Ah, pomelo - the very first thing that I tasted when I arrived in Myanmar. After I landed in Yangon, Tyler picked me up and took us to our apartment located in the suburbs of Yangon. When we arrived, the apartment was completely empty with almost no furniture, except there was a large, green fruit on the countertop.
Read MoreDuring brewing season, sake brewers in Japan are notoriously exclusive to whom they open their doors. Unlike the winemakers and distillers, sake brewers tend to focus exclusively on production during the brewing season, and politely reject or even outright ignore requests to visit. A few weeks before coming to Japan, I sent off a flurry of emails to sake producers as a Hail Mary. What harm could it do?
Read MoreThe inspiration for this recipe came to me on a hot, sunny Myanmar day, where a craving for chickpeas grabbed hold of me. Chickpeas are a staple in my pantry back home in Tennessee – I use them all the time. I knew that living in Myanmar might make some of my favorite ingredients scarcer, but I definitely didn't think that chickpeas would be one of them. I found a can of the little legumes in one of my friend’s pantries here early on, so I assumed they wouldn’t be too hard to find.
Read MoreMy husband Tyler and I have been dreaming a trip to Japan for quite some time, but never in our wildest dreams could we have planned the way that our journey developed. Our entire trip across Japan was an amazing adventure, but our most exciting highlights and culinary discoveries took place on our 4-day trip to the rugged volcanic island of Izu Oshima.
Read MoreWhenever I think of Oshima, my mind invariably wanders to the days that we spent with Masao Iwase. Mr. Iwase worked with my husband Tyler at Oshima Kaiyoukoukusai High School from 2007-2009. He was one of Tyler’s best friends, due largely to the fact that he was one of the only people on the secluded island that spoke English. Tyler always referred to him as “Mr. Iwase” and never just Iwase, which I found unusual at first. Once I met him in person, however, I understood why anything less would be inappropriate.
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