There's just something about growing your own food. In this Brave New World of global import/export where you can basically die from eating the wrong vegetable (big cucumber scandal in Germany with lots of casualties), is a home grown meal the...
A few months ago Umamimart readers and fans helped us accomplish our fundraising goal and we set forth to make a pilot for our movie-inspired cooking show. Kitchen Revival,...
My sister is married to a wonderful man, whose mother also happens to be an exceptional cook. As a Malaysian diplomat's wife, the prime minister preferred her cooking to going out to...
Can you believe it?!?!? Governor Cuomo and a bunch of super wealthy Republican bankers really said YES to gay marriage in the state of New York. When it was announced that, "Same sex marriage bill has passed", I was overcome with amazement, joy, "it's about...
Photo by Erin Gleeson.
I’m really glad we made it to Florence before the Jersey Invasion dropped a gang of guidettes into the birthplace of Michelangelo. Although I’m sure they feel quite at home amongst the various Guess stores and Footlockers, I was disappointed that there is no legitimate...
Frying has always been something I was afraid of. I remember my grandma frying whole fish in a huge wok of oil. It took brawn and a fearless attitude toward unpredictable flying specks of oil traveling at high speeds. I will never be half as...
Hello, I'm Washi. Nice to meet you! I moved to the U.S. in January 2010 from Tokyo. Sorry ladies, I'm married. Anyway, I have been drinking soooo much shochu for years, and I just wanna say, SHOCHU IS FANTASTIC! Huh? What...
After having spent my later teen years plowing through the novels of Douglas Coupland, Bret Easton Ellis and other post modern cynics, I can't help but see myself in so many typical Generation X situations. Meaning that you suddenly find yourself in a condition...
People often ask me, "Why did you leave NYC?" It's true, I just sorta packed my bags and ditched my glamorous job, my wonderful friends, my comfortable routine, and the GREATEST! CITY! IN! THE! WORLD! (at least the greatest metro system in the world). All...
Fishcakes, such as the Homo Sausage, chikuwa and kamaboko, are some of my favorite foods. It usually weirds people out in the States because of its "processed" figure; but I really enjoy its chewy, rubbery texture, and its flavor of the sea. I've always...
On my recent trip to Holland, we visited the adorable little town of Edam, and I got to try some genuine Edam cheese. This salad was covered with aged Edam cheese, pecans and roasted cherry tomatoes. Photo by Erin Gleeson.
With the in-laws away in Paris, my sister-in-law, grandma, house chef Gracinha, and dog-in-law Pri (short for Princess or Priscilla, still not sure) have come to stay with us. The opportunity was ripe to finally ask Gracinha to show me her feijoada-lite...
Microwave cooking is big in Japan. Just like buying panties from vending machines. People do it all the time and there is no need to be ashamed when doing it. One of the most genius ideas I acquired while living...
In the past week there's been a lot of buzz in cocktail circles regarding the outcome of a legal dispute between Pusser's rum and Painkiller, a tiki bar in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It's a story that's led to a...
Mash-ups has been en vogue for over seven years now. Every time Britney or Gaga release a new smash hit it's instantly mashed up with an old Kylie Minogue or Human League hit. Sometimes, it's because mixing and mashing creates an entirely...
One of the best things about living in a multicultural and cosmopolitan city like London is that if you fancy something to eat, you can be sure to find it (...except for proper ramen, that is). Compared to twenty years ago...
After seeing so many people starting a second career by opening gluten-free bakeries around the U.S., I thought, "Martha, you totally missed your chance to capitalize on my MO-dessert line!" Unfortunately, whenever I read recipes for gluten-free items online, it's always so complicated....
I was recently in Holland for a week, and my good friend and travel buddy, Josh, became OBSESSED with stroopwafels, a Dutch delicacy. A stroopwafel is like a big wafer cookie sandwich that's a bit chewy and filled with a sweet syrupy...
There’s nothing more gag-inducing to me than Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun, yet there is nothing that made me feel more like Diane Lane than actually being "under the Tuscan sun". Ok, I admit. I did fantasize about buying...
