A good week of leftovers means no wasted food. While my children don't hear the "starving babies in third-world countries" saga that my mother always told me, they know better than to argue when leftovers are the meal du jour or in this case, de la semaine.
 Quiche is long gone, Costco chicken picked to the bone, hard-boiled eggs made into sandwiches and after-schools snacks, and the last of the ham and Greek salad are getting eaten today. Plus, a long-forgotten recipe for salmon cakes was revived. Here was the highlight leftovers meal. Salmon cakes. New recipe in the Greenhouse, working out measurements. Leftover Greek SaladThe lemon juice makes this salad keep well. Just keep the feta cheese on the side and add it at the time of serving. Purple rice from last week's purchase at Hankook. The rice doesn't taste that much different, but it looks pretty.
 Easy roasted asparagus is a new addition that is pretty well based on the Barefoot Contessa, who I adore. We've made it twice, and it was a hit at Easter brunch. Click here for the recipe. Good food makes good leftovers. Eat Well. Be Well.
 If there ever were a perfect place to convalesce from a very bad respiratory virus, Lagoon #4 at Ko'Olina on O'ahu is it. Three days at the lagoons--mind and body are feeling much better. My Mom's cooking definitely helped too. Back in the land of 50-degree weather, here's to extending that happy relaxed sigh of "aah" in aloha for as long as possible. Happy to be healthy and cooking again. Food shopping for the week is done, and here's what we're eating this week. Monday (Gills) Teriyaki salmon, rice, salad and Grandma Nancy's Ranch Dip. Didn't have teriyaki when I was back, and am craving it now. Have a bag of carrots, a bunch of broccoli and some haricot vertes for snacking and dinner veggies.
 Tuesday (Four Legs) What Started Out as Tyler Florence's Pork Chops, green beans and rice. We haven't had this in a long time and Granny Smith apples are still in season. Wednesday (Plants) Techie Gnocchi. This was one of those meals that didn't happen during the cloud of sickness. Making the most of squash season, and this desperately needs a better picture. Thursday (Feathers) Chicken Marsala with Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper Pappardalle. It also needs a photo and I haven't made this in a long time. Plus, I got a good deal on chicken.
 FridayTacos using the rest of the chicken, which I'll toss in the food processor in the hopes of getting some kind of ground chicken. I think it should work, but I'll let you know. One of those easy meals we've not had in quite awhile. After School Snacks These are things I have been routinely stocking to avoid the arsenic hours of the late afternoon when parents and teenagers tend to get food-cranky. Applewood organic (pork) salami, tortillas, cheddar cheese, tangerines, apples, grapes, grapefruit juice, pita chips, Steve's hummus, salsa, the aforementioned veggies and dip, yogurt, Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal, granola, Girl Scout cookies, and one can of Diet Cherry Coke for maternal caffeine emergencies.
Hope you are all staying healthy. 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.
One of my dearest friends, very sweetly, but very firmly, tells her clients, "I can't pay ink any amount of money to dry faster, and I don't have the super-power to add more time between right now and then." These are words to live by, especially now that I've taken a consulting gig again. From Monday through Friday, I will somehow allocate each 24 hours to taking care of my darling husband, my real ohana, Feeding My Ohana, my new job, excercise, sleeping and what my mom calls 'goof off' time (i.e., checking on our most-awesome San Jose Sharks, reading People magazine, watching TV, Facebook, or simply sitting in my WiFi-less Adirondack chair--doing and thinking nothing, with a cup of coffee or tea). I'm no different from any working parent. There are days when things work out great, and days when you set the oven on fire, literally. The new gig means a little change this week. There are still 5 meals, but instead of Mon-Fri, I've done a proper Sunday meal that will be good for leftovers, and have already designated Friday as "Leftovers Roulette."  Peanut Butter Beer Miso Chicken A Proper Sunday Meal Peanut Butter Beer Miso Chicken, Japanese Potato Salad (new recipe--posting mid-week), grilled zucchini, rice and kim chee. Made a lot of chicken and potato salad for leftovers. Sunday Prep Keo's ribs for baking on Monday. 20 minutes to steam ribs and make marinade). Ribs will sit in their coconut-milk bath 'til Monday afternoon, when they will finish in the oven. Grandma Nancy's Ranch Dip--to eat with quick veggies throughout the week. MondayKeo's Ribs, raw carrots, celery and microwaved broccoli with Grandma Nancy's Ranch Dip and rice. Raw broccoli is a little strong for us, so a quick microwave does the trick. TuesdaySloppy Joes from Scratch on green onion bread and a green salad. 30 minutes for dinner. Important when you have ravenous teenagers and a late-afternoon conference call.
