This Weekend in Food and Drink

Sencha and daifuku

I recently unpacked the teapot I used most often in Japan, and since then I've been drinking green tea almost every day. I've grown to love the slightly bitter taste of green tea, and it feels like a special treat each time I use this teapot.

 K and I went to the Asian grocery store this weekend to stock up on sauces and things, and right by the register was a box of daifuku. I couldn't resist getting one, and now I wish I'd bought more! It tasted so sweet, so chewy, and so much like the daifuku I used to pick up at the convenience store in Japan.

If you live in Kentucky or southern  Indiana, then you are in for a real treat! You've got to try the Bluegrass Brewing Company's Nut Brown Ale, which you can find in liquor stores and some grocery stores in this area. It tastes rich and toasty and is perfect for drinking next to the fire on cold, snowy nights.

And you know, if you are nestled by the fire and drinking a brown beer, you might find this is the perfect setting for story-telling. Might I recommend reading aloud from a famous old book?

Then Evangeline lighted the brazen lamp on the table,

Filled, till it overflowed, the pewter tankard with home-brewed

Nut-brown ale, that was famed for its strength in the village of

Grand-Pre...

--from Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

I read this poem for the first time last fall, and I found that it really lends itself to being read aloud. I was pleasantly surprised by the suspense of the story and the captivating imagery.

On Saturday, we needed something to accompany our dinner of leftover pasta and salad. Lucky for us, I stumbled across this quick and easy breadstick recipe. You can prepare the breadsticks in the time it takes for the oven to pre-heat. This is a picture of me brushing the dough with butter sans brush. Buttery fingertips work just as well!

We also made these whole wheat waffles and ate them with homemade lemon curd. They weren't as light as our regular waffles, but still were pretty good.

And though I didn't get any good pictures of it, we made a Mug of Cake, which I think is one of the funniest-sounding desserts around. It only takes 5 minutes to make, including 3 minutes in the microwave. Plus, I was pretty impressed that my microwave can make a cake! It wasn't the best cake I've ever had, but it was pretty good for a quick chocolate fix and the entertainment value. I think this would be a great treat to make with kids.

* * *

What are you eating these days? We're turning to comfort foods like soup and warm breads to get us through these cold winter nights. I'd love to hear what you've been cooking!