Really cooking to keep sane

At previous points in my life, when I would get upset I would mope or sleep it off--or even, more dangerously, have a glass of wine or eight. I have been consciously trying to replace some of my negative ways of dealing with stress of depression with more positive behaviors. Now, when I'm feeling down and can't quite focus on my work, I'm trying to cook or clean, or workout. Hence the blog name. So far, I think things are going fairly well.
I may have mentioned this has been a bit of a bummer week. Tuesday was a really bad day, and I feel like I'm just starting to shake it off. So this afternoon, in preparation for an event we have at school tomorrow, I indulged in a bit of cooking therapy.
First, I decided I'm going to get serious about adding kanten to my diet. It's so yummy and so good for you. So today, I made some more Japanese kanten "zeri," or gelatin. I made coffee flavor, which I put into little glass juice cups. I thought it would be cute, and we can pour cream on top to eat it. I also made matcha flavor, and then I experimented by making a lavendar flavor jelly.


The coffee.
The matcha.

The lavendar flavor. I think it looks rather like a jellyfish. It's got great colors though.I also tried pomengranate 7-Up today. In Japan, even snack food changes flavor according to the season. 7-Up has produced a limited edition, pomengranate flavor while the fruit is in season this fall. I'd like to support that kind of seasonal stuff, so I bought some. It's yummy. Here it is in a classy wine glass with some pomengranate seeds thrown in.
Finally, for the workshop at school tomorrow, I did a little baking. I made some brownies that I didn't photograph, but I also made a blueberry and lavendar pie. Yeah, for some reason I was in to lavendar today. I haven't tried the pie yet so I don't know how it will be. I'm a bit worried about the blueberries, but they look nice here.
I also made two more fruit and custard pies. This one is apple, and it's for the workshop. I changed the recipe a bit today, so the outside got all toasty brown, and it tastes like a cooked marshmellow. The custard on the inside is even more delicious now.
I also made a pear pie again, this time with canned pears. It also turned out well.

And the inside of the pie. It's such a hit with my husband, as perhaps you can tell.
And just for the record: the best jelly in the world, that I've ever eaten, was at my friend's house in Japan this summer. It was truly jelly to die for. Unbelievably delicious.
You can tell how much I love it; here is a screen capture of my desktop.