Pumpkin-Ricotta + Caramelized Onion Bruschetta
We’re on day 5 of being home from Japan, and all the warnings are read to “prepare yourself for coming home - the depression will hit” are proving to be true. I think I am truly mourning the end to our trip. So spoiler - they were right. The biggest factor for feeling so humdrum is when Jordan and I go on vacation, I really just love vacation us. We live our lives in a way that is just not comparable to what happens at home (which I guess you should on vacation, right?). It’s day-after-day of adventure and firsts and date-nights and being lost in a new city together. There really is just nothing like it, and for how seriously nervous we were leading up this trip, we thrived! I think both of us had an expectation that we’d be tossed into the most foreign place we’d ever been, and be in a constant state of confused/lost/overwhelmed, and every time we sat down to “prep” it was just overwhelming. Though we were definitely out of our element, it was all exciting from the jump + never anxiety inducing. As much as it was different than life in the US, the changes were so good and we found ourselves knowing enough to seamlessly get through each day. Most importantly, we were prepared enough to have so much fun on the journey.
We did this thing on our trip (that I loved) where we just used our notes app to recap each day. Working together to jot down all the memorable moments - big + small. From the things we saw to things we ate to funny moments we don’t want to forget (like day 1 in Harajuku + the goofy Japanese man that wanted to shake Jordan’s hand, and then GRABBED HIS BEARD!). The seemingly mundane stuff, like having breakfast at our hotel, felt memorable when breakfast was on the 47th floor with an awesome view and we were having things like rice porridge for breakfast. It’s wild to just look back at all of it, and read through the catalogue things and experiences on a day by day breakdown over the course of 2 weeks. Reading our notes from the first couple of days and then seeing the photos, I was struck with this sense of “oh - I forgot we did that.” Like part 1 of the trip felt like a lifetime ago when we got to the last 2-3 days.
I did take some time just this afternoon to flip through some photos, and I feel like scrolling through my Japan album will be a regular part of my doom scrolling through the end of the year. The pictures are just iconic and each one feels like it’s packed with so many memories that I want to hold onto for a long time. Point being there were so many highs. However, the two things that I just can go on and on about are the deer park & the fish markets.
First - this deer park. As a PNW-er who literally stops whatever I’m doing anytime a deer so much a walks past my front yard + reaches level 10 excitement when a baby deer enters the mix - this place is heaven. The deer park (Nara) is the most unbelievable place that offers the most unbelievable deer experience I could even imagine. Deer just everywhere. They’re lining the freaking streets as you walk into the park, and once you get into the actual park, it’s game on. From little families with the sweetest, smallest babies to the big guys - they’re literally everywhere. Our first deer sighting happened immediately after getting off of the train and the little guy was trying to break into the 7-Eleven (if that tells you anything about HOW MANY deer there are). Now the big draw - feeding the deer. If you’ve seen the videos on Instagram, you know it looks either real dreamy or absolutely terrifying. They have vendors selling packs of cookies, and so many videos on Instagram are of deers chasing down people for their cookies and even going as far as to de-robe some ladies. We’re talking skirts pulled down + boobies out. I wanted nothing to do with any of that, and I came across one girls “tip” that if you can resist the urge to try and feed the deer in the main park, and instead get yourself the 1.5 miles to the top of Mount Wakakusa, you have the opportunity to have a much more peaceful experience. That’s exactly what we did. I snuck the deer cookies right into my fanny pack + made my way up that mountain to a gorgeous grassy meadow + I was in an environment that was so beautiful and surrounded by the sweetest deer that I couldn’t wait to have. a moment with. The setting, the views, the experience - it was a all a dream. The cutest thing ever - they bow when they want a cookie. Me and one deer got into a full bow off, and despite me looking like utter dog shit in the video, it is one of my favorite keepsakes of the trip.
