Umami Mart

It’s asparagus season, people! Did anyone know this is what asparagus looks like when it’s growing? I took these shots today while visiting Terhune Orchards near Princeton, NJ. We ate this asparagus tonight for dinner and it was seriously delicious. Photography by Erin Gleeson.

It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I don’t like eggs. But it’s not as debilitating as many people think. I can always get a waffle or bagel with a side for breakfast and choose to ask for no egg with my ramen. Luckily I am okay with foodstuffs with eggs as an […]

I am finally back. Although the past couple of weeks have been super hectic, I had the opportunity to go to my favorite restaurant Kajitsu, twice in two weeks. At the end of March, my work held a special dinner gathering there, and I wasn’t planning on going, but at the last moment I got […]

My parents do their daily and weekly shopping at the vegetable shop just down the road from their house. The thing about South Asian countries is that even though their produce is fresher than fresh, but because of the heat, things go bad very quickly (who wants a bunch of wilted greens?). The main market […]

After baking beets in a terracotta dish (lid-on), the skin should peel off easily using just your fingers. Photo by Erin Gleeson.

Kayoko let me borrow Japanese homecooking maven Elizabeth Andoh’s new book “Kansha: Celebrating Japanese Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions” and for that, I am brimming with kansha (thanks). I had always wanted to try my hand at making shira-ae (sesame tofu dressing) after playing the goma-ae (sesame dressing) card one too many times. So while I […]

I’ve tried making gnocchi in the past, but the whole thing dissolved while boiling, so it was a complete failure. Since then, I haven’t even thought about making it again. A few weeks ago, I pondered what I would make for a small gathering. I really wanted to eat beef stroganoff. I looked around for […]

Living in Tokyo meant that I had very little access to cereals, orange juice with lots of pulp, fig bars and other high fiber food stuffs that are so ubiquitous in the U.S. I always considered myself to have a very “normal” digestive system and never felt I needed extra help to move things along. […]

When I crave comfort food, this is my go-to dish. It’s quick, easy and cheap. The key to a successful miso-eggplant dish is fresh eggplants. The vibrant purple color of Japanese eggplant contrasts well with the redness of the miso. The dish is sweet thanks to the miso and sugar so it will satisfy an […]

Ok, so this is a post where everything went wrong. I thought I was going to report on a dinner party with nice pictures of Scandinavian kitchenware, but then the snow storm arrived, people cancelled and the host’s apartment was way too dark to take any real nice photos. But hey, I tried and we […]