Blog Archives - feeding my ohana

Peeps Flambe

3/31/2013

OK, it's a little twisted, but yummy!

By far, this was the best Easter discovery. A FB friend earlier this week held a "Peeps Roast" and it was just too twisted and fun not to try.

Behold Peeps Flambe. It is well worth stocking up on Peeps now with the post-Easter sales and taking them camping, well, if I were to ever go camping. I just grilled 'em on the stove.

Simply impale the Peep on a chopstick and roast. Since they are sugar coated, they get a nice crunchy crust and squishy marshmallow goodness inside.

Be aware that it is much faster than roasting marshmallows, just a quick roast. If you are Peep-squeamish, find someone else who will do this for you. However, if you have no problem breaking the ears off your chocolate bunnies, flaming Peeps are much faster, and leave no pitiful ear-less animals staring at you in the cupboard.

What did you do for Easter?

Swing and a Miss

3/28/2013

Flavor base for clam soyrizo pasta.

The pretty picture doesn't always equate to thumbs-up dinner. Clam pasta with Soy- or Chorizo is a thumbs up plus a shaka sign of approval for dinner.

The household was very skeptical because let's face it, Soyrizo looks like canned dog food (see left). But as a flavoring agent, it is fantastic. We ate this last week after seeing it on Diners Drive Inns and Dives. I followed the basic recipe, but swapped cho- for soy-rizo, used canned instead of fresh clams and corn, amped up the garlic and shallots and nixed the butter.

Best to click here to see how I made this.

Thai chicken pizza. Pretty but meh.

The experiment for CPK-like Thai chicken pizza, pictured at left, looked and sounded so promising that I made two of them.

I'm in marketing. I should know better. It wasn't horrible, but it definitely wasn't great, very much まま (ma-ma, which means a slightly negative-leaning so-so in Japanese). I do like the idea and definitely like the taste of the real CPK Thai chicken pizza, but I still need to figure out a kickier version of the base pizza sauce. Back to the kitchen for this one.

On the plus side, there is now a good picture of Chicken Satay.

What's eating at your house this week?

What's Cooking This Week--Meatless x2

3/24/2013

Hello warm weather!

With apologies to Midwest and East Coasters, who should kick the tar out of Punxsutawney Phil and his entourage for incorrectly predicting an early spring, we are going with warmer weather dinners this week.

Meatless Monday
Summer Soba Salad. Something quick and light for a piano lesson and soccer practice evening.

Processed Meat Tuesday
Spam and String Beans. I grew up in Hawaii and make no apologies for Spam. However, I do draw the line at Vienna sausages. Blech!

Meatless Wednesday
From Scratch Falafel. I shape them more like a hash pattie so I don't have to deep fry.

Experimental Thursday
Thai Chicken Pizza Take 1. Aiming for the CPK Thai chicken pizza, but adding more veggies--bean sprouts, carrots and red peppers. Plus a little more zing with lime juice. We shall see.

Good Friday Fish
Shoyu Fish Sandwiches and Spicy Asian Coleslaw.

The pasta with soy-rizo worked out well last week. No photos, but will post the recipe later this week.

Hang in there with the last bit of cold. Spring is on the way!

What to bring back? Honolulu Cookies

3/23/2013

Carefully hand-carried home.

People often ask me what I bring back from Hawaii for o-miyage. This past trip, one of the requested items was Honolulu Cookie shortbread cookies. These individually wrapped signature pineapple-shaped cookies come in an uku-pile of flavor and chocolate dipped combinations.

My favorites are:
1) Regular. This is the purist butter macadamia.
2) Coconut pineapple. The one with the yellow square.
3) Coconut. Sprinkled with toasted coconut.
4) Dark chocolate macadamia. At left in the photo.
5) Lilkoi. This is the pink one.

Uh-oh. Not such a nice gift anymore.

However, being shortbread cookies, they are not particularly sturdy.

Even after hand-carrying them in a protected box, we had a few mishaps, as shown at left. Thus, if you are serious about bringing these back, definitely make sure you have a few extras and hand-carry them. Very, very carefully. The cookies are $1 each, so it's well worth it baby these babies.

Because once the cookie gets the point shown on the left, the only thing you can do is sprinkle it over ice cream and eat it yourself. Really not a bad fall back, but it does short the gift stash.

The other very cute item at the Ala Moana store are these mini cookie bags. This is the surfer but the rest of them are just as cute. They fit three cookies.

