Beni-imo Bread

I started the morning with birding, new scope as well as big camera, binoculars, and point-and-shoot. I must look like some strange technology-themed Christmas tree with these adornments. Photography is popular in Japan, especially of birds and nature, so I don't get too many stares. Usually, I am greeted with a smile and a question: "Bado wachin?!" 

I always respond with a smile and, "Hai!"

If I am already set up and have the scope on a bird, I'll invite passers by to take a look. Building bridges!

On this day, I tried to work on my photography skills. Ryan got me an amazing lens some time ago, but I've been wary to do anything outside of autofocus, making my camera the most expensive point-and-shoot for miles. The wonderful thing about digital is that you've got plenty of room for mistakes, so you should make them! It is high time I get over myself and try some of these settings. 

When I arrived home around mid-morning, I found Ryan had done a bit of experimenting on his own. We have access to wonderful potatoes in Okinawa: beni-imo. That's beh-KNEE-moh. They are sweet and PURPLE. Lots of purple. Makes for a lot of fun on your plate to see a pile of neat slices of roasted purple sweet potatoes. Ryan applied beni-imo to the recipe for potato bread and came up with this bit of genius:

There is nothing better than fresh bread, although few loaves are this fun!