 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. |
 Because Mom has been continuing her tour of Bay Area eateries, including a second tofu house, there have been a lot of leftovers for dinner. This week's selection included dim sum, Korean tofu house #2, and Japanese curry. I actually missed making dinner. So here's what cooking for the rest of the week. ThursdayBraised kabocha, made by Mom My Mom's Chicken Katsu, made by me Easy Roasted Asparagus, requested by Mom Rice FridaySpaghetti with Simple Tomato Sauce and Meatballs, requested by Mom. 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 |
Yes, I know the week doesn't start on Tuesdays, but things sometimes take longer than you think. And Monday showed no signs of pausing just for me. So here's a quick re-cap on what's cooking this week.
Monday
This was a very long day. We did takeout Chinese. Hot garlic eggplant, Singapore-style noodles, sautéed pea shoots, braised spicy tofu and lemon chicken. I could have made all of these things at home, but we'd be eating them sometime Wednesday. Chinese takeout gives us variety, is pretty reasonable, and makes for great leftovers.
 ThursdayThis really needs to be the day the San Jose Sharks take one from the St. Louis Blues. All our collective mojo will be channeled to that effort--because we all like to believe that a good luck jersey and a teal and black manicure have the absolute and uncanny ability to cause positive outcomes for hockey games. So it'll be Crock Pot BBQ Pork Sliders as the TV dinner. Start it in the morning and have dinner right in time for the puck drop. FridaySomething nice and soothing for whatever happens on Thursday. Shabu-shabu will be a restful way to end the week. All I need to do is boil water. Eat Well. Be Well. -->GO SHARKS!
 Barilla no-boil lasagne noodles are the most amazing time-saver. Possibly ever. Feeding My Ohana's preferred lasagne was Stouffer's, but a friend of mine served from-scratch lasagne with these noodles and it was too good and too easy not to try at home.
I'm converted.
I love lasagne, but traditional production made this impossible to do on a weekday, unless you want to eat at 10:00PM.
Here's a quick overview of what I did for vegetarian lasagne. Total time was about 90 minutes. Click here for the complete recipe. 1) Used Spaghetti Sauce II as the base sauce, but ditched the sausage and added an eggplant. 2) Assembled lasagne in 9 x 13 pan. 4 pieces of no-boil lasagne noodles, ricotta cheese, sauce, mozzarella, sauce. 3) Repeated 4 times. Top with remaining sauce and mozarella cheese. I didn't have parmesan, but would have sprinkled a bit on top if I did. 4) Cover loosely with aluminum foil and baked at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. Don't let the foil touch the cheese or it will stick and make a mess. On the subject of messes, best to put the pan on a shallow baking sheet because the noodles do expand and there is a little bit of drip-over. 5) Remove foil. I had to detach hot stringy cheese because I didn't foil properly (See #4). Bake uncovered for another 10 minutes and then let it sit for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.  Honest to the non-denominational supreme being of your individual religious or emotional leanings, this was last week's carpool Wednesday dinner. Note that I did have a kid at home so I could run the oven while I drove.
And while the husband sniffed, "It would be even better with a little sausage," the kids said, "No more Stouffer's"
Eat Well. Be Well. We sure did.
 Click pic for Cooking Light arugula facts Arugula has not been a frequent consumable in our house. It's been called weeds when the household is feeling charitable but typically arugula is relegated to cud, as in what cows chew. OK, so it does look a little weedy. It doesn't have the sweet crunchiness of what my children call 'normal' lettuce (romaine, butter, red leaf or Manoa). Even the then-candidate Barack Obama had an unfortunate arugula moment a few years back. Arugula needed a makeover. This week, I'm happy to add 2 new recipes for the weedy but crunchy/peppery arugula. While both use happy doses of cheese and cream, they are plants-only dinners. From last week, my arugula toss-together using Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper pasta, macadamia nuts, mushrooms, parmesan and arugula. Click here for the recipe. The entire household was very happy--tasty, fast and most importantly, no leftovers. Arugula #2 is from my friend Kat, who made a cream sauce version using a few other veggies and leftover heavy cream from when she made scones. Click here for hers. Both recipes are featured in the Greenhouse. Either way, arugula deserves a fresh look. Eat Well. Be Well.
I'm purposely going without Four Legs this week. With the 49ers cruelly eliminated, our Superbowl potluck focuses squarely on eating and deconstructing the half-time show and the commercials. During that time, I'm quite sure we'll enjoy several of varieties of our four-legged friends. And in the interest of full disclosure, I didn't make avocado poke stacks last week--we went to Kikusushi instead. I'm hoping to fit it in somewhere, perhaps at our Superbowl party. With that, here's what's cooking this week. MondayCrock-Pot Miso Chicken Wraps. (Lefotvers Roulette + feathers) This recipe is in the Greenhouse because it is has potential, but needs some serious help. It turned out way too sweet. I'm hoping the Spicy Asian Coleslaw will balance it out and make a good leftovers meal. It could also cause a dinner riot, a 1-day hunger strike, or we could all have apple pie for dinner.  Chicken Adobo TuesdayChicken Adobo (Also feathers) and Japanese Potato Salad. The adobo is by request of my mother-in-law, who will be 'minding' the teenagers. What she says goes. Japanese Potato Salad at the request of the teenagers. WednesdayLasagne (plants) A friend of ours made lasagne with Barilla no-boil with no-bake noodles, and it was awesome. Great taste and texture, in half the time. I'm using Spaghetti Sauce II as a base, but omitting Italian sausage. And since it is not zucchini season, I'm adding spinach and an eggplant. ThursdayGarlic Cilantro Mahi (gills) and Tropical Rice Pilaf. I've not made this rice pilaf in quite awhile and I miss it. I'll have to see if I can scrounge up a mango this week at Marukai. FridayTechie Gnocchi (plants). Light meals leading up to the weekend. As noted above, last week's Crock Pot Miso Chicken is now in the Greenhouse. Lemon Pasta with Macadamia Nuts will probably go directly to Plants as it has given the husband new-found, but grudging respect for arugula. Go New Yor-ngland Patri-ants. I shall look forward to the commercials and lively company. Maybe we'll watch a little football. Eat Well. Be Well.
