Glazed lemon pound cake

 

In coming back to the U.S., one of the things that I was most excited to return to was baking. This week I made my first concoction in quite a while- a glazed lemon pound cake from my favorite Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. The cake was dense and moist, and the lemon flavor perfect for these end of summer days. The glaze, however, was what made this cake stand apart- apricot Cognac glaze. So heavenly. I will attest that none of this has gone to waste. 

The recipe isn't available online, but the cake was pretty easy to make, as pound cakes generally are. Sometimes I have had issue with other pound cakes cooking all the way through because of the high butter content, but this one was perfect- just a little crispy on the outer edges, but still moist and finished on the inside. The poppy seeds made a nice texture contrast. 

Interestingly, I learned that Hennessy is one of the most frequently stolen items at my local grocer. As I stood looking for it in the liquor aisle, an employee asked me if I needed help (the customer service at Cosentino's is really great). When I told him what I was looking for, he informed me that Hennessy is kept behind the service counter, as it is such a high theft item. I was quite confused, as there are many small-sized bottles of much higher priced liquor sitting on the shelf, but I guess the cultural cache of the name brand is just that strong. The bottle I bought was only $11. There are bottles approaching the $100 mark that are sitting out on the shelves. So, baking led to an interesting lesson in grocery economics as well as the end product of a delicious cake. And now we all know, you have to ask for the Hennessy.

 

The Perfect Sunday Outing in Tokyo: Meiji Shrine and A to Z Cafe

 Entering the shrine.

Last week, my dear friend Emily came from the States for a visit. On her first day here, we headed down to the Harajuku-Omotesando area of Tokyo for what may be my perfect Tokyo outing: the Meiji Shrine and A to Z Cafe. We exited Harajuku Station with all the cool kids and hit up the shrine first- perfectly beautiful, verdant, and calm, despite the throngs of Sunday tourists. 

Shrine gate.

The Meiji Shrine is where Emperor Meiji (r. 1868-1912) is enshrined. It is also a huge shrine in the middle of Tokyo, includes two museums dedicated to Emperor Meiji, and is a large green space, making it a popular site with a variety of visitors. As it relates to the Imperial, and is a lovely natural escape from the concrete expanses of Tokyo, it is one of my favorite spots in the city.

 A small waterfall along the path.

 Pals.

 Sake barrels as donated by breweries.

 Little dude exhibiting proper ritual behavior at the shrine.

 Little dude goofing around (e.g., not exhibiting proper ritual behavior).

 The main area of the shrine.

 We saw a wedding!

 Shrine doors.

 On our way out.

After a bit of walking through Harajuku, and a quick lunch stop, we headed over to the Omotesando area, one subway stop away. If it had not been raining, and us not in the company of a tired-of-walking kiddo, the stretch between the shrine and Omotesando is a nice 15-20 minute stroll along streets filled with beautiful high end retail- in some ways a museum of contemporary material culture combined with the adjacent Harajuku fashion (read: youthful hip). Ultimately, our destination in Omotesando was the A to Z Cafe, which is a project of the artist Yoshitomo Nara.

 Seated.

 Sparkling wine and pumpkin coconut cake. Dreamy.

 Artist kid in a cafe created by an artist who addresses kids. Woah.

Yoshitomo Nara, long a favorite of mine, creates work that has a certain child-like quality to it. While many of his artworks are somewhat disturbing, others focus on the emotions of childhood, and the childhood experience. So, it was completely appropriate that little dude went straight for his blank-page book with his crayons. 

 

Lighting by the cafe entrance.

Asukayama Park Sakura 飛鳥山公園の桜

 Sakura at Asukayama Park.

 My love of sakura is becoming an obsession this week. I have now done hanami (flower viewing picnics) four times in the last three days. I know that the blooms won't last, and that it will be rainy for the next two days, so I'm trying to get in as much time under the pink fluff as possible. Yesterday and today (and actually the day before too, but that was after dark), I went to Asukayama Park to view the blossoms there. The park is actually quite close to my apartment, so it's really convenient. It's also one of the more famous sites in Tokyo to view sakura; the first cherry trees were planted there in the 18th century, and it was one of the first public parks in Japan, opening in 1873. Even Emperor Meiji did hanami there back in the 1880s.

 Emperor Meiji at Asukayama Park, late 19th c., by Chikanobu.

A Hiroshige print of Asukayama Park sakura, 1832-4.

 All the happy drinking people.

 All the fluffy puffy blossoms.

 Sakura flavored chuhai (rice liqour and soda). Yummy.

Hanami at night.

A Week in Pink

 

Pink is not on my list of favorite colors, but it seems to be a pleasant reoccurring theme this week. This afternoon I enjoyed a perfectly sweet Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Chocolate Latte at Starbucks, a sign that spring is on its way. I've also been spending a good deal of time with my magenta electronic dictionary, working on translations. Lastly, the camellias are in full bloom around the city, in particular I enjoy them in Ueno while walking to the train station from the research institute.

 

Happy Up!

 

Ok, people. It's time we all happy up.

