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Hawaii Fruit 101

4/30/2011

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There were certain fruits I never, ever thought I'd pay money to obtain. In Hawaii, these fruits, well, they just are. When you have a chance to eat these in Hawaii, or where-ever you are, go for it!

Hello Starfruit, I've missed you from my 'small-kid' time. I'm embarrassed to say what I paid for just one. Its hoity-toity name is 'carambola' usually cut cross-sectioned (see photo) to show off  its shape. As kids, we called 'em "five fingers," ate them like apples,
and everyone knew someone with a tree. 

Starfruit has a firm texture, like a very crunchy grape. They are not too sweet, a little citrus-ey, very juicy, a cross between an orange and maybe a peach. Eat them when they light yellow and the skin is not wrinkly.

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The mango tree I used to climb
Mango. Haden, Pirie, and the humongous Shibata. Everyone had a backyard mango tree, and you couldn't give the stuff away during mango season.' This is the fruit I most routinely buy--typically Hadens from Mexico. Pirie (pronounce "peery") is an acquired taste--squishier than Hadens, eaten by slurping or spooning it off the pit.

Pineapple. In the name of 'local' (and nostalgia) I buy fresh Maui Gold pineapple from Hawaii instead of generic from Costa Rica. Lower acidity and good sweetness. Sadly, with the end of pineapple farming in Hawaii, the ability to buy canned Hawaiian pineapple has also gone. Canned pineapple is now from Costa Rica or Thailand.

Lychee. My grandma had a tree and a childhood friend had lychee trees. We picked, ate and spit out the pits while sitting up in the tree. Canned lychee is convenient because they are pitted, but the texture isn't even close. Asian markets and even Safeway will sometimes stock fresh lychee. Peel, eat and spit da pit.

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One of my parents' papaya trees
Papaya. Not my favorite, but my husband and son love them. Slice them in half, scoop out the slimy seeds that look like very, very big caviar, and spoon out the fruit like a melon. If you are searching for papaya, I recommend the smaller variety it just a bit bigger than your hand. One that is going from green to yellow-orange and eat it right away. Mushy papaya is just plain gross.

I've left out apple bananas (my dad's fave), mountain apples, coconut, breadfruit, guava and lilikoi (passion fruit). I'll have to leave those for another installment. 'Til then,

Eat Well. Be Well.

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What's Cooking This Week--Household Favorites

4/26/2011

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Hope everyone had a good Easter and/or Passover. This week is dedicated to household favorites--the go-to, most-requested, and typically most often served at our potlucks.

Monday--Bulgogi. My son doesn't eat cow, but he will make an exception for this. It's definitely warm enough to grill now. You can get the Korean/Hawaii-style shortribs at most Asian markets. Safeway will also cut them this way if you ask them.

Tuesday--Smoked Salmon Pasta. You just can't eat rice every day. This recipe uses no garlic, shoyu, vinegar or salt. All the flavor comes from smoked salmon, clam juice, a lemon and a shot of heavy cream.
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Crock Pot Kalua Pig
Wednesday--Crock Pot Kalua Pig. Start it in the morning and come home to the lovely smell of smoky kalua pig. If you make a lot, you can use leftovers for Kalua Pig quesadillas, or freeze it for some other time when you don't feel like cooking.

Thursday--Homage to Mom and Dad dinner. From mom--Ung Choy (probably will use spinach) with Shoyu-Mirin Sauce (See below). And My Dad's Killer Fried Rice. Remember, just a little bacon goes a long way. We eat this breakfast, lunch and dinner when we back home in Hawaii.

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Mom's Ung Choy with Shoyu-Mirin Sauce
Friday--Peanut-Butter-Beer Miso Chicken. This is my favorite chicken, descended from the Sam Choy recipe. Absolute respect to Sam Choy's risk-taking, creative genius--taking ordinary household ingredients--peanut butter, beer, garlic, and shoyu and miso (ok, those last two are ordinary mostly to Asian households!) to make something so utterly sublimely good. 

Eat Well. Be Well.

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Ad Hoc Easter Brunch and an Easter Egg Hunt for Teenagers

4/22/2011

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We're having an email-arranged Easter brunch with cousins and friends. Plus an Easter egg hunt for a bunch of teenagers. 

