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.

Almost Noodle Club: Korean Fried Chicken Wings

For various reasons, I have been spending lots of time on the road.  In the past two months, I must've made at least a half-dozen trips to the other side of the island. 

• The Help developed an interest in Japanese whiskey, so of course we had to stop at the liquor store in Waimea and check out the selection at Costco.  
• On another weekend, my vacuum broke, and Costco just happened to have a good deal on a Shark (I killed 2 Dyson's in a span short of a decade so I was ready to try something else).  
• I just "happened" to be at Costco when they started selling Christmas trees, so that trip turned out into a full-weekend activity...decorating the tree.

And there were a handful of trips between all of those, including a trip just to Waimea to check out the local wool for sale at the Waimea farmer's market (Parker School).

In spite of the good restaurants in Kona and Waikoloa, The Help and I have been regulars at Noodle Club, making the detour to Waimea instead of heading straight home on the Saddle.  Noodle Club is owned by the same gentleman who owns Village Burger (must try the Ahi Nicoise salad there), and like Village Burger, Noodle Club is an awesome eatery.

It might come as a surprise that one of my fave things to eat there is NOT a noodle dish, but a chicken dish.  I said "one" of...I have many favorites there.   I find the KFC...Korean Fried Chicken...difficult to resist.  The sticky, sweet, spicy sauce surrounding crispy chicken lollipops is not the Korean chicken many of us grew up with (like Kay's Lunch Center or the kine one of the aunties makes).  It has a unique flavor, as well as a unique look.  Noodle club wings look like the meat has been pushed upwards on the bone, giving a lollipop appearance.

I will be the first to admit that my version is not exactly like the KFC you get at the Noodle Club, but it's equally delicious.   I also refuse to spend the time to make the chicken look like a lollipop.  If you want the experience the chicken lollipop, then make the drive out to Waimea.  If you want a delicious meal without too much hassle, then this recipe might be just what you need.

 click on recipe title for printable recipe

Almost Noodle Club:  Korean Fried Chicken Wings

     3 lbs chicken wings

     salt

     pepper

     1/4 c flour

     2 tbsp cornstarch

     oil for frying

     1/4 c brown sugar

     1 tbsp honey

     3 tbsp rice vinegar

     2 tbsp shoyu

     6 tbsp gochujang (spicy Korean bean paste)

     1/4 tsp sesame oil

Cut chicken wings apart at the joints; discard tip portion.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss with flour and cornstarch.  Set aside.  Heat 1/2-3/4" oil in a skillet.  While oil is heating, prepare sauce by combining all remaining ingredients in a medium bowl.  Fry chicken pieces until golden; this may take up to 25 minutes (15 minutes on the first side; 10 minutes on the second side).  Remove from oil and drain.  Fry all chicken pieces.  When all chicken has been fried, return each chicken piece to oil, frying for an additional 5-10 minutes.  Remove 3 pieces at a time.  Drain on paper towels then place in sauce, turning to coat.  Continue until all chicken has been coated.  Return all chicken pieces to sauce and coat again before removing to a serving platter.

Sapporo, Japan

October 10, 2017:  Day 2

Since our hotel was across the Hokkaido university campus, The Keeper suggested we walk the ground of the campus before embarking on another day of gluttony.

The campus could have been a university on the east coast or midwest...it looked "collegiate".  The architecture was very western.  Walking the grounds brought back memories of my own college days.






















The leaves were turning color. . .reminded me of my trip to Connecticut in the fall.

The fun part of this trip was the opportunity to wear Doc Martens and things I made.   I went full Nelkin on this day:  Caragh, Transitus and Las Cruces.

Don't get me wrong...I often DO wear things I make AND I always get strange looks from The Help, often with a comment like, "this isn't Puget Sound" or "we are not in Canada now".

We met up with the rest of the gang and headed to Nijo Market for breakfast.  Nijo Market was similar to Jougai Ichiba (from the day before).  Of course, I was gonna get seafood for breakfast!

