La Fuji Mama — Bringing world flavors to the family dinner table.

Open Sesame! Black Sesame Shortbread

I love sesame seeds. The first time we lived in Japan I was introduced to black sesame seeds, and they quickly became a favorite. In Japan, sesame seeds are found in many salads and baked snacks. Sesame paste is also used in a variety of dishes. Many soft cream stands even offer black sesame as […]

Mt. Takao: Idyllic Tranquility

Yesterday we fled to the outskirts of Tokyo to escape a rainy dreary day to an area in Tokyo called Hachiōji. Why Hachiōji? Hachiōji is the home of Mt. Takao, a 1,965 foot tall outdoor oasis overlooking the crowded chaos of the city. We had a lovely drive there, arriving late morning. We took a […]

Jelly Yarns

I recently won a giveaway on Vickie Howell’s blog–a jelly purse kit from Jelly Yarns. I received the crocheted small market bag kit, and quickly got to work on it. It worked up very quickly, and was an easy project. I was very curious to see what working with material like this would be like. […]

L’Opéra!

No, I didn't go to the opera this week. Instead, I attempted to bring the opera to me, but not in musical form. I made an Opéra cake (or little mini cakes to be exact), a cake made up (usually) of five components: a joconde (a cake layer), a syrup (to wet the joconde), a […]

Yuzu Euphoria

I have been a passive Sugar High Friday watcher up until now. Then this month, when the brilliant Helen of Tartelette, one of my all-time favorite food bloggers, announced that she would be hosting this month’s edition and that the theme was citrus, I knew that it was time to get into the kitchen and […]

Paper or plastic?

Going to the supermarket in Japan requires a different routine than I would normally use in the US. When in the US, I would drive to the supermarket about once a week, taking advantage of the large free parking lot, loading up on all of our necessities, and then driving back home. I would do […]

Koji no go aisatsu.

Koji no go aisatsu: Construction Announcement meiwaku, n.: annoyance; nuisance; trouble. When used in in a certain form it functions as an apology for being a nuisance. This morning I received a construction announcement accompanied by gifts. A woman who lives in one of the apartments on the floor below ours came to tell me […]

Cheater, Cheater, Whoopie Pie Eater!

I needed a batch of goodies for a group of teenagers this weekend, but I was low on time. What to do? As I was pondering this problem I decided to make whoopie pies. I pulled out an idea that had been sitting unused in my head for a while, and voila! Out came my […]

What’s a blogging girl to do?

The past 2 days have been absolutely gorgeous. This is in sharp contrast to the days preceding them that were cold and rainy. So what’s a blogging girl to do when the sun finally comes out and the rain boots come off? Meet other blogging girls of course! I had never met anyone from the […]

Hand-me-down Heritage

My mom tried to teach me to crochet as a little girl. I learned the chain stitch and then quickly got frustrated and unteachable. About 2 1/2 years ago I decided that it was time to sit down and learn. I went out and bought a book, some hooks, and yarn and went home and […]

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