Spring
is here! In Japan one of the Springtime events is hanami,
a flower-watching party, when people picnic under cherry
trees in bloom. They eat, among other things, sakura-mochi,
which are pink rice cakes filled with sweet red bean
paste. Well, down here in Georgia we don't have many
cherry trees. What we do have is dogwoods, and they're
blooming right now. And so are lots of other varieties
of trees, releasing a lovely saffron mist which tints
everything yellow, including our lungs. So, I've made
sakura-mochi for a new tradition I'm starting right
now: kahunmi, the pollen-watching festival. Sit under
the dogwoods, gaze at their flowers, and take your Claritin.
What I'll be eating as my lungs fill with microgametophytes
includes takoyaki; beef &
broccoli stir-fry; steamed
squash, carrots, and purple potatoes with lots of
butter; and sakura mochi
(Easiest version). This is a new recipe for sakura
mochi, my fourth, and the easiest one so far. I basically
adapted the dough from my kushi
dango recipe, since it's so easy
to handle and shape, and found that I could whip out
a batch very quickly and easily. Why haven't I been
doing this all along?
Wanna talk
about it?
|