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Impress Your Friends--Seared Ahi and Homemade Shoga

11/29/2012

These two Japanese/Hawaii foods maximize the effort-to-taste/presentation value ratio. Amazingly easy to do.

Seared Furikake Ahi

Bet your friends, "$20 says I can make restaurant-worthy cuisine in 5 minutes flat." Then back it up with Seared Furikake Ahi.
Heating the pan is what takes longest so here's how to pace:

0-1.5 minutes
Immediately start to heat pan. Unwrap ahi, rub with canola or ideally macadamia nut oil and press furikake on all sides of the ahi.

1.5-3 minutes
Test pan for appropriate heat. Pan should be very sizzling hot. Sear ahi 5-15 seconds on all 6 sides

3-4.5 minutes
Let it sit for about 30 seconds. Slice thinly and plate.

4.5-5 minutes
Collect on the bet and bask in your cooking awesomeness.

Homemade Pickled Shoga (Ginger)

Shoga, Japanese for ginger, is that lovely pink sweet/sour paper- thin zingy ginger that accompanies sushi.

My mother-in-law let me in on just how easy this is. This might take all of 10 minutes to do. However, if you can, it's best to allow the shoga to sit for 10 additional minutes to absorb flavor and color.

Click here for Seared Furikake Ahi.

Click here for Homemade Pickled Shoga.

Eat Well. Be Well.

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What's Cooking This Week--Leftovers & Favorites

11/26/2012

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It's Monday and none of this is left

I thought I would not be cooking much this week when I looked over the fully stocked fridge on Black Friday.

Silly me. The teenagers were in the house all weekend. It's more like Mother Hubbard Monday in the fridge now. A half-bowl of cranberry sauce, a bit of turkey and mostly skin, roasted vegetables, three mouthfuls of stuffing and a bit of CoolWhip and apple pie are all that's left.

Monday and Tuesday should finish off the rest of the leftovers, and off to the grocery store I go tomorrow. Here's what's cooking this week.

Meatless Monday
Japanese Curry with leftover vegetables. I used the last shallots and half-onion, plus all the leftover parsnips, carrots and even Brussels sprouts for this curry. With the last of the Okinawan sweet potatoes and kabocha on the side. Curry makes everything taste good.

Chinese "Turkey" Salad

Tuesday
Chinese Chicken (Turkey) Salad. This is the perfect use for the "kuzu" (i.e., leftover small bits) of turkey are always at the end of turkey leftovers.

Wednesday
Spaghetti and Meatballs, with Simple Spaghetti Sauce, as requested by the husband. And a simple salad with romaine hearts. A good break from all the heaviness of Thanksgiving food.

Thursday
My Mom's Chicken Katsu, Co-Worker Kale Salad and rice. November is now too cold for my Mom to make the trip for Thanksgiving, so we'll make Mom-food this week instead.

Possibly-Meatless-Friday
Yakisoba. Meatless, or perhaps with just a little bit of pork. This is one of my son's favorite meals.

Eat Well. Be Well.

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Un-Thanksgiving Dinners for Pre-Thanksgiving Days

11/19/2012

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A couple of quick meals before the big gig on Thursday. Our Thanksgiving is pretty traditional, so in the days leading up to the big day, it will be quick stir-fry, a good spicy soup and a leftovers purge. Here's what's cooking this week and our Thanksgiving prep schedule.

MONDAY
Spicy Thai Basil Chicken with snap peas, orange peppers and jasmine rice. Ad-hoc stir-fry

THANKSGIVING PREP
1) Shopping: Pick up turkey, onions, celery, green onion bread, fresh cranberries, dried cranberries and pecans.

2) Inventory salt, spices, chicken stock, corn syrup, corn meal, flour and Bisquick.

3) Prep Homemade Pork Sausage instead of Jimmy Dean this year for Cornbread Stuffing

4) Cube green onion bread for Portuguese Sausage Stuffing so that it dries out by Wednesday.

