feeding my ohana - BLOG

Where in the World is Feeding My Ohana?!

7/10/2018

10/10/17-7/10/18.

We are back one year to the day of another very looong radio silence on blogging. Full disclosure, the awesome and favorite Feeding My Ohana husband has been doing most of the weekday cooking.

This time, it’s been ‘hella’ travel. My birdies will cringe at the use of ‘hella’ if they are reading this. But let’s be honest: that’s a side bonus for why parents do the slang-ey thing.

Spread out, travel wouldn’t be too bad, but mine always seems to come in long stretches. The speed-dating recap for the last ten-ish months goes like this:

Halong - Monterey Bay. 24 hours.

November
Vacation-to-work. Immediately.

This one was especially entertaining. 3 flights and 24 hours. Land at SFO and then go directly to an offsite. And then it was Thanksgiving.

Vietnam (Hanoi and Phu Quoc Island) for vacation—Vietnamese coffee in Hanoi and Halong Bay.
Monterey for work—Whale watching is a terrible group activity if your colleagues get seasick.

Christmas/New Year’s

Marina/Monterey—Christmas with a full house and a sunshine lunch at Roy’s Spanish Bay.
Plus, my sister/favorite-est Aunty visited too!

Yeah, we like dessert.

February
I slept at home for 8 days.

O’ahu for to lay my beloved Aunty to rest.
Philadelphia (work)—Independence Hall in 90 minutes and studying the rest of the time (truth)
Nuremberg (work)—bratwurst, butt-cold weather, my brilliant bilingual cousin and her ohana

Lit a little candle in memory of my Aunty in St. Lorenz Kirche, Nuremberg

Weekends with Friends
Truly awesome times with awesome friends. Best of all, short flights!

Portland—Salt and Straw, and Blue Star Donuts. Whoa, it’s many shades of gray here.
San Antonio—Tequila almond croissants. The Alamo is a lot smaller than I thought, and Riverwalk, bigger.

Not everything is big in Texas.

March/April
Two and a half weeks out of the house

O’ahu—taking the birdies to see the ohana
Las Vegas (work)—Someday I’ll go here for a non-work reason
Boston (work)—Café Nero several times, Flour miyage, and my New England ohana (miss you!!)

Note on photo at left: Why are there NO PEOPLE sitting out on that fine sunny Boston afternoon? Because it was 40 degrees out and windy. "Feels like 35" Gotta love New England in the "Spring."

Lives up to the hype.

June
Yay no travel in May!

Out for "only" a week in June.
1) Taiwan (work)—a fantastic team, crazy humidity, Din Tai Fung (awesome and pretty reasonable), and shaved snow.

Miscellaneous Day Trips

1) Irvine (work) —Good croissants at SJC and catching the Southwest bus

Not gonna lie, work travel can be fun, but it's still work.

And there is no place like home!

What's Cooking This Week--Food as Comfort

10/10/2017

Guess who learned how to Bitmoji?

It's an understatement to say there's been a lot of bad stuff happening.

So this week, even though it's 84 degrees in California, we're going for Fall Comfort Food Mode. Casseroles. Stuffing. Potatoes. Rice. Nachos. Cooking these things makes me immensely happy.

Let's get through the week and try to make some good in the world, starting with dinner.

Besides making all manner of Bitmojis, here's what's cooking this week.

Good enough to cockroach!

Sunday Oven Day
Chicken Divan was for dinner, but practicing stuffing for Thanksgiving gave the fam and me joy.

Still tweaking an Italian sausage and chestnut stuffing from Bon Appetit. Two jalapeno peppers plus the hot Italian sausage was probably overkill, but everyone in the ohana loves stuffing.

Monday aka #TeenyTinyFriday
Stuffing, of course!

Tuesday
Orange Salsa Pork Chops. Remember the humongous bottle of salsa from last week? This is where we use it. With sauteed spinach and some red quinoa that the husband bought awhile back.

#sharksforlife and #sjsharks

Wednesday
Nachos and Guacamole. Remember the humongous bag of chips? Yeah, it's still here, and it's pretty darn-near impossible to be unhappy eating nachos.

Thursday is #LeftoversRoulette
Okinawan sweet potatoes and the rest of the orange salsa pork chops, with a side of pear cider as we see if the San Jose Sharks get their first win?! We hope so. Our Bay Area sports teams need a little lifeline as well.

Friday is Date Night!

Have a good week all!

What's Cooking This Week--Costco and Leftovers

10/2/2017

5 Pounds?!

In addition to quantities of paper products that will keep all body parts clean well through the apocalypse, "Surburban Forager" husband came home from Costco with two tubs of poke and a chicken, on top of a huge jar of salsa, a laundry bag full of tortilla chips (yes, it really does say 5 POUNDS of tortilla chips at left), and King Eggrolls from the community picnic.

