Peach Butter Frosting and Cake

I remember seeing this cake a lot when I was growing up.  I don't remember eating it much because, believe it or not, I didn't like cake all that much when I was younger.

Peach Butter Cake

     1 yellow cake, baked and cooled in a 9 x 13" pan

     1 block butter, softened

     3/4 c sugar

     1 egg

     1 can (15.25 oz) sliced peaches

Pour peach slices into a mesh colander and drain 20 minutes.  Using a spoon, mash peach slices against surface of colander until slices are broken up and smashed.  Drain for 45 minutes, stirring and pressing peaches against colander periodically.  Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Add in egg and beat until thoroughly incorporated.  Stir in drained, mashed peaches.  Frost top surface of prepared yellow cake.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Roasted Kabocha Squash

Now that I'm relatively rested from Thanksgiving, the November Grand Sumo Tournament has come and gone, and the Huskies secured their Pac-12 championship trophy and made it to the New Years' Six, I can finally resume my dinner planning with more thought.

A steak is always simple (I'm not the one who cooks it!) and there are a handful of other quick, go-to options which would make mostly everyone happy.  It's usually me who is the least happy.

When I know we are having something I don't care for much, like corned beef and cabbage, I try to make a side dish that I enjoy.  Last week's cucumber dish was a prime example.

Since we are getting ready for the biggest eating season of the year, I thought another post with a side dish would be a good choice here.

I did not eat much kabocha/pumpkin while growing up because my parents did not cook it.  We ate more of the other type of squash...winter melon, fuzzy melon, long squash...cooked with some kine of meat or in soup.

But thanks to Thai curry, I've come to realize that I like pumpkin.  And I like it in all forms.  TheHelp likes it too, so he will often pick up a kabocha when he is at the market.  I would love to add chunks to curry, but D2 is not a huge fan.  So instead of adding it to dishes, I cook it separately.

Recently, my go-to method for preparing kabocha has been to roast it in the toaster oven.  My toaster oven is just large enough to accommodate a cut-up kabocha.  Once cooked, the kabocha can be cut up further and added to individual servings of curry.  The light seasoning makes the squash delicious on its own as a side dish.  Any leftovers can be mashed up and used for baking.

And a side note. . .I took advantage of the Black Friday sale at Eat.Sleep.Knit.  My order arrived a few days ago, which was, by coincidence, the same day I made the roasted kabocha.  I couldn't get over how well the color of the yarns matched with the food.

 click on recipe title for printable recipe

Roasted Kabocha Squash

     1 medium Kabocha squash or small pumpkin

     2 tbsp butter, cold

     1 tbsp brown sugar

     1 tbsp maple syrup

     coarse salt, preferably in a grinder

     shichimi togarashi (Japanese spice), optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut squash in half, remove seeds, and slice into wedges.  Slice each wedge in half to form 2 triangular pieces.  Place squash skin-side down onto foil lined baking sheet. Cut butter into tiny pieces and divide evenly among squash.  Sprinkle squash with brown sugar, drizzle with maple syrup, and sprinkle lightly with salt and shichimi togarashi.  Roast for 35-45 minutes.

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

OTARU

Otaru is probably THE destination for me when visiting Hokkaido.  There are so many things to eat (mostly sweets) and so many things to buy.

Our first stop in Otaru was the fish market adjacent to the train station.  We had an unmemorable meal there. . .the place we ate at last year was much better, although if compared to Hawaii, the fish market meal would've been awesome.

A trip to Otaru is not complete without a taste of the lavender soft cream.  The lavender soft cream from the small snack counter in Otaru (main street area) is the best I've ever had.  The snack counter is entirely unassuming.  There are 2 entrances to the place, one from the water side (Russia) and one from the street side (canal).  The eating area has stacking plastic chairs, the same type of plastic chairs popular here for patios.  The Ds made a stop here, and D2 swears that if I had taken the time to eat the twisty potato on a stick, I would've been impressed.  Unfortunately, I had just eaten at the fish market, so the only thing I had room for was the lavender cone.  Yum.

Upon the recommendation of Wi, TheKeeper and I bought a bunch of honey syrups from the Sugi Bee Garden store. 

TheKeeper, DHS, and Nakaz, all bought sake from the sake store.  I wanted to do the same, but I had to save my padded sleeves for TheHelps omiyage.

