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Japanify

Japanify: Steak Sauce

Whenever I go see my 92 year-old grandma and have a conversation over tea, she drops all kinds of wisdom bombs on me. And she does it so casually, I never really notice the impact her words have on me until I...

MOTOism

MOTOism: Farewell to Summer: Corn 2 Ways

Summer is over, but I like the beginning of the autumn. I can finally wear layers, and the chill in the morning and evening is comforting. And knitting season starts just about now! Although the food supply has lost seasonality in many ways and we...

The PDT Project

The PDT Project: Bee's Knees

About a century ago, to call something "the bee's knees" meant you considered it to be of top notch quality. It's an apt name for this week's cocktail, a simple combination of gin, honey, and lemon juice that proves sophistication...

Japanify

Japanify: Pork + Myoga Madness

Myoga madness continues as I experiment with the harvest from my sister's myoga plant. Last week, I topped raw myoga on tofu. This week, I make a stir fry with myoga and slices of pork shoulder. I am very inexperienced with...

The PDT Project

The PDT Project: Beer Cassis

A simple blend of Byrrh (a fortified aromatized wine similar to a sweet vermouth with quinine), Crème de Cassis (a black currant liqueur), and soda water, the Byrrh Cassis was among a number of light aperitif style cocktails that...

Japanify

Japanify: Hiyayakko with Myoga

My sister has a giant myoga plant that is thriving in a shady spot by her chicken coup coop. Powerful myoga buds started busting through the styrofoam container walls a few weeks ago. The plant was inherited from someone who could...

The PDT Project

The PDT Project: Beachbum

Although summer doesn't technically end until the autumn equinox on September 21, New Yorkers generally regard Labor Day as the unofficial end of summer. This week's cocktail, the Beachbum, is thus quite appropriate because I can't think of a better way...

MOTOism

MOTOism: Gari (Pickled Ginger)

At Japanese restaurants, sushi is usually served alongside with gari (pickled ginger). Why? It's a nice way to cleanse your palate so that you can enjoy each piece of fish, without mixing the flavors in your mouth. These pickled gingers are widely...

The PDT Project

The PDT Project: Aviation

The Aviation is one of the last great cocktails created before Prohibition, having been invented just a few years before the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. It made its first appearance in print in 1916 in Recipes for Mixed Drinks by...

Japanify

Japanify: Warm Shiitake and Corn Salad

After a whole summer of non-stop sunshine, fruit smoothies and ice-cold Franzia boxed wine (that was actually only for a day, sadly...), I'm really looking forward to the comforting food of autumn. I am not complaining though. I am a huge fan...