Nijo Market

While walking around Nijo Market, I found shine muscats!  $15 USD was a small price to pay for mouthfuls of joy.  I had to take a pic because I don't think anyone at home would believe I actually bought "grapes".


















A few of us ended up having breakfast at Ohiso.  After watching DHS eat crab at breakfast the day before, there was no way I was gonna miss out on crab.  I decided to try the hairy crab and salmon don.  The mini was about $11 USD, which I figured would hold me over until the next meal.  I also got a small bowl of ikura, a bargain at $3.40 USD.
















I was actually not impressed with the hairy crab.  The meat wasn't as tasty as Dungeness nor was it as sweet as king crab.  But at least I can say I tried it.















On the other hand, the ikura was superb.  Perfect flavor.

I couldn't find the picture of the awabi (abalone) sashimi from this place.  I even had a pic of the innards, which The Keeper made DHS try.  She said it was nasty.

We had some time on our own after breakfast, so I decided to go on a treasure hunt which took be back to Sapporo station.  I was looking for a special store.  I was just about to give up, but then I arrived at the promised land!

OMG.  Kanariya was awesome.  I just wish I could speak and read Japanese.  I bought a bunch of pattern books (which I will probably never use) and some omiyage for a few special Ravelry friends and some friends who sew.

I could have stayed at Kanariya much longer, but I had to meet up with the pandas for lunner (lunch + dinner).

We caught a bus to Sapporo Beer Garden.  I tried out the panorama feature on my camera, but I just couldn't make it work properly.  The beer garden building is red brick (many old buildings in Sapporo are red brick).  I guess we were hungry so we went straight to the dining hall and got started.

I was worried about liking lamb, but after stuffing my face with jingusukan (Genghis Khan, to the rest of us), I decided I like lamb.  I love the helmet-shaped grill!












This is a cook-your-own place.  You can have as much as you want, be it meat, veggies or drink.  Nakaz and I couldn't get enough of the melon soda (since we can't drink beer).
























And no visit to the Sapporo Beer Garden is complete without a picture of the iconic brew kettle.  It was huge!




















Before heading back to the hotel, The Keeper and I bought some goodies from the station:  (clockwise from upper right) Little Mermaid steam cake, Little Mermaid melon pan, parfait, and Kinotoya cheese tart.  The steam cake was similar to other steam cakes I've eaten.  It was mild flavored and very light.  And yes, the bottom right pic IS melon pan, or at least what the Little Mermaid Bakery calls melon pan.  It was delicious, but it did not taste anything like the St. Germain version of melon pan.  I'm glad The Keeper bought it for me to try.  The parfait was very good (apparently parfait in Japan is a "thing") and easy to eat.  There was a small slice of cake and a few cornflakes (yes, like cornflake cereal) atop the parfait.  I found that interesting.

The Kinotoya cheese tart gets it's own paragraph.  It is definitely a no-miss treat when visiting Sapporo.  The aroma of the cheese tarts baking is incredible.  It must be so difficult for people in the waiting area to resist buying a some.  Although it looks like it might be "egg-y", it is not.  I think the color automatically makes you think its custard.  But it's definitely more cheese than custard.  I wish I had eaten another one or two before leaving Sapporo. 

It was another day of eating.  Thankfully, it was less eating than the previous day, and I knew that the next day was going to be another adventure.

Peanut Butter Brownies

My summer vacation is over.  Waaaaaaahhhhhh!

It sure didn't last long. 

D1 already made the journey back to the valley of the sun.   It feels like it was only a few weeks ago when KikukatDad and I went to pick her up in Kailua-Kona.  Shout out to Mr. Dependable for being a great dad and taking her back.  She had lots to do, and she is lucky he was there to help her.  Thanks to a rented minivan, they were able to get her shit out of storage and into her new apartment in one trip (would've taken at 3+ trips with her sedan).  I cannot imagine she would have so much stuff. 

Just like summer vacation, D1s visit didn't last long either.  I know I will see her in 4 months, but it  was nice having her home.  Who else would remind me to clean the house?  Who else would tell me it's too early to drink alcohol at 3:30?  School for her won't start for nearly 2 weeks, but she had recruitment practice and some other things she needed to get rolling.

