Baking, the Hokkaido edition.

Japanese ovens cost just as much as their dryers: way. too. much. Instead of doling out the cash for one, many Japanese have microwaves that include an oven feature, what I affectionately call a moven. We acquired one of these movens from Corin’s predecessor Courtney and her significant other, Joe. The moven has baked a few frozen pizzas but other than that, it’s simply used as a microwave. When it came to making cookies, pies and cakes, I have to admit that I seriously doubted the moven’s capabilities. Now, after using it, I won’t say it’s the perfect miniscule kitchen utensil but it did the job on Saturday. Basing my version on these caramel stuffed apple cider cookies I found on Pinterest, I set to work substituting and improvising the recipe into something I could make, and eat, here in Japan. While the rest of the ingredients were easy to sub or come by, the apple cider packets and caramels were a bit harder. Instead of apple cider, I used apple sauce and instead of the caramels, I used butter caramels from our local Aeon BIG! Although they looked much like the called for Kraft Caramels, these were like hard butter toffee candy and ended up being a bit dangerous once the cookies cooled (and while they were fresh out of the oven for that matter). I also used coconut oil instead of butter, replaced half of the fat called for with the apple sauce and used Pamela’s Gluten Free all purpose baking flour instead of regular flour. I only made half a batch and ended up with about a dozen cookies. Using half the fat made the cookies more cake like, so use 1/2 cup coconut oil/butter/etc, plus the 1/4 cup applesauce, if you like them to be flat and a bit, well, greasier. The moven took a bit longer than a regular oven but the results were about the same. I do have a few hot spots in the moven and have to rotate the pan once or twice during baking but that may just be a model issue. However, no matter the problems the cookies were delicious! I only ended up using caramels in four cookies, which were immediately consumed by Corin and I. The risk with using the hard candies was that they were just that; once cooled, they hardened back into a solid mass in the middle of the soft cookie, something that’s not exactly a pleasant surprise when going for a midnight snack. Also, when fresh out of the oven, the caramel was prone to be notably hotter than the surrounding cookie, causing some near burns on our chins! Over all though, the experiment was a success and I can’t wait to make some muffins, cakes and more cookies in the moven as the temperature plummets and our tummies call for more comfort food. And now, here’s my version of the recipe:

GF/Lactose free Apple Spice Cookies, with a caramel option (using the caramel makes them NOT lactose free)

Yield: 12-15 cookies, depending on size and if caramels are included

¼ cup coconut oil

¼ cup unsweetened (homemade!) apple sauceàonce you go homemade, you never go back

½ cup granulated white sugarà I bet brown sugar would be divine!

¼ tsp salt

1 eggàfree range, if available

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 ½ cup Pamela’s gluten free baking mix

Optional: caramels, the softer the better.

v  Note: You will need to refrigerate these for a bit so don’t preheat the oven just yet. When you are almost ready to bake, preheat an American oven to 350º F. If using a Japanese style moven, give about 3 minutes for the moven to get up to 170º C before putting in the cookies.

v  Note #2: I don’t have a Kitchen Aid or high power mixer, nor the counter space for either, so this was all done by hand.

v  In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and soda, and cinnamon.

v  In a larger bowl, combine coconut oil, apple sauce and sugar. Mix until well combined, or if using a high powered mixture, cream until fluffy (I gave up on making them “light and fluffy” after hand mixing for 5 minutes).

v  Beat in the egg until well combined.

v  Slowly add flour mixture to wet mixture until just combined.

v  Place the whole shebang in the fridge for up to an hour (I only put mine in for 20 minutes or so).

v  While you wait for the dough to firm up, unwrap some caramels, if using, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and start thinking about preheating your oven/moven.

v  Remove dough from fridgeàNow is the time to preheat moven.

v  Using caramels: take a tablespoon size portion of dough and flatten it in your palm. Place a caramel in the middle of the dough and fold the edges in around it, until completely covered. Place on baking sheet and repeat, spacing cookie balls 2-3 inches apart. Continue until your baking sheet is full (for me, and those of you with equally miniature movens, this will be at two cookies).  Bake for 12-14 minutes in an American oven, or 18-20 minutes for a moven. If using a moven, you may need to rotate the pan a few times to ensure even baking. This is strictly trial and error. Remove from the oven/moven and slide cookies off using the parchment paper. Allow to cool a few moments before transferring onto a cooling rack, or whatever is available. If you are using soft caramels, the original recipe recommends letting them cool upside down. Since mine hardened quickly, this wasn’t necessary. Repeat until dough is gone and comfort food craving is satisfied.

v  Not using caramels: The same as if you were using caramels, but decrease baking time by 2-3 minutes. Cookie size is your call (bigger is always better).

Mmm, caramely goodness.

Heat up a cup of coffee, tea, hot cocoa or better yet, apple cider and grab a cookie or two. The snow is coming so enjoy the crisp air and falling leaves while you can!

The arrival of autumn.

