Matcha & Raspberry Flower Honey Madeleine - Online Bake Sale for Japan

On a Thursday, I went to bed around 10:30pm. I set my new favorite app on my iPhone called Sleep Cycle (which keeps track of my sleeping cycle and wakes me up when I’m on the lightest phase of sleep) and since I didn’t want to irradiate my brain while sleeping, I turned off the phone signal and Wi-Fi.

Around 6 am on Friday the 11th, I was pleasantly awakened by the blessing sound of Erik Satie. (This is so much better than the sound of an angry rooster.) As soon as I turned on my phone signal & Wi-Fi, I was bombarded with emails and facebook messages. While I was only 30% awake at that time, I immediately sensed that it was something very serious. I read a couple of emails quickly and turned on the radio right away.

I wasn’t sure if I was still in a bad dream. And I wish I was …

I wanted to call my family but it was already close to midnight in Japan. I went through my emails again and found one from my mom. “There was a huge earthquake today and it shook from northeast down to Osaka. Only the TV fell at your sister’s apartment …” Judging from her email and listening to the news, it sounded like they were fine. Several hours later, I called my family and confirmed that they were all okay, though I had trouble getting through my sister’s phone, due to jammed up phone lines in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

I’m completely heartbroken. I can’t imagine losing the entire family and being homeless at the same time. And the disaster is not even over yet until they figure out a way to contain the nuclear reactors. I just keep praying for things to ONLY get better from here on out.

I’ve already donated to Japanese Red Cross, which I think is the best and the most trustable path to get your money to the people who need help. But just a few days ago, I learned about the online bake sale that Sabrina from The Tomato Tart is having for the Japan earthquake/tsunami relief, which takes place on March 30th. So far, over 60 food bloggers from six different countries have signed up for this fund-raising. I was deeply touched by so many people who are willing to help out Japan. And I would be ashamed if I didn’t participate.

It’ll be an auction style and all proceeds will go to Second Harvest Japan. I’ll be selling these Matcha & Raspberry Flower Honey Madeleines. I test-baked them today and they were one of the best madeleines I’ve ever made. I followed the recipe from my favorite Japanese dessert cookbook, but it could also be the ingredients I used. The Raspberry Flower Honey is made locally where I live and it is so flavorful, florally fragrant and I could just eat a teaspoon of it like candy. If you want to give it a try and help us out raising money for Japan, please stay tuned and check out the bake sale on the 30th.

Some people may think that Japan is a rich country, but with over a million of refugees, they are already running out of food, water, and medicine. It’s going to take years for them to recover and rebuild everything. But apparently donations to Japan are lagging far behind Haiti and Katrina at this time. I know that it’s a tough time for everyone, but it means more to give money when you don’t have a lot. If you’ve already donated, your kindness is greatly appreciated. You are the best!