Now that I am in Japan....

One of the things that makes me realise that I am no longer in Kansas...I mean Canberra is the gradual change of season into Autumn. The time of leaves and apparently viewing them as well. But more importantly the time of Autumn themed KitKats. We have the Caramel Pudding Flavour, the Chestnut Flavour and ordinary ones. I like the ordinary and chestnut ones best. The caramel ones are just too sweet!! I still wish that there were strawberry ones which are by far my favourite but perhaps I have to wait until spring for those. As even chocolate in Japan follows the dictates of the season.

For those of you who don't already know I am living in a small apartment with disappointingly limited cooking facilities. This is a picture taken a few days after arriving and I have improved things since then. The disgusting second fridge down the bottom has been removed to the balcony and I have utilised the space to store pots and pans. I have also added a trim to hide the rust. You can buy all sorts of stick on laminate stuff from the 100yen stores and this has been very useful. I have also bought a most glorious and wonderful portable gas stove. So now I can cook rice and what I intend to eat with it at the same time!! Future plans include a microwave purchase.
To christen my new gas stove I made a Japanese gratin, I suppose its really just a glorified pasta bake. It has chicken, spinach and mushrooms in it as well as spaghetti pasta. I cheated and used a Japanese packet mix although reading the instructions can be a bit hit and miss so I think I achieved something regardless. Next time I will make the white sauce from scratch. I melted the cheese on top using the common toaster oven which is like a portable grill. They are in most houses in Japan. This attempt has proven to me that I can use my tiny kitchen to achieve delicious food. Now all I have to do is decide what to make next.