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What's Cooking This Week--Fun with Japanese Char Siu

5/25/2015

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PictureAll good things start with butter!
We had a hunk of Japanese char siu in our freezer and thought we could slice off a little bit for some somen salad. It is a very rich cut of meat, and this is what we learned:

1) Our freezer is quite effective. That hunk was frozen to the point of ice sculpture.
2) A hunk of Japanese char siu does not slice well when frozen solid. 3 different knives prove this out.
3) Eating a large hunk of pork belly in  a single meal is a very bad idea.
4) Dicing smaller hunks and spreading them out over the week with lots of vegetable add-ins is a better idea.

So, we need to spread out a very rich pork product over the week. Here's what's cooking this week

Bonus Sunday
Nakayoshi Gakko Somen Salad. What started the pork bender.

Memorial Day Monday
I was in the mood to comfort-cook, so no BBQ today. Roasted Chicken (roasted in our oven and not Costco's), mashed potatoes, a riff on Portuguese sausage stuffing, fresh corn, and another riff on Make Ahead Mushroom Gravy. For three people, so we have lots of leftover lunch. For about 7 more people. This is Hawaii cooking.

Variations were as follows: Stuffing
1) Swap out Portuguese sausage for Japanese char siu
2) Used Za'atar Israeli spice mix instead of the traditional poultry seasoning, marjoram, thyme
3) Asiago cheese bread cubes

This worked out well. It's not hot-spicy, but it does have a good balance of flavors. Za'atar is really nice flexible spice.


Gravy, #LeftoversRoulette style
1) 1/2 bottle of white wine from a party
2) Remnant (but still fresh) sour cream
White wine works nicely, and I may make this a permanent swap since I can use it in more recipes than the original vermouth. Sour cream worked out OK, but much prefer the texture and mix-ability of creme fraiche.

Tuesday is #MeatlessOneDay
Super Simple Spaghetti. The garden is back! We don't have enough basil yet for this recipe, but another head of lettuce should be ready for a salad.

Picture
Wednesday
My Daddy's Killer Fried Rice, with char siu. I've already set up a big onion, a whole bag of shredded carrots and a bag of green beans to make sure we balance off the richness of pork.

Thursday
Stuffed Tuna Melts. My kids say this is "Regular American" food, vs. "Regular Asian" food. I'm not exactly sure what the distinction is, but I do like that they have variety in their diet.

Friday
Sorta-homemade ramen with what I hope will be the last of the char siu. Plus bok choy, green onions and hard-boiled eggs. Hopefully, the last of the hunk of char siu.

Bonus Food
Puffy Pancakes, with a much improved picture
Apricot Blueberry Cobbler. 
A friend brought over fresh apricots from the Central Valley.
Goat cheese is the latest household fad, after having some with some friends in Boston last week. We've gone through three packages so far.

Note to self: Next time, cut first, then freeze.

Enjoy the last week of May!

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What's Cooking This Week--Minimal Chopping

11/16/2014

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PictureVolleyball can be dangerous
When one has two fingers of one's left hand splinted together, AND one cooks as a lefty, prepping meals can get challenging. 

If you are ever in this predicament, take note:

1) Opening cans and working the Kitchenaid--all good. 

2) Chopping--not so much.

3) Washing dishing with soothing hot/warm water--awesome.

4) Husbands who chop--also awesome.

PictureTurkey burgers with yogurt/sumac sauce.
But we have to eat. So here's what's cooking this week.

The Sunday Meal, with a splint
Tony Roma's pre-cooked pork ribs, roasted sweet potato fries (cut by the husband), weird watermelon salad (enough for lunches too!) and Hawaii homestyle mac salad (also enough for lunches and because I've not been back in a really long time).

Monday
Turkey/zucchini burgers with yogurt/sumac sauce. We made this a few weeks back and need to vet once and for all.

#MeatlessOneDay and #LeftoversRoulette Tuesday
No meat chili. I actually made this on Sunday and will freeze half of it for another time. Thinking we'll do chili cheese sweet potato fries as #LeftoversRoulette.

Wednesday
My Dad's Killer Fried Rice. Using bacon, onion, shredded carrots, green beans and kim chee. The perfect thing to get us over the mid-week. And I hope to be chopping by then.

PictureSummer love from the freezer
Freezer Thursday
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce (MINUS the jars). Awhile back, I made a batch of spaghetti sauce using the homemade tomato sauce. Summer tomatoes are long gone, the freezer comes to the rescue with a truly homemade sauce.

Extra #MeatlessOneDay is Friday
Winter Panini with pear, arugula and brie, with turkey burgers tossed in if there are any left.