In all seriousness, I will miss her many talents.  D1 can do all kinds of things once she sets her mind.  This summer, she conquered macarons.  Having never made macarons before, I was shocked at the lengthy and tedious steps to produce a batch of macarons.  I can also attest that a batch of macarons makes a mound of dirty dishes (and extra egg yolks).  I need to start a list of recipes which use just egg yolks or, at least, use more egg yolks than egg whites, so I will know what to do with the egg yolks (other than throw them away).

It took several attempts, but I think D1 perfected the filling.  Initially, the filling she used was just too sweet.  She experimented with different bases and flavorings and came up with a good filling which didn't try to compete with the already-sweet macaron shells.

D1 put her macaron talents to good use.  She made some for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event in July.  I helped her package them and did the clean up.  I also decided that I won't be making any macarons on my own.  I will stick to less fussy snacks. . .with a lot less dishes to wash. 

If you are like me and don''t like having too many dishes to wash, then these peanut butter brownies might be in your wheelhouse.  They are totally unfussy, whip up in no time with ingredients you likely have on hand, and are mega-delicious.  You will also not be left wondering what to do with extra egg yolks.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Peanut Butter Brownies

     1/2 c butter, softened

     1/2 c peanut butter

     3/4 c sugar

     3/4 c brown sugar, packed

     2 eggs

     2 tsp vanilla

     1 c flour

     1 tsp baking powder

     1/4 tsp salt

     1 c chocolate chips

     1/2 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9 x 13" pan with foil (or grease a 9 x 13" pan).  Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.  Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar.  add eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla.  Add in flour mixture a little at a time.  Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.  Spread in prepared pan.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Cut into bars when completely cool.

A few months ago, I purchased a bag of Korean chili pepper powder.  The ingredients are chili pepper and salt.  I use it occasionally and store it in the fridge.  Last week, I discovered another use for the powder.  I've made the notation on the Spicy Soybean post.

It's been a little over a year since my mom passed.  Although I still miss her dearly, I feel like some normalcy and routine have returned to my life.  I'm hoping to post more frequently since I'm cooking more now (I have another mouth to feed during the work week).  Over the past few years, I've become more adept at knitting, something which would have made KikukatMom proud.  While I will continue to share favorite recipes, I hope to also share my knitting triumphs, fails, WIPs and FOs.  

My favorite Drop Biscuits

What an awfully long week!

Commencement was all-consuming.

I did no cooking all week.  I couldn't even bring myself to cook this weekend.  Maybe I will recover sometime this week.  Maybe not.  Thank goodness for graduation party invites.


If I had been able to get off my ass yesterday, I would've made these biscuits.  Instead, The Help went to Jack In The Box and got me a biscuit sandwich.  It was awful.  If I hadn't been so lazy. . .

Actually, I don't think I was lazy.  I think I was tired.  Super tired.

Graduation was long.  It had to be.  The broadcasting demanded it.  I'm sure if I had a child graduating this year, the length would've been a minor irritation.  Unfortunately, every minute matters when you're wearing heels and standing for the entire evening.

Remind me not to take this beast on next year.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

My Favorite Drop Biscuits

     2 c flour (may replace up to 1/2 c with whole wheat flour)
     1/2 c powdered sugar
     1 tbsp baking powder
     1/2 tsp cream of tartar
     1/4 tsp salt
     1/2 c butter
     2/3 c buttermilk, milk, or cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Sift dry ingredients together.  Cut in butter until crumbs are the size of peas.  Gently stir in buttermilk.  Using a #20 disher (full+), plop dough onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-9 minutes, just until tops begin to brown.  Remove to wire rack to cool. 

Biko, Suman, or Whatever It's Called

This was the first weekend in a long time when I did absolutely nothing.  There was no chauffeuring to do.  There was no program to attend.  There was nothing.

