To-Do

Below is a to-do list with records of my upcoming cooking plans, e.g. new recipes I would like to try, prep ideas for special events e.g. Christmas, New Year's, etc.

Osechi

Osechi is the collective term for all traditional food items prepared for New Year's holidays in Japan. Typically presented in the form of deluxe bento boxes, a full Osechi set can take up to 3-4 days to complete, posing interesting challenges on both content (compatibility of foods) and aesthetics (color/shape arrangement).

Goal: complete one full osechi set (2 boxes, 6-10 items per box) for New Year 2014 based off Kanehatsu Guide (Photo by JNTO)

Tofu Tiramisu

I love sweets. To the extent that I once ate nothing but cake for 2 straight weeks without getting sick. When I ventured onto a 18-month diet in early 2013, it was heartbreaking to think that something as good as tiramisu would never again appear on my dining table at first. Guess how delighted I was when I came across a certain tofu tiramisu recipe that was oh-so-tasty with a per-piece calorie count lower than a regular granola bar!

Goal: learn the Japanese style tofu tiramisu recipe by heart before Valentine's 2014 (Photo by mati-cafe)

Fusion Pasta

With a rich variety of tastes loved by many and fancy looks to match, pasta dishes are great to bring out when special guests arrive at the house. Having been raised in a family where rice overpowers noodles daily as a preference for carbohydrate intake, my pasta repertory is quite poor--a fact I would like to alter eventually for the sake of my pasta-loving father and friends. (Sorry mom!)

Goal: master all pasta recipes from Bistro SMAP by end of 2015 (Photo by Women's Health)