Umami Mart

Trends in Japan changes as often as Taylor Swift changes boyfriends. It’s like, wasn’t she dating the Kennedy kid and even bought a house across from his in order to be close to him? Next minute, she is shacking up with one of the bad boys from One Direction. And she publicly stated, “I don’t […]

As I’ve written about in the past, I have developed an annoying food allergy. I’ve discovered that stone fruite are definitely not for me.  Not that I need to carry an epi-pen, or that my face breaks out, or my body is covered with hives — but it’s just uncomfortable, since my throat scratches so […]

Let’s start this post by trying to pronounce its title. Easy, no? The Danish language is in a league of its own. Imagine a gurgling sound, the deep noise of a drunk blond viking with too much mead in his mouth. While Americans speak with the front of their mouth, Danes create the words way […]

Natto is the one of those foods that elicits strong reactions. I get overwhelmed with a sense of joy and excitement, but the response I hear from most people (who aren’t from or aren’t descendants of the eastern regions of Japan) is pure disgust. I remember how clueless I was junior year in college when […]

I am going to start ReCPY, sharing easy (and sometimes moderately difficult) recipes like Paystyle’s Happy Hour, every week. When you go to Japan, you will encounter many kinds of yogurt like these. Among them, aloe yogurt is always a favorite to many. Aside from soothing sunburns, aloe is actually edible, and although it’s flavorless, […]

Last month Yoko posted a story on a homemade yogurt she made from Bulgarian cultures, which I found really interesting because the method employed was totally different from the way I remembered my mother and grandmother used to make it. That prompted me to pay a quick visit to the internet to check the “official” […]

I start every weekday with a serving of homemade yogurt over seasonal fruit. Ever since my boss gave me some cultures in a little plastic baggy over two years ago, I have been hooked. I have kept the cultures alive and well. It’s funny, I’ve found that the cultures have become a part of me. […]

Whenever I travel anywhere, I always check out the yogurt aisle at the grocery store. Countries are doing really bizarre things with yogurt, which fascinates me. I like to consider myself a bit of a yogurt connoisseur- as I’m sure Sonja would as well. Best yogurt I’ve ever had was in India, out of a […]

There’s a Murray’s Cheese right inside the Grand Central Terminal Market, so I took a gander at their yogurt section the other day on my way home from work. This brown cardboard wrapping caught my eye- no logos, just the expiration and yogurt flavor stamped onto it. Love it. 2 cute glass jars are snuggled […]

I know, this “what’s in your fridge” shit is so tired! But I’ve been wanting to blog about these specific food finds, so I’m just gonna bite it and start the “Fridgin’ Out” column. What a DORK. Here’s this funky herb concentrate stuff that I got at a little Argentinian bakery in Jackson Heights called […]