An early visitor in Spring

How is Lady Spring doing on your side? She has yet arrived at the place I'm staying though. Cherry Blossom is forecasted to bloom in Tokyo around late March. It probably is mid April by the time Nagano welcomes this much anticipated pink splash.

It sounds crazy to you perhaps, but I'm delighted to have a visitor! Went grocery shopping this afternoon and really looking hard for new springs of life while enjoying the warm breeze. Nah... everything still looked ghastly dead. Something caught my eye when I've reached home though. There stood this flower springing out from the cemented gap at my doorstep.

C'mon, it's just another weed, you may say. But every flower makes me happy. Or should I say every first life of Spring, makes me happy. =) I mean, it stands just about my forefinger long, but it fought so hard to get through winter. It's so small but so unbelievably strong...

I don't know about you, but to me it looks like several mini butterflies gathering for a tea party. And I'm flattered that it chooses my doorstep rather than my neighbours'. Everybody has weeds, but I'm having a flower here. =D

You're welcomed to stay as long as you wish, pretty one.

Goodbye Winter

I always feel that Winter goes away slower than any other seasons.

As the temperature gradually rises above zero degrees during daytime, gone are the snow on the roads and rooftops. The largest lake in the Nagano Prefecture that I'm staying, 諏訪湖 ( Suwako ) is slowly taking off the white jacket of ice, restoring to the orginal blue.

Every year, there will be swans and madarain ducks migrating to Suwako for shelther. My husband told me that these birds are either from Russia or Hokkaido of Japan, where winter romps too harsh for these poor animals. Visitors to the lake take pleasure in feeding these lovely migrants. My husband and I always enjoy feeding them with bread bits, and guess which pairs are truly husband and wife. Adorable mandarin ducks are vainly caped with coat of feathers in maroon, green, brown, grey, black or white. Ain't easy to guess which ones are couples either.

By the time my husband comes back after the business trip late next week, the ice lake might have been completely melted. Mountains starting to show good shades of blue and life appearing everywhere. It has been a gentle winter, no harsh snow storm or frequent snowfalls that I experienced 3 years ago, and I'm thankful about it. It'll be another 11 months perhaps when snow falls again, so I'll just share here a final roundup of what we've seen this winter.

Driving our way up a mountain. Tough drive indeed.

Barren and lifeless looking ... These trees surrounding the lake are actually Cherry Blossom ( 桜、Sakura ). They shall be blooming in late April with other plants transforming into luscious green!

Mysterious, icy cold, yet simply captivating. One never fails to exclaim the wonders of nature.

A Prelude to Spring

It's been feeling like a hibernation, without the good rest and deep sleep though... I am waiting so impatiently for the coming of Spring!

It rained this morning, the pitter patter on the window sounded like music to my ears. The climate has grown warmer, and if you listen close enough, birds have started singing.

I can't wait to see sprouts of incredibly fresh green, and pretty butterflies flirting from flower to flower. I can't wait to see what Spring is about to bring.

My dear husband has to leave for a business trip at such a time. Oh well, better to travel now than later... but I really wish so much that we can share this wait together in stillness, and watch how Spring slips in.

Dear Lord, may your angels be with him as he travels for work. Your wisdom, protection and grace be upon him always. Amen.

Meanwhile, as I wait for my husband's return, I better refresh and prepare myself to feel this Spring in brand new appreciation... I love so much the way God makes things different and new, everytime, everyday.

French Tuiles with Wilful Custard and Assorted Berries

TGIF!

Bought some lovely berries to complement the chocolate cake that I made yesterday. The cake turned out great but the topping...whew... was disastrous. Had some left over berries and decided to make something today cos I knew too well that I shan't be making anything on Sat & Sun. =P

My first attempt on these light Tuiles and they were easier that I thought. This French petite snack was pleasingly aromatic with baked almonds, and very crispy to my expectation.

As for the berries combination, I was quite sure that they wouldn't go with Tuiles just like that, so I made some simple custard to go in between. The tuiles did go soft a little after placing the custard on, but the taste was surely harmonious. ( Some excuse to rationalize my crave for custard... )

To serve guests, set custard apart as option.



Recipe for French Tuiles ( adapted from Japanese recipe on Fine Sweets )





Ingredients ( Makes 10 large Tuiles )

Wheat flour : 15g
Sugar : 38g ( Reduced to 30g, sweetness was fine )
Egg white : 30g
Saltless butter : 13g
Almond slices : 33g
Vanilla essence : Small amount
Salt : A pinch

Preparation : Sift wheat flour and set aside. Melt butter to liquid state. Brush oven plates with butter in advance, oven paper is an option. Preheat oven to 180 deg.

• With a hand mixer ( not an electric one ), mix flour, sugar, salt. Afterwhich, add in egg white and stir till the mixture turns smooth.


• Add in melted butter and vanilla essence, and mix well.


• Add in almond slices and fold in gently without breaking the slices.


• With a dinner spoon, scoop batter and place onto buttered oven plates, do place them further apart. The batter should land with a low mount. Using a fork wet with water, spread out the almonds within the batter so that they will not overlap. This action should make your batter spread wider a little.
  
