2 August 05

Fun Package in the Mail

A wonderful thing! A package arrived from Japan today with many pens, none of which you can get here. There are also two Pentel waterbrushes (at least I think that’s what they are; my Japanese isn’t so hot).

Thanks, Butuki. I’ll post a sketch the minute I get to it. (By the way: how exactly do you make a riceball?)

I returned from my Hebrew class tonight with the sense of triumph appropriate to having composed my first sentence.

Posted by at 09:47 PM in Design Arts | Link |
  1. What a nice gesture! I read one of Butuki’s posts which mentioned rice balls and was wondering what they consisted of.

    If you speak Hebrew, how many languages do you now have in your repertoire? I’m just starting to seriously look for a teacher of Spanish in preparation for our proposed school get together in less than 2 years time. (I’ll only go if you go, BTW!).
    — Jenny    3. August 2005, 01:17    Link
  2. Jenny: I don’t “speak Hebrew.” I know the letters because I learned them to calligraph a Jewish marriage contract for some friends (these can be very elaborate and some a breathtakingly beautiful). But it’s certainly fun to start learning what some of the words mean. The verb system is very elegant.

    When is this supposed Runnymede get-together? Spring/Summer 06?
    — Pica    3. August 2005, 06:20    Link
  3. Mazel tov!
    — virginia    3. August 2005, 08:10    Link
  4. Just stumbled into my study, switched on the computer, and groggily viewed the regular list of blogs (after being woken up by the landlord thrashing the weeds to death outside my bedroom window), only to find your post! I’m glad the package arrived! And I hope the pens are useful. I tried to find things that might be difficult to find in the States, including two sketchbooks that I couldn’t send off because the store was out of them when I managed to get to the store.

    Riceballs…can’t remember what in the package might have set off that question… but they’re very easy to make. You need to use sticky rice, like California pearl rice (though it would be much better if you use real Japanese rice like Koshihikari or so, because it tastes better and is much stickier). After cooking and steaming, set the still steaming pot on the table with a sauce plate of salt and another plate of thin, dried laver… seaweed… strips, and whatever condiments you’d like to put into the riceball (I like to use tuna fish, baked salmon, umeboshi… pickled plum…, roast chicken, or roast eel) beside it. Wet your hands in cold water (to protect your hands from the hot rice and to keep the starch from sticking to your hands), scoop out a small handful of the rice from the pot (taking care not to burn your fingers), dip your fingertips of one hand in the salt (take care not to take too much), choose a piece of the ingredient you want to put inside and place it into the middle of the rice, then form the rice and salt into a triangular ball between the palms of your hand. Make all the riceballs this way. When done you can paste the laver strips onto the outside of the riceball body. I prefer my laver strips to be moistened by the rice when I eat it, but other people like to put them on at the last minute so they are still dry. You can eat the riceballs hot or cold, and like sandwiches you can carry them about all day. You can also add seasoning to the rice at the same time as adding the salt, such as sesame seeds, or anise seeds, and such.

    Hope that makes sense.
    — butuki    3. August 2005, 18:09    Link
  5. PS… yes, the brushes are Pentel. There are so many kinds here I didn’t know which ones would be best to send.
    — butuki    3. August 2005, 18:10    Link
  6. PPS… Oh I forgot… as you’re making the riceballs, whenever your hands start to feel like they might burn or the rice starts to stick to the palms and fingers, dip your hand in cold water.
    — butuki    3. August 2005, 18:14    Link

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