We revisited Kitaichi Glass, and I managed to double my sake cup collection.

No trip to Otaru is complete without eating something from LeTao.  The four of us, still full from fish market and soft cream, went to the 2nd floor salon to rest our legs.  Because of the season, LeTao had a pumpkin double fromage, which I ordered.  TheKeeper ordered the chocolate double fromage.  I cannot remember what Nakaz and DHS ordered.  I did not eat the bin de fromage this time, but it looked really nice in the glass case next to the chestnut tarts (for next time!).

On our way back to the train station, TheKeeper and I bought some fresh kakimochi from the kakimochi store.  I regret not buying more.  I rationed the kakimochi best as I could, but it was so good.  My favorite is the one coated in coarse crystal sugar.

We spent most of the day in Otaru, leaving in the mid-afternoon for Yoichi.  Last year, we did not go to Yoichi, but I wanted to get special omiyage for TheHelp.  The train ride to Yoichi was interesting.  It took close to an hour to get from Otaru to Yoichi on a small, 2-car train.  At some point, I wondered if we were really going to Yoichi, as I was shocked to be passing through what seemed like an endless rural landscape (think on the road from Kamuela to Kohala).  So why the journey?

Yoichi boasts the flagship Nikka Whisky distillery, a company started by Masataka Taketsuru and his Scottish wife, Rita.  The brick exterior fronting the street did not prepare us for what was inside.

Behind the brick facade was a sprawling array of lawns and brick buildings.  It actually looked like a college campus.

I was amused that Massan's home was painted in robin's egg blue!

We did not go to the tasting room (none of us drink whiskey), but I bought two special bottles of whiskey for TheHelp.


Was the trip to Yoichi worth it?  If you like whiskey, it would be wise to spend a few hours there.  For me, a non-whiskey drinker, I would say yes. . .TheHelp was thrilled with his gifts. 

Was it worth the trip for my fellow travelers?  Probably not, but they were great sports.

Our long day ended with a highly-recommended bowl of ramen in Susukino from Keyaki.  We waited about 20 minutes for space at the counter.  The tiny restaurant can fit 8-10 people, so the 20 minute wait wasn't bad at all.  The miso ramen was a bit spicy, but it hit the spot.  I also tried their pork and shrimp water dumplings. (sorry, no pic) 

And without TheKeeper, we would never have been able to find the place.

Toaster Oven Food: Buttery Pan Biscuits

I think we are finally drying out.  We were supposed to be pummeled by another storm, Olivia, but we (most of the Big Island) were lucky enough to emerge virtually unscathed.  I was also relieved to hear that D1's bf's family on Maui also made it through the storm okay.  I am eagerly awaiting the end of this hurricane season.

The storms disrupted work flow.  I was scheduled to attend a 2-day training, but the training had to be postponed.  I also needed to sort out my pacing guide, as missing work due to training, compounded with the storm days, meant altering my lessons.

In spite of the multiple storms (Lane, Miriam, Norman and Olivia), TheHelp and I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Honolulu to see the eye doc. The trip occurred somewhere during those few days of rest between Norman and worrying about Olivia.

Since this past weekend was the first somewhat-typical weekend I've had in weeks, I decided to make us something good for breakfast...I was already in the baking mood since D2 voluntold me to make lemon bars for a Japan Club concession.

These biscuits are not your typical biscuits.  They are sweet and buttery and can be eaten out of the pan without any additional accompaniment.  They are quick to throw together, and most people have these common ingredients on hand.  Because they are portioned prior to baking, they are true pull-apart biscuits and do not need to be cut.  I find it easier to use a disher rather than my hands to portion the dough into golf-ball sized balls, but if you don't mind touching sticky dough, then there's no need to get a disher dirty.  My favorite part is not having to grease the pan (I always dread that part!).

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Buttery Pan Biscuits

     3/4 c butter

     2 c Bisquick

     1/3 c sugar

     1/3 c milk

     1 egg

     1/3-1/2 c flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees if using a dark, non-stick pan).  Place butter into 8" square pan.  Place pan in preheating oven and leave in oven just until butter melts.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.  Whisk Bisquick and sugar.  Make a well and add milk and egg.  Mix well.  Using a #20 disher (goal is golf-ball sized portions), scoop dough and drop into flour.  Turn to coat.  Dust off excess flour and place dough atop melted butter in pan.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Cool pan on a wire rack until cool enough to eat.  Makes 12 biscuits.  Although I have never tried this, recipe can supposedly be doubled and baked in a 9 x 13" pan.

