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...

Read More

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...

Read More

Chirashi Sushi (Mixed Rice) and Hinamatsuri 2011 (Japanese Girls Day)

Chirashi Sushi (Mixed Rice) and Hinamatsuri 2011 (Japanese Girls Day)

  I originally planned to post this on Friday, March 11th, but it turned out to be the morning after the 9.0 earthquake that hit Sendai, Japan on March 10, 2011. It seemed inappropriate to immediately post a celebratory chirashi sushi dish that I made for a festive Japanese holiday, Girl’s Day. Featured Above: Photo Credit Hideki Ueha (chirashi that I made in 2012). Our thoughts, prayers and condolences are with all of those who...

Read More

HOMEMADE Zenzai (Japanese Red Bean Soup with Rice Cake) and Oshogatsu 2011 (Japanese New Year)

HOMEMADE Zenzai (Japanese Red Bean Soup with Rice Cake) and Oshogatsu 2011 (Japanese New Year)

Does anyone know how long the terrible-two’s last? Is it one year? Is it two years? Two and a half years? Over the weekend, Bebe E found a black ballpoint pen and drew a nice long dark squiggly line down the entire length of one cushion of our sofa. Nice, huh? And technically, she’s not even two yet. Scary. Of course, we have “coloring time” where Bebe E opens her little box filled with washable crayons and magical...

Read More

Jai (Buddhas Delight) and Chinese New Year Experiment 2011

Jai (Buddhas Delight) and Chinese New Year Experiment 2011

  It seems wrong to start this post with, “Happy New Year!” as I originally intended, rather than, “Happy (belated) Valentine’s Day!” yet here we are two- going on three- weeks after we celebrated Chinese New Year, wishing all of you a Happy New Rabbit Year. And yes, some of you might be thinking exactly what Bebe Dada voiced. Last night, he bluntly announced that this post is “a little too late, isn’t...

Read More

Prime Rib

Prime Rib

I am a carnivore, and I love beef. Well, I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for a short period of time, but it was beef that brought me back to being a carnivore once again. In fact, I can’t live without beef, especially prime rib, which is my favorite beef dish and that means Lawry’s is my favorite prime rib restaurant. I’ve celebrated several birthday dinners and special dates with Bebe Dada (who was my boyfriend at the time) at...

Read More

Caramel

Caramel

  This week is turning out to be a very mellow week, and it’s a nice change of pace from the past month. I just finished reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and I was quite proud of myself as this was the second book that I’ve read in about a year and a half. (The other book I read, I am embarrassed to admit is Bree Tanner, yes, of the horrid Twilight Series – don’t ask.) Elephants was an easy read and quite...

Read More

Chocolate Crunchies

Chocolate Crunchies

  In a previous life, I used to bake five to eight different types of cookies before Christmas so that I could share these with friends and loved ones during the holidays. I remember working all day, then stopping at the supermarket to buy ingredients (and more ingredients), and then baking until midnight or 1 AM for at least two to three nights straight. The entire dinning table would be covered with cookies cooling on racks or cookies in...

Read More