Lunch from Side Street Inn

We got treated to lunch at work last week "just because".  Nice yah!  The food came from Side Street Inn.  We had six choices to choose from.

This is the 3/4 pound hamburger steak with mushrooms and onions ($8.25).  I got to taste a little of Yosh's.  It was good.

Kalbi Chicken ($8.00).  I also got to taste a bit of this.  I liked it. 


Sweet Sour Spare Ribs ($7.75).  Some people said that the taste was good, but the meat was a bit tough.


Chinese Steamed Fish (Market Price).  I tasted a bite of CQ's.  I thought it was flavorful but texture-wise kinda mushy.


French Dip ($9.75).  Meat and fat . . . not my thing. And the bun was burnt.  Noreen said she shoulda eaten it when it was hot.


This is my Chinese Chicken Salad ($6.00).  It also came with wonton strips.  I don't know what I was expecting, but I was majorly disappointed.  Next time I'll get the hamburger steak or the kalbi chicken.

Just One Cherry

I thought it was neat that this cherry had a leaf attached to the stem, so I put it on a white paper and took a shot.

Swap Meet - This Past Weekend

Wouldja believe I went to the swap meet on Saturday AND Sunday this past weekend!  Aiyaiyai!  And no, I do not have a crapload of stuff stored at my house . . . not yet.  Here are highlights.

Dunno why I'm so attracted to stories about addiction. I don't usually read books 'cause they put me to sleep, but I finished reading this one already.  It was 25 cents.


I bought this for $1.


I'd been wanting to expand my plant collection to more than just my one avocado plant so I bought this aloe for $1.  I also planted some green onions.  Funny yah.


Just when I thought I'd seen everything including a kitchen sink for sale at the swap meet, someone brings a jack hammer to sell.


And water coolers.




I happened to see my classmate selling stuff and I bought this walkie talkie from her.  She gave me a good deal and sold it to me for $2. 


Hair dryer!  Remember these?  My mom had a bonnet one that wrapped around your head.


These plastic cups were 50 cents a bag . . . not 50 cents for all, like both my sisters asked.  Sheese, I know it's the swap meet but . . . 50 cents for ALL?


Stainless steel spit!!  I wish you could see it for real.  It was beauuuutiful!


Only $2,200!


$3.50 for a habanero plant.


50 cents.  Good deal hah!


I bought these cucumbers for $3 something.


So nice.


This is what I made.


Geri told me that the ceramics class was having raku firing on Saturday so after the swap meet we went to visit.  I found my dragon plate.  Geri had glazed it for me.  Came out nice yah!  I couldn't take it home though 'cause teacher said that all the dragon stuff was gonna be displayed at Mark's Garage. 


Here's Geri's hand-drawn plate, way more befitting a Mark's Garage display than my rubber-stamped one.


There's a community garden in the parking lot by the class. Here are a couple flowers from the garden.

Landon's Panko-Crusted Rack of Lamb

I must admit . . . I don't eat lamb.  Landon made this tonight though, and it smelled really good.  I still couldn't bring myself to eat it.  But everybody else scarfed it so it must've been good.



Here's the best recipe I could get outta Lan.

First Landon drizzled some olive oil onto the lamb and rubbed in some thyme, rosemary, and Montreal steak seasoning. Then he handed the lamb over to Wendell who threw it onto the hibachi, covered it and let it sear for just a few minutes.

After the hibachi searing, Landon coated the lamb with some Dijon mustard. On top of the mustard coating, he put on another coat of an olive oil/panko/parsley paste.  He then baked the lamb in the oven at 415 degrees for 18 minutes. 

The sauce is just a few Rainier cherries sauteed in some Punahou Carnival mango chutney.

Landon's California Roll

I wanted to call this Landon's Crab Bomb 'cause it was da bomb, but he said to call it a California Roll.




Here's his "recipe".  Sorry, he doesn't know the amounts.

Imitation crab
Mayo
Tobiko
Cucumber tsukemono or cucumber kim chee
Sesame oil
Sriracha hot sauce
Shichimi togarashi
Avocado, chopped

Yummmm

Noreen provided the Baskin-Robbins vanilla ice cream, Runa the bananas and chocolate sprinkles, and I the rest.

And we ALL got to enjoy this yesterday at work!

Mercado de la Raza

My friend Rand had recommended that I check out Sakura-Ya on Beretania, but when I got there a few weeks ago they weren't open yet, so I visited Mercado de la Raza instead.  Sorry Rand, I'll try again another day.


These chips were da best tortilla chips . . . tastes like the kind you get in restaurants.   They were $4.50 a bag.


Owner Martha makes these.  This salsa was $5.00.  She said her "spicy" is not too spicy, but it was to me.  She also makes a "very spicy".


This guacamole was $5.50.


I mixed the spicy salsa and the mild guacamole together and it was juuuuust right for me.


Martha also makes this flan.  It was $2.50.  It's very smooth and ono.


I made the flan all nice and gave it to CQ like this . . . 'cause she is very into "presentation".

Bride

I love to photograph brides.  I believe they are my absolute favorite. 

So when I saw a bride approaching us while we were at the Hale Koa a few weeks ago, I started clicking away from the moment I first noticed her.


She seemed to be in a rush . . . like they were late for their reception or something.


I loved how she had pulled her skirt up so it appeared all fluffy around her.


And look at the fascinator in her hair! Doesn't it totally match her?  So pretty!


Here she goes . . . running past me . . .


Everybody seemed to be rushing . . . even the flower girl.


Okay . .  .  well . . . maybe not EVERY body . . .

Zebra Dove

Landon had a 4th of July get-together with his friends at our house.  They just hung out in our yard during the day and then went to go watch the fireworks display at Maunalua Bay in the evening.

This dove appeared out of nowhere and stayed with them the whole time.  At the end of the night they put him in a tree. 

Smiling Dog

I got this picture from here.  Kona smiles like this when he is really happy, but I haven't been able to get a shot of it.  So cute yah!

JJ Dolan's Pizza

Here's a half Giacomo and half Chicken Scampi pizza me and Wendell shared at JJ Dolan's. 

CQ's Mango, Butternut Squash and Onion Soup

CQ shared this oh-so-ono soup with us the other day. The recipe follows in her own words.



1 large ripe Hayden Mango Dice
1 Large Onion Diced
Butternut Squash-Half (roasted with salt-think I gona try canned next time. Too much work)
Chicken Stock (half can..? just to liquify)
Milk (or heavey cream..but I poor so I used milk)
Truffle Oil
Butter or Margarine
Cinnamon
Garlic Salt
Nutmeg
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Cilantro - garnish
Green Onion - garnish
Sour Cream - garnish

Sautee Onions with margarine or butter with a little Garlic Salt until onions become a lightly brown caramel color. Add in and sautee Mangoes (save some for garnish) and roasted Squash. Pour half cup of chicken stock and let simmer till breaks down. Keep adding chicken stock as it reduces. Add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle a tiny bit of truffle oil maybe few drops.(Strong flavor). I then blended all ingredients together with a hand held blender. To make creamy..i added about a half cup of milk and blended.

Before serving, I put dollop of sour cream in the middle of bowl, sprinkled cilantro and green onions, and a few cubes of mango on top.



She also made this chicken salad.


..Same as ur Chicken Kelaguen..Cubed Chicken, Salt, green onions, lemon juice..BUT :

Add chopped chestnuts
Chopped walnuts
Raisins
Honey mustard..(equal parts honey to mustard)
Tarragon mustard ..uh..very little..just for taste.
Mayo
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Cilantro
Green Onions (yes..more. I LUV green onions)