Yes, that unpredictable, quixotic, sometimes-vexing-and-often-times-mute 13-17 year-old demographic. I'm very happy that they are not too old to do this. 

They are stuffed with, among other things, micro-origami paper, some fluffy chickies, ceramic Japanese bunnies (they're wearing kimono!) mini-Robin's eggs, and Japanese soda candy--a fun, fizzy hard candy that comes in melon, grape and an undefined "soda" flavor. American-Asian at its finest.


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And of course, we have to eat. What I love about eating with the ohana is that we bring what we like, and it always ends up well-balanced and just plain ono.

Ham and lamb (but no Spam)
Hot cross buns, after all, it's Easter!
Muffins du jour: Sour cream blueberry, a new strawberry muffin (recipe from People Magazine, of all places) and maybe a smoked salmon/gorgonzola (from a new foodie online friend)
My husband's scones
Quiche--ingredient combo TBD
Inari sushi--because you always need a little rice. Thank you Aunty!!
Fresh mango salsa and something that goes with it
Vegetables--Whatever lovely greens my cousin comes up with
Fresh fruit--strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and tangerines, Asian pear and even a starfruit!

Eat Well. Be Well. Celebrate Spring!

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What's Cooking This Week--Rice

4/19/2011

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It's the week before Easter. I'm in a 'rice' mood since we'll have a lot of non-rice Easter brunch dishes this Sunday.

Monday--Banish the Bottle Teriyaki Chicken, with a simple salad and new-crop brown and white rice.

Tuesday--Thai Chicken Curry (see left, with a brand-new unexpired bottle of Thai Red Curry Sauce), also in the hopes of getting a decent picture. Swapping out coconut milk for a splash of leftover heavy cream so as not to waste it. One-pan dinner plus Jasmine rice.

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Wednesday--Shabu-Shabu. Mizuna was looking very good at the Japanese grocery store this week. If we have leftover rice, we'll add it to the broth and eat it chazuke-style.

Thursday--(Leftover) Teriyaki Chicken Wraps. I'm craving a Hawaii-style teri-chicken deluxe sandwich, but I've got tortillas in the fridge. I think it'll work with some sauteed onions and red peppers. Could Texawaii be the new fusion "it" word? No rice today.

Friday--Portuguese Sausage Sticky Rice for a Good Friday.

Check back later this week for the Easter fixings. My cousins and I are still figuring it out.

Eat Well. Be Well. Happy Easter to All.

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What Not to Eat

4/15/2011

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As much as I like to say I'm willing to eat anything, there are Definitely, Absolutely and Categorically Things I Will Not Eat. We all have our food-peeves, and mine were shaped by situation rather than absolute flavor.  For example, for a long time, I didn't eat/like tofu because it was fed to me only when I was sick. I happy to report that I've gotten over that.

My childhood in Hawaii and adulthood on "The Mainland" definitely shaped my eating. Everything from my fondness for Spam, Jello and CoolWhip to outright devotion to sashimi, noodle kugel, chicken divan, hummus and guacamole. What I eat is a geographical and social map of my ohana.

So in a twisted riff on Food Networks "The Best Thing I Ever Ate," here are Nine Things That I Will Not Eat.
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Van Camp's Pork and Beans: I could never identify the "pork" part of Pork and Beans. When I was a kid, I hid these cans behind the sofa. Then one day my mother discovered a stash of 7 cans of Pork and Beans...it became a very unpleasant evening.

Cream Tuna: My mother's concoction made from 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 can of peas, and 1 can of tuna. Dump all of this into a pot, stir until hot, and pour over hot rice. It looked like cat barf, and not one of Campbell Soups more shining recipe moments. Never, ever make this. (Sorry Mommy!)

Sea Cucumber: Like eating a slug. There is nothing remotely "cucumber" about this.

Guts & Digits: tripe stew, brains, tongue, sweetbreads, liver, kidneys and chicken feet. I've given up biting my nails, I don't need to eat a chicken's. And if liver and kidneys remove toxins, why on earth would you eat them?

