Recipe

This is the recipe for the Russian Teacakes/Mexican Wedding cookies/American Snowballs/English Ladyfingers that I made in Japan...and yes, those are all real names that I have found for the same cookie...

2 cup butter, softened

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

½ cup each: Tapioca starch, Potato starch, cornstarch

1 cup each: Almond flour, Rice flour, and Sorghum flour

3 tsp Xanthan Gum

½ tsp salt

3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Heat oven to 400. Mix thoroughly butter, sugar, egg & vanilla. Work in flour, salt & nuts until the dough holds together. Cover & chill for 30 minutes or so. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set, but not brown. I only needed to keep them in for 10 minutes. I use an oven thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature in my oven. Let cookies cool slightly – 5-10 minutes. While still warm, roll cookies in powdered sugar. Set on cooling rack to complete cooling. Roll again in sugar once they are cool.

This makes 6 dozen cookies, minus the two I ate raw. :)

If you really want to do it the way I did you will mix the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla with a beater, and then use a wooden spoon the rest of the time... There's just something I love about making cookies with a wooden spoon!

Today...Day 47

Well, here I am at the end of another day... The past two days have been extremely busy. Sundays are always busy, and I believe the most stressful day of the week for all of us. It is stressful to me because it is really the only time I am fully in Japanese culture. Also, last night after church Abi and I went to Chiba for a sayonara party for several of the short term interns... It's really sad that most of the people I've gotten to know are leaving within three weeks. :( We met in the team leader's home for a 'taco rice' dinner, and good bye. I learned that they built their own house using materials sent from America. It was really nice. For a while, I forgot I was half way around the world. I felt like I was at Granny's house on Thanksgiving... That was really the 'homiest' I've felt since I've been here. I went to bed immediately after we got back at 11:00. Abi explained this morning why Sundays are so stressful for me even though I don't do anything besides what I normally do... When I am with Japanese speaking people, my mind is trying to pick out and pick up the Japanese words whether I realize it or not. So I end up running my brain overtime without even knowing it! That's what makes me tired.

This morning I slept until seven. I wouldn't have gotten up then if I had not been awakened by a morning piano lesson. :) I decided either this morning or yesterday morning that I don't like sleeping on a futon...It's too hard to get up on mornings that I'm really tired. I actually have to lie there until I have the energy to make myself move. In my bed at home, I can just sort of roll off and be in a half standing position. :D After we got the boys off to school, I decided to make what we call snowballs while the Japanese language teacher was here. They actually turned out really well, AND they were gluten free! This afternoon after I cooked them I was able to lie down for about an hour. I was SO tired I could hardly stand up. At 3:30 thirteen people came over as the last stop of a tour of Tokyo. We served them tea and cookies and fruit. As they left at 4:3o, Eastin and I left too. We went to the apartment building next door for a lesson with Hinako-Chan. At about 6:00 we got back and I helped finish up dinner. The boys are in bed now, and the kitchen has been cleaned. Either I am still tired, or I'm tired again! I'll probably go to bed before long.

Well, may the Lord bless and keep you all!

Love,
Hannah

Unexpected Fun!

Well, so much for not anything interesting to write about.... Tonight, I had some rather unexpected fun! Satoshi and Yukiho came this afternoon... They are Rev. Fukuda-San's youngest two children - 16 and 14 years old. We had been trying to arrange for us to do something this afternoon earlier this week, but nothing was ever confirmed. We had forgotten about the possibility of them visiting when they rang the bell. I have really come to appreciate Abi's ability to think on her feet. From the time they rang the bell downstairs to the time they came in, she had decided that the three of us would make pizza. We made the crust, and then went to the super market to buy toppings. Abi's idea was for them to make a Japanese style pizza, and for me to make an American/Italian style pizza. I must say that both pizzas were absolutely delicious! I couldn't tell you what all I put on my pizza, because when I make pizza I just decorate it with whatever I have on hand that might be good on a pizza. :) Thankfully, I was paying attention while they were making theirs, so I can tell you how to make a version of Japanese style pizza.

After the crust is pre-baked, spread about a half tsp. olive oil over it. Then add sliced teriyaki chicken. Lightly saute and add sliced eggplant, fresh mushrooms, and half an onion. Then squirt mayonnaise (yes, mayonnaise) over the top and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake until you think it's done. :) Be prepared to eat it with a fork... We had to. The three of us ate a whole pizza, and Satoshi wanted to take the rest home for their family. I also made 'American style sweet tea' to go with it. I served them their first glass cold, and then didn't give them any more ice. I started thinking, in the States, it is considered rude to serve hot sweet tea... But they seemed to like it better warm, so I let them drink it warm. We drank nearly half a gallon!

