The Inspiration of Food

The winter months tend to be so dark and cold, when all you feel like doing is curling up on the couch with some hot tea, an inviting fire in the fireplace. Unfortunately, I lack two of those things, so my space heater and cup of chai satisfy for now. The fire is more for the ambiance than the warmth, but the couch I long for on a daily basis. Consequently, David hears about this couch yearning on an almost daily basis. That, among various other things, including a cat. It is as if I believe the simple act of repeating this information to him constantly will magically make them appear immediately after we move into wherever we will be living later this year. What can I say, I am always hopeful.

The kitchen, or in my case, lack thereof, has become a sort of solace from the cold and darkness. I usually enjoy cooking and baking, although it can be dependent on my mood or energy. It isn't atypical for me to pour myself a huge bowl of cereal with yogurt when I feel unmotivated or tired. However, during the winter break, when I spent much of my time the last week at home by myself, my excitement for cooking and experimentation was revived to a level similar to pre-Japan.

So let me introduce my new obsession: food blogs. As I perused the internet searching for recipe ideas I stumbled across some gems. Good food blogs incorporate tried recipes, mouth-watering photos and often little heart-felt anecdotes. My mindless hours were turned into warm adventures of the cuisine nature - marking and e-mailing various recipes, and then spending inordinate amounts of time at various super markets searching for ingredients to stock my tiny kitchen.

These ingredients all soon turned into edible masterpieces over the next week and the time following since then. I have brought the focus of my eating back to whole foods, and limiting refined, processed foods as much as possible. Living in Seattle, this wasn't hard to do, since you've got Whole Foods, PCC, Farmer's Markets, and various other organic and whole food type stores. So, living in Japan has been somewhat of a challenge for this, since they are limited when it comes to organics, and some healthy foods tend to be on the expensive side. (i.e. Brown rice is much more expensive here than I had ever found it to be in Western Washington). Fortunately, my local store has a small organics section, and I have found some places I can order from online. Now if only I could find more organic produce!

One recipe in particular I wanted to mention on this blog is for frozen yogurt. I found the recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, 101 Cookbooks. I have been missing Red Mango desperately since moving here, its soft, creamy peaks topped with bright raspberries and tiny chocolate chips - bite after bite surrounding the tongue in cold, sweet tanginess. Not to mention, the health benefits of yogurt. So after reading this recipe I immediately ordered an ice cream maker from amazon.jp, and it arrived within 2 days.

I spent about an hour at the super market deciphering yogurt labels in Japanese, to determine which would allow me to make excellent frozen yogurt. My first attempt was rather pathetic, as I wasn't patient enough to strain the yogurt correctly, and then I foolishly stopped the maker after it had started to try and fix the churn paddle. This last step immediately froze the yogurt into stiffness. No frozen yogurt that night.

My second attempt was the one to write home about. After allowing my yogurt to strain in the fridge while I was at work, then whipping it up with some honey, I plugged in the ice cream maker, pressed the "on" button, and scooped the yogurt into the churn. I went about my business as it noisily churned for about 20 minutes. I went back to check it, and to my delight, I was met with an overflowing bucket of soft, creamy fro-yo. I happily ate the entire thing (two large bowls) and felt a bit sick later that evening - but I don't regret it, as it was perfectly satiating to my taste buds.

Some other notable food blogs I discovered for my particular pursuits are: Gluten-Free Girl and Elana's Pantry. Both are gluten-free, but I find them full of healthy ideas, and relying less on foods that aren't as whole or healthy. Each links to more food blogs, but even just a web search will highlight various blogs depending on your particular cravings.

One thing I have realized is that reading about other people's cooking experiences motivates me to create my own culinary experiences. Similarly, as I also was reading various other blogs of different nature, I also find that other's lives inspire me as well. Much like reading a book, feeling inspired by the character's outcomes (non-fiction or fiction) and finding new motivation to move forward in whatever area of your life. Like discovering new tastes and ideas, new recipes for life may abound.

So as my motivation to cook has intensified, so has my motivation in other parts of my life. Rediscovering purpose in the face of change, learning how the changes apply and subsequently understanding the results, whether immediate or distant. To gain perspective is like gaining freedom, because the future becomes less fearful.

What am I referring to specifically? Probably a myriad of things - anything and everything I think about on a daily basis. It has already been almost 6 months since I've been in Japan, and how strange as it has felt so short. I still feel that I am adapting more each day, learning more each day, not just about Japan and its people, but about myself, who I am and where I am going. In that sense, being here is an outlet for me, a space to stretch the thoughts and inspire creativity. I've grown quite fond of it.

Anyway. I've finished my tea. It was nice chatting with you.