How well can two empty-nesters eat on Costco, 2/3 of a carton of ricotta cheese, and random leftovers from a community picnic?

Pretty well, it turns out. Here’s what’s cooking this week.

Sunday Dinner at the "Bar"
Small kine plates of poke, leftover King Egg rolls, salad, rice, kim chee, and roasted shishito peppers, accompanied by Pineapple Cider. All we were missing was cigarette smoke and karaoke.

Monday aka #TeenyTinyFriday
COOKED Chicken Tortilla Soup with Costco chicken, some leftover tortilla chips, and tossing in the rest of the shishito peppers. This one freezes well, so we will stock up. However, ATE poke nachos, and the last of the Pillsbury manapua and homemade pizza from last week.16 manapua and 2 pizzas is overkill for two people.

Tuesday
Weekday Lasagne. Using leftover ricotta from last week's edamame hummus, a ‘baby’ box of no-cook lasagne noodles, the remaining Italian sausage, and mushrooms from last week’s pizza added to a good tomato sauce. Even with an 9 x 9, still plenty for two plus freezer.

Wednesday is Hockey Opening Night in San Jose!
For the first time in forever, the Sharks will open without Patrick Marleau. The household has very mixed feelings, but we are still fans. (Though some of us are also watching Toronto A LOT more closely.) Chicken quesadilla from Costco Chicken Part II, plus fresh guacamole. Best eaten in front of the TV, wearing a Sharks jersey.

Thursday
Chicken Salad Sandwiches or Mauna Lani Leftover Chicken Pasta Salad. Any remaining chicken will get frozen for some other use.

#AlohaFriday End of the Week Buffet
Goal is to clear out Tupperware from the fridge.

Happy October to all!

What's Cooking This Week--Cooking for Two-ish

9/24/2017

After a rare week with the entire family, we are back to empty-nest cooking. It's still tricky with quantities, but thankfully, birdie #1 is not too far away, so typically have a good Sunday meal with her. Here's what's cooking this week.

Dinner the Ohana
Before baby Birdie left back for school and big Birdie went back to her very own dwelling, we had a fine meal at Hatcho in Santa Clara. Excellent Japanese food, and in particular, the sashimi was very good, and very fresh.

One of the few places in the 'burbs that stays open til 11PM. Just know that is a family-run restaurant, so sometimes they get very busy. Worth the wait.

Essential Flavors and Colors

Sunday Dinner with Birdie
Clam and Soyrizo Pasta. One of our favorites almost-meatless meals. Big Birdie usually has dinner with us, so we can send her back with food like good Hawaii parents. With a side helping of groceries and snacks, of course.

Monday
Fundraiser Salmon from the church. Between the Japanese Methodist Church and the Buddhist Temple, we can always count
on a couple of great meals.

Maybe Meatless Tuesday
"Homemade" Pizza. With 'homemade' tomato sauce using San Marzano tomatoes (I'm converted), red onions, cremini mushrooms, olives, mozz, and maybe some spicy Italian sausage. I have given up on trying to make my own pizza crust. Especially when Boboli thin crust is so convenient, and for the household, it's a better cost-benefit for me to create marketing plans than to toss pizza dough.

Wednesday
Chicken Tikka Masala. Because the husband needs to eat rice.

Thursday
Pillsbury Manapua. Another thing I can send home to Birdie. Literally, all Hawaii mothers have an completely unreasonable yet maniacal fear that their children are at risk for starvation at any given time.

Aloha Friday
Leftovers TBD. Or maybe a date night.

Extras
Edamame Hummus so I can take this for lunch and maybe try it out on the new co-workers.
TBD baked good. It's time again. Maybe Pumpkin Maple Cookies or Molasses Maple from Magnolia Bakery, or something else entirely.

Have a good week all!

What's Cooking This Week--Favorites!

9/5/2017

Go-to somen salad

It's been awhile for these old favorites. This week's menu is dedicated to people and places that hold fond memories for the ohana.

Not Meatless Tuesday
My Grandma's Meat and Macaroni. Takes me, and by extension, my kids, back to 'small kid time'. My grandma called this "Creole Macaroni" and my kids call "Meat and Macaroni" My Issei Grandma made all manner of Japanese food, and worked wonders on the side with American catsup and a can of tomato sauce.

Weekday Grilling Wednesday
Chicken Satay. This is from a Draeger's cooking class team-building session many moons ago. This was one of the best teams I have 'played' on. To this day, I still keep in touch, even though we all have long since left the original company!

Thursday
15-minute Fish and Anna's Broccoli Salad. When I was driving the piano/soccer carpool, 15-minute fish was always a good meal to get on the table after unloading various children and equipment. We've grown out of that rhythm, but it's still nice to have a proper meal on the table fast.