We did also find ourselves in a little bit of hot water - the deer were not happy when the crackers ran out. I totally avoided getting “attacked” in any way, but my anxiety levels started to rise when they would not stop following us. Literally followed us to the moment we reached the stairs to make the decent back down the trail. To make it even better, when we got far enough away they started SCREAMING. We could not stop laughing and Jordan managed to capture a bit of it on video. To be very clear, we were very liberal with the cookies! Gave away all of the ones we had, and gave them out in full cookie quantites. Nobody got jipped! But man - they were not happy when they were gone. Still very cute, but the sweet deer were clearly very disappointed.
The other highlight - the fish markets. I’ll say it - the most fun I had in Japan was at these fish markets. First the fish. I mean hello melt-in-your-mouth tuna. I could not get enough of the stuff. Just fresh and tender and beyond delicious. We were living for the tuna samplers anytime we could our hands on them. Then the tempura - tempura of all varieties just fried up and served piping hot. Then the the treats - specifically the daifuku. I will miss those sweet + chew mochi treats more than I know how to express. And lastly, the vendors selling all the fun snacks. So reminiscent of being at a farmers markets and there’s always the person selling hummus that are just slanging samples to anyone that will stop. This is like that, accept the snacks are Japanese and fun. I was buying so many little snacks, and always in a quantity of 2 (one for me and one to give away), and it never failed that my little bag was stuffed to the brim by the end of my time at the fish market. The winning fish market souvenirs - the wasabi coated peanuts + the black sesame peanuts. Holy hell they were so good!
It was all so special and all so epic, and also very clutch to get back on Friday. In this case, the Friday before Halloween. Giving us one last go at being spooky before we packed up all the Halloween decor + trade it out for Christmas. For me, it was the perfect excuse to make something with pumpkin, and I decided to try this Pumpkin-Ricotta + Caramelized Onion Bruschetta. My favorite elevated bruschetta hack - take a pizza recipe that looks fun to you and turn it into a bruschetta. It’s what I nicknamed my “cheater pizzas” and I feel like taking this approach gives my appetizer board a little pizazz in the bruschetta department, and it’s just a fun way to try something new + not fully commit to pizza. A pumpkin forward, very Fall bruschetta that was refreshing because if there was one thing we didn’t have a lot of in Japan, it was pumpkin. Perfectly simple + still so tasty. It would be such a good app to reach for a little Fall happy hour or even a Friendsgiving. Saved the last of my yatsuhashi to enjoy on Halloween night, and managed to save the black sesame sweet + my match strawberries for a little Halloween night dessert, and it was all perfect.
For the pumpkin ricotta
1/2 c. ricotta
2 tbsp garlic, minced
3 tbsp pumpkin puree
3 tbsp parmesan
salt + pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
For the bruschetta
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, halved + thinly sliced
1/3 c. apple cider
salt + pepper
12-15 sage leaves
1 c. shredded mozz
Sourdough slices or a baguette
Start by making the pumpkin ricotta. Add all of the ingredients for the ricotta to a bowl + mix it together. Cover + set in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the bruschetta.
Move to making the caramelized onions. Add the butter to a skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted + a little bubbly, add in the onions. Cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring regularly. Season the onions with salt + pepper and deglaze the pan with apple cider. When the cider has cooked off, reduce the heat to low + continue to cook for 20 minutes. The onions should be tender + have a rich caramel color.
Preheat the oven to 350 + line a baking sheet with parchment. Place the bread on the parchment. Sprinkle a thin layer of the mozz evenly over the bread. Top with the onions. Dollop with the pumpkin-ricotta mixture. Place the bruschettas in the oven + bake for 15 minutes.
Wipe the skillet used to cook the onions clean, and place the skillet back over medium heat. Add in 1 tbsp of butter. Once melted, add in the sage leaves + cook for 3 to 5 minutes. The sage leaves should be brown + crispy - careful not burn them.
When the bruschetta is done cooking + the cheese is browned, take the toasts out of the oven and top them with the crispy sage. Slice the toasts into individual portions, plate them up, and enjoy.
