream cheese melts and you are able to stir it.

In another bowl, warm up the milk in the microwave, dissolve the sugar in the milk.

Combine the 2, and whisk together. 

3) Add gelatin powder into the cream cheese mixture, whisking constantly until gelatin powder dissolves.

4) Pour 3/4 of the cream cheese mixture over the square cups, add in the green tea powder in the remaining 1/4 of cream cheese mixture and whisk until combined. (Next time I will try cocoa powder for choco-flavour.)

5) Pour the green tea mixture into the square cups and twirl the mixture with a satay stick to create the marbled effect. (I failed to get the marbled effect, not sure why.) Sprinkle some oreo bits on the cheesecake.

6) Set aside to cool to room temperature, after cooling, cover with cling wrap or aluminum foil and place it in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

Rainy Day. Baking Day.Matcha Oreo Walnut Cookies.

Rainy Day. Baking Day.Matcha Oreo Walnut Cookies.

5 June 2011

I wanted to go to Oyujima Island to cycle today, but it is a rainy day.... Still raining now... so it's a stay home Sunday...

I baked Match Oreo Walnut Cookies. Actually, I planned to bake these cookies yesterday. I pre-made the dough and left it to chill overnight. Today, I cut them and baked it. Not bad, just that I think my cutting skill is bad, all came out different thickness.

Before Baking...

After baking...

Matcha Oreo Walnut Cookies

Adapted from this blog: http://blessedhomemaker.blogspot.com/2010/01/matcha-cookies.html

Ingredients

(A)

160g butter, room temperature

70g sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten

(B)

180g all-purpose flour

5g matcha (green tea powder) (1 tbsp)

*sifted

(C)
50g sliced almonds (I changed it to oreo bits and chopped walnuts)

Method

1.    In a large bowl, blend the butter until smooth.*

2.    Add the sugar and blend until pale and fluffy.*

3.    Add the egg gradually and mix well.*

4.    Add the sifted Matcha-flour mixture and stir lightly with a rubber spatula, just long enough to make the dough smooth.

5.    Gently mix in the sliced almonds. (I changed it to oreo bits and chopped walnuts)

6.    Form into two rolls on waxed paper and chill overnight.

7.    Slice thinly (approx. 5mm thick) and placed on prepared baking sheet/tray.

8.    Bake in preheated oven of 180C for 12 - 15 mins.

9.    Remove cookies from cookie sheet to cooling rack and let cool.

Hotaru Matsuri

Hotaru Matsuri

4 June 2011

I have read about the Hotaru Matsuri (Fireflies Festival) in Honjyo (one of the village in Saiki) before and I have alwasy wanted to go. Well... SIngapore being such a small city, has no place for fireflies. I have never seen fireflies before. Since I am in Saiki, I have to see it! Weeks before the matsuri, I have to telling everyone (from my neighbour to the teachers in school) that I want to go to Honjyo to see fireflies. But none of them volunteered to take me. One of the teacher says she would invite me to her hometown in Honjyo, but she never did. Until on Friday evening, I met my neighbour and she asked," Are you coming with us for the Hotaru Matsuri tomorrow?" I was so excited! Yipee!!! Finally someone is taking me to see fireflies!!! The scene was amazing with many many blinking lights. But no decent pictures came out, so I gave up on taking pictures and enjoyed the moment then.

Just the Yatais...