Easy Salmon Tofu Salad

I have been trying to keep busy this summer but not with work.  Actually, I haven't gotten called much for work.  I will probably regret not taking a multi-day job at a certain elementary school, but really, I won't.  It wasn't worth the $ I would have earned.

My time has been spent walking and doing research to expand my fiber arts equipment arsenal.  I could not pass up a deal I came across for a Schacht swift, and one thing led to another, and I ended up with a set of Signature needles (belated Mother's Day gift from the Ds, underwritten by The Help) and a Strauch ball winder.  I've also been working on some projects, as projects are the reason why I upgraded my equipment.  My cousin from Indiana was here last month, and I gave her some goodies for her and her daughter to use this fall/winter.  It was a good reminder that Christmas is 5 1/2 months away, and I will need to have a bunch of gifts ready by then.

It's been a little over a year since KikukatDad has been joining us for dinner several times a week.  When he started coming over, I would often try to think of things which I thought he'd like to eat.  Sometimes, though, I must admit with guilt, I just make what I want to eat.  That's what I did last week.  I made salmon tofu salad.  To my surprise, and his, KikukatDad liked it.  I can tell when he likes something because he will agree to take some home with him.  On the rare occasion when I make something outta-this-world good, he tells me he is going to share it with ABetty in Mt. View.  That hasn't happened too often this past year, but I vow to get better this year.

Happy early Independence Day!  I hope to test out a few more recipes and get farther on some crafting projects.  The Aquifer scarf is slow going, but I love seeing the color changes.  I'm not sure why I do this to myself, but whenever I get a project off my needles (booties for MamaKeeper), I start another.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Easy Salmon Tofu Salad

     1/8-1/4 lb watercress, optional

     10-16 oz bean sprouts (steam in microwave over water for 3 minutes, rinse and cool

     1 block regular tofu (about 16 oz), drained on paper towels, cubed

     1 tomato, dice

     1/4 onion, chopped

     1 can (7-8 oz) red salmon, drained and crumbled

     2 tbsp oil

     1 clove garlic, minced

     3 tbsp shoyu

     1 stalk green onion, chopped

Layer first 6 ingredients in order given.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.  In a small saucepan, heat oil and garlic until garlic begins to brown.  Remove from heat and carefully add shoyu and green onions.  Set aside to cool until serving time.  When ready to serve, pour dressing over salad.

And in case you are wondering, that little fleck on the tofu cube is NOT a tomato seed; it is a small flake of salmon.

Long Rice Salad

Happy Labor Day!

Today is a much-deserved holiday.  Looking forward to the 4-day work week.  I've been awake since 4:45 am.  Yes, I know it's a holiday, but I had to take D1 to the airport for some kind of 1-day Key Club convention on Oahu.  I hope she brings back some yummy snack for me.  Not sure why, but I've been ono for Beard Papa (cream puffs).

A whole bunch of my friends went to Honolulu this weekend.  There was an HSTA meeting as well as a food and wine festival.  I wish I could've gone to the food and wine festival.  My new favorite Hilo restaurant, Full Moon Cafe, was there.  I missed my smoky sashimi fix this weekend.  For all you Hilo expats living away, the next time you come home, Full Moon Cafe is a must-try.  Their menu is small and changes daily, ensuring that food is only made with fresh ingredients.  I cannot get enough of the smoky sashimi.  Actually, it's a smoky shoyu with chili pepper oil.  It is kick-ass!

As I was saying, this is a much-deserved holiday for me.  I feel like I've been working like a dog.  Things at work have been hectic, and last week, one of my new coworkers announced his departure.  That leaves a big hole because we really could've used his expertise this year.  Alas, Rhode Island pays better than Hawaii, and a former Hawaii administrator has been recruiting heavily on the East side of the Big Island...she already got another administrator to move.  I wonder who else will follow the pied piper.

