Public Service Announcement

Just a quick warning. Please don't ever rent the Spanish movie 'Utopia'. I feel I have totally wasted an hour and thirty minutes of my life that I am never getting back. It was all style over substance. Plus the lead actress had her fringe stubbornly in her eyes throughout a good three quarters of the movie. I wanted to smack her. I love a good Saturday in with a glass of wine and a good movie. They have stolen that from me.
Today is 'Hina Matsuri' (Dolls' Festival) in Japan. For those of you who are really interested I have already blogged about this event on March 5th last year.
The sweet 'we' eat on this day is 'Sakura Mochi' (cherry blossom glutinous rice cake). Traditionally on this day, evening supper is a nice dish of 'chirashi zushi' (vinegared rice seasoned with fish and vegetables) followed by the above cakes for dessert.
I LOVE them but they definitely need to go in our ever-expanding weird Japanese food files. Imagine, if you will, sweet bean paste, encased in a cherry blossom flavoured glutinous rice cake, wrapped in a salty pickled cherry tree leaf. To die for!
Oh and for those of you who were thorough enough to read back to the 2006 entry, Happy Ear Day, too!