The intoxicating smell of the first lilacs. The lush green grass and the beginnings of long nights on the back deck sipping a nice a cool beverage while intermittently smacking away the mosquitoes. Blissful warm weather is here.

 

... so Mochi is a hot thing these days.

I've seen a few recipes for Mochi baked goods and of course, anytime Trader Joe's food goes viral it's a sign to try something out. Of course, here in Canada we don't have Trader Joe's so here are 3 Mochi Recipes I've tried and how its gone. Yum, yum, Mochi!

I've always enjoyed baking but since I stopped eating refined sugar in 2017 I haven't baked much. In the past year I'm back on the sugar train so I've started to do some baking again, mostly for others. I've been getting more into Asian cooking and baking since I miss those flavour profiles, and I've been enjoying finding the North American Asian authors. It's been fun to explore and experiment. Mochi is having a moment so here's how my Mochi madness has been going..

The first mochi recipe I baked Eat Cho Food's Pumpkin Mochi Muffins. I made it back in the fall for a group event. It was a cool concept, albeit a little difficult to execute.. I found extracting the muffins from the muffin tins was quite difficult despite oiling the heck out of the tin. The muffins were nice and chewy, but a bit too oily and the pumpkin spice flavour wasn't strong enough. I wouldn't bake these again.

I was intrigued by the idea of a Matcha Mochi Muffin. I looked up several recipes and toyed with the idea for awhile but I didn't have matcha powder. Finally in January I bought matcha powder and settled on this recipe.. it turned out FABULOUSLY! Dang this was significantly better than the previous mochi muffins. Would highly recommend this recipe. The only downside to this recipe was that the beautifully crunchy top of the muffin flattens after one day in an airtight container. Flavour is amazing but I find they don't store super well. This recipe made a bunch of muffins and I was able to share with friends. I would have added a bit more Matcha next time as I found the green tea flavour not quite as strong as I wanted. I'd love to know if this batter would freeze well? Since the crunchyness of the freshly baked muffins is so delightful it would be convenient if the batter could be frozen or stored in the fridge and the muffins baked whenever you get a craving!

 

Yesterday I spontaneously made a Mochi Brownie recipe! I had some leftover glutinous rice powder in my pantry and I need to bring something to a party so I spontaneously whipped them up! It was super interesting to try this recipe, it's fairly easy to make and wasn't a "muffin" recipe. Honestly, this was a super interesting experience. I do not associate the chewy mochi texture with the taste of a brownie so it was a bit strange at first. My first few bites were confusing to my brain because I expected the cakey texture of a brownie and it was much more chewy. But in the end I did really enjoy this recipe, and the nice thing about the brownie style is the pain of removing the muffins from the muffin tins is non existent. Also I found that the chocolate sprinkled on top meant that the crispiness didn't flatten after the first day so I enjoyed these the second day without feeling like they had gone "flat" like I did with the muffins. I would make these again! I shared these with a few friends and they all liked the brownies! Overall they were a hit.

 TIP:

Alot of recipes, especially recipes that come from the US, call for Mochiko flour. Mochiko flour is a special brand of glutinous rice flour that is important from Japan. I've never seen this rice flour sold here in Canada, at least not in my town. At first, this was a big deterrent to making Mochi stuff. No one wants to try a risky substitute and ruin a whole batch of baking. Do not fear, I found that the Erwan Glutinous Rice flour (green label brand) has been an equal substitute to the Mochiko. I used this brand in the Matcha Mochi muffin recipe instead of Mochiko and it turned out just fine. I'm sure the Mochiko flour is nicer, but if its not available please don't let that hold you back from yummy Mochi baking! Happy Baking!

 

Wordle is a new fun word game that is totally free! You only get one word to solve each day, which makes it blessedly short and attainable. I'm thrilled to say I solved my first one today! Cue dopamine rush. 

Find the website HERE::

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⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛
🟨🟩⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟩🟨🟨⬛
⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I recently discovered @Doobydobap, a Korean blogger and Youtuber who has amazing recipes. She posted a Short on Youtube about her favourite breakfast. I've made it a few times since then and it's AMAZING! The balsamic vinegar gives it such pizzazz. Living in Asia for a few years, I grew to love the savoury breakfasts and I am always missing them over here in Canada so I'm so happy to find a good recipe. This is a simple fried egg and rice bowl with a green onion sauce. Simple but *chefs kiss*!

