Freshstreet Yakitori (previously Section 8 Yakitorium) has received a good bit of press lately. The reviews are universally great but no one has picked up on exactly what makes the Yakitorium so tasty and authentic. It’s the bincho. Bincho-tan is a special hardwood charcoal produced and imported from Japan. So far as I can find, no one else in Columbus (and possibly the state) is using this cooking fuel. Bincho-tan is produced from oak by [...]

Remember when I had a SodaStream on my holiday wish list? I put it on there because when I have sinus pain and pressure, nothing is more delightful to drink than some sparkling water. But I have always hated the packaging waste of bottles of water. My friend Faith saw my list and said “Why don’t you just ask Soda Stream for one? They are promoting them with bloggers.” Duh. I asked and amazingly the [...]

Seasonal foods are hot and heavy in the spring, summer, and fall as we eat our way through herbs and asparagus to peas and beans to tomatoes and squash. What about winter? Hot houses do produce fresh food in Ohio but there are only so many ways to eat greenhouse-grown lettuces and greens. Even homegrown squashes and potatoes are starting to scream “get me out of storage and eat me now!” I expand my local [...]

I rarely use a drinking straw. In the entirety of my nearly 11 year marriage to Alex, we have only purchased one box of 100 plastic straws, many of which were used for crafting, not drinking, purposes. Along came Lil and our family’s straw consumption sky rocketed. Straws are fun for kids and easier to use than a drinking glass. Lil is more likely to finish a drink, especially a smoothie, if she uses a [...]

Welcome to Peach Week! I declare it so because peaches are in season in Ohio and I love them! Before I get to the fruit of today’s post, let me introduce the creator of the recipe, Anna. Anna is a 20 year old Japanese college student staying with us for two weeks. She is a chaperone to a group of 100 Japanese youth staying with host families throughout the state of Ohio. Anna was matched [...]

I love a good cocktail but I despise maraschino cherries. The rubbery red-flavored spheres resemble the natural fruit in name alone. I decided to tackle creating cocktail cherries at home when faced with an extra quart of fresh local sour cherries after making sour cherry preserves. While searching for a recipe, I discovered a bit of history. Apparently cocktail cherries used to be pitted cherries soaked in maraschino liqueur, hence the name. During prohibition, one [...]

Today’s guest post comes from the man of the homestead, Alex. This isn’t a sexist classification, it’s the truth: Alex lives with two female humans, two female dogs, and four female hens. He’s the only guy around to take on demanding issues like horse racing and distillery websites. Apparently there is a race-inside-the-race held prior to the running of the Kentucky Derby. It is called the “Turf Classic” and is on grass inside the main [...]