lokokitchen

One of the best parts about this #myamericanpie collaboration with @theresidnyc is giving people the spotlight to tell their own story, in their own words. ⁣

We’re concluding the first round of the series with the Gentile family. ⁣

“Both of our families come from Italy. Growing up, my nana only made Italian food and bought everything at a store that imported food from Italy. My favorite memory is making pizzelles with her as a kid. ⁣

Pizzelles are traditionally an Italian holiday cookie but growing up, my Nana would make them for me year round because she knew how much I loved them. She would even send them in care packages to me at summer camp. It was like receiving a big hug in the mail knowing she took the time to make them and carefully package them up for me. ⁣

Last Christmas, our daughter devoured pizzelles for the very first time with such joy in her eyes. Perhaps these special cookies will also become a part of her childhood memories and something that connects her to her Italian heritage.”⁣

I’ve made this pie inspired by grandma’s pizzelles, and it is filled with Italian plums and a splash of amaretto.⁣

#lokokitchenxtheresidnyc #theresidnyc #myamericanpie

December 22, 2019

A red above the rest. 🍎

Some of my pie designs take hourssss to construct, and others come together in less time than it takes to countdown a rocket launch. This gingerbread caramel tart took a mere 10 minutes to assemble because @thecosmiccrisp is naturally slow to brown(!) so I skipped the preventative step of treating the apples with honey water and everything still stayed fresh!⁣ ✨

This shiny new apple just debuted on the market after 20 years of research at Washington State University. It’s tart and sweet and juicy and crunchy, and honestly, if something frees up any space in my life, it’s definitely w-earth a spot in my regular rotation. You can take my word for it, orbit-er yet, travel at the speed of light to your local market to find some for yourself. You’ll be over the moon. ⁣💫

December 18, 2019

One of the best parts about this #myamericanpie collaboration with @theresidnyc is giving people the spotlight to tell their own story, in their own words. ⁣

We’re continuing the series with Maia. I’ve made this pie inspired by colorful Ankara fabrics and it is filled with chicken and spicy hot West African pepper sauce. ⁣

“My mother is Liberian and Lebanese. She came to the States at the beginning of the civil war in Liberia. My father is black and Filipino. I define myself as black.⁣

Heritage to me is where you come from as well as the cultural practices that you perform. I remember being around 11 years old and watching my grandmother cook my favorite meal--cassava leaf--at her house in Maryland. I distinctly remember her laughing and letting me stir the pot as I watched her add fish and chicken into the dish. Most of my memories regarding my cultural background and heritage relate to food. ⁣

The ingredients in this pie directly resemble the memories I shared. The design represents my own Americanness because this is exactly how I would enjoy an American traditional dish with a Liberian touch (and a lot of pepper sauce). It reminds me of being in my grandmother’s house and smelling her cooking while looking at all the Ankara fabrics in her basement. I love this and am thankful that I could see this memory come to life.”⁣

#theresidnyc⁣ #myamericanpie

December 16, 2019

Cheese the day. 🧀I Continuing the savory streak with this ricotta and garlic confit tart with roasted Chioggia beets (cue the “looks like ahi tuna” comments 😏). 🐟⁣

December 13, 2019

One of the best parts about this #myamericanpie collaboration with @theresidnyc is giving people the spotlight to tell their own story, in their own words. ⁣

We’re continuing the series with Priscila. I’ve made this pie inspired by Incan art and filled with Peruvian comfort food, aji de gallina, to go with her story.

“Before moving to the US, my view of American life was basically Saved by the Bell. But then in 2002, I moved to Georgia and I realized the “American Dream” my parents were chasing wasn’t going to be as fun as Mario Lopez made it seem.⁣

People didn’t know anything about Peru and I didn't want to give them more reasons to consider me an outsider, so I suppressed this part of my identity in order to fit in. As I grew up and moved to New York, I realized that part of me will never go away - I'm Peruvian American and my heritage is what makes me unique and allows me to look at things with additional lenses. I can cheer for Peru during the World Cup and the US during the Olympics. I love ceviche AND grits. I'm a hybrid of where I come from and where I am today - kind of like this pie, I'm aji de gallina but also a pie. This is a country of immigrants, some have been here for hundreds of years and others for weeks, but it doesn't change the fact that despite our differences, we can help each other move forward. It's my new American Dream.”⁣

