Despite the provocative title, this is perfectly family-friendly content. First of all, I love whipped cream. By this, I mean any sweet, fluffy, white creamy topping. From scratch, in the aerosol spray can, CoolWhip--all of it.

But lately, I've been experimenting with the from-scratch variety. And I learned that you can add almost any flavor to whipped cream, but some of it definitely works better than others.

Here is my very unscientific study.

Required items
1) Heavy whipping cream
2) Kitchenaid, hand mixer, or a whisk and raw arm strength
3) Various flavoring agents (see Results section below)

Methodology
Dump about a cup of heavy whipping cream into a bowl. Add various flavors and if necessary, a little sweetening stuff (Torani syrup, brown sugar, white sugar, agave nectar, etc.) Beat until whipped cream forms, tasting as you go along.

Results
Maple Whipped Cream--Winner (A+)
Flavoring agent is pure maple syrup. Absolutely delicious, elegantly simple and sturdy to boot (no separation). As a bonus, no additional sweeteners required.

Orange-Tangerine Whipped Cream--Good Taste (B+)
Flavoring agents are orange-tangerine juice and a little vanilla Torani syrup. Whipped cream that tastes like a creamsicle. Graded at B+ because while it tastes fab, it gets a bit runny after about a day and a half.

Chai Tea Whipped Cream--Nope (D-)
Flavoring agent is sweet/spicy chai tea. A promising concept, but no, no and no. Runny, bitter, and a thoroughly unappetizing color.

Coconut Coffee Whipped Cream--Potential but needs some work (C+)
Flavoring agents are coconut coffee and vanilla Torani syrup. Better color than chai whipped cream, but I need to work on the sweet/coffee balance. Has the potential to be great, I think.

Strawberry-Guava Whipped Cream--Winner (A)
Flavoring agent is strawberry-guava juice concentrate. Lively guava taste, fairly sturdy, and the most beautiful light shade of blush pink as a bonus.

I have also discovered a whole gamut of Torani syrups (passion fruit, hazelnut, peach and raspberry) that will need to be tried out. I wonder what other things might work? Time to find out.

Eat Well. Be Well.

This week, it's a combination of hyper-local (i.e., in our garden) and generally in-season from our local produce market.

Monday--Eggplant with Hot Garlic Sauce. Eggplants are in season and we finally have a few.

Tuesday--Spaghetti Sauce II (with the Jars). Basil, oregano and zukes are in abundance in the garden. Red peppers are in season at Safeway. No sausage this time.

Wednesday--My Mom's Chicken Katsu. Chicken Katsu always seems to be in season.

Thursday--BBQ Pork Sliders. This is the extra that was frozen from a few weeks ago.

Friday--Omi's Shoyu Fish (#2). My sister sent me a new fish recipe. I've put it in the Greenhouse to start, but she has a pretty good track record. 

We'll round out a salad from the cukes, lettuce and tomatoes that are finally coming in.

Eat Well. Be Well.

Mucho mahalo to the So-Called Expert for the guest post True Burrito Tales. He has graciously allowed me to re-post.

True Burrito Tales 'gets' the emotional connection of returning to the place you are from, as opposed to your office, or to Napa, Disneyland or Cincinnati for your next visit. Japanese is perhaps the best way to explain this. The Japanese language has a specific verb for returning to the place you are from (帰る, かえる, kaeru). There are other completely distinct emotion-neutral verbs for returning to the office or returning library books.

You can go to a lot of places in this world, but you can only be from one place, and I’m from the east side of L.A. Though I’ve lived in the Bay Area for more than twenty years, there are still a few things I miss about my hometown. The mild winters. The crazy profusion of FM radio stations. But above all, the L.A. burrito.

With all due respect to San Francisco’s celebrated Mission burrito, let me be frank: it is not a real burrito. Real burritos are not packed full of rice like a Chinese freighter. Real burritos contain neither sour cream nor guacamole. They are made with lard-infused refritos, not whole beans and certainly not black beans. And under no circumstances are they wrapped in anything other than a large white flour tortilla. If it’s some weird color, like red or green, it is most certainly not a burrito.

Many world travelers conclude that the burrito, due to its widespread unavailability south of the border, is one of those made-up faux-Mex dishes like taco salad. Nothing could be further from the truth. The burrito was a regional invention, native to a part of Mexico that was ceded to the Yankees in the 1840s: Alta California. Some nameless rancho cook decided to make a few oversized flour tortillas for wrapping up the leftovers, and an important  culinary innovation was born, right up there with the sandwich on the short list of wildly successful workman’s lunches.

