Category: Thanksgiving - feeding my ohana

Mouth full. No yelling

11/13/2016

Vote for cookies.

Not gonna lie. This past week was brutal. It was not our country's finest hour, by a long shot.

My creative outlet was cooking. My co-workers/testers approved the cookies. More importantly, the husband liked them. The best compliment was, "It tastes like maple syrup and pumpkin pancakes."

That is the comfort response I was going for.

Make these for Thanksgiving and find the joy in the small moments of life. They are there. Plus if mouths are full, there can be no arguing.

Click here for recipe.

Why I Need Two Pans of Stuffing

11/28/2013

Cornbread Happiness

Because one just isn't enough.

Prep started on Sunday with getting the knives sharpened. Then chopping on Monday.

SoCal Buddhist Cornbread made on Tuesday, specifically for stuffing.

The go-to stuffing is cornbread stuffing with dried fruits. I like sleeping in A Lot More than braving Black Friday chaos, so I have this stuffing for apres-Thanksgiving breakfast too.

This year, I'm trying a 'retro' recipe.

Bacon, green onion bread, onions, celery, mushrooms, golden raisins, apples, spinach and macadamia nuts, based on a Sam Choy recipe from the original "My Favorite Things" selfie cookbook.

This one has a smokier taste than the cornbread stuffing, mostly because of the bacon. The sweet salty balance is apple/thyme/bacon.

The other items are for color and texture, I think. My relatives, I'm quite sure, will let me know what they think of this one.

Click here for the recipe.

Happy Thanksgiving | Happy Hanukkah to all!

What's Cooking This Week--Not Turkey, Yet

11/25/2013

Skipping meat this time.

My favorite holiday approaches and I can't wait! However, teenagers still need to be fed, so here's what's cooking for this short week.

Meatless Monday, Buy a Turkey and Start Chopping!
Yakisoba with veggies. A teeny bit of pork makes this very much richer, but it's still good sans animal. Would not recommend adding tofu in this case.

Turkey Saga, Day 1
If you haven't already done so, best to pick up a turkey today. We have been getting fresh Diestel turkeys for years now. It was recommended that we get a hen (girl) rather than a tom (boy). There is no difference in price, and I've not a clue why, but we went with what the Turkey Whisperer told us.

While I love the citrus brine, The husband is trying out a new brine with allspice, cloves, onion, garlic, brown beer ale. I guess the relatives now know they are human guinea pigs once again.

I am also trying out a new old stuffing, based on a Sam Choy recipe. Macadamia nuts, apples, raisins and either bacon or pork sausage. Plus our more traditional cornbread stuffing. Again, the relatives will surely weigh in here too.

Tuesday
Korean chicken soup. It's getting cold for California, so we need soup and a little kim chee to keep us warm.

Wednesday
Gyros. We've been on a Mediterranean kick lately.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

What's Wrong with this Picture?!

11/2/2013

Decorations at Santana Row. Too early!

Holidays make me happy.

So why am I grousing about this lovely photo of a bedecked Gothic-esque structure in the bright sunlight?

Because I took this picture TODAY.

2 days after Halloween and 52 days before Christmas.

The Jack-o-lanterns haven't even had time to get gross and squishy. Don't get me wrong, I adore Christmas, but every holiday should have its time.

Plus, Thanksgiving is food for the body and soul. No presents, fireworks, or egg-hunting.

Just time to be with our ohana and to be thankful.

Don't let Thanksgiving be reduced to the meal before Black Friday. #SaveThanksgiving

Un-Thanksgiving Dinners for Pre-Thanksgiving Days

11/19/2012

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.

Portuguese Sausage Poppers: More Ideas for Thanksgiving

11/15/2012

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.

Kabocha: A New Idea for Thanksgiving

11/9/2012

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.

