feeding my ohana
  • HOME
  • FOUR LEGS
  • FEATHERS
  • GILLS
  • PLANTS
  • SUGAR
  • BLOG
    • Eating on O'ahu
    • Plate Lunch 101
    • Sweet Nothings
    • Greenhouse
  • CONTACT

Tradeshow Las Vegas

1/7/2011

0 Comments

 
If it's the first week of January and you work for a Silicon Valley technology company, it is very likely that you are in Las Vegas--after all, there are 120,000 of us here at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Lots of amazing new products. All interesting, but let's face it, we all still need to eat.

You can get great and gross food in Las Vegas. I shall not go into the gross. For my part, a crepe I had for room service at Paris was lovely--ham, gruyere cheese in a fluffy/chewy crepe with a nice becamel sauce, and fairly reasonable too. Easily enough for two to share.

Another great thing was the creme brulee at Trevi, and Italian restaurant in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. Calamari was also great--lightly battered and not greasy. And my friend's chicken Fettucine Alfredo was also quite good.

Tomorrow, I'm planning for vanilla French toast.
0 Comments

What's Cooking at Tech Companies

1/4/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Working in Silicon Valley, I've been fortunate to eat at a few company cafeterias. Like the companies themselves, some are better than others. I've not yet made it to the famed Google cafe, bit I did enjoy quite a few meals in the Sun Microsystems and Cisco Systems cafes--good food, reasonably priced.

More recently, I've been consulting for another technology company, and it's cafeteria had a great gnocchi daily special. A nice deep flavor with a good mix of fall/winter veggies. I've re-created it using a combination of from-scratch and easily found pre-purchased (pesto sauce and fresh, pre-made gnocchi). Perfect winter weekday dinner.

Click here for Techie-Gnocchi.

0 Comments

New Year's Traditions 2: Soba, Champagne and a Clean House

1/1/2011

0 Comments

 
Happy New Year of the Rabbit to all! This week has been all about the Japanese tradition (superstition?) of cleaning up for New Year's. We thoroughly clean the house--we're talking dusting baseboards, trips to Goodwill, rotating mattresses, cleaning up longstanding scuff marks on the floor (with a toothbrush!) and vacuuming places that no one ever sees except for when cleaning for New Year's. My cousin reminded me that you also need to take out all the trash and brush your teeth. This is supposed to get rid of the all the old/bad/unclean spirits in the house and literally start clean. Culturally, it's very interesting that the Japanese the word for "clean" is also the same as "pretty" (きれいな).

New Year's also means Japanese/Hawaii hybrid traditions. Last night, we had soba and champagne at midnight, while watching Dick Clark. My cousins did the same and rolled some sushi. In Hawaii, we'd also be shooting off firecrackers and watching Japanese TV. Growing up, I never knew anyone who went to fancy dress-up New Year's Parties. It was either at home or at a close family friend's house. 

We display special plastic encased mochi decorations that are never actually eaten--on our cars and the kitchen counter. These will stay up until Chinese (Lunar) New Year's. This is for good luck. Later, I'll get some paper 'omamori' (good luck symbols) to place in our bedrooms and over entry doors. All part of good luck for the New Year and out with the bad or worse, unclean stuff from last year.

For breakfast, we had soba, tangerines, and mochi. I went for my new-traditional mid-morning jog and later, we'll all head over to a dear friend's house for more traditional Japanese New Year foods. 

New Year's Soba
1 package soba--this is not a meal, it's tradition
Hon Tsuyu (1/2 cup to about 6-8 cups of water). Do not use the proportions on the bottle, it will be much, much to salty
Kamaboko slices
Green onions or mizuna (optional)

Heat up soup base to boiling. Drop the soba in the soup base until tender, a few minutes. Ladle into individual bowls. Add two slices of kamaboko and green onions or mizuna if desired. Slurp loudly and sip champagne.
0 Comments
Forward>>

    about

    I love to eat, so I had to learn to cook. This is my personal reference and I use it daily. Looking forward, when I turn a profit, 95% of net profit will go to programs to feed the hungry.

    Picture
    Subscribe

    Picture

    categories

    All
    About
    Anis Bakery
    Apple Pie
    Apples
    Asparagus
    Bacon
    Bakery
    Beef
    Big Island Delights
    Biscotti
    Bon Chon
    Boys Day
    Breakfast
    Broccoli
    Brownies
    Brunch
    Bubble Tea
    Cake
    Cake Pops
    Cereal
    Cheese
    Chex
    Chicken
    Childrens Day
    Chocolate
    Christmas
    Cobbler
    Coconut
    Coffee
    Comfort Food
    Cookbooks
    Cooking
    Cow
    Cranberries
    Crepes
    Dessert
    Easter
    Eating Amsterdam
    Eating Atlanta
    Eating Boston
    Eating Israel
    Eating Japan
    Eating Kona
    Eating Las Vegas
    Eating Los Angeles
    Eating Nuremberg
    Eating Oahu
    Eating Portland
    Eating Rhode Island
    Eating San Antonio
    Eating San Francisco
    Eating San Jose
    Eating Santa Barbara
    Eating Taipei
    Eating Vancouver
    Eating Vietnam
    Eggplant
    Eggs
    Eggs Leftovers
    Family
    Faq
    Favorites
    Feat
    Feathers
    Fire Extinguisher
    Fish
    Fish Tacos
    Four Legs
    Four Legs
    Fried Rice
    Furikake
    Garden
    Gardening
    Gills
    Gnocchi
    Grandma
    Gravy
    Greenhouse
    Guest Post
    Hapa
    Hawaii
    Home Plates
    How To
    Hui Ilima0bbc421ed6
    Huli Suesa2da64f96f
    Imahara Produce
    Japanese
    Japantown
    July 4th
    Kabocha
    Kale
    Kamaboko
    Korean Fried Chicken
    Lamb
    Lambs
    Leftovers
    Lemon
    Leonards
    Li Hing
    Lihing44e626efbc
    Liliha Bakery
    Local Fruit
    Luau
    Malasada
    Mangoes
    Maple
    Mariposa
    Misoyaki
    Mochi
    Mothers Day
    Muffins
    Mushrooms
    Nachos
    News
    New Years
    Noodles
    Oahu
    Obon
    Ogo
    Okinawan Sweet Potatoes
    Okonomiyaki
    Onion
    Pasta
    Pear
    Pecan Pie
    Pie
    Pineapple
    Plants
    Plate Lunch
    Poke
    Pork
    Pork Chops
    Potatoes
    Quinoa
    Rainbows
    Reindeer Cupcakes
    Restaurants
    Rice
    Salmon
    Sashimi
    Scones
    Second Harvest Food Bank
    Shave Ice
    Shokudo
    Shopping List
    Shrimp
    Soba
    Somen
    Soup
    Spaghetti
    Spam
    Stuffing
    Sugar
    Sun Tea
    Sushi
    Takeout
    Tex Drive Inn
    Thanksgiving
    Tofu
    Tomatoes
    Touring Barcelona
    Touring Big Island
    Touring Boston
    Touring Israel
    Touring Japan
    Touring Maui
    Touring Nuremberg
    Touring Philadelphia
    Touring Portland
    Touring San Antonio
    Touring San Jose
    Touring Taipei
    Touring Tennessee
    Touring Vietnam
    Traditions
    Turkey
    Weekly Menu
    Weekly Menu
    What Not To Eat
    Whipped Cream

    archives

    April 2019
    July 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.