As I mentioned above, TheHelp and I took a short trip to Honolulu.  What was unusual was that we did not go to our usual eating places.  All meals were taken at new-to-me places.

We had breakfast at Bogart's Cafe.  This was completely by accident, as TheHelp was actually trying to go to Cafe Morey's.  We used the Bogart's parking lot to spin around to do another pass at Cafe Morey's, but decided to that the parking availability there as a sign to patronize one of the businesses.  We chose Bogart's because the only other place looked like they only did acai bowls.  Bogart's turned out to be really good.  I had their loco moco, which was thinly sliced ribeye (not the usual burger) with a rich port gravy.

After my appointments were over, we headed to Piggy Smalls for lunch.  I had not summer rolls, which was assorted chopped veggies tossed in a sweet-spicy peanut dressing.  Instead of being wrapped in rice paper, the veggies are meant to be eaten in endive cups.

For dinner, MamaHelp treated us to a fine meal at the Signature Prime Steak and Seafood.  It was THE best steak I have ever had.  Since it was dark, I wasn't able to get a picture of the steak, but I did manage to get a picture of the dining area.  I had not been to this place for over 25 years (when it was called Nicholas Nickolas).   I hope I can go back to the Signature another time to try the seafood...I would prefer NOT to wait another 25+ years before I go back again.

Cinnamon Pretzels

Have we recovered from the holiday?  Maybe you have, but I haven't.  I'm not looking forward to the full-blown work day, although I am prepared to welcome the 2nd semester. 

My vacation was really not a relaxing time.  There was so much to be done.  Not only did it take half my vacation to wash the winter ball linens, but I seem to have been in the cooking cycle for the entire time.  I had a bunch of guests to prepare for...the old aunties for Christmas lunch and working palz for sake.  By the time that was over, I was making desserts for New Years Day AND preparing for another bunch for dinner.

The Old Aunties coming over for lunch on Christmas was not bad at all.  I made prime rib with a nice chunk of beef The Help found at Costco.  The working palz were fed a bunch of things, but I think they appreciated the potstickers and sauce.  They also enjoyed the miso salmon.  My fave part of the night (in addition to the company), was the sake.  The Keeper brought some good sake.  We weren't able to finish all the sake (plus another guest brought a bottle), so I shared some with my cousins on New Years Eve, after the crab lasagna dinner.  I don't think sake would pair well with crab lasagna!

I did get a special treat this vacation...I got to meet up with my cousin Michelle and her family for breakfast.  Michelle grew up and lives in Honolulu, but her hubby is from Hilo.  In a strange coincidence, his older sister is my high school classmate.  Small world!  The Old Aunties joined us, and Michelle got to ask them a bunch of questions about her grandfather (their brother).

In addition to the get-togethers, I was busy with projects.  I did a test knit for Kay Hopkins.  I knew when I agreed that the cardigan was not something I would wear, but I saw it as an opportunity to practice stranding.  I gave the cardigan to one of the Old Aunties for Christmas (whew...I managed to finish the cardigan in a week!).

I was not as successful with another cardigan (veronika) D1 requested.  I was hoping to finish it before she left, but with all that was happening (cooking, get-togethers, etc.) between Christmas and her leaving, I was not able to finish.

With the beginning of the 2nd semester tomorrow, I am grateful to be done with my advisorship (and the after-shit which accompanies the event...the washing of the linens).  The students I got to work with for the project were awesome, and they did a great job putting the event together.  On the final day of bid sales, I distributed Cinnamon Pretzels to the students who helped.  I made a few extra bags so I gave some to Ma (if you know, you know), which she consumed in lieu of lunch.

Although I would've enjoyed relaxing during the vacation, seeing friends and family was not a bad trade-off.  

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Cinnamon Pretzels

     18 oz pretzels (we like butter snaps or honey wheat twists)

     1/3 c butter

     1/4 c sugar

     3/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Place pretzels in a 9 x 13" pan.  Melt butter.  Stir in sugar and cinnamon.  Stir until sugar dissolves.  Pour over pretzels and toss gently to coat pretzels.  Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes.  Cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

 Otaru, Japan

October 11, 2017:  Day 3

We spent the 3rd day in Otaru.  Otaru was about a 45 minute train ride from Sapporo station.