Recipe:

If you don't have cooked rice on hand, the first and longest step is to cook the rice. Throw it in your rice cooker or do it on the stove in a pot. Don't know how to cook rice? Youtube! Fry two eggs sunny side up so you can get a nice runny yolk. Spoon some of the oil over the top of the egg to cook the top faster.  While eggs are frying chop the green onions and whisk the sauce together. To make the bowl add the rice, eggs on top and pour the sauce over the bowl. Break up the egg so the yolk runs and mix the dish well so the sauce distrubtes. Enjoy this delicious savoury breakfast! I linked the video below as well since Tina explains it way better than me.

Green Onion Sauce:

• 1 green onion finely chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• black pepper to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon gochugaru
• sesame seeds
• 1 tsp sesame oil

See it for yourself!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have struggled to find a good Made in Canada Shampoo Bar! Here are 6 reviews with my unfiltered honest opinion. No sponsors or affiliate links here! I hope you can benefit from this video and subsequent post and find the perfect Zero Waste Canadian Shampoo bar. A long form Blog Post is coming Soon! For now, if you're a video content type of person, check out the video over on my Youtube channel!

Have a sweet day,

d.

 

Earlier this year I gathered my gumption and started a Youtube channel. It isn't anything profound or life changing, but I enjoy the process of creating and editing videos. Youtube has become a place where I find amazing and unique content, and I always enjoy watching glimpses of other people's lives. Recently I've been enjoying watching these vidoes about a Russian Minimalist who lives in Siberia! Her channel is: Siberia Inside. So I thought, why not share my own life? If nothing else, I'll enjoy looking back on the memories. 

I recently posted a video after a few months hiatus. A small tour of my room! 

Enjoy!

 

d.

 1. A very cute vintage hexagonal side table. From Value Village for 9$! Yay!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. A very inexpensive fitted sheet to replace the one I ripped. 

Later I realized that I got 50% off the high high price of $3.75 so I paid a grand total of $1.90 lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Extremely helpful Calendar post it notes from my favourite Stationery shop in Toronto, Paper Plus Cloth.

These little guys have been used on the regular for my Bullet Journal! Such a nice touch.

What are some small things bringing you big joy this dsrk winter season? Has anyone hung their Christmas lights yet?

wishing you all a lovely day.

d.

 Until I saw this article today (via. Smarther News!)

 

Miss Scarlet and the Duke, a must watch.

I've been relishing.. yes *relishing* a new tradition of watching PBS Masterpiece on Sunday evenings (no commercials?? the 7 days of anticipation for the next episode??). I was all in for the new All Creatures Great and Small and realized the Masterpiece Mystery spot was being occupied by an intriguing new drama: Miss Scarlet and the Duke.  Seeing as both shows are back to back on Sunday night, I added Miss Scarlet to the queue and my oh my it has not disappointed! Miss Scarlet is you guessed it, a fledgling Female Private Investigator attempting to take over her father's business. Tonight is the Grand Finale of both shows and I've been looking forward to it all week. With great anticipating I might add! *dramatic British accent*

Which brings me to Lady Detectives, a thing I thought was relegated to the realm of fiction. However, it turns out the Pinkerton's hired a Mrs. Kate Warne as their first female detective in 1856! She is indeed a fascinating dame. I won't steal the thunder of the Detroit News so hop on over and read about how Kate protected Lincoln himself. 

Happy weekend, all!

d.

Credit: The Loewentheil Collection of China Photography

• as a fan of photography, I loved seeing these rare photographs of 19 century China! Incredible.
• also, have you ever made or eaten chickpea cookies? I'm dubious.. but intrigued!  
• love how chill Alex Honnold is about his sweet van.. his documentary Free Soul looks so crazy (I'm afraid of heights).. I don't know if I could watch it! Here's the trailer:

Have a great week.
d.

 

 This post has been languishing as a draft since 2018. So i finally decided to publish it before I could overthink it.