I started out the weekend with a Friday night get-together at a coworker's pad.  Unfortunately, most of my pals weren't able to make it.  theKeeper was in Honolulu and OllieMama had a piercing headache.  I'm not sure where everyone else was.  Bummer.  But I still had a nice time, and it was very generous of my coworker to invite us over.   Maybe everyone can come over here next time.

But that was it.  There was nothing else.

If I had been thinking ahead, I could've made suman.  It's been months since 3M has made some for me.  3M is really nice...whenever she makes it, she slides me a few ginormous pieces.  She says she often makes it for potlucks too, so the Friday get-together might have been a good time to make it. 

I am really not a fan of Filipino desserts.  I don't care for flan, and I don't like puto (steamed cakes).  But suman is different.  It has just the right amount of sweetness, and I love the flavor of coconut.

I wish I could write more for this post, but I'm mentally drained.  I spent the last two days of last week at workshops, doing my best to play nicely. 

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Suman

     6 c sweet (glutinous) rice, rice cooker cup size

     water

     1 can coconut milk

     1 can coconut cream (not cream of coconut)

     2 c brown sugar, packed, divided

     1 jar macapuno (coconut sport or strings)

Wash rice and soak for 3 hours.  Drain.  Place rice in rice cooker.  Add coconut milk.  Add water to make liquid to just over 6 cups line.  Add 1 cup brown sugar and stir.  Cook rice.  Let steam an additional 20 minutes after cooking time is done.  Meanwhile, grease bottom and sides of a 9 x 13" pan.  Pour coconut cream into a small saucepan.  Add remaining cup of brown sugar.  Heat on medium-low until mixture thickens.  Keep warm until rice is ready.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Stir cooked rice to distribute brown sugar, which has likely settled to bottom.  Add macapuno and 3/4s of coconut cream mixture.  Stir to distribute macapuno evenly.  Spread evenly in greased pan.  Pour reserved coconut cream mixture over top.  Bake 30 minutes.  Switch oven to broil and broil 3-5 minutes.  Do not allow topping to burn.  Cool completely and cut into pieces.

Local Style Cornbread

Homecoming is done!  Another one in the books!  For the first time in a long time, Homecoming this year was held during basketball season.  This was also the first year I've actually seen alumni visiting the school during homecoming.

Many of my colleagues remarked that THIS was the homecoming they remembered.  I had to agree (even if I'm not an alum of the place I work).  There was friendly, spirited competition between classes.  As always, the seniors came out looking strong.  This was especially apparent in the tug-of-war competition.  I'm sure you can imagine how large the senior boys were (several of them were starters on the district-winning football team) compared with the freshmen.  Thankfully, the freshmen never had to challenge the seniors.

The Student Association should be commended for putting the activities together (the school events for the week), and the entire student body also deserves a huge shout out.  While there was indeed the desire to win, the students were generally well behaved.  In previous years, there was a lot of boo-ing, but this year, there was hardly any, if at all, boo-ing.  Even when one student had a particularly difficult time with the marshmallow cube, nobody jeered.  Whew!

I really wasn't expecting to go, but I found myself at the culmination of homecoming, the basketball game against the Pahoa Daggers.  Although the Daggers play in a different division (school size), they are a scrappy team and very capable of hitting the shots.  They were the first to draw blood and at one point, they had double the points we had.  Luckily, we managed to squeak by, winning by less than a half-dozen points.  As I've said before, it's always nice to win your homecoming game.  Matsu, wish you could've been there.

With the craziness of homecoming, recovering from the Honolulu trip, and dealing with a few disgruntled students, there was hardly any time to cook dinner.  Luckily, we have several places in town which make really good chili. . .Don's Grill, Blane's Drive-In, and Zippy's.  Since he was in the area, The Help picked up a quart of chili on his way back from a late-afternoon errand.  This left me just enough time to make a pan of cornbread.  Having cornbread with chili is my idea of a great meal.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Local Style* Cornbread

     2 blocks butter, melted
     4 eggs
     2 c milk
     4 c Bisquick
     1 1/2 tsp baking powder
     1/2 tsp baking soda
     1 1/2 c sugar
     6 tbsp cornmeal

Grease a 9 x 13" pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Gently combine all ingredients.  Bake 45-50 minutes.