Aloha Friday
Nakayoshi Somen Salad is just the thing to end the week. My kids spent summers getting in touch with their inner Yonsei, and the husband and I both served on the board of this fine summer program. Good memories for all.

Looking at this week's menu reminds me of how broad and wide and open and welcoming our ohana is.

May yours be the same!

What's Cooking This Week--More Experiments

8/21/2017

Hooray for Libraries!

New 'hood means a new library. New library means new cookbooks, and this means it's guinea pig time. Here's what's cooking this week.

Teeny Tiny Friday aka Monday is #LeftoversRoulette
So I made it to the library but not Safeway. We've all been here, or maybe it's just me. On principle, we did not resort to take-out.

In-home foraging yielded the following: Cheese and tomato quesadillas, two pieces of Na-omi-take Tofu Recipe, a green onion pancake, the last of the teriyaki chicken, three fingers of milk, half a bottle of magenta vitamin water, and three fingers of pineapple cider.

New Recipe Tuesday
Lamb chops with apricot salsa from a Williams Sonoma main dishes cookbook that is pleasingly organized by color. See red book at left.

Wednesday
More from Damn Delicious (middle cookbook above). Salmon with a Lemon Cream Sauce.

Thursday is Pizza Day
A friend's homegrown crop has become Roasted Tomatoes Recipe , so we'll have Boboli Margherita-style pizza. Just add some garlic, fresh basil and some fresh mozz!

Aloha Friday with a Dr. Shintani Recipe (Top cookbook, above)
Roasted Teriyaki Potatoes. I'll have to think of a protein, but how can this not be good?!

Have a good week all!

What's Cooking This Week--New Stuff Old Favorites

8/13/2017

Clearly I need better lighting!

In our new 'hood, I found 1) the local library and therefore, 2) stumbled onto a great cookbook, Damn Delicious, and borrowed for the umpteenth time, the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. Real books made from paper. Armed with that, here's what's cooking this week.

Proper Sunday Dinner
From Damn Delicious--Balsamic salmon with strawberry/mango salsa. OK, so I used a peach because they are in season and smell so good. And because the Safeway mangoes were icky, and I miss Hawaii mangoes, and am still a little resentful that I actually have to Pay Money for mango. This worked out just fine, and Sunday Dinner Birdie remarked that one should really be able to eat fruit salsa with a spoon because it's basically seasoned fruit cocktail. You go Birdie!

#Meatless Monday aka "Teeny Tiny Friday"
Quinoa Salad. We went through a period where we made this all the time. Then, as my children say, it got "OP'd" and we forgot about it. It's time to bring it back--a good full-meal salad and will work as a side or leftover. Along with the strawberry-peach-that-was-supposed-to-be-mango salsa.

Fridge to mouth in 20 minutes, tops

Tuesday is Grill Day
Banh-mi chicken sandwiches. While said Safeway had icky mangoes, they did have 'right-sized' daikon. Not too humongous, not limp and mushy, just right. We can make the pickled carrot/daikon slaw ahead of time, marinate the chicken in the morning, and short commute means weekday grilling.

Wednesday is Another #MeatlessOneDay
Mondays and Tuesdays at work tend to be very meeting heavy, so by the time Wednesday PM rolls around, that "blah-lahs" kick in. Na-omi-take Tofu requires no cooking and packs a ton of protein, plus uses the rest of that right-sized daikon. Mid-week winner.

Thursday
Another attempt at Pad Thai, this time with guidance from Damn Delicious, who recommends using regular pasta. Will probably add the leftover Banh Mi chicken for a little more protein.

Aloha Friday is #LeftoversRoulette
Leftovers and Game of Thrones. I've joined the rest of popular culture and have started watching Game of Thrones. Empty nest means lots of leftovers because we've not figured out the cooking for fewer thing yet.

It feels great to be cooking creatively again! Have a good week all.

What's Cooking This Week--On Time!

7/30/2017

Korean Mushroom Tofu Scramble!

Started Sunday off with a good leftovers roulette omelet with Friday's
Korean Mushroom Tofu, plus a squeeze of Sriracha for brunch.

And now a quick post for what's cooking this week. We are finally settling into a semblance of planning with grocery shopping and a good Sunday meal with Birdie. I've never been a slave to routine, but it is nice, finally, to have some consistency.

Proper Sunday Dinner with the Birdie
Bulgogi, rice, salad, since non-beef-eating birdie picked dinner last week. I do love the smell of meat and caramelizing shoyu on a Sunday afternoon.

See recipe at left. Thank you Birdie!

Bonus Sunday Baking by Birdie
We also had haupia brownies and peanut butter maple cookies.
Birdie says Haupia Brownies are Very Simple to Make.