Tilapia: I recently found "Tilapia Sashimi" for sale and seriously thought I was being punk'd. Tilapia is known as "ditch fish" or "rubbish fish" in Hawaii because they flourished in the dirty, reclaimed water of sugar cane irrigation ditches. In my brain, I know it's the sensibly farm-raised, trendy, healthy fish, but I cannot bring myself to eat it, much less treat it as sashimi. This one I could work on.

Natto: fermented soybeans and a traditional Japanese delicacy. There are people I love who love this stuff. If you had a very bad head cold and drained your sinuses, it would look like natto. Ick.

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Vienna Sausages: Even I have limits on cured processed meat.

Turkey Spam: Why even pretend you are trying to be healthy? It's Spam. 

Raw (Regular) Spam: People, you have to cook it! Do not eat this stuff out of the can like ice cream! One of my darn-near-brilliant friends did not realize this essential fact.

Tell me what makes your list. 

Eat well. Be well.

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What's Cooking This Week--Sports Eating

4/12/2011

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The San Jose Sharks are in the playoffs and we are eternally hopeful. This is a little jumbled week with a school-night hockey game and a soccer fundraiser. But we still need to eat. Here's what we're doing:
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Monday--Smoked Salmon Pasta. The chard we had last week was so good, I had to get some more. I even dropped some seeds into the garden over the weekend. Maybe we'll have our own in a couple months.

Tuesday--Quiche. I had this recipe/technique for awhile, but hadn't posted it. The husband made two on Sunday and so we'll have the extra today. This is just for my daughter, who doesn't care for scrambled eggs but loves quiche.

Wednesday--Soccer Fundraiser at Armadillo Willy's, the local BBQ restaurant. Good, consistent Texas BBQ. Spicy peanut slaw, the ultimate chicken sandwich and baby backs are the household favorites, but I do miss their fish tacos.

Thursday--Sharks Playoff Game #1. Perhaps panini, my mom's chicken katsu or more likely, takeout.

Friday--Salt and Pepper Shrimp/Chicken. This didn't happen last week because we ended up with a lot of leftovers. But as a bonus this week, shelled *and* deveined shrimp is on sale this week. 

Thai Chicken Curry didn't happen last week either, but I updated the Roasted Cauliflower so that the produce didn't go to waste. Good to have a little flexibility.

Eat well. Be well. Go Sharks!

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Trendy Snack Food--KFC and it's not the Colonel!

4/11/2011

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One of the great things about living in the San Francisco Bay Area is that Asian-based food trends/fads sweep in, multiply, and then self-select down with the best few sticking around. 

A few years back, Hawaii-food places popped up like spring clover. L&L and Hukilau are the last (and best) standing. And the previously-blogged about eyeball (boba/pearl) tea places transplanted from Taiwan are definitely going through a culling phase. 
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The latest fad to hit our sleepy Silicon Valley suburbs is Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) and sweet potato fries. I've been to to Bon Chon twice now for some spicy soy garlic "double-fried" but not greasy chicken wings, drumettes and drumsticks. 

I'm not sure how absolutely healthy this chicken is, but for fried chicken, it is remarkably non-greasy, light and full of flavor. And the spicy soy garlic definitely had some great kick to it. 

It is also much less "bread-ey" and much less salty/oily than the Colonel's American KFC. Much more flavor on the chicken than on your fingers and much less oil overall.

Ordering chicken is a little confusing until you figure out their system. Chicken orders are in 3 sizes (S/M/L). Then, for each size, there is a Wings, Drums, Mixed or White Meat option. The server at my local Bon Chon was happy to help me through the menu, and service overall is very nice.

The sides (kim chee coleslaw, biscuits and coleslaw) are simply not their focus. The exception is the creamy sweet potato fries, which is a nice balance to the spicy chicken. These are best eaten quickly while still  hot. 

Bon Chon has a corporate website that is simultaneously outdated and  under construction. Best to go to my local Bon Chon website (www.bonchonbayarea.com) which is still pretty stark, but does post its hours and a pdf menu.There are Bon Chons scattered across California, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia, plus South Korea, the Philippines, Dubai, Singapore Thailand and Malaysia. 

Definitely go for the chicken and sweet potato fries, but make a complete meal out of it by making your own rice and salad at home. This is what we did the second time, making it both a good monetary value and a another vetted takeout option.

