Christmas from Japan

My friend just returned from Japan yesterday. He brought me a wonderful Christmas gift. Of course, it's for cooking and very designer. The best part is I can use it with my whisky. There was a silicon orb and small box in a stamped muslin bag. They both are for making drinks cold.

Round Ice Cube maker and Whisky Stones from Japan

The orb is for making spherical ice cubes. The top has a small hole in it you fill with water. When you get it out of the freezer, it easily splits in half to give you a round ice cube. The small box contained eight small square stones, sometimes called whisky stones. You freeze the dark soapstone and use them in your drinks. They keep your drinks ice cold with out watering them down.

The Hakushu Single Malt Whisky from Japan

Later we enjoyed some whisky from Japan from The Hakushu Distillery. I got to use the round ice cube!

Round Ice Cube lonely and waiting for some whisky to keep him company.

Holding Buddha's Hand

I was at Jimi's last night. He reached below the counter to grab something and said "Check this out this lemon". He tossed on the counter what appeared to be a mutated lemon. It was yellow like a lemon, a the top wear the stem was looked like a lemon, but the other tip of the fruit was bizzare. It had many small fingers that grew concentric and appeared to be a cross between a flower and a squid. I imagined it coming to life and the fingers moving like tentacles and the center closing like the mouth of a sea anemone. Then I quickly remembered reading about it and blurted out, "I think it's a Buddha's Hand". He had no idea what I was talking about and I wasn't sure I did either, so I googled it on my iPhone. Sure enough Wikipedia confirmed my information.

Indeed this fruit was known as a Buddha's Hand. It is also known as the Fingered Citron and in Japan, bushukan. Supposedly it has very little flesh inside. It is very fragrant and the peel can be used for citrus zest.