Spring in the Air... Hanami watching and Spring Events!

Weather hasn't been kind to us this spring (though the previous weekend was beautiful!). I hope you've all been enjoying the spring flowers all throughout town at least? I took this photo on my IPhone last year after a very tiring shift at work and it definitely put my mind at ease (if only for my 30 minute break!). Though it's grey out there, I've noticed lots of cherry blossoms blooming around so I hope to be able to enjoy some of it this year. Although it's not as culturally significant here in North America, hanami (flower watching in Japanese) is very popular over there with millions of people flocking to parks all over Japan to have picnics, take photos, and occasionally drinking sake in public. In Vancouver, we have our own celebration of hanami in the form of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.

Anyways, back to the meat of things! I am proud to announce some events that Kawaii Eats will be participating in for the next 2 months! It's going to be an exciting (and delicious!) spring! Here are the dates:

Kotatsu 2012

Well, I just completed my first event of the year, a small anime/Japanese festival/convention called Kotatsu. It was so nice to start off the sales year with something less conventional. I was honestly expecting a modest turn out as there seemed to have been little coverage of the event, but boy was I wrong! First day at 9:30 AM there was a line out in front of Nikkei Place! Plenty of interesting characters, many different cosplays (I must be old for  since I barely recognized any of the characters... with the exception of L, TF2 sniper, Domo, No-Face and the black cat from Triggun...ya... old school!) (>.<) My goodness, some of the costume workmanship that day was very impressive! Kudos to everyone for putting in the work! My only wish was that I would have been able to enjoy some of the festivities that day. I did manage to snag some really pretty kimono patterned shoes that matched my yukata.

Giving a Hoot! Owl Cake and Macarons

It's a new year and new beginnings! My apologies for the absence in blogging, but I got extremely busy with orders and markets towards December. In any case, Kawaii Eats is back! I'm looking forward to new markets and events in 2012!

Well, this cake/macaron combination was done slightly before Christmas. Her son was turning one and they wanted something that was owl/Christmas themed. I was given an invitation to work off of. I have to admit, after making this cake and macarons, I have suddenly found a love for owls... who would have thought that "Owl-o-rons" (Or Hooterons, as I secretly dub them!) would be so delightful to make? Anyhoo, as the order goes:

Of Pandas and Talking Bean Dogs... Character Macarons

Bean dogs, salutations kittehs, and pandarons! This week's Baker's Market I made some "squee" inducing macarons that will make you scream out "KAWAII!!!" I love characters and although time consuming, creating little faces out of almond batter is a joy to behold after the fact.

Eating a Forest God: Wild Boar Ramen

Okay, so my sweet tooth took a hit this Halloween weekend, so just to change it up a bit while I recuperate from the sugar high, I'm going to detail one of my other passions: Japanese Ramen. I loooooove this dish and it's the best comfort food in the world! And living in Vancouver where there has recently been a ramen influx in the last 8 years, I can safely say that I feel blessed living in the next best city to have Japanese food outside of Japan! I heart the quirkness of Tampopo and much like the female protagonist, I strive each time to creating the perfect bowl of ramen. Every year, I host at least 2 ramen nights which is essentially a giant cook day where I entertain the dream of me becoming a master ramen chef. All who participate do so quite willingly and hungrily!

For the uninitiated, Japanese ramen is more than just a humble dried pack of noodles that sustains the college crowd. It is a relatively new addition to Japanese cuisine and is actually an adaptation of Chinese noodle soups that was brought over when by Chinese migrants to Japan. According to Wikipedia, the 1900s saw many shall noodle shops opening selling gyozas and noodle soups known as shina soba. After the Second World War, the Japanese government began pushing more of the local population into adopting wheat flour imported from America as part of their regular diet. Hence the ripe conditions for a ramen boom.

"Spook-a-rons" Halloween Macarons

It's Halloween weekend and I've just whipped up these babies for the Baker's Market tomorrow! Spooky stuff happening in the kitchen! We've got here some Black Cat Macarons with Mexican spiced ganache, as well as some nut free Pumpkin Macarons with Pumpkin pie filling. The little creepy dude at the bottom of the "Spook-a-ron" pack is the Ghostly Vanilla Macaron.

Nut-free treat: Roasted Pumpkin Seed Macarons with Pumpkin pie Buttercream

Most macarons are made with almond meal (ground almonds). The bleach light colour of the almond meal allows the baker to create a canvas to colour their macarons whatever their heart desires (or whatever food colouring one chooses. The unfortunate downside to using this ingredient is the fact that many people are unable to savour these concoctions due to nut allergies.