Have you ever tasted Japanese Mochi? You should.

Japan is a beautiful, magical place. Their sense of aesthetics runs through everything from clothing to architecture to packaging and food. I remember stopping into a small shop to grab a cheese sandwich and receiving something that looked like an art piece - two perfect triangles with the crust removed. Even the bag the sandwich was placed in was beautiful, sealed with a gold medallion. I never got used to everything as art, but I liked it. Food as an art form is celebrated in the Japanese semi-sweet, chewy rice treats called mochi. Once you try it, you'll want more.

The problem for me was that I couldn't find any fresh mochi in Boston, and mochi best when it's just hours old. So, I was delighted to hear about Erino Tezuka Wade, who makes to-order ultra fresh mochi in her home. Her company is called Mochi Kitchen.

Erino takes her mochi very seriously and normally asks her customers to email her their order one or two days prior to the preferred pick up date, because she cooks with sweet rice, not sweet rice powder, which needs to be soaked in water for at least six 6 hours.

You can order both sweet and savory mochi. My favorite is mochi covered with toasted soybean powder and maple syrup.

Erino really aspires to be a green business owner, but she feels that she's not quiet there yet. Here's what she has done so far:

• All ingredients are natural and no chemical or artificial preservatives are used.
• No artificial food colorings are used. They use berry or beets juice instead.
• They ask their regular customers to bring their own containers to reduce a use of plastic containers and bags.
• They make everything to order with no leftovers going to waste.

You can order by giving Erino a call at (415) 902-6235 or emailing her your order to erino@mochi-kitchen.com

~ by Sarah Manski for PosiPlanet, the blog of the founders of PosiPair.com