 

It all started with my hair..
In September of 2016 I read Bea Johnson's book Zero Waste Home for the first time. I had been researching Tiny Houses in Canada and had found an interview with a BC tiny house owner (sorry.. forgot the name of the article.. x_X) that mentioned Zero Waste and Bea Johnson's book. I had no clue about Zero Waste or Bea Johnwho but as always, I immediately hopped onto my Public Library website and looked for the book! To my delight, it was available at my local branch so I rode off my bike to go and check it out.  I brought it home, read it cover to cover and got really excited about going Zero Waste. I've always been interested in environmental protection, and have had several friends who are passionate about it, but the side that also appealed to me most was the frugality, ability to save money and to travel lightly! (Because I travel alot) I jumped in wholeheartedly with both feet and the first thing I tackled was my shampoo consumption. Travelling with shampoo is always a pain (carry on liquid is so limited) I went out to buy my first soap bar and made sure I had Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in the pantry for my rinses. October was a crazy busy month for me because I moved overseas to Asia. Before I left I happily took a trip to Whole Foods to stock up on their Good Soap bars (package free!). The price was right (3 for 7$) and Bea Johnson had mentioned them on her Instagram a few times as her bar of choice. So off I went, I hopped on the plane and moved across the world very pleased with myself.

HAIR:
About a month later, my hair was absolutely AWFUL! I knew the stories that the transition period would be difficult and my hair would look bad for a while, but this was a whole new level of gross. Greasy, sticky, even after a shower it still felt wet. It was pretty gross. After scouring the internet for answers, I realized that using traditional soap bars on your hair is usually a no-no. For some people it works (like Bea) but for most people its too heavy on the hair and leaves your hair in a sticky mess. So here I was in small town China with no idea how to wash my hair! Again, the internet comes to the rescue. I turned to the very popular method you often hear about, baking soda! Many people wash their hair with Baking soda (diluted in water) and followed by an acid rinse (usually ACV). However, I hated the baking soda method! It left my  hair feeling like straw and I found I had white flakes on my scalp whenever I would wash my hair.. I would in the washroom at work and when I looked in the mirror I saw snow! That left me feeling very self conscious. I found a method called the egg rinse.. I was very skeptical but I tried it.. you rinse your hair with a raw egg yolk! Seriously.. I can't make this stuff up haha. After many methods, many attempts at improving my hair I finally asked my family to send me a shampoo bar from home. Using a shampoo bar has been the best thing for my  hair so far. It cleans it well and my hair feels light and i have good volume afterwards. I know some Zero Wasters who don't use anything to wash their hair (water only) and swear by it, but for me it doesn't seem to work.
Unfortunately when I moved to my school in August, my hair has gone downhill again. I suspected the water was the culprit, and sure enough when I shower outside my hair is much better. Hard water can have a big impact on your hair as well, so keep that in mind. I'm hoping to try out using Rye Flour as shampoo in the next few weeks! Shampoo bars can be quite expensive and I thought it would be fun to try a more natural method.. I'll let you know how it goes! :)

Lip Balm/Moisturizer:
When I moved I didn't bring any of my old products with me (only took 1 suitcase) so I started off moisturizing my face with olive oil. It worked fine! But i didn't love the olive oil smell and I don't think it absorbed as well. Now I make my own all purpose balm which I use as a lip balm and general skin/face moisturizer. Easy and cheap to make anywhere in the world!

Toothpaste:
I make my own toothpowder. Initially I just used straight baking soda (so versatile!) but I found it a bit harsh on my teeth over time (but some people love it!) so I started to use this recipe which is a mix of bentonite clay, Xylitol and baking soda.

Deodorant:
This one is a bit of a struggle at the moment.. I've been trying several natural methods but still haven't found one that works super well for me. This is one of the downsides of going Zero Waste.. it can be frustrating to find what works for you, and tempting to go back to buying plastic. No one likes to stink!

Make up:
I use Mascara from Elate Cosmetics, a super awesome Canadian company with sustainable packaging. I still have leftover lipsticks from before my Zero Waste days, still use those.

living as an expat is exciting and fun, but one thing that is super hard is always having to say goodbye to people and places. Some days are harder than others, and today these song lyrics are reflecting my mood.

"every thing i said 
playin back in my head 
every sweet moment 
every place we went 
is a part, is a mark in me 
every burn is a brand i see 
gotta tattoo in my soul 
memories inked, permanent black gold" 
#3 Forever by Sam Ock
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