#lokokitchenxtheresidnyc #theresidnyc #myamericanpie

December 9, 2019

Smartyplants. 🌳I Some people take drastic measures to squash creepy caulis. Others don’t carrot at all, preferring to live life on the veg. 🥦🥕I I crafted this tart with a long list of leftovers that included: caramelized onions, cauliflower puree, Gruyere, and roasted honeynut squash, yellow carrot, romanesco, and purple cauliflower. Taste the (week old) rainbow. ⁣🌈✨

December 7, 2019

Quilt trip. 🛌I I didn’t post on Thanksgiving and apparently I missed #nationalpieday (is it just me or does it feel like there are thirty-seven of these every year?!), so...I’m clearly running behind. 😅 BUT. In an effort to get a jump on next year, I’m rolling out dates next week for @lokokitchen 2020 workshops! 🎉 Tickets make fun holiday gifts, so flag December 13, 9am PST, on your calendar (or tag your fairy godhuman here and give ‘em a little wink wink nudge nudge 😉)!

This is my annual take on @kenjilopezalt’s turkey cranberry pie from @seriouseats with whole wheat cheddar and beet doughs quilted into a square weave.⁣ 🦃

December 2, 2019

I spy with my little pie. 👁I Everywhere I look, it’s design inspo as far as the pie can see. Bathroom decor, patio chairs, store fronts, bamboo purses--all images that are tiled away for the future. It’s a twenty-floor, seven job, but someone’s gotta dough it. 🤷🏻‍♀️I Grapefruit ginger curd tart with kiwi and a speculoos crust. The design is inspired by surface tilework seen while puttering around in Spain earlier this fall. ⁣🥝

November 24, 2019

⁣

One of the best parts about this #myamericanpie collaboration with @theresidnyc is giving people the spotlight to tell their own story, in their own words. ⁣

We’re continuing the series with Peter. I’ve created this pie inspired by his heritage--with a savory lumpia filling and a design modeled after Croatian folk embroidery. ⁣

“My father is Croatian. He left former-Yugoslavia now Bosnia Herzegovina because there wasn’t much opportunity for him. My mother is from the Philippines. They met at a dance party in Queens in 1984 and married 3 months later.

As a mixed-race person born and raised in NYC, with a very Eastern European name, I learned quickly that people will often see two things: what they are most comfortable with and/or what they’re most uncomfortable with. Additionally, as a person with a disability, I’ve inherited the ideas of what it means to be disabled in the United States. ⁣

Growing up in Queens, I was given the opportunity to experience many different cultures. The embroidery on this pie to me represents how all the different cultures I’ve experienced and been influenced by (and continue to be) have been interlaced together and impact how I live. The intricacies and the simplicity show how very different things can come together to create something unique and beautiful.” ⁣

#lokokitchenxtheresidnyc #theresidnyc #myamericanpie

November 21, 2019

(P)Layerz in the club. 🎤I The peanut butter mousse is still going strong. This time it’s dressed in slinky layers of mango, persimmon, and pomegranate for a wild night out. 🌃 Let’s get the party tarted. ⁣💃🏻

November 19, 2019

Back in July, I kicked off the #myamericanpie series by sharing my cultural heritage and a pie inspired by my family. One of the best parts about this collaboration with @theresidnyc is giving people the spotlight to tell their own story, in their own words. ⁣

We’re continuing the series with Katie. This blackberry mint pie is a stained glass interpretation of Kentucky’s rolling green hills, all of which are drawn from elements of Katie’s story, which she shares below:⁣

“My maternal ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, and my father’s family were poor Irish and Italian immigrants, who came to the States in the 1900s. I was initially reared in Louisville, by 5 women—grandmother, mother, aunt, cousin, and nanny—in a tiny house in the forest. It was a very artistic family following the tradition of my great-great-grandfather, who brought his family practice of stained glass from Penzance, Cornwall, England. ⁣

My heritage has been the rolling green hills of Kentucky and the humid roots of mangroves in south Florida. I was always running around barefoot in my childhood and loved the outdoors. Lime green, forest green, hints of chartreuse––the colorful hues of this #myamericanpie remind me of the rich forest that I adored as a toddler and the palm fronds that almost seemed explosive when moved by the Floridian winds.” ⁣

#lokokitchenxtheresidnyc #theresidnyc #myamericanpie

November 15, 2019

Verified

Pie it forward. 🙏🏽I 300k followers?! Two years ago, I was just minding my own business, working an office job and baking for fun on the weekends. Then the internet intervened and somehow I get to bake art for a living now! Thank you for being part of this community!

