 Hakone Garden, Saratoga After two weeks of dine-out lunches and meandering about the San Francisco Bay area, Mom returned home to Hawaii. We sent her home with a suitcase full of Trader Joe's omiyage and a list of Korean tofu houses in Honolulu. Now, it's back on my own. Mom's not one for spicy food, so we're adding a little more pep. Here's what I am cooking this week. MondayOrange Salsa Pork Chops, Okinawan Sweet Potatoes, rice, and curry-roasted cauliflower.
Straw, blue, rasp and blackberries!
| FridayTacos--No Mix, and my own GuacamoleAfternoon snacks for the ravenous teenagersBerries are in peak season. Drizzled with yogurt and granola. I've also bought fresh tamales from Whole Foods, tortillas with shredded cheese and salsa, Kee Wah Bakery croissants and pork curry puffs, and yes, two bags of potato chips. After all, they are teenagers. Eat Well. Be Well. |
We can carry the vegetarian challenge one more day, especially since the hot weather makes me unlikely to want to cook anything. But meat returns, and the husband is relieved. Here's what's cooking this week. MondayIt was about 90 degrees in the Bay Area today and I really didn't feel like cooking. So I've made a variation on C's Orzo Salad that requires even less cooking. I'm calling it On-the-fly Orzo Salad, and it's at the bottom of C's Orzo Salad page. Fresh berries and maple yogurt for dessert. Instead of cooking onions and corn, I'm using fresh mozzarella balls, red peppers, cucumbers, a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, the last of the roasted tomatoes, fresh basil and a little bit of balsamic vinegar.  Kai choy in the garden TuesdayBanish the Bottle Teriyaki Chicken, musubi, Ponzu parmesan yaki corn, and kai choy sauteed in the teriyaki sauce. Kai choy is in season and the hot weather will either wilt it or turn it to seed, so we'll be eating a lot of it this week. WednesdayNakayoshi Gakko Somen Salad. Both my kids have after-school sports on Wednesdays now, so it has to be something that can be made well in advance. Another great hot weather meal salad. ThursdayAmped Up Macaroni and Cheese and the other half of double batch of From Scratch Pork Loin that I made a couple of weeks ago and froze. FridayFish and rice. Omi's Shoyu Fish, rice and more kai choy. Snacks and lunch foodDecidedly vegetable based for my voracious teenagers. Fresh black-, blue- and straw-berries. Fluffy Wheat Bread, Steve's Hummus, roasted cauliflower with curry (as suggested from Facebook), Baba Ghanouj and more Roasted Tomatoes. Fresh vegetables, in-season berries and warmer weather. Finally on our way to summer. Eat Well. Be Well.
 Omi's Shoyu Fish |  Nakayoshi Gakko Somen Salad |
90 degrees one day and 55 degrees the next. Try cooking, let alone dressing for days like this.
shorts, pool and grill today
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Sweaters, umbrellas and the oven tomorrow
| But we are lucky to live in such a beautiful place. Transition seasons mean taking advantage of spring vegetables; think greens and asparagus, as well as the occasional kabocha when the weather gets cold. Monday Sunny and pleasant. One of those trademark Bay Area days. Misoyaki Butterfish, My Mom's Japanese Coleslaw and rice. Butterfish was fresh and on sale yesterday. Even better, we had it grilled instead of the usual bake. Great when grilled, and is updated as such on the recipe.  Homegrown arugula TuesdayStill pretty nice, but clouds are a-coming. Having Macadamia Arugula Pasta because the arugula in the garden is happy and waiting to be eaten. Wednesday is Rain DayOven cooking. Mayonnaise Chicken, Roasted Asparagus and TBD cooked potatoes--likely also roasted somehow. Thursday is Grill DayGrilled Pork Loin panini with mushrooms and Jarlsberg cheese, or sriacha mayonnaise and leftover coleslaw. The husband made a great and very easy pork loin rub/marinade over the weekend. This means we bid adieu to the pre-seasoned pork tenderloins. The new method is just that easy, and no preservatives. As a bonus, we can make a lot and keep the rest for sandwiches during the week. Recipe posting later this week.Friday Daikon was also on sale and looking very fine. It's still too cold for Na-omi-take tofu, so I'm trying a modified agedashi tofu. Pan saute or grill tofu slices brushed with a little sesame oil. Grate the daikon, mix with ponzu and green onions. Slather over the tofu and eat. Braised kabocha to balance out the high-strung flavor of daikon/ponzu. Rice and kim chee. I do like the sound of this meal already. Adventures from Vancouver start this week too. Eat Well. Be Well.