• According to the recipe, it says, ' Bake and watch the tuiles until they turn brown entirely but not burnt. 'As my oven isn't very user-friendly, I got my tuiles out at 10 mins before they turn too dark. After consumption, I realized that I could have baked them longer to enhance crispiness. I think I will try baking them until they turn brown throughout, the next time.


• Tuiles are flat after baking. You may like to warp them for a special touch. Do this fast or the tuiles will become rigid after cooling. Wrap an aluminium foil over a rolling pin, place hot tuile on it, with another hand covered with foil or whatever, gently press tuile onto pin to achieve the curve. Serve only when tuiles are cooled and hardened.
  

Recipe for Easy Custard

Ingredients ( Custard serving for 10 Tuiles )

Wheat flour : 20g

Sugar : 30g ( Reduced to 20g and the sweetness was alright )

1 egg, beaten

150ml milk

Vanilla essence : A little

Cream : 1 and a large tablespoon

• In a pot, mix wheat flour, sugar with a hand mixer ( not an electic one ). Add in beaten egg and mix till texture is smooth.


• Add in milk, and vanilla essence, mix well.


• Place pot over medium fire and continue mixing. Once mixture is boiled, remove pot from fire and place into a large bowl of water. When it's cooled a little, add in cream and combine mixture well to get a smooth custard.


• Spoon custard, top with berries or other desired fruit.
  
  
  

Enjoy! Do the washing later.

Have a lovely weekend!

Great brush!

I've found this brush sometime ago and it has become one of my favourite tools. =)
It acts exactly like a brush but simply effortless to clean! Unlike the conventional brush with bristles like that of a paintbrush, getting rid of stains and smell is a breeze. Two faces for different application. See pictures below for details.

By the way, the brand of this brush is ' KAI ', made in Japan.

Sauteed Chicken Steak with Garlic and Rosemary

I've been looking everywhere in this countryside that I'm staying and finally, I've got the herbs I want. This dish is a quick fix! A tender and juicy finish with absolutely fragrant skin. Rosemary brings out the goodness of the chicken indeed. =)


Recipe

Ingredient ( Prepares 2 chicken steak )

One large chicken thigh boneless

One medium clove of garlic

Two pieces of Rosemary

Carrot and Potato for 2 persons, cut into bite size

Salt

Black pepper or ground

Olive oil

• Cut chicken into 2 steak size, rid off excess fats. Marinate with salt and black pepper.
• Boil carrot to biteable softness, not too soft. Set aside
• Cut garlic into thick pieces, and crush with blade of knife.
• Heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil in pan at medium fire, saute crushed garlic till aromatic.
• Place chicken steak into pan, with skin facing down. Saute till light brown.
• Reverse chicken steaks, throw in rosemary, boiled carrot, and potato. Close lid to allow cooking for 10 mins, reverse steaks, carrots and potatoes occassionally. Serve without garlic as they are most probably burnt.

Cold Mountain

When I was waiting to board the plane to leave Singapore on 10th February, I caught the telecast of this movie in the waiting lounge.
Was pretty sore about the fact that I couldn't watch the entire thing. Resolved to rent the DVD when I was back in Japan.

A story on love, waiting, war and human behaviour. It is ultimately true that no one wins at war and everyone suffers inevitably. There are several touching moments, but the ending is quite sad. Great actors and actresses, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellwegner. One favourite line said by Ruby ( Renee Zellwegner ) about men and the war they waged, ' Every piece of this is man's bullshit. They call this war a cloud over the land, but they made the weather, and then they stand in the rain and say " Shit, it's raining! " '

Awesome Art of Winter

Time flies, winter is slipping away. Signs of Spring are revealing these days. The sun feels warmer, and the cold breeze less biting. I've found insects appearing outdoors. They may have been hatched with the slightest warmth that invaded during the midst of fading winter.

I hardly took any pictures this winter, but I decided not to miss capturing its face before we bid goodbye. Compared to previous winters, the present one is not too harsh. Lesser snowfall, and thus leaving a rather mild trace behind. I've looked around for frozen trees or other natural phenomenon but it was quite unfruitful.

Nevertheless, one favourite secret place that my husband and I share, never fails to disappoint us throughout the year.

These rare huge ice rocks are found in the valley of deep mountainous area. We discovered them years ago when visiting a hot spring just beside them. They stand at least 3m tall, and probably 5 men to encircle the rock shown in the picture above.

The surrounding nature is soothing. A gentle stream flows between these ice rocks. Sometimes, mountain deers pass by and stop with a curious look.

So far, none has managed to explain how these rocks happen. The elements that have contributed to this unique creation, are probably snow, stream water, limited sunlight, and minerals of the hot spring. It remains a mystery unresolved. Well, Art is best left unexplained, and marvelled at.

There were plenty of rocks of different shapes but the snow level was higher than my kneecap and proved too dangerous to move around in order to get close enough to them. As they slowly melt away with the arrival of Spring, they take put on a new shape totally. We plan to visit again later when snow melts away. I shall share more pictures of this lovely place again in Spring.

GOD always wields His great artistry with nature.