TUESDAY
Korean Chicken Soup with Kim Chee

1) Check on turkey. Make sure it's well-chilled.

2) Chop and store onions, celery and shrooms for stuffing and gravy.

3) Shopping: Pick up avocadoes, cilantro, jalapenos, red onions, mushrooms (white, crimini, and shiitake), cheese, creme fraiche, vermouth and munchies.

4) Make cornbread. Cube and let it dry out overnight.

5) Don't panic yet.

WEDNESDAY

Leftovers to clear out space in the fridge.

Stay tuned to see how far behind we might be on Wednesday.

Eat Well. Be Well.

1) Brine turkey. We use a hefty bag.

2) Make stuffing 1 and stuffing 2, mushroom/onion gravy, cranberry sauce and pie crust

3) Clean house. Scratch that. Holler at the teenagers to clean the house (and the toilets).

4) Make a last-minute stop at the grocery store, with the full expectation that I'll have to go again on Thursday.

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Portuguese Sausage Poppers: More Ideas for Thanksgiving

11/15/2012

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Portuguese Sausage Poppers

I'm still meandering through the West Kauai Plantation Heritage Cookbook and besides yesterday's dog soup, found a ridiculously simple recipe for little puffs of biscuits.

Five ingredients: Portuguese sausage, cheddar cheese, parsley, Biquick and non-fat milk.

It's so foolproof that even I have made it successfully without supervision from baker Husband. Two batches over the weekend, sending one with the kids on their sleepovers and the other as my personal contribution to a dinner party, where the hostess told me to hurry up and post the recipe.

Making it next week as an appetizer for Thanksgiving and if there are any leftovers, they will play nicely with eggs for breakfast.

Click here for the recipe. Start to finish is about 40 minutes, even faster if the sausage cools quickly.

Eat Well. Be Well.

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What's Cooking This Week--No Wallet Monday

11/12/2012

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Today's game was No-Wallet Monday. I left my wallet in my car. Not usually a big deal, except that today my husband is driving said wallet-containing car, and I barely ever have cash on-hand. So with $20 dollars scrounged up from around the house, the challenge was to get enough for Monday's dinner.

Here's what happened on Monday and what's cooking for the rest of the week.

Pillsbury Manapua

No-Wallet Monday
Fed the ohana for $11, plus char siu and edamame from the household 'freezer pantry'.
Pillsbury Manapua and an Edamame Salad that deserves a second look, using yuzu from a friend's yard. Bought the following: 2 tins of Pillsbury biscuits, 2 bunches of green onions, a bag of shredded carrots, 1 bunch of fresh mint, plus a cake of tofu for $11! Everyone is happy and full.

Tuesday
Should be a normal weekly shopping trip now that I've retrieved the wallet. Chicken Divan, at the request of the teenagers.

Fishy Wednesday
Mahi-mahi with tomato butter sauce. It's time to get this out of the Greenhouse and into a regular rotation. It's too good, too close and too easy not to finalize it.

Mediterranean Lamb Stir Fry

Meatless Thursday
PDQ Hot and Sour Soup. Skipping the pork and using only the tofu from the $11 purchase on Monday.

Friday
Mediterranean Lamb Stir Fry. We had takeout Caribbean food this weekend and tried curried goat. I may try to use goat instead of lamb, as it is the more locally raised animal, but we shall see.

Eat Well. Be Well.
Be grateful for those who defend our country.

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Kabocha: A New Idea for Thanksgiving

11/9/2012

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If Matisse cut kabocha...

This is a good snack-ey way to eat kabocha. It is similar to roasted sweet potatoes but it not as starchy.

Seed and cut the kabocha so they look like cantaloupe. Best to have a very sharp chef's knife and a lot of leverage. Cutting is definitely the most hazardous part.

Because I'm short, I did it on the floor so I could get more leverage. If you have a household pet, it's best to keep Muffin or Spot out of harm's way when you start cutting on the floor.

