Yaki Nasu (Grilled Japanese Eggplant)

Yaki Nasu (Grilled Japanese Eggplant)

  Growing up, one of my favorite vegetable dishes was yaki nasu, or grilled Japanese eggplant, simply served with shoyu and garnished with katsuo bushi and fresh grated ginger. (Photo Credit: Hideki Ueha) Most kids don’t like eggplant, and I might be deemed weird, but growing-up, I loved most all vegetables with the exception of the “forbidden three”: brussels sprouts, bell peppers and bitter melon. My favorite was eggplant,...

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Mochikichi Saturday

Mochikichi Saturday

  The Good News: ≠ Lakers finally won a game in Round 2 of the Western series against Oklahoma. It’s about time! The series is now 2 – 1. After a total whooping in Game 1 by over 20 points (a complete embarrassment), and yet another loss in Game 2 by one lousy basket, the Lakers finally, although barely, beat Oklahoma by 3 points, 99 – 96 during last night’s Game 3. I was so crazy nervous the last 10 minutes of...

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Mothers Day 2012 & Thank You, Lakers!

Mothers Day 2012 & Thank You, Lakers!

Happy Mother’s Day! As it turns out, we are spending our Mother’s Day weekend at home, but I have no complaints about this. My little one is still recovering from her cold, and as feared, I came down with a sore throat yesterday. I should have known I was coming down with a cold when I slept through both Round One Lakers games #5 and #6 this past week. I barely watched last night’s game #7, but thank goodness I stayed awake...

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Yamaimo Salad | Japanese Mountain Yam & LAKERS!!!

Yamaimo Salad | Japanese Mountain Yam & LAKERS!!!

  How about them LAKERS?!? ALL season, I haven’t blogged a peep about a single game played by my favorite L.A. Lakers – – – a complete anomaly! Right?!? (My past Lakers posts can be found under the Category section “Lakers”, if you are interested.) I admit that I was turned off by the lockout at the beginning of this season, coupled with the fact that Phil was no longer our fearless leader (I was slightly...

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Strawberry Cheesecake, Celebrating Mom Day, a Birthday, and Mourning the Lakers

Strawberry Cheesecake, Celebrating Mom Day, a Birthday, and Mourning the Lakers

Strawberry season at Tanaka Farms, our local organic farm, opened in mid-March. Each year, we anticipate the season’s approach as we plan our strawberry-picking outing(s). Bebe E’s favorite wagon display in front of the produce stand. (April 2011) This season, Bebe E and I were fortunate to go strawberry-picking twice already. Once with “my girls” (best friends) and their families, and a second time with family (for Big...

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Sake Onigiri (Salmon Rice Ball), A Bebe & Mama Favorite

Sake Onigiri (Salmon Rice Ball), A Bebe & Mama Favorite

  Oh, my little blog… how I’ve missed you so!!! I had nothing but good intentions last week to share a winning onigiri post after the Lakers closed out Round 1 of the 2011 NBA Western Conference Finals against New Orleans. I even started a draft, but of course, the weekend arrived bearing much fun (a trip to LA, a pool party and birthday celebrations) and ultimately resulted in my being too tired to blog. Sadly, it doesn’t...

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Garbanzo Bean Soup

Garbanzo Bean Soup

  Seriously, WHAT is wrong with our Lakers?!? As I was making hair bows the other night while the Lakers were playing the Warriors (one of the four WORST NBA teams in the Western Conference) Bebe Dada was complaining about the Lakers and repeated numerous times, “they just don’t care”. Other comments I heard were, “that guy just blew by Shannon!”, “Lakers are just slow”, “Kobe just threw away the...

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Kumquat Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

Kumquat Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

  It’s finally that time of the year!!! It’s Lakers season! A week ago Saturday, I went to a pre-season Lakers game at the invitation of my family friend. I like to call my friend M-kun, my “lil’-brotha-from-anotha-motha.” (Apologies for my lingo, but I couldn’t help it!) His Dad is like a 2nd father to me and his Mom is like a 2nd mother to me. His older sister, Aya-chan, is like the little sis’ I...

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