Cranberry persimmon tart with a Keith Haring vibe (if you squint a little). 〰️

November 12, 2019

Back in July, I kicked off the #myamericanpie series by sharing my cultural heritage and a pie inspired by my family. One of the best parts about this collaboration with @theresidnyc is giving people the spotlight to tell their own story, in their own words. We’re continuing the series with Ryn. ⁣

“My heritage is Japanese-American. My mother’s parents emigrated from Japan to California early in the 20th century. My father’s parents left Japan for Hawaii in 1937 at the time of government/military crackdown on progressive forms of Buddhism. Both my parents’ families avoided internment after Pearl Harbor in completely different ways. That influenced their parenting. We were told that American English would be our first and native language. Like many other Japanese-Americans, assimilation was the order of the day. My earliest memories have been of cluelessness about being different.”⁣

As Ryn reflects on her cultural influences, she says, “The older I get, the more I wish I had learned,” and the Japanese textile art of shibori--dyeing cloth manipulated into different patterns with folds and stitches--is one of those traditions that encapsulates that feeling. This pie design is inspired by that art form, and is filled with Fuji apple and miso caramel. ⁣

#lokokitchenxtheresidnyc #theresidnyc #myamericanpie

November 3, 2019

Red on arrival. 🍎I Pillowy peanut butter mousse burrowed underneath a patchwork of pink apples, red apples, naked apples, and dressed apples. A sweet and snuggly blanket that’s quilt to last (until you show up with your a-pie-tite). 🛌

October 29, 2019

October 25, 2019

Fine and candy. 🍭I Unintentional but seasonally appropriate candy corn vibes on this blueberry curd tart with mango and papaya. Amaizeing when that happens. 🌽

October 22nd, 2019

"Back in July, I kicked off the #myamericanpie series by sharing my cultural heritage and a pie inspired by my family. One of the best parts about this collaboration with @theresidnyc is giving people the spotlight to tell their own story, in their own words. We’re continuing the series with Dominique. This grilled peach pie with cinnamon, ginger, and a braided design is inspired by the literal visual of her hair as well as how her American identity is rooted in the notion of supportive community.⁣

⁣

“I’m a 3rd or 4th generation American. My mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother are all from New York City. When people think of an ‘American girl,’ they go to blonde hair, blue eyes, and apple pie, but here I am--chunky box braids with tassels at the end and peach cobbler and sweet potato pie.⁣

⁣

For me, when I think of American culture I think of African-American culture. I think of loud, vaguely-legal block parties, and 9-year-old me running through open fire hydrants. I think of late night barbeques with strangers-turned-family in Rockaway Beach, where I’m from. For me, African-American culture is rooted in building communities with endless support. I’m really lucky to have grown up in that. ⁣

⁣

That’s the American culture I know and love, and it’s cool to see a version of ‘American Pie’ that feels like me and my family.”⁣"

October 16th, 2019

Out of yarn’s way. ⛔️I Sometimes it’s worth your argyle to knit while you’re ahead. Sweater safe than sorry, ya know? 🧶I Passion fruit curd tart with a papaya argyle knit to herald the arrival of sweater weather. As with all tarts on here, this is the finished product. ⁣🤗

October 14th, 2019

Resting beach face. 🏖I Easing back into real life after some time awave with this meditative ocean ombré. A healthy dose of Vitamin Sea (and a whole lot of pintxos 🤤) was just what I needed to ride the rest of this year all the way to shore. 🌊I The blue-green marbling is a result of mashing up a variety of dough scraps naturally colored with spinach juice, butterfly pea flower tea, and blue spirulina. Pineapple mango filling just bursting to shell its secrets. ⁣🐚

