天気：晴れ
I had initially planned on going to the ice festival today, but decided to put it off to tomorrow. I felt the need to get everything done today, so I could justify going out and having fun. Also I had had a late night, and figured that it would be better to get to Kobe as early in the day as possible, so Sunday seemed much more appropriate; with the intention of having an early night tonight… So, this meant that I ended up sleeping in until 10:30. After breakfast, I did my homework, and pondered over what to make for the food party tomorrow. A most excellent idea hit me. Since I couldn’t find rolled oats to make ANZAC biscuits, why not make Milo biscuits; it’s Australian too!!! And, easily enough, I found a recipe online; all the ingredients were easily obtainable. So, feeling excited and determined, I went to Sanko and purchased butter, Milo, and sugar with the money given by the CIE, and a few other things separately. Getting back, I went straight to the kitchen, to find the opening ceremony of the 2010 winter Olympics on the TV. Katie, Ash, and Jacinthe were among the viewers, and Katie was ecstatic; her face lit up in pride.
Not overly fussed about watching the ceremony (I had missed most of it anyway), I got stuck into making my Milo biscuits. The recipe was really easy – cream butter and sugar, add an egg, the Milo, and flour, then bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees. I had a lot of fun making a mess with the flour and butter, and then killing my arm stirring it all together. The end mixture was looking very promising, considering I hadn’t been exact with any of the measurements; I was playing it by ear, or should I say by consistency. Simon was in and out of the kitchen periodically, checking my progress, and at this point he commented that I didn’t look like enough; I wasn’t perturbed. I prepped both of the microwave ovens, and decided to get one batch done, just to see if it was okay, before proceeding with more. I rolled out 9 balls for this first batch, pressing them down with a fork. I remembering to wet my hands, and the fork, and that helped a lot; thanks Nanny. And into the oven they went…
I watched them, and noticed that they were expanding quite a lot and, when they were done, almost all were connected; okay so the trays were too small for 9 biscuits at a time. Touching them, I realised they were really soft, and panicked, adding more flour to the mixture. My worries were for nothing though, because as they cooled, they hardened. Simon came in at a good time, and he and I tried them; they were really good. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, and packed with Milo flavour; more like cookies really. Thoroughly satisfied, I went about baking the rest. Almost 2 hours later, and a lunch break mid-way, I had successfully baked 51 Milo biscuits! I must have done about 7 batches (8 including the first lot), with 6 biscuits in each; utilising both ovens. I’d bought a nice big Tupperware container to put them all in, and then put them in the fridge, ready for tomorrow; I was very happy. I went downstairs, and talked with my family for a few hours, trying to get my speech for Japanese started. It’s just a 2-3 minute speech about anything. I decided to talk about my 故郷 (furusato – hometown). Soon after talking with the family, Yuji came in, to get me to sign a card for Asami; I wrote in yellow. Not getting much further with my speech, I went up to make dinner, noticing Asami in the computer room, dressed in a Kimono.
I made gyudon for dinner, Jacinthe graciously letting me borrow her soy sauce; I’ve been out of it for a while now. On the TV, were the highlights from the Olympic ceremony, and I realised I’d missed out on a really amazing show; the visual effects were incredible. Katie came in, and swelled with pride once more. Instead of going back down, I ended up staying and chatting in the kitchen with Katie, Ash, and Rachel until 9, when I had to do cleaning; again, Hugo was out. Still, I am most satisfied with the cleaning group. Perhaps it’s just because we only have to clean three times a week, but it feels like much less of a chore than it did last semester. Chelsea was once again helping out; even though it’s not her week. After finishing up, I went downstairs, showered, and got everything ready for tomorrow. Jeremy and Rachael were still up for going (after I explained that it wouldn’t be happening today), and Simon will be joining us too. We’re going to leave around 7; see how well that goes…
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