Pecan-Maple Sticky Rolls

This morning I woke up to a gusting wind that was blowing the redwood trees back and forth, and sending our neighbor’s leaves all over our backyard. But my cousin and I were perfectly warm inside, drinking coffee and baking up these irresistible sticky rolls to start our day. A simple no-yeast dough and gooey [...]

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CSA Vegetable Frittata

Can you believe we’ve never made a frittata before!? Well, that’s not true. In Japan we tried to make one once, but when we added the egg mixture to the skillet, we had the heat up too high and ended up burning the bottom before it even went in the oven. The top was edible, [...]

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Banana-Blueberry-Oat Muffins

These muffins pretty much sum up everything I like in a muffin: The taste of banana bread, the tangy burst of seasonal blueberries in every bite, and the hearty texture (and health-benefits) of oatmeal. I came across this recipe on one of my favorite blogs – Vintage Victuals. I made only a few changes to [...]

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Blueberry Streusel Muffins

What makes blueberry muffins even better? A crumbly cinnamon & sugar topping! I made these several times in Japan for my students. In true Japanese fashion, the students would always request that the muffins be divided into quarters. Then they would eat one quarter at a time (until they had eaten a whole muffin) with [...]

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Me-ki-shi-kan Tamago

That title means “Mexican Eggs.” If we were Japanese this is probably what we’d call this dish, because it’s inspired by everyone’s favorite Mexican breakfast Huevos Rancheros, and it involves eggs (tamago). But anyway, it only takes a few simple ingredients to create a healthy dinner or breakfast.
If using dry black beans: Soak 8 [...]

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Yogurt Waffles

I watched my husband from across the table as he meticulously buttered each square of his waffle before pouring the syrup. By then I was already several bites ahead of him. Our breakfast-for-dinner last night was found in one of my favorite cookbooks, How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. The plain yogurt [...]

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(Redemptive) Banana Bread

The first time I made this banana bread in Japan, I added a cup of salt to the batter instead of sugar. Salt & sugar are packaged in the same clear bags here, and I couldn’t tell the difference between the characters on the packages! I didn’t notice my unfortunate substitution until I licked [...]

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The Buttermilk Pancakes of my Childhood

I’m a sweet & savory kind of girl. There is no choice between one or the other. I adore these pancakes because the batter itself isn’t sweet, but pouring sweet syrup over them perfectly contrasts with the tanginess of the buttermilk. Since we can’t get buttermilk in Japan, I have to use [...]

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The "Last Supper": Jalapeño-Cheddar Scramble with Hashbrowns

Yatta! (Japanese for “We did it!”) We made it through a year of teaching English! California, here we come! What do you do the day before leaving for a month long vacation? You play the “How can I throw together what’s left in my fridge to make a suitable meal” – [...]

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Heavenly Blueberry Muffins

Dustin loves these muffins (which are so rich, they’re more like little cakes!) and could eat six in a row if I didn’t suggest that he save some. Fresh blueberries are ridiculously expensive in Japan, so I usually use frozen, but please use fresh ones if you can! And the only kind of [...]

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