Noodles

Here's an example of the spontaneity of Japanese cooking: My mother-in-law Nobuko is here to visit our baby (not us, but the baby :) ), and yesterday we took her to our local farmer's market here in Brooklyn.

Here's my antidote to August swelter: refreshing cold somen with an unbelievable sesame-miso dipping sauce.

I was so pleased to read an article in the NY Times a couple of months ago about shaved steak, because thinly sliced beef (and pork) are mainstays in Japanese markets, for good reason...

As my wife and I adjust to our new life with Blizzard Baby -- our cute son was born smack in the middle of last weekend's raging snow storm (getting to the hospital was an unbelievable saga) -- I wanted to whip up something fast, delicious and comforting for din din last night, our first of 2011. Okay, so how about udon in a hot broth with spinach, eggs and enoki?

This past Sunday, I joined Chef Hiroki Abe of En Japanese Brasserie to cook with miso, part of a series of workshops at the restaurant. Great workshop!

Chef, educator and food journalist Yukari Sakamoto has just published a new book: Food Sake Tokyo, a fabulous guide to the city's eats. Go Yukari!

Paging through a review copy of A Cook's Journey to Japan, a charming cookbook filled with homestyle faves, I landed on the hiyashi chukka recipe, cold ramen noodles with sesame vinaigrette. Man, that looked good.