Last month I had the privilege of hosting a wedding shower for a dear family member who is tying the knot in holy matrimony in just a few short weeks. The shower was a simple affair held on the bluffs overlooking the gorgeous Pacific Ocean and entailed a down-to-earth picnic of chicken, pasta salad, spinach salad, potato salad, watermelon and ice tea. Oh, and of course the onigiri (rice balls) that my Mom insisted we absolutely needed if...

I’m not really sure what I’ve been cooking lately, but let’s just say there was one week where we ate meals made from Costco’s rotisserie chicken for a few nights and a couple of other nights that involved an interesting medley of pasta dishes mixed in with  random stir-fry veggies, sautéd fish and pork chops. (Photo Above: Hot Chocolate 5K Start Line) In other words, I’m going to focus on catching up on the...

Seriously, how could you NOT want to read more about a post entitled “Smelt Fish with Many Eggs”? It’s the perfect “come back” post after a long absence don’t you think? :) [Ok, yes, I am indeed being a little sarcastic.] I considered, the post title “Pregnant Smelt” since that’s almost the literal Japanese to English translation of “Komochi” which means, “fish bearing...

Not sure about everyone else, but I like to keep snacks handy: in my purse, in the car, and of course in my office (when I worked that is). The easiest and best snacks for me were always store-bought granola bars, protein or energy bars, or my own concoction of trail mix. My obsession for carrying snacks around only became more intensified once I had Bebe. She’s always been a pretty good eater, but now that she’s a preschooler and...

Many who have never babied and cared for a pet, might not understand those of us who hold our puppies so dear to our heart and love them as members of our own family. Exactly two months ago, on February 22, 2013 I lost my dear sweet Casie. She was my first baby, even before Bebe E was born, and I often referred to Casie as my “other baby” to Bebe E, who promptly began referring to Casie as my “daughter”. I remember...

I’m not sure how many months have gone by since I posted anything on my blog. Ok, maybe it’s only been a few weeks and/or approaching one month since my absence, but it certainly seems longer. Honestly, I’m not even sure how I used to post at least three new posts per week. I look back now and think I was crazy. :) Either that, or I was getting much less sleep than I’m getting now. Nothing special has happened over the...

  I’ve been thinking about green pancakes ever since a friend of mine posted a picture of the green pancakes that they served at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica (website here). I knew both Bebe and Big Onechan (big sis) would get a kick out of seeing mini green pancakes for breakfast when they woke up on St. Patrick’s Day. I was thinking about how I could make the pancakes green without having to use food coloring, which...

One day, when I’m much older and the kids are all grown up, I’ll look back at this time and remember how much I enjoyed making a big deal of holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day. I always try to find a few arts and crafts for Bebe to celebrate with, but for a family that loves to eat, celebrating with green food on St. Patrick’s Day is also a lot of fun. This morning I made two dishes. The first, green eggs and bacon, is a...