October 9th, 2019

On-the-glow. ✨I Shewf! It’s been an incredibly grueling year of working towards one colossal deadline. I’m taking the next two weeks off to catch my breath, read guiltlessly, drink a ton of txakoli, and find all the funny-flavored chips that aren’t available in the U.S. I may or may not be around these parts while I loaf about, but thank you for being here and for propelling me through the last 12 months. 😅I A sun-drenched stone fruit cream tart I made earlier in the summer when apricots and cotton candy apriums(!) were still around. Baked shortbread crust + cinnamon cream. ⁣✨

September 20th, 2019

Change of greenery. 🍃I Pear berry pie dragging me into fall because the rain is back and apparently mint to stay. If it wasn’t already obvious, summer is my jam and olive the autumnal things feel like limes against humanity. “Sage against the PSL machine! Slash and fern the bulky sweaters!” are not uncommon thoughts around this transitional period. 😩 Someone promise me that everything’s going to be pine, and I’ll go silently into the fall night if I moss. 🌲I You know the drill...baked photos get posted to my stories/highlights. This one is still in the freezer so try to leaf the #yeahbutwhatdoesitlooklikebaked ??! unteal then.⁣ 🙃

September 17th, 2019

Autumn’s up! 🍻I I’ve seen so many posts about fall already, but I refuse. SUMMER FOREVER. ☀️I Can you believe there are only three different apple varieties in this tart? A vibrant rainbow of hues embedded in a cloud of peanut butter mousse on a baked shortbread crust. Fruit from some of my favorite local growers: @helsingfarms, @collinsfamilyorchards, and @theworks.seattle. Thanks for sharing your gorgeous produce, friends!⁣ 🍎🍏🍎

September 6th, 2019

Dreams come two. ✌🏽I This @lokokitchen account is officially TWO years old. It started as a total fluke and has expanded into a venture that has completely changed my life and the landscape of modern pie design. What in the crazy?! 😳 It has been a roller coaster of delight, exhaustion, anxiety, and opportunities beyond my wildest imagination. THANK YOU for joining in on the fun and for supporting this nerdy corner of the internet! It’s a privilege to share with you all, and I can’t wait to dig into even crazier things this next year!🎉| Cinnamon and ginger-spiced peach pie swirled in a pink cornflower version of my signature spoke with the tiniest crown of frozen raspberries. ⁣👑

August 29th, 2019

Twilight stone. ✨I It’s Friday! Get pitted. 🍑🤙🏽| Still on my stone fruit shtick with this classic @lokokitchen hand-sliced wavy tart take with caramel cream and nectarines. (This is the finished product! ✌🏽)💥⁣ ⁣

August 16th, 2019

Kings of Neon. ⚡️I @hopelinkhelps is a nonprofit that serves homeless and low-income families in King and Snohomish counties by providing them with stability and helping them gain skills and knowledge to exit poverty for good. I’m headed to their fundraiser tonight, where they’ll be auctioning off a few Lokokitchen pies among other fun things. Last year, the pies raised a total of $2600(!), so we are hoping to generate some support for their programs again this year. Amidst a perpetual stream of heavy and horrific events, I’m so grateful for people and organizations that continue to provide critical services in our communities. Link in bio if you feel like contributing today’s latte monies to their End Summer Hunger project! 💛I Summer-spiced peach pie forever with blueberry and carrot colored doughs. 🍑⁣

August 8th, 2019

Wave reviews. 🌊I The juiciest assortment of stone fruit from @helsingfarmcsa and @collinsfamilyorchards all layered up to wave goodbye to the week and helloooo to the weekend! 👋🏽 Time to tarty!⁣ 🍑🎉| Edit: this is the finished product! Only the crust needed to be baked on this one

August 2nd, 2019

Curves of steel. 〰️I Peach pie with cornflower dough winding its way around a canvas of beet. Forever using dough scraps to make bends meet. ⁣➿

July 31st, 2019

Chomp and circumstance. 🦷I Now between me and chew, I say it was just luck of the gnaw. 😬I Blueberry curd tart with dragon fruit Pac Men (or teeth?) serving a mouthful of bitin’ words. ⁣