 There were no leftover cookies. Or Robin's eggs. Easter was a great time with the ohana. It is duly noted that cold hard cash ($3), Avengers squinkies and robins' eggs made for a very entertaining yet moderately priced Easter egg hunt for the teenagers. While there were no leftover Easter cookies, there are leftovers that are nearly complete meals. I love a good game of Leftovers Roulette. I'm aiming to go the whole week on our leftovers. Especially since the huge batch of Greek Salad I made for Easter did not make it to the serving area...there's always one that gets forgotten.
Here's what's being "re-purposed" this week. Leftovers include a Costco chicken, Honey Baked Ham, grilled salmon and LOTS of Greek Salad.MondayChicken Divan, using part of a Costco Chicken and the leftover broccoli from late last week.  My Daddy's Killer Fried Rice
 One of the side bonuses of Easter And of course, egg-salad sandwiches on toasted wheat bread every day this week. Perfectly Hard Boiled Eggs works well in batches, as long as the eggs have a little space around them. No changes to the sitting or boiling time. Lastly, I apologize for the temporary downtime on the site today, and thank the hardworking people at Weebly for getting everything back and running so quickly. Eat Well. Be Well.
The weeklong cow-fest was a rare indulgence that will not be repeated. When Friday rolled along, even the steak-loving husband no desire for another beefy meal. On top of that, my son informed me that during his weeklong school camping trip, he ate "heaps" of bacon, hashed browns and pancakes for breakfast. Every day.
Thus, this week, we're taking a break from 4 legs. I admit that I'm attempting to make a maple/pork sausage from scratch sometime this week, but will save eating it for a later date. Well, I may have to taste a little bit.
Here's what cooking this week.  Family-sized quiche MondayQuiche with onions, mushrooms, chard, red pepper and jalapeno jack cheese. Normally I would use zucchini, but winter zukes are expensive and just plain sad. Also scored some fresh eggs from a work friend. Maximizing oven use by toasting sage leaves for pork sausage and roasting tomatoes for panini on Wednesday. TuesdayCurry yakisoba with chicken, green beans and carrots. There is really no recipe for this. Maruchan's fresh yakisoba and add vegetables. WednesdayPanini with turkey, the last of a gift of homemade sundried tomato pesto, basil leaves, roasted tomatoes from Monday and mozzarella cheese. I shall have to snag the recipe for that pesto. Will start another loaf of fluffy wheat bread before work in the am. ThursdaySweet Potato Curry. When it's warmer in Toronto, Ottawa and Providence than it is in California, it's time for a spicy, hearty and completely vegetarian curry. Fish on FridayMahi Mahi with Tomato Cilantro Butter sauce. This is a great dish that has been sitting in the Greenhouse for far too long. And the cilantro in the garden is calling out for it. Last week's menu definitely reinforced the idea of eating everything in moderation. Lesson learned. Eat Well. Be Well.
2012 brings a new normal to the house. Conscripting the kids last week proved wildly successful (from my perspective), and therefore, will continue. Every kid should know how to cut with a good knife and make rice and a simple stir fry.
I'm also trying harder for better distribution in our weekly meals. When we took cow out of our everyday dinner rotation, we ended up leaning on this little piggy just a bit too much--pork, spam, bacon and char siu. All of it supremely ono, but better moderation is key here, especially for Spam-I-Am.
