Happy Heather Day

Several months ago, we began plans for Heather's bachelorette party. In little more than a month, she'll be on the beach in Hawaii, getting married in Hawaii!

Saturday, June 7
We worked with Dylan, the happy husband-to-be, in surprising Heather in Sannomiya. Sadly, Bren, Kel and I arrived late, but Lena surprised Heather enough on her own!

Since our girl aspires to be a patissier and loves all things baked, our first stop was at ABC Cooking School, where we would learn how to bake souffle cheesecakes! (Jamie, I got the idea from your blog, and everything was perfect. Thanks!) Lena and I booked the class awhile back, and we paid only 1000 yen each for a quick, fun lesson. Wearing our matching aprons, we worked around a large table, directed by a perky instructor. All the ingredients had been measured prior to our lesson; we merely had to blend them together. Around us, other women hovered over similar tables, though their studies focused on stews and meats. The bright, spacious room was filled with delicious smells.

Bren and Heather, mixing.

We blended egg whites and sugar into frothy peaks!

Lena is amazed that Bren can bake and look fabulous at the same time.

Heather, folding egg whites into the batter.

We used pastry bags to fill the baking cups. The cheesecakes cooked surrounded a water bath.

Heather's ready to put the tray in the oven.

We sat and chatted during the short time the cakes took to bake.

完成！ And so beautiful.

We ate the cheesecakes there, warm and melt-on-your-tongue-gooey soft. As the dessert was prepared souffle-style, it had a texture more like that of a pudding than of the usual rich cake I'm accustomed to.

Surrounded by the smells of cooking food, we left the cooking school hungry, and we quickly made our way to the M-int Building for lunch at a Spanish restaurant.

Sangrias for drinks.

I ordered the seafood lunch of roasted tai (red snapper) and grilled scallop served with summer vegetables. The tai, in particular, I loved, with its crispy, salty skin and moist flesh.

Dessert of cake with fruit and Earl Grey ice cream (a brilliant flavor idea).

Though she had work earlier that morning, Kel joined us for lunch, completing our group. Full with delicious eats, we worked off our meal with a round of shopping before returning to M-int for a movie. We watched The Illusionist, as Sex and the City tragically won't arrive in Japan until August. Ugh. I stuffed myself on popcorn.

In the evening, we caught the train to Lena's house in Akashi, where we were joined by the boys and ate home-cooked yakiniku and the remainder of our cheesecakes. We sipped champagne and swapped never-before-heard stories. It was wonderful having an entire day to spend with the girls. It was no wild-and-crazy bachelorette experience, but we hope Heather liked it!

We love you, Heather!