Umami Mart

One of my favorite restaurants is Kajitsu, as I’ve written a couple of awesome reviews about the place. Chef Nishihara is simply a genius. His creativity and flavoring, using only vegetables (it’s a vegan/shojin restaurant), is just amazing. I saw an article in last week’s Times Magazine, where Mark Bittman cooked with Chef Nishihara. I […]

I am really excited to have been chosen to be part of a food photography exhibition called “Feast Your Eyes” that just opened in Brooklyn on Friday and is presented by the NY Photo Festival. I have three pieces in it, including these deviled eggs, from my new recipe project, Forest Feast. If you are in […]

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 […]

If you can get your hands on sake kasu (sake lees, a yeast by-product of sake making) a subculture of cooking opens up to you. Most commonly used for marinating fish and pickling, sake kasu looks like pizza dough with the consistency of wet clay and aroma of nama (unpasteurized) sake. It’s usually available for […]

When I was a kid, my mom made ebi-fry, tonkatsu and korokke frequently. Every time she would serve up one of these deep-fried treats, my sister and I who were both picky eaters, would be satisfied. To this day, I love Japanese deep fried foods. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like the […]

By Erin Gleeson via Forest Feast.

Konnyaku aka devil’s tongue (wtf?!?) is a gelatinous mold that is often found in Japanese cuisine, in dishes such as nimono (stewed vegetables and meats), oden (fish cake stew). The grey, rubbery slab that you find for a $1 next to the tofu in any Japanese market, is freckled with black dots. It is said in […]

I am excited to announce that I have just launched a new food photography blog called FOREST FEAST. Having just moved to the woods of Northern California from New York City (where I worked as a food photographer), my recipes, home cooking and photography have been inspired by local produce and the forest around me. […]

Carrots + purple cauliflower roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper. Photograph by Erin Gleeson.

I can’t believe I just spent another weekend in a kolonihus (colony house). But that’s how the Scandinavians roll and who can say no to a pumpkin ravioli punch? My Icelandic friend’s friend has a cute little cottage in Copenhagen which she visits regularly on weekends and slowly tries to repair and build into a fabulous little […]