 Bacon Salmon WednesdayFrom Scratch Falafel with yogurt sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and pita. I make patties instead of the traditional ping-pong ball shape. Less oil for cooking and much easier to pack into a pita. ThursdayBacon Salmon, spinach, toasted Safeway asiago cheese bread. Everyone loves this meal. FridayLeftovers Roulette. Some possibilities include Sloppy Joe nachos, salmon salad, miso chicken wrap with shredded cabbage, and Japanese potato salad croquettes. It just depends on what's left. That's the fun of it. Eat Well. Be Well.
 Early Girl, Purple Krim, Pineapple, and German Stripe Yes, it's only Monday, and I'm already looking forward to the long weekend. Tomatoes continue to be very, very productive. It also looks like I'll have more zucchini and few eggplants at the end of the week. With that in mind, here's what we're eating this week: Monday-- Ma Po Tofu. Just something fast and easy food for carpool day. A block of tofu, a bit of ground pork and a pot of rice. And fresh tomatoes.
Tuesday: Oven Day. Jeri's Baked Salmon with baked zucchini, green salad with fresh cukes and tomatoes and Asiago bread. The oven may do double-duty for roasting tomatoes, depending on how many there are. Wednesday: Grill day--zukes on the BBQ, Hoisin-lime BBQ chicken, Jasmine rice and fresh sliced tomatoes. The chicken is new and in the Greenhouse, but will likely be fast-tracked to the 'regular' section. Thursday: Another oven day. Mayonnaise chicken with fresh salsa (made from the "runt" tomatoes) and baked Okinawan sweet potato fries. It sounds weird, but the chilled/spicy salsa and the warm sweet/creamy potato combination works nicely. And it looks pretty too.  Huli Huli Chicken Friday: BLT sandwiches, with, you guessed it, fresh tomatoes! Definitely NOT using bok choy. Potluck Saturday: Huli Huli Chicken, Mauna Lani Leftover Chicken Pasta Salad, grilled veggies, fresh melons and assorted side dishes and sweets coming in. Enjoy the week and long weekend. Eat Well. Be Well.
Where does Summer go?
Schools have been starting around here from August 15th! We're going light on meat this week as we still have a lot of summer veggies from our garden and the 'ohana' trading system--zukes for string beans, overstocked tomatoes and squash, and even sleepovers for brownies! This week's menu is to keep the summer vibe going.
 Monday: Misoyaki salmon and edamame rice. Using King salmon, which is on sale, instead of butterfish, which is not available. Separately, I'll be roasting some humongous tomatoes from a friend and more of our zukes since I'll already be using the oven. Tuesday: Roasted tomato/zucchini and basil pizza using another whole-wheat Boboli. There's no recipe for this one, it's really just construction. No bok choy this time!Wednesday: Nakaoyshi Gakko Somen salad (again), using the cukes, tomatoes and lettuce from the garden, scrambled eggs and kamaboko. This is very popular in the summer.
 Thursday: My Daddy's Killer Fried Rice, using some fresh string beans, the rest of the kamaboko, carrots, onions and the rest of the homemade char siu that I froze awhile back. Friday: Nametake Tofu. My sister sent me this recipe. It's supposed to be hot again, so no cooking and all-veg today. Have a good week back to school (!?) Eat Well. Be Well.
 Now that I've made my very own batch of My Dad's Ogo (see blog post " Thursday is Poi and Ogo Day"), I'm feeling a little home-(cooking)-sick. Especially since May is feeling at lot more like November lately. Brrr. Thankfully, the Buddhist temple's teriyaki chicken fundraiser was just at the right time. Their all-volunteer homemade teriyaki chicken is really a cross between a barbecued teriyaki and old-time huli-huli chicken. As a bonus, I also got some homemade tsukemono (Japanese pickled cabbage), and two humongous bags of leftover rice for fried rice.
 Torch ginger Rounding out the week with food from Grandma, Dad and my sister. Toss in a photo or two from home, and I can smell the home cooking from here. Monday--Buddhist Temple Teriyaki Chicken, essentially takeout Tuesday-- My Grandma's Meat and Macaroni and fresh salad with homegrown lettuce Wednesday-- My Daddy's Killer Fried Rice, Leftover rice bag #1--using char siu, scrambled eggs, carrots, onions and green beans. Thursday-- Sanny's Hamburgers and Gravy, rice and broccoli Friday-- Bacon salmon & My Daddy's Killer Fried Rice, Leftover rice bag #2, using the bacon from the salmon, onions, shredded carrots, and edamame A sure cure for なつかしい (natsukashii--missing/longing for something). Eat Well. Be Well.
