Cows will not be sacred this week. My son, who doesn't eat cow as a lifestyle choice, has educated us. We rarely eat beef. However, he is on a school trip. While I miss him dearly, much more than say, his older sister does, we will console ourselves with beef. Here's what's cooking this week.

Monday
Korean Egg Meat Jun, My Mom's Japanese Coleslaw and hot rice. I don't have enough time to make Macaroni Salad, otherwise, this would be a pretty fair plate lunch dinner.

Tuesday
Salt and Pepper Shrimp, green beans, Okinawan sweet potatoes and rice. Day 1 prep for Beef Barley Soup/Stew. 

You didn't really think we would eat beef every day did you?! Even the steak-loving husband has limits.

Wednesday
Beef Barley Soup and Fluffy Wheat Bread because it's supposed to rain, rain, rain. Perfect soup weather.

Thursday
Chicken Piccata, mashed potatoes and broccoli. Fresh lemons from my neighbor work well. This may turn into Fixed Lemon Chicken, depending on how I feel. I may even feel like a cheeseburger from In-n-Out.

Friday
Christine's Clam Chowder and the rest of the bread. Fish on Friday, more or less.

Please note that this is a one-week cow-feasting anomaly. I do not advocate eating this way as a normal routine. I'm grateful and proud that my son has steadfastly stuck to his no-cow commitment.

Eat Well. Be Well.

My Mom believes that there is a clear and absolute line between "for company" homemade food, and the more unassuming and humble food that you only make for your family. The latter category definitely includes things that make my California-raised children raise skeptical eyes. This time it was warabi and watercress soup.

Pictured at left is warabi, the Japanese name for an edible fern. The Hawaiian name is pohole. The curly parts are not inchworms. I think of "eats shoots and leaves" now when I see it. I grew up eating and liking it; ferns were no more exotic than spinach. It grows best on the damp Hilo side of the Big Island or Maui. Mom usually gets it from the Peoples' Open Market, which is what the Farmer's Market is called in Hawaii, or from my sister, who lives on the Big Island.

You won't find this at plate lunch places or hotels, and only rarely might you find it in the Hawaii Regional Cuisine restaurants like Alan Wong's or Roy's. 

Warabi is sold in bunches like spinach. Clean, cut and boil it. Mom makes a kind of salad using dried shredded codfish, chopped kamaboko, a little shoyu, sesame oil and shio fuki konbu (dried, salted and shredded konbu). Mom says do not even try using konbu sheets and shredding those  because it is Not The Same Thing. The sheets, she says, are dashi-konbu. There's no recipe to post right now because it's chock-ful of ingredients that are quite difficult to find unless you live in Hawaii. But it's well worth seeking out when you are in Hawaii. 

Watercress Soup
On a 'freezing-cold' day where the temperature slipped to the mid-70s during the day, Mom decided it was watercress soup weather. 

Chicken, beef and vegetable broth, ginger, garlic, sake, bit of dashi powder, pork and watercress. This is a highly requested meal, and can be easily made in non-Hawaii locales. Three phone calls later, I wrangled out a general recipe. Click here for what I did. 

This is cooking, not Cuisine, but it satisfies your soul. If this is served to you, you're part of the family.

Eat Well. Be Well.

I owe my parents big time for making 'any kine' food, and not just what my sisters and I preferred. Whether I liked something or not was irrelevant. Dad liked it, it was good for you, and starving children in the far reaches of the world would gratefully consume your creamed tuna or daikon greens, thank you very much. You ate what was made.

I came to appreciate this when my babies started having food opinions. This newby parent was convinced that her piteously hungry children would starve or worse yet, be emotionally scarred for being forced to eat something that didn't appeal to their largely untested and extremely limited toddler palates. At that point, my pediatrician said, "Look at that child's thighs. If he misses a meal he will most definitely not starve. Do not short-order cook for your children. Think of how you ate as a child." Did I mention I love my pediatrician?

Epiphany. Meals at my parents house were as much about trying new foods as nourishment. Their neighbors and friends were Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Haole, Hapa, Hawaiian...and we were always getting something new to add to the dinner table. 

