#Japan

Japanese Yuzu Citrus Biscotti, #CreativeCookieExchange

Japanese yuzu citrus pucker passion commenced in 710 AD Japan. The Chinese import looks and tastes like a cross between a lemon and a lime. The pungent yuzu fruit remains popular today in Japan.  (Yuzu brightens, and punches up the flavors of both Japanese desserts and dishes.)

Chocolate – often affectionately called “choco” in Japan – is also wildly popular. Compared to yuzu, however, chocolate is a fairy new commodity in Japan. Milk chocolate made its debut with the Japanese audience in the early 1900s. From my Google Japan and Google USA research, it looks like white chocolate won over the hearts of Japanese girls as White Day was introduced in the 1970s. White Day is an attempt at equal affection expression.  Translation: In Japan...

Chocolate Chip and Mandarin Orange Cookie Bars, #CreativeCookieExchange

A hush of peace, a rush of joy, December brings a bundle of contradictions.

An explosion of chocolate, cookies and cakes crowd kitchen counters. Shoppers shimmy past one another in malls, snatching toys of technology, which promise happiness.

Yet, a sense of the profane also presides over the season.  Candles are lit. Songs of praise to the Creator spill from homes, synagogues and churches.

I’m comfortable with the holiday paradox. In my hometown of Tokyo...

Best of Japan in Boulder, CO

Nestled in the mountain town of Boulder, Colorado nature generously gifts you with awe-inspiring beauty. Surprisingly, this born and bred Tokyoite also found an abundance of the nurturing comforts of Japan.

Mountains are majestic but sometimes they can be treacherous beauties. Before launching into the details and delights of Japan in Boulder, I’d like to ask you...