Hope everyone had a good Easter and/or Passover. This week is dedicated to household favorites--the go-to, most-requested, and typically most often served at our potlucks. Monday-- Bulgogi. My son doesn't eat cow, but he will make an exception for this. It's definitely warm enough to grill now. You can get the Korean/Hawaii-style shortribs at most Asian markets. Safeway will also cut them this way if you ask them. Tuesday-- Smoked Salmon Pasta. You just can't eat rice every day. This recipe uses no garlic, shoyu, vinegar or salt. All the flavor comes from smoked salmon, clam juice, a lemon and a shot of heavy cream.  Crock Pot Kalua Pig Wednesday-- Crock Pot Kalua Pig. Start it in the morning and come home to the lovely smell of smoky kalua pig. If you make a lot, you can use leftovers for Kalua Pig quesadillas, or freeze it for some other time when you don't feel like cooking. Thursday--Homage to Mom and Dad dinner. From mom-- Ung Choy (probably will use spinach) with Shoyu-Mirin Sauce (See below). And My Dad's Killer Fried Rice. Remember, just a little bacon goes a long way. We eat this breakfast, lunch and dinner when we back home in Hawaii.
 Mom's Ung Choy with Shoyu-Mirin Sauce Friday-- Peanut-Butter-Beer Miso Chicken. This is my favorite chicken, descended from the Sam Choy recipe. Absolute respect to Sam Choy's risk-taking, creative genius--taking ordinary household ingredients--peanut butter, beer, garlic, and shoyu and miso (ok, those last two are ordinary mostly to Asian households!) to make something so utterly sublimely good. Eat Well. Be Well.
The San Jose Sharks are in the playoffs and we are eternally hopeful. This is a little jumbled week with a school-night hockey game and a soccer fundraiser. But we still need to eat. Here's what we're doing:
 Monday-- Smoked Salmon Pasta. The chard we had last week was so good, I had to get some more. I even dropped some seeds into the garden over the weekend. Maybe we'll have our own in a couple months. Tuesday-- Quiche. I had this recipe/technique for awhile, but hadn't posted it. The husband made two on Sunday and so we'll have the extra today. This is just for my daughter, who doesn't care for scrambled eggs but loves quiche. Wednesday--Soccer Fundraiser at Armadillo Willy's, the local BBQ restaurant. Good, consistent Texas BBQ. Spicy peanut slaw, the ultimate chicken sandwich and baby backs are the household favorites, but I do miss their fish tacos. Thursday-- Sharks Playoff Game #1. Perhaps panini, my mom's chicken katsu or more likely, takeout. Friday-- Salt and Pepper Shrimp/Chicken. This didn't happen last week because we ended up with a lot of leftovers. But as a bonus this week, shelled *and* deveined shrimp is on sale this week. Thai Chicken Curry didn't happen last week either, but I updated the Roasted Cauliflower so that the produce didn't go to waste. Good to have a little flexibility. Eat well. Be well. Go Sharks!
We've all had them. What sounded like such a good idea all-too-quickly torpedoes into Complete and Utter Cooking Disaster. Doesn't taste good. Doesn't look good. One substitution too many and bam! Unlike Emeril, it's an into-the garbage and go-get-the-takeout fast day.
I've had a bunch of them. While my family is very tolerant and will eat pretty much anything once, my children are merciless, and have made a sport of thinking up entertaining names for kitchen failures. A chicken curry with eggplant, green beans and coconut milk was dubbed Prison Curry and they asked if it was served in orphanages. Another recipe whose official name is "Savory Lamb Burgers" was endowed with the title Poop Burgers because of aesthetic and aroma shortcomings.
Finally, there is the outrageous disbelief that two lovely foodstuffs can be combined to ruin each other as in, "How in the world can can you take perfectly good furikake and and perfectly good salmon and have it taste like something weird called furikake salmon?" However, the all-time worst is simply called by its given name,
Salmon Couscous. This is the meal against which all epic fail meals are judged.
The most recent fail was Macadamia Nut Eggplant. It was edible, but barely. It sounded like a good idea, scoop out the eggplant meat, dice it upy and stir fry in some olive oil, garlic, Worcestershire, shoyu. Cook in a little ground turkey and chopped onion and top with bread crumbs and macadamia nuts and bake in the eggplant shell. Easy one-dish meal.
Not. First of all, do you know how hard it is to scoop out raw eggplant meat? Strike one. Second, all I taste is salty. Strike 2. Finally, you get this hash-like brown food that you stuff back into the eggplant that you cored and bake it. Let me just say that long brown, cooked stuffed eggplants just do not look good and really don't look much like food. Strike 3. Out. The children said, "Well, it wasn't as bad as Salmon Couscous, but..."
And it was time for dinner by phone.
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