Local Hawai‘i Food

A deeply satisfying dish that’s perfect for your next brunch, lunch, or dinner. It’s a mash-up of two of my favorite local Hawai‘i dishes loco moco and katsu. Loco moco is typically made with a beef patty and brown gravy, topped with a signature sunny-side-up fried egg, and served over a mound of steamed white rice.

I owe you lots of life updates. We moved to Mar Vista, which is amazing because it’s closer to the ocean (it’s just inland of Venice Beach). I’ve been showing you around via IG stories but I *promise* to do some room by room tours here on the blog soon. My cookbook is in its final stages (eeepppp!!!)—we’re about to go to the printers and I have an official cover and publication date!

Hi, remember me? I know it's been a while, so if you forgot about me, I 100% get it. But I'm back and super pumped because for the next month, I'll be sharing all my fave recipes from loads of new Spring/Summer cookbooks!

It's been a little quiet around here and this is why... I'M WRITING A COOKBOOK!!! Can I scream that from the top of Haleakala? Also, is this even real life? The subject is close to my heart; it’ll be all about local Hawaii food, the food of my childhood...

I never thought I'd be talking about my heritage in this space, but here I go. I am fourth generation Japanese-American, and I am also eleventh or twelfth or maybe even thirteenth generation Danish/Irish/German/and other Northwestern European.

So far, this week's jam has been: Christmas lights on first thing, plaid pajamas till noon, Christmas music (Moses is still indulging me), and all the cozy things. Like socks and hot cocoa and matcha lattes and soups. Also, pumpkin pie and ice cream in the middle of the day just because.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room... how does everyone feel about Kevin Durant becoming a Warrior? Are you pumped for Golden State, crushed for the Thunder, or bummed that he didn't go to your team (like, ahhhhem, the Spurs)?

This month really crept up on me fast. Tomorrow I'm headed to Boston then Martha's Vineyard to assist at Betty and Meg's workshop (so excited!!!) and then the following week, I'm headed back to Oahu for a dear friend's wedding.

Happy first Monday of Spring! Maybe it was a figment of my imagination, but didn't yesterday feel extra spring-y? It was like every flower decided to come out and bloom, all at the same time. Walking around the neighborhood is gonna be extra heavenly...

Fat Tuesday's tomorrow and I can't help but get a little nostalgic for home. One of my favorite Fat Tuesday traditions is heading to Leonard's Bakery (a.k.a. the best malasada spot in Hawaii, ever) and picking up a big box of malasadas to share with coworkers...