Leftovers Rule! Turkey Shepherd's Pie

12/1/2011

Shepherd's Pie is ideal for leftovers roulette, and when you use the Thanksgiving leftovers instead of the more traditional ground beef or lamb and canned peas and carrots, it's that much better. I found a skeleton recipe from PGEW (Poor Girl Eats Well) for our post-Thanksgiving Shepherd's Pie. This is a knock-it-together kind of dinner, so here's what I used:

1 onion, chopped
The rest of the leftover baby carrots (about half a bag), chopped
4 stalks of celery, also chopped
1/2 carton of leftover chicken broth (vegetable would work also)
A few handfuls of eftover turkey, chopped
About 1 cup of the leftover Make-ahead Mushroom (+ Onion) Gravy
Thyme
Marjoram
Poultry seasoning
The rest of the mashed potatoes, maybe 3 potatoes worth
Milk
Grated sharp cheddar cheese

Chop vegetables and turkey so that they are all approximately the same size. Toss the onions into a large pan with the rest of the chicken broth and cook over medium heat. Add carrots and celery. Add chopped turkey, thyme, marjoram and poultry seasoning to taste. Toss in the rest of the gravy and stir. Let the mixture reduce slightly, but it shouldn't be dry. Pour into a 9 x 13 pan.

I then microwaved the mashed potatoes. Add milk to re-hydrate. NOTE: This may not be necessary, but our mashies got a little overcooked the first time, so some help was needed. Toss in a little bit of grated cheese.

Spread mashed potatoes over the turkey/vegetable mix. Lightly sprinkle grated cheese over the potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly and the edges are turning brown.

Turned out well, emptied out 3 Tupperwares, and the kids had seconds and requested it for lunch the next day, so this is a good sign.

Eat Well. Be Well.

What's Cooking This Week--Thanksgiving Reviewed and Recycled

11/28/2011

Turkey plate #1

Controlling the leftovers is one of the benefits of hosting Thanksgiving. This week is all about creative and tried-and-true ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers.

First of all, my relatives want to know what the no-leftover Thanksgiving winners were (not that we're competing or anything). So here it is: honey-walnut prawns, sashimi, spam musubi, inari sushi, steamed green beans, pumpkin mini-muffins, sauteed American peas and Chinese chicken salad.

Most requested take-home leftovers: salted version of Thanksgiving turkey, sweet potatoes, pecan pie and full-cream pumpkin pie.

And lucky us, now we have a fridge full of Tupperware leftovers. Leftovers roulette is one of my favorite activities and it's even better with Thanksgiving leftovers. Along with plain old turkey sandwiches, here's what's cooking this week.

Sunday
My Daddy's Fried Rice using the leftover ham, carrots, onions and the spare green beans we had 'just in case' Husband also made pear sour cream coffee cake to take advantage of in-season pears.

Monday
Mom is requesting (Aunty) Marie Callender's. They don't have these in Hawaii.

Tuesday
I'm going to attempt a turkey shepherd's pie, with onions, mushrooms, celery and the rest of the mashed potatoes. I may even throw in the rest of the gravy and some stuffing.

Wednesday
Leftover ham, cranberry sauce, green salad and sweet potato fluff. Simple and satisfying.

Thursday
Teddy Bear Turkey Soup with more turkey and the last of the carrots, celery and onions.

Friday
BBQ Turkey Pizza

What were your Thanksgiving winners? Eat Well. Be Well.

Giving Thanks | Thanks for Giving

11/24/2011

Thanks for giving.In the midst of all of our own Thanksgiving preparations, thank you for all who have contributed. Our 'little' virtual Food Drive is now up to $640.

Watch for matching funds to be added over the weekend.

This has been a particularly busy week: a heavy consulting schedule, visiting relatives, Thanksgiving food shopping and the usual "getting stuff done" The progress of Feeding My Ohana Virtual Food Drive has been the most deeply satisfying item the past few weeks.

Mahalo. Your generosity is humbling. In the midst of everything going on in our lives (see below), you took the time to support programs to feed the hungry. This is what Feeding My Ohana is all about. (see right).

Chopping completed. Cornbread baked. All the 'stuffs' for stuffing and gravy.

Eat Well. Be Well. Happy Thanksgiving.