I also wonder what else will be placed upon my plate (as well as the other teachers) due to our coworkers departure.  Come to think of it, I wonder what his advisorship was.  And on a very personal level, I wonder who will buy his car.  He has a cute Mini Cooper.  If it had Union Jack mirrors, it would already be in my garage!

As if things weren't hectic enough, last week Wednesday my new elliptical arrived.  I was expecting it sometime this week so I was surprised to come home from work to find The Help assembling it.  The box was huge.  I'm not even sure how he managed to get it into the house without my help.  I have been trying to adjust from the treadmill (now in my neighbors living room) to the elliptical, and it hasn't been easy.  I usually walked over 2 miles each morning on the treadmill, but I've come to realize there is no such thing as "walking" on an elliptical".  It is fricking hell.  I cannot last more than 5 minutes on the dang thing, and my thighs burn at minute 3.  At minute 4, I think I went into cardiac arrest from the dang elliptical.  After 5 minutes, I gave up.  It was no better on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday either...thigh burn, cardiac arrest, give up...every single time.

And sometime between the last post and this one, Kikukat Blog surpassed one million page views.  Wow.  I really didn't expect that!  I began this blog in May 2010, just as I was closing the second darkest year (hope it won't be third darkest!) in my career.  I was looking for a way to keep in touch with faraway family and friends...people who were near and dear to me and helped keep me sane.  So for those of you who read my blog, thank you for giving me this venue to bitch, celebrate, and hang with you.  I hope to see you at the 2-million mark!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Long Rice Salad

     1 large pkg. long rice*
     1 Japanese cucumber
     1 kamaboko
     1 pkg bean sprouts
     1/2  c sugar
     1/2 c rice vinegar
     2 tbsp shoyu
     2 tsp sesame oil
     1 tsp ginger juice

Cook long rice for 5 minutes in boiling water.  If using Nice brand long rice, cook 10 minutes.  Rinse in cold water, drain and cool.  Spread in an even layer on a serving platter.  Cook bean sprouts in boiling water for 3 minutes.  Rinse, drain and cool.  Spread over long rice.  Sprinkle cucumber over bean sprouts, followed by kamaboko.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.  Combine remaining ingredients in a jar.  Shake well.  Chill until ready to serve.  Shake dressing prior to serving.

*Hawaii might be the only place where we refer to bean thread noodles as "long rice".  In other parts of the world, I think it goes by "cellophane noodles" and "glass noodles".  There are several brands to choose from, and the brand I try to buy is Nice.  The Nice noodles come in a flat pack, rather than bunched in a compact bundle like other brands.  You will need 3-4 ounces (dry weight) for this recipe.

Mike and Matsu, you guys missed a great football Saturday!

The JV played Pahoa's 8-man squad and the varsity played HPA.  The JV game was interesting, as I had never seen an 8-man game before.  Pahoa had some big boys, but the scrappy Viks managed to dominate.  Mercy rule kicked into play.  I got to see my favorite JV running back do some damage to the Dagger defense.

#11 rocks

By the time the varsity game began, it was already dark.  The Help told me my assignment was to shoot "emotion".  I think I did well.  The picture above shows elation.  It's apparent the players and coaches are happy.  I was able to capture the player getting air!

The picture to the right shows reverence and respect.  The boys listen politely as one of the coaches speaks with wisdom. 

The varsity game saw a repeat of the mercy rule, and I was most glad to see that no player was seriously injured.  As a parent, being down on the field is a little disturbing.  I do not like the sound helmets make when they slam against each other, nor do I enjoy hearing the wind knocked out of a player.  It really is spooky when someone takes a little longer to get to their feet.

But what I hate even more than the raw side of football brutality is asshole poser photographers who use flash on the field!  Apparently, the dickhead wearing the red HPA t-shirt had no regard for safety, judging from his flash bursts blinding the players (HPA player included).  Show some respect for the players, asshole! 

it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out why the Kamakani receiver missed this pass

Oh, and I almost forgot...emotion in the last picture is despair. 

