holiday


February 25, 2013

The Forest Feast: Hamentashen for Purim

by Erin Gleeson

Jonathan’s brother and his wife Arielle came to visit last weekend from New York. The weather was gorgeous so we did a little late afternoon baking on the deck with a glass of wine! Arielle is a fabulous baker and this is her recipe for hamentashen. These cookies are traditionally made for Purim, a Jewish […]

January 28, 2013

The Forest Feast: Tu Bishvat

by Erin Gleeson

Over the weekend, we celebrated a little Jewish holiday called Tu Bishvat. It’s often called the “new year of the trees” and is sort of like Jewish Earth Day. Traditionally people eat 15 kinds of fruits and nuts and drink four glasses of wine… then you go outside and plant a tree (who doesn’t love that?!)!  For […]

January 24, 2013

UM Recession: Ikaho Onsen

by Yoko Kumano

I woke up on January 1, 2013 ready to shred on the tatami mats at my husband’s parent’s house in western Tokyo. After a great workout I took a walk and saw Mt. Fuji in clear view. It was a memorable Jan 1 already. At 12 o’clock, my in-laws and I all piled into a […]

April 11, 2012

Forest Feast: Spiced Passover Haroset

by Erin Gleeson

Spring has sprung in the woods! Passover is this week and to kick it off, we hosted a first-night Seder.  We spent two days cooking all the traditional Jewish dishes: matzah ball soup, haroset (a paste of dried fruit and nuts), farfel (quiche-like squares), tzimmes (a sweet potato carrot dish), plus a roasted chicken with rosemary […]

January 6, 2012

Peko-Peko’s Tataki Gobo (Burdock Root with Toasted Sesame)

by Kayoko Akabori

I was fortunate enough to peek into the Peko Peko kitchen this last weekend, while they were preparing all 40 boxes of their highly coveted annual osechi bentos. What a crew! Sylvan had about five people working the kitchen — peeling, dicing, de-shelling 40 Dungeness crabs… wow. Sylvan and his right-hand chef Yuko took me […]

December 28, 2011

Forest Feast: Sufganiyot (Jelly Donuts)

by Erin Gleeson

In honor of this last day of Hanukkah, I made sufganiyot (jelly donuts). Believe it or not, this is a Hanukkah tradition, right along with latkes (potato pancakes). This was the first time I’d made them so I used Martha Stewart’s recipe. They came out great! *This post first appeared on Erin Gleeson’s website Forest Feast […]

December 25, 2011

Merry Xmas Wagashi (Sweets)

by UM Guest

By Kenji Miura I celebrated Christmas in Japan by making wagashi, or traditional Japanese sweets. Santa is shaped out of shiro-an (white bean paste). The holly is made out of ogura tsubu-an (red beans boiled with sugar, skin-on). The tree is comprised of shiro-an and kanten (agar agar). The kinton (mashed substance, in this case the […]

December 23, 2011

Happy Hour: Tom + Jerry, The Original Winter Cocktail

by Fredo Ceraso

Winter is coming. The leaves are long gone; stark bare branches and the increasing chill in the air are all that remain of autumn. The sun’s attempts to warm its subjects get undermined by the biting wind. Perfect time to duck into your favorite watering hole and defrost with a winter libation. Keeping with my […]

December 21, 2011

Culinography: Happy Chanukkah!

by Erin Gleeson

Chanukkah, the eight-day Jewish holiday and festival of lights, started last night!  We light a new candle on the menorah every evening after sundown. I will be making the traditional latkes (potato pancakes), like I do every year, and I plan to attempt making sufganiyot (jelly donuts!) from scratch. I’ll let you know how that […]

December 13, 2011

Skankynavia XXXmas Special: Glögg aka Devil’s Blood

by Anders Arhoj

It’s Christmas in a minute or two, and from my windows overlooking the big lakes of Copenhagen I watch people rushing back and forth in the typical December rain. They’re probably leaving one Christmas party to go to the next. This month is not only about stressful giftshopping or Christmas Eve preparations or even killing […]