This week's menu is thanks to my cousin's wife. On her recommendation, I bought a chunk of Marukai char siu, which is really chashu, and it has yielded several meals this week.

Huh?! A point of clarification with a dose of confusion. Char siu and chashu are both pork, but not quite the same. Char siu is usually the red-colored pork that hangs in Chinese markets. I have a recipe for this, but I don't make it red. Chashu is the Japanese version made from the fatty, marbled pork. It is never red-colored, typically much richer than char siu, and I have no idea how to make this.

At saimin places in Hawaii, you are more likely to find the red char siu with your noodles. However, at ramen places, it will likely be chashu. To make it even more confusing, Marukai labels both kinds of pork as char siu.

Got it now? Here's what was and is cooking this week. Thanks for hanging with me on the late menu.

Meatless Monday
Greek Pasta Salad. The household has adjusted nicely to veg-out Mondays.

Sweep Canucks Tuesday
Love Vancouver. Canucks, not so much. Homemade Chashu Banh Mi Sandwiches. Thinly sliced chashu, Vietnamese-style pickled carrots and daikon, cilantro, on a crusty French bread with Sriracha mayonnaise. I can't even begin to figure out what "kind" of food this is, other than ono. Posting instructions later this week.

Chashu Wednesday
Make Your Own Ramen. In addition to chashu, I bought tonkotsu and spicy pork flavors of fresh ramen. Eating with kamaboko, kim chee and blanched pea shoots. The photo at the top shows exactly what I had for dinner.

Thursday
Mediterranean Lamb Stir Fry. Using the rest of the shredded carrots and daikon for the lemon rice.

Meatless & De-tox Friday
Co-worker Kale Salad. Chashu is a luxurious indulgence even when very thinly sliced, so we will need a break by Friday. Kale salad is filling and sturdy enough to work as a dinner salad.

Have a great week. Hockey and basketball playoffs!

Shoyu hotdogs. My mouth is watering right now. 

Yes, I know hot dogs are not a healthy superfood.
Yes, I know shoyu on top of hotdogs really isn't nutritious.

But once in awhile, we need to have this kind of comfort food. Simply because it makes us happy. 

I'm not suggesting shoyu hotdogs be a once-a-week kind of dinner. Save it for a special occasion or when you really need it. Click here for the 'recipe.'

Today it is 88 degrees and sunny. Very hot for the Bay Area, so no stoves today. This week is all about cool, quick dinners. We may even eat outside! Here's what's cooking this week.

Meatless Monday
Na-omi-take tofu. Temperature in the 90s in the Bay Area means no stove. A cool meal for this temporary blast of summer. We may even be in the pool today.

Tuesday
Chicken Tikka Masala. Trying out Safeway's brand of starter sauce as the Seeds of Change brand can be harder to find.

Meatless Wednesday
Simple Spaghetti and a simple salad. A Feeding My Ohana Like-er recommends adding slivered almonds to salad. Genius! I'll probably toss in some dried cranberries as well. Pasta and salad is one of the best weekday dinners.

Fish on Thursday
Stuffed Tuna Melts. Again, minimal cooking.

Plate Lunch Friday
Bulgogi, Wonbok coleslaw and rice. Short ribs cook really fast and with more daylight, Friday night grilling is on!

New recipe posted
My Daddy's Aburage Thingy
The first time I made this, it was a little too much everything--sweet, salty, liquid-ey. Not Feeding My Ohana-worthy. However, I fixed all the above-noted troubles. It is now family-approved.

Working on a couple of new recipes this week. Stay tuned for mid-week posts!

What are YOU cooking this week?

This week's menu goes around the world in 6 days--tofu, Alfredo and jambalaya. We are meatless x2 during the week with a bonus Meatless Sunday.

Meatless Bonus Sunday
Tofu Steaks, edamame and rice. Can you say "soy"?

Monday
Basil Chicken. With tofu steaks last night, there is lots of extra basil.

Meatless Tuesday
Almost Alfredo Pasta, with broccoli instead of spinach.

Wednesday
Gyros, to use the last of the feta cheese from Grapefruit and Manoa lettuce salad.

Thursday
Jambalaya. Besides tofu steaks, we had Japanese Chicken Curry over the weekend and there is some leftover celery.

Meatless Friday
On the Fly Orzo Salad. Reasonably sure the husband will tolerate the third meatless day in a week.

Extras
Haupia from scratch. In this context, 'from scratch' not using the 'just add water' packet, but using coconut milk and cornstarch. It does not mean pounding coconut and arrowroot. I'm hoping for a smoother texture than the packets version. I may even make this tonight!

Li Hing Kettle Korn. My cousin told me I took Kettle Korn and made it even more addicting. If you see my relatives or me with the tell-tale red fingertips, you'll know why.

What are your favorite snacks?