The end product can be finger food or a side dish. We've even eaten the leftovers cold from the fridge, but they taste best when they are warm with a little bit of the sticky-crispy-chewy-sweet-shoyu caramelized sheen to them.

And remember, green skin on is best. Because my mom says so, it tastes good, and I'm thinking it's physically impossible to skin a kabocha anyway.

Click here for the recipe. And while we will definitely have my Aunty's famous candied yams at Thanksgiving, roasted kabocha would be a good complement.

Eat Well. Be Well.

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What's Cooking This Week--Vote!

11/5/2012

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Google "vote" to find your polling place

Even if it means crock-pot, freezer or takeout, make sure you get out and vote on Tuesday. I have already exercised my privilege as an American and voted and you should too. Whatever your politics, we live in an amazing and diverse country.

Thank you also to those who have already donated $980 to the Feeding My Ohana Virtual Food Drive on behalf of Second Harvest Food Bank. The hardworking people at Second Harvest tell me they update results manually, so matching funds and weekend donations post slightly more slowly. Thank you to all who have donated thus far!

With that, here's what's cooking this week.

Mmm, BBQ sliders.

Monday
Ground chicken with Chinese long beans stir-fried with black bean sauce and sriracha sauce. Bok choy with oyster sauce and rice. College kids: you don't need a recipe for this, just wing it.

Tuesday--Get out and Vote!
Crock pot BBQ sliders. Sandwiches to watch the election results. And Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey, Phish Phood, and Imagine Whirled Peace, which is on sale this week. A low-maintenance dinner so we can de-construct election results whilst eating ice cream from the carton.

Wednesday
Somen salad. As you enjoy 80 degrees in November in California, please keep our 'back East' ohana in your thoughts.

Thursday
Thai Chicken Curry and rice. Cauliflower is coming into season!

Friday
Weekday Lasagne. A nice way to end the week.

Extras
Yoplait coconut yogurt, which I have for lunch with
Home-assembled trail mix: sesame sticks, cashews and dried raspberries
Perfectly hard-boiled eggs
Roasted tomatoes, with some late-season heirloom German Stripes I got at the Farmers' Market yesterday.

Eat Well. Be Well.

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Because Hunger Shouldn't Be a Game

11/1/2012

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Today is the kickoff of Feeding My Ohana's Third Annual Virtual Food Drive to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank.

Like many food-related sites, Feeding My Ohana highlights what we eat, how to make it, and where to get it. However, of all the blogs, websites, cookbooks and magazines I've perused, the question of WHETHER we will be eating is seldom addressed. Second Harvest makes sure this is not the case for needy families.

In 2011, Second Harvest Food Bank helped an average of about 243,000 people a month in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. To put this in context, there are about 234,464 students enrolled in the ENTIRE University of California system.

I started Feeding My Ohana to share my passion for recipes and as a vehicle to address eating in a fundamental way. So if Feeding My Ohana has been helpful or entertaining (or maddening), consider donating to the Virtual Food Drive.

It's secure and even simpler than in years past.
1) Go to the Feeding My Ohana Food Drive Page
2) Click on the Donate Now link.

This year, Feeding My Ohana has expanded the pool for matching funds and is grateful to our sponsors, Fineline Graphics and Design and Cheryl Okuno, Alain Pinel Realtor.

CHERYL OKUNO--ALAIN PINEL REALTORS

Eat Well. Be Well. Do Good.

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Impress Your Friends--Seared Ahi and Homemade Shoga

What's Cooking This Week--Leftovers & Favorites

Un-Thanksgiving Dinners for Pre-Thanksgiving Days

Portuguese Sausage Poppers: More Ideas for Thanksgiving

What's Cooking This Week--No Wallet Monday

Kabocha: A New Idea for Thanksgiving

What's Cooking This Week--Vote!

Because Hunger Shouldn't Be a Game

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