Summer Hatin'

It should be no surprise to those who know me that I hate Japanese summers. It is indescribably humid and hot and miserable. And I've been to hot and humid places! I've been to Florida, Mexico, Hawaii... but none of these compare to the misery of Japan. So much of the problem isn't in the actual weather but in the Japanese lifestyle which dictates no air conditioning, no driving, walking or bike riding everywhere and a "just deal with it" attitude. I recently had to change my keitai email, a very grave task, so I sat down to seriously think it over. Yet all I could think about was how terribly hot it was and how a bead of sweat was dripping rather uncomfortably down my back and my bangs were plastered to my forehead and my hair probably resembled a shaggy sweaty lion's. This in turn reminded me of a witty thing I'd read not too long ago in one of Jane Austen's letters to her sister Cassandra. She had been writing of her plans to go into town to see their brother Frank off on his next naval tour of duty and the difficulties which were hindering her. In the midst of this recount she suddenly breaks off and writes:

What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance. -September 18, 1796 (Full text)

Clearly, in writing a letter to her sister the heat and humidity were all Jane could think of too! It perfectly sums up how I feel all summer in Japan; as if I were in a continual state of inelegance. It is seriously impossible to be elegant in this heat, unless of course you're a Japanese woman whose hair never frizzes and you don't sweat a drop. (I don't know how they do it!)

In Michigan, summer was my favorite season so it is quite disappointing to be missing my favorite season and having it replaced with misery. There are oh, so many things I've missed...

Yesterdog
Lake Michigan beaches
Blueberry picking
Grilling and barbecuing
Crazy cheap and delicious corn on the cob
The Fourth of July
Ice cream cake for my birthday
Central air on full blast everywhere
Slushies
Family picnic/reunion
Graduation celebrations
Summer clearance sales
Birds singing
Driving with the windows down
Fast food drive-thrus
Farmer's markets

Luckily, fall is just around the corner. And while I despised fall in Michigan, it's probably my favorite season in Japan! So, I guess I just have to take the good with the bad and make a list of things I love about Japanese autumns to make up for dissing Japanese summers.

Oh, and my new keitai email? acontinual2state4of7inelegance at ezweb dot ne dot jp ... if you want to get in touch :)

A meal without cheese is like a beautiful woman who lacks an eye.

Those of you who live in Japan and enjoy cooking, like me... I am about to blow your minds!

Those of you who don't live in Japan and are lucky enough to have access to a fully stocked "real" grocery store, unlike me... I might be about to blow your minds too!

I have discovered, through the glorious internet, that it is possible to make your very own ricotta cheese in your tiny Japanese kitchen with readily available items!

Mind blown?

Well maybe not because apparently recipes for homemade ricotta are all over the internet. But I didn't know this. Now that I know I can't believe I didn't know, so I'm just trying to save you from ignorance here!

To the right is a picture of homemade ricotta taken from Wikimedia possibly made by a stupid person.



Not only are there recipes all over the internet it is stupidly easy to make. In the variation I made the only ingredients are whole milk, lemon juice and salt. Even if you're stupid just:

Heat 8 cups of milk in a sauce pan. Stir so it doesn't burn and bring to a simmer. Add a couple teaspoons of salt. Kill the heat and add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (I didn't use fresh, I used stuff from a bottle) and stir. Curds will start to form immediately and then you can drain it through a colander or sieve lined with paper towel (or cheese cloth if you can find it and are fancy). Let it drain for, I dunno, 5 minutes to an hour. The consistency will vary depending on how long it drains. Then eat it!

These stupid people even made ricotta and look how happy they are.

If you don't believe how easy this is, google it and you will find countless other recipes just as easy. Some use whole milk plus cream or even yogurt, so you can experiment with different recipes and see what you like best. Next time I make it I think I'll substitute some of the milk with cream and see if it turns out creamier. I plan on making lasagna this weekend using homemade ricotta, so stay tuned for gooey lasagna pictures and ranting about how I haven't eaten lasagna in two and a half years.

