If you love Japanese food but have never cooked it at home, Nancy Singleton Hachisu’s new cookbook and memoir, “Japanese Farm Food,” is a perfect place to start to explore techniques and flavors.

A love of sushi and languages took the California native to Japan in 1988. Falling in love and marrying Japanese farmer Tadaaki Hachisu kept her there.

Hachisu’s cookbook is a collection of her husband’s family recipes and those she’s developed with him over 25 years of cooking and enjoying food together with their sons, extended family and friends.

Her stories about life in Japan, food and farming traditions, and cultural differences are fascinating.

The Hachisus live in an 80-year-old family farmhouse in rural Saitama prefecture, and they eat what they grow.

Tadaaki runs a free-range egg business, while Nancy runs an English school. They grow rice, wheat and as many organic vegetables as they have time to cultivate. Now in their mid-50s, Nancy said their mantra is, “We do what we can, and move on. We struggle every day to do as much as we can.”

Nancy has always had a passion for food. She is a leader in the Slow Food movement and has taught cooking classes for 20 years.

She went to Japan in her 20s, eager to explore the world of sushi.

“The whole feeling I got when I sat down at the bar, that quiet, relaxed feeling: I could be alone, eat by myself, have my beautiful, raw stuff. That was very appealing to me, because I grew up in a family with six screaming kids,” Hachisu told us with a laugh.

These days, Hachisu is a speedy, intuitive home cook who doesn’t fuss over dinner.

“I’m working at home, but I still delay my time to start dinner because I’m busy with writing, planning and projects, and I’m always looking at the clock and I’m thinking, ‘How long can I wait to start dinner?’”

In “Japanese Farm Food,” Hachisu writes that their home cooking is “both logical and simple to execute,” and then goes on to explain, chapter by chapter, in clear and entertaining prose, how to broil, steam, boil, stir-fry or deep-fry (as tempura). She reassures the reader who may be new to Japanese food that it’s easy to make quick, healthy Japanese vegetable dishes or salads to complement any roasted meat, poultry or fish.

Fortunately, one doesn’t need many exotic ingredients to make Japanese food. High quality soy sauce, vinegar, sea salt, sake and miso (fermented soybean paste) are the main pantry staples.

“The better quality ingredient, the better the dish will come out, and you’ll keep the soy sauce or vinegar around for a while, since you don’t use much in the recipes,” she said.

Her cookbook has a “Resources” section with suggested places to mail order Japanese staples if you can’t find what you’re looking for in the Asian section of local grocery stores.

“A good place to start cooking Japanese is vegetable side dishes, salads and no-brainer fish steamed in sake,” Hachisu told us in a phone interview from San Francisco where she was attending the International Association of Culinary Professionals conference.

She hopes American home cooks won’t be intimidated at the thought of cooking her family’s farm food.

“If you understand how logically simple it can be, it frees you up a bit. You shouldn’t be scared of it, scared of the different flavors. I do lots of cooking demonstrations, and I have to say, the students are always expecting it to be a lot more complicated. But the shopping is easy, the prep is fast and the cooking is minimal. They’re always shocked. They think it’s going to be more of a big production, but I don’t choose to have a big production,” Hachisu said.

Her vinaigrette dressings are a good way to introduce Japanese flavors at home.

“The two easiest to do are the soy sauce vinaigrette and miso vinaigrette. (See recipes.) They’re made in the same proportions, and they are the most delicious salad dressings — delicious on any Western salad. Very easiest thing you can do, and you’ll be surprised how tasty it is,” she said.

Hachisu is a big advocate of shopping at local farmers markets and choosing what looks best that day. Her agrarian lifestyle cured her of the habit of meal planning. The Hachisu family eats what’s fresh.

“If you go to the farmers market or the fish market, maybe you don’t even know what you want that day. Maybe the celery is looking great, and you touch it, and it makes you excited to cook. Getting things that have vitality are important. They’re not so far off from being in the ground,” Hachisu said.

Hachisu’s “Stir-Fried Celery and Red Pepper with Soy Sauce” (see recipe) is easy to prepare and fast to cook. It has a crunchy texture going for it, along with the zing of spicy dried chili peppers and the dark saltiness of soy sauce.

Hachisu frequently cooks quickly boiled (for about two minutes) and refreshed greens, like turnip or mustard greens or bok choy. She told us she refreshes them by cooling them down in cold water immediately after boiling.

“After boiling and cooling, squeeze the greens with a towel. Add soy sauce and dried bonita flakes (skipjack tuna), and you get a little Japanese accent. It’s low cal, delicious and goes with almost everything you can eat,” she said.

Japanese food in Central Oregon

For a taste of Japan in Bend, there’s Bend-o Bento Japanese Kitchen at 1375 S.E. Wilson Ave., Bend. Yukiko McLaughlin and Keiko Wysuph opened it in March 2012. It’s their first restaurant and it’s a small one, with only eight seats, open for lunch, Monday through Friday.

“People ask us, why not open at night? We still have little kids. It’s a lot of work,” McLaughlin said. She grew up in a Toyko neighborhood, but has lived in Bend for about 11 years.

Bend-o Bento Japanese Kitchen specializes in bento box meals, which consist of several different foods, served in a box with divided compartments.

“The salmon bento is pan grilled, seasoned with sea salt, no pepper, and put in the oven. It’s served with two sides, rice and some pickles,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin shared her restaurant’s chicken teriyaki recipe with us. It’s not a recipe from her childhood, but McLaughlin said many of their recipes have a family connection.

“I use techniques and some sauces from Mom, and many of our recipes are based on family recipes,” she said.

If Japanese flavors and culture intrigue you, it’s time to say “konnichiwa” to Japanese home cooking.

Curl up with “Japanese Farm Food” and a cup of tea, and you’ll realize you can cook easy Japanese stir-fry, soup, salad and even pickles at home. Next thing you know, you’ll advance to tempura and homemade ramen and udon noodles with Nancy Singleton Hachisu’s clear instructions.

If you’re not feeling quite so adventurous yet, Bend-o Bento Japanese Kitchen’s take-out or eat-in meals offer the appealing Asian flavors and fun of a bento box.