Random Picture #71

Click to see a bigger picture.

One of the interesting things about being given lots of food gifts in Japan is that the choices made often reflect the tastes and preferences of the person giving you the gift and allow you to sample things you'd never buy for yourself. A few weeks ago, one of my very kind students gave me a big bag of bread products that she bought at a local bakery called Edy's. I have bought things there on occasion, but I tend to favor Good Morning bakery and another place called Saint Germaine (both are chains). Ostensibly, she bought this for me as a "thank you" for being kind enough to give her a cup of tea during each lesson. Yes, I've given her 8 or so cups of tea and she's given me a huge bag of bread, a package of pies, a package of chocolates, and a bowl of a Japanese rice dish that she personally made. That sounds like a fair trade. Seriously, she's just generous and sweet, but that is what her stated reason was.

Sweet butter stuffed roll. 

The assortment she gave me is pictured above. From left and clockwise is a roll stuffed with raisins and whipped margarine, sandwich bread, a paper-wrapped roll (much like the raisin one) stuffed with sweet whipped margarine and sesame croissants. All of these were delightful and I can truthfully say I'd never have chosen these of my own accord. In particular, the paper-wrapped bread was decadent and delicious in a way I never would have expected from something full of nothing more than what looks like whipped butter. The lesson here is to try new things outside of your usual tastes, or at least to have really nice ladies who give you stuff all of the time in your life.