On a recent trip south, I paid a visit to Manny’s El Loco in East L.A. to reacquaint myself with the Real Thing. I was not disappointed. Thoroughly and unashamedly old-school, Manny’s has changed very little since I used to go there in the 1970s as a long-haired punk. Same orange-plastic decor, same clientele of working-class Chicanos and the occasional Anglo or Asian down from neighboring Monterey Park. The few menu changes in evidence seem to be half-hearted nods to “healthy” eating: they’ve added a turkey wrap and something called a Santa Fe salad, and deleted the pastrami quesadilla, one of those freaky “only in LA” things that have now gone the way of the Chinese Kosher Burrito.

The king of Manny’s menu is and always has been the El Loco Burrito: beans, cheese, a chile relleno, steak picado, and salsa. It’s big, it’s messy, and it’s God-knows-how-many-calories. This is the burrito against which all others must be judged.

A great burrito is a symphony of flavors, and one false note can ruin the whole effect. At Manny’s there are no false notes. The tortilla is same-day fresh. the beans are runny, lardy, and cooked for days; almost a soup. The steak picado is likewise cooked down for savory goodness: round steak, onions, chiles, and tomatoes. There is no shortage of cheese or green sauce, made with hot peppers and tiny flecks of avocado. And at the heart of this beast, robed in deliciousness, is the mighty chile relleno, a study in contrasting textures and flavors: the chewy crispness of the fried batter, the sweet snap of the fresh Anaheim chile, and the gooey river of hot melted cheese inside.

Don’t get me wrong: there are some other great places nearby. El Tepeyac, for instance, is another classic joint, with an even bigger and gnarlier burrito called the Manuel’s Special. But El Loco remains my personal favorite, and the one I think of every time I settle for a riced-up, foil-wrapped Mission “burrito.”

Manny’s is located just off Atlantic Blvd on Pomona Street, a block south of the 60. Si mon!

Mahalo to My So-Called Expert. It may not have mac salad, but burritos just may be the LA plate lunch.

Sometimes things do not go according to plan. The week before Obon is typically such a week. This week, aka The Week After Obon, can also be an iffy proposition, but here are my best intentions.

Monday--Roasted Zucchini with Penne. While I picked the first 6 zucchini of of the season last week, this was pre-empted last week. This week, to make best use of the oven, I roasted zukes, tomatoes and eggplant in one fell swoop. Which leads us to:

Tuesday--Panini with (previously) Roasted Tomatoes and eggplant, plus turkey, provolone and fresh basil from the garden. Using Asiago cheese bread from Safeway and either some pesto or tapenade for some additional zing.

Wednesday--Macadamia Nut Chicken with Tropical Fruit Salsa. Normally I use mangoes, which are definitely in season now in Hawaii, but they were looking pretty sad today in the grocery store, so I'm trying it with in-season local peaches. Recipes should a little flexible.

Thursday--Broccoli-Cashew Chicken. I'm needing a dose of stir-fry and craving broccoli.

Friday--dinner out. Minato in San Jose J-town. In-laws are in town. One of our favorite and homey Japanese restaurants.

This is the point of summer where 'lazy' seems to apply to everything, including cooking. Quick-cooking, lighter fare rules the day. Eat Well. Be Well.

Obon is a Japanese seasonal festival to reflect, remember and honor the souls of your departed ohana. In Hawaii, it is fairly solemn. For example, one of the most poignantly beautiful events is in Haleiwa (Oahu), where lanterns, representing a departed loved one, are cast into the ocean. (Click here to see Haleiwa during Obon.)

Obon in California is very, very different. It's not exactly the Punahou Carnival, but it's decidedly less introspective. 

I've been attending the Mountain View and sometimes San Jose Obon for years now. I've also been conscripted (for the rest of my life) to help prepare various things for Mountain View's Obon. The preparations always amaze me.

In a week, the Mountain View Buddhist Temple is transformed into a carnival-like midway--complete with food and game booths, and fully staffed for two days. And it is an entirely volunteer-driven, manual-labor intensive affair. There is no automation, with the very young through the not-very-young-at-all helping to do something.

This used to vex the Silicon Valley consultant in me. Where were the process improvements, what are the best margins for food items, and why are the booths re-constructed every year using the original lumber and rickety electrical cords from the years before?? 

I finally figured out that the whole gestalt of Obon is about community--ohana in a larger sense. I was framing it as a corporate event, but it's really a potluck for the community. As if all our collective aunties and uncles decided to hold a big family reunion to cook and entertain for us.