July 23rd, 2019

"I am the first generation in my family to be born in the United States. My father immigrated here from Hong Kong when he was 12 and my mother from Honduras as an adult. ⁣

⁣

I grew up in San Diego, spent most of my summers in Tegucigalpa with my grandparents, and have never been to Asia. English wasn’t my first language, but it is now my dominant one. ⁣

⁣

I’m generally not Asian *enough,* not quite Latina, and while I’ve lived in several different countries, the U.S. has still always been home, for better or worse. So it seems both ironic and perfect that I now reimagine a classic American dessert for a living. It’s equal parts not traditional enough, (not baked enough, hoho), and not radical enough. But American all the same. ⁣

⁣

This pie, like my childhood, is filled with mango; fragrant like the fruit I used to pick in the yard. And clothed in a design that is blue and white like the Honduran flag, blue and white like my grandma’s Chinese porcelain with the dragon motif, and blue and white like the California beachscape that is home. This is my American pie."

July 18, 2019

Eat your tart out.💛| The glorious bounty of juicy summer produce is enough to make anyone want to swirl up and pie. 🥧

July 16th, 2019

"

With liberty and crustice for all. 🥧I “American Pie” as a concept (Don McLean song and 90’s movie aside) often conjures images of golden, rustic apple pie and nostalgic memories of baking with grandma over the holidays. With the diverse makeup of our country today, there are so many stories that don’t necessarily fit into a traditional narrative but which are still very much American. I’m thrilled to partner with @theresidnyc and @bbdony to highlight several stories of multicultural American identity through the lens of individuals themselves and through pie!

Over the next year, we’ll feature different American individuals or families and their story along with a pie design inspired by patterns, colors, and/or flavors that give a visual of their unique Americanness.

We invite you to follow along with us and also explore what this concept of identity and American pie might be for you too! I’ll kick things off next week by telling my own story, and I can’t wait to share!"

July 4th, 2019

Like a sun of bricks.☀️| Dough is me! Starting Monday wishing it was Sunday...where do these weekends go?? 😪

July 1st, 2019

Peachy green. 🌿| This spring, Ben and I ventured into gardening for the first time ever. We filled our planter box with salad ingredients, and in an unexpected fern of events, our vegetables and herbs are thriving! We’re also building a foliage-lined reading nook inspired by plant sage @hiltoncarter, and now I spend the entire work day pining to escape to our jungle. My favorite color is consuming olive our lives, and lime all about it! 🌵|

June 25th, 2019

Body and stroll.🚶🏻‍♀️| This passionfruit tart paved with papaya and strawberry cobblestones is the kind of street food that’ll walk your socks off. 🧦 .

June 19th, 2019

The whole nine shards. 💎| I repurposed dough scraps from the blue tiled number two posts back to shine up this marbled stained glass bloobarb pie. Zero waste for the win(dow)

June 11th, 2019

Plaid to the bone. 💀| Pattern mixing today with stripes AND spots. Perhaps not my most ground-breaking work, but it’s the dot that counts, right? ⚫️| Plain ol’ cherry pie but make it fashion.

May 10th, 2019

Swirled-class. 🌀I “Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer” is a dreamland of an exhibit currently showing @seattleartmuseum. I walked through several weeks ago, and the volume of texture, color, shape, and music (yes!) is a sensory feast. Our creations share some abstract geometric elements in common, so I knew I’d feel an affinity for his work, but I was truly blown away by how he wields material with messaging to weave powerful visual narrative. This swirled raspberry and spirulina lemon tart is inspired by all the things I experienced in the exhibit. If you’re in Seattle, there are just 12 days left to immerse yourself in the color bath of Gibson’s craftsmanship

Frequent flyer dials. 🎛| Feeling a little flight-headed wrapping up some work before heading to NYC this weekend. I’m usually not one to wing it, so I’m hedging my jets and getting as much done as I can ahead of time. No pain, no plane is the saying...right? 😜 P.S. I’m still working my way through the recommendations I received from you all a year ago, but if you could only eat ONE thing in the city, what would you choose?? | Caramel pear pie with blueberry dough looking fly. ✈️

