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Seriously, how could you NOT want to read more about a post entitled “Smelt Fish with Many Eggs”? It’s the perfect “come back” post after a long absence don’t you think? :) [Ok, yes, I am indeed being a little sarcastic.] I considered, the post title “Pregnant Smelt” since that’s almost the literal Japanese to [...]
Not sure about everyone else, but I like to keep snacks handy: in my purse, in the car, and of course in my office (when I worked that is). The easiest and best snacks for me were always store-bought granola bars, protein or energy bars, or my own concoction of trail mix. My obsession for [...]
Many who have never babied and cared for a pet, might not understand those of us who hold our puppies so dear to our heart and love them as members of our own family. Exactly two months ago, on February 22, 2013 I lost my dear sweet Casie. She was my first baby, even before [...]
I’m not sure how many months have gone by since I posted anything on my blog. Ok, maybe it’s only been a few weeks and/or approaching one month since my absence, but it certainly seems longer. Honestly, I’m not even sure how I used to post at least three new posts per week. I look [...]
I’ve been thinking about green pancakes ever since a friend of mine posted a picture of the green pancakes that they served at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica (website here). I knew both Bebe and Big Onechan (big sis) would get a kick out of seeing mini green pancakes for breakfast [...]
One day, when I’m much older and the kids are all grown up, I’ll look back at this time and remember how much I enjoyed making a big deal of holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day. I always try to find a few arts and crafts for Bebe to celebrate with, but for a family [...]
Sometimes, I try something that is not original, yet somewhat new to my breakfast repertoire, and all of a sudden I’m obsessed with it. This tends to happen often, case in point my green smoothie obsession which has lately subsided, but I still get cravings for, if I go longer than four days without one. [...]
It seems that on a sunny, crisp day like today, I might feel better off spending some time outdoors, but yesterday’s three-mile walk has once again left my knee in a slightly uncomfortable state, and I’m slightly more comfortable relaxing quietly indoors. Fortunately, my laptop is now fully functional and I’m happy to report that Mac [...]
Perhaps you’ve noticed, perhaps you haven’t, but it’s been a challenge for me to get anything posted on my blog these days. Blame it on technology, too many things to do and not enough time, priorities, sleep deprivation, or sheer laziness. Whatever the case might be, tonight I’m motivated to share this soup recipe because [...]
You can’t have a blog post without photos. But I finally realized this morning that I can continue to blog, despite the fact that my iPhoto application on my laptop has been completely out-of-commission for about a week now. I can’t upload any photos from my camera to my laptop, and I can’t access any [...]
Every once in a while, a decadent, rich, chocolaty treat is perfect for celebrating a birthday or a special occasion such as Valentine’s Day. Fortunately for our family, every year we celebrate two such special occasions during the week of Valentine’s Day. I had almost forgotten about this simple chocolaty cake that my friend’s mom [...]
Comfort. That’s probably one of the first things that come to mind when I think of my childhood besties. When we get together, I am comforted and happy. They are my family. Our get togethers are at least 30 strong (and still growing I’m happy to report), with 10 girlfriends, their mates and a minimum [...]
At the beginning of this month we took a field trip to Pasadena so that we could see the 2013 Rose Parade floats up close and personal. I practically grew up with the Tournament of Roses Parade given my grandparents lived in South Pasadena just walking distance from the parade route and my uncle [...]
A few months ago I was inspired to expand my culinary horizons by exploring the world of raw foods. While I am no where close to becoming a vegetarian, I decided that I could certainly benefit by incorporating more raw vegetables and fruit into my diet. You might recall my post about green smoothies and [...]
One of the EASIEST soups to make, EVER, is French onion soup. I’ve been making this soup for years, and it’s always been a favorite, but I admit that until recently I’ve always skipped the all important “baking-of-the-soup-in-the-oven-to-melt-a-thick-layer-of-cheesy-goodness-atop-a-crusty-slice-of-bread” step. It always turned out great, however, even without that las
Today’s indulgent Japanese afternoon snack was ohagi. Over the weekend, we spent some time at my parents home and my beautiful Mom made ohagi. If you’re not familiar with ohagi, it is glutinous sweet rice that is steamed in a rice cooker and then slightly pounded, or in this case it was gently mixed and [...]
