Alia a.k.a. Barista Jr.

It's Sunday morning and all is quiet. I'm awake but not in a real rush to get out of bed. I hear noises coming from downstairs. 'That sounded like the coffee machine. Alia's making me a coffee!'

Part of me (over-protective mom) wanted to go downstairs and supervise. The 'anti-helicopter' parent in me said: Jo, wait and see. Be ready to run if you hear a scream but if you go downstairs now, there will be more disappointment than joy because the surprise will be ruined.

Sigh! Just another sign that the girls are growing up so quickly. Last night, Alia made delicious cookies all by herself. The only thing I did was get the bowl down from the top shelf of the cupboard, put the cookies in the oven and take them out and, I think most important of all, explain the difference between plastic wrap and parchment paper!! The cookies were a success!

I am proud to report this morning that the coffee was delivered to me in bed successfully and was delicious! Alia was very proud and pleased with her accomplishment and Kyra got a hot chocolate out of the deal. (There was extra steamed milk leftover after my coffee.

What a awesome way to start a Sunday morning! Thank you Eric for training our jr. barista!

Just Add Shoyu

Just Add Shoyu is a cookbook recently published through the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto. I purchased my copy back in November but only recently opened it. Last weekend, I made chow mein (with homemade noodles purchased at Haru Matsuri). All I can say is yum, yum, yum!

final result

I have also tried the okonomiyaki (which was ok even though I left out the yam) but it was a little soggy. I have never eaten 'the real' thing so I'm not sure if it is supposed to have turned out the way it did. They did taste good tho.

Yesterday, I followed the recipe for sushi rice to make inari-zushi. It was the first time I used kombu while cooking the rice. For those who are not familiar with kombu, it is a version of seaweed (nori) that is much thicker and tougher than the nori used to make maki rolls. Pieces of kombu are added in with the rice water (or in water for soup broth) to add flavour. It is discarded after cooking. I have to say (and so did my dad and Alia and Kyra) that they were very good!

At the end of the book are stories from the Japanese Canadian community, war time stories, New Year's traditions. I have yet to read the whole thing but I am looking forward to having some extra reading time after April 1.