kruizing with kikukat

Monday, March 3, 2014

Happy Girls' Day: Hishi Mochi

Happy Girls Day!!

Today is a day of celebration for girls!

I contemplated what to buy myself for Girls Day, but I pretty much buy what I want anyway, so there was really nothing I HAD to have.  It would've been nice to take a day off, and I seriously considered it, especially since I have my worst class today.

I cannot wait until the school year is over and my time with one of my classes is behind me.  A bunch of them will be very sorry when they get into the real world.  This is the class with a few who come in and ask, "what, we gotta do work today?"  Not a day in the school year has gone by where they did not do work, so I'm not sure why a one guy, "Charlie", keeps asking.  Charlie wanted me to curtail all assignments for the week of his birthday AND bring in a cake for him.  Get real!

Half of the class will be enrolling in institutions of higher learning after graduation, and I have faith they will do well.  

Sadly, the other half of the class have no realistic plans for anything.  They say they want to work, but who will hire them?  I certainly wouldn't.  And should they get hired, their variable school performance and lingering sour attitudes have not inspired thoughts of long-term employment.  They do not see the parallel between hard work in school and working hard in an employment setting. 

Anyway, my conscience got the better of me and I went to work. In spite of having to deal with the ups and downs as they pass through adolescence, I do enjoy teaching them.  Since they are boys, they may be oblivious to any Girls Day traditions. . .not sure how many of the student population even know it's Girls Day.   That's not how they roll.

Realizing that I have girls of my own, I made sure to have something for them.  D1, the pickiest of the picky, got a gift card.  No point in trying to pick something she'd like.  D2 is slowly morphing into her sister, so she also got a gift card.  Now they can buy what they want.

In addition to the gift cards, I made hishi mochi for them.  I don't know how much they consumed (probably just a piece), but both of them wanted to take some to school to share with teachers/friends.  Knowing this, I made 2 pans. . .so the 3 of us could eat and share!

In April '12, I blogged about the significance of the colors.  I also included a recipe for making a thick version of chichi dango, which can easily be made into hishi mochi.  When it is made in specific colors (pink, white & green) and cut in a specific way (diamond shapes), it takes on a different name:  hishi mochi.  This week's hishi mochi recipe is for narrow layers and uses just 1 pound of mochiko.  For many people, it's easier to eat this thin style rather than the thick version.  I like them both, but since I planned to give some away, I decided to stick with the thin style.  If you are lazy or just have no dog in the fight, you can cut the mochi into square or oblong shapes. . .it's trickier to get the diamond shape just right.

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Hishi Mochi
(3-layered, diamond-shaped chichi dango)

     1 box (1 lb) mochiko
     2 c sugar
     1 tsp vanilla
     1 can coconut milk
     water
     food coloring (2 different colors)

Grease a 9 x 13" baking pan.  Be sure to grease far up the sides too.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine mochiko and sugar in a large bowl.  In a 1 quart measuring cup, empty coconut milk.  Add enough water to make 3 1/2 cups of liquid.  Add vanilla.  Add liquid to dry ingredients.  Remove 2 cups of batter to a small bowl.  Add green food coloring.  Pour into prepared pan.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake for 15 minutes.  While green layer is baking, remove an additional 2 cups of batter to a small bowl.  Add red food coloring.  Set aside.  When green layer is done, remove foil and pour white (uncolored) batter evenly over green layer.  Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  When white layer is done, remove foil and pour pink batter evenly over white layer.  Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and remove foil.  Cover with a dishcloth or place under food net.  Allow to cool at least 10 hours before cutting.

Saturday night was Endless Twilight, the junior prom.  D1 and her friends spent the afternoon getting ready for the big night.  Before they headed out, The Help snapped a few pics.
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