mochitastic

so despite the plethora of valentine's day surprises i had planned for the hub, i really didn't do much in the way of elaborate heart-shaped breakfast/lunch/dinner items or anything like that.  i thought about it all morning as i dragged the bean around to run a bazillion errands all around town, and decided that maybe it was finally time to try my hand at some homemade mochi.

random, i know.  but i've had a box of mochiko (sweet rice flour) sitting in the pantry for god knows how long, and i'd been promising the teen that i'd make a batch for ages.  and when one of my facebook friends posted a link to a super easy-looking recipe that she'd found, i knew it was finally time.  actually, i'd added the recipe to my pinterest board, so this technically counts for nanette's pinteractive link-up, but that's okay.  i'm sure i'll be making something else that i can add to next week's linky party.

instead of cutting the finished product into simple cubes, i busted out a set of fun food cutters that my friend lilcee had given me months ago.  voila - instant valentine's day snack!

the ingredients (or, at least, the main ones):

and just as i thought, it was ridiculously easy to make.  like, so simple i was totally kicking myself for not attempting it sooner.  you just mix everything together (add some sugar, water, and a bit of red food coloring), grease up a pan, pour it in, and cover it with a piece of equally greased-up foil.  bake for an hour and cool for another hour, and that's it!

i put some of that potato starch into a shaker to make things easier for myself.

the edges of my mochi were ever-so-slightly overdone, so i just avoided them as i cut little hearts out.

i dropped the cutouts into more potato starch, and the teen took charge of pulling them out and dusting off the excess.

this stuff is delightfully chewy and just sweet enough for snacking.  it reminded the teen of that rice candy with the edible wrapper that you get at asian markets, and i had to agree - same flavor.

yummy.  as soon as this batch is gone (which may not take very long at all), i totally want to try experimenting with fun stuff, like fillings of peanut butter or chocolate.

yay!