the Story Girl

... 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!

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.