As a Japanese American, food has always been a huge part of my life. I’m actually half Japanese from my mother’s side and half Caucasian (European stuff) from my father’s side. While I never learned Japanese as a second language, I did gain some invaluable cooking knowledge and baking experience from my Japanese roots. The Food Network was also a great teacher as well!
It all started with my Grandma Lil and my great grandma, Bachan–this is actually a slang term for “Grandma” in Japanese. Little side note: Growing up, I always thought Bachan was her real name even though her first name was my middle name–Hatsumi. Yep, I was pretty bright. I also thought “Yokotashuto” (spelling?) was a real word in Japanese, when it was actually just something Bachan would say to help her get out of her chair.
There’s no doubt in my mind that I inherited my culinary talents from my mother’s side. Lord knows my father’s side knows anything about cooking. Dehydrated potato flakes were always their go-to for mashed potatoes.
Family dinners were definitely different with my Japanese side. Holiday dinners always included the traditional dishes along with a spattering of Japanese dishes, like sushi, Chow Mein, and Char Siu (BBQ Pork). Another thing you need to know about Japanese family dinners is that there is NEVER enough food. I say this sarcastically, of course. Five to six different meats are typically the norm, and there’s really no way of counting the number of side dishes since new ones are continually added. This goes for desserts too! It’s never two or three desserts. It’s more like nine or ten desserts. By the time my family is finished eating, the table of food still looks as if it would be enough to feed an entire football team! While we always say we’ll cut down on the amount of dishes for the next family gathering, it never happens.
All of the women on my mother’s side have always been naturals in the kitchen, and I’m lucky enough to call myself one of those women. Some of my best memories were centered around food and family, whether it was baking apple pies with my mom, learning how to make petit fours with my Aunt Gale, assisting Grandma Lil in making her traditional layered jello, or sitting down with the entire family to eat a gigantic Christmas feast. All of these memories and zillions of hours spent baking have contributed to the foodie I am today.
With this food blog, I hope to share my love of all things food, whether it’s through mouthwatering recipes, valuable tips, or super cool food discoveries.
As one of my biggest (if not the biggest) fans of my baking, I’d like to dedicate this food blog and new foodie quest to my late, but great, Grandma Lil. No matter how full she was, she always made room for ANY dessert I made.
And so it begins!