What: Mid-winter ryokan getaway tripWhere: Seiryuusou ryokan, Shimonita, Gunma Prefecture (about 3 hours from Shinjuku station)When: Saturday February 9 to Sunday February 10, 2008Why: Thaw out, eat, wash away the grub of TokyoThe food:In general, the food was unpretentious...
Frog is big in Shanghai. Frog dishes are on almost all menus. It's like the chicken of America. We ate bullfrog at Zhuwu Sichuan Restaurant.
For years, I longingly listened to my grandma's stories of her golden years in Shanghai. Her sudden move from rural Japan to French Concession Shanghai in the 1930's exposed her to opera, Gauguin and film noir. Before she met any friends or...
We're in Japan at the moment and there are luxurious, sparkling boxes of chocolates everywhere being sold for "White Day". Huh? Oh yah, that's right, it's the day, one month after Valentine's Day, when men give women chocolates. HUH??!?!? It's true. In Japan, it is...
Merry Christmas everyone! I just woke up from yet another nap. I am sorry I have been neglecting thee, but after a full recovery day from this crazy last month, I will be fully devoted to you again. I actually got a tree this...
Did you run out of gravy this year? Do you dream about swimming in vats of gravy? I've answered "yes" to both of these questions on many occasions. It was my first Thanksgiving this year, in my new home and I vowed that at MY...
Japan has a wonderful fall tradition known as otsukimi (お月見) or Moon Festival, which celebrates both the moon and promise of a good harvest for the year. Besides otsukimi, it's also called chushu no meigetu or jyugoya. The custom is believed to have originated in China. In...
During midsummer, tradition is to have unagi (freshwater eel) on specific days. The days are called doyou no ushinohi (土用の丑の日) to provide a nutritional treat, as well as to help survive the hot season. Unagi carries a lot of "stamina" nutrition, such as vitamins A and B-complex. The...
I went to France for the first time. As I packed for the trip, all I could think about was the scene from The Devil Wears Prada where Anne throws her cellphone into a fountain. Everyone looks so stylish in that scene, or in...
By Marta Bernal Valencia Last month, my English friend Elaine and I agreed to meet in Tarifa, a small town in Cadiz, Spain. It’s the southernmost point of continental Europe, very famous for its amazing beaches. If you are keen on wind and kitesurfing,...
Happy Passover, everyone! Matzo Brei is a traditional Jewish dish that is made during Passover, which runs through next Tuesday, April 2nd. The recipe calls for eggs and matzo cracker. It’s often sweetened with cinnamon and sugar, but I made a savory version with scallions....
Jonathan’s brother and his wife Arielle came to visit last weekend from New York. The weather was gorgeous so we did a little late afternoon baking on the deck with a glass of wine! Arielle is a fabulous...
Over the weekend, we celebrated a little Jewish holiday called Tu Bishvat. It’s often called the “new year of the trees” and is sort of like Jewish Earth Day. Traditionally people eat 15 kinds of fruits and nuts and drink...
I woke up on January 1, 2013 ready to shred on the tatami mats at my husband's parent's house in western Tokyo. After a great workout I took a walk and saw Mt. Fuji in clear view. It was a...
Spring has sprung in the woods! Passover is this week and to kick it off, we hosted a first-night Seder. We spent two days cooking all the traditional Jewish dishes: matzah ball soup, haroset (a paste of dried fruit and nuts), farfel (quiche-like squares), tzimmes (a...
I was fortunate enough to peek into the Peko Peko kitchen this last weekend, while they were preparing all 40 boxes of their highly coveted annual osechi bentos. What a crew! Sylvan had about five people working the kitchen -- peeling, dicing, de-shelling 40 Dungeness crabs......
In honor of this last day of Hanukkah, I made sufganiyot (jelly donuts). Believe it or not, this is a Hanukkah tradition, right along with latkes (potato pancakes). This was the first time I’d made them so I used Martha Stewart’s recipe....
By Kenji Miura I celebrated Christmas in Japan by making wagashi, or traditional Japanese sweets. Santa is shaped out of shiro-an (white bean paste). The holly is made out of ogura tsubu-an (red beans boiled with sugar, skin-on). The tree is comprised of shiro-an and...
Winter is coming. The leaves are long gone; stark bare branches and the increasing chill in the air are all that remain of autumn. The sun’s attempts to warm its subjects get undermined by the biting wind. Perfect time to duck into your...
Chanukkah, the eight-day Jewish holiday and festival of lights, started last night! We light a new candle on the menorah every evening after sundown. I will be making the traditional latkes (potato pancakes), like I do every year, and I plan to attempt making sufganiyot...
