Pumpkin  (Apple, Banana, Zucchini) Bread

I created this recipe for 2 reasons. First, I love quick breads, but they are so full of sugar and fat that they are more like a dessert. This recipe preserves the flavor and moisture of the original with 1/2 of the fat and 1/2 or the sugar of most recipes. It also contains whole grains for  half of the flour.  It's a healthy snack.! My kids love it, and they can make it themselves. It is very easy. Secondly, pumpkin is the only vegetable besides carrots that have a good source of vitamin A for food storage. This recipe helps rotate a large can of pumpkin puree.

This recipe makes 4 large loaves or 8 mini loaves.

Wet ingredients

4 1/2 cups canned pumpkin (or mashed banana, or finely grated zucchini, or applesauce)

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

1 TB Vanilla

6 beaten eggs 

2 1/2 cups sugar (substitute 2 cups brown sugar and 1/2 cups white sugar for zucchini recipe)

1 cup milk (soy milk)

Dry Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups white flour

1 cups quick oats

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground all spice

4 tsp baking soda

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease 8 mini loaf pans or 4 regular bread pans.

2. Mix the wet ingredients into a large bowl with a whisk until thoroughly combined. Whisk the dry ingredients in a different large bowl until completely mixed. 

3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add the chocolate chips (optional).

4. Pour the batter into the loaf pans until they are 2/3 they way full and place the pans spaced out on the center rack of the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes for the mini pans and 45-50 minutes for the larger loaf pans.  You will know they are done if they spring back when you touch the loaf in the center. If it collapses, add 2-3 more minutes and check again.

 

5. When finished baking, put pans on a cooling rack for 15 minutes, then release the sides of the bread with a dull  knife if needed. Take the loaves our of the pan and cool on the rack for another 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with a little butter and milk. Store loaves in the refrigerator in plastic wrap or Ziploc bags (2 per gallon bag).

Japanese Gyoza (Potstickers)

I learned to make this recipe when we lived in Japan. It's been almost 20 years since then! Gus and I ate Gyoza in Tokyo, Shizuoka,  Kansaii, Kyoto, Kobe, and little places along the way. We started to develop ideas for what we thought was "good gyoza". To us, this meant that it had a balance of pork and vegetable and  the right blend of onion, garlic, and gingers so that one flavor didn't overpower the others. 

We had our worst gyoza in Iberaki on a night when we were traveling, exhausted, and hungry! Needless to say, this is a strong memory of soggy, cabbage filled gyoza!  Our best gyoza was made at a chain of restaurants, famous with the Missionaries who went to  serve in Japan. It was called "Gyoza no Osho" or "The King  of Gyoza." They served lines of 6 gyoza at about 200 yen a piece.  If you could eat 10 lines of gyoza, you could get them for free. Many a missionary tried, and failed or made themselves sick! 

One story Gus loves to tell is when they picked up his new companion, Elder Stewart, a small town boy from Logan, Utah, just after he arrived from America. They took him to Gyoza no Osho and ordered the usual line of gyoza.  At the table was a bottle of red clear liquid, brown liquid and white clear liquid. You mix these together to get the sauce that is used to dip the gyoza in.  Someone told Elder Stuart that the red  liquid was the mildest of the 3 and that he should use plenty of that when mixing his sauce so that it wasn't too hot. Elder Stuart did as he was told and soon seemed very uncomfortable. He was drinking lots of water, his nose was running, and he was loosening his tie. He said something like, "Wow! If this is the hot stuff, I would hate to find out what the brown and white sauces are like!" 

At some point, maybe from the snickering, he learned that he had been dipping his gyoza "Rayu" or  hot chili oil. The brown liquid was merely soy sauce, and the White was Rice vinegar.  I have included the recipe for the sauce here also. It is inseperable when serving gyoza. Simply add more red chile oil if  you'd like to loosen your collar or make your nose run too!

 

This gyoza recipe is one that I was taught from a Japanese friend of mine when we lived in Shizuoka. It was a good one! The only difference is that I don't steam the cabbage before chopping it. I have tried it both ways and haven't noticed any difference in the gyoza'a flavor when it is added raw instead. It cooks up just the same. This eliminates a a cumbersome step.