Korean Tofu Salad

The weather seemed to be  getting warmer (I know I saw blue skies a few times last week), but if the local news weather bunny is correct, we have some bad weather coming our way.  I just hope the rain won't last too long.  If I recall correctly, it rained most of the time last spring break.  I am soooo tired of cold and rain.  I don't want to purchase blueprints for building an ark!

The last run of cold and damp weather took its toll on me.  I had a sinus infection, pink eye, a cold and some stomach virus (may have been food poisoning from a bad bento) within the past month.  I spent more days on drugs than off.  I managed to kick the Nyquil, but now I have an inhaler for the hypersensitivity in my bronchial tubes.  I'm also low on po chai.

GP was sick too.  He missed three days of work!  Thats unheard of for him.  He said he had a bad sinus infection which kept him in bed for five days, save for a quick trip to the doc.  He also told me he drank two bottles of Nyquil during that time.  Two bottles!  Thats insane.  I'm amazed he is still alive.  Perhaps he thinks the dosing info on the box is just a friendly suggestion.  GP does not understand the meaning of the word "moderation".  I've known GP to consume three cans of diet soda within half a work day!

Last week I anticipated the hammer falling at my visit with Dr. KO, but it looks like I'm going to live a little longer (at least until June, when I go for my next blood letting and visit).  I did not celebrate with a bacon and fried egg sandwich, but I did indulge in some food from Hilo Lunch Shop.  While they had warabi salad (usually something I like), I was sad to discover they were out of their pipinola shoots salad.  Bummers because I can make warabi salad, but I don't know how to prepare pipinola shoots, although I'm quite certain they need to be cooked in some fashion.

By the time I left Hilo Lunch Shop, I was jonesing for a good sesame-tasting salad so I decided to make Korean tofu salad.  Having learned lessons from previous encounters with Korean tofu salad, I didn't use most of the watercress stems.  The stems tend to have major bite, and I didn't feel like having a mouthful of bang.  My favorite taegu (other than the one Mom makes, although she hasn't made for a long time) is the ManNani brand, which is sold at most supermarkets here.  The one sold in the big tub at Costco is also good.  Taegu is seasoned Korean codfish strips. . .should've mentioned this earlier.

I can never eat the entire Korean tofu salad in a single sitting by myself so I split it among several containers when I make it.  To make it easier for serving, I also toss the dressing with the salad instead of serving it layered (come on. . .we all know dressing hogs!).  I was looking forward to taking leftover salad for lunch, but having to eat the same thing for 3 lunches in a row was NOT my idea of pleasure.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Korean Tofu Salad

     1 bunch watercress

     1 pkg bean sprouts

     1/2 red onion, sliced thin

     1 block firm tofu, cubed

     2 tomatoes, diced

     6 oz takuwan, slivered

     8 oz taegu

     1/4 c green onions, chopped

Dressing:  1/2 c vegetable oil

                 1/2 c shoyu

                 2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine dressing ingredients and bring to a boil.  Cool thoroughly.  Wash watercress and cut leafy portion into 1 1/2" lengths.  Discard stems or save for another use.  Layer all ingredients in the order given.  A 9 x 13" pan or a large round platter works well.  Pour dressing over salad 10 minutes before serving.  If you are not planning on consuming this salad in a single sitting, pour dressing over individual servings.

In the middle of last week, D2 asked me if I could help her read directions from a Christmas gift.  Puzzled, I took the package from her and soon realized there was NO WAY I could read the directions. . .they were in hieroglyphics (likely Japanese).  Someone had given her a Japanese food craft kit...Happy Kitchen Donuts.  It was a candy-making kit where the candy gets shaped in donuts (that part I got).  She ended up going to you tube to learn how to do it.  Here are the products of her hard work, and no, we did not eat them. 

Who thinks of these things anyway?  I'm squeezing ass here because she still has another kit to play with. . .extremely ominous-sounding "Decoration Cake".  Doesn't the sound of that send shivers through your spine?