In a way, Otaru reminds me of Lahaina, where much of what's to see is along one main street.

Otaru boasts a picturesque canal, which was probably vital to the main economic base of the town back in the "olden days". 

Before tackling the shops, we stopped at a small cafe to sample soft cream.  I got the 3-flavor variety...lavender, vanilla, and melon.  It was delicious, but I should have just had a gigantic cone of just the lavender.  A few of my friends bought the 7-flavor jumbo cone, but I knew I would not be able to finish that, lunch, and what I really HAD TO HAVE.

Today, Otaru is known for glassware.  A wise friend told me that the glass industry evolved from Otaru's past as a fishing village.  In the "olden days", fish net floats were made out of glass.  With more modern materials being used for floats, the glass industry switched their focus from fish floats to table ware.  Kitaichi Glass, a famous glass vendor, is based in Otaru.  Encouraged by The Keeper, I spent a shameless amount of $ on no-drip shoyu containers (KikukatDad requested at least 3 large dispensers) and hand-carved glass, one-of-a-kind sake cups.

I ended up having lunch at a place recommended by The Keeper.  He said it was where the tour bus and taxi DRIVERS dine with the locals.  I had a raw scallop and ikura don.  The ikura was perfectly seasoned, and all of this came on a bed of finely shredded egg.

But my real goal for the day was getting to LeTAO, a pastry shop reknown for creamy desserts.  Prior to my trip, I spent a good amount of time researching specialty food of the region.  Several guides mentioned the Double Fromage cheesecake and Bin de Fromage.  I had been talking about LeTAO to The Keeper weeks before we left Hawaii, so it was only fitting to enjoy the LeTAO experience with him.  I was worried about finding LeTAO, but it turned out that LeTAO is like Starbucks...there were several LeTAOs on that one main street! We ended up at a small LeTAO outpost where there was an open table and a bathroom.

Double Fromage is a luscious cheesecake-like layered creation.  This alone was worth the trip to Otaru.  I have never had anything like it before, and if anyone wants to try testing a copycat recipe for it, I'm in!  It IS available in Sapporo Station, but really, this experience wasn't about finding it in Sapporo. . .it was about having it where it was born. . .in Otaru.

And since I was at the shop, I really wanted to try the Bin de Fromage which was like the Double Fromage but in a cute miniature milk bottle.  I was too full to eat it then, but since it was available frozen in a 3-pack, I bought the 3-pack to share.   The frozen bottles kept nicely during the ride back to Sapporo.

A word of caution with the Bin de Fromage...it must be eaten all the way to the bottom of the bottle for the full taste experience.

After the Double Fromage, I had a gigantic square of kakimochi (The Keeper was sent to buy this for some friends in Hawaii) courtesy of DHS and a persimmon-filled daifuku from a small store on the way to the Otaru station.  Yet, I knew I still had to have dinner.

Because Otaru wasn't far from Sapporo, we returned to Sapporo at a decent hour.  Not everyone was hungry, so everyone went their own way.  I was hungry and thinking about going back to Tonkatsu Wako when I ran into The Keeper.  Turns out The Keeper was also looking for food.  We ended up at an unagi restaurant in the station, Miyagawa Honten.

It turns out that Miyagawa Honten is actually in the Daimaru department store at the station.  Apparently there were some bad reviews, but The Keeper and I were well-aware that the eel is prepared (read:  killed and cooked) to order, so it's certainly not fast food.  I ordered a small set, so the eel came in a porcelain bowl.  The Keeper ordered a larger meal so his eel was in a lacquered box.  I didn't take a pic of his meal, but it was lavish.  And in spite of the humble appearance of my bowl, this was THE best unagi I have ever had.

After the unagi meal, The Keeper and I stopped at a convenience store to buy stuff for the 3-hour+ train ride to Hakodate the next morning.  

. . .another day of mega-eating in the books and another epic eating day ahead. . .

Cookie Butter Rice Krispies Treats

I am glad today is a holiday.  I need a break.  I feel like I'm just treading water.  I can finally catch up on all of my corrections.  I'm normally good about correcting papers and giving feedback, but being out a day each week since the month began is taking its toll on being timely.

