Edible Shoe Polish
Ok, so no “Big Russian” yet, but I forgot that I had already purchased a culinary curiousity earlier this week. It is pictured above, and let me tell you, it looks worse in real life. It has a flat black matte finish, and the texture is uncannily similar to engine grease. (As is the appearance, come to think of it.) So what is it? In the U.S.A. we have followed the example of George Washington Carver, the brilliant man whose mind first grasped the enormous potential of the peanut in the foodstuffs (and non-foodstuffs) industry.***
So what is this stuff in the picture? This is a Japanese spread made from black sesame seeds. I supposed we could refer to it as “Black Sesame Butter.” The taste is really pretty good, but the texture and visuals leave something to be desired. I picked it up in my local grocery store for almost 1.5 times the price of “Peanut Soft,” which is a peanut spread, but most certainly NOT peanut butter.
Given the fact that it is pasty, almost gunky, and ridiculously thick, I think of it as being more closely akin to shoe polish than to peanut butter. Lucky for me I have other things to put on my toast, besides BSB. My other favorites include butter and marmalade. Speaking of marmalade, as I told my friends via videochat yesterday, I found a jar of marmalade nearly twice the size for almost half the price. Um…why? The store has them both sitting in the same section. I hadn’t bothered price checking it before because I thought that more marmalade than I want. Then again, if it is such a deal, why not buy it? I don’t get it. They do this in vending machines, too. There will be a 500 mL Coke and a 250 mL Coke and they will both cost ¥120. Why? Is it because nearly everything in a vending machine costs ¥120? Or is it because quantity is too cumbersome at times, so the luxury of buying a smaller item is enough to bump its price up to match its big brother? I don’t know. But I do know that I enjoy marmalade. At least, more than BSB. Mmmmmmmm. Good stuff.
Might as well tell you about my adventures with breakfast / snack beverages this weekend as well. We have no Starbucksian coffee places on my island. Actually, let me rephrase that. We have no coffee places PERIOD on my island. Ha ha. I found these little mini cups in the store that I like. They come with tiny stirring sticks, and 3 tubes per cup - one each for instant coffee granules, nondairy creamer, and sugar. I like the laziness that this affords me. I can basically just heat some water and pour, and I have a cup of coffee. It isn’t particularly fantastic, but hey, it wakes me up. One thing that I discovered is that hot cocoa powder makes a wonderful substitute creamer. (I don’t mind black coffee, either, though. I amn’t picky when it comes to coffee.) Therefore, my fall back when I run out of preportioned mini cups is some Nescafe instant coffee and some Morinaga Milk Cocoa powder. These are my dear friends. They have made this weekend lovely. The weather has been nasty, so it’s a nice change. The new kerosene fan heater that I bought also helps quite a bit. Anyhoo, that is about it for now.
Ha ha ha - I said “amn’t,” and that isn’t a word.
***In America, anyway. Asian and African countries have peanut based sauces and whatnot going back many centuries. Anyway, George Washington Carver and George A. Bayle, Jr. are both considered to be fathers of the peanut industries in America.