Tips & Tricks

The Cutting Edge: How to Choose a Knife

*News: The past week has been a busy one for this little blog! Last week I was interviewed on Tasty Kitchen. If you’d like to hear about some of the strange things I’ve eaten, or read the story about one of my kitchen disasters, go read the interview. Yesterday CNN’s Eatocracy featured La Fuji Mama. […]

Sushi-Su (Seasoned Vinegar for Sushi Rice) 1 cup rice vinegar 3 tablespoons sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 piece kombu, 2-inches square (optional) Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, and kombu in a small saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring until the sugar and salt dissolve. When the mixture is clear, remove […]

This past weekend is without question going to rank as one of the highlights of my year. It was the result of months of hard work and planning. It was the weekend where Helene (Tartelette) finally came to Southern California to give a group of lucky people a crash course in macaron making, food styling, […]

I love leftovers. Does that sound strange? Well maybe it is, but I have my reasons! To start with, some of my favorite dishes can be made with leftovers: fried rice, turkey sandwiches, kalua pig tacos, etc. Plus, I love the creative challenge of coming up with fun ways to use up the last bits […]

Thumbnail image for Simple Sandwich Bread

“You can do it” Sandwich Bread Adapted from Michael Ruhlman’s Everyday Sandwich Bread Recipe Makes 1 loaf of bread 20 ounces all-purpose flour 12 ounces water 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon active dry yeast 1. Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer. Using the dough hook, mix the ingredients on […]

“Rational habits permit of discarding nothing left over, and the use to which leftovers (and their economic allies, the wild things of nature) are put is often at the heart of a cooking's character.” – Richard Olney (1835-1917) If you make slow cooker kalua pig, you are bound to have some leftovers, unless you are […]

Chef Hiro Sone’s Niku-Jaga

Memory is a powerful tool, especially when it comes to food. I recently got a cookbook called Cooking from the Heart, a book put together by the organization Share Our Strength. The book features recipes from one hundred of the country's well-known chefs. The book is wonderful. Usually I love cookbooks with lots of pictures–I […]

Tips for getting small kiddos involved in the kitchen.

Today I’m over on the Curious Chef website sharing my tips for getting small kiddos involved in the kitchen, and sharing a recipe for my favorite pizza dough! ================ Reminders: * Voting for the Foodbuzz Blog Awards closes at the end of the day today (the 29th)! If you haven’t voted, please do! LFM is […]

Quick and Easy One Hour Tofu

Quick and Easy One Hour Tofu -4 cups soy milk -Coagulant–choose one of the following: 1) 1 tsp. liquid nigari or 2) 1 1/4 tsp. granular or powdered nigari or 3) 1 tsp. Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) or 4) 2 Tbsp. lemon juice (freshly squeezed) or 5) 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar 1. Measure coagulant […]

Blossoming Garnishes—How to carve a carrot ume blossom.

One of the things that I find captivating about Japanese cuisine is the presentation. It is beautiful. I read somewhere that Japanese cuisine takes advantage of the four distinct seasons and that garnishes are often created to give a sense of the season that the dish is representing. Although it is Fall now, I recently […]

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