Winter and spring in a single dish Snow falls as I slide containers and jars around in my refrigerator looking for a little inspirations. I think of the spirited plum blossoms in the orchard, seemingly delicate and frail but bearing the brunt of a spring squall with a grace and resolve I admire. As the […]

The birth of spring on the tongue My memories of Mirukashi begin in this season, with the first foray to gather fukinoto just weeks after moving into our new house up the hill from Kuniko. I was so completely taken with the little green buds we found that day that I followed Kuniko into the […]

In the end, a new beginning I immediately recognized in Kuniko the essence of the woman who nourished equally her guests, her family, and herself. Her meals brought such joy to everyone at the table, myself included, and I was eager to absorb everything she could offer. She represented a holy grail of cookery, a […]

Winter radish and roots salt pickle salad In an archipelago of islands surrounded by vast seas, it’s no wonder salt is such an essential ingredient in Japanese cuisine. It’s a key ingredient within key ingredients, including soy and miso. It’s used to draw out moisture and plump the flesh of fish before preparing sashimi. And […]

Yubeshi: winter cured savory citrus The solstice has passed and though the shift feels incremental, our trajectory points towards the light again. A gift of this darkest time of year is the beauty of the sunrise. Mornings open late and its easy to be up before the sun crests the distant mountains outside my window. […]

 The first snow and salted cabbage Today the first snowflakes fell. We’ll never get a white Christmas here like the holidays of my childhood in Vermont, but still, celebrating Christmas is one of the few inherently Western customs I’ve firmly installed in our life in Japan. My New England roots kick in, I grab a […]

Persimmons are ripe for the holidays Perhaps persimmon is the only tree that looks better when its leaves have fallen. The fruits are revealed and the tree comes alive. They look downright bejeweled, dotted in coppery orange globes, and I find them endlessly enchanting. There is one tree in particular I have fallen dearly in […]

Relating to and through flavor As autumn gives way to winter we find ourselves in a season of abundance and loss, of beauty dazzling in the face of death and decay. The maple trees blaze red until denuded by wind and rain. A praying mantis expires in situ moments after laying a frothy capsule of […]

It’s a fine time to make home your haven Soft clouds float by like a flock of sheep grazing in the wild blue yonder. I spot a small bamboo tray on Kuniko’s balcony that holds a few carrot peels drying in the sun. This is her admirable thrift, her equal regard for elegance and economy […]

Cooking with chrysanthemum petals Chrysanthemums symbolize the month of September, the season, and the imperial family in Japan. But mums remind me most of autumn in New England where avid gardeners bring them home to enliven a fading landscape. Here too, we’ve crossed the autumnal equinox and gradually the light and the brilliant hues of summer […]