That's what Obon is. The food is Japanese American home cooking and the vibe is like going to a friend's house. Now go see it for yourself this weekend in Mountain View.

Eat Well. Be Well.

I'm not sure if we won or lost leftovers roulette, but at least the fridge is remarkably Tupperware-free. More importantly, there was very little waste--we only tossed about handful of tomato salad that had rather ungracefully expired. Blech.

This week finally uses quite a few fresh veggies from the garden, and also with a focus on making freezer space. Berries are in peak season, so it's time for some freezer jam. Here's what's cooking this week.

Monday--Pillsbury manapua--using homemade (frozen) char siu, the last of the Swiss chard (see right), some shredded carrots and part of a cabbage. I'll probably mix in a little hoisin and Sriracha sauces for a bit of kick.

Tuesday--Spanish Rice wraps with fresh guacamole. Using up the last of the flour tortillas.

Wednesday--Okonomiyaki with a bit more char siu, kamaboko, green onions and more of the cabbage.

Thursday--Chicken Adobo, wrapped sticky rice from my friend Christine and namasu again. Cukes are starting to come in.

Friday--Roasted Zucchini and Penne. There are at least 5 zucchini in the garden that will be ready this week.

Also looking forward to Mountain View Obon this weekend! Eat Well. Be Well.

I love hard boiled eggs. The family can't stand the smell.

Had a big cooking weekend and the fridge is full of Tupperware. A week of leftovers looms. Typically, this degrades into grab-and-microwave, buffet-style dinners that just aren't that good after the 2nd, 3rd or 4th consecutive day.

Enter Leftovers Roulette--a little game to create essentially microwavable dinners from our 3rd/4th of July feasts (see previous post). With a little creativity, leftovers become makeovers.

Tuesday: Bulgogi stack-ups, see left. Slice the leftover Yaki Musubi in half to make flat platforms. Make sure the sticky side is up. Layer on a piece of Bulgogi. The stickiness in the rice, even though it's a leftover will keep the meat anchored on the rice. Microwave meat and rice on high for about 25 seconds. Sprinkle leftover Won Bok Coleslaw on top and eat. 

Wednesday: Basil Chicken, Take 2--The Greenhouse interlude. Thanks to RussB for adding some very timely suggestions for upping the flavor for basil chicken. Take 2 is looking a lot spicier, and this is a good thing.

Thursday: Amped Up Macaroni and Cheese plus 5-minute Tomato Salad, see right. Mix some of the tomatoes into the macaroni and microwave on high for 45 seconds. The meat eaters in the house also added some of the leftover habanero sausages. Also very pretty presentation.

Friday: BBQ Pizza with leftover Habanero Sausages, Corn Salsa and the last of the 5-Minute Tomato Salad. Similar to BBQ Chicken Pizza. Spread BBQ sauce over Boboli (whole wheat is my current fave). Sprinkle the tomatoes over the sauce. Then add the sliced sausages. Sprinkle the corn salsa over everything and top with smoked gouda, or in this case, the rest of the smoked cheddar from the Amped Up Mac and Cheese.

Here's hoping that the fridge is starting to look a littler roomier. And all ideas for leftover makeovers welcome!

What's better way to celebrate the 4th of July than with your ohana on a golf/swim/potluck and a picnic/ fireworks/lawn concert? It's going to be a great weekend.

3rd of July Golf and swim potluck for about 10 people

BBQ pork sliders on King's sweet rolls with lettuce and tomato
Amped-up macaroni and cheese
Won bok coleslaw
Chilled cantaloupe and plums (perfectly in-season now!)
Berries or plums, fresh whipped cream and sponge cake from Kee Wah Bakery
Watermelon shave ice or take 2 on lychee/lemonade shave ice
Iced sun tea and mint water (something new)

4th of July--Happy Birthday USA
Picnic originally for 14, up to 25 so far. The more the merrier.

For quite a few years now, we've organized an ohana-style potluck picnic. We lounge, 'talk-story,' eat, listen to the San Francisco Symphony pops concert, eat, talk-story some more, watch the fireworks and have desserts. Great memories and killer recipes always come from this picnic. 
 
Bul-go-gi and grilled chicken apple sausages (Aidell's)
Pasta or couscous salad
Winter wheat berry salad or corn salad
Spinach/orzo salad
King eggrolls
Yaki musubi and inari sushi
Tomato salad and possibly sesame green beans
French brownies and coconut butter mochi
Cantaloupe or watermelon
Red and blue finger jello and assorted chips/crackers/cheese

Celebrate the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

Eat Well. Be Well.