September Edition

Issue #9

Tsukimi Moon Viewing

Hey bun buns! I hope you all had an amazing August and a great start to September so far!! We wanted to talk about something interesting today that happens during this month in Japan and it’s about the Autumn Moon Festival! Also known as Tsukimi, this moon festival is celebrated usually on the 15th night of the eight lunar month. People gather to admire the year’s brightest full moon, display plumes of silvery pampas grass (susuki), stack pyramids of round white rice dumplings (tsukimi dango), and eat seasonal foods topped with a raw egg to symbolise the moon. Fun fact, tsukimi means “looking at the moon”! In comparison to Japan’s cherry blossom season or hanami(flower glazing) that gives a more joyful and social vibe, tsukimi in autumn is reflective and serene. It feels like widning down after a long day of work or school~

Now let’s do a little deep dive of the history behind tsukimi. Legend has it that Tsukimi was inspired by the custom of jugoya moon-viewing in Tang Dynasty China (618–907), and was taken up by Japan’s aristocrats, who would gather to play music and compose poetry at lavish parties in the moonlight.

By the Edo period (1603–1867), moon-viewing had spread from the aristocracy to ordinary people, and it took on a second meaning: a festival of thanksgiving for the autumn harvest. And that’s what makes tsukimi what it is today! Unfortunately, it’s a more short lived celebration during the autumn, but if you manage to be in Japan around this time, we hope you enjoy it for what it is!

From: Ari

What’s Butter Baking? Butter’s Persimmon Cookies

Hello my bun buns! It’s your favorite bunny baker, Butter! I’ve been experimenting alot these days with baking and came across some dried persimmons at the grocery store. They looked like tomatoes, but they weren’t tomatoes?? Anyway, I took them home to try it and they were soooooo sweet and yummy! So I had the idea of making them into cookies! I created an orange glaze on it that goes perfectly well with them and they were PERFECT. I want to share this recipe with you buns if you can get your hands on some dried persimmons. For the cookies, the ingredients you’ll need is all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, unsalted butter(room temp), sugar, dried persimmon(which we’ll make into pulp), one egg, vanilla extract, and you can add chopped walnuts and/or raisins if you’d like.

For the glaze, you’ll need confectioners’ sugar, orange juice and orange zest. First step is to preheat the overn to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Then, in a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and spices just to incorporate the dry ingredients and set it aside. In a larger mixing bowl, cream the butter with sugar. You want to ebay in the persimmon purple with egg and vanilla right after.

Slowly add in the flour mixture until everything is combined. Then drop rounded spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking shits and bake for roughly 12-14 minutes. While we’re baking our cookies, let’s move onto the glaze. All we need to do is combine and whisk the confectioners’ sugar, orange juice, and orange zest until smooth. Allow the cookies to cool completely once out of the oven and then dip the cookie tops onto the glaze and set on a wire rack for the glaze to harden. And there you have it!

Super yummy and sweet persimmon cookies perfect for the fall! The orange glaze adds a nice tartness to the sweet cookie and I personally enjoy it with some nice hot black tea~ I hope you guys enjoy trying out this recipe!

Kumi’s Yokai Class: Kappa

Hello everybun. It’s your goddess Kumi here. I don’t know about you all, but I’ve been doing my best to stay hydrated and cool these past few months for I despise the heat. I expect you all have been doing the same. If not, that’s your choice to make and not my responsibility to tell you so. Anywho, for this month’s yokai class, I want to discuss the lore of the Kappa. What are Kappa you may ask? They are are aquatic, reptilian humanoids who inhabit the rivers and streams flowing over Japan.

Clumsy on land, they are at home in the water, and thrive during the warm months. You might think that these creatures are bigger than your average adult, but they are only the size and shape of a human child. However, they are much physically stronger than a grown man despite their smaller stature. Did you know that Kappa are actually more inclined to befriend other yokai and sometimes even humans? I actually met one while I was strolling along the river that flows through my property.

A kind fellow he was, but I knew he wanted to cause havoc by plucking off the petals of my hydrangeas so I had to give him a bit of a scolding until he promised not do cross me or my garden ever again. That’s my little segment on our Kappa friend. I hope you feel enlightened by my teachings of the Yokai.

Tomaki’s Mixology Class: Spiced Apple Cider

It’s your fav bunboy back at it again with another mixology class! I hope everyone’s had a good September so far~ Autumn is approaching, which means out with the heat and in with the cold! And what better drink is ever so fitting for the fall hmmmmm…How about a spiced apple cider? That’s ALWAYS a fan favorite. The recipe I have for you buns at home involves whole cloves, all spice, cinnamon, and orange. I also used a coffee maker to brew everything together just to make things easier. On top of the few ingredients I mentioned earlier, we’re also going to need brown sugar and apple cider (of course, otherwise it wouldn’t be a spiced apple cider!).

