suis malade

(a prononcer avec une voix caverneuse).

Gorge prise, nez pris, cerveau embrumé. Je suis même persuadé avoir un peu de fièvre. Sinon je vais bien.

les onigiris avec une tomate séchée sont top. Et les sucrés avec une cerise confite et des raisins secs et des abricots secs sont sympa aussi. Mais c'est difficile de faire un mélange homogène avec les raisins et le riz, et du coup ils se démontent en les mangeant.

thé au caramel brulant avec du miel, et au lit. Bonne nuit les gens.

Onigiris

Photo stolen from the internet. You remember my camera's is empty, right?

Yes, I have bought a rice cooker, finally. 30 euros, who doesn't have one? You have 30 minutes to buy one and come back. Now.

Onigiris. I had always thought it would be a great idea to cook my own and bring them to work for the lunch break. Slightly out of the ordinary and totally japanese. They seemed completely idiotic to make, except maybe for the moulding into the right triangular shape.
So last saturday, I went to Darty, looked at the cheapest models and bought the second cheapest then came back home. Then I went out again to the local asian supermarked, skipped the 50kgs bags of rice and bought nori sheets, sesame, multiple cans of fruit juice (don't try drinking aloe vera juice, trust me), sushi vinegar and sushi sauce and came back home. Then went out yet again to the local supermarket for plain-but-not-long-grain rice and came back home with a reasonable quantity of riz camarguais.

The first experiment was a success, even the moulding is easy. I really should have tried sooner. But as I expected, it doesn't taste much. Sesame grings color but little more and nori isn't enough. The japanese usually put something inside the rice ball that adds flavour, umeboshi and salmon usually. I will need to experiment a little around those possibilities. Seasoned salt was something readily accessible in my depleted cupboards that I will use again.
And I don't need much to feel completely full.

One other idea I'm toying with is to try to sweet route.
Mix dried apricots cut in small cubes in the rice before leaving it to cool.
Rub sugar instead of salt on palms before picking up the rice.
Use some candied fruit as a filling
Wrap ???? around the rice ball to ease the handling.

I just need to find the ???? and try. Anyone has ideas?

Christmas - Go

No message in 3 months. That has to be a record.

So Christmas came and went. Birthday came and went. New Year's Eve...
I'd love to post a few pics, but the camera I bought 15months ago and lost 14months a half ago has dead batteries. Yes I found it back, on January 3rd when looking for my office badge.
The pics I'd love to post are:

• A Go board, Go stones and Go stones bowls. 5.5cm thick board, glass stones and woven bowls. I'm not too happy about the bowls, but hey it's a 5.5cm board! I never dreamt on having that. That model. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to pick it up at the post office yet.
• Another Go board and go stones, with the tweezers and the carrying box. Yeah, that board is maybe 8cm wide and 8cm long. The stones are black and white beads. Tweezers needed. All handmade by mom and dad. My favourite gift this year by far, and the parents apparently loved making it, with the rules. Even the wrapping was typically japanese, a cloth piece intelligently knotted around the box.