Hi, I’m Yukari! My husband, Aric, a talented chef, and I are on a mission to bring people together through the magic of cooking. We want to build a virtual cooking community where we share budget-friendly meal prep tips, host fun challenges, and teach classes beyond recipes—we tell stories of love, life, and even the lessons we learn from our fur babies. Yes, our Bernese Mountain Dog, Senna, the Dish Pit Pup, and our Ginger cat, Ka-En, the Sous Chef Kitten, are part of the journey too! We believe food is more than just fuel—it’s about connection, culture, and creativity. If you enjoy heartwarming stories, engaging Q&As, and cooking made simple, we’d love to have you in our community.🔪🍲 Join us to cook, laugh, and share the love—one meal at a time.
We’re Back From Mexico 🇲🇽 Something New Starts Monday!
Traveling, Food, and Connection.Hello Reader, It's Yukari! We’re back from Mexico, and before jumping straight into what’s next, we wanted to pause for a moment. This trip wasn’t about doing everything. It was peaceful, grounding, and full of small moments that stayed with us. 🇲🇽 What Mexico Reminded Us...We surprised our Spanish teacher and his wife by showing up at their school (a little tears were involved 🥹), reunited with a bar owner we’ve known since his 10-seat pop-up days, and watched him now run a full restaurant on a main street. That kind of growth hits differently when you’ve witnessed the beginning. Mexico reminded us why food, places, and people are so deeply connected, and we’ve been quietly saving memories along the way. If you want to see more, we’re still sharing stories and reels on Instagram, and we saved past ones in our Highlights so you can catch up anytime! Now… here’s the exciting part 👀 🧊 Frozen vs. Fresh starts Monday (2/9/2026)We’re officially launching our Frozen vs. Fresh series on Instagram this Monday! 🐹 Denver friends! We still need a few guinea pigsIf you live in the Denver Metro area and want to join us for a blindfold taste test, we’d love to have you! 🍜 A little comfort, coming soonThere are so many foods we keep thinking about from this trip. Traveling always opens our eyes and stirs our curiosity, and motivates us to recreate the dishes we loved from these places when we return home. We recently found out how easy it is to make Sopa de Fideo, a simple, comforting soup we used to eat often at comida corrida in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Light. Warm. Familiar. The kind of food that doesn’t try too hard. We’re working on turning that into a simple recipe freebie to share with you soon. Just something cozy for your kitchen. |
Yukari Bianchi
Hi, I’m Yukari! My husband, Aric, a talented chef, and I are on a mission to bring people together through the magic of cooking. We want to build a virtual cooking community where we share budget-friendly meal prep tips, host fun challenges, and teach classes beyond recipes—we tell stories of love, life, and even the lessons we learn from our fur babies. Yes, our Bernese Mountain Dog, Senna, the Dish Pit Pup, and our Ginger cat, Ka-En, the Sous Chef Kitten, are part of the journey too! We believe food is more than just fuel—it’s about connection, culture, and creativity. If you enjoy heartwarming stories, engaging Q&As, and cooking made simple, we’d love to have you in our community.🔪🍲 Join us to cook, laugh, and share the love—one meal at a time.
Hello Reader, It's Yukari! Hope you had a fabulous Valentine’s Day weekend. 🧡 Aric and I took a little break from work and had a “date day” we actually love...Pedicures together, happy hour…then he cooked me a full 3-course dinner at home. (Full transparency: this was Aric in chef-mode 😂 Our normal weeknights are much simpler.) How to make staying in feel like a treat (not a chore) We avoided crowded restaurants, loud music, and a prix fixe menu, and traded it for quality time, no...
🇲🇽Hello from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! Hello Reader, It's Yukari! Quick hello from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! 🌴 When you read this email, we’ll be soaking up the sunshine in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The third place we’ve called “home” over the years.We also escaped cold Denver, Colorado, at the perfect time… right as an Arctic air mass was settling in for a few days. ❄️😅 🏡 Our Third Place We call “Home.” People often ask us why Puerto Vallarta means so much to us, so here’s the short version. I...
A Quiet New Year at the Kitchen Table Hello Reader, It's Yukari! We hope your New Year is off to an exciting start!Did you make a New Year’s resolution this year, or did you skip it?No matter what you choose, we hope you reach your goals. We’re cheering you on! Japanese New Year Tradition In Japan, New Year’s food is more than just a meal. Each dish is a wish for the year ahead.There are long-held beliefs about eating a bowl of soba noodles on New Year’s Eve.Soba noodle soup is meant to wish...