Concoct your summer vegetable salad

Some people tell me I eat like a rabbit, which could be true at times, but don’t worry because I do eat other things than vegetables. I post vegetable dishes frequently because I tend to have abundant stock of vegetables at home, and I must say sometimes over stock of it that I need to…

Learnings from making lunches

This past winter, I made an effort to make and bring lunches to work because I was tracking my macros and wanted to eat healthier and eat less restaurant food, which I was often opting for lunch and dinner (and occasionally store-bought breakfast). Living in Tokyo with almost unavoidable convenience to dine out in high quality at…

Fermented food: natto

Kimchi, kombucha, yogurt, miso… these ingredients have been getting attention in the food industry for several years now. They are categorized as fermented foods, food that are good for your gut. From ancient food history, it has been a common practice to have fermented food in Japan. For example, miso (fermented soybean paste) and soy sauce are originally…

Homemade Summer Red Quinoa Salad

I’m not very good when it comes to measuring ingredients. I often ballpark it by eyes or I rely on my tastebuds, so it makes it very difficult for me to write up a recipe. What I do for inspiration is “rest” my eyes on food Instagrams, I look at the ingredients list or photos in these…

Yuzu Citrus Dressed Cabbage, Avocado, and Wild Rice Salad

I promise I don’t make anything too intricate. What I make at home are all so simple, maybe too simple. I concocted and uncovered this ultimate dressing I made from my friend’s gift of yuzu kosho (aka peppered yuzu, or chili with yuzu flavor from Kyushu) that is as easy as putting together the chili…

Quick and easy salmon veggie bowl

Sometimes you simply have a hodgepodge of ingredients you have to put together for a quick meal. To be honest, I don’t have a recipe in mind most nights I cook, I find whatever is in my fridge to make whatever I can. Here is a bowl I put together that has heaps of nutritional balanced…

The fad: avocado toast

Avocado toast -avocado in general- is everywhere on health, fitness, and food related blogs and Instagram. It’s amazing how much attention it’s receiving these days! And yes, with so much influence in my eyes, it was only natural for my brain and tastebuds to crave it, and now I’m riding with this fad of having…

Asparagus quinoa salad

Asparagus is in SEASON (actually it’s been in season for a while now). My mom got a good bunch of it sent from northern Japan, and I found some quinoa in my mom’s pantry, so I put those together. And yes, I like to find good stuff in my mom’s kitchen… 🙂 I cooked quinoa…

Pickled new onion (recipe) Mexican and Asian Salad

It’s in season for newly harvested vegetables, and the two root vegetables that I love seeing at the grocery store at this time are onions and potatoes. Japanese language calls them “new” onion and “new” potatoes. I remember back in college, I wondered if I would be able to eat my mom’s pickled fresh onion,…

Ogura Toast

Japan is known for its top-notch quality food, and I also applaud for the variety Japanese food offers. Japanese cooking uses multitude of cooking methods, always uses seasonal ingredients, it has its distinct dishes and flavors in each region… yes, it could be the same in any country, but remember its SUPERB quality! This past weekend,…

So much love in this homemade obento

Japanese culture gives subtle love here and there to people and to the earth, and I think one of them well depicted with homemade obento. Typically, kids bring bento for their lunch boxes (yes, same in many other countries), but these packed lunches are well balanced with nutritious food to fulfill one’s energy until dinner…

Pomegranate Tomato Curry from Keats Cafe, Tokyo

So in the neighborhood my neighbor named GGD (Gakugeidaigaku) is Keats Cafe, where the restaurant’s concept is to provide those living in this crazy Tokyo metropolis with ethical, beautiful, and joyful food, ideas, and items. The restaurant makes everything from scratch obviously but their dishes are -I can tell- so good and nourishing for your…