*I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but in Hawaii, cornbread is usually sweet, almost like a cake.

06-06-17:  I absolutely hate measuring Bisquick so today I decided to get smarter and weigh it instead.  After doing some research online, people wrote that 1 cup of Bisquick weighs between 120-130 grams.  Someone also said she found that 4 cups of Bisquick weighs 500grams (or that's the equivalent she uses in her recipes).  I made this with 482 grams today, and it came out great.  I believe I will be weighing my Bisquick from now (instead of measuring it in a cup).

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.

Easy Mochi Rice

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Spring Break is finally here!

I'm headed to Honolulu today to take D1 to see an allergist.  This is a much-anticipated visit, as we first attempted to see an allergist over 3 months ago, albeit a different one in Kona.  Thanks to my medical insurance, part of our trip will be subsidized since we had problems getting an appointment with the allergist in Kona.

This whole allergy thing is quite bothersome.  Nobody in my family is really allergic to anything (one minor test said I was allergic to melon, but I'm not quite certain how much I believe that) except D1.  D1 is already allergic to penicillin.  We'll find out today if we need to add to that list.  Shit.  I'm feeling bad for her already.  She knows what seafood tastes like, and she loves it.  NN (soccer mom from a few posts ago) told me she has a wicked shellfish allergy.  It began with itching when she was a kid, and by the time she was in high school, the severity of symptoms progressed from itching to her throat closing.  Yikes!  Kikukat Mom cannot eat fresh scallops, but she is able to eat the really expensive dried scallops sold in Chinatown. Is this considered a true allergy?

Before I left work for vacation, I made sure to input my 3rd quarter grades.  Not too many Fs...mostly As and Bs.  The Fs were definitely appropriate...absences affecting grades, work not turned in, class too difficult (perhaps).  It amazes me how students can be told they are failing at midquarter yet they do nothing to change their habits.  Anyway, I didn't want the grades hanging over me while I shop in Honolulu, so it was imperative that I get them done.  I also tried to do all of my copying for the remainder of the year.  We will be reading Romeo and Juliet and Lord of the Flies during the 4th quarter, and I need to be sure we have plenty of activities so the students can truly make meaning from the text.

Inputting grades was not the last work-related thing I did before embarking on vacation.  The senior prom was on Friday night, and being the good soldier that I am, I agreed to chaperone (actually I was afraid to say no to 3M since I already begged out of chaperoning the winter ball).  Students sure go all-out for the night!  The girls were dressed in beautiful gowns, mostly floor-length.  Most of the boys wore tuxedos.  Nice to see the kids enjoying themselves.  Nice to see them all cleaned up too.

Although we are going to Honolulu for medical reasons, D2 is tagging along.  She says she wants to shop and eat.  Just like her sister.  Just like me.  We each have a list of things we need to buy.  D1 is shopping for a dress for the junior ball at the crosstown rival high school.  D2 wants slippers and clothes.  I want to add to my Manuheali`i collection.  Both Ds have requested we dine at Legend Seafood (yes, I know!!!) Restaurant.  They both love the beef broccoli pan fried noodle (contains no seafood other than oyster sauce...my guess).

I'm looking forward to grabbing a few items from the dim sum carts.  My mouth is watering just thinking about the fried taro, scallion cake and look fun.  Let's also not forget about the mango pudding there.  I haven't had mango pudding in ages!  Legend also makes really good mochi rice.  You can get it wrapped in lotus leaf (joong), but they also have it packed into see-thru bowls.  While I've made both, the latter type is much simpler to make at home. 

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Easy Mochi Rice

     1 c mochi rice (glutinous rice)
     1 c regular rice (Calrose)
     1 lb assorted cooked toppings*
     1 tbsp minced dried topping**
     1 can mushroom stems & pieces (do not drain)
     1 can chicken broth
     water

Combine mochi rice and regular rice.  Rinse well.  Cover with water and soak for 1 hour.  Drain well and place in rice cooker.  Empty entire can of mushroom stems & pieces over rice.  Add assorted cooked toppings.  Pour chicken broth into 2-cup measuring cup and add enough water to make 2 cups.  Pour into rice cooker.  Cook rice as usual.  When rice is done, stir well before serving.