It’s been SO cold here in Southern California and honestly, I haven’t wanted to leave the house much. Perhaps a daytime high temperature of 55 F degrees is “mild” by Midwest and East Coast standards, but for us Los Angeleno natives, that’s downright close to freezing. Call me a baby for whining about our “cold” [...]
Inconceivable! There are donuts in my home. I never eat donuts (it’s been 4 years), yet, I had an odd craving for them about a week ago, but of course I didn’t succumb. Not then at least. But today is different. Today, perhaps because I have nothing better to do than buy gift bonds (the [...]
Kabocha, or Japanese winter squash (also referred to as pumpkin), is a vegetable that I never really appreciated. It was only in my young adulthood that I grew to love very thinly sliced pieces of kabocha fried with a light tempura batter. (Photo Credit: Hideki Ueha) Although I have vivid childhood memories of my Mom [...]
Although almost two weeks have passed since we feasted on both traditional Japanese Osechi Ryori (New Year’s food) and non-traditional Japanese cuisine favorites, I’m still basking in the memories of delicious food and great times spent with family and great friends. (Photo Credit: Hideki Ueha) My New Year’s posts are always a favorite of mine as I [...]
Happy New Year! It’s 2013! The Year of The Snake. What new year’s resolutions have you made for 2013? Me? As usual, nothing new or specific. Long ago I stopped making resolutions such as, “eat healthier, don’t eat chips and chocolate, exercise, diet, on and on”. In general, I try to focus on being positive, [...]
Although I don’t make multi-batches of seven different types of cookies anymore as holiday gifts, one new tradition that I enjoy is baking cookies for Santa with Bebe E. That is, just one type of cookie for Santa. :) Last year, we tried a sugar cookie recipe which I will share another day, but it [...]
Once again, despite all my early preparations, Christmas seems to have just crept up behind us as I take care of last minute details, and it’s now less than a day away. The excitement in our household is high, yet Bebe E is sad that her Elf will return to the North Pole on Christmas [...]
It’s been quite some time since I enjoyed the simplicity of a red and white candy cane. Minty, yet sweet and oh so refreshing. I used to enjoy candy canes quite a bit in my childhood but I think the red and white peppermint flavored candy canes were always favored over the fruity, colorful candy [...]
I’m so glad that the sun has finally come out this afternoon. All this rain since Friday has really left me feeling down and blue especially after Friday’s tragedy in Connecticut. It was as if the Gods were crying with us all. It was raining again this morning and it was cold. I had to keep [...]
As the Christmas holiday approaches, one of the many things I planned was to share a few holiday favorites over the coming days. I hope I can stay focused enough to post all that I’d like to share amidst my being sick, and now my little one sick too. The first dish is a simple, [...]
Like many, last week I was happily enjoying my time getting ready for the holidays until late Friday evening, December 14, 2012, when my husband asked if I had heard of the horrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. I spent the majority of that day feeling under the weather and disconnected from the world. I heard [...]
Admittedly, I’ve always been a shopper. From a child being dragged to the mall by my Mom, to a youthful teen shopping (or gossiping) with girlfriends, from window-shopping and meeting best friends for lunch at a favorite cafe – again in the mall, I am not ashamed to admit that I enjoy spending time at [...]
Our tree has been up for almost two weeks now, our wreath is hanging on the door, the stockings are hanging in front of the fireplace, and thanks to a wonderful suggestion from a friend from nursery school, the Elf is on it’s way to check on Bebe E daily, and report back to Santa [...]
The holiday season is fully upon us! Last weekend we celebrated with our very first holiday party of the season. It was quite the celebration! We enjoyed a lovely rendition of The Nutcracker performed by 30 children aged 3 to 5. It was Bebe E’s debut on stage and she performed beautifully. Bebe E was [...]
As Chick Hearn would say, “This game’s in the refrigerator! The door’s closed, the lights are out, the eggs are cooling, the butter’s getting hard, and the Jell-O is jiggling….” I’m not exactly referring to Saturday night’s Lakers game where we beat Dallas (YAY – although I don’t want to talk about Tuesday night’s 2-point [...]