We make gyoza from time to time for visitors, but lately we just do it for the kids! It is a special favorite of Sam, Timmy, and Julia. The day we took these pictures Dad, Katherine were in Germany and Rebekkah was at Girls camp. The four of us ate all 75 in about 2 meals! YUM! No guilt whatsoever! Hope you like it!

Gyoza Ingredients

A scant 1.25 lbs of ground pork

1 1/2 TB  grated ginger (about a 2x1 inch piece)

1 1/2 tsp pressed garlic (3 cloves)

2 bunches of green onions chopped in small pieces up to the dark green portions

2 cups  cabbage leaves chopped into tiny pieces (this is about 1/2 of a medium head of cabbage. Avoid the  thick core of the cabbage)

1 tsp salt

1 TB soy sauce

96 (2 packages) round gyoza skins (raviolli wrappers) or Square wonton wrappers in  the produce refrigerator section at the grocery store. The amount you make will vary depending on how much fill you put in them. 

Directions for Assembling Gyoza

1. Put all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Wash your hands well (or use food handling gloves) and mix the ingredients by squishing them through your hands until it appears evenly mixed. 

2. Prepare 2 cookie sheets or metal baking trays by spraying them lightly with cooking spray.  Fill a small bowl with water and get a tablespoon to scoop out the meat mixture with.  It helps to have 2-3 gyoza makers!  I use 1 to fill the gyoza skins and one to seal them. 

3. Place about 1 TB of gyoza mix in the center of the gyoza skin. (See Timmy above for an example). To seal the gyoza skin, put your finger in the bowl or water and then wipe it around the edge of the gyoza skin. Fold the skin in half around the meat and then press the edges together. They will seal beacause they are wet. 

4. You should now have a rectangle  or half circle with a lump of meat in the center inside. Now, place your finger into the water again. Wipe the water around the edges of the front (or top)of the gyoza (not the folded center). Then fold the ed the gyoza. You can also finish the gyoza by using your finger to flute the edges like you are making small pleats all the way around the edge. They look authentic and fancier this way! Then place the gyoza in lines on the cookie sheet. (See at Sam's picture above.) 

Cooking Instructions

1. Get a frying pan (non-stick preferrably) with a lid. Spray with cooking spray or baste with vegetable oil so that the entire pan is covered. Heat the frying pan to medium-high heat. Place the gyoza in lines of 5-6 gyoza a piece. That way you can flip them easily with the spatula (See picture directly above). Wait for it to turn a light crispy  brown , about 1-2 minutes,  (See picture on opposite page) then use a spatula to turn the gyoza over. Be careful to get under the gyoza completely or it may break open. 

2. Next, add  1/2 cup of water to the frying pan. Put the lid on and wait until the water is completely absorbed. Take off the lid and  wait until it begins to sizzle again. Remove the gyoza with a spatula.

Finally, serve with the gyoza dipping sauce over short grain, sticky rice. It's EASY! Try it!

Dipping sauce 

Mix in small bowls for each person.

1 part soy sauce (about 1Tb per person)

1 part  rice vinegar (it is much milder than white vinegar)

1/2 tsp sesame seed oil (per person)

1/2 tsp hot chili oil (rayu) or more if you like

Funny Julia"isms" this week

Friday night, January 23rd

Rebekkah, if you keep kissing me, I'm not going to invite you to my birthday party.

Friday Afternoon in the car to pick up the kids

Julia: I know everything

Mom: You do? Wow! I don't know anyone who knows everything but Heavenly Father.

Julia: I'm just kidding. I don't know everything!

I just know a lot about purses, food, and Kung Fu

Mom: You do? 

Julia: Yeah. You know, about black purses--like that one right there. And, food-- like the kind you cook--like pumpkin bread, and Kung Fu!

Wednesday after preschool, January 21st

"Mom, guess what? Julia, Jordan, and Jesus all start with J!!!"

Here is Julia's Song she sang while coloring 

(I was writing it down madly after I heard the first  2 lines):

Tears are coming to my eyes

Because I ate too much bananas

And then I watched Pink Panther!

My Ears are cold,

My Eyes are cold,

My head is cold ,

My eyes are watering. 

Everybody loves their family!

Everybody loves their cats!

Everbody loves their waterguns!

Everyone that's boys loves Spore! (A computer game we have)

Everyone loves the swingset to be on. 