*assorted cooked toppings:  any combination of the following:  steamed lup cheong, BBQ pork cubes, roast pork cubes, roast chicken cubes. 

**dried topping:  dried shrimp or dried scallops

Under Pressure: Sweet Sour Spareribs

Under pressure to prepare meals in a hurry. . .a few weeks ago, NN, the mommy of D2's best friend, asked me if I own and use a pressure cooker.  She was interested in buying one to help expedite meal preparation.  As soccer season kicks into high gear for her, time in the kitchen takes a back seat to time at the soccer fields.  And with two kids in soccer, she is really pressed for time.

I did not grow up in a home which used a pressure cooker.  In fact, I don't think my parents ever owned a pressure cooker.  Kikukat Mom would rave about crazy & brave UJames, who would use a pressure cooker to cook sweet potato and laulau.  I remember my homeroom teacher in high school telling a story of how she cooked beef stew in the pressure cooker, and how the stew ended up on the ceiling of her kitchen.  It was probably stories like that which prevented my parents (from the same generation) from wanting to even attempt to use a pressure cooker.

Unlike my parents, Mr. Dependable's mom owned a pressure cooker.  It was never used (she said she bought it at a party), but she still had one.  She gave it to me to try.  I gave it a shot.  My food did not end up on the ceiling.  The pot did not explode.  The spareribs turned out tender and flavorful.  I was sold!  I eventually bought a large pressure cooker, which has come in handy for all sorts of things. . .AND has a safety mechanism which prevents the pressure cooker from being opened until the pressure dissipates to a non-explosive level.

A few months ago, I posted a recipe for pig feet soup, a traditional Okinawan recipe.  When Mr. Dependable broke his jaw, the first thing he requested after the wires came off was pig feet soup.  Thanks to the large Fagor (and the fat separator), I was able to make it in time for dinner that day.  In recent years, The Help successfully  lobbied for a pot of beef stew as a no-fuss meal at informal family gatherings.  I've obliged him and attained hero status with UJames, who always has second helpings (I've been told my beef stew tastes like the one served at Cafe 100).

I circled back last week, and NN informed me she loves her new pressure cooker!  She asked me for some recipes, and the first recipe at the top of my list was sweet sour spareribs!  Actually, it was pig feet soup, but I didn't think NN would eat pig feet soup, so I gave her my recipe for sweet sour spareribs.  I knew it was a good choice when she said, "yummmmm".

 click on recipe title for printable recipe

Sweet Sour Spareribs

     2 lbs spareribs
     4 cloves garlic
     1/3 c shoyu
     6 tbsp sugar
     1/4 c rice vinegar
     1/2 tsp salt
     1 tbsp oil
     1 tbsp cornstarch
     1 can pineapple chunks, drained

Combine shoyu, sugar, vinegar and salt. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat spareribs and 1 c water. Boil then simmer for 20 minutes (longer if chunks are large). Drain spareribs. In a clean pan, heat oil. Add garlic and spareribs. Fry for a few minutes. Add shoyu mixture. Cook on low for 25 minutes. Combine cornstarch and a little water. Add to spareribs and stir until sauce thickens.  Garnish with pineapple chunks. 
Pressure cooker method: Combine spareribs and 1 c water. Heat til boiling. Cover and bring up to high pressure. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let pressure decrease naturally. Drain spareribs, discarding broth. Clean and dry pressure cooker. Add oil to pressure cooker. Add garlic and spareribs. Fry for a few minutes. Add shoyu mixture. Heat til boiling. Cover and bring up to high pressure. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let pressure decrease naturally. Combine cornstarch and a little water. Add to spareribs. Heat and stir until sauce thickens.  Garnish with pineapple chunks.
If you like lots of sauce, double the sauce ingredients.