Bonus
Raspberry Crumble Bars, from the Barefoot Contessa. I'm using my homemade granola and raspberry/boysenberry preserves. Guinea pigs, er, friends will weigh on Monday.

Have a good week all!

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What's Cooking This Week--Leftovers Roulette

9/8/2014

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There are a lot of great reasons to have a dinner party. Eating, drinking and laughing your guts out with 6 of your closest friends ranks pretty high up there. I had full run of cooking for the first time in awhile, so I went big.

And now we are happy to have leftovers this week.
PictureEdamame 'who-mus' and homemade pita chips
Meatless* Monday
Leftover Edamame Hummus with homemade pita chips and veggies. Let me just say that FIVE cups of edamame makes A LOT of hummus. I also learned that 'hummus' is pronounced closer to 'who-mus' rather than 'hum-us'. Someone will have eat the last bit of even-though-it-is-fish-it-is-not-considered-meatless misoyaki butterfish in the name of not wasting food. I will take one for the team today.

Leftovers Tuesday
My Daddy's Killer Fried Rice. 8 cups of rice for 7 rice-eating people is about 3 cups too many. But leftover rice is perfect for fried rice.

Leftovers Wednesday
Leftover Kale and Brussels Sprouts salad (yes, and it was awesome, and I need the recipe), and leftover bulgogi.

Semi-Leftovers Thursday
Mayonnaise Chicken, snow peas with leftover Okinawan Sweet Potatoes and Peachy Catsup. Picking up fresh poi today.

Fresh Fish on Friday
Thinking Ex-Pat Poke, poi and rice. I like my fish and poi, even though I'm not a big boy. Thank you Sean Na'auao, I'll be singing this all week now.

Happy Moon Day and have a good week all!

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What's Cooking This Week--Fickle March

3/24/2014

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PictureHello Spring. Photo by Birdie #2.
It is 26 degrees in Calgary, where the Sharks are playing today. It is 28 degrees in Boston. It is 62 degrees here. March comes in like a lion...but not in the Bay Area. 

So here's what's cooking for this first week of Spring.

Meatless Monday
Any Kine Quiche with no sausage. Using zukes, spinach with gruyere and sharp cheddar. It sounds like a weird combination but it works surprisingly well.

Tuesday
Lemon Chicken with salad and rice with furikake.

Wednesday 
Banh-mi style sandwiches with Japanese char siu, sriracha mayo, cucumber namasu, shredded carrots on toasted green onion bread or toasted King's sweet bread. I like the way this sounds already.

Practically Meatless Thursday
My Daddy's Fried Rice with kim chee. With the rest of the shredded carrots, onions, eggs, maybe a little bit of pork.
PictureFor "cold" Bay Area weather
Fish on Friday
Christine's Clam Chowder, New England-style with a nod to Birdie #1. We are supposed to get some much needed rain this weekend, so "cold-weather" clam chowder it shall be.

Have a good week all, where-ever you are.



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What's Cooking This Week--Relatives to the Rescue!

6/2/2013

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Picture
My relatives are visiting! This means Ani's Sweet Bread, a new stock of li-hing powder, coffee, macadamia nuts and rock salt plum are on their way too. 

All in return for shopping trips to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and JC Penney's. 

So here's what I think we're eating, subject to relatives' OK.

Meatless Monday
Mom's miso soup and tofu. Light yet filling and comforting. Just like home!

Leftover Tuesday
Huli-Huli Chicken. We made a batch of this over the weekend and will take advantage of leftovers today.

Soup on Wednesday
PDQ Hot and Sour Soup. As requested by one of the teenagers.

Picture
Almost Meatless Thursday
My Daddy's Killer Fried Rice. With the last bit of char siu (not chashu).

Family Friday
TBD, depending on what Mom, Aunty, Mother-in-law, sister or children determine. Should be fun and guaranteed to be good!

Have a good week all!

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What's Cooking This Week--Light on Meat

3/19/2013

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Picture
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.

Picture
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!

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What's Cooking This Week--Craving Hawaii

10/16/2012

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Picture
My own private Waimea Bay. Sigh.
Someone very dear in my Hawaii ohana is making the big jump to the "Mainland". Wishing them good luck, and sending them off with a view of one of my favorite places in the universe--summer morning at Waimea Bay. As the song goes, it's my "pocketful of paradise". I did not get to go to Hawaii this summer, and Waimea gestalt is one of the many things I really miss.

With that, a mix of Hawaii and Mainland cooking this week.

