2016-01-31, Plum Wine Workshop and Bonsai Plum Exhibition

Fun fun fun!!  I've always wanted to make liquor.  My dad used to make Limoncello which was deadly strong but yummy.  I love plum wine and wanted to make it last year but never did.  So I jumped at the chance to take a workshop that I saw advertised in the local newsletter.

A coworker, Emily, decided to come with me and we took the train to Nagahama where there is also a yearly exhibition of bonsai plum trees.  It was an unseasonably warm day with a beautiful blue sky and since we arrived early we took a little walk.

This is the ceiling of the shrine.

I have to say it really is easier to hold various events in Japan since everyone is used to sitting on the floor.  Sometimes there are tables sometimes there aren't but you can make almost anyplace hold many people when you don't need chairs...

We started out with some information about plums, different ways of making the plum wine, different liquors that can be used, etc.  And a tasting of 6 different kinds of plum wine.  The first one was made with Japanese sake and was my favorite - it also had the lowest alcohol content.  The next two were made with shochu, sort of like vodka and can be made of different things (like vodka).  They were good too and each of these 3 used different varieties of plums.

The last 3 were made with brandy and we didn't care for them quite as much.  Maybe because the brandy adds it's own flavor.  One of the samples had ume puree that made it thicker.

As it turned out we were using brandy to make ours.  I think it will be good with some sparkling water and ice in the summer.

 We were each given a nice jar and a few frozen ume 

(plum/apricot - nothing like what we have in the States), and some rock sugar.

Put them in the jar, shake each day for 6 months or so and walaa!  Plum wine.  Evidently the actually fruit isn't ready (in fresh form) until May or June.  Which made sense when I thought about it since the trees don't flower until early March!  I think they had the workshop now because of the bonsai exhibition.  Across the street was a plum wine tasting event.

So the 'recipe' is equal (by weight) amounts of fruit (washed and dried) and rock sugar and twice as much liquor.  Pretty easy.  I want to make ume syrup as well when I can buy ume.  The recipe for that is similar.  Wash and dry the fruit, then poke holes in it with a skewer (no need for that with the liquor) then put in a jar with an equal amount of sugar and shake each day.  I'm not sure if that also takes 6 months.  I'll have to ask someone.  Our wine will be ready to use in refreshing summer drinks.

Our tickets were also good for admission to the flower exhibition.

Nagahama is known for glass making and these are samples of
glass dolls for the doll festival in March.

A beautiful stained glass window.

The things over the trees help protect them from the snow.
The snow slides down and doesn't weigh down and break the branches.
I think they're so pretty.

After a quick stop at the bakery near the station - I can't resist a bakery - we caught a train and a bus and that was my day.

2016-01-30, It's Been A While...

Sorry it's been a while...  the winter will be a little slower in regard to new posts since I won't be going out as much -  I hate the cold, but I'm sure I'll find a few things to do.

I missed Japanese class for 3 weeks while I was in the US and then because a friend visited me here in Hikone.  When I went back on the 16th everyone was in the kitchen (of the community center) making Chinese dumplings (gyoza in Japanese).  One of the Chinese students decided to share one of his new year traditions with all of us.  Fun!!!  We even made the wrappers which were thicker and chewier than what we are used to.  But they're just made of flour and water so I think I'll try it myself sometime.

Another Chinese woman's mother is here visiting and she was teaching us how to do it correctly.
Or trying to teach us, ours weren't very pretty!

If you look closely (look at the one on the bottom left for the proper form) you can see the
difference in the shapes and those that have things sticking out!

Half were filled with scrambled (a very dry scramble) eggs and garlic chives (we have one man from Bangladesh who doesn't eat meat) and the others had pork, Chinese cabbage and garlic chives.

They were boiled.

When we'd all had our fill of the boiled dumplings the rest were put into a pan with oil and sauteed until crispy. We dipped them in a ponzu (soy sauce and citrus) sauce.  All of them were delicious, and writing about them now makes me want to make some!

So that was an afternoon of unexpected fun.

A few weeks ago Cindy bought us each a 'Lunch Passport'.  We can have lunch at participating restaurants for Y500 (a little less than $5).  There are about 7 or 8 restaurants in Hikone so we have been trying some of them.  We need to get moving if we want to try them all since I will start working days in March.  At most of the places there is a set lunch for the passport.  Some places give you a choice of sauces, a couple give you a choice of entrees.

Our first lunch was in a nearby restaurant called Baby Face Planet (weird right?!).  I hadn't been there and had the impression from the outside that it was just one giant room, but in fact it's made of private rooms and semi-private booths.  Interesting.

Yum.

Another place offered hamburg (different than hamburger) with a choice of sauce.  

Hamburg isn't my favorite...

Then we went to a restaurant on the 10th floor of the Hikone View Hotel.  We were early so we went down the street to this bakery to kill some time (yeah!).

This is called Mt. Ibuki bread.  I think it's sweet and the white (maybe powdered sugar) is supposed to be snow.

Yummy yummy yummy.

Quite the view - that alone was worth the price of the passport!

In addition to the absolutely great view we had a choice of 4 or 5 entrees!

We shared two of my favorites - tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) and karaage (fried chicken).

Aside from lots of eating we've had snow!!!  Twice!

The first snow was maybe ankle deep and turned to slush and melted the next day.  Big beautiful flakes though.

Looking over my balcony.

The second snow was deeper, about 1 foot.  It also fell in big fluffy flakes and was so pretty.

This reminded me of when I was young in NY and we had to pull each other
on sleds since there were no hills where we lived.  Didn't see anyone out on
sleds here though.  I don't think school was canceled.  

It turns out they don't plow the roads in this town so you just have to wait for the cars and sun to melt it.  I walked to work on this day, it was actually much warmer than the day before which was sunny but had a biting wind.  The following day it was slushy and melted enough in places that got sun that I could ride my bike, and walk it here and there.

It was so pretty.  As much as I hate the cold, I love snow!

Last Friday I said goodbye to my Tai Chi class since I will be switching to daytime hours soon.  It's too bad because everyone has been so nice.  I didn't come very far (skill wise) in the 9 months or so that I was in the class but it was a chance for me to speak Japanese and enjoy everyone's company.  I'll try to find things to do in the early evenings come spring and hopefully I'll find another type of class I can join.