Umami Mart

PREFACE Battle ReCPY: NYC Umeboshi Project, Pt. 1 Battle ReCPY: NYC Umeboshi Project, Pt. 2  Finally, I finished pickling my ume. All I had left to do was to dry them under sun for a day or two. Being in NYC, I don’t have a gigantic backyard where I can freely dry my ume, so I […]

PREFACE Battle ReCPY: NYC Umeboshi Project, Pt. 1 After a couple of weeks of pickling plum in salt, it extracts all the water out of the plums, which makes umezu (plum vinegar). Once the liquid rises above the plum, it’s time to add red shiso (perilla). You can either do it or not do it […]

After seeing the Ume Project on the west coast, I was intrigued. I like umeboshi (pickled plums) and every time I go home to Japan, I bring back my mother’s homemade ones. After all, I am from Wakayama, where Japan’s best umeboshi is made. I should have the umeboshi making gene in me. I’ve seen […]

PREFACE: Battle ReCPY: Madeleines (Mary Ann + Marcus) Valentine’s Day is so overrated. Why do people pay extra for red roses? Why do you have to buy new lingerie? WTF is up with all the chocolate? I don’t understand what’s so romantic about today–it’s just a regular Monday to me. Us consumers are so manipulated […]

Since I got a nice Williams-Sonoma gift card for the holidays, I went there to hunt for things I wanted, but didn’t necessarily need. Aside from multi-color paper muffin cups for my MOffins and new sheet pans for my macarons, I also picked up a madeleine pan. I don’t know why but the shiny pan, […]

Welcome back to another Yamahomo baking battle. Now that I have completed my macaron battle (yeah, I can still come up with different colors amd flavors, but this basics are covered and completed), I needed something else to tackle. When I saw Anders’ post on a flødeboller from Summerbird in Copenhagen (basically a chocolate covered […]

PREFACE Yamahomo vs. Ladurée (Part 1 & 2) Yamahomo vs. Ladurée (The Battle Continues) Yamahomo vs. Ladurée (Trial 4, 5 & 6) Since winning my Ladurée Battle at Trial #6 two years ago, I haven’t made macaron for a while. But when looking through the Best of UM posts, I was tempted to make another […]

I actually made this a week after the first trial, hence my memory isn’t too clear. So after the first trial, from when I bought cheese curd at Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, I was determined to make the very best mozzarella. Unfortunately it’s very difficult to find curd in the city. Even a store […]

Sorry for my long absence. Summer has been occupying me and it’s also too hot to cook anything in particular. Last weekend, my friend Sal from da Bronx took me to Arthur Avenue. I’ve always wanted to check it out, but was scared to go by myself. It’s da Bronx after all, ya know? Sal […]

As I mentioned in my last post, I pretty much fucked up my first attempt at making bread pudding- mostly due to my inability to follow directions. Surprise, surprise, I know. This time around, I followed the recipe as closely as I possibly could, given my ADD rebelliousness in the kitchen. And what happens when […]