Cherry Blossoms Ahead

So Ottawa is getting even more snow as I type this. When -for the love of Pete- will it stop!!!???

I was going to make meringues to cheer myself up, but I failed to deliver, and they will now wait, as I am already prepared to make my Guiness cupcakes for Monday morning delivery at work. I have a rule about limiting desserts to one main choice per night in the house. So, stay tuned for more baking on Sunday (with pics!).

Now, onto cherry blossoms. Okay, I won't be boating into the cherry blossom festival in DC, but I will be walking there at the end of the month. Saturday the 29th to be exact. I am going to DC to visit Mr. P, and we are going to spend Saturday night on a lantern walk through the cherry trees as part of the annual festival. I am super excited! We wanted to go last year, but the blossoms were past peak when I went (boohoo!).

So, this and the fact that I still read wayyyyyy to many Japanese comic books (shoujo!) for my age made me think about hanami in Japan - cherry blossom viewing. You picnic under the cherry blossom trees at their peak times. It's huge there, and it's popular in Korea too! Mr. P and I went and visited a big group of trees in Seoul when we were living there, and we were going to take a trip to a town with the oldest cherry tree in Korea, but then I screwed up and got acute bronchitis (health tip: don't go drinking and bar hop in the rain, especially if you already have a minor cold).

Anyways, hanami has a traditional menu of sorts, including dango (sweet dumpling), yakitori, and inari-zushi - some of my fav easy Japanese eats. I am so tempted to say we should pick some up and much before the walk. So fun! But the walk is two hours, so maybe I'll recommend having an earlier meal at a Japanese resto instead (less prep! more fun!). Instead I can decorate the petit fours I plan to make in DC on the Thursday with cherry blossom inspired designs.