Mochi!

I stopped by Val's house and her MIL LiFong was visiting.  LiFong makes some pretty amazing things but they were packing me out with some mochi... my family LOVES mochi, and it didn't occur to me that we could make it.  I asked her for the recipe and she said it was too easy and that she would just show me... right now.  So what started as a stop in for a lovely cuppa kombucha, ended up being an awesome lesson in mochi making.  But before I forget, I must write this down.

1:1 glutenous rice flour and a liquid... we used water, milk or other liquid can be used.  LiFong suggested 1c flour:1c water.

mix it up, cover it with saran wrap and pop it in the microwave for a minute.  Take it out and stir it hard with chopsticks.  Repeat for two additional minutes stopping after each minute - 30 seconds to stir.  It will be very glutenous-y, keep covered with saran.

In the mean-time toast a bit of powder, maybe .25c lightly:  we used cornstarch, she also suggests peanut powder, or soy powder.  Place on a plate.

Take about 2 teaspoons from the rice flour mix, as you pull your piece off, use the bowl and spoon to start to shape it into a ball.  Drop it onto the powder, then pick it up and sort of make a thick flat patty using the powder to keep it from sticking too much.  Take a tablespoon or so of the filling and place it in the middle of the paddy and sort of pull the edges up around the filling until it is completely enclosed. and voila!!

Fillings:  you can buy red bean paste, mix it with some heavy cream until a good consistency.  Alternatively you can get peanut powder, mix with some sugar and butter to make a filling, Mung bean or lotus seed also work well too.

Now voila... it really was easy and pretty fun to make a favorite. 

Update:  We've made these a few times now... in the pictures the brown powder is the soybean powder, kinda nutty, not O's favorite but really not bad.  THese have a limited shelf-life, by day 3 the mochi part becomes unpleasantly hard, so these don't keep as long as the ones you buy in the grocery store (meaning I can't make a batch and have it for lunches all week... sigh).  I did another variety with a fresh strawberry in the middle (Strawberry Daifuku) then the red bean and then the mochi on the outside and it was so yummy!

The Mayor

I hated the mayor, a feral rooster that strutted around the town where Owen was born, stopping on every corner at the crack of dawn to crow the town awake.  I love the mayor... gosh darn-it, I lived in a town where everyone was awoken by a scrappy bird who adopted our community, how cool is that?

One day he didn't show up, and I certainly didn't miss him for a while.  There was word that a bunch of feathers were found, and tough and bold as he was, the free-roaming life is tough for a bird.  I miss him now.  Is it weird to miss a bird?

light

Last night the moon was big, full and so bright that we got the telescope out in the front yard to peek at all of the craters, mountains and sights.  We don't always get a full moon and an open sky here, a treat.

This morning on the bus ride in, we turned onto the parkway and the sunrise was lined up perfectly with Mt. Hood.  Shooting right up, out of the peak.   The buildings downtown all rosy orange with the morning sun.

Rosabell

My sweet G has a lot of dolls, but I love that this funny rag-doll I made is one that comes out most of the time.  Yes her limbs are extra long and skinny, and she is definitely sort of rustic,she has a scar on her forehead (a repair to a tear), but she is big and squishy and even G can change her clothes if she bothers trying (our G is not big on trying things on her own if she thinks she can get someone to help her).

Her name is Rosabell, and she has started going to school with G. so she can snuggle during nap time.


"Can I bring a different doll Mom?
   "Sure babe, go grab one"
"But I want to bring Rosabell"
   "Okay, bring Rosabell"
"But M and D said that she was ugly"
   (sadness sweeping through my mama heart)
   "well, what do you think?"
"I love her, I think she looks funny but pretty"
   "Then it doesn't matter what they say, does it?  Just tell them that you think she looks great!"
(great internal conflict ensues... running all around the house not finding quite the right other doll... barbie?  Isabell (american girl)? Bunny?  tears, confusion... torn between trying to bring in something her friends would think was beautiful and her own preferences... maybe not really knowing the difference right now,  Mom applying pressure because we are already 15 min later than we should be... and in the end with not a lot of confidence...)
"I'm going to take Rosabell"

(we finally finally get into the car to head to school, when we arrive she happily grabs her doll, and brings her in and installs her properly in her cubby before going off to play doggies with a friend)

pshew.

zipper pouches, zebra dress

 Oookay, I love love this funky loud zebra pattern, I wanted to make a bit more of a fitted dress, but Grace chose this pattern.  It has some cute pockets and looks sweet on her, but G won't wear it much yet.  We will see if it is the result of the lack of sleeves and the wintry weather, or the more typical G. particular opinions on what she will and won't wear.

 Zipper pouches. I love/hate zippers, so I decided to try again with some more care and a tutorial.  These turned out pretty well!  I do love a zipper pouch.

 Lined and everything.  We even dyed some old sheets with our sumimingashi kit and it looks pretty cool.  It is hard to get the pattern even (especially when I want really bad to have a nice even print).  However, as a lining, and some fussy cutting it looks pretty cool.