I learned that they have both visited New York, Virginia, and Texas. They remembered the beautiful mountains in Virginia, and the noise of New York... :) They said they want some day to visit Mississippi, so I showed them some of my pictures of the Mississippi River. I also showed them pictures of my family and some extended family, pets, and 4-H shows. They loved all the family pictures; they said our Boston Terrier was cute and the cows were big; and they found me in all the livestock show pictures they saw. In return, I got to see pictures of their school, and family. I really enjoyed it all.

One more thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post today was about my green tea donut. Abi and I stopped at a Mr. Donut one day and bought donuts for Roger and myself. I got a green tea icing filled donut. When I bit into it, what looked like basil pesto fell out, and I was sure there was something else in there.... There was... They were beans! Yep, there were beans in my green tea donut... It was really, really weird! I don't think I'll be getting another one of those. I did learn that in Japan, beans are usually considered a delicacy, and most of the time they are candied. That explains why they were in my donut...

Well, it is late here now and tomorrow is Sunday, so I should go to bed.

My love to you all,

Hannah

Long Time...

Hello all! I hope you are all doing well... As for me, I've been sick. Thursday I came down with a fever and bad headache. I felt better yesterday, except for having absolutely no energy... Today I have most of my energy back... The only thing bothering me is the expected sore throat that can last for up to a week. Hopefully that will go away soon.

Well, it has been a long time since the last time I posted anything, and I'm sorry for that... It just seems that nothing that interesting has happened since the movie night, except for the joy and amazement of everyday life! So I will highlight some of the everyday things that have happened recently, in order of my memory, not in order of happening... I visited my first gasoline station on Wednesday... The first thing that struck me was that there were no pumps... To save space, the pumps hang from the ceiling and can be pulled down. The second thing I noticed was that there is no self service here. When you drive up, someone tells you where to park, asks how much you want put in, fills you up, and gives you a window wash. When they're done, they usher you out, as if you had been in a mechanic garage. As we were sitting waiting for them to fill us up, I happened to notice the price sign. It said something like 243 yen (roughly equivalent to $2.45). Well, then I was told that gas is sold by the liter, not the gallon! That's one reason most people take the trains... :)

The next thing that has happened that comes to mind is Coen learning to walk. He has known how to walk for about a month now. But just yesterday he decided that he could walk. The funny thing is that he's pulled himself around holding on to stuff and going sideways so long, that now he walks like a crab. :D He looked so funny last night when he just randomly decided to walk in circles around the living room for about 20 minutes!

I also wanted to share with you yet another Japanese sunset... You are going to get really tired of sunsets, but they all look so different. The picture of this one REALLY doesn't do it justice. I also had to include this picture of Coen. He is sitting in his bouncy thing. When I took this picture, he had been looking at me for a long time, and then he would start laughing hysterically, and bounce for a few minutes... Then he would watch me again, and then he would laugh and bounce....

Another cute thing I've learned is that Eastin's favorite food is "ban-an-pean-butter", translated banana and peanut butter. :)

I don't think I told you about the chocolate chip cookies I made last Sunday with the boys. They were a success, AND gluten free! I let Aidan help me mix them, and then I let each of them make a pan full, and see them once they were done. I have found that the secret ingredient for cookies is potato starch. Unfortunately, until last week, the only potato starch we had was contaminated. All of the cookies were eaten that day!

Well, today is my day off, so since there is a possibility I'm still contagious, I decided not to have friends over like I had planned to do. Now my plan is to finish the last 6 chapters of The Hobbit, and probably start the Fellowship of the Ring.

Thank you all for your prayers, and thoughts!

My love to you all,

Hannah

Saturday

Hello everyone...

I hope you all had a good Saturday, and are looking forward to your Sunday. I had a good day yesterday. Last night I traveled one train stop to Geert and Eline's apartment. Several girls and ladies from church gathered in a mini-theater in their building to watch a movie. We watched Enchanted. I was a little worried at first, because I forgot to ask what language we were going to watch the movie in.... We watched it in English, with Japanese subtitles. I can tell you the names of the people I remember from this picture...

