 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. |
 Inari sushi. Made by Mom and kids. My mother is visiting. She is on vacation, so this means she gets taken where she wants and eats as she pleases. This week's proposed menu did not please her, so changes were in order. Here is what's really cooking for the next couple of days. TuesdayMisoyaki salmon and inari sushi. With all the other fish in Hawaii, Mom doesn't eat salmon much. Luckily salmon season started a couple of weeks ago and we have fresh salmon! She also brought some ready-made sushi mix because "she" wanted to "make" inari sushi for us. She just needed "only a little bit" of help. All I had to do was make rice, finely slice and boil 19 green beans (to Mom's exacting standards), go to two Safeways in an unsuccessful attempt to get kamaboko, make some scrambled eggs to make up for the non-kamaboko, and mix the rice. Then Mom put the kids to work to stuff them. Subliminal delegation at its finest. However, to my sisters, I say, "Whoo-hoo! Mom made us sushi!" WednesdayMediterranean Lamb Stir-fry. Mom wanted to eat lamb because this is not a staple of an Asian/Hawaiian food. For example, I challenge anyone to find lamb plate lunch options. You can have teriyaki beef, chicken, fish or pork, but who has eaten teriyaki lamb? While Parker Ranch is still an active cattle farm, I don't know of any sheep farming in Hawaii. After all, who needs wool sweater in Hawaii?! Tonight Mom was pleased. Life is good.
Bonus Sightseeing--San Jose Rose Garden
Mom loves flowers, so we took a field trip to the San Jose Rose Garden. It's well worth the trip. Right now. While the roses are in full first bloom. Staffed completely by volunteers, the Rose Garden uses no chemical pesticides and treats the soil with only organic materials. And it has the greatest number of varieties of roses of any public garden in the US. It is simply beautiful.
Take time to smell the roses.
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 |
| | We are taking a vegetarian challenge this week. The husband is the least enthusiastic about this week's prospects. However, the teenagers are quite excited precisely because the husband is less than excited. As well, these are some of their favorite meals.
Here are the parameters, as defined by my children.
1. Dairy and eggs are allowed.
2. Kamaboko is not allowed.
3. Anything that was once capable of independent locomotion is not allowed.
4. No facsimile meat. Soy chicken tenders, imitation crab and pretend bacon bits are not allowed.
| MondaySimplest Spaghetti, Asiago cheese bread (from Safeway) and a a green salad. TuesdayGrilled Tofu Steaks (see above), salad and rice. My daughter also informs me that this is a vegan meal. WednesdayPanini with roasted tomatoes, arugula-which-is-now-growing-like-a-weed-in-the-garden, zucchini, onions and either mozzarella or provolone. ThursdayMom's Miso soup with somen, green onion, nori and an egg swirled in. A photo I found on Pinterest, reminded me that this is a lovely combination to eat. FridayEasy Eggplant Parmesan or Weekday Lasagne. I haven't quite decided, but I'm leaning toward the lasagne. Coming up with a week's worth of vegetarian dinners was much easier than I thought. We'll see if we're all craving cheeseburgers by the end of the week. What are you favorite vegetarian meals? Take the vegetarian challenge and tell me how your week goes! Eat Well. Be Well. | |
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.
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!