So this week is inspired by spending a week back at Mom's table. Picky eaters are welcome and most certainly will not starve.

Monday
Not the Colonel's KFC. The kids had doctor's appointments and Bon Chon Korean Fried Chicken is next to the doctor's office. This is a happy coincidence, and not how I chose my children's doctor. Rounded out with plain rice, nori, green beans and a green salad.

Tuesday
My Daddy's Killer Fried Rice, using Portuguese sausage and a little kim chee. Plus Choy Sum with Shoyu Mirin Sauce. Mom usually makes this with ung choy, but choy sum was fresh and on sale. 

Wednesday
Watercress soup. Mom made this last week on a 'chilly' O'ahu day when we were all still feeling icky from colds and jet lag. Everyone was happy and slept well that day. Will post the recipe later this week.

Thursday
Huli Huli chicken, broccoli and musubi. Just because we can't go to the beach doesn't mean we can't have beach food.

Friday
Tofu-tuna burgers. I know, "tofu," "tuna" and "burger" in the same breath makes your head want to explode. If that's not enough, I have to throw in "carrots" and "shiitake." It sounds odd, but tastes really great. Think of it as a kind of hash.

Here's to parents and pediatricians--who tirelessly foster un-picky eaters. Eat Well. Be Well.

Apologies for the absence. The entire household was slammed by a nasty respiratory virus. The kitchen was more like a medicine cabinet. The well-planned sick menu from 2/7 did not happen past last Tuesday. 

I'm on the mend, but still not quite genki (元気), already having gone through 2 boxes of tea, 6 lemons, a bottle of honey, at least 4 bottles of Odwalla Strawberry C Monster, grapefruits, tangerines, a package of li-hing mui, and various OTC meds for stuffy, achy, runny, congested and generally feeling-like-you-know-where.

How on earth do you feed your ohana when you're in a sick bed 15 hours a day? Be realistic. Wash your hands. Frozen meals, takeout, and whatever you can manage. And remembering that even 2 sick weeks out of my life is very short, and will pass. So here's how we managed. 

 With thanks to all who gave me your "Feed a Cold" suggestions, especially the ones for the hot toddies.

Bought. 
Citrus products. Grapefruits, lemons, tangerines. It's a little too convenient and just plain weird that these are in peak season at the same time as colds.

Boxed salad greens. There were a few days when salad just did not sound good, but this is one of those "You know it's good for you" foods. 

Made. Minimal cooking. Maybe 10 minutes of standing up at a time.

Breadmaker bread.I ran out of bread and was in no condition to go to the store. Bread is water, butter, flour, salt, sugar and yeast into the bread machine. Then go take a nap.

Teddy Bear Chicken Soup--Chicken soup has been sometimes dubbed "Grandma's Penicillin." Perhaps not my Japanese grandma, but there is something comforting about a hot bowl of soup when breathing through the nose is an impossibility. Made awhile ago, and frozen for just such days as these.

Miso soup with tofu. This is "My Mom's Pencillin." As a child, I had this whenever I was sick. So much so that for awhile, I didn't like tofu because I associated with being sick. Boil about 8 cups of water. Add about 1/4 cup miso and a few teaspoons of dashi. Cut up a block tofu, dump it in and you're done. Mom said it has everything that's good for you and no fat or oil so it's easy to digest.

Simple Spaghetti. Extra heavy on the garlic and red peppers and boiling water for pasta is good for your sinuses.

Takeout. Takeout is a fabulous option when you are sick, as long as you choose carefully. Light soups or stews or anything that's not too heavy or greasy. A little spicy is good when I'm congested.

Pho. Pronounced "Fuh," this is the generic name for all kinds of Vietnamese noodle dishes. Like miso soup, this is light warm broth. I had it with noodles, won ton, lime, bok choy, bean sprouts and jalapeno. Plus a drizzling of sriracha to help clear out my sinuses. Light, spicy and nutritious.

Tandoori chicken. Husband brought a big pan of this the night before he went down for the count. Spit-roasted spicy chicken with lime, roasted tomatoes and basmati rice. After all that soup, it's good to use your teeth.

Even when you fell icky, you can still Eat Well. Soon enough we will all Be Well. Stay healthy everyone!