IMAGINATION

This past weekend was my school's bunkasai (cultural festival). The festival is held only every three years, so there had been quite the hype leading up to it! I didn't really know what to expect, this being my first bunkasai. My only prior knowledge came from anime and manga so I gathered there'd be some crazy costumes and lots of food, but I really had no idea what I was in for.

Cultural festivals are actually a mandated part of the Japanese public school curriculum and aim to showcase the daily achievements of the students. Our festival was held on both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was open to the public so parents, friends and people from the neighborhood were able to come. The theme for this year's festival was "Imagination" and the students interpretation was quite... liberal! The school was completely transformed as classrooms became movie theaters, mazes, dance studios and cafes. Unlike in American schools, the Japanese students are given a great deal of the responsibility in planning and managing these kind of events. Everything from tent rentals and scheduling the use of the auditorium to MCing the events and cooking/serving food fall to the students. It's really amazing to see what they accomplish when given the opportunity!

My school is a junior and senior high school combined, so our festival was much larger than most in Japan. My junior high student's projects were a bit more academic than the senior high since they had more guidance from their teachers. They educated visitors on English idioms, the science of bubbles, how the brain works and on foreign country's traditions. They displayed their artwork from the school year and even created a massive mosaic painting. They put on skits, sang songs and lead me around trying to explaining everything in English. It was adorable seeing how proud they were of everything they had done and I was very, very proud of them!

The high school students projects were even more varied and entertaining. Some of my favorites were the Mario Maze in which you traveled through different levels playing mini-games to earn coins until ultimately confronting Bowser, a movie made by the ninenseis which was composed mostly of hilarious revisions of popular commercials, a fortune-telling room where you could have your palm read, get a tarot card reading or draw an omikuji (fortune), and of course the 真夏のクリスマス (Midsummer Christmas) room featuring a fully decorated Christmas tree and baseball boys cross-dressing as sexy santas dancing to K-pop.

In addition to the individual classroom projects, there was a costume contest on Saturday. Each classroom could enter 5 costumes and had 5 minutes to showcase them through a skit, song or dance. It was amazing! I think my favorites were the Aladdin group who had a fully blue painted Genie and cross-dressing Jasmine, one of my ichinenesei classes who dressed up as the Korean pop group Kara (with some cross-dressing) and put on an amazing lip-sync and dance and of course the sexy cross-dressing santas who are actually really good dancers. Other highlights were a High School Musical number and one class's rendition of Thriller. For something just meant to be fun, I could tell most of the students put a lot of time and effort into practicing their dance numbers and memorizing their skits.

Besides visiting individual classrooms on Sunday, there were also performances in the auditorium from the bands, choir and orchestra as well as a play put on by the drama club. The various martial arts my school offers also did demonstrations throughout the day and the art and photography club had mini-galleries set up. There was really far too much to see and do in one day!

After Sunday's main events there was a talent show for just the students and teachers. Auditions had been held previously, so there weren't too many performers and they were mostly upperclassmen. There were a few hip-hop dance crews and then a few student bands played. One did a horrible rendition of a Greenday song, but most were pretty darn good for high school bands. By this time it was nearly 6pm and I was exhausted from running around all day. I had an amazing time getting to hang out with the students though and seeing how excited and proud they were of all their hard work.

Today was clean up day and just about all the traces of this amazing weekend are gone. The school is once more looking like a school and the desks have been returned to the classroom. I am so glad I got to see it all unfold and experience it all. It's sad that this will be my last bunkasai at Gakuho... unless of course I make a point to come back and visit in three years. I think I will!

Photos will be coming FORTHWITH!

A Summer Recap

This summer wasn't filled with any epic vacations or trips home, but we managed to stay pretty busy nonetheless. Chronologically (the best order!) it went something like this:

American's Visit - Greg and Jesse flew over to Japan for a couple weeks. They got to see the glory of Aizu and party with the FuJETs. Luckily for all, they were here for the Fukushima fund raising SHINE which was pretty fun... if I'm remembering correctly after all those rum and coke floats.