The fact that it's Tuesday means that I had a GREAT weekend in San Francisco. How appropriate that on Saint Patrick's Day, I learned where Irish coffee was first served in the US. With apologies for the delay, here's what is cooking in this house this week.

Clean-out-the-Fridge Monday
Kalua pig for fried rice, a variation on a theme. Leftover Kalua pig was the meat-flavoring agent for fried rice. In this case, it's important to take a light touch on shoyu and oyster sauce because kalua pig is salty. With a side of kim chee!

Meatless Tuesday
Butternut Squash Soup, Round 2. The first time the immersion mixer was lots of fun, but the soup required lots of doctoring and still wasn't quite right. Trying again, this time with coconut milk, ginger and lime juice.

Wednesday
Quiche. A friend of mine at work has chickens at home, doing what they do best. Farm-fresh eggs this week! 

One classic bacon with onions with Swiss and Gruyere and one vegggie with red peppers, zukes, onions, artichoke hearts and Colby/Jack cheese

Meatless Thursday
Farfalle with sun-dried tomatoes and broccoli. Typically my husband makes this with chicken, but we'll try meatless this time.

Friday
Pasta with clams, corn, chorizo and tomatoes from Diners, Drive Inns and Dives. From a diner in Rhode Island. I might swap soy-rizo here too.

Experiment in Salad
Sometime this week, I'm trying a butter lettuce, grapefruit, walnut and feta salad. The original recipe is in this month's issue of Cooking Light. The directions say to peel a grapefruit--how do you even do that?! 

We'll find out and report back!

It was a glorious spring day in the Bay Area today, enough to work through that lost hour of sleep. We are going to enjoy this lovely week of darn-near perfect weather.

Meatless Monday--Breakfast for dinner
Chard picked from the garden this afternoon sauteed with garlic, onions, grape tomatoes, a shot of balsamic vinegar, sunny-side up eggs and Parmesan cheese. Inspired by a recipe on Pinterest, and eaten with a side of toasted asiago bread.  Unanimous household approval.

Any ideas for a catchy name for this would be most welcome.

Tuesday
Crock Pot Kalua Pig. I have a rare night meeting, so this will be ready for the kids and hubby. All they need to do is cook rice and make a salad. And then eat ice cream.

Wednesday
Chicken Fajitas Nachos, using leftover chicken, vegetables grilled by the husband on Sunday. He used a pre-made spice rub for the chicken, plus a lime. With guacamole with avocados from a friend, salsa and sour cream.

Might be Meatless Thursday
Pad Thai, yet again. Possibly bypassing the chicken and using only tofu. I'm still looking for a tamarind paste-less version and I have two more options Pinterest to consider.

Friday
Pretty Much My Mother-in-Law's Corn Chowder. It's supposed to be 72 degrees of Friday, but I'm craving a good soup.

Bonus
Soccer season is starting, so it's very important to keep *lots* of food in the house. Here are the teenager-approved items for the week.

Jello Mochi
Jello is on sale at Safeway this week. I'm trying fruit punch, cherry lemonade and mango. Except for the color, I'm pretty sure it's all going to taste like "sweet".

Li Hing Kettle Korn. Trader Joe's kettle korn tossed with li-hing powder. I eat this 'til my fingers are vermilion.

Homemade Pork Sausage. Time to re-stock.

Frozen green onion pancakes and eggs. My son has been going through packages green onion pancakes and cartons of eggs. Best of all, he can make them himself.

Have a great week!

Where has Feeding My Ohana been?! I spent last week back home in good ole' Leeward O'ahu. Offline. 

Although my friends gave me grief for not having a smart phone, and I did have to seek out a Starbuck's for WiFi to my iPad for directions to get together with the above-noted friends, it was very relaxing not to be online-all-the-time. Everyone should do this once in awhile. 

Here is a quick summary on what we've been eating--here and at Mom's house. While we had plenty of vegetables, there was no meatless any day. We were on vacation, after all.

Bay Area Monday
Yakisoba. I cam home with yet another head cold, so this was made by the husband. This is my son's favorite meal, and soon we'll have to start making three packages.

Great Aloha Run Day
Crispy wonton, roast pork, and pork with sweet and sour cabbage. I also introduced the family to Co-worker Kale Salad. Mom approves. 

Bay Area Tuesday
Carbonara Hironaka. We've not eaten this in a really long time and it was nice to come home to this.

Day at the Beach
Sanny's Hamburgers and Gravy. Homemade plate lunch.


Back in the Bay Area Takeout Wednesday
Yiassoo Greek Food, Tapioca Express and Whole Foods Chocolate Cake. Procured by my fabulous husband.

Thursday
Unfried Baked Chicken from People Magazine. It was very peppery and a little too salty. This is a good idea that needs some re-tooling. Stay tuned.

Weird Rainy and Windy Hawaii Day
For the last two days of our vacation, it poured. Buckets. So it was Mom's Watercress Soup, but made with kale, and just as good. Watercress can be tricky to get in the Bay Area, so this was good advice from Mom.