Bread Machine Rolls

"The best thing about a long weekend is a short work week."
                             -Kikukat's ex-boyfriend

Yup, yup, yup, even if the guy bugs me, he's right.  And thanks to Labor Day, this past week was indeed a short week (in time only).

A short work week means I have one less day to fret over what I'm bringing for lunch.  And fret I do.  I stress over what I'm going to bring as well as what D1 will eat.  Luckily, for at least one day each week (and its in the middle of the week so holidays don't usually affect it), I have Local Kine Errands deliver lunch for me.  Its always the same lunch...small salmon bento (the one without the meatball) from Puka Puka Kitchen.  I think I might try the large salmon bento next.  The small doesn't have too much salmon in it.

D1 normally brings some kind of sandwich with a whole deli counter of meat packed in.  Earlier in the school year, I offered to make her a wrap.  She came to my room that day and asked what I used to "spread" the meat.  From that day on, she has insisted (snicker, snicker) that she make her own sandwich/wrap.  The only thing I do is wash her lettuce when I wash mine.  I gladly dole out the $ for the cold cut supply because this takes a load off of me in the morning.  The Help says we are keeping the Safeway and KTA deli counters in business just with our dry salami and honey ham purchases.  Maybe we try roast beef next.

Frankly, I'm really not a sandwich person.  What I really enjoy is bringing some kind of soup for lunch, and this past week, I actually did just that.  The Help made a big pot of bean soup, which he shared with his parents.  I brought a bowl of it for lunch, and I was able to bring a bowl of it for one of the bosses who did me a huge favor.  In addition to the bean soup, I also packed fresh apple cake and some rolls.

The apple cake is the same one featured on my blog about a year ago.  It is often pinned on Pinterest, and people who try it always tell me how good it is.  This week, at the suggestion of some readers, I frosted it with a lemon cream cheese frosting, and it was really good.  I will eventually get around to posting that recipe.

The rolls...the rolls...where do I begin?  First of all, this is the only recipe you need to justify purchasing a bread machine.  Seriously.  Everyone here, including picky, picky D2, loves these rolls. 

It has taken me a while to develop this recipe just the way I like it.  I modified a recipe which came with the bread machine manual of my original bread machine.  The original recipe was not sweet at all.  I tried adding sugar, as much as 1/2 cup, to see how sweet I could get these.  At 1/2 cup of sugar, the rolls were too difficult to shape.  Cutting the sugar back to 1/3 cup gave me the sweetness I wanted with the ease of shaping that I needed (I am not Portuguese. . .shaping bread is NOT in my blood, but I can wrap a mean potsticker!).

And I have made these rolls into all kinds of shapes.  Because the original recipe gave instructions for making 15 rolls, for a while, I stuck to that and made 15 (like you see in the small picture below).  I made them in a shallow rimmed pan (large cookie sheet) and placed them kinda close so they'd touch when they rose.  They baked up really nice, and they spread a little.  These were good for making sandwiches.

Then I got a little wiser and realized that its hard to divide the dough into thirds then into  5 pieces, so I bought a large square pan (ordered from Amazon. . . around 11" x 11" or so) and made 16 rolls (4 x 4) in the square pan.  These are the rolls you see in the other pictures.  They spread less and are just slightly smaller than the ones made in the flat pan.  If you don't have a large square pan, dividing the dough into 15 pieces and placing them in a 9 x 13" pan will also give you the same result as the square pan.  I have divided the dough into 8 pieces, made them elongated and used these for hoagie-like sandwich rolls.  I haven't done it yet, but if you divide the dough into 10 or 12 pieces and shape them into ropes, those could be hot dog buns!

Normally, I dip the rolls in melted butter after I shape them, but I tried brushing them with water and sprinkling some fancy lavender salt on top.  This is fine if you plan to eat the rolls on the same day.  But after the first day, the salt melted and left the tops wet.  I will stick to the butter dip.