April 30th, 2019

Dust the process. ✨| These little baby kiwi cutouts are like verdant oases in a blood orange desert. Despite my best laid sands, recent creative sessions have really fallen short. I Gobi-tween expanses of discouragement and resolution. But cactus makes perfect, so I’m hoping that with a little time, I’ll be singing a different dune

April 27th, 2019

All strings considered. 🧬I Over the past few months, I’ve been sharing in my stories the work of different creators that inspire me with their use of color, texture, pattern, and design--all major elements that inform my own aesthetic. Accounts like @windychien, @masquespacio_ana, @jamillaokubo, @jonathantodryk, @jessieandkatey, @aleishallgirardmaxon, @wmlachance, and @matthewshlian are some of my favorites! I’m always on the lookout for visual eye candy, so if you have any favorite artists/designers/makers, please share! 🙏🏽I

Stick and choose. 👈🏽| Blueberry curd tart with papaya (not carrot, lolz) matchsticks.

April 17th, 2019

Quilt trip. 💠| Dragging myself into the work day when all I want is to make like these plums and nestle under a butterfly pea flower blanket. A gloomy day, a cozy throw, a fluffy pup, and a shortage of coffee...the snuggle is real. 💤 .

April 11th, 2019

Big Tang Theory. 💥| Elevate your Easter dinner contribution with this no-bake lemon cheesecake tart starring @darigoldnw butter and cream. All the other dishes on the table will be mere satellites orbiting around your sun. Check my story for the recipe on how this star is born! #sponsored 

April 9th, 2019

Walk and roll.🚶🏻‍♀️| Tomorrow I’ll be participating in Walk MS for the 19th year to raise money and awareness about Multiple Sclerosis, an as yet incurable autoimmune disease that affects millions of people, including my mom. Ben and I will be sloth jogging the 5K, and hoping that this is the year they start handing out pizza on the sidelines instead of bananas. 🙏🏽 I got a majorly late start on fundraising, but if you want to throw in a morning latte or happy hour beer or even a whole pizza’s worth, the link is in my bio. My family and so many others hope we can find a cure in our lifetime! 🧡 And if you’re walking in Seattle, I’ll be wearing a purple shirt with high fives at the ready! 😎| Cherry berry zigzag pie with beet coloring

April 6th, 2019

Rest. In. PIEce. 💛| I’m headed home to San Diego this weekend for a memorial service and have been thinking a lot about the legacies we leave behind. It’s a little strange to consider that mine could be pie art of all things. 😜 I hope kindness, geometric color blasts, and being the friend that gathered people will be mixed in there too. What about you? 

March 29th, 2019

Dairytale come true. ✨| Sometimes I spend hours assembling a tart because it’s therapeutic for me. But I don’t always have that kind of time, especially now that it’s officially spring and I’m more incentivized to be outside soaking up sunshine instead. This peanut butter chocolate cream tart with @darigoldnw butter comes together in just 30 minutes. Screenshot the recipe in my story! #sponsored

April 2nd, 2019

Fruit of the matter. | Passionfruit curd tart with papaya tile getting down to the tart of it.

March 27th, 2019

Squiggle room. 〰️| Waving in the weekend with this baked pineapple mango curlicue pie. We have wildly uninteresting plans to zig about town with an eternally long To-Do twist. But I suppose it curves us right for putting so many things off this week. Hope you don’t spend yours burning the midnight coil too!

March 22nd, 2019

New Grids on the Block. 🎸| This blueberry curd tart with honeydew is headlining a rocking live dough tonight. Calling all groupies to head bang along

Friends in pie places. 🥧| Happy Pi(e) Day! @darigoldnw and I are gathering a group tonight for a round of dough-related shenanigans. Follow along with us in our stories to join in on the fun and check out the resulting masterPIEces! | Pie-ling on the pie content with this strawberry blueberry mango number studded with my latest experiment—edible geometric jewels! 💎 #sponsored .

March 14th, 2019

Spike a pose. 🕺🏻| This blood orange curd tart with kiwi spikes has moves like dagger. Stay sharp, friends

March 12, 2019