In spite of the long weekend, I could not get away from work.  Saturday was the first-ever powderpuff football game.  It was a senior class fundraiser, and the main event of the day pitted the Lady Sharks (senior girls) against a team of brave underclassmen, er, underclassWOmen.  The seniors dominated the game, but the younger girls never gave up and managed to put points on the board.  Most impressive was the ability of a few girls to throw a football. 

Of course, the half-time show, a male cheerleading contest, wow-ed the crowd.  Students are so adept at choreography, and I know the male cheerleaders took the competition as seriously as the powderpuff players.

For pics of the day, visit the poi-dog page and view the slideshow.  

My contribution to the day:  I donated food for the concession, purchased a few tickets, and patronized the concession.  My cuz made the chicken long rice, which was absolutely delicious.  D2's pal, KN enthusiastically agreed.  I need to ask my cuz how she did it and, maybe, even get her to be a guest writer here.  She is an awesome cook.  Other goodies for sale were goody-goody, malasadas, kalua pig & cabbage, spam musubi, and party mix.  I'm not sure where they got the smoked meat from, but that was really good too.  Speaking of smoked meat, I hope they will be selling that at the concession for volleyball season.  I love smoked meat.

After the full day of powderpuff football, I was ready to relax.  D2 had a friend over and eventually went over to another friend's house for a sleepover.  I think it was then that I remembered all the papers I needed to correct and the 5+ loads of laundry I had to do.  I'm not sure how I accumulated 5 loads, but I did.  Crap!

I spent the better part of Valentines Day AND Presidents Day correcting papers and doing laundry.  I even managed to make a pan of these goodies, which were a nice change from eating party mix crumbs (I'm party mix'd out. . .made for the powderpuff concession and for D2 to take to the sleepover).

If you are a fan of marshmallow treats, then you must try these.  If you are a fan of cookie butter, then you cannot afford to pass these up.  I happen to be a fan of both, and I swear I can eat a whole pan of these without breaking a sweat.  That's really not as impressive as it sounds since these treats are made in a square pan.  I think of it as a way to limit the madness, although if I'm going to share it with anyone else, I would double the recipe and pack it into a 9 x 13" pan.  For the record, I prefer these to Trix treats, hands-down.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Cookie Butter Rice Cereal Treats

     1/4 c butter

     3/4 c cookie butter (Trader Joes Speculoos or Biscoff)

     10 oz (5 1/2-6 cups) miniature marshmallows

     7 c crisp rice cereal

Grease a 9" square pan.  Heat butter and cookie butter in a large dutch oven until melted.  Add marshmallows and stir until melted.  Stir in rice krispies.  Press into prepared pan.  Cool completely then cut into squares.

Furikake Party Mix

It's almost Halloween.  Halloween marks the crossover to fall, at least in my mind.  After Halloween, the days seem a lot shorter and the weather seems a lot cooler.  I like fall because fall means fireplace weather.

When I was young, I would go trick-or-treating around my neighborhood.  I remember The Rents making arrangements with  KikukatDad's friend to purchase large boxes of full-size candy bars.  I couldn't understand why we had to give out full-size Good News and Snickers bars, when I wanted to give out Jolly Rancher and Dum Dums.  I kinda still don't get it, but I do understand why the purchased the candy wholesale.

I think D1 had similar trick-or-treat experiences when she was younger, but I'm not sure about D2.  Seems that in the past few years, trick-or-treating has undergone some kind of transformation.  For The Rents, they now go to Costco and buy huge quantities of individually packaged pretzels, fruit snacks, and Famous Amos cookies and dutifully pass them out to kids who go to their house for trick-or-treating.  But The Rents have remarked that the kids who stop by are neither from their neighborhood nor are they the grandchildren of neighbors.  No shit.  Kids who are in their neighborhood on October 31 arrive by the truckloads from other neighborhoods.  They get dropped off and picked up after they have huge bags of candy.  It's no surprise that many of The Rents neighbors keep their porch lights off.  The Rents aren't there yet.  They can't seem to turn their backs on Halloween.

Not like me.

Let me explain.  I live on a small street, and there are no children on my street (D2 is the only minor resident. . .by the time D1 returns home in December, she will be an adult).  In the eighteen years I have lived here, nobody has ever come to trick-or-treat.

Maybe that will change this year.  And I will be prepared.  I will have furikake party mix to share!