Everyone jumps high in the air!

Everybody loves each other.

Everybody loves Jesus.

Timmy's Special Day

Finally! We are writing about Timmy's Baptism day. He was baptized on December 8th, 2008.  He was so excited that he could hardly wait for the day to finally come. On the lower left he is pictured with his Gus (Dad) and his cousin Ethan Black (who was baptized by his dad, Uncle Bob). Timmy waited a month so that he could do it with his cousin up in Ogden, Utah. One the far left is a picture of our family before the meeting. 

It was a great experience!

 

The Hart Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents from Idaho came and so did the Levitre cousins & Grandparents from Utah. After the baptism, Timmy said he "felt good" and was happy. After that, he received a Priesthood blessing & was given the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide him through his life.  The Grand kids sang a beautiful song & the Grandmas gave the opening and closing prayers. To the left is Timmy after his Baptism. 

After the Baptism, we went over to Aunt Lisa & Uncle Bob Black's house. They made delicious BBQ pork sandwiches with lots of trimmings, salad, and chips with soda. It was an inside picnic. The day was beautiful and warm for December. 

We appreciate all the driving, cooking, and effort that everyone contributed to make this a wonderful occasion. 

We love Timmy! We all love his gentleness, eagerness, enthusiasm, good heart. We are pleased that he wanted to be a witness for Jesus Christ & follow him by being baptized. We have great hope his choice will bring him happiness!

 

My Very Important Japanese Presentation!

Today was my turn to do the Japanese presentation. I didn't speak to university and government officials. Instead, I presented to another important group of people--Julia's preschool class. I was asked to introduce them to Japan. 

They learned how to count to five, make Japanese animal sounds, and sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in Japanese. They loved to sing in Japanese and make frog and dog sounds (gero gero and wan wan)! We also read the story "The Funny Little Woman" which is about a Japanese lady who gets into a predicament with monsters (oni), Shinto Gods, and a magic shamoji or rice paddle. After the book we talked about how to make our own rice dumplings by putting salt on your hands and then patting and squishing the leftover rice into a ball. 

Next, we tried on a yugata or summer kimono with the wooden shoes that men and women wear during the summer holidays. Finally, after looking at some beautiful pictures of Mount Fuji, Sakura (cherry blossom trees), waterfalls, and forests, we ate! The kids tried ebi (shrimp) flavored chips (most of them wanted seconds). Ms. Martha, our teacher/neighbor, said they tasted like fishstick crackers. We also ate chocolate covered cracker sticks and rice paper candy. They were thrilled about when the rice paper wrapper melted in their mouths. 

I had a great time introducing the kids to Japan. 

My favorite moment was when one little girl, Annie, said "I can't eat those, I'm allergic" 

I said, "Oh, you are allergic to rice? Are you sure, because these taste like jelly beans!"

She decided maybe she wasn't allergic.

She tried the candy anyhow and then wanted more!

Next time, maybe I'll bring squid jerky or seaweed! What do you think?

I'll bet they'll all be allergic!

To come later.... TJ's special Baptism day.   

How To Top The Last Blog Entry?

Well, it's not possible.

I can't type in Japanese or translate it or read it. So, this is really short.

Isn't Gus an interesting guy? We had the best time in Japan. It was a great way to start our life together. I'm glad to be married to someone who has taken me on so many adventures.

Read Gus's entry. It's more interesting than my commentary.

Trip down memory lane...

Going through the boxes of mementoes in my closet and the garage, I came across some things from 1990 when Cindy and I were newlyweds and living in Shizuoka Japan.

Here's a picture of where we lived. We lived in the lower left of the map, just to the left of the mountain right on the coast. At the top right, you can see Mt Fuji, which we could see from where we lived.

In one of the boxes, I came a across a talk I wrote for the commencement ceremony for the foreign students at Shizuoka University. It was a very formal affair. I was selected to represent all of the foreign students, and I had to read the speech in front of the University president and other big wigs and somebody from the Ministry of Education (the Japanese government agency that funded our year in Japan). Probably nobody but me will find it interesting but I had fun typing it in and trying to translate it. Translation follows the original.

