Happy Girls Day! Hinamatsuri Party Ideas 2015

Happy Girls Day! Hinamatsuri Party Ideas 2015

  Happy Japanese Girls’ Day! Today, March 3rd, is Hinamatsuri, also known as Girls’ Day or Doll Festival. Since Bebe was born, this Japanese holiday is one that we celebrate annually in my family, and is something my daughter looks forward to each year. Many years in my childhood, my Mom would host Hinamatsuri parties for me and a handful of my friends, and now I in turn have the pleasure of doing the same for my...

Read More

Slow Cooker Recipe for Kuromame (Sweet Black Soy Beans)

Slow Cooker Recipe for Kuromame (Sweet Black Soy Beans)

  Last year, my mom taught me a new osechi ryori (traditional food for celebrating Japanese New Year) dish that she learned from a friend of hers: kuromame, or sweet black soy beans cooked in the slow cooker. [Photo Credit: Hideki Ueha] This slow cooker recipe is a life saver, given I’ve burned my share of kuromame batches by forgetting about the beans simmering on the stove. The beans need to simmer for a while in order to achieve the...

Read More

Crispy Sweet Red Bean Dumplings

Crispy Sweet Red Bean Dumplings

It’s hard to believe 2014 is coming to a close and Christmas already came and went. I know it’s been awhile since I shared anything on my blog here, but believe it or not I had a post ready for Thanksgiving, and then again one for Christmas. The only problem is that I wasn’t able to find the photos I took of my food.  So those posts have been saved until my archiving (and technology), backup, and memory (laptop’s not...

Read More

Desserts for Japanese Childrens Day 2014

Desserts for Japanese Childrens Day 2014

Happy Japanese Children’s Day! May 5th is Kodomo No Hi, also known as Boys’ Day. It’s a day for celebrating the well-being, happiness and health of all children in our family. To celebrate Children’s Day, Bebe and I kept things simple. Since our favorite Japanese restaurant is closed on Mondays, instead we went to our local Japanese supermarket to grab a bite to eat in their amazing food court. Bebe feasted on her...

Read More

Hinamatsuri (Girls Day) Treat and Craft

Hinamatsuri (Girls Day) Treat and Craft

  Each year, during Hinamatsuri, or Girls’ Day, the Japanese markets near our home sell sweets specifically for celebrating this holiday. The most popular is “Hina Arare” or sweet puffed rice. The kids really seem to like this one. This year, we had a nice variety of treats thanks to my brother and my sister-in-law so I thought I’d share a photo of all the sweets we’ve been enjoying since yesterday. My...

Read More

Ikura and Ebi Chirashi for Hinamatsuri (Cod Roe and Shrimp Scattered Sushi for Japanese Girls’ Day 2014)

Ikura and Ebi Chirashi for Hinamatsuri (Cod Roe and Shrimp Scattered Sushi for Japanese Girls’ Day 2014)

Happy Girls’ Day! Today, March 3rd is Hinamatsuri, or Japanese Girls’ Day, and is also known as Girls’ Doll Festival. Dolls are displayed in the family’s home to wish for happiness and good fortune for all the girls in the family. This year, we managed to display our Hinamatsuri Dolls for longer than a few days as we remembered to set them out earlier in February. In years past, we hastily displayed our dolls just a few...

Read More

Setsubun, Japanese Bean-Throwing Ceremony is February 3rd

Setsubun, Japanese Bean-Throwing Ceremony is February 3rd

In Japan, Setsubun, marks the beginning of Spring and is celebrated annually on February 3rd. It coincides with the Lunar New Year and is characterized by a traditional bean throwing ceremony. Above: Fuku Mame – Lucky Roasted Soy Beans Setsubun is often celebrated as part of Haru Matsuri (Spring Festival) but growing-up in Los Angeles, it usually meant that my Mom would buy roasted soy beans and allow my brother and I to toss these out...

Read More

Easiest Seafood Dynamite Appetizer You Will Ever Make

Easiest Seafood Dynamite Appetizer You Will Ever Make

I firmly believe there is a Japanese sushi chef somewhere in California that woke-up one morning and decided to mix a few pieces of fresh sashimi-grade fish and abalone with some mayo, throw in some masago (caviar) for good measure, and baked it all together in his little toaster oven. (Photo Credit: Hideki Ueha) This sushi chef, after tasting one bite of his crazy creation yells at the top of lungs, “D-Y-N-A-M-I-T-O-H!!!!!  Kore wa...

Read More