Kinana makes impossibly soft and creamy, heavenly ice cream. Feels like way more cream than ice, but quite low cal.

Ramen, super high in calories and salt is not very healthy. Zen master ramen however is made with dashi broth and soymilk. Healthy, tasty!

Natsumikan is a bitter citrus from Kyushu that is used in this thirst quenching summer jelly that appeals to all the senses.

Noodles on ice for summer. Grated bitter daikon radish and diced homemade pickled ginger and garnished with hotspring egg.

Anko filling that has been sauteed in butter and soy sauce and then encrusted with sesame seeds. Weird but tasty!

Several kinds of mochi, fresh fruit and pound cakes are dipped in green tea chocolate for this ‘fondue’.

It is a Japanese version of biscotti, but these little cookies are lighter and maybe cuter.

The richest, creamiest tofu on earth is Handsome Guy, from Kyoto. Comes in an iconic and ironic package that might need parental advisory.

In Japan, on the day before spring it is customary to eat a luck direction sushi roll. This one, designed, Kyoto-style tops all the others!

This tea ceremony confection dates from 1699 and expresses the rare phenomenon of plum blossoms amid snow. A taste for the soul!

Kyoto traditional miso maker’s sweet white miso flavored mochi wagashi dusted in traditional wasanbon powdered sugar. A masterpiece!

Sweet white miso is the style of Kyoto, for New Year’s it is especially sweet and served with veggies and mochi.

Beef tendon simmered in sake is the basis for my perfect nikujaga. I developed a Kyoto-style with cinnamon, deep fried tofu and fu.

Seven Spice and Bread

This Chinese classic steamed bun is filled with some Kyoto-style fixings including wayu beef, burdock root and pickles.

Is soy sauce flavored candy actually better than it sounds?

A unique tsukemono pickle that REALLY looks like chrysanthemum and made from a turnip. Is the color natural? Too beautiful to eat?

Sour and fragrant hyuganatsu citrus mysteriously appeared in 1820. This wagashi is whole candied hyuganatsu peel filled with yokan jelly.

Green tangerine, or aomikan in Japanese are in season for just a few weeks. At last, this year I made marmalade with these tart citrus.

This is the image of Kyoto Cuisine that I am hoping will grace the cover of Bon Appetit early next year…and it was tasty and beautiful!

Soft and chewy mochi smothered in a hand ground paste of blanched young green soybeans lightly sweetened with sugar.

Invented in 1949, this modern baked sweet potato confection is hand formed in a cloth like traditional wagashi and goes well with milk!