Box of Chewy Brownie Mix (Duncan Hines)
One package of Haupia mix
Make the Haupia according to the directions and set aside. Make the brownie mix according to what the package says, and then swirl some haupia into the mix before baking. That Is All.

The cookies started off vegan, but since the only coconut oil in the house is used as a skincare product, we switched to the un-vegan butter. Look for a recipe and what we substituted next week.

#MeatlessMonday aka "Teeny Tiny Friday"
Sabih, with purchased pita and hummus from the Falafel Stop. Still worth the drive “all the way over” to Sunnyvale.

Stir Fry Tuesday
General Tso’s Chicken. A quick stir-fry with a recipe from awhile ago. Getting re-acquainted with some throwback favorites.

#LeftoversRoulette on Wednesday
Bulgogi Wraps with bean sprouts, but with the leftover short ribs. My Fitness Pal says I need more protein, so I'm heeding its advice! :)

Thursday
Quiche—spinach, artichoke hearts, red peppers, zucchini with Colby Jack this time. One for the empty nesters and one straight to the freezer. Not going to any of the birdies.

Aloha Friday—or it could be date night!
And with that, have a good week all!

What's Cooking This Week--Empty Nest Cadence

7/24/2017

Can you see the pickle mango?

It feels good to get back into a rhythm of cooking again, but boy, is it an adjustment. Two middle-aged adults eat significantly less than a family of four with two metabolism-busting children. But the upside is that foraging works much better and with zero parent guilt! Here's what's cooking this week.

Foraging in the Fridge Monday
The last of Mediterranean Lamb Stir Fry, tomatoes, bread and some cheese.

Grilling on Tuesday
Grilled Teriyaki Chicken and Yaki Corn. Short commute and Daylight savings means weekday grilling is in play!

Fish on Wednesday
Cornmeal Fish and My Daddy's Tartar Sauce. Note to self--tartar sauce, or some kind of condiment is a requirement. Plus salad.

Thursday Night with the 'Rents
La Paloma, a nice, homey, non-chain Mexican restaurant in Santa Clara. Another note to self--exercise extreme self-restraint on free AND unlimited chips and salsa.

Pie and new dishes. So fancy!

Friday is #MeatlessOneDay
Korean Mushroom Tofu, with bean sprouts and watercress from the Korean grocery, plus some kim chee and rice.

Bonus
A peach/raspberry pie and a boysenberry crumble pie from Avila Valley Barn Bakery. A convenient stop on the way back from Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo. Their sandwiches are also quite good.

Can you believe August is next week?! Have a great week all.

Eating Santa Barbara

7/23/2017

Perfect weather

When birdies leave the nest, Mamma birdie flies the coop!

We took a quick weekend in Santa Barbara. If you think Bay Area weather is great, Santa Barbara takes that to a whole 'nother circle of paradise (See left).

Visiting a nearly-grown child is different.

We had a preview with the elder birdie in Boston. THEY fit YOU into THEIR schedule and therefore, you don't see them a whole lot.

We do get to meet and feed some of their friends, and their friends seem to like us. On the plus side, they arrange spectacular ohana eating sessions, actually cook for you, and seem genuinely happy to see the old 'rents.

#MeatlessOneDay

So here's what happens--Birdie knows where to go!

Number One--Dinner and Dessert
We enjoyed a fantastic Mediterranean 'grown-up' dinner at Zaytoon in downtown Santa Barbara with birdie and assorted friends. Ate al fresco and that Santa Barbara weather--perfect temperature, very little humdity, no bugs, and evening sunshine. Food is ono and the raspberry lime soda is puckery perfection.

Post dinner, strolled around downtown Santa Barbara. I have concluded that people look so fancy here because there is a) great shopping, b) a bajillion restaurants, c) perfect weather, and d) McConnell's Ice Cream of Santa Barbara. No pictures because well, it was so good. Tried Earl Gray with shortbread cookies, Pistachio Amaretto, Eureka Lemon with Boysenberry, Peach, and Apricot and Cream. Recommend 'em all.

Caught by Pokemom

Number Two--Pokemon Abound
Awhile back, my children taught me two important millenial phenomena--SnapChat and Pokemon Go. Pokemon Go is a much improved experience where there are lots of college kids. See the cute Pikachu with Ash Ketchum hat, caught a block away from Birdie's nest. It is a bonus that Birdie patiently still puts up with you, even though Pokemon Go is no longer 'a thing' and has been replaced by Magikarp Jump. Yes, I downloaded Magikarp, but my fishies keep getting retired.

Number Three--Birdie Knows How to Cook!
My favorite and beloved husband subsisted on Hamburger Helper in college, and I had to learn to cook so my birdies wouldn't starve.

Birdie made us My Mom's Chicken Katsu, and has arugula, beets, and berries in his fridge, plus lots of eggs.

Fed by Birdie

Mamma birdie breathes a sigh of relief.