Turning Japanese

I’ve been watching a lot of anime and finding various Asian dramas on Hulu recently, and I realized I was recognizing some Japanese words. Not big ones, or important ones, but still: Japanese!

So I decided to learn Japanese. I’ve been told that once I learn Japanese Max will go on a trip to Japan with me, so I have an clear end goal that should help keep me on track, but I also got this sweet folder to inspire me as well as to store my papers. Kawaii, no?

Nouvelle Vague

I had the pleasant experience of hearing Nouvelle Vague for the first time yesterday, with their sweet cover of Public Image Limited’s “This is Not a Love Song.” So far I’ve listened to a bunch of their stuff (available on youtube, with a limited selection of free mp3s on their site). But it’s this cover of Depeche Mode’s “Master and Servant” that’s blown me away. Amazing!

The Zhivago

I found some Stoli Blueberi Vodka for a great price at the grocery store today, and loving to try new liquors and new drinks, I bought it. The best part is that I just did a search for drinks using blueberry vodka and found this:

Marco Pasanella’s The Zhivago

• 1 large snowdrift
  1 crackling fire
  1 girl named Lara
  2 shots Stoli Blueberi, chilled
• Pre-freeze elegant shot glasses and carafe.
  Present two blueberries in each glass and serve on a silver tray.
  Caress gently.

Blueberry Corn Pancakes

I’ve been trying to use the corn we grew in the garden, but I’ve had a slight setback in that, what with one thing and another, we forgot to harvest it at its peak and it’s a little drier and tougher than it should be. Since those aren’t the best qualities for eating corn on the cob, I’ve been exploring other recipes, such as this one for Blueberry Corn Pancakes.

Scrumptious!

I combined two recipes I found on Tastespotting – one for pancakes with fresh corn and one for pancakes with fresh blueberries and cornmeal. I figured that the blueberries would add a little more moisture to the pancakes and help balance out the dryness of the corn. I also halved the recipe because there aren’t enough mouths for a full batch!

On the griddle, blueberry side down

They turned out absolutely delightful – a great taste and a great texture. One thing I wasn’t expecting is that they don’t stay together quite the same way as regular pancakes because of the corn, but they were pretty perfect regardless.

Blueberry Corn Pancakes
Adapted from The Bitten Word and Foodo Del Mundo

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 ears of fresh corn
• 1/2 scant cup whole milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• fresh blueberries (about 30, 5-6 for each pancake)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt in a medium bowl.

Cut enough kernels from cobs to measure 1 cup. Using back of a knife, scrape pulp from cobs and transfer to a blender with milk and 1/4 cup corn. Getting the pulp off is difficult, but do the best you can. Purée until smooth, then strain through a sieve into another medium bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Whisk in egg, oil, and butter.

Add to flour mixture with remaining 3/4 cups corn and whisk until just combined. Batter will be thick!

Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat until hot, then spray with oil. Working in batches, pour 1/3 cup batter per pancake onto griddle and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden-brown, about 2 minutes. Just before flipping push 5-6 blueberries into the top of each pancake. Flip with a spatula and cook until undersides are golden-brown, about 1 minute more. (Reduce heat if pancakes brown too quickly.) Lightly oil griddle between batches if necessary.

Makes 6 pancakes.