A (n Almost) Perfect Day ― 2025/03/01
With the arrival of March, the temperature jumped to almost 20 ℃. Although the sky was hazy with pollen and possibly PM2.5, I couldn't resist a long ride on my Mamachari this morning.
On my way down the Hii (pronounced 'He') River, I first visited an Australian-style bakery that had undergone a major refurbishment and now looked much more sophisticated.
Unfortunately, they were out of my favourite garlic pretzels, but I got enough for the next few days.
Then I had a coffee at Komeda Coffee.
The coffee is indeed expensive. A cup of coffee at 560 yen with no refill is a luxury. I only go for it in the morning when it comes with an extra thick slice of toast and a boiled egg as a morning special? And there are magazines free to read on the shelf, just like in Showa-era cafes.
While I was having my second breakfast, I noticed that there were quite a few Obachans having coffee or breakfast alone. I felt a sense of camaraderie with them. No Obachan wants to cook at weekends, don't they?
Next time I will go to the Dipper Dan creperie. I envy people who live in this area. There is so much to do!
Finally, I visited a local library for the first time since last spring.
It hadn't changed much, but it was surprisingly crowded, like a branch of Marukyo on Sunday mornings.
I'm no longer eligible to borrow materials from this library because Fukuoka City doesn't offer book loans to visitors and my residence registration isn't here currently. Still, it felt refreshing and soothing to breathe in the smell of old books. I know it's not good for you physically, but it's certainly good for something in your mind and soul.
It's great to ride a well-maintained bike on a flat and evenly paved surface, even if it's an 18-year-old, 20kg mamachari!
SpongeMania ― 2025/03/03
The other day I found a vending machine solely dealing with washing-up sponges.
Duskin's sponges are cultishly popular among those who conscious about housekeeping for their performance and durability, but their distribution channels used to be quite exclusive: you were supposed to subscribe to Duskin's other cleaning tools, such as mops, cloths, oven filters and so on, in order to buy the sponges, which were delivered to your home by a designated person (long gone are the days when every household had a housewife at home all the time). The Duskin system is not shady, at least by my standards, but it is not a very cost or time efficient way of shopping, either. They are actually good products, but a bit more costly than their supermarket counterparts. With this machine, however, you can get them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without the extra spending and without having to give your personal details to Duskin.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Duskin is the operator of my beloved Mr Donuts!
Cancer Reading ― 2025/03/04
From my bookshelf.
Until recently, I read a lot about weight loss, believing that if I lost weight, every single problem in my life would disappear. Lately, instead, I found myself reading a lot about ageing and illness. I have been particularly drawn to cancer diaries, most of whose authors eventually die. Not to avoid it or not to die for it, but probably in the hope of staying calm when the time comes.
Steamed Cake ― 2025/03/04
Having had (nearly) everything I had longed for in Fukuoka (and spent most of my budget on it), I returned to my homemade treats.
Today's steamed cakes turned out particularly well, light, fluffy and spongy.
Here's the recipe for my next attempt.
Ingredients
95g plain flour
5g baking powder, sifted together with the flour
35g beet sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp milk, microwaved for 20 seconds at 600w
1.5 tbsp vegetable oil (I used cheaper olive oil), stirred into the warm milk
Method
1.Beat the egg and sugar with an electric whisk until the mixture forms a soft peak.
2. Fold in the flour.
3. Stir in the milk and oil mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into 6-8 paper-lined mini ramekins.
5. Steam in a steam oven at 100 degrees for 15 minutes.
Note:
Many methods I have seen online do not require the eggs to be beaten so vigorously, but I prefer the soft and airy texture of this version.
These cakes are not as sweet. May be suitable for breakfast. The sugar can be increased to 50g for a more cake-like sweetness.
The plain version (picture, back) may be made into an instant short cake with whipped cream and fresh or tinned fruit.
Today's Cat ― 2025/03/07
In a garden.
One Week's Supply ― 2025/03/09
2 sausage & cheese steamed cakes
2 raisin steamed cakes and
6 butterless banana muffins (use whipping cream instead).
I suppose these could be enough for our afternoon treats for the next week.
They were so easy and quick to make that even I managed to make them all in less than 1.5 hours because they didn't require any beating, whisking or whipping.
1000yen Extravagance ― 2025/03/10
This morning, I went to a local florist to send my sister a flower arrangement in memory of her late father-in-law.
I hadn't been to a proper florist in literally years and was fascinated by the refreshing and flamboyant smell of fresh flowers. Then I found myself having a tiny bouquet made for myself. It felt quite luxurious to have someone engaged in choosing and arranging flowers just for myself.
I guess this is an impractical but pleasant way to spend around 1000 yen.
Face Value ― 2025/03/11
Recently, I have been seeing more and more billboards featuring the face of the advertiser, despite the growing concern for privacy in general. Is it not awkward to request the sign maker to publicize your face so boldly? And do they believe their faces are worth advertising and we choose them because of their appearance, like "Oh, he looks nice, and I will trust him with my future" or "His face tells me that he must be good at dealing with broken bones"?
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