Sunday
Steve's Grilled Lamb. We ate it with Spinach Bolani (Afghani flatbread) and fresh grilled eggplant that we got from the Mountain View (CA) farmers market that day.

Picture
Love my Daddy's Fried Rice!
Monday--Grandma's Birthday
All you can eat buffet, as requested by my mother-in-law for her birthday dinner. With strawberry chiffon cake from Whole Foods. The seasonal apple cake is also quite good.

Tuesday
My Daddy's Killer Fried Rice. For A LOT of leftover rice.

Wednesday
Tofu Loaf, inspired by Green Garden Restaurant, a long-closed and very local-style restaurant in Hanapepe (Kauai). In addition to an awesome lilikoi pie, they baked up a tofu dish with onions, shiitake and mayonnaise. This version also includes tuna, carrots, celery and cream of mushroom soup. It shall be a grand experiment.

Thursday
To balance out the Perhaps-Not-So-Great Green Garden experiment, I'll try a fancier Hawaii Regional Cuisine recipe. This one is Hoisin Linguine from Russel Siu, one of the co-founders of 3660 on the Rise. This also happens to be my mother's favorite restaurant, and by utter only-in-Hawaii coincidence, Mom used to go to water aerobics with the other founder. Very small island.
Picture
Meatless Friday
Taking the last gasp of summer with Roasted tomato pizza.

Baking Extras
Todd's Pound Cake. I grew up with Sara Lee Pound Cake, but I dropped her for husband-made. The 5 eggs and 1/2 pound of butter means it is should never been a weekly staple, but it's marvy as a once-in-awhile indulgence.

Go Giants. Beat Cal. Hockey Come Back!

Eat Well. Be Well. 

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A Virtual Care Package for a College Kid

9/24/2012

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Picture
Brown University, Providence, RI
This post is dedicated to all college kids (and a few in particular) who are now living the dream of off-campus apartment living. 

Ah, yes. The freedom of selecting exactly what you want to eat. No more mass-produced, pre-selected dorm food to be eaten at specified times.

The reality of which quickly becomes, "Oh (appropriate college-level profanity here)!? I have to cook! And wash dishes!? And buy food?! Hello, Mom!?" 

A friend of mine has a child is in just such a predicament, with two vegetarian roomies thrown in, just for some added fun. 


Do not despair, or worse yet, whine. Armed with a salad spinner, rice cooker, a non stick pan, a non-stick spatula and a baking sheet, you will neither starve nor burn through your parents' money eating out. 

Feeding Your Ohana 101: Staples you should always try to have in-house
Spices & Seasoners
Garlic. This makes everything better 
Coarse sea salt. Say no to refined salt
Black pepper. The kind you can grind on your own
Olive oil. For general-purpose cooking
Canola oil. For when you decide to fry something, and you will
Shoyu (soy sauce). Low-sodium, green label Kikkoman is my favorite
Roasted sesame seed oil. Dynasty or Kadoya brand
Oyster sauce
Sriracha sauce. Look for the rooster on the label. He is your friend.
White vinegar. Buy a gallon and you can also use it to clean your floors. When you clean them.
Balsamic vinegar. Impress your friends
Brown sugar. For homemade teriyaki sauce
White sugar. If you bake. A mom can dream!

Optional
Cooking sherry and ginger 
Generally non-perishable items
Onions. Technically perishable, but they last a long time and you will use them a lot
Rice. White or brown short grain, Koda Farms if you can 
Quinoa.That you can cook in your rice cooker
"Noodley" type pasta like linguine
"Shaped" pasta like penne, farfalle, or elbows
Nuts. Pine nuts, walnuts and cashews
Dried cranberries. Good to toss into salads
Bread. Add cheese and it's a sandwich

Perishable Items--stored in the fridge
Eggs
Real butter
Cheese. Parmesan and your favorite for sandwiches
Yogurt
Firm tofu. If you and your roomies can make peace with it
A bottle each of lime and lemon juice. Fresh are always preferable, but these are good to have on standby
What you can make with the above supplies plus a trip to the grocery store for fresh produce.
Vegetarian
Bri's Butternut Squash
Easy Roasted Asparagus 
Greek Salad
Onzo Salad
Quick Pasta Salad
Quinoa Salad
Roasted Tomatoes, so that you can make Panini
Spaghetti Sauce II--Jars
Spaghetti Sauce Pizza
Simple Spaghetti
Tofu Steaks

Not Vegetarian
Banish the Bottle Teriyaki Chicken
From Scratch Pork Loin 
Get a Costco Chicken (or two!)
Laurie's Chicken Salad Sandwiches



These can be vegetarian by leaving out the animals:
Leftover Mauna Lani Chicken Pasta Salad
My Daddy's Killer Fried Rice
Any Kine Quiche

Picture
So whether you are Lions, Tigers or any-type-except-Golden-Bears, 

Cardinal, Crimson or Big Red--enjoy college.

