Happy Valentine’s Day, Herbivores

Happy Valentine’s Day, readers! My gift to you is an analysis of the Hotel New Hankyu’s Valentine’s Day roll cakes for, I kid you not, herbivore- and carnivore types. I first saw this image on a friend’s facebook page, and tracked it down this article on the Japanese MSN Lifestyle page. In the course of…

“Deeply Ingrained Advantages”: American Media Discovers Kyûshoku

Can Japan solve America’s food identity crisis? Japan’s relatively low rates of obesity have caught the eye of the American news media, particularly in light of our own new government controls on junk food and measures intended to prevent childhood obesity. In January, The Washington Post ran the article “On Japan’s school lunch menu: A…

Noppo-kun (Veg* Out in Kanazawa Series)

Noppo-kun (のっぽくん) Location: Nonoichi (near Kanazawa) Type: Café, Lunch Veg status: all vegetarian; vegan friendly Language: Japanese (but most of the dishes are on display on the counter)

Avocado Almond Cookies

Downtown Kanazawa is experiencing its seemingly annual winter butter shortage. The grocery stores I frequent have signs that read “one package per customer” and explain that the shortage is due to conditions in Tohoku, where much of the nation’s dairy is produced. My friends in other cities report that they’re having no issues finding or…

Kabocha Hummus

On the themes of both autumn and non-chickpea hummus-adjacent spreads, I present kabocha hummus, one of the many fine uses for kabocha purée. As I stated in my baba ghanoush recipe, chickpeas/garbanzo beans (Japanese: hiyokomame, ひよこ豆) are relatively expensive in Japan, so I’ve been trying to less expensive chickpea alternatives. If chickpeas are cheap where…

Halloween Taste-Testing: Pumpkin Pudding Kit Kats

Last year, Kit Kat introduced special pumpkin cheesecake flavor for Halloween. Although I liked it quite a bit, I was a little confused as to why the package described pumpkin cheesecake as a “traditional Halloween food.” This year, Kit Kat opted for a new limited-time Halloween flavor, Pumpkin Pudding (パンプキンプリン). Let’s compare: 2011:   2012:

Kitchen Library – 9.6.2012

A bit of press to start off this reader: a review of this blog from Tony at What Can I Do with a B.A. in Japanese Studies! Welcome, new readers, and よろしくお願いいたします!

Overnight Cold-Brewed Coffee

Now that we’ve got our summer breakfast situation sorted with overnight oats, let’s move on to that other temperature-challenged staple of breakfast: coffee. I know that hot drinks can help you cool down, but when the mere thought of pouring boiling water from my electric kettle to my French press makes me break out in…

Appreciation: The Liebster

The purpose of a blog roll is to let your followers know which blogs you think are awesome, but reviewing blogs is also a great way to help blogs you love find fans. I’ve never participated in blog awards before, but last week, Janelle of The JWS Do Japan reviewed I’ll Make It Myself! and…

Easy Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough (Bread Revolution Series)

More Bread Revolution and Guide to Flour. One thing that always amazes me when I return to the US is the sheer amount of choice one has about food. Order a pizza in the US and you can usually choose whole-wheat or white crust (sometimes even gluten-free); thick or thin crust; marinara sauce or white…