I had a bottle of peach water from the vending machine at work last week, and it included the great bottle cap caption you see above. Happy Up! Of course the peach water helped to elevate my mood, but I think we can all use to try sending some positive vibes into the world. Go do something nice for someone today. Send someone chocolates. Buy someone a drink. Give a gift to somebody. Give a hug. Smile at a stranger. Skype a friend. I received a tiny box of Christopher Elbow chocolates in the mail over the weekend, and it really did make my day. I know everyone is tired of winter (I see all those whiny Facebook posts), and I get that February is the lamest of months, but embrace the cold (I'll be seeing whiny Facebook posts about the heat all too soon), curl up with a blanket, drink some hot chocolate, and love that you are alive today. 

Happy Up!

Reception at the Ambassador's Residence

 Pre-game cocktails with Ti, Mimi, and Talia.

 On Wednesday evening I attended a reception at the Ambassador's Residence to welcome the new heads of JUSEC (the organization that oversees Fulbright) and CULCON. A few friends and I started the evening with cocktails at the Inter-Continental before heading over to the party.

Front door of the Residence.

 The Residence is a beautiful building, built in the early 1930s. It was the location for the famous photograph of the meeting of General Douglas MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito in the days after WWII.

 The front hall.

 Of course, the food was fantastic too- lobster, crab, duck, polenta, salad, cheeses, and so many delicious things. I may have eaten my tax dollars in lobster.

 Not my photo, but a nice shot of the dessert table.

 Also not my photo, but yum.

There were speeches by the Ambassador, and the new directors being honored.

  Ambassador Kennedy speaking about intercultural exchange.

Of course the highlight of the evening was meeting Ambassador Kennedy, who took the time to greet the Fulbright grantees and to ask about each of our research.

 

Group photo of Fulbrighters and Ambassador Kennedy (not mine). I'm just to the right of the Ambassador.

 Also not my photo, but here is the back of my head as I speak with the Ambassador about my research. Doesn't she look genuinely interested? 

As was to be expected the Ambassador was surrounded by people throughout the two and a half hour reception, and was carefully whisked through the crowds by her two handlers, who were ensuring that she had face time with all of the right people. It was a lovely event though, and a great opportunity to meet Caroline Kennedy and many other people, as well as to see the Residence itself. You can see more photos of the evening here.

Mimi and I as we left the Residence. America!

Holiday Party- Egg Nog, Toffee, and Bruschetta

 

This past weekend I had a party for a group of friends here in Tokyo. It was a pot luck of drinks and snacks, and I provided egg nog, toffee, and bruschetta.

Egg nog is a holiday tradition in my family, but something that is not commercially available in Japan, so I decided to make it myself. It wasn't too difficult, but the beating of the eggs would definitely have been easier with a stand mixer. I started with 8 yolks, which I beat until they turned a lighter color of yellow. I then added about half a cup of sugar and mixed for a while longer. Add 2 cups of cream, 1000 milliliters of milk, and stir some more.

 

 

Then comes the good part- an entire bottle of whiskey. Our tradition is Southern Comfort, and many people use bourbon, but I went with the resources at hand.

 

 

Two tablespoons of nutmeg.

 

 

And the final step, beating 8 egg whites until they form stiff peaks, and then add another half cup of sugar. The egg nog was creamy and smooth, and the whiskey was hidden beneath all of the layers of dairy and spice. I will definitely be making another, though smaller, batch before Christmas.

 

 

I wanted to provide some sweets, but my tiny microwave-convection oven doesn't really lend itself to baking cookies. I went with a homemade toffee topped with chocolate- one batch with peanuts, one without. Toffee is just butter, sugar, salt, and water, so it is quite simple to prepare in the microwave, then pouring out onto a sheet of foil to harden. Melt some chocolate and pour on the top, and there it is. 

 

 

And finally, something savory- bruschetta. Something I realized in brainstorming appetizers is that so many holiday appetizers that we make in the US have cheese in them, something that is quite expensive and hard to come by here in Japan. I opted for roasting tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and basil in the oven for about an hour, until the tomatoes were roasted enough to crush easily into the olive oil. Mix it all together and it's an easy bruschetta or pasta sauce. 

Hope your holiday parties are full of joy and warmth this season!

 

秋二 Autumn 2

 

The weather in Tokyo is gradually cooling, but autumn is still hanging on a bit here. On Monday I had business to take care of at the Ward Office. Difficult applying for preschool translating and explaining a US 1040 Tax form into Japanese tax language kind of business. Luckily, the workers there are really kind, and the woman processing our application was super nice. Now we just need to keep our fingers crossed that we can get in! In any case, the walk to the Kita-ku Ward Office is along a path beside this dry-for-winter riverbed, past a lovely arched bridge and near some fiery red maples (above). After my two hour (!) consultation and trying to pretend like I understand the US tax system, as well as learning about the Japanese tax system (preschool rates are based on taxes), I took a little sanity break and walked over to Oji Shrine (below), which is very close to the Ward Office. A great place to take a deep breath and return to a balanced state.

 

 

Tuesday was rainy and chilly, and as I walked through Ueno this morning the ginkgo leaves were falling from the trees. I am obsessed with their perfect golden color, and lovely curved shape.

 

 

Even though the 40 and 50 degree temperatures are nothing to complain about, the blowing wind and rain gets chilly while walking outside and standing on train platforms. My favorite anecdote is a hot yuzu drink from the vending machine- it warms your hands and your body, and matches the golden color of the ginkgo leaves.