Butter mochi, a staple at Japanese-Hawaiian potlucks, is said to be a combination of Japanese mochi and Filipino bibingka, a sweet coconut rice flour cake. This butter mochi has another layer of complexity- the addition of tahini, one of my favorite Middle-Eastern ingredients.
Read MoreShavuot (Feast of Weeks) is coming up, during which dairy is a symbolic ingredient. Japanese-style cheesecake, also known as baked cheesecake or cotton (for it's light and airy consistency) cheesecake can be incredibly labor-intensive and time-consuming to make. This recipe yields similar results, minus the many hours of prep!
Read MoreLooking back on my childhood in Southern California, it seems like my family went to potlucks almost every weekend with our Japanese-American family and friends from Hawaii. As much as I loved seeing my aunties and uncles (some biological, most not), the little foodie in me loved the food most. And there was always ramen cabbage salad.
Read MoreOn Saturday, March 10th, 2018, in front of my family and community, I became a bat mitzvah at 33. The service was held in the main sanctuary of oursynagogue, and I stood in the exact spot where my husband and I were married a year and a half before. The rabbi who married us and led me through my Jewish conversion sat in the front row, as I delivered my D’var Torah (word of Torah or sermon). Besides our wedding day, never have I felt so enveloped in love by my entire community.
Read MoreThese days, our lives are filled with so much extra... stuff. You know, the extra stuff filling our social media feeds and inboxes, the extra stuff in our food, the extra stuff taking up time in the day, stuff that eventually becomes waste. Reducing our household waste, especially plastic waste is something we've been passionate about for a while now. I thought I'd share the best tips I've discovered to save you some time, the one non-renewable resource!
Read MoreMore than I'd like to admit, there is a head of lettuce/kale/spinach/other leafy green that sits in the fridge staring at me all week. You know, the greens you were going to make a salad with or pan fry to go with your dinner to make it extra healthy?
Read MoreLast Friday, on the first night of Passover, 92 people packed into the historic dining room of the Hotel Majestic in San Francisco. Speakers and attendees from diverse backgrounds sat together to experience a very special Passover Seder (ritual meal)
Read MoreOne of the Ashkenazi Jewish foods I've always been curious about is gefilte fish. Mostly because so many of my Jewish friends vehemently dislike the canned or jarred version they grew up eating. It certainly didn't seem all that appetizing, especially for a young child!
Read MoreLast year, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Code Switch (a podcast about race and identity), when I heard an episode that triggered something powerful in me.
Read MoreAs a 21st century, modern, California born and raised, Japanese-American, Reform Jew, eating consciously is deeply rooted in my soul. There's a Japanese saying, "mottainai もったいない". It conveys a sense of regret over waste.
Read MoreI love this vibrant, Japanese take on a Middle-Eastern classic. While I'm not the first person to make edamame hummus, the addition of bright yuzu citrus and furikake (crunchy rice toppings), make this one unique.
Read MoreEvery year, about a month before Purim, I make three to four batches of hamantaschen. Then, I post a pretty photo on Instagram of the last batch.
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