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The Kitchen Table with Aric and Yukari

You Don't Put That in Nabe.

Published 22 days agoΒ β€’Β 3 min read

Hello Reader, It's Yukari!
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When I first moved to Colorado, there weren’t many of us here.

Not many Japanese people, not many Japanese restaurants.
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A few, scattered, if you were willing to drive.
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And the ingredients I’d grown up with were mostly not available at all.
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This was long before you could order anything from anywhere.

So if I wanted the food I missed, I had to make it.
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And if I wanted to make it, I had to make it out of what Colorado actually had.

That’s where I learned it.
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Not from a class.
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From missing home.

After a while, I got good enough at it that I invited someone over.
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A Japanese woman who newly arrived here with her husband’.
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I decided on nabe β€” the hot pot you cook at the table β€” because it’s forgiving, and because you sit together while it happens.
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I shopped carefully, and I was proud of it.

We sat down, and almost immediately she said:
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β€œYou don’t put that in nabe.”

Pointing on the vegetable I put in the pot.
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She wasn't wrong.
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My pot did have tofu and chicken thighs in it.
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But it also had zucchini.
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And broccoli.
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White button mushrooms, where shiitake should have been.
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Spinach standing in for shungiku.
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To me, it was a solution.
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To her, (Three weeks off the plane...) it must have looked like something from another planet.
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I remember what I said.
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I smiled and said, "This is what I can get here."

I think about that dinner a lot.

What she was correcting was exactly what made me a better cook.
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All those years of not being able to buy what Japanese people would normally cook with...
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That's what taught me to look at what I DID have and ask what it could become.
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Not "What am I making tonight?"
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​"What can these things in the fridge turn into?" ​
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It wasn't my intention to learn that.
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I just wanted a familiar food that reminds me of my hometown.

Here's why I'm telling you now, in October.

The holiday season is the most watched meal of the year.
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Other people are in your kitchen.
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Other people are at your table.
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And that's the hardest time to ask a question, because asking a simple cooking question out loud feels like admitting you should already know.
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I've been the person at that table.
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I know what that silence costs.

So we're making a morning where nobody has to do that.

Holiday Rescue: ​
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Sunday, November 22nd, 10:00 am Denver time. (12 PM Eastern. 9 AM Pacific)
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The Sunday before Thanksgiving, close enogh that your questions are real, early enough to still fix them.
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​Online. About an hour. Small on purpose. Our gift to you.
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You bring the question you've been quietly avoiding.
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Aric and I answer it in front of a handful of people who are all quietly wondering similar things, too.
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Nobody's cooking.
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No demo, no performance, no recipe to keep up with.
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Just the questions (and perhaps coffee, or even better, a glass of wine. 🍷)

Back in August, I asked which part of Thanksgiving scares you most.

The answer that came back was "Timing."
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One oven, six dishes, everything hot at the same moment.
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So, that's where we're starting.
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(Yes, it asks for your email again...It's how we know to send you the link.)

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If you tapped a button in August, thank YOU!
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​Know someone who’s quietly dreading the holiday season? ​
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Forward this to them!
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There’s a seat for them too!
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That's what shape this event!
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And if your question is like, "I've never cooked for a group." "I don't know where to start." "I'm afraid to carve it"...
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Hit reply and tell me privately if that's easier.
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I read every single one, and will answer it on November 22nd!

One more thing! For our Denver Friends!

Our cooking classes have a home now!
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Including Kitchen 911, the one I've been hinting at since August.
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That's the one where we come to your kitchen and work on the thing that keeps going wrong.
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It's all there now! ➑️ Kitchen 911 ⬅️

Thanks for being at our Kitchen Table on this cozy little corner of the internet.
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We appreciate you following along and letting us share not just what we cook but why we cook. 🧑
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With gratitude and friendship,
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Aric & Yukari
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🐱 (P.S. Ka-En has decided that October is soup season and has stationed himself accordingly, which is directly in front of the stove, at the exact height of maximum inconvenience. πŸ˜‚ Senna lays down by the doorway instead, and is also in the way, but with better sightlines. πŸ˜‚)

The Kitchen Table with Aric and Yukari

Hi, I’m Yukari! I’m a home cook married to Aric, a talented chef, and together we share practical, encouraging kitchen content for people who want to cook more at home without feeling overwhelmed. We believe food is more than fuel. It can be comfort, connection, creativity, and a small way to care for yourself and the people you love. Here, you’ll find budget-friendly cooking ideas, meal prep help, relatable stories, and simple encouragement to help home cooking feel more possible in real life. And yes, you’ll also occasionally meet Senna, our Bernese Mountain Dog, and Ka-En, our ginger cat, who are very committed to supervising everything we cook. 🐢🐱 If you’re looking for cooking that feels more doable, cozy, and joyful, welcome.

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