Remember that if you have aluminum foil and an iron, you can make grilled cheese, and that snow banks are excellent temporary coolers.

Eat Well. Be Well. 

Study Hard. Play hard, but not too hard. After all, I'm still a mom!

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What Was (Barely) Cooking Last Week

9/17/2012

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Hmm. When last I posted, I deliriously anticipated a speedy return to cooking after a couple of days. My kids cycled through this cold after a few days, why not me too? Then the reality of a middle-aged body with bad sinuses made itself very apparent.

One week later and still sniffling.

I've never been a fan of starving a cold or anything else, so we did not starve last week, thanks to takeout and my truly awesome husband. I've chose spicing out a cold and so here's what we ate last week.
Picture
Starve a cold? Nope.
Monday
Indian Pizza from Pizza Pub. Yes, we used a ValPak flyer, but it turned out pretty well. Indian pizza is more like putting the spicy Indian chicken dish of your choice (tandoori, tikka masala, paneer or butter) on a flat naan bread-like crust with onions, hot peppers and a little cheese. Not so much pizza as flatbread, with a nice differentiated crunch from both crust and veggies. Plus, it was temperature and spicy hot, just what stuffy noses needed. We will definitely try this again, and not just when we are sick.

Tuesday
Oyako donburi. Almost chicken soup and pure comfort.

Picture
The pork loin magic sauce
Wednesday
From-scratch Grilled Pork Loin. This is becoming a good go-to meal for especially hectic days. Start-to-finish in about 45 minutes, including marinating time.

Thursday
Kalua pig and Kim chee fried rice. We had leftover kalua pig, snow peas, shredded carrots and rice. Add an onion and kim chee for another meal of spicy comfort food. 

Friday
Sandwiches from Ike's Lair, Cupertino. IF hockey season ever gets started, this will likely replace our beloved Togo's. Gasp, there I said it. Why? A great value, a lot of vegetarian and vegan sandwiches, and seriously amazing Dutch crunch bread. Our favorites, #19 Home for Thanksgiving: turkey with Havarti, cranberry sauce and sriacha; Steve Jobs: eggplant with pesto and provolone and #6 Hot Momma Huda: Halal chicken, Frank's Red Hot Sauce, ranch and provolone. Four sandwiches will run about $40, but you will have enough for at least two meals.

I would also like to thank the cyber-ohana for all of your kind words and cold remedy suggestions! Hearing from you all was good medicine indeed. I am on the mend!

Eat Well. Be Well.

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What's Cooking This Week--Merry Christmas to All!

12/20/2011

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Picture
Mele Kalikimaka!
This past weekend, we hosted our annual Christmas potluck. And yes, with respect and appreciation for other religions and cultures, it is still Christmas in this household. 

The main meats this year were Crock Pot Kalua Pig and a new Asian-style brined turkey (more on that later this week), for which our guests were guinea pigs. We also attempted a miso-mustard sauce for green beans that we wisely tasted before subjecting out guests to it. Miso and mustard were just not meant to be friends, so it was a quick fix with a Shoyu-Sesame sauce instead.

What can you do with leftover Kalua pig and turkey? Here's what's cooking this week.

Picture
Kalua Pig-Kim Chee Fried Rice
Monday
My Daddy's Killer Fried Rice using kalua pig and kim chee. Any salted pork product makes a mean fried rice. Pairing kim chee, which gives a little more crunch and zing to the overall texture, and kalua pig, which is very soft and almost sweet, is winning.

Tuesday
Turkey Satay Pillsbury Manapua. This is a grand experiment. I'm tossing the leftover turkey, shredded carrots and probably chard with Chicken Satay sauce and then using the construction techniques of Pillsbury Manapua.


Picture
Pistachi-zu Tofu
Wednesday
Hot Chicken Salad, using turkey. I love this recipe and don't make it often enough because the majority of the household is not crazy about olives. However, the influential minority that cooks dinner loves olives, so it's on the menu this week.

Thursday
Pistachi-zu Tofu. Something light before Christmas.

Friday
Amici's Pizza and Hockey Night. I've been craving Amici's Boston and Milano pizzas for a good month now and have also saved up for it. 


I'll be posting the Asian brined turkey later this week as well as potluck items for Christmas eve and Christmas Day. 'Til then...Eat Well.Be Well.

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