Thus, I'm aiming for better balance among four legs/feathers/gills/plants for Monday through Friday eating. With that, here's what's cooking this week.  Spanish rice as enchilada filling MondayNow-Completely-Chicken-less Enchiladas. Instead of chicken, I'm using Spanish Rice as filling. This is the Plants meal. Livestock production generates 18% of the world's greenhouse gases, more than the transportation sector. While we're not ready to be weekday vegetarians, this is a start. TuesdayPollo Nonna. Feathers Meal #1. Yes, it uses bacon, but only 4 strips as a flavoring element. We are going for a happy medium and not utter food austerity.
WednesdayTeriyaki Chicken. Feathers #2. This is one of my go-to comfort meals. One pan, one rice cooker, one bowl of salad and everyone is happy.  Misoyaki butterfish and edamame rice ThursdayMisoyaki Butterfish or Salmon and Edamame Rice. Gills. If butterfish is fresh and doesn't break the bank, I'll get some. Otherwise, it's flash frozen salmon. My mother-in-law is visiting, and this is one of her favorites. Food Lab FridayShawarma Lamb and Couscous. Baa-baa-black sheep, aka, Four Legs, will be used to flavor, rather than as a centerpiece. The start of this meal is a recipe from Sunset Magazine. I'll be reducing the amount of lamb, and adding red peppers, probably green beans or maybe cucumbers. It looks like a stir-fry with Mediterranean ingredients and couscous instead of rice. Eat Well. Be Well.
It's going to be a busy week. Kids are on their last week before winter break, and the happy Christmas frenzy is in full swing. It's finals, finish-up-for-pay-work-before-shutdown, ship presents to Hawaii, finish Christmas cards and letters, take photos, get presents for the kids' teachers/coaches, and finish shopping week.
Yet we still need to eat. During weeks like these, eating dinner together is a long slow exhale of relaxation. Here's what we're eating this week.
 Love it when leftovers look like this. Sunday(Leftover) Chicken Tortilla Soup. A full Tupperware of frozen soup is one of the great benefits of making soup for an army. Just make sure that it's completely melted and heated through. Soupsicles are not a desirable dinner. MondayChristine's Clam Chowder and fresh baked whole wheat bread. I have re-discovered our breadmaker. Next to my beloved rice cooker, this is becoming my favorite household appliance. TuesdaySimple Tomato Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs. Doubling the recipe for meatballs to bank another meal in the freezer. WednesdayMayonnaise Chicken, rice and Sesa-miso eggplant. Mayonnaise chicken plays well with any side dish.
 ThursdayOmi's Shoyu Fish. No tilapia for this recipe. First of all, my sister will disown me. Equally important, this requires a good sturdy white fish. Think halibut or cod, both of which are sustainably harvested. Using fresh mochi as the starch here. Sounds very promising. FridayGoing meatless with Techie Gnocchi. Instead of butternut squash, I'll be using the kabocha that I grew over the summer. Hope you all get a chance every day this week come home, exhale and have dinner. Eat Well. Be Well.
Say tilapia to a Hawaii person, and you'll get, Eww! Why on earth would anyone eat this?!
 Photo: Wikipedia Yet at the organically-focused, responsible-marine-stewardship bastion known as Whole Foods Market, tilapia is $9.99/pound. Even the Monterey Bay Aquarium lists American-farmed tilapia as a "Best" choice in its Seafood Watch. Yet many Hawaii people (myself included) dismiss tilapia as a ditch fish or rubbish fish. The yuck-factor is deeply rooted because tilapia thrive in the dirtiest water. Think murky, red dirt filled sugar cane ditches, Ala Wai canal, or the Ala Moana Park drainage ditch. No wonder that given the choice of a lovely moi, a silvery-blue papio or a perfectly pink opakapaka fresh from the crystal blue ocean, a mushy, bottom-feeding, dirt gray tilapia isn't even close. Yet at the Taste of Hawaii event, Chef Alan Wong noted that he had served tilapia at the venerable Halekulani, and that farm-raised Hawaii (US-raised) tilapia should be appreciated as a sustainable fish choice.
