Cleta's Vingha D'alhos

I love a vinegary pork and potato dish, and below is Cleta's version made with an authentic portagee-neighbor recipe.

RECIPE FROM MY PORTUGUESE NEIGHBOR

VINGHA D’ALHOS SAUCE 

For PORK ~ BEEF ~ LAMB ~ CHICKEN

7 cloves garlic

1-1/2 Tbsp salt 1/2 Tbsp black pepper

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup shoyu

5 cups water

Grind the garlic into the salt – why?  That’s what my Portuguese neighbor did.

Put a little oil in a pot and brown your meat item.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.  When it boils, lower the heat to a medium-low, cover and cook.  When your meat item is almost done, add in 5 large potatoes and cook until done.  If the liquid gets too low, add more water.  If it tastes too bland, then add more vinegar and shoyu to taste.

My neighbor said, “Not too salty, not too vinegary but juuust riiight!”

When the meat and potatoes are cooked through, remove to a pan that can be put under the broiler.  Brush some oil over everything and place under broiler to brown.

For the gravy, add 1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup to the remaining liquid. Bring to a boil and thicken with flour and water. 

Memories…..

She also used to make a wonderful Watercress and cucumber salad to go with this dish.  I wish I knew how to make the dressing but then again, I don’t eat watercress anymore…..   

Cy's Breakfast

 From Pho 97 on Maunakea.

 

 

Pliosaur Fossil

A 150-million-year-old skull of a pliosaur was extracted from the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, UK.  150 million years old!  And look how huge it is!  Can you imagine something like that actually swimming in the ocean?  Ho da scary!

Dd's Black Peppercorn Tri-Tip Roast

Merry Christmas, peoples!  Here's another one of Dd's recipes.  Sure looks wonderful!

 

BLACK PEPPERCORN SPICED TRI TIP ROAST SAUCE AU POIVRE

 

2 lb. tri tip roast

2 TB olive oil

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. freshly coarsely cracked black peppercorns

1/2 tsp. chili powder

kosher salt

Sauce Au Poivre:

1 TB butter

2 TB shallots, minced

1 c. beef stock

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1/4 c. brandy

2 TB red wine

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 TB green peppercorns in brine, drained

1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 

Start a day ahead of time. Trim any silver skin from roast as needed.  In a small mixing bowl combine oil, paprika, peppercorns and chili powder.  Spread over roast.  Season generously with salt. Place in a ziplock bag; allow to sit overnight.  

 

Thirty minutes before you plan to roast the meat, remove roast from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place roast in a foil lined baking dish. Roast 35-50 minutes, or until internal temperature is at 125 degrees F.

 

Sauce:  In a saucepan over medium heat sauté shallots in butter. Add beef stock; bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits off bottom of pan.  Let boil until reduced to around 1/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Add cream, brandy, wine, Worcestershire sauce and peppercorns. Cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in thyme; taste for seasoning.  Use immediately.

 

Remove meat to a cutting board; allow to rest 20 minutes before slicing.  Cut into thin slices. For service drizzle with Sauce Au Poivre.  Serves 3-4.

Wendell's Tazukuri

Wendell followed a recipe from Just One Cookbook to make this Candied Anchovies dish.  He tweaked the recipe by adding in a stalk of gobo, a hasu bulb and some dried shrimp.   He said that the softball guys "pounded um" (twice).

 

  

Cleta's Fried Garlic Peanuts

Cleta's peanut snack is soooo addicting.  Hard to stop eating.  I think the fried garlic pieces are my fave.

 

Here's an easy recipe from Recipes by Nora.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces raw, shelled peanuts, about 2 cups (see note)
• 1 cup neutral-flavored oil (see note)
• 8 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Rinse the raw peanuts under running water to remove excess dirt. Let them air-dry for about 10 minutes on a rimmed baking sheet or large tray. 
• In a wok, submerge the peanuts in cold neutral-flavored oil and set it to medium-low heat. Stir them constantly to prevent them from burning.
• When the oil starts bubbling, add the garlic. The garlic should brown in 3 to 5 minutes; the peanuts will be ready at that point.

  Peanuts cook differently depending on their size and oil temperature. When you start them in cold oil, they take between 6 and 10 minutes to cook.
• Once the peanuts and garlic turn lightly brown, turn off the heat. The residual heat will cook them further. It's okay to undercook them a bit, but overcooking will make them bitter.
• Remove peanuts and garlic from the oil and spread them on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. 
• Sprinkle the peanuts with salt while still warm. They will become crunchy as they cool.

Also, Cleta was inspired by Chef RV Manabat.

 

Kigumi House

I thought this was interesting.  It documents a house being built using only traditional Japanese carpentry techniques. The precision is so amazing.

