Kai - 2 1/2 Years Old

I just realized that Kai made 2 1/2 years earlier this month.  So fast.

Here's the Good Boy.

 

Good Boy with malunggay pod.

 

Not So Good Boy with a sock.

   

Bath Day.

   

Clean (and unhappy) Boy.

   

In and Out Boy.

   

Fave Place in the Whole World.

   

Fave Position.

   

Do you see my stick?

   

Bubbles!

   

Brushing teeth.

   

Big Duck.

   

Kai and Mahina.

   

Kai and Cheetah.

   

Kai and Used to Be Rubber Chicken.

   

Bye!

  

Ceramics Class

New session just started!  There were only seven of us in our class this week. 

Here are our pieces.  Erick's in yellow, Cleta's in blue, Geri's in green and mine in red. Landon wanted a dish that could hold four different sauces.  'Cause, you know, you gotta have all kine sauces when you eat.

Kim Chee Tofu Soup

I blogged about this soup before.  You can find the recipe here. 

This time I used thinly sliced beef (from Foodland) instead of ground pork.  And I added sliced zucchini and shiitake mushrooms. 

It turned out better than I remember.  It looks really spicy, but it's not.  Trust me.  😅

Choke Leaves

Dd's Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Per Didi:  This is a keeper…..

Me:  That grilled cheese(?) sandwich!!

 

CREAMY TOMATO BASIL SOUP

 

2 TB butter

2 medium carrots, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

28-ounce; can whole tomatoes, crushed roughly by hand

2 c. chicken stock

4 oz. heavy cream

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

*¼ tsp.+ baking soda, as needed

Pinch cayenne pepper

½ c. fresh basil leaves, loosely packed, chiffonade

 

In a large saucepot over medium heat saute carrots and onions in butter.  Cook, stirring occasionally until butter starts to brown, about 15 minutes.  Add tomatoes, basil and stock.  Lower heat to a simmer stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours.  Taste for seasoning; add salt and pepper as needed.  *If acidity level is high for you add baking soda as needed.*  

Soup will foam up; continue stirring.  Taste again. With an immersion blender puree soup to desired consistency.  Stir in cream and cayenne to taste.  Stir in basil just before serving.  

Serves 4-6.

Cy's Breakfast

 Lam's.  $13.60.

Costco Dessert Bars

I didn't actually taste any of this so I can't vouch for its oh-no-ness, but Wendell said that it was a hit with his softball team. 

Pumpkin with Dried Shrimp

Wendell came home the other day with a bag of cut-up kabocha from Costco.  A dish from waaaay back in the day that my mom used to make came to my mind.  It included dried shrimp which is a bit unusual, so I was surprised when I found several recipes online.  I chose the one from What to Cook Today site, mostly because it was the first one. 

It came out wetter than my mom's but ono enough that Wendell said that maybe he'll make it for his team!  Also, my mom's didn't include any meat, but I added ground pork so that it would turn into a main rather than just a side dish.  And I bumped up the amounts stated in the recipe just a skosh 'cause it felt right to do that. 

 

The pumpkin came in a two-bag pack for $9.99.  I used about three-fourths because I couldn't fit it all in the pan. 

   

This is the humongous dried shrimp that I used.  Wendell's friend gave the bag to him awhile back.  I thought he said that it was from Vegas, but not sure now.  Maybe it was from the Big Island.

  

750 grams pumpkin, cubed

2 Tbsp dried shrimp, soaked 10 minutes

1 tsp grated ginger

1 Tbsp cooking oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chicken broth

*ground or thinly sliced meat* if desired

Seasonings:

1 Tbsp sambal oelek (optional)

1 Tbsp oyster sauce 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

Garnish:

Crispy fried shallots

Instructions:

Peel and cut pumpkin into cubes.  Soak dried shrimp in warm water for about 10 minutes or until softened.

Preheat 1 Tbsp of oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and ginger and stir fry for about 10 seconds.  Add the dried shrimp and stir fry for about 1 minute.  *You can add ground or thinly sliced meat here.*  Add the pumpkin followed by seasonings and continue to stir fry to combine everything.  Add chicken broth and cover with a lid to let it simmer for about 5 minutes or until pumpkins are softened but not mushy.  Adjust seasonings to your taste.

Sprinkle with some fried shallots.

My Blogger Comments

The weirdest thing is happening.  I can't post any comments right now.   Been trying to fix it all day.  It's so puzzling.  

Sorry. 

UPDATE:  According to Blogger Help, others are having the same problem.  

"It looks like something that users can't fix on their own. We'll just have to wait patiently for the team to resolve this issue. (related to reCAPTCHA?)"

Zippy's September Special

 Korean Chicken and Chili ($10.99).  Good deal!  And ono!