Upon receipt of these, my kids and I heard various high-pitched squeals of approval for the cookies and the bag's utter cuteness.

And if you check it out, remember to try the samples there!

What's Cooking This Week--Light on Meat

3/19/2013

Spring in San Francisco

The fact that it's Tuesday means that I had a GREAT weekend in San Francisco. How appropriate that on Saint Patrick's Day, I learned where Irish coffee was first served in the US. With apologies for the delay, here's what is cooking in this house this week.

Clean-out-the-Fridge Monday
Kalua pig for fried rice, a variation on a theme. Leftover Kalua pig was the meat-flavoring agent for fried rice. In this case, it's important to take a light touch on shoyu and oyster sauce because kalua pig is salty. With a side of kim chee!

Meatless Tuesday
Butternut Squash Soup, Round 2. The first time the immersion mixer was lots of fun, but the soup required lots of doctoring and still wasn't quite right. Trying again, this time with coconut milk, ginger and lime juice.

When chickens are productive, make quiche.

Wednesday
Quiche. A friend of mine at work has chickens at home, doing what they do best. Farm-fresh eggs this week!

One classic bacon with onions with Swiss and Gruyere and one vegggie with red peppers, zukes, onions, artichoke hearts and Colby/Jack cheese

Meatless Thursday
Farfalle with sun-dried tomatoes and broccoli. Typically my husband makes this with chicken, but we'll try meatless this time.

Friday
Pasta with clams, corn, chorizo and tomatoes from Diners, Drive Inns and Dives. From a diner in Rhode Island. I might swap soy-rizo here too.

Experiment in Salad
Sometime this week, I'm trying a butter lettuce, grapefruit, walnut and feta salad. The original recipe is in this month's issue of Cooking Light. The directions say to peel a grapefruit--how do you even do that?!

We'll find out and report back!

Postcards from Spring

3/13/2013

Beauty in the fleeting

Spring comes early and gloriously in the San Francisco Bay Area. With no old, gray snow, spring is as visually stunning as it is fleeting.

Everything just looks a little better in the spring. Even a mundane walk around around a suburban block.

Happy Spring!

Even the weeds show off their color.

Every shade of green is alive in the spring.

What's Cooking This Week

3/11/2013

Front yard as produce stand.

It was a glorious spring day in the Bay Area today, enough to work through that lost hour of sleep. We are going to enjoy this lovely week of darn-near perfect weather.

Meatless Monday--Breakfast for dinner
Chard picked from the garden this afternoon sauteed with garlic, onions, grape tomatoes, a shot of balsamic vinegar, sunny-side up eggs and Parmesan cheese. Inspired by a recipe on Pinterest, and eaten with a side of toasted asiago bread. Unanimous household approval.

Any ideas for a catchy name for this would be most welcome.

Tuesday
Crock Pot Kalua Pig. I have a rare night meeting, so this will be ready for the kids and hubby. All they need to do is cook rice and make a salad. And then eat ice cream.

Wednesday
Chicken Fajitas Nachos, using leftover chicken, vegetables grilled by the husband on Sunday. He used a pre-made spice rub for the chicken, plus a lime. With guacamole with avocados from a friend, salsa and sour cream.

Might be Meatless Thursday
Pad Thai, yet again. Possibly bypassing the chicken and using only tofu. I'm still looking for a tamarind paste-less version and I have two more options Pinterest to consider.

Friday
Pretty Much My Mother-in-Law's Corn Chowder. It's supposed to be 72 degrees of Friday, but I'm craving a good soup.

Bonus
Soccer season is starting, so it's very important to keep *lots* of food in the house. Here are the teenager-approved items for the week.

Jello Mochi
Jello is on sale at Safeway this week. I'm trying fruit punch, cherry lemonade and mango. Except for the color, I'm pretty sure it's all going to taste like "sweet".

Li Hing Kettle Korn. Trader Joe's kettle korn tossed with li-hing powder. I eat this 'til my fingers are vermilion.

Homemade Pork Sausage. Time to re-stock.

Frozen green onion pancakes and eggs. My son has been going through packages green onion pancakes and cartons of eggs. Best of all, he can make them himself.

Have a great week!

Gastronaut vs. Gastronuts

3/7/2013

A lot of my 'primary research' for new recipes comes from time spent at various optometrist, orthodontist, dentist and pediatrician waiting rooms. Today's post is part recipe, part rant.