While I made these rolls to go with the bean soup, the Ds jumped in and helped themselves.  They always do, and they will readily partake in the rolls, no matter the shape.  They will each grab a roll (or half a roll if I make them like hoagie rolls) as they leave the house in the morning and eat it plain.  Sometimes they will stuff the roll with cold cuts (D1), shredded Costco roast chicken (D2), or salami (both).  And you can be sure that when D1 stuffs her roll, it is packed with a layer of meat nearly as thick as both bread layers combined!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Bread Machine Rolls

     1 c milk
     1 egg
     2 tbsp butter, cut in pieces
     3 1/4 c bread flour
     1/3 c sugar
     1 tsp salt
     3 tsp yeast
     1-2 tsp melted butter

Place first seven ingredients in pan of bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.  Set machine to dough cycle.  When dough cycle is complete, remove dough to floured surface and let rest 5 minutes.  Generously grease a 9 x 13" pan (low sides, preferable). Divide into 15 balls, somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a racketball.  Dip one side of ball into melted butter, invert and place in 3 x 5 pattern in prepared pan.  Let rise 30-40 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake rolls for 15 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Sweet Dinner Rolls

An ex-boyfriend told me that the best thing about a 3-day weekend is a 4-day work week.  That was probably the most profound thing he said.  Too bad that wisdom didn't help him be less of a two-timing prick.

But even I need to acknowledge that he is right.  That's exactly what made this past week bearable. . .it was over before too long.  I parked myself in front of the computer for a few days, trying to develop a training presentation.  In the middle of my work, a bitch troll (borrowing Anna's words) called to ask me if she really needed to attend because she didn't want to waste her time.  She has a lot of nerve. . .but not as many as the wrinkles on her face!  Of course she should attend!  We will be going over updates to the system which will "go live" within the next month.  Just the word updates indicates there are new things coming down. 

I hope this week will go by quickly too.  My tolerance level was fairly high most of last week, so I let people slide with their stupid comments.  The good will and jolly nature ended abruptly when I went to the doctor to get the results of my blood test.  My cholesterol went up from the last blood test, and I've been asked to stay away from fatty foods.  This really bums me out because last week's post had me totally jonesing for a hunk of prime beef.

I'm a little apprehensive about cooking a roast now because I know in a few days, I'll be pigging out on turkey.  Thanksgiving seems to be early this year.  Speaking of Thanksgiving, I'd like to wish Odie a happy birthday!!!  I hope you'll have a great day.

We are headed to Aunty Janice's for Thanksgiving.  I told her I'd bring mashed potatoes, which I plan to load with butter and cream.  I'm also thinking of bringing these rolls.  It might be a good distraction from the cholesterol-laden mashed potatoes.

I have made these rolls several times, and each time I serve them, they are a big hit with the kids.  They are easy to eat, and they are tasty enough to eat without additional butter.  The recipe suggests using the dough to make cinnamon rolls, but I have yet to try that. 

One thing I'm happy about is having the Ds all to myself this Thanksgiving.  I normally share them with Mr. Dependable on this day.  This isn't as bad as it sounds because my family traditionally does a lunch thing, while his family gathers for dinner.  This year we'll be able to enjoy a leisurely lunch at Aunty Janice's instead of having to rush home to do the hand off.  The Ds drive me crazy, but I really do miss them when they leave for the weekend.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that Aunty Janice will make oyster dressing.  After spending half her life on the east coast, Aunty Janice moved back to the Big Island with Uncle Dave.  They bought a home which was built on a lava bluff in Hawaiian Paradise Park.  Aunty Janice tends to cook foods which reflect the food traditions of the east/south. . .oyster dressing, soft shell crab, etc.  I'm salivating now in hopes I will see the pan of oyster dressing on the table.

This being a long weekend and all, I hope to wrap Christmas gifts.  I was toying with the idea of getting a Christmas tree this weekend (I know that a shipment is in somewhere because I saw a tree masted to the roof of a small car in Pahoa on Friday), but it seems a bit early to have it up.  Its upsetting to see gifts under a brown tree at Christmas, and at my age, I hardly get any gifts so the situation is even more distasteful.