Glorious Hawaii Beach Day
Leeward Drive Inn Fried Noodles. Just a satisfying lunch after a morning at the beach. Please note they don't make mandoo anymore, but the Pork Cutlet and Gravy is still fab. And remember, it has and will always be cash only.

Back to the Mainland, but definitely keeping the Hawaii vibe going as long as we can. 

Aloha Friday All!

Rain and colder temperatures together with a busier-than-usual family and for for-hire client schedule mean dinner needs to be warm and made very efficiently.

Takeout Monday
I was in San Francisco with a client until 10PM last night, so it was El Pollo Loco chicken by request for my Mother-in-Law. There is no El Pollo Loco in Hawaii so when she visits, this is a must-do.

Tuesday
Tortilla Soup, using the leftover El Pollo Loco chicken. We haven't had this in awhile. We have some absolutely bee-you-tee-ful homegrown avocado from a friend, as well as pepper jack cheese for sprinkling.

Wednesday
Mediterranean Lamb Stir Fry. A satisfying meal after a long day to get everyone over the mid-week hump.

Meatless Thursday
Pork-less PDQ Hot and Sour Soup. Just tofu and eggs this time.

Fish on Friday
Simple Salmon, Yaki Musubi and Okinawan Sweet Potato Fries. The oven is my friend. Comfort food for to start the weekend.

Have a good week!

We seem to be a society of busy--where multitasking is standard operating procedure for improved efficiency. 

Hmmm...methinks that is corporate malarkey. Today, I purposefully did NOT multitask. I made a write-it-down-on-paper-God-honest list of work items and household tasks, which included this post. I turned OFF Facebook, Twitter, Skype and my email, and just concentrated on the task (singular) at hand.

Full Disclosure: I had a conference call via Skype and had to turn that on, but did not email, check Facebook, or do other things during the call. 

The work got done, and it took less time than I thought. I went food shopping for the week, armed with another list, of course. I went running. And we had full and proper family dinner. The rest of the week is looking good too.

Not-Multitasking Monday
Orange Salsa Pork Chops, green beans, Chinese chicken-less salad and rice. Yep, made it in an hour.

Tuesday
Teriyaki Salmon, musubi and the rest of the Chinese chicken-less salad. Definitely less than an hour.

Wednesday
Shrimp-less Sausage Jambalaya. I will use chicken Andouille sausage and make a double batch. Shrimp doesn't freeze very well, and this is why it will be shrimp-less.

Thursday
Loaded tuna melts. Sandwich as dinner, perhaps with Kale Chips or Parmesan Edamame from Pinterest. I might opt for the lazy version of panini: toaster + microwave.

Meatless Friday
Korean Mushroom Tofu and eggs scrambled with kimchee and green onions, based on a post from from Sandra's Easy Cooking. Because one block of tofu is not quite enough for the sky-high metabolism of the teenagers. Add Korean-style bean sprouts and purple rice to the party for another full and proper family dinner made less than an hour.

I'm not sure I'll be able to maintain the serial-process living, but it was less stressful than the here-and-there flitting about that is usually Multitasking Monday. What works for you?

Eat Well. Be Well.

No matter what your politics, we should all be grateful that we live in a country where we can disagree, yet have a peaceful transfer of power. We are not ideal, but we are all united in trying to build that 'more perfect union' as best we can. And by happy coincidence, we are eating "any kine" All-American food this week.

Not so Meatless Monday
Ma Po Tofu. When my husband volunteers to cook, he can make pretty much whatever he wants. Therefore, we have meat on Monday--about 1 pound of pork split among 4 adults.

Tuesday
(Leftover) homemade chili nachos with semi-homemade corn chips. On Sunday, we had an all-day Mavericks Surfing/49ers/San Jose Sharks at-home tailgate, with a ton of appetizers and a big pot of chili. So we'll have nachos with the leftover chili, salsa and corn chips. Adding an avocado, sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and non-fat sour cream. Just in time for another hockey-watching night. Go Sharks and are we ever glad we aren't in Edmonton. My girlfriend from Calgary says, "Oh it's only a little cold there." To an ex-pat Hawaii girl, the HIGH temperature of 10 degrees F makes Edmonton pretty much the North Pole.

Wednesday
Five-Star Falafel Turkish food, as requested for a household birthday dinner. For each member's birthday, s/he chooses their takeout dinner. Past choices included Banana Leaf (Malaysian), Amici's Pizza, and sushi.

Meatless Thursday
Almost Alfredo Pasta. This time, I'll use broccoli or chard instead of spinach, just for a change of pace. And probably mushrooms because I like to add those whenever I can too.

Friday
Clam and Cannellini Bean Soup. I want to try out San Marzano tomatoes to see if they are really worth the extra cost. Any opinions on relative worth of the vaunted San Marzanos? Post them all!