What are your most vivid childhood summer memories? My most vivid memories include swimming, spending time with my mom and brother on lazy days, tennis and art classes with my BFF (yes it’s the same “best friend forever” since I was 6 that lives across the street from me today), trips to Japan, and somen. Somen is a very thin, white noodle made of wheat flour, and is typically served cold with a dipping sauce. As a child,...
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The past week bebe dada’s been full of dinner requests. I can tell he needs a break from all the Japanese food I’ve been cooking and he needs to be rewarded for the vegetarian dinner he lived through (post forthcoming), as well as the vegetarian dinner leftovers he ate. I got it, hun! You’re craving hearty family favorites (with meat). The other night he wanted Italian sausage hash, and when I mentioned lasagna because we...
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As a kid, my favorite dish was my mom’s spaghetti with meat sauce. It was, as the kids say today, “the bomb!” The funny thing was that, being Japanese, my mom would always ask us if we would like rice too. My dad, brother and I would always say, “no”. Yet, she always cooked a fresh batch of rice for dinner every time she made spaghetti, just in case one of us said, “yes.” The spaghetti I make...
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Yamaimo is my friend. :) Maybe even my BEST friend! Yamaimo is Japanese mountain yam, also known as nagaimo, Korean yam, or Chinese yam. But not everyone loves yamaimo like I do. Bebe Dada thinks its gross, although I don’t believe he’s ever tried a bite. I can’t blame him though. After all, it’s not the most attractive vegetable with its rough, pock-marked skin with long hairs! Once its peeled and grated,...
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Since bebe dada is sick, I decided to make him soup. He always makes me simple, yet delicious Chinese soups (see Winter Melon Soup and Wonton Soup) when I’m sick but I wanted to make good ol’ fashion chicken noodle soup. What I ended up making was a hearty chicken, macaroni and vegetable soup with ingredients I had in the kitchen. One of the things I keep in my freezer is leftover whole rotisserie chicken from Costco. Costco has...
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