Category: Recipes

Uranus Planet Power, Make Up! (Sailor Moon Cake)

The 2014 Fandom Birthday Cake Season kicks off with a little something from Sailor Moon: This is the first of two requests I’ve gotten for Sailor Moon cakes this year, and because my friend is a member of the Haruka Tenou/Sailor Uranus Appreciation Club (as am I) I decided to do a cake version of her “lip…

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The Rosette of Versailles: Apple Custard Tart with Walnut Crust

I offered to bring tarts to a dear friend’s family Thanksgiving and found this recipe as I was considering my repertoire. Also, geeky-dessert talk: I’m a huge fan of Ikeda Riyoko’s The Rose of Versailles (Beru Bara) fan*, so how could I pass up the tarte bouquet de roses? This tart looks and tastes elegant: the freshness…

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Japan-Friendly Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas

Hosting two Thanksgivings in Japan taught me to love the holiday and its food again. My friends are amazing cooks, and the sheer sense of community, of getting together to remake a tradition in our own way really made the holiday feel special. Last year, I did a recipe-roundup of our meal. This year, I’d like to…

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Millet Muffins

Check out the rice section in your local supermarket in Japan for other grains, and you’re often find zakkoku (雑穀) / kokumotsu (穀物), mixed grains and beans, which often includes millet. Millet is called awa (粟) or kibi (キビ) and is often sold by itself as uruchikibi (うるちキビ ) or mochi kibi (モチキビ). This muffin recipe from…

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Fresh Mango Salsa

A nice bright salsa to end the summer (never mind it’s been over for a month). This recipe is very simple, and I love the way the flavors and textures work together. I like to serve this with homemade tortillas (or rice or quinoa), avocados, and roasted kabocha tossed with cumin and cayenne.

Raspberry-Almond Mini Baked Oatmeals

One of my go-to breakfast recipes is Heidi Swanson’s baked oatmeal (via Lottie & Doof). Extremely versatile, you can swap in any seasonal local fruit you like–in Japan, I often used persimmons, apples, or figs instead of bananas on the bottom; diced apples, raisins, or mikan mixed in when blueberries were out of season; and, best…

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Bamboo Coconut Curry with Kabocha, Lotus Root, and Soy Beans

I’ve noticed a lot of people find my blog by searching for bamboo shoot recipes. This year, I wanted to develop a new recipe to add to the list and to make something other than bamboo-rice with the shoot I bought. My temporary roommate mentioned that she had seen a bamboo and kabocha curry at…

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Kabocha Soba Oyaki

The more I learn about cooking and food culture, the more I’ve become fascinated with cultural concepts of portable foods. As I’ve written before, Japan’s main example is onigiri, rice balls, but in the Shinshû/Nagano region, it’s oyaki, the steamed buns often made with savory fillings and soba-flour dough. Combine oyaki with another one of my…

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