 Snow, finally in Lake Tahoe Today is the first day of the year of the Dragon. Being a Dragon Lady rather than a Tiger Mom, this is supposed to be my year for new undertakings. The signs are everywhere.
#1 sign. A friend has encouraged me to put together a book proposal. Whoa! and Yay!
#2 sign. Over a cup of Kona coffee on a getaway Lake Tahoe weekend, one of my dearest, most loyal and refreshingly candid Feeding My Ohana followers gently reminded me that, "Your recipes are all good and we all know you can cook, but you've not had many new recipes lately. What more are you going to do with Feeding My Ohana?"
#3 sign. Today, I had lunch with a former boss who asked me the very same thing, along with, "What are your plans for a mobile app?"
Food for thought indeed. Fabulous Ideas and a whole new year to Do Something. So Step 1: New recipes. Here's Week 2 of better four legs/feathers/gills/plants distribution and three new meals to foist upon the family.
 Hot and sour soup in 30 minutes MondayPDQ Hot and Sour Soup (four legs). No gau, the Chinese mochi that is typically served for Lunar New Year's, so it'll have to be Jello mochi instead. TuesdayCrock Pot Peanut Butter Beer Miso Chicken (new feathers). I've been wanting to try this for awhile now-a Honolulu Advertiser recipe I brought back this past summer. I will post to the Greenhouse later this week. Wednesday
Lemon pasta with macadamia nuts, mushroom and parmesan (new plants). This is based on a recipe that uses hazelnuts, and I'll likely throw in some arugula for color and a little peppery zap.
ThursdayAlan Wong-inspired avocado poke stacks (new gills) and Bri's Butternut squash. The avocado poke stacks are one of the doable-at-home recipes from the Blue Tomato cookbook, and I'm using the spam musubi maker as a mold. Balancing the lightness and saltiness of the ahi with the substantive creamy sweet of butternut squash. And perhaps some kind of wilted arugula for salad. This could be a great meal, or just plain weird. FridayPannini using bread-machine bread with roasted tomatoes, mozzarella and arugula. Roasting tomatoes seems to be the best way to get good flavor from winter tomatoes, and we are two days with plants this week. Any other suggestions for Feeding My Ohana are most welcome. What do You want to do this year? Eat Well. Be Well.
Standard Time brought cold weather and a hankering for some of my Mom's Portuguese Bean Soup. Bringing out the one-bowl meals this week. Portuguese Bean Soup is total Hawaii comfort food. Like macaroni salad, every family has its own spin. If there is any 'secret ingredient' to soup, it's time. Making it is definitely a process that needs to start on the weekend. But it will make enough for a weekday meal plus a frozen one. Pictures from Day 1The first day is all about creating the stock and removing fat (See picture at right). Skim it and send it into the trash than through your arteries. SundayFurikake salmon, two flavors, salad, roasted sweet potatoes and rice. Just crust salmon with furikake, cook in a bit of oil and eat over hot rice for a fast simple dinner. MondayMom's Portuguese Bean Soup. My house is feeling warm and cozy and smelling very good. TuesdayOyako Donburi. More comfort food for cold weather. Another warm bowl of goodness for dinner. WednesdayPan-fried noodles. This is overdue as we haven't had it in quite awhile. Will use a bit of chicken, or perhaps go vegetarian altogether. ThursdayIt's hockey night. Spam musubi, li-hing apples and string beans with a goma shio-sauce. Go Sharks!FridayChicken Tortilla Soup. With more rain forecast, tortilla soup sounds like a good way to end the weekend. Eat Well. Be Well.
 Our weekend was a little here, there and everywhere. Dog-sitting (see dog at left), dog-returning, hockey game, football game, golf, Buddhist church picnic, Christian church salmon dinner (We are a bi-religious household.), group projects for the kids, making a Shutterfly book before my free-book coupon expires, a birthday party, and shopping for birthday present. While I wish I could say I planned ahead and ordered online, I ended up shopping a couple hours before the actual event. So Monday has been deemed catch-up day. With that, here's what's *not* cooking on Monday. By the time Tuesday rolls around, I shall re-acquaint myself with the stove and the grocery store. MondayFeeding My Ohana Buffet Night, aka, Clearing Out the Refrigerator Lest a Biological Hazard Ensue. Mauna Lani Leftover Chicken Pasta Salad, Quinoa Salad from yesterday's picnic, salmon from a church fundraiser on Saturday, and some chicken hamburgers from last night. Thinking the salmon and quinoa will play nicely together and the pasta salad will work with the chicken burgers.
 TuesdayI'm feeling a little pang of longing for Elena's in Waipahu, so it's Pork Adobo Fried Rice for dinner. WednesdayWontons. The kids have been asking for these and I can freeze a bunch of them. The thought of a bowl of steaming won ton min on a miserable November evening is already sounding good. It will be so worth the extra work this week.
 ThursdaySimple Tomato Spaghetti. I know this will not leave leftovers, and it's volleyball/laundry day. FridayOkonomiyaki. A great way to end the week. Even with all the here and there, for this week especially, I'm reminded that every day is a gift. Eat Well. Be Well.
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