This week, I bought a bottle of gochu-jang sauce (Korean chili sauce) for various dishes of what I hope will be spicy goodness. Very thankful for the Korean grocery store! Simultaneously, I'm plowing my way through various cookbooks I've borrowed (See Saturday Night Cookbooks from a couple of weeks ago). So far, The Big Book of Potluck and Brunch! have been the best. PDQ Vegetarian Cookbook, In a Small Kitchen, and Make This, Not That will be going back to the library early. This week, along with gochu-jang, the Barefoot Contessa is up. Here's what's cooking this week.  Meatloaf, roasted asparagus, salad & rice Monday
Myles Last Resort Meatloaf, roasted asparagus with parmesan (Barefoot Contessa), homegrown salad and rice. One barely needs a recipe for the asparagus, it's olive oil, salt, pepper and parmesan at the end. The husband also just finished the marinade for bulgogi using chicken for Tuesday's dinner. TuesdayMake your own Bulgogi chicken wraps with sesame (gochu-jang?) mayo. Inspired by the Korean food trucks, I'm using tortillas, baked bulgogi chicken and perhaps adding a layer of sesame-kochu-jang-flavored mayo. For veggies, I have bean sprouts from the Korean grocery store, kim chee, shredded lettuce and cukes. There's a good mix of hot/cold, cool/crunchy/spicy/creamy that should work well. WednesdayCold rainy weather returns. Perfect for spicy tofu soup using gochu-jang, enoki mushrooms, onions, and won bok. There are about 5 recipes I'm comparing for this right now. ThursdayBack to the Barefoot Contessa with parmesan chicken salad. This is basically chicken katsu with parmesan cheese added into the panko. The Contessa has a lemon vinaigrette I'm trying out. FridayKorean stewed chicken with spinach, or spicy chicken with broccoli. Both use gochu-jang. By week's end, our taste buds should be spiced out and well prepared for a robins' eggs and marshmallow peeps break. Just in time for our annual Easter Brunch. Eat well. Be Well.
This week's dinners started out smoothly. I was very excited to have a local source for eggs, so it was ham and egg cups with fresh farm eggs on Monday and a new salad on Tuesday.  Ham and egg cups |  New fruit and vegetable salad |
In particular, fruit and vegetable salad salad was a hit. The combination of nashi/oranges and a lime dressing make for a very clean and zippy salad. Click here for the recipe.  After that, not so much.
Wednesday's Chicken curry should have been a no-brainer. Chicken, vegetables and either an S&B or Vermont brand curry block. However, sometime before 6:00 pm, definitely before the chicken and vegetables are already cooking in the pot, one should make sure that there is a block of curry in one's house. I missed that step.At 6:15 pm, ad-hoc chicken soup developed after adding a container each of vegetable and chicken broth, some spices and orzo. By 6:45 pm, it became orzo-risotto. By the end of the night, it would go into a pyrex dish, destined to become a chicken/orzo bake. Lessons Learned:
1) A block of Japanese curry really is essential for making Japanese curry. 2) Make sure you have it before you start cooking. 3) If you need something to absorb A LOT of liquid, orzo is a very good option. Guy Fieri made Thursday's turkey/brie puff pastry tarts sound so deceptively simple. I added a few more items and the flavors are definitely all there--turkey, apples, cranberries, a dollop of mustard and brie--in a puff pastry. However, a few construction and quantity issues need to be worked out. They weren't bad and there were no leftovers but that's because teeny-tiny tarts are a a tad insubstantial for two teenagers and two hungry adults. Lessons Learned:
1) TV is not real life, especially Food Network TV and Hawaii 5-0. 2) Some brie does not melt, even after 30 minutes at 400 degrees. At all. Best to find a soft version. 3) "Tart" no matter how much the yield, shouldn't be the main course of dinner. Friday's dinner was postponed so we can eat the orzo before it threatens further expansion. Eat Well. Be Well.
We are not roaming the streets in search of the uber-trendy food trucks. I like to have dinner Ozzie and Harriet-style, but this week the kids' schedules do not work out that way. So meals are carry-and-go. They can still have a good dinner and get where they need to go.  MondayTeriyaki chicken sandwiches. Instead of rice, I'm using toasted green onion bread, shredded lettuce and mayo. Trying a new citrus salad. Shredded lettuce, and sliced nashi, oranges, green peppers and cukes with a lime/cumin dressing. TuesdayBreakfast for dinner. Fluffy wheat bread toast, ham and egg cups, adapted from Gale Gand's Brunch! And the rest of the citrus salad. WednesdayJapanese Chicken Curry. We have a good shot at a sit-down dinner, so this meal is definitely not mobile.
 ThursdayPuff pastry tarts with turkey, brie and TBD add-ins. I saw a turkey/brie turnover on an episode of "Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives" Thinking of adding apple slices and cranberries to the mixture. Or I may try pear, brie and pecans or pork sausage. Fish on FridayFurikake crusted fish with yaki musubi. Lots of ideas brewing from the cookbook research and Pinterest. Should be fun. 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.
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