About Me





I am from the east coast area of the U.S. and have been living in Japan for over 15 years. Even after many years, everyday brings a new cultural experience.  

I attended Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School in Tokyo and graduated with the Grand Diploma. My husband ate very well for the three years I was in cooking school!  I have also studied Wagashi, Japanese sweets, in Tokyo. I find many opportunities to blend the flavors and techniques of east and west in my baking.

Since I enjoy cooking, most of my recipes start with making everything from scratch. However, I know time can be a problem so feel free to take short cuts with the recipes as needed such as  using frozen pie sheets. Also, be flexible and feel free to substitute and change recipes to best fit you and the ingredients you can find.

I have been baking for awhile so I am fairly quick with preparation, but with some practice everyone can be a well skilled baker.  Some recipes are easier than others, so choose a recipe that is most comfortable for you. 

Japan has changed over the years and many of the ingredients I need for baking are easily found here now. There are many good baking supply stores which carry fruit purees, nut powders, and excellent chocolate and I often use these in my recipes. Everyone will have access to different ingredients depending on where you live so sometimes substitutions must be made. Luckily for the wagashi, everything is at my fingertips.

I have my favorite stores mapped out around Tokyo for quick shopping.  I also use online shopping for big purchases that I don't want to carry, i.e. I don't own a car. Deliveries are made 7 days a week so  it is hard to pass up this convenience.

My delicious photos are posted here.

I have converted to using metric measurements for my recipes instead of cups, etc.  You can check this site for conversions. Weighing ingredients really is much simpler and faster.

Happy Baking ;) Kathy Matsunami
Kathy
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