師匠の栗まんじゅう / The master's Japanese sweets with chestnuts

「だめっ、一日一個！」と、箱に忍び寄るパッポラくんの手を払いのけながら、叫んでいた。

昨日うちに霧の街から、贈り物が届けられた。
師匠からこれを習ったのはもう何年も前のこと。白あん作りから始まって、一個一個丁寧に作り上げられたおまんじゅう。たまに作ってみるが、師匠のように決してしっとりと美しくはできない。

おいしいお茶を入れて「少しずつ」いただきます。遠く離れていても、こうして毎年気にかけてくださりありがとう。ほんとに温かい気持ちに包まれる特別の贈り物でした。

栗が丸ごと入った栗饅頭/Kuri manju (whole chestnut covered by white bean paste)

"Hey, only one per day!" I shouted while brushing off Pappora-kun's sneaking hand on the manju box.

Yesterday I felt warm all day because a package of kurimanju arrived here. It is from a friend in San Francisco.  She is my master of Kurimanjuu and other things.  I learned how to make it from her a long time ago and know how much care she put into each manju. I make Kurimanju once in a while but my manju does not have the right moisture and appearance her manju has. Feeling grateful to her for thinking about us who now live such a distance away, we will savor them "little by little" with good green tea. 

Comments

[judy]

Your friend is so talented and generous! The manju are beautiful and look as though they were baked by a professional. I'll bet they're heavenly with green tea; it's no wonder why the little one can't stop at just one.