I was reading a Magazine-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named at the kids' dentist office. The headline sung out, "Easy Nutella Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches." Sounds like Heaven. The recipe was decidedly south of Heaven.

There is nothing easy about:
1. Elapsed time for making the 'short' version: 6 hours (Not counting re-chilling the ice cream)
2. Elapsed time for making the 'full' version: 3 days!
3. Words like "dacquoise" and "a Gastronaut's Sublime Culinary Journey" interspersed in the cooking instructions.

It's possible to deliver a child in 6 hours with proper medication. Dessert in 6 hours-to-3-days? No. And in case you were wondering, a dacquoise is a dessert cake made with layers (plural!) of meringue and typically nuts hazelnuts or almonds. And a gastronaut is rather poetic, but nonetheless rather hoi-polloi made-up word.

However, this did get me to devise a simpler option that I made in about 10 minutes. Including re-chilling.

Nutella Ice Cream Sandwiches
Diamond Head Baker Royal Creem Crackers or Pepperidge Farm Gingerbread Men, Lemon or Coconut Cookies
Nutella
Your favorite ice cream. In this case, I used Coconut Caramel Flan, the Safeway fancy ice cream.

Essentially, just make a cookie sandwich. Re-freeze and eat when you are good and ready. This takes maybe 10 minutes with items that are probably in your kitchen right now.

Click here for the truly Easy Mini Nutella Ice Cream Sandwiches. Let's hear it for sanity in the kitchen. :)

What's Cooking This Week--Plate Lunch & Experiments

3/5/2013

It takes about two weeks to get rid of all the sand and to lose da pidgin. Perpetuating the relaxing vibe will have to be done by photos and plate lunch dinners. The husband has been cooking more and added a couple too.

Ko'Olina #2. Inhale. Exhale. And it was crowded that day. This is the vibe to keep 'til next time.

Experimental Monday
Spice Packet Indian Food. While we have successfully taken pre-packaged taco, enchilada, Sloppy Joes, spaghetti sauce and gravy spice packets from the pantry, the husband decided to try Gobi Aloo and Curry Vindaloo packets. Just add water and vegetables! Gluten free! Ready in 15 minutes! All of that was true, and there were no leftovers, but not in a good way. We do not recommend pre-packaged spice packets.

Tried and True Tuesday
Teriyaki Chicken, musubi and chicken-less Chinese Chicken Salad. Plate lunch dinner. Aaah, the Rainbow's vibe

Meatless Wednesday
Butternut squash soup, made by the husband because he wants to try out the new hand mixer. I also hear that there's a good dollop of pistachios and heavy cream, so I'm sure this is going to be good.

Thursday
Pork Adobo Fried Rice. Our homage to Elena's.

Fish on Friday
Misoyaki Butterfish, if I can find butterfish, otherwise, it's Omi's Shoyu Fish and Homestyle Mac Salad. These have been out rotation for awhile and requested by the children.

Leaving home. Welcome home. What is your favorite plate lunch?

Happy Girls Day!

3/3/2013

My childhood Girls Day doll

Girls' Day is celebrated on the third day of the third month. It is a traditional Japanese folk holiday to honor girl power, or at the very least, to celebrate their existence in what historically was a very male-dominated society.

Also called Hinamatsuri, or Doll Festival, households with girls showcase very elaborately costumed dolls for one day only. These are not your mundane Malibu Barbie or Groovy Girls, but Not-to-Play-With Dolls Specifically for Display and Usually Protected by a Glass Case. but The tradition continues that if one leaves the dolls out past Girls' day, it has serious repercussions on the a girl's marriage-ability. I believe that was made up by someone who was a little overzealous about cleaning.

While it has been replaced by the more generic "Children's Day" on May 5th in Japan, Girls' Day is still alive and well in Hawaii and with ex-pat Hawaii folks, at least judging by my Facebook and Twitter traffic. The traditional Boys Day is be celebrated on May 5th.

Our household's modern version keeps dolls out for about a week. Lately it has also signaled the final clean-up of decorations from Christmas/New Year's/Lunar New Year's and a few errant Easter eggs. And while girls typically receive little cookies or mochi, our girl has opted for Tapioca Express bubble tea drinks.

Celebrate the girls and women in your lives.

Happy Girls Day to all!

Hello Kitty Girls Day boro cookies

Traditional Girls Day dolls on display