Food, Glorious Food!

Chocolate Challah and Green Tea Pomegranate cupcakes with a pomegranate egg foam

 Hamanetachen. They're triangle cookies that we make for the Jewish holiday of Purim. They are usually filled with poppy seeds or jam. These are filled with apples and dulce de leche

           Oat bread with oranges and dates, made for the new season of Game of Thrones

 Matzo ball soup. My grandmother was famous for hers and this is her recipe. Some people like them to be very firm and "sink" to the bottom. Other people like them to be fluffy. I like mine in the middle. I think my grandmother would have been proud of me.

 I think this was an eggier challah because it was so bright yellow. I was showing off the 6 braid technique!

 I made Oyakudon for Brian and I. I'm still not very good at making Japanese food even though I lived there for three years. I must keep practicing!

This is just a salad I made but I thought the colors were really pretty. It has peppers, avocado, raspberries, pumpkin seeds, mushrooms, a little feta cheese and spinach.

Heat-shaped Challah for father's day. This was roasted garlic with rosemary. I think it looked more like a heart when you saw it in person.

Some Photos for you!

Hey everyone, After my last post I thought some photos might be a good way to start your day (or go to bed, if you're in Japan). I have a lot of food pictures so tomorrow (or Friday) I'll do a food photo post.

I saw this on a sidewalk and I think it's a message I want everyone to see!

This is from St. Patrick's Day. It's a day that many Irish people in America (and people who aren't Irish) celebrate their heritage. In Chicago they dye the river bright green. Brian, Lillie Mae, Aaron, Tawny, Michael, and I all went and then went to a parade. It was very hot and sunny for March! 

  For Mother's Day we went to the Botanical Gardens. They had a special exhibit about bonsai. This was my favorite but I took so many pictures. If I had a better window and more patience I think I would try bonsai.
                                                          
                                          This is Brian's mother and father at the Gardens.
                                                    
                                                  I thought these cactuses were very cute!
                                                     
 This is Zoe, my father and brother's dog. She lives with my brother and my mom now. She is an African Mastif and is almost bigger than me! She's so sweet and would never hurt a fly. She doesn't even bark that much.
                                                  
 This is from my town newspaper when I was in high school. My father, my mother, my brother, and I are lighting Channukah candles. Can you believe my hair was that short?! I think I have short hair now but it is not that short.
                                                  
                                                        My dad's house in the spring.
                                                         
 Brian is growing a beard. In Judaism, men don't shave when a close relative dies for 30 days. I can't grow a beard so Brian is, even though he isn't Jewish, which is very sweet. He can shave it tomorrow at sundown and he's very excited.
                                                  
Aaron and Tamanna on my first day back at school. We were learning about how we can learn about young children by playing with them. Each table had a different activity. Ours was the snack table, which was delicious.
                                                           
Brian, Lillie Mae, and I went to see Timon of Athens, it's a Shakespeare play. The person on the cover was in Star Wars and he was amazing. It was a great play. I really love Shakespeare.    

 I've been trying to practice drawing so that I can get better because I saw all the beautiful artwork my students made me. This is a character from a story I'm writing. Her hair color looks familiar...

Father's Day

Hello everyone, long time no see! I'm sorry I've been so bad about writing. It is sometimes hard to make time to write, esp. when I have a lot of school work to do. Plus recently I haven't been a very fun person to be around. Today is Father's Day and Brian's mother and father are coming over for dinner. I am making brisket, a type of beef dish, purple potatoes (but not purple sweet potatoes), rosemary-garlic challah, and brocoli. For dessert I am making lemon mousse, which was the first really hard dessert my dad taught me to make. I promise I will take pictures and post them. I do have a lot of photos and should really just post them all.

皆さん、久しぶり！私はブログを書き込みの事が悪くてごめんなさい。特に宿題が多かったら、時々書くことの時間を見つけにくいです。また、私は最近に楽しくない人でした。今日は父の日でブライアンの両親が晩ご飯を食べに行きます。私はビーフの食べ物の「ブリスケット」と紫のジャガイモ（紫芋じゃない）とロスメーリとにんにくのハーラとブロコリを作ります。デザート父が私に作りほうを教えた作りにくいデザートのレモンモースです。写真を撮って書き込みをすることを約束します！私は写真がいっぱいで全部を書き込みするべきです。

Before I talk about why I haven't been very fun to be around lately, I want to share our happy news. On June 9, Brian and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. We have been together for 7 years (about..) and married for 5 of them. We went out to dinner and just had a wonderful time together. I think Brian is the best husband, ever! Brian was given a 1 year contract with the American medical association and he really likes his job. His work is one train stop away from my school so we sometimes have lunch together. In 2 weeks I will have finished all my classes and I will have my master's degree in school psychology. However, I have two more years of school before I will be a real school psychologist. This school year I will be working 2 days a week at a local high school. I'm really excited. Summer is here so it's very hot but we live right by the beach so we can go swimming anytime the weather is nice. We're also staying in our apartment for another year! Yay!

楽しくない人のことを話す前に、幸せなニュースを分けます。６月９日に、ブライアンと私は５番目の結婚記念日を祝いました！私たちは７年間繋がっていって５年間結婚しています！晩ご飯を出かけて素敵な時間を過ごしました。私はブライアンが最高の夫と思います！ブライアン１年間の米国医師会の請負を受けてその仕事が好きです。仕事場が私の大学院から一つの駅なので、一緒に昼食を時々食べます。２週間後に、私は全部の授業を修めて学校心理学の修士を受けます！しかし、真の学校心理学者になるようにまだ２年間あります。今学年一週２日に地元の高校で働きます。とても楽しみにしています！今は夏なので、とても暑いです。でも、海岸の近くに住んでいますから、天気がよかったら、随時に泳げます！また、もう一年間私たちのアパートに住んでいます！よっしゃ！

 Now for the sad news. Almost one month ago, my father died. He died very suddenly and I was very shocked. I was at a friend's house doing school work when my mother called to tell me. However, I only missed one day of school and I've been working very hard and making sure that I keep going. I'm doing my best to ganbaru, but I still miss my father, which makes me feel very foolish. Anyway, enough of the sad news! Today is a beautiful day and my house is filled with amazing smells like lemon, sweet onion, rosemary, and bread. How can anybody be sad when there are such good things in the house?

今、悲しいニュースです。略一ヶ月前、父が死亡しました。突如死亡して私はとても呆れました。母が伝えるために電話をする時に、私は友達の家に宿題をしました。しかし、一日の学校だけを逃して一生懸命で働いて我慢しています。頑張ってみますが、まだ父が恋しいなので、愚かを感じます。とにかく、悲しいニュースが終わりましょう！今日は美しい日で家はレモンと玉ねぎとローズメリーとパンなどの良いにおいがいっぱいです！家の中にその良いものがある時に、どう誰もがかなしめますか？

 Easy English: 皆さん、ひさしぶり！元気？Today is Father's day. I am making dinner for Brian's family to celebrate. I'm making a lot of food and I will show you pictures tomorrow! I have been very busy with school. On June 9, Brian and I had been married for 5 years! We went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was really fun. Brian has a good job now and he really enjoys his work. It is close to my school so sometimes we have lunch together. There is some sad news, my father died on May 22. It happened suddenly and I was shocked. I only missed one day of school though, and must keep doing my best. I can't be too sad or I'll look very foolish to my classmates and teachers. So I will keep doing my best! I hope everyone else will keep doing their best too! I must go check on my food. Miss you guys!