Happy Thanksgiving! Today I’m sharing several of my family’s favorite dishes for Thanksgiving. I haven’t had a chance to post all of our dishes yet, but I’m slowly getting there year after year. I often serve soup for the first course, but family members sometimes complain that eating soup makes them full, leaving less room [...]
I love this time of the year. It’s hard to believe that we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving this Thursday. Where does the time go, and so quickly at that! Over the weekend we celebrated a few birthdays that take place in the Fall and I thought our cake was so funny, I was compelled to share [...]
I’m not sure about everyone else, but I definitely feel like the holidays are upon us. Yet, at the same time, I can’t believe it’s already that time of the year. This week flew by so fast, and was filled with so many things, I feel like I didn’t get to half the things I [...]
The winner of the Green Smoothie giveaway is Kristin! Congratulations and thanks for participating! I hope you’ll enjoy the hot/cold Zojirushi thermos as much as I do! … And maybe you’ll try a green smoothie?!? :) Follow the link for green smoothie recipe ideas! I will private message the winner with further details. [...]
Over the weekend, my family and I went apple picking at Riley’s Los Rios Rancho in Yucaipa, CA. This year, I decided I wanted to celebrate my birthday differently than years past. When I was little, my parents used to take us cherry picking and I can’t recall if we went apple picking too, [...]
Happy Halloween!!! I love Halloween. It’s one of my most favorite holidays. Not only is the giving of candy and treats fun, so is making fun party food that both kids and adults can enjoy. Thanks to my husband for suggesting little orange pumpkin rice krispie treats for a kids’ Halloween Party potluck this [...]
After a busy weekend which left me with little time to post this giveaway on Saturday as I originally promised, finally, I am able to share with you information about my very first gift for my visitors to help celebrate my new blog home! Almost two months ago, I started making and drinking green smoothies [...]
Have I ever shared with you that I’m relatively new to my neighborhood? I’ve probably mentioned in the past that I’m a Los Angeleno native, born and raised. Athough I’m still within driving distance from my hometown, I still feel like a Los Angeleno at heart, living in, what I used to call in my youth, [...]
Osekihan is a celebratory Japanese glutinous rice dish that is often served on special occasions such as the birth of a child, a birthday, an engagement, wedding, special holidays etc. In my Mom’s generation, osekihan was also served to commemorate a young girl coming of age. (Photo Credit: Hideki Ueha) Osekihan is a simple rice [...]
Have I ever shared with you that my best friend, the one I always refer to as my BFF on my blog, has been my friend since I was five years old? It was one of those acts of fate where we were destined to grow-up together, go to different colleges, go to different graduate [...]
As the title of this post implies, I made fried food! It was somewhat impulsive. I was cleaning out our freezer and I came across a pack of Nanka Seimen egg roll wrappers that I purchased quite a long time ago. To be honest, I’m not even sure when I bought these, but after defrosting [...]
Just when the rain started to fall, the weather turned cooler and I felt as though it might finally be time to get the flannel sheets out, we are suddenly facing hot Fall weather in the upper 80′s this week. I love Southern California! (Photo Credit: Hideki Ueha) Fortunately, grilling is practically a year-round activity [...]
Since every blogger has an occasional “Silent Saturday”, “Silent Sunday” or “Wordless Wednesday”, I thought I’d join the bandwagon and post a few pictures from a trip to our local Farmer’s Market. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how to be “silent” or “wordless”, but I’m trying. Lazy weekends usually involve a brief tri
I am really enjoying my daughter’s nursery school experience, and honestly I’m not sure who is having a better time: Bebe E or Mama. I was so worried about Bebe E having separation anxiety as she used to cry when I would leave her with my parents, a family friend, or even my husband, [...]
One of the things I love about motherhood is discovering that my daughter finds joy in the same foods I enjoyed as a child. I almost forgot about these colorful tiny little pieces of pillow-soft mochi, otherwise known as chi chi dango or coconut mochi. (Photo Credit: Hideki Ueha) (Photo Credit: Hideki Ueha) I can’t remember [...]
Let’s just call this week, “Kale Week” at our home. Did you catch Monday’s soup post with ground chicken, kale and brown rice? Kale’s been a regular in our fridge, along with spinach, romaine lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes, but I’ve been using it more in what I will call, “noticeable dishes”, such as the [...]
