“Journaling my way through an umami rich recipe book. One delicious meal at at time.”

For my 40th birthday I bought myself a cookbook. Not just any cookbook, but Umai: Recipes From a Japanese Home Kitchen by Millie Tsukagoshi Lagares.

I don’t usually buy cookbooks because space is tight, I’m picky, and I rely heavily on the library. But this one stopped me in my tracks at Dymocks. I’d never heard of Millie before, and this was the last copy on the shelf (at the time, they have since restocked!).  I flipped through it and instantly wanted to make almost everything. Nothing felt too hard or too fancy. Just the kind of comforting Japanese home food I always want to eat.

So I’ve decided to cook through the whole thing, cover to cover (not in order). A bit of a Julie & Julia moment, but with dashi, miso, soy sauce splashes, and a trusty Muji bamboo tray. Here’s my plan for the weeks ahead:

📆 At least one recipe a week 
🥟 From family favourites to izakaya-style dishes
🥢 Rotating through my ever-growing stash of bowls, plates, and chopsticks
🍱 Trying to plate some meals in full teishoku style
📊 Of course there’s a spreadsheet
🇯🇵 Also using this as a way to learn more Japanese
📸 And yes, I’ll be documenting it all

This journal project gives me a reason to keep showing up in the kitchen. I’ll be sharing updates, thoughts, the process and extra behind the scenes footage on my blog.

I started with a 5kg bag of rice from Hokkaido purchased from Hinoki Japanese Pantry along with a top up of the essentials. 

Welcome to #CookingUmaiCoverToCover
Let’s cook the WHOLE. DAMN. BOOK!