Feb 28
2022

*I teamed up with On The Umami to bring you this post and recipe for Tomato Shio Ramen.

The past few months have been, well, insane.  Between the normal life stuff like being mom and trying to keep up with laundry, I was finishing up my first semester of teaching at Utah Valley University, recovering from gall bladder surgery and the accompanying allergic reaction to antibiotics, then following that up with the knee surgery that my gall bladder postponed, starting a new job at the university as the deputy director of a center, and then topping it all off with website and email problems. A perfect storm of normal, awful, weird, and awesome!  I wasn’t sure this post was going to happen, but good food prevails.  Bring on the ramen!

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Jul 7
2021

*I teamed up with doTERRA to bring you this post.

Lavender Scones with butter and raspberry jam

I’m a huge scone fan, but all too often scones are dense and dry.  I like my scones to be rich, and a tiny bit flaky, like a good biscuit–not cakey.  These lavender biscuits fit the bill and make a delicious addition to a picnic or an afternoon tea party.  I love the flavor of lavender, but if you use dried lavender flowers, it’s all too easy to get an unpleasant soapy flavor.  My favorite way to get the flavor I love, without the soapy addition, is to use doTERRA Lavender Essential Oil.  A little bit goes a long way!  For this recipe, I use one single drop!  Not only is lavender delicious, but it has a wonderful soothing effect when ingested.  I’ll take all the soothing I can get! [Read More…]

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Lemon Basil White Bean Dip

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*I teamed up with doTERRA to bring you this post. It’s spring!!!!!  Who else loves spring?  I love the sounds of birds, the appearance of blossoms and bright green leaves on previously bare branches, and the return of warmer temperatures.  All of these things have me wanting to be outside more and signal the return of picnic […]

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Kinoko Nabe—Japanese Mushroom Hot Pot

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  Spring is here, but it’s still chilly in northern Utah, which means I’m still in the mood for more wintery comfort foods.  One of my favorite genres of food is nabemono/nabe–Japanese hot pot dishes.  I recently whipped up one of my favorites–kinoko nabe, or mushroom hot pot–and thought I would share it with you.

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Rosemary Lemonade–Hello (almost) Spring!

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*I teamed up with doTERRA to bring you this post. I know we technically have 9 more days until Spring officially makes her debut, but we have recently had some warm days here in northern Utah that have me thinking that Spring is trying to pull a fast one on Mother Nature.  It has me a springy […]

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Fudgy Spiced Brownies

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*I teamed up with doTERRA to bring you this post. Valentine’s Day is almost here and I’ve got a brownie recipe that is perfect to help you celebrate.  “A brownie recipe?” you might say.  “Aren’t there already 30 bazillion brownie recipes out there?  Why do we need another one?”  Well, you don’t have this one!  Several things make […]

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Explore Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, with Kokoro Care Packages

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Post brought to you in partnership with Kokoro Care Packages. I have a special place in my heart for Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan (the prefecture located just south of Tokyo), so when Kokoro Care Packages reached out to me to see if I would be interested in partnering with them to highlight their November 2020 […]

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Japanese Dry Curry (ドライカレー)

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As part of my new podcast, The Onigiri Chronicles, with my friend Noriko, she has been sharing pictures of the lunches that she helps to prepare at the elementary school she works at in Funabashi, Japan.  They are so inspiring.  Though I should warn you, they will make you very jealous because they are so amazing.  The […]

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Umeboshi Gohan (梅干しご飯) — Pickled Plum Rice

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In episode 4 of our new podcast, The Onigiri Chronicles, my best friend Noriko and I discussed all things ume–the sour Japanese fruit that they use in Japan to turn into all sorts of wonderful things, like ume syrup and my favorite, umeboshi (pickled plums).  We talked about making umeboshi gohan (梅干しご飯), or pickled plum […]

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Curry Ramen

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Curry ramen is one of the many types of ramen that you can find in Japan.  It is the fusion of two wonderful worlds–Japanese curry and Japanese ramen.  Since I shared my method for making curry roux blocks with you earlier this month, I thought I would share another way to use the blocks, other […]

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