You can buy furikake party mix from Costco (not cheap), Big Island Delights (you'll never get enough, even in the large foil bag), and Wholesale Unlimited (the cereal becomes hopelessly smashed by the time you're ready to eat it).  But it's easy to make your own, and if you make your own, you can control what goes into it.

The Costco version has Honeycomb cereal in it.  I don't add it in mine because I don't think it matches.  If you'd like to add it, replace the kakimochi with Honeycomb.  One of the pre-made ones also contains Bugles.  Those are good, and I would add them in if I could remember to buy them when I go to the store.  I do make an extra effort to locate the waffle pretzels.  Unlike the sticks, the waffle pretzels don't invariably end up at the bottom of the batch.

Another tip:  try to find a non-fishy furikake.  Nori komi or nori goma is preferable.  Every mouthful should not taste like you're eating a piece of fish or shrimp.

Don't ask me why, but eating the furikake party mix out of a paper cone makes it taste extra special.  And best of all, the cone is refillable and does not require washing.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Furikake Party Mix

     1 box Crispix cereal

     3 cups kakimochi

     1 bag pretzels

     1/4 c sugar

     1/4 c vegetable oil

     1/4 c light corn syrup

     1/4 c butter

     1 tbsp shoyu

     5 1/2 tbsp furikake

In a large roasting pan, combine Crispix, kakimochi, and pretzels.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  In a small saucepan, heat sugar, vegetable oil, corn syrup, butter and shoyu until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.  Pour over cereal mixture.  Sprinkle furikake.  Toss everything gently until cereal, pretzels and kakimochi are coated.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.  Stir periodically while cooling to prevent mixture from clumping.  Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Cookie Jar: Peanut Butter Cookies

My summer vacation lasted all of 1 (ONE) day.  And now that I think about it, it can't even be called a vacation because it was a state holiday here:  King Kamehameha Day.  If school had been in session, I would've had it as a legitimate holiday anyway.  So perhaps a more accurate opening line should have been, "I completed my first and began my second summer employment opportunities."

I reported to the good 'ole blue and gold on Monday for 3 days of pacing guide work.  While it sounds intense, it was actually time well spent.  I managed to finish my pacing guide for the 1st quarter, and I'm almost done with the 2nd quarter.  Now all I need to do is share it with my partner to see what she'd like to incorporate in our co-teaching class.

In addition to working on my pacing guide, I helped a friend, OllieMama, get the keys to her new classroom.  She'd been driving around with half her work shit in her truck so she was more than happy to get access to her new digs so she could unload.  The key czar in the office was in a good mood and readily allowed her to sign out her key set, which included the "magic" key.  The magic key works the building elevator. . .no need to lug 40-pound boxes of paper up 3 flights of stairs!

But the real winners in all of this were the custodians.  Upon entering her room, OllieMama and I discovered the remnants of a sheet cake and a "PLEASE EAT" sign which had been left on a desk by the previous occupant.  Had OllieMama not asked for the keys, the room would not have been opened for several weeks.  The custodians, who would have opened up the room to wax the floors, would've had a massive surprise.  OllieMama is fortunate to be in a building which does not have the same critter infestation problem many of the other buildings have (probably because it's the newest building, save for the gym, on campus).  The cake would've definitely welcomed the roaches and other creepy-crawlies.

OllieMama definitely has her work cut out for her.  In addition to the cake, the previous occupant did a horrible job cleaning the room.  Everything was merely shoved into the cabinets.  At least OllieMama will have lots of time to get her room into shape.  I can't wait to see the finished product.

Sometime in the early part of the week, Mr. Dependable jetted off to the continent, leaving the Ds to take care of his pets.

When the Ds were younger, I used to dread having to deal with Mr. Dependable's animals.  The Ds couldn't manage the dogs on their own, and cleaning the rabbit cage was a nightmare.  Now, there's no rabbit (R.I.P. Ruby) and the Ds are both able to handle to his unruly dogs by themselves.  Even better, D1 can drive there herself!

