I’ve recently been making sandwiches. I like sandwiches rather a lot, but I’m not really a huge fan of the sandwich bread you can buy at the grocery store. I’m sure if I went to a proper bakery I’d be more happy with the bread available, but as it is I am a snob who isn’t in love with the supermarket fare. So, naturally, I decided to just bake my own sandwich bread!

To that end, I got a bread machine. It’s a glorious piece of machinery. It not only bakes the bread – so it’s a little oven – but it also proofs and even kneads the dough! I hate kneading dough, personally, so that is so exciting. The proofing function is also a bit of a life saver. Usually, when I make bread that requires proofing, I do it during the winter when I can just keep it under the heater, which is on anyways. However, in warmer seasons that’s not really a viable option. So, this resolves my breadmaking dilemma quite handily!

Bread machines are best for sandwich loaf-type bread, as opposed to the loaves I usually make of peasant bread or soda bread, neither of which are super conducive to sandwich slices. The machine also came with a recipe book, so I can procrastinate experimenting to adapt my own bread recipes, which is pretty cool. I’ve tried several of the recipes in the book so far, and while they were all very fluffy and had a great texture, the flavor was a little lacking. So, I decided to mix it up a bit.

I took one recipe for “sweet bread” (which isn’t particularly sweet, but sure) and switched out the water for earl gray tea, added tea leaves to the flour, and mixed the sugar with lemon zest. Et voila! Earl gray tea bread!

Not only is it fluffy and tasty on its own, but it’s absolutely divine when toasted for a sandwich. 10/10 recommend.

You don’t need an expensive bread machine to make bread. I could make all of this by hand like usual just fine. However, I am lazy, and this machine feeds into that quite handily. Happy baking, everybody!

ピクニックはすきですか。

ゴールデンウィークでも他府県に行けないし近場で

ピクニックを思いつきました。

実は、私は、あのピクニックバッグが大好きで・・・

マスクしてでも芝生の上、ぼーっとゆっくり時間を過ごしたい派です。

さくらは終わりましたが、ハナミズキやつつじが咲いていれば最高

です。

近場に大きな公園がある環境が

うらやましい！

みなさんも是非

Let’s have a picnic with your friends or family!

I received some sad news this past week when it was announced that my former high school, St. Joseph, will be closing at the end of this school year.  The closure is the result of the pandemic affecting household incomes and a general drop in enrollment at private schools in the US.  

St. Joes gave me some amazing memories in the four years I studied there.  I made lots of great friends, started my first band, had fun playing soccer, and learned a lot thanks to some really strong teachers.  Those memories will always be there, but I can’t help but feel sad to see that the school won’t exist after this year.  

My high school has a famous basketball program in the US, and produced one of the greatest players in NBA history in Isiah Thomas.  There’s also a well-known documentary about the program called “Hoop Dreams”.  In addition to basketball, St. Joes has had a really strong soccer program throughout its history.  

For a lot of reasons, St. Joes has had a great reputation throughout the Chicagoland area.  It will be missed.

Hey y’all!

  Over the weekend Ryan and I went hiking in Tarui. The path was behind Nangu Shrine, the most beautiful shrine in Gifu in my opinion. The weather was absolutely stunning, so it was a great day to get out and get some fresh air. Along the way was saw few other smaller shrines, and some beautiful foliage. At the top of the mountain was an incredible view of the area; you could even see as far as Nagoya!  I would highly recommend the hike to anyone looking for a nice place to get some exercise and fresh air. 

See y’all in class! 

Hello everyone! Hopefully you’ve been outside recently and enjoyed the great weather we’ve been having!

I was very excited for spring to arrive because it meant I was able to start planting things again. I’ve said before, I’m not good at gardening, but I like to try. I bought a few seed packages last week and planted them. To my surprise, they are already growing! I can’t wait to see how they turn out!

Have a great week and let’s enjoy this weather!