 Yup. It's tilapia. Hearing this, I wo-manned up to a blind taste dinner. The household ate Shoyu-Shiitake-Butter-Sauced tilapia said it was good. They didn't throw up when told it was tilapia. To be fair, the sauce would make a shoe taste good, but for a mild white fish, tilapia wasn't bad. It's not very 'fishy', and didn't make the house smell, but it is definitely softer than halibut or 'paka, about the texture of mullet. By itself, it doesn't really taste like anything. However, tilapia is no savior super-fish. Some good information on both sides of Ditch vs. Switch are from the New York Times and About Tilapia. While US tilapia is raised in clean, open-water pens where they are not allowed to become dirt-flavored bottom feeders, overseas farms, particularly in Asia, are not regulated and can resemble more Ala Wai than open pen. So much so that Asia-raised tilapia is on the "Avoid" list of the Seafood Watch. And while tilapia is lower in saturated fat than red meat, it is also lower in heart-healthy fish oils than other fish. So while I won't completely "switch" to tilapia, I will no longer categorically "ditch" it from the kitchen. It would work for fish tacos, cornmeal fish or even karaage fish. But I wouldn't use it for sashimi, teriyaki fish, misoyaki fish, or Omi's shoyu fish, anything that needs a sturdier, more flavorful fish. Tell me your tilapia stories. Eat Well. Be Well.
We are are turkey-ed out.
This week brings some much-needed variety back into the rotation. Plus, my husband is saying that we haven't had rice in quite awhile. Here's what's cooking this week.
Sunday
Farewell to turkey with simple sandwiches. Open faced with cranberry sauce, or just turkey, lettuce, mayo, tomato, cracked pepper. This was pure comfort food that we ate while watching football.
 MondayShoyu-Shiitake-Butter-Sauce Fish, rice, a green salad, and a little sashimi on the side. TuesdayKim Chee Pork. I'm obsessed with this really simple stir-fry. This time I'm adding some fresh chard to up the veggie content and see what happens. If nothing else, it will look prettier. WednesdayPoulet Grandmere. It's a little close to turkey, but we can't eat by rice alone.
Thursday
New recipe of the week: Willows Chicken Curry. From an old Honolulu Junior League cookbook. Curry from scratch, but I'll have to figure out how to scale it down. You just have to love a recipe that starts with a block of butter and half a gallon of coconut milk!
 FridayKorean Chicken Soup. The baby bok choy is looking very good now that it has turned cold. In between that, I'll be decking the halls, thinking we're going to make for our annual Christmas party, and figuring out what new baking recipes that husband should try out. Eat Well. Be Well.
This is a very typical meal rotation. A balance of 'American' meals like spaghetti and chicken divan with 'Asian' food like Kim Chee Pork and Dan Dan Noodles. I'm finally getting to a Poached Salmon with Grape Sauce Recipe from the Greenhouse. SundayHow do you feed 4 hungry teenage boys who have decided to stay for dinner? Spaghetti Sauce II--Laurie and the Jars and lots of it. Friends and family are always welcome here. MondayIt's dinner for breakfast. Ham cups filled with egg, a little pesto, chese and tomato. How can this not be good?! Plus fresh hash browns. I've borrowed a brunch cookbook from our local library at least three times and now I'm hell-bent on finally making this. I anticipate this will be fast-tracked in the Greenhouse too. TuesdayKim Chee Pork. Another fast-tracker in Greenhouse. All I need to do is balance out the enoki to kim chee to thin pork ratio. This is going to be a great winter speed dinner.  WednesdayChicken Divan. Mid-week comfort food. What's not to love about cheese and broccoli? ThursdayDan Dan Noodles. I'm finding that the Middle Eastern tahini paste has become very, very handy for Asian-type recipes. Will try making Dan Dan Noodles with tahini. FridaySalmon and grape sauce. This is another recipe that's been sitting in the Greenhouse for way too long. Happy Halloween. Eat Well. Be Well.
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