The translated description of the video says:   We are pleased to present the full-length video ``Wood-framed house'' produced at the ``Wood-framed house disassembled'' exhibition. Building a hand-carved half-timbered house using traditional carpentry techniques. In today's world where a variety of new building materials are available, master carpenter Akinori Abo (Koki Mori) continues to stick to natural materials and handicrafts. What Mr. Abo thinks about and how he builds his house is described. This is a documentary film that follows the construction of a half-timbered house from design to completion.

On Da Desk

 I made a bunch of sympathy cards.  Been needing them lately.  😢

Cy's Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Cy used Dd's recipe to make this.  It's Dd's version of Ryan's Grill's dip.  Cy said it's not hard to make.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained well

1 (14-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, coarsely chopped

2 tsp. butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ small onion, chopped

1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 c. + 2 TB Parmesan cheese, grated

¼ c. sour cream

1//4 c. mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon  salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a large mixing bowl place cream cheese to soften. Set aside. In a small skillet over medium heat saute onion and garlic in butter until limp. Add to cream cheese. Sitr to combine well making sure cream cheese is very soft. Add remaining ingredients using ¼ cup of parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Place under broiler until the cheese on top is melted golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve warm with crackers, tortilla chips, baguette slices, crostini, or crudités.

Wendell's Three-Ingredient Biscuits

Wendell saw this recipe on Facebook.  You just combine 2 cups Bisquick, 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup Sprite.

 

Wendell said that the dough was too sticky to pat or roll out like the instructions said, so he just spooned it into a muffin tin.  Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.  It came out so light and yummy.

Honolulu Marathon

 Here are just a few photos from Sunday's marathon.

 

   

   

   

   

   

   

 

Sam's Pork Carnitas

This is another Sam's Club food item which we enjoyed.  I pan fried it instead of throwing it in the microwave.  It was $14.78.

 

 

Sam's Gyro Kit

 This was so good.  Highly recommend.  $13.98.

 

 

Dd's Turkey Wild Rice Soup

Here's another leftover turkey recipe from Didi.

 

LEFTOVER TURKEY WILD RICE SOUP

 

¼ c. long grain wild rice, soaked 1 hour, drained well

2 tsp. butter

2 tsp. olive oil

½ c. carrots, chopped

½ c. celery, chopped

½ c. onion, chopped

1 c. mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

¼ tsp. dried thyme

¼ tsp. dried rosemary, dried

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

4 c. turkey broth

1 tsp. Italian parsley, chopped

½ c. leftover turkey gravy

½ c. half and half

2 tsp. all-purpose flour

1 ½ c. leftover turkey, coarsely chopped

Garnish: chopped Italian parsley

 

In a large saucepan over medium heat warm butter and oil until hot.  Add carrots, celery, onion, mushroom, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are slightly tender, 3-4 minutes.  Add broth, rice and, parsley. Bring to a simmer and cook until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. 

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together turkey gravy, half and half and flour until smooth.  Stir into soup. Simmer until slightly thickened, 5-6 minutes.  Stir in turkey and heat through. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, as needed.  Garnish with parsley. Serves 2-3.

Sold Out?!

I went to Daiso mostly to stock up on my favorite sponge and this is what I saw.  No favorite sponge.

Photo Shoot

It's been ages since my last photo shoot, but Leslie asked me to take pictures for her Christmas card and I said okay.  I used her camera (love, love, love) because I wasn't sure if mine would function properly.

There were some good photos, but most were like the ones below.  

I had choke good fun, BTW.

 

   

   

   

 

Dd's Turkey Bacon Sandwich

 Didi shared a picture of her lunch the other day.

 

I had to copy.  😂

 

Cold Ginger Turkey

Funny, no?  Wendell brines our Thanksgiving turkey and it comes out really moist.  I figured the leftovers would go good with a ginger sauce, and it did!

I used Foodland's recipe.  Heat 1/4 cup of peanut oil.  Add 1/2 cup of minced ginger and 1/2 cup of minced green onion.  Cook for 30 seconds.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt.  Pour over cold turkey. 

Cy's Breakfast

 "$10 akule from the Korean lady in Maunakea Market."

 

 

Have a Nice Day!

Happy Thanksgiving, peoples!

Update on Fred

Fred still appears when I go out to putter around the yard.  He usually scampers up to me and does his head-bobbing thing.  Then he waits patiently while I dig for worms for him. 

But I think his favorite is flies.  Landon once swatted a fly, and Fred couldn't even wait for Lan to flick the fly off.  He just jumped right onto the swatter and gobbled it up.

Dd's Baked Potato Chip Chicken

So interesting, yah!  Per Didi it's "SOOOOO easy!"  She also said, "I used plain salt chips but I think BBQ or Sour Cream & Onion would be great!!"

 

BAKED POTATO CHIP CHICKEN

 

1 egg

1 c. favorite potato chips, crushed

1 large chicken breast, sliced, 3 pieces

Salt, pepper, smoked paprika

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat egg in a medium sized bowl.  Place crushed potato chips in a medium sized plate.  On cutting surface, slice chicken breast lengthwise into 3 equal sized portions.

Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Dip chicken pieces into egg.  Dredge with potato chips, pressing to adhere chips to chicken pieces on both sides. 

Bake 30-35 minutes (dependent on thickness of pieces) or until the chicken reaches appropriate temperature (165 for breast meat). 

Serve immediately. Serves 2-3. 

Daiso Sponge

I've been liking this sponge that I got from Daiso.  I like that it's soft and pliable (not stiff) and gets sudsy easily.  Even Landon said that it's the best sponge we've ever had.  Plus it's cute.  😁

 

  

Fast-Kine Eggplant Parmigiana

This is actually leftover eggplant parmigiana that I ate on spaghetti noodles last night.  I had made the parmigiana at the spur of the moment the night before.  

Peel and slice a round eggplant, sprinkle with a little salt and let rest.  Pat dry.  Dip in egg and bread crumbs seasoned with Italian seasoning.  Lay on cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees, 10 minutes on each side.

Layer in an 8 x 8 inch pan:  Spaghetti sauce (I used a bottle of Rao's Arrabiata),  half of the eggplant, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  Repeat layer.  Bake at 350 degrees for around 35 minutes.

Came out good!

Cy's Breakfast

This was my brother's breakfast from Shiro's a few weeks ago.

Falling Back Asleep

I've become that person who wakes up at 2:30 in the morning to use the bathroom and have a hard time falling back asleep.  As usual, I've turned to YouTube for help.

This method has helped me for the past few nights.

Heart Monitor

This is the heart monitor that I'd been wearing for the last 2 weeks.  It records every single heartbeat.  So amazing.  

I'm allergic to patches so I had my doubts about my being able to handle the adhesive, but the cardiologist recommended that I take some antihistamine pills to see if that would help.  It was really itchy the first couple days, but then slowly by slowly the itching stopped, and after awhile I didn't even need the pills.

Now I need to mail the monitor to the mainland where it'll be analyzed and results sent to my doctor.  I'll see him again at the beginning of December. 

I ❤️ President Zelensky

 President Zelensky dropped an f-bomb and I just love it!  

Dd's Bavarian Pot Roast

Per Didi, it's a keeper!  I think those fat noodles look good too.

BAVARIAN POT ROAST

 

3 # boneless chuck roast, cut in half

Salt, freshly cracked black pepper

2 TB olive oil

3 c. beef broth

Water as needed

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, coarsely chopped

2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped

6 cloves garlic, crushed

2 TB agave nectar

2 TB hot paprika

2 TB smoked paprika

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp. salt

½ tsp. freshly cracked black pepper

¾ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. ground allspice

2 large bay leaves

2 TB cornstarch

1/4 c. water

 

Generously season roast with salt and pepper. In a large stockpot brown roast on all sides in oil. Stir in broth, scraping any browned bits. Add onion, tomatoes, garlic, agave nectar and seasonings, stirring to blend well.  Add water as needed to cover roast. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until meat is tender, 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Turn roast over every 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Remove meat and slice as desired. Optional to serve large pieces. With an emersion blender process vegetables and liquid until smooth. Thicken as desired with cornstarch slurry.  Serves 6.

Ross Buys

I scored a bunch of stuff at Ross yesterday.  The gal who was stocking the shelves said that there might be a lot of deliveries this week so I should keep checking back. 

The soup mix on the right was $3.49.  The other two were $2.99. 

 

Ramen was $4.99, Rao's pasta was $2.79 and Emeril's pasta $3.99.

   

Eucerin lotion was $9.99, Kewpie dressing was $3.99, Fly by Jing chili crisp $9.99, Taylors white tea $2.99 and Pura organic olive oil $6.99.

  

Oil Containers

Does anybody else not like these hard-to-grab containers?  ☹️

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I searched online for recipes to make use of the rest of the Costco chicken that we got.  I chose the chicken enchilada casserole recipe from the Simple Joy website.

This is my modified version.  It's topped with olives, salsa, sour cream, taco sauce and cilantro.

1 package of small corn tortillas (12)

3 cups cheese

Enchilada Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

15 oz. can enchilada sauce

Sautee the onions and garlic in olive oil.  Add canned enchilada sauce.

Chicken layer

3 cups shredded chicken

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup diced green chiles

1/2 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, drained

1/2 cup prepared enchilada sauce

Combine ingredients for chicken layer.

Pour 1/2 cup of prepared enchilada sauce into 9 x 13 pan.

Dip 6 tortillas in the sauce and line pan.

Layer half of chicken mixture.

Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese.

Dip 6 tortillas in sauce and layer.

Add remaining chicken mixture.

Add remaining enchilada sauce.

Sprinkle 2 cups of cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Black Cod on Sale

It's on sale at Times again, and it's the same individually wrapped ones in a two-pack.  I bought more.  Sale ends on 10/29.  

My Fake Duck in Bun

 It's actually Costco chicken in naan bread with mayo and hoisin sauce.  😁