My Twin Turned 30 - But luckily I'm still only 25. We rolled down to Tokyo for an early birthday celebration of barbecue next to Tokyo Tower, drinking in a SERVICED apartment and clubbing in Roppongi. Partied to the break of dawn, tore the birthday boy from his "fans" and kicked a pigeon.

Climbed a God-Forsaken Mountain - Read about the awfulness here. This helped me decided NOT to climb Fuji this year. Great decision.

Barbecued a Giant Steak - Oh, and it was Daniel's birthday too. Probably ate the best food of the summer. Steak, bratwurst, corn on the cob, potato salad and cake!

Gemma's Surprise Birthday - Gemma's birthday isn't actually until August, but since she was leaving Japan before then some geniuses decided to throw her a truly surprising party in June. We went to the beer garden in Motomiya and drank a lot and ate a lot. After that we went to some bars and clubs in Koriyama until our group dwindled to only Gemma, Twin and I. Why is it the best memories of nights out are the walks to combinis? Miss you Gemma!

Fourth of July Fuck Yeah America: The Final Chapter - I was getting sick, but it was the Fourth of July Fuck Yeah America: The Final Chapter party at David's, so I just had to go. We ate more delicious barbecue and I sat in a comfy lawn chair and watched people play with sparklers. Next I remember I fell asleep in David's bed even though everyone was super noisy. I think he put a sheet over the pillow, either to protect me from his dirty pillow or to protect himself from my germs. Then I went home and fell asleep in my bed. I was pretty pathetic and sad.

My Birthday/Canada Day - By the time my birthday rolled around I was well and truly sick. Very sick. The same weekend as my birthday was also Canada Day celebrating... I'm not sure what. There was a DJ party at Pronto which Sean was DJing, so I went to that and didn't go too crazy. Then I  slept and was sick and fussy on my birthday.

Leaver's Party 2011 - Party for the JETs leaving this summer. It was fun and bittersweet. There were a few hitches, like an ambulance and hospital visit for some, but over all it was great to dance and say goodbye.

Ryland and Nana's Wedding Party - Not an actual wedding, since these two already got married in Hawaii, but a party to celebrate the fact with everyone in Japan. It was a ton of fun! The food was fantastic AND I won the balloon popping game. After the formal party we went to my favorite izakaya for more drinking and I went to bed very late and very happy.

Tajima Gion Sai Festival - The day after the wedding we drove to Tajima for their biggest festival of the year. It was rainy but the food and atmosphere made up for it. Delicious donner kebabs! And adorable children! And creepy kabuki...

Shiokawa Fireworks Festival - We went up to Shiokawa early, ate a ton of kakigori and hung out with David as he was leaving Japan soon. The fireworks in the evening were fantastic and I don't think I'd ever seen so many people out and about in Aizu! The turn out was huge. I ate more kakigori and then helped David clean up his apartment and move stuff out. Had to say goodbye to a few other JETs who were leaving, sadly. And got a bunch of bug bites.

Aizu Welcome Party for new JETs - The welcome party was also at my favorite izakaya and it was a lot of fun meeting all the new people! We have about 20-some JETs in all of Aizu and got quite a few newbies this year. After the izakaya we headed to karaoke and then about 7 people crashed at my apartment. We hit McDonald's for lunch the next day. I felt like such a sempai :)

British Hills - British Hills is this weird mock British village tucked away in the boonies of Aizu. A few scenes of the drama Hana Yori Dango were filmed there. They offer English lessons as well as lessons on other "British" things such as cooking and sewing. A group of us went because they had a special deal on their Sunday buffet dinner and extended it to weekdays. The food was okay, the weather was too hot and I got to see the weird statue of Shakespeare. 

New JET Orientation and Camp-out - Fukushima canceled the new JET orientation for this year, apparently due to financial difficulties. It's really a shame because its generally really helpful for the newbies and at the very least is a good way to meet people in the prefecture. Since it just wasn't going to happen this year, FuJET put together an unofficial orientation here in Wakamatsu for the newbies. It turned out fantastic! I think it was actually more useful than the prefectural orientation would've been. After the orientation in the afternoon, everyone headed to a big park by the river for the camp out. We had some trouble with the generator but we eventually got music going and it was really fun. Then I passed out in a field, got a lot of bug bites, was driven home and threw up. Good times!