This morning’s alarm reminded me that running is now a part of my routine again, after two runs last week with no pain. After donning my super bright Adidas wind breaker and gloves, I headed out into the 1ºC chill and got in two miles pain free. I’m happy to report that one of those miles was at a 9:45 pace! Although that’s still pretty slow by most people’s standards, it was the fastest I’ve clocked myself at a mile and I’m mighty proud of it. I’m still wary of reinjuring whatever was injured so I plan to keep my distance between 1.5 and 2.5 miles for another week or two. After that, bring on a 10K racing plan! I don’t actually have a 10K to train for but I figure having a plan and a goal will make running while it’s chilly and gray a little easier. The plan is 8 weeks long so it will end right as the snow and cold really settle in to this part of Hokkaido, the perfect time to hang up the running shoes for a couple months and live in sweaters and slippers. Unfortunately, my sanity seems to run parallel to the amount of running I do, so it might be a rough couple of months for Corin.

Anyway, besides being in desperate need of mittens to keep my hands from freezing off, Corin and I shared a fairly perfect weekend. On Saturday we got up early, bundled up in our October best and headed out to get some errands and sightseeing done. After being here over two months, we still don’t feel like we’ve seen all Kushiro-shi has to offer. We’ve also been meaning to drop off dry cleaning for almost a month (literally clothes in the backseat of the car since September) and finally decided to buckle down and face the man. I’m happy to report that Corin is clutch and understood everything the dry cleaning man said, as well as was able to convey what we needed done to our suits and things. Giajin success! After that small accomplishment, we headed to Kushiro’s Peace Pagoda, a Buddhist tower situated on a hill overlooking Kushiro. 

Kushiro's Peace Pagoda in autumn.

We have been eyeing it for a while and decided we’d better check it out before it got too cold to go exploring. The weather turned out to be perfect as we wandered around the structure, looking at the weathered carvings of the Buddha situated on each side. The vantage point also provided a great view of our temporary hometown. Next on our list, we intended to find another temple that was located closer to downtown but the ADD side of me decided to turn down a random road, and we found ourselves at a lake and its surrounding park. We meandered over to the boat dock, looked into the water and were immediately swarmed by the biggest koi I have ever seen. They were clearly well fed and expected more compensation for their existence. 

Hungry koi!

A sweet Japanese girl gave us each a cracker and we found great fun in crumbling it into the water and watching the big gapping mouths battle over the bits. There was a gold one twice as large as the others that actually got bulldozed a few times in the battle to get the goods. After the lake, and Corin refusing to let me rent a paddle boat, we headed off to downtown Kushiro to find the other temple. After driving up and down streets for ten minutes we finally spotted the roof line and were met with the unfortunate news that the temple was closed. Oh well, for another day.

We decided it was lunchtime and tried out a place I’ve run past a few times. It had  a small menu but the food was good and the place is close to our house, so we’ll be going back again I’m sure. While we were eating, it started to rain, hard. After paying, we ran wildly to the car, hopped in—laughed hysterically at our rain splattered selves—and headed to the grocery store. We stocked up on foodstuffs for the week and after running madly once again out to the car, decided it was time to call it a day. We returned home and I immediately went to kitchen to start a few baking projects. One was for a batch of caramel apple cookies that I found via Pinterest. I needed to make them Angie safe and although I now have gluten free flour and baking soda thanks to a recent order from iHerb.com, the recipe also called for multiple packets of apple cider mix, something that doesn’t exist in Japan. So as a replacement, I figured apple sauce would work just as well. BUT, the Japanese don’t even know what applesauce is, resulting in my making it from scratch. Apples are easy to come by and only slightly overpriced, thank goodness. I say had to but really, the boiling apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg made the house smell heavenly and the end result was well worth the—rather small—effort. After the applesauce was done, I got started on the cookies. And that, my first experience baking in a microwave, is fodder for another blog post (recipe included!).  

Homemade apple sauce is the only way to go!

After the dishes had been washed and two more cookies consumed, it was time for my last welcome enkai with just a small group of teachers. It was held at a small sushi restaurant and I was able to try sea urchin, octopus, crab blood and crab brains (not actually brains but they didn’t know what to call it), and some delicious spiny crab unique to Japan. After the enkai I met up with Corin, Corey, Corey’s Japanese girlfriend Haruka, Thomas, Thomas’s date and Lee at a karaoke place. We sang our hearts out in true karaoke fashion. I even got to expose Haruka to the kawaii-ness of Taylor Swift’s song, Love Story (that song always makes me think of my friend Liz. She would sing that song over and over again before her and her now husband, Lucas, got engaged). The fun came to an end around midnight and sleep was a welcome reward for the adventures of the day.

Bundled up on the edge of the Pagoda.

Sunday brought wind worthy of Wyoming. Corin says it’s part of our cultural exchange, bringing our weather to Japan. I did not find this funny.  Noting the busy day that was Saturday and the howling wind outside our windows, Corin and I resolved not to leave the house. We watched football (ok, I napped), experienced the first disk of the first season of Glee, made coconut corn chowder and homemade hamburger helper and crawled into bed at 8:30. Perfect. This week finds us looking into changing our tires to snow tires (as required by Japanese law), filling our kerosene tank and winterizing our house, plus a few days of working late and the reward of a three day weekend. Another month begins and I still can’t believe we’re here living in Hokkaido going through each day like moving to Japan and teaching English is just a natural post-college path to be taken. Maybe someday it will become “normal” but for now, I’m still enjoying and adjusting to the newness of it all. I’m happy to report that Corin is ever the steady one and has adjusted like this is something people just do everyday. I sure wish some of that would rub off on me!