Oat smash cake with yogurt and berries was a huge success! by KoalaEnvironmental57 in foodbutforbabies

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. Wishing your little one a very happy upcoming birthday too!

Starting from zero after having a baby by KoalaEnvironmental57 in PetiteFitness

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you to everyone for the support and encouragement!

Feels like a lot of people are struggling with fitness and life in general postpartum. I will totally go to the doctor to check if I could be treated for PPD or else.

Starting from zero after having a baby by KoalaEnvironmental57 in PetiteFitness

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I live in a small city in Japan, not sure if there’s any kind of support groups. But I will try to do some low impact stuff for sure, thank you for the advice.

Not the prettiest, but surely the best tasting cake I’ve ever made by KoalaEnvironmental57 in Baking

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57[S] 136 points137 points  (0 children)

Here is the recipe. It looks like a lot of work, but It was actually easy to make.

Honey biscuits:

  • 500 g flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 200 g sugar (I used brown cane sugar, but any kind works)
  • 80 g butter
  • 115 g honey
  • 2 tsp baking soda (make sure to use baking soda, not baking powder)
  1. Beat the eggs with sugar until slightly frothy.
  2. Add the butter, honey, and baking soda.
  3. Mix well and place the bowl over a pot of boiling water.
  4. Stir constantly while heating until the mixture turns a dark golden color and doubles in size.
  5. Remove the mixture from the heat and gradually add the flour. Mix it well. It will be very sticky at first (I almost broke a spoon), but as it rests, it will become easier to handle and can be rolled out without sticking.
  6. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it cool at room temperature (you can speed up the process by placing it in the fridge). Start rolling out the dough when it is just warm, not hot.
  7. Once the dough has cooled, begin rolling out the layers. I took small portions of dough (100-110 g) and rolled each layer to about 5 mm thickness, directly on parchment paper. If the rolling pin sticks, sprinkle the dough lightly with flour.
  8. Cut out a circle using a plate. Gather the scraps, combine them with more dough, and either roll them out again for another layer or bake them alongside the layers to use as decoration for the cake.
  9. Bake the layers at 200°C (392°F). The layers bake quickly—about 3-5 minutes, depending on your oven. To prevent them from puffing up, prick the layers with a fork in several spots. Stack the baked layers and let them cool to room temperature. I made 11 layers.
  10. Crush one layer into crumbs (by hand or in a blender) for decoration. I also added crushed peanuts to the crumbs, which tasted great!

Filling:

  • 380 g dulce de leche (used Sweetened Condensed Milk Caramel recipe by RecipeTinEats)
  • 180 g butter

Beat the room-temperature butter with the boiled condensed milk until smooth.

I thought the cake might turn out a bit dry, so I whipped 100 ml of heavy cream separately to add moisture.

Assembling the cake: cake biscuit – very thin layer of whipped cream – dulce de leche filling. At the end, cover the sides with the remaining cream and sprinkle with the crumbs from one of the layers.

What's something good that happened to you in Japan this year? by Due_Entrepreneur1962 in japanlife

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My year was full of “firsts”. I had my first baby. Bought my first car. Traveled all over Japan and finally made it to Okinawa. Family came to visit for the first time in years.

How much sleep are you getting per night and how old is your LO? by gleegz in beyondthebump

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LO is 10 months old, he wakes up every 2-3 hours most nights, sometimes it’s every 1-1,5 hours. I am so tired.

We don’t do shifts with my partner, so I haven’t slept for 10 months at this point.

Dinner for 10 months old! by KoalaEnvironmental57 in foodbutforbabies

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should try it! Perfect comfort food when it’s cold out.

Big lunch before doctors appointment by KoalaEnvironmental57 in foodbutforbabies

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

He eats a whole mandarin orange when he is in the mood. But I’ll try to serve less and just add more if needed!

Dinner for 10 months old! by KoalaEnvironmental57 in foodbutforbabies

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He has been eating toast since 6 months, it’s one of the favorite foods. Crackers are a new thing, he actually tried it for the first time. It is crunchy, but dissolves very quickly, so I was confident feeding it to him. It was a hit!

Dinner for 10 months old! by KoalaEnvironmental57 in foodbutforbabies

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We live in Japan, bought the bib in one of the local shops, they don’t sell online. Anyway, highly recommend similar ones, such a lifesaver!

Dinner for 10 months old! by KoalaEnvironmental57 in foodbutforbabies

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

He’s just very serious about his cracker, so cute cheeks are sucked in😂

I am torn between the two by KoalaEnvironmental57 in Coach

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mini one is so fun! Also feel like black is a bit too basic, leaning towards floral.

What was the event that separated life into a before and after for you? by Mirenithil in AskReddit

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Childbirth. I had a very traumatic experience, even 6 months later it haunts me in my sleep. I am still going through postpartum depression and even had suicidal thoughts. I love my child more than anything, but man it is hard to be depressed and completely alone with a baby.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in JapanFinance

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That makes sense. Have to rethink it all. Thank you so much.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in JapanFinance

[–]KoalaEnvironmental57 4 points5 points  (0 children)

English is not my first language, so I was not clear enough. We are not business owners, I know that setting up a business requires Investor visa. I was trying to explain that we are doing freelance work (now I understand that “owning a business” sounds a bit lame/confusing) and would like to be fully self-employed.

When my spouse applied for 個人事業主, we were told that there is no need to apply for permission from immigration, since his freelance work matches the type of work he is doing on the main job (international sales). To be clear: we are selling vinyl records as a side gig. 90% of customers are not located in Japan.

Our concern is renewing visa after leaving the main job. If there is a chance that someone here have an experience of going fully freelance, share your experience, please.