AJET Connect MAY 2014

above: Biscuits and gravy with cabbageFood: one of the mainreasons I travel. I am a foodtourist before any otherand needed to find ways to make my favorite foods healthier.It turns out she was, very serious. In the mail she sent me a40 thing. So when I was inJapan the first time, I ate somany pots of curry, platesThis was the beginning of a whole new world of cooking for me.I started to have gatherings just to have a reason to cook forpeople. I needed to feed them. I needed to share my findings.handbook on Japanese sake and it was then that I began myslow and often fumbling attempt at studying a national iconicdrink. I joined a group called Niigata Sake Lovers (Facebook page41of karaage and sushi thatbelow) and attended small seminars and drinking parties whereUpon the arrival of several vegan JETs, I embraced the idea ofI was almost sick. Howeverpeople would bring their own sake, share and talk. Soon I foundvegan baking. I delved into alternate methods of cooking. Ithis time around, after theout that there was even a sake exam that you could take toeven started making sourdough to get that step further frominitial joy at having accessfamiliarize yourself with sake making and culture.commercial production. I love to make delicious things and thereto all my Japanese favoritesis nothing I enjoy as much as hearing someone say, “yum!”again wore off, I began towhen they bit into something I made.crave home cooking.For everyone, comfort foodmeans something different, but it always means somethingfamiliar. There wasn’t much at the local Kyoei that fit that bill.I was homesick for food that tasted like America. Before I knewabout online stores like themeatguy.jp or iherb.com, beforeCostco became a familiar name, I required dishes that fulfilledmy heart’s desires. So I created my own ingredients. From cheeseto tortillas, I researched and made them all from scratch.Having a decent amount of free time at school meant I had allthe time I needed to read about how to culture bacteria or createthat perfect pie crust. In my journey to fill my belly, I discovereda previously hidden passion. I loved to cook and bake. In collegethe most I cooked was a box of Uncle Ben’s with some chickenadded. I never needed to go beyond that. Everything I desiredwas already at my fingertips. Here in the land of rice and chicken,I realized that I wanted to eat so much more. It began slowly—with an item here or there. I took home the bread and milk fromschool to make bread pudding. I got packets of oatmeal from theSWEETCOMFORTFOODbelow: Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rollsfamily and made raisin cookies.Then I decided to get healthy. I started eating more vegetablesNow I have a reason to bake every week, whole wheat breads,pies, sweet rolls. People are always in need of sweet comfort andI am happy to provide it knowing how I felt at the beginning ofmy time here, almost five years ago. Without coming to Japan, Inever would have discovered this talent of mine. Though it hasbeen a long and twisting road of discovery, I am glad that a lackof familiarity drove me to provide for myself. I can’t take Americafor granted—nor the karaage I know I’ll soon miss. After all,I’ll have to figure out how to recreateJapanese food when I return to the US!I can’t wait for that next adventure.Robin with Minnieat Tokyo DisneyRobin Seymour, TokushimaRobin is a 5 th year ALT in Tokushima.She has two rescue cats. She lovesto run, read, and swim in waterfallswhen she isn’t baking. If you’reinterested in tasting some of hersweets, you can contact her viaFacebook at Robin’s HomebakedGoods.ALL ABOUT SAKEFOOD CONNECTCONNECTFOODMay Issue 2014 May Issue 2014Matthew Headland, NiigataNatsuko no Sake,a famous manga,was created inNiigataWhen my friend asked me if I wanted to study sake with her, Idon’t think I really understood what she meant. I thought whatanyone three or four drinks into the night would think; it washer way of inviting me out more. Despite living about two hoursaway, I enthusiastically agreed. When I had the chance we’dmeet up and I’d follow her to a bunch of local restaurants, meeta lot of her friends and usually I’d sit silently listening to themtalk about sake, food and culture. The more I listened the more Idrank, the more I drank the less I understood but even if I had noidea what they were talking about, the food and sake made mestay, it was that good. One thing did start to become clearer; shemight have actually been serious about studying.The day of the exam came sooner than expected. I walked in toa huge conference hall with about 350 people. I sat down at myseat and skimmed through my trusty handbook in the hopes ofabsorbing that last morsel of information that could save me. Inpreparation for the exam, I had made full use of my this handytext and even taken two practice tests from previous years. Onthe second test I had scored a passing grade and so for only amonth’s work I thought that was quite encouraging. I sat downand readied my pencil confident that I could pass this thing—after all no use in stressing out now, right?Wrong. The test began and as I glossed over the questions Isuddenly lost my confidence. The two largely similar past testsI had taken looked absolutely nothing like this monstrosity. Iflipped the exam over to see that I was taking the level I signedup for (there was three and I was in the lowest level). There wasno doubt, there had been no mistake.In the end I didn’t quite make the cut, but I did learn (andcontinue to learn) a whole lot about sake and making tons ofnew friends in the process.