Blog

If there's one thing 6 days in paradise (Kauai) reminded me about life, it's that cooking rice on the stove top (and not in a rice cooker) is so easy! I used to do it all the time when I worked as a server at...

I’ve been thinking a lot about food and nostalgia. I always think about food, but lately I’ve been interested in the way people discuss and remember food -- things we eat, things we used to eat, and the memories associated with various kinds of food....

My parents hosted a shinnenkai (New Year's party) last night and it was a fantastic feast! As usual, Hideko and Kuni battled it out in the kitchen for cooking space, laughing and making fun of each other along the way. Who will make the best dish of...

Let's be real: when my brother Keisuke said he would join us for our First Annual Kauai Trip, I hoped (really hard) that he would cook for us. Ah hell, we all did. Have you seen Casa de Kei? His midnight creations are totally...

It took us five days to finally get to our first shaved ice experience. Not because we didn't try! Everyday would begin with wishful exclamations like, "Let's get shaved ice today!" But the stars never aligned -- the lady in town closed...

Aloha from Kauai! Yoko, Washi, Johnny, Keisuke, Jay, Rie and I have been lucky enough to spend five nights in Hanalei Bay -- a picturesque town on the North Shore, surrounded by staggering mountain ranges and captivating turquoise waves. It's truly paradise...

After a seriously insane final few weeks of 2013, I'm SO ready to dive into the new year. Literally. Yoko and I, our partners, along with Atelier Dion, and my brother, are off to Hawaii for five days of sun, sleep and...

When Old Man Winter's icy digit stops mercury from rising, I am reminded of a traveler I met in Argentina, a Canadian middle-school teacher who once ran sled dogs. It was so cold in Saskatchewan that when he and the dogs returned to their cabin...

2013 whizzed past us didn't it?!?! As I look back on the year, I recall a rager, a long day of blood/sweat/tears, a triumphant expansion, then, another expansion. Cause hey, why the hell not? It's all a bit...

INGREDIENTS 1 kampachi kama (or any other desired fish collar like yellowtail, red snapper, or salmon) make sure to clean it thoroughly for scales and grit, it is not pleasant to eat 1 bunch komatsuna (or spinich) 5 small matsutake mushrooms (or any other mushroom...

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...

Once you are through slurping down mugs of Tom & Jerry bowls and hot buttered rum then please consider a few winter cocktails with a smoky twist, mezcal. The two drinks we feature in Happy Hour this month are nothing alike but...

Apologies for my long absence, my life has been a bit chaotic. As you know, I teach cooking classes to Japanese ladies (some gents), and temaki sushi-making class for Americans. The sushi class is pretty consistent since I follow the same routine for each session,...

The renowned Forest Feast blog is about to become a book! Erin Gleeson, my good friend and long-time Umami Mart contributor, launched The Forest Feast after moving back to California from NYC a few years ago. Living deep in the woods in the Bay Area,...

Two gay men got married in the early 00's (yes, that's right USA, listen and learn from the Danes), spent eight years together, got divorced, and became good friends again after some time. Straight people could also earn learn a thing or two from the...

My husband, Chris, has an unusual vice: buying refrigerators. “You’re so patient with me,” he says as he slices open another big box. The zip-zip-BRAP sound of cardboard flaps separating is one I've come to associate with the rearrangement of our living quarters. Perhaps it...

Hello dear Umami Mart readers and loyal devotees! Holiday season is among us and I hope you are all geared up for a month of lame office parties, drawn-out family dinners and awful white elephant gift exchanges. Nah, it's not that bad, right? If there's...

Sometimes when I eat out I’ll come across a dish so awful, I occasionally fantasise about bringing the bowl to the kitchen, pouring the contents into the sink and then storming out of the shop, leaving glitter and rainbow dust in my midst....

INGREDIENTS Serves 2 1 small chicken breast, cut into small cubes 10 green beans, diced small 1/4 medium yellow onion, diced small 1/2 cup kimchi, diced medium 4 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced 1 fresno chili or jalapeño, diced extra small 3 eggs, whisked...

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...