A few weeks ago I found myself totally riveted by Filth Wizardry's blog post on stamping, using plasticine to make amazing prints. I used to love stamping as a child. And who didn't? Ink, paper, and magic. I loved that breathless anticipation as I waited to see what would emerge when I lifted ...

I've been spending many happy hours engrossed in sewing lately. I didn't grow up sewing and I don't know where the love of sewing comes from, or the determination to master it even though I am such a novice. I know that I had one moment of sheer bliss while I watched a thin, perfectly cut ...

A few days ago, the school held a safety class for the children, followed by an information session for parents. At this class, they were given this pamphlet: and taught a few moves and tips for being vigilant as they walk to and from school. They were reminded to do things like stay aware, l...

Sewing is a huge challenge for me right now (how do those of you with babies do it?!!!) but the intense craving to sew something quick and summery just would not be satisfied until I did it. So I did! I made summery little dresses in subdued Fourth of July colors for my girls. I'm always torn...

Like many a baker, gadgets are my Achilles heel. And I've noticed that all the cooking stores are getting better and better at pumping out cute little tools and machines that illuminate previously-unknown voids in your kitchen inventory. My saving graces are that I don't have a kitchen the siz...

Summer is here, in all its lush green glory. For the first time in years, we spent a bit of time in the U.S. for part of June, and got to enjoy some time at the ocean, too. And then we all got on a plane and left. We're back in Japan now, for the summer and perhaps a bit longer. We are hom...

I'm back! Thank you ALL for your well-wishes and congratulations - they meant so much to me. Whether you're a long time reader, or just someone who dropped by and left a note, it made me feel that on the 23rd of May, the happiness I felt spread out beyond the sun-dappled garden where I stood w...

Remember the San Francisco Chocolate Salon I attended last year? A gathering of some of best artisan chocolatiers from near and far, and all the chocolate you could handle? Well, I was lucky enough to be invited back this year as a judge. Which meant that for about three weeks I had regular ...

I joked to my boyfriend this weekend that this might have been the first time since I've started working that I got a day off to celebrate Chinese New Year. Okay, so it was really Presidents' Day, but given that they practically get a whole week off in China (yes, that means they are still rev...

A few weeks ago, I got an e-mail from Ashley Hubbard of Fleurir Chocolates, asking if I'd like to try some chocolates from her and her fiance's freshly created artisan chocolate business. If there's anything that cacao-crazy San Francisco has instilled in me, it's an appreciation of chocolate ...

A few weeks ago, I got an e-mail from Ashley Hubbard of Fleurir Chocolates, asking if I'd like to try some chocolates from her and her fiance's freshly created artisan chocolate business. If there's anything that cacao-crazy San Francisco has instilled in me, it's an appreciation of chocolate ...

Ask any transplanted Californian what they miss most about “home,” and 9 times out of 10 they’ll immediately fire back, “Mexican food.” I was no different. So Tadaaki and I spent our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta (not exactly paradise, but a familiar haunt). Instead of disco hopping with my ...

“No Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas anymore.” If I told you this was shot from my kitchen window, you know I’d be lying. I’m not sure there is any beach in Japan that looks like this. Well, maybe in Okinawa. The beaches I’ve been to have not been particularly clean, nor would I call picking my...

The boyfriend has been on a pomegranate kick lately. I'll see him standing at the sink, staring pensively down, hands subtly moving...doing what? Inspecting the sink for scratches? Ruminating over the dirty dishes I haven't cleaned from the last baking project? Trying to secretly get rid of so...

One of my favorite things about being a writer is learning about the subject I happen to be covering. Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies was such a fun project. It wasn't just learning about how to make pie, it also was learning about the culture of pie. One of the organizations I've come ...

October 2009 Cropping rice by machine is faster, but less viscerally satisfying as grasping a handful of vibrant stalks top heavy with plump rice seeds, then stroking a scythe gently, but firmly across the base of the clump in a fluid upsweeping motion. Inegari, literally “rice cutting,” has b...

The boys came home from school the other day with these sweet little pine cone trees. They seem really easy to make. The teachers had painted the pine cones green beforehand (it looks like they dipped them in paint), and then handed them out to the kids along with glue, cardboard, cotton ball...

How is it nearly the night before Christmas already? I hope you all are enjoying the end to another year. It's been a full, exciting one for me - I moved to a new home, gained a new kitchen, and wrote a second book, among other things. I think 2010 may have some more adventures in store - well...

I wanted to come up with a classy way to point out that these calendar girls are crazily hot and that I have just ordered a copy of the From' Girls Calendrier because how convincing the pitch is, but I'm not that clever, and honestly, selling cheese with girls in skimpy outfits wasn't a classy t...