Second to left is Yukiho, and beside her is Iako. In the middle of the sofa is Eline (wearing pig-tails in true Dutch fashion), and then Hannah... Keiko is the one taking the picture. I really enjoyed the movie... That's the kind of movie I really like...light and happy...

Yesterday morning I slept until 8:00. It felt really nice to sleep that late.... :) Then, after a shower and a wonderful breakfast of delicious granola, I started reading. I am simply enthralled in The Hobbit. At around 11:00, I was able to talk to my family. They also got to meet Eastin. :) Eastin told me earlier today that he wanted to see my Mommy and Daddy and sisters again, and could we please talk to them? (Sorry Colin, he didn't say anything about wanting to talk to you...) After that, I read again until about 3:30, when I went to the subway station to meet Keiko, Yukiho, and Iako....

Well, I should probably go for now... We have to leave for church soon.

Hannah

Happy Father's Day

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to wish every father a Happy Father's Day! (Especially my Daddy, and my Grandfathers.)

I found out yesterday that today is Father's Day here in Japan, and remembered that it is the same day in the States. I know it is not Sunday there yet.

Happy Father's Day!!!!

love,

Hannah

Dinner Anyone?

Well, Good morning everyone! Anyone up for some food?

These pictures - excluding the one of Coen - were our dinner. First off, we have delicious jumbo shrimp, which we de-shelled before cooking. The bottom picture is my personal favorite: squid. I can't decide which looks more appetizing...the large de-headed squid, or the tiny whole ones... They did not look quite like this when we ate them. We made tempura for dinner. I say 'we' because it really took both Abi and me to do it. She also made miso soup with seaweed to go with it. We battered and fried bell peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, okra, and kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), along with what is pictured. I think my favorites were the eggplant and bell pepper. The shrimp tasted ok, but the squid was too rubbery. It didn't have a bad taste, but it was just hard to eat. The smaller squid do taste better to me.

It's really funny, but last year, I never would have eaten squid or shrimp... Now I eat it, and it even tastes good most of the time.

The picture of Coen was taken tonight too. He is in his bouncy thing, which he loves! I thought it was too cute to miss. :) He really is asleep in the picture.

Today went well. The morning was mostly uneventful, except for trying to get Eastin to eat tofu. He had apparently formed some notion that it would not taste good (which it does).

Around 10:00 I started working on a new bread recipe, and it turned out well. I made it in a muffin pan like rolls. They actually taste and look like wheat bread. I was proud of myself. :)

After that, Abi and I went to the grocery store to buy ingredients for the tempura. Honestly, I am going to take my camera there one day. It is really incredible!

On the way back from there, it started raining. It was raining hard by 3:00 when I left here with Eastin headed towards Hinako-Chan's house. We did English school in her apartment today. I really enjoyed it, and it gave me some insight into her character. She is a little mommy. By the time we left she was making vegetable soup with play kitchen food. She had set Eastin to work making a cake, and found it hilarious that he obviously had no idea what he was doing. She was also instructing me as I was making rice pudding. :) We came back (in the rain) at 5:00. Eastin was still insisting that he didn't have fun, but when we got home he informed me that we have to go to her house next week. And then we started dinner......

Last night for dinner I made stuffed chicken breasts. I never know what I put in them by the time they're done, but I think these were some of the best I've ever made. I stuffed them and grilled them for about 7 minutes. I think the best parts were the basil pesto, red pepper and cubed Gouda. :)

After supper Abi gave me a donut bag from 'Mr. Donut' and said, "The green one's yours. I got some for you and Roger. I definitely want you to have the green one." To tell the truth, I paused for a full 5 seconds before I continued opening it! I carefully opened the bag and peeked in. Sure enough, there was a green donut! Don't think easter-egg green; think cooked green beans green, with easter-egg green icing! When I bit into it, I found English pea green on the inside. It was a green tea donut. I know I'd never tried one, and I don't think I'd ever heard of a green tea donut. To tell the truth, it was pretty good. Donuts here aren't nearly as sweet as the ones in the States. Still, it was really good with a tall glass of milk.

Well, I have been reading The Hobbit lately. I have never read the trilogy before, and Roger owns all of them, so I decided there was no better time to start. One night I read about a third of The Hobbit, and I am about half way through it now. I really enjoy it. I didn't think I would, but I do.

Well, this is already very long... So I probably should end it now....

My love to you all!

Hannah