Since I had the Ds through the weekend, D2 and I decided to bake cookies.  We spent a lot of time trying to decide what kind of cookies to make.  We thought about making chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles, but we abandoned those ideas in favor of peanut butter cookies.  D2 is a fan of peanut butter, and I told her about how I loved it when KikukatMom made these because I got to help do the criss-crosses.  D2 helped me mix the dough and did the criss-crosses.  It would've been nice if she helped me wash the dishes, but I guess I have to do some work.

 click on recipe title for printable recipe

Peanut Butter Cookies

     1/2 c butter

     1/2 c peanut butter

     1/2 c sugar

     1/2 c brown sugar

     1 egg

     1 tsp vanilla

     1/2 tsp salt

     1 tsp baking soda

     1 1/4 c flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Sift salt, baking soda and flour together.  Set aside.  Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar.  Add egg and vanilla.  Gradually add sifted dry ingredients.  Use a #60 disher to drop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Flatten in criss-cross pattern with a lightly floured fork.  Bake for 11 minutes.  Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

Oh.  I almost forgot.  My second summer employment opportunity began on Friday.  At 6:00 am.

I thought there was a chance it would end on Friday too.  At 6:30 am.

One of the summer people decided to take the day (sick or off, does it really matter?) and, unbeknownst to me, took it upon herself to call a sub.  It took me over 30 minutes to find someone "legitimate" (submitted employment papers) willing to sub.  I don't understand the people who put in their names as subs...apparently 2 months ago, working as a sub during the summer sounded like a good idea, even if they had no intention of actually working.  And then now, when I'm calling at 6 am, working doesn't sound good at all.

Then I thought about quitting again.  At 8:00 am.

I got a call from the sub (not the one I called; this is how I found out the employee called her own sub).  As Eliza Doolittle would say, "Garnnnn!"

I'm hoping today will be a better day.

Bread Pudding

Well, we voted on a bell schedule.  It was one our school developed which is quite similar to the current bell schedule.  Now we need to hope it passes muster (some brass has to approve it).  If it passes, I'm going to be happy.  I think it's a sound schedule, and it really is workable.

I spent the better part of the week agonizing over how to motivate the students to do better on schoolwide reading assessments.  I certainly don't want to be called the albatross of the language arts department!

My sweet tooth escalated this week, and I ended up making several desserts.  One thing I made was bread pudding.  For some reason, we always seem to have odds & ends bread pieces in the freezer.  Not wanting to waste, I think I'm the one who keeps throwing bread (still in the bag) into the freezer, thinking I'll eventually get around to making croutons.

I accumulated enough bread slices to make the volume requirement for this recipe.  But this recipe is so delicious that it wouldn't be a bad thing to buy bread just for a pan of bread pudding.  Of course, there was one occasion where I bought a loaf of French bread on the way home from work.  When I got home, I realized the bread was old and hard (perhaps this was the reason for the discounted price).

What to do?  Make bread pudding of course!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Kikukat's Bread Pudding

     1 lb bread, cut or torn into 1/2" cubes (about 12 cups)

     1/2 c dried fruit

     6 eggs

     1 c sugar

     2 tsp vanilla extract

     1 block butter, melted and cooled

     1/2 tsp cinnamon

     1/4 tsp nutmeg

     4 c milk, heated in microwave for 1 minute

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13" pan.  In a large bowl, toss bread cubes and fruit.  Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg using a whisk.  Gradually whisk in milk.  Stir egg-milk mixture into bread-fruit mixture.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 40 minutes.

When I was younger, I liked eating cold bread pudding.  I liked the cool, creaminess of it.  But as I got older, a heated chunk of bread pudding with a generous pat of melting butter is my favorite way to eat it.

 

Hilo welcomed Chinese New Year this weekend with a festival at Kalakaua Park.  We arrived just after 10 am, and it was already crowded.  There were a handful of food booths and a whole bunch of craft fair type booths.  The only quasi-Chinese foods sold were shrimp chips and gao.  I was tempted to buy a bag of shrimp chips, but I changed my mind when I saw them sodomized with odd flavors like garlic and furikake.  The gao booth was another scene of corruption.  In addition to traditional gao, they had the audacity to sell green tea-flavored and chocolate-flavored gao.  Popo would've fainted! 

The Big Island Shaolin Arts Lion Dancers culminated their trek throughout downtown Hilo with a performance on Kalakaua Street (between the park and the East Hawaii Cultural Center).

I didn't buy anything at the festival, but on the way back to the car, I bought 2 Kendama from the Irie Smoke Shop (on the advice from one of my favorite students).

I remember taking the Ds to "feed the lion". . . feels like a thousand years ago!