Month: December 2019

Wagashi Workshop in December

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Since December has begun it seems like my time has been passing so quickly. We had Christmas already and now we have only one day left before New Year’s Eve. I had a Wagashi Making Workshop in December and that was already about a month ago.

On one Sunday afternoon people gathered in the cosy basement space of the Havan Store for making the Christmas themed Wagashi together. The participants were consisted of four groups which were two friends groups, two sisters and one individual person. The youngest attendee this time was one of the sisters who was 12 years old girl and who’d wanted to join us in our previous Halloween themed workshop but couldn’t. So it was my great pleasure that we had her for this session as one of attendees.

One of the friends groups of three girls came to our event as the birthday celebration of one of the girls’. The birthday girl seemed to be a big Japanese culture lover and it was a brilliant way to spend a day together with her and I felt privileged that they chose my workshop for this memorable occasion.

Wagashi Making Workshop in the Christmas Theme

Chris adI chose three designs for this workshop. They were a Snowman, a Christmas Pudding and a Christmas Tree. I always enjoy seeing that participans get creative and make the sweets in their own way so I normally keep my examples quite simple and leave some space that attendees can develop by themselves. After deciding these three sweets there was a litle doubt in my mind that there might not be enough room to show their creativity, however, I was very wrong. All of the participants used all the materials cleverly and created something remarkable in the end.

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Poinsettia

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Just two days left until Christmas Day.  The most significant plant/flower which associates with this festive season is definitely Poinsettia. Although we see the plant almost only at the end of a year in a tiny pot, Poinsettia grows huge sometimes taller than a house roof in its native warm country.  I wonder who started using it as the Christmas decoration? I feel sorry for the plant being brought into our cold environment in the UK (and Japan too).

Poinsettia 1

Anyway, this is my Poinsettia Japanese sweet for this year. I made a similar sweet last year, however, I changed the design slightly by using a different technique with a tool. I also added some Christmassy flavour to the centre filling. Can you guess what it is?

It’s Vegan and Gluten free.

This Poinsettia sweet is available at the Havan Store (262 Kensington High Street, London). If you haven’t finished your Christmas shopping yet, you can find lots of great stuff that are perfect as a present and also tasting this sweet at the same shop tomorrow on the eve.😉💕

Satsuma ‘Mikan’

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Can you tell what this is? Yes, it is a Satsuma but it is not the real Satsuma fruit. It’s a Japanese sweet I made into a shape of a Satsuma so it’s an illusion food. I have seen this kind of sweet somebody-else made and wanted to try making it myself for a little while. Now it is the season for Satsuma and this is my first attempt.

Satsuma ‘Mikan’

In Japan we call this kind of small citrus fruit Mikan’. I wasn’t sure what is the best name for this sweet, should it be tangerine or clementine? And then I remembered that there is another small citrus fruit called Satsuma. Satsuma is a Japanese word and it’s a southern part of Japan too. If a citrus fruit has got a Japanese related name, then why not use it?

Satsuma

This sweet is made of a type of Japanese sweet called ‘Nerikiri’. It is the same sweet that I normally make cherry blossoms or sunflowers but one thing a little different is that you can peel the outer layer. It looks pretty real, doesn’t it? I used the centre filling flavoured with orange juice so it looks like the real Satsuma fruit and tastes like one too.

This sweet is Vegan and Gluten free.

Market Season has Arrived!

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When the last month of the year arrives, I always become much busier than any other season. It’s because December is the month for the Christmas Market. I have been getting a stall in a local Market since 2012, but this year I had a chance to join to other stall holders in another Japanese Market at the end of November.

Yokimono Market4

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