First step is to place a filter in the basket of an automatic coffee maker and ass brown sugar, a cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice, and salt into the basket and top with orange wedges and pour the apple cider into the water resevoir (if you don’t have a coffee maker, you can just simmer everything into a pot and it works the same) Let everything come to boil and drain the liquid to separate any chunks from the orange peels. If using a saucepan, let it simmer over medium heat for 15-20 minutes!. And honestly you’re all set!

I like to add some whipped cream and a bit of cinnamon powder at the top for extra sweetness for my own cup of spiced apple cider. I honestly feel like I’m having a liquid version of apple pie, which sounds weird, but trust me when I say it. It’s super easy to make especially in batches and you can make this for your family and friends~ I wanted to keep the recipe simple for this month to fit the theme into going into the cozier months coming along~

Fall Down the Rabbit Hole with Pongo

Hello fellow buns. Pongo here. On my rabbit hole segment, I wanted to talk about the moon. Why the moon? Because the moon is such a phenomenal thing that most of us can only see from afar, but will rarely ever get the chance to see in person. Did you know that the most widely accepted theory on how the moon was formed is called the giant impact theory? It was theorized that a Mars sized planet actually collided with early Earth, which formed a cloud of debris that eventually coalesced into the moon. Evidence of this impact can be found in the moon samples taken during the Apollo missions, which show that the moon’s composition has similarities to and differences from Earth’s geological composition. I’m pretty sure this fact is also something well known, but the phases of the moon are actually dependent on it’s position in relation to the Earth and sun.

For instance, if Earth is directly between the sun and the moon, the side of the moon facing Earth is fully illuminated and we see a full moon. But if the moon is between Earth and the sun, the illuminated side faces away from us and it is a new moon, meaning we don’t see the moon at all.

One last fact(mainly because I know i’m going to yap about moon facts for too long), the moon controls the the tides of the ocean on Earth due to it’s gravitational pull. It causes two bulges in Earth’s oceans that represent high tides: one in the part of the ocean on the side closest to the moon, and one on the opposite side.

The area of high tide opposite the moon is caused by the moon pulling the planet and not the ocean toward it. Between these two bulges of high tide are areas of low tide. It’s so interesting to realize how much an impact the moon has on us on Earth. We don’t think about it all the time, but it’s such a beautiful thing to think about. Anyway, that’s enough moon facts from me, but I hope I was able to educate you buns about it. Til next time~

Purin’s Game Review ~ ReStory: Chill Electronics Repair

Hello everybun. I’m back with another game recommendation here for you, but this time it’s more catered for you comfy gamers out there(this is Purin by the way if you haven’t noticed) The game I have for you this month is called ReStory: Chill Electronics Repair. It’s set in the mid-2000s in Tokyo and you run a small business that deals with customers coming to you to repair their old electronics that either have been collecting dust for years or breaking it literally the day after they bought.

Either way, it’s your job to keep these customers satisfied with your skills to repair what means so much to them. It kind of goes in depth with how you repair these electronics. Certain repairs require you to find used parts online and replace them with the broken pieces you come across along with just overall cleaning them.

Not only is it just you repairing electronics, but you can also engage with customers and hear their stories and make connections along the way. I’m usually the type to enjoy very heavy games, but this is a nice pause from all the chaos. It allows me to turn my brain off for a bit and I highly recommend this game for you cozy gamers out there.

Monthly Faves!

Butter’s Phone Gimbal

This is just a thought, but Butter has been thinking about making little baking videos to keep as memento(or maybe even upload them to share her amazing recipes). In order for her to start this little journey of hers, she’s been using a phone gimbal which doubles as a tripod and a little selfie stick if she needs to move around with her phone! It keeps everything stabilized even with the littlest bumps and movements, but it’s been helping her a lot lately and makes her feel like a vlogger~

Kumi’s Bath Bombs

We all know our favorite Yokai enjoys her beauty treatments and anything skin care related. Lately, she’s been very obsessed with starting nice hot baths and tossing in a nice floral scented bathbomb in there at least once every week to destress before the start of a new week~ The skin benefits of bathbombs leave her fur all nice and soft AND she gets to use it as an excuse to make herself a little at home spa.

Pongo’s Planner

As organized Pongo MAY seem on the outside, things can get a little jumbled in that little head of his. Especially since he’s picked up all these crafting hobbies, he needs a way to separate and manage his time for projects he’s been working on. With that being said, he got himself a planner where he can jot down any new ideas he thinks of while also keeping track of what he’s finished and currently any projects he’s still working on. Even if his craft room can get a little messy, at elast he can keep his projects and thoughts in order with his new planner.

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