For the very first Nourish Co. interview of the year, I am honored to share Jessica’s story with you. In it, she talks about the “beauty and challenge of celebrating our ancient heritages, while simultaneously embracing our modern, multicultural identities.” She shares what marrying into a Chinese family has taught her, her mother-in-law’s famous fish dumpling soup for Chinese New Year, her thoughts on interfaith and interracial marriage, and so much more…
Read MoreWhen we host Shabbat dinner, we always have leftover challah. Since I don’t like sweets in the morning, I created this everything bagel savory challah strata with lox for Shabbat mornings instead. Besides being able to assemble this the night before, the best thing about this recipe is that you can customize it to any amount of challah you have left!
Read MoreOne of the dishes that is a constant on my Japanese New Year table is ちらし鮨, chirashi sushi, or scattered sushi. This beautiful, colorful dish is made of sushi rice with celebratory toppings sprinkled on top. Not just for the New Year’s table, scattered sushi is served on happy, celebratory occasions. My Northern California version incorporates local dungeness crab, which is in season right now.
Read MoreTo symbolize the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days instead of one, Hanukkah foods are fried in oil. Fried foods can often taste really heavy, so I like to swap out all purpose flour with mochi flour (Japanese glutenous rice flour)…
Read MoreFrom my conversion to our Japanese and Jewish wedding to my bat mitzvah at 33, I’ve been fortunate to have celebrated many happy lifecycle events in a few short years. While my life has only seemed to get fuller and go by faster in the last couple of years, I’ve found that there are fewer lifecycle events and therefore seemingly fewer rituals to write about here post-wedding…
Read MoreThis is a photo of my place of worship. The thought of a gunman opening fire on us while we are at our most vulnerable, in prayer, terrifies me and breaks my heart into a million pieces to even fathom. Here 11 suggestions of actions to take in the coming weeks, so we can hold each other up during this frightening time in our history.
Read MoreWhen I was growing up as a Japanese-American-Californian, matcha was not as popular as it is today. But when I stopped drinking coffee a few years ago, a matcha craze was beginning to brew. I rediscovered matcha (like many of you) in the form of matcha lattes…
Read MoreTo start the Sukkot meal, I’m making a comforting bowl of chicken kreplach (dumpling) soup. I’ve read that kreplach is a symbolic new year food in some Jewish communities, because the filling is sealed in the noodle like judgement is sealed in the Book of Life on Yom Kippur. But my first thought as a Japanese American Jew was: “It sounds like gyoza soup!”
Read MoreThe most famous dish of all on Rosh Hashanah is perhaps the simplest; apples dipped in honey, an edible prayer for a sweet year. Here's my updated take on a classic apple and honey cake for dessert: Light and airy Japanese sponge cake with whipped cream, spiced apples and honey rolled in. The end result is an unexpected take on a classic with a beautiful presentation and just a touch of sweetness to last all year.
Read MoreA new take on the classic brisket for the High Holidays: Fall-apart-tender brisket braised in tonkatsu, a mouthwatering Japanese barbecue sauce. Perfect for the modern Rosh Hashanah table!
Read MoreWhen InterfaithFamily reached out to me about writing a post for Tu B’Av, I have to admit, I had to do some research: Tu B’Av is not widely celebrated in my Reform Jewish community in San Francisco.
Read MoreWhen I was growing up, I looked forward to a festival at my Japanese school and local Japanese American Buddhist Church, called Obon. Very simply put, Obon is like the Japanese version of Dia de los Muertos. It’s a time when we celebrate and honor the spirit of our ancestors through dance.
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