答辞

夏休みに、日本最高の山であり、日本のシン
ボールでもある富士山に登りました。四時間
以上も苦労して、やっと山頂に到着しました。
とても疲れました。もう二度と登りたくはあ
りません。しかし、ご来光は感動的でした。
日の出は僅か十秒ほどで終ってしまいました
が、ぞれは深い印象を与えました。

静岡大学での留学の体験もあっという間にお
わてしまったように感じます。けれども、振
り返てみますと、一年という短い時間でした
が、すばらしい思い出がたくさん出来ました。
この思い出は私の宝物です。けっして、忘れ
たり、捨てたりはいたしません。

ホラ、外人だ、と小学生にいわれたと、静岡
から見た富士山、留学生のスキー旅行、先生
とのマンツーマンの勉強とお話、千代の富士
と大乃国の引退、唯一人のアメリカ人として
全くわからない和製英語を先生に聞いて笑わ
れた授業、一階の電気屋さんに洗濯の排水を
流してしまった時に笑って済ましてくれたこ
と、鈍行で広島まで行た旅行、妻のシンディ
と浴衣を着て揃って安部川の花火大会に行た
夜、雪がなくて少しい淋しかった静岡の冬、
クイズ番組が多くて面白い日本のテレビ、ド
ラマが馬鹿らしくて日本のつまらないテレビ、
いつもとても親切に助けて下さった教務係の
方々、日本人のやさしい心、相手を考える日
本の習慣と言葉使い、などなどは私の思い出
あります。

こんなにためになる勉強と、経験をさせてい
ただいたことを心より感謝しています。また、
文部省の研修生として勉強できたこと光栄に
思っております。研修生を代表してお礼を申
し上げたいと思います。

わざか一年間だけでしたが、おもいで豊かな
一年だったといえるでしょう。まだまだ未熟
な私たちですが、日本の習慣、日本の文化、
そして日本人の心を少しは理解できるように
なったと思います。そして、自分のことも理
解していただけるようになったと感じます。

帰国しても心は日本に残るでしょう。帰った
らホームシクになるかもしれません。

このすばらしい機会を与えて下さった文部省、
静岡大学ならびに静岡県民、そして日本の皆
様に心から感謝したいと思います。

最後に、皆様の御健勝と、静岡大学の一層の
御発展をお祈りいたします。ありがとうござ
います。

一九九一年九月十七日
ガス・ハート

Formal Reply

During summer break, I climbed Mt. Fuji, Japan's tallest mountain and a symbol of Japan
itself. After more than four grueling hours, I finally reached the summit. I was so tired. I don't
ever want to do it again. But the sunrise was impressive; it only lasted about ten secounds, but it
left a deep impression.

My experience as an exchange student at Shizuoka University feels like it lasted just a moment
too. But when I look back, even though the time was so short, I made lots of wondeful
memories. These memories are treasures. I'll never forget them.

Gradeschoolers yelling "Hey, a gaijin!", the view of Mt. Fuji from Shizuoka, the ski
trip with the other exchange students, studying and talking one-on-one with my advisor, the retirement of
Chiyonofuji and Onokuni (famous sumo wrestlers), the class period when everyone laughed at me, the lone
American, because I was completely baffled by their "Made in Japan" English, the time when we flooded
the electronics store below our apartment with our laundry water and the owners just laughed it off,
riding the "slow train" all the way to Hiroshima, getting dressed up in yukata and going with my
wife to the fireworks show at Abegawa, the snowless, and so slightly lonely, winter in Shizuoka,
Japan's interesting television with all kinds of quiz shows, Japan's boring television with
ridiculous dramas, the people in the department office who were always so kind, the kind heart
of the Japanese people---these are my memories.

I am truly grateful that I was given this opportunity for such useful study and experiences. Moreover,
I feel honored to be selected as an exchange student for the Ministry of Education. Let me express
thanks on behalf of all of the exchange students.

It was just one short year, but a year filled with memories. We are still inexperienced, but I think
we have come to understand, at least a little, the customs of Japan, its culture, and the heart of
the Japanese themselves. And, in turn, we too feel that we have been understood.

After we go home, our hearts will still be in Japan. Perhaps we'll feel a little homesick.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Ministry of Education, Shizuoka University, as well as the
citizens of Shizuoka prefecture for providing this wonderful experience.

Finally, I pray for everyone's health and the continued development of Shizuoka University. Thank
You.

Sept. 17, 1991

Gus Hart