Yikes, that's a lot to read! But I have a lot of great memories from this summer, so of course it gets a bit long. I didn't even have time to mention my fancy dinner party and how I bombed at Scattegories (see photo above). At least I got points for Earnest Hemingway and Eastern Orthodox Church's Easter...

Thanks to all who made this an amazing, well worth remembering, summer!

Double Cooked Hot Wings

I've been insanely devouring cooking blogs lately. I guess it probably all began when I got my tiny but lovely Japanese-style oven from my dear friend David. When I say "got" I really mean begged, cajoled and eventually stole my lovely oven from my dear friend David. But the ends truly justified the means because having an oven finally after two years without, is amazing! I've been obsessively baking and cooking and experimenting with it and it's been a ton of fun. So when I'm at work and sadly parted from my lovely oven, I've been reading lots of cooking blogs to get ideas of what fun things my oven and I can make later.

So, in honor of my recent cooking blog reading hobby, here's a cooking blog post on:

Double Cooked Hot Wings and homemade Blue Cheese Dressing!

So, in Japan when you buy chicken wings they are already cut up and actually separated into the tiny drum stick and little wingy part (is there a technical term for this?). It's really nice because obviously the tiny drum stick part is the best, so I bought only those.

Doubled-Cooked Hot Wings

• 300 grams chicken wings (about 15 pieces)
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 3 tbs ketchup
• 1/3 cup of hot sauce (Frank's red hot is the best!)
• 5 tbs butter
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• Cayenne pepper if you want it spicier (we did)

To cook the hot wings, preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 Fahrenheit) and prepare a foil lined baking sheet. Heat vegetable oil in a pan or skillet, deep enough for the wings to be half-way submerged. Fry wings in oil for 4 minutes on each side. Place wings on paper towel to drain. When all wings have been fried lay them out on foil lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

While wings are baking prepare sauce. Combine the ketchup and hot sauce in a bowl and set aside. Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the minced garlic, cook until softened. Add the Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar and brown sugar to the butter and garlic and cook for two minutes on low-medium heat being careful to stir frequently to prevent burning. Finally, pour the butter mixture into the ketchup and hot sauce mixture and stir. Taste and add cayenne pepper if you'd like a hotter sauce.

When the wings are done baking immediately toss with the sauce until well covered. We ate the wings immediately after tossing with the sauce because I like my wings super saucy, but you could also put wings back in the oven for another 10 minutes to bake the sauce on.

Blue Cheese Dressing

• 2.5oz (70g) gorgonzola cheese
• 3 tbs milk
• 3 tbs sour cream (Japanese sour cream is super thick, I'd use 2 tbs American sour cream and 1 tbs cream cheese outside of Japan)
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl mash gorgonzola cheese, milk and lemon juice until its well combined and the cheese has crumbled. Add sour cream, white wine vinegar, sugar and garlic powder and blend well. Season with salt and pepper!

If you too have an affinity for cooking blogs, here are a few of my recent favorites:

For the Love of Cooking - Lovely easy-to-make-in-Japan recipes with great pictures. Plus the sheer number of recipes is fantastic. Love the variety of Mexican inspired dishes.

Stone Soup - Five Ingredient Recipes - The five ingredients only idea is really interesting and makes for some creative recipes. I do have trouble finding some of her commonly used ingredients in Japan, but still lots of recipes to try.

Homesick Texan - I LOVE Tex-Mex and I love this blog. Though it is completely impossible to find any single type of Mexican pepper in Japan I still can't get enough of this blog and I make her recipe for Texas style flour tortillas all the time.

Gina's Skinny Recipes - Who cares if they're skinny? Lots of these recipes are simple and delicious and they don't end up skinny anyway since I have no access to low-fat cream cheese or any other low fat product. Especially love the Cuban style dishes!