Eat well. Be well.

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What's Cooking This Week--A Little Bit of Everything

4/4/2011

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The weather forecast is hot and cold, and even the possibility of rain. So we're going with a little bit of everything for dinner this week. We're eating Hawaii, Chinese, Thai, American and Japanese. I even managed to go to the Chinese (for fresh char siu and Chinese-style roasted chicken--these are definitely 'buy' items), Japanese (for rice, somen and Hawaii chow fun noodles) and 'regular' grocery stores (everything else) in one power trip today.
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Monday--Pillsbury Manapua (see right, using ground pork filling). 
Mixing it up a little this time.
Filling #1 = char siu (bought) and green onions. 
Filling #2 = roast Chinese-style chicken (bought) + spinach + green onions. 
Plus spinach sauteed with garlic and green onions using sesame, chili and canola oil.

Tuesday--Sick and Wrong Fish and Nakayoshi Gakko Somen Salad.

Wednesday--Amped Up Macaroni and Cheese and sauteed Swiss chard. Hoping for a decent picture of the mac and cheese.

Thursday--Thai Chicken Curry. My daughter's favorite. Coincidentally, also in need of a photo.

Friday--Salt and Pepper Chicken/Shrimp, take 2. A few fixes and using both chicken and shrimp this time.

Spring is in the air! Eat well. Be well.

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How Does My Garden Not Grow

4/3/2011

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Two year ago, we ripped out our front lawn. We live in the suburbs, so the idea of four humongous planter beds instead of a nice green lawn bordered with annuals was a little out of the ordinary. The front yard got great sun exposure, so we ended up using quite a bit of water (and money) just to maintain grass.

With the romantic (but in retrospect, somewhat delusional) notion of having the ultimate in locally grown, organic vegetables, out went the lawn. Enter 4 humongous planter beds and 2 composting bins. On the plus side, our water bill dropped by 30%, our garbage was reduced by well over 50% (by composting) and we a bumper crop of winter and summer vegetables. We were diligent with maintenance, and there is nothing better than winter carrots and summer tomatoes.
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1st year of garden, well-tended.
Then I took on an amazing, interesting, challenging and very much full-time consulting gig. For the garden, the most charitable thing that I can say it that I let it go to seed. The soil got tired. The tomatoes got sad. No broccoli, cauliflower or celery. Exactly 1 carrot. The only positive is that compost still happens, no matter what.

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Thankfully, gardens don't hold grudges. The poppies have returned with a vengeance and the oregano, marjoram, green onions, sage, parsley and mint have all stood by me. 

A garden should be treated like another child, or at the very least like a pet. A little daily care goes a long way. Periodic check-ups and proper nutrition are a must. So we bought sacks of, well, chicken manure, and let it do its thing. With the formerly-neglected garden now getting some TLC, the earthworms have returned, the cats have been chased away and soil just looks, feels and even smells better. 

Lettuce, mizuna, and spinach got put in last week. Bok choy and chard will follow this week. Later this month, I'll add tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, melons, kabocha and pumpkin. And I'll pay attention. We'll see what happens this summer.

Eat well. Be well. Happy Spring.

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If Making Enchiladas, Cumin + Chili Powder >> Maltodextrin + Guar Gum

4/1/2011

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I'll probably never give up S&B and Vermont Curry blocks, or Teddy Bear Soup Starter, but I've been able to break up with taco seasoning, sloppy joes and now enchilada spice packets. 

I've been paying more attention to salt and additives, and am trying to use starter spices more selectively. I figured enchiladas could go without modified food starch, guar gum, maltodextrin and caramel color (how can this be an ingredient?).

I used most of the spices from Tortilla Soup, but added some brown sugar, lime juice and a couple handfuls of tortilla chips so that it tasted "like the mix" Adding finely chopped jalapeno pepper gives it some heat.

For nearly meatless enchiladas, I used just 2 chicken thighs, red and green peppers, an onion and a can of corn. I also tossed in some spinach since I had extra. If you wanted to go for all vegetables, you could swap out the chicken for black beans.

A good weekday dinner, with enough for leftovers for lunch. Click here for the complete recipe.

Eat well. Be well.

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    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.

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