How to Source (Uncredited) Images, Part 1: Image Sharing Etiquette

I discovered I have a new super power: sourcing an uncredited (food) image in under 10 minutes. Boring, you say? Given the number of unsourced images–particularly food and comics– on tumblr, Facebook, and Pinterest combined with the seeming inability of users to 1. check for a source before sharing/reblogging and 2. not share uncredited images…

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Kitchen Library 2013.12.13

Working on a big recipe write-up of my new party trick while preparing for holiday travel and a new computer (transfer ALL the files?) has me busy, so in the meantime, here’s what I’ve been reading.

Brogurt, “Check-Out Shame,” and Other Tales of Pointlessly Gendered Food

Today’s adventure in  Pointlessly Gendered Products  and the People Who Sell Them is brought to you by the Wall Street Journal via Anne Marie Chaker’s piece “Groceries Become a Guy Thing: As Men Shop More, Packaging Aims to Win Them Over; ‘Inner Abs’ Appeal” (16 Oct. 2013). Can cookies, whole-grain bread and frozen yogurt be manly? Food…

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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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Halloween 2013: Lupicia Tea

Lupicia is one of the Japanese companies that has really embraced Halloween marketing and does it incredibly well.

Spooky Drinking: Pumpkin Beers 2013

I went to QFC tonight to pick up some pumpkin beer, and there was only one kind on the shelf. One. Normally I”m not overly concerned with Christmas decorations coming out before Halloween, but how am I supposed to celebrate the spooky season with no pumpkin beer? EDIT: I raided the local QFC a week…

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Mister Donuts Halloween Donuts 2013

Last year’s Halloween-themed pumpkin-flavored Mister Donuts doughnuts were delicious. This year, they’ve added a ghost and Hello Kitty shapes, and it appears that the batter is normal but the icing is kabocha-chocolate flavored.

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.

Halloween Kit Kats 2013: Where’s the Pumpkin?

In a country full of pumpkin-spice everything, I found special Halloween Kit Kats in Seattle, and they were somehow not pumpkin flavored. The American Halloween Kit Kats this year are orange-colored white chocolate abominations, as they apparently are every year.