Aloha Watercolors

I ordered handmade watercolors from Aloha Watercolors a few days ago and am so so happy with them.  I received them two days after placing the order, and Keiko the owner also included three free sample colors, snacks and other goodies. So nice, yah!

There's no video of the painting process for you because my battery died halfway through filming (as usual) and this time my backup battery was also drained.  Irritation was about to interrupt my zen flow so I told myself to forget it. 

Here are some greeting cards that I'm making using the watercolor paint for the background.

Tap - Wearable Keyboard

This was on Lightening Deal yesterday and from what I could tell, it was well on its way to being sold out.  Have you every heard of it?  It is totally unlike the regular keyboard that we're used to.  You type by tapping your fingers.  And forget the keyboard layout.  It has nothing to do with the layout.

Tapping your thumb on your desk (or knee - it doesn't matter) once gives you an A, forefinger once an E, middle finger an I, ring finger an O and little finger gives you a U.  Thumb + forefinger simultaneously gives you an N, forefinger + middle finger a T, middle + ring finger an L and ring finger + little finger is for S. 

Isn't it cool?!  I wonder how well it works.  

Here's a YouTube video about it.

Dd's Chicken Katsu Donburi

 

CHICKEN KATSU DONBURI
 
1 large boneless chicken breast, pounded, cut in half
salt, white pepper
½ c. flour
1 egg, beaten mixed with 1 TB water
1 c. panko bread crumbs
vegetable oil for frying

*Dashi Sauce:
2/3 c. dashi
3 TB each mirin, soy sauce, sake
2 tsp. agave nectar or sugar

Donburi:
2 eggs, beaten
2-3 TB *dashi sauce
8 shishito peppers, halved
1/2 large onion, sliced
6 stalks green onion, 1-inch slices
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 ½ c.  cooked rice
Garnish: shichimi
 
In separate mixing bowls place egg and panko.  In shallow skillet warm oil.  

Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Dredge in flour, coating well.  Dip into beaten egg mixture.  Dredge in panko, pressing to adhere to coat all sides.  Carefully place into skillet; fry until both sides are golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.  Slice into 1-inch slices; set aside. 

Sauce: In a pouring measuring cup combine all ingredients.  Set aside. 

Donburi:  In a mixing bowl combine eggs with dashi sauce as desired.  Into a medium skillet over medium-high heat saute shishito peppers until slightly charred on all sides.  Remove from skillet; set aside.  Into skillet add dashi sauce and onions. Bring to a rapid boil.  Reduce heat. Top with green onions, sliced chicken katsu, shishito peppers and egg mixture. Cover 
and cook until eggs have set to desired consistency, about 2 minutes.  

For service spoon rice into serving bowls. 

Divide donburi over rice; garnish with shichimi. Serves 2-3.

Garden Hose Nozzle

Honolulu Aunty recommended this nozzle from Costco, and now I highly recommend it too!

It's around $10 for a two-pack . . . 'cause, you know, it's Costco, so they gotta make it at least a two-pack.  But it's totally worth it. 

Here's one of the nozzles.

And here's the other one.  You can choose different types of sprays with this one.  It's a little bit bust-up looking 'cause we've had it a few months already and Wendell got some white paint on it.

You push the back part up and down to adjust the flow.  I love it!  Thanks for the tip Aunty!

Gradient Hills Watercolor Painting

I actually wasn't going to film this, but decided to use my phone to catch some footage.  

Surprise Find at Ross

I've been into making Cleta's Cheesecake Bars lately, so have been looking for jams on my weekly Ross visits.

I was surprised to find my favorite brand a couple of weeks ago at the McCully branch.

It was $3.79.

Cleta's Pan-Seared Halibut with Lemon Caper Sauce

Pal Cleta got thumbs up from her family when she made this for them the other night.  The recipe is from A Family Feast website.

 

1 pound fresh halibut, skinned and cut into two equal portions

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Few grinds black pepper

3–4 slices lemon (we used Meyer lemons but regular lemon will do)

2 teaspoon fresh garlic, finely chopped

¼ cup white wine such as Chardonnay

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoon capers drained

2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley chopped

Salt the top of the fish with just a small sprinkle of kosher or sea salt.

Place two tablespoons of butter and the olive oil in a medium to large skillet or sauté pan and heat over medium heat.

Swirl the butter and oil around and once it starts to slightly brown, add the fish top side down. Sprinkle the side facing up with the rest of the salt and the pepper. Cook for five minutes then using one or two long fish spatulas, gently flip over being careful not to splash hot fat.

Add the lemon slices to the pan as the fish cooks and cook the fish about 3-5 more minutes. Poke the fish to test for doneness or insert a small knife in the side of the center to see if the fish flakes. You want to stop the cooking just before it fully cooks so a little undercooked in the center is fine. It will continue to cook outside of the pan.

Using one or two fish turners, remove the fish filets to a platter along with the cooked lemon slices.Pour off all but two tablespoons of the fat left in the pan. Best to pour it all into a bowl, let the burned bits sink to the bottom then skim off a few tablespoons of the fat at the top and place back into the pan.

Pour off all but two tablespoons of the fat left in the pan. Best to pour it all into a bowl, let the burned bits sink to the bottom then skim off a few tablespoons of the fat at the top and place back into the pan.

Keep the heat at medium and add the garlic and cook one minute. Add the wine and cook to evaporate. Then add the lemon juice, capers and parsley. Cook for a minute then remove from heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and stir to make the sauce.

Put the fish back into the pan along with any liquid from the platter, bring heat back to medium and use a spoon to spoon the sauce over the top and cook for 30 seconds then remove to a platter and serve. 

Serve each portion with a cooked lemon slice and some of the pan sauce.

On Da Desk

This was inspired by a watercolor painting done by artist Iraville.  It was done with watercolor paint, black gouache, sepia micron and white gel pens.

Landon's Breakfast Tortilla

Here's one of Landon's made-up dishes.  He said he smooshed up some frozen meatballs and fried them.  He added cilantro and olives and spiced it up with some chipotle hot sauce.  Then he poured over some beaten eggs.  After the egg had cooked a bit he topped with a flour tortilla which he smashed down onto the egg/meatball mixture.  

Now comes the hard part.  I know it was hard because I could hear some cussing.  Using a wide spatula he flipped the whole thing over so that the tortilla could be fried and made crispy.

It was really, really good.

Face Mask Trick

 Here's a cool trick to help make your face mask fit better.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work if you have big ears.