TREATS FROM MAKI: MATCHA DELIGHTS

I've fallen head over heels with Japan.  And I haven't even visited the country yet.

But it's hard not to appreciate all things Japanese when you have a friend from Tokyo who sends across the most amazing stuff at every opportunity she gets.  This time Maki shares her private collection of Green Tea Goodies.

.Just look at these cute fridge magnets from Suntory (伊右衛門).  I especially love this matcha mont blanc.  I've often wondered why people want to spend money on this kind of accessories.  Now I understand.  The craftsmanship is so very intricate!

Maki's package came with a personal note, which was delicately folded origami-style in the form of a heart.  I ought to have taken a photo of it but in my haste to get my eager hands on everything inside the box, I forgot!  Well, I did save the beautiful wrapping paper.

Thanks to Maki, I got to sample Japan without having to jump on a plane!

TREATS FROM MAKI: PIGEON PEAS

The eagerly anticipated package from Maki finally got to me via Malini! I promised Maki that I’d post photos of these Japanese snacks on Chilli Crab Kitchen before I consumed them. But then it rained.  It rained again the next day. Not great weather for the amateur photographer.

The sun finally appeared yesterday morning. I hastily snapped a few shots before I dashed off to work. I love the Pigeon logo on the paper bag. It looks as if it is enjoying little snack peas. Super cute! The name of the snack shop in Kanji is 豆源, which translates to "The Bean Source" in Chinese. It sells a variety of bean snacks. According to Maki, the snack shop uses a pigeon for its logo because in Japanese culture, the pigeon and the bean 豆are somehow characterised with each other.

THERAPY

I don't have much to write about today because I'm completely cream crackered.  What a work week it has been!  By the end of Friday I crawled home from the office, exhausted and completely brain dead.  And so I ignored my vibrating mobile phone and blinking Blackberry and instead focused on the more important things in life -- like what to bake for the weekend!

I decided on chocolate chip cookies because they are so easy to make and almost always turn out right. Best of all, I didn't have to make a special trip to the stores because I already have all the ingredients I needed right at home.

Doesn't chilled cookie dough remind you of ice cream?

Mood shot :)

Baking helps me unwind.  Tomorrow will be the start of another hectic